Career Trucker Provides Best Promo For Sunscreen

I saw this photo on weather.com in a sidebar story about sun damage. This is a career trucker who spent nearly 30 years on the road and, as you can see, the right side of his face which was often in the sun through the window of his truck shows the damaging effects of sun on the skin.

This photo is not part of an ad for a brand (though it certainly could be) but was actually in the "New England Journal Of Medicine" as the condition of this 69 year old man has a scientific name; unlilateral dermatoheliosis. Regardless of the source, it is a potent reminder to wear sunscreen as the summer kicks in.

God Bless America....Now If You Can Just Spell It

The Republican campaign for the nomination may be over with Romney hitting the magic number of delegates last week. But the campaign's endless silly season continues with this latest gaffe; a misspelling of the word "AMERICA" on Mitt Romney's iPhone app.  This appeared last week as "AMERCIA" and was quickly corrected.  Yet since then, there have been two other spelling errors on the campaign's website--"sneak-peak" and "2012 Offical Gear".  

There was a funny item on New York magazines' website today speculating whether the mistakes were intentional, as a way of generating press due to increased attention from Internet grammar nerds. LoL. A novel strategy, sure, but one that certainly has worked!  But, as it turns out, the problem for the Romney campaign is real.  They have actually posted an online ad for a copy writer/editor. 

Final Days For Funding THE DEVOTION PROJECT

My friend and fellow filmmaker Tony Osso is in the final days of an Indie Go Go campaign to raise funds for THE DEVOTION PROJECT.  This is a series of short films which I've featured here on the blog which portray a wide range of LGBT long-term, committed couples.  Tony has told some amazing and touching stories...and with your help he will be able to tell many more.

Below is the fourth installment of this series, about a transgender couple and their daughter. Another beautiful love story...

How To Slate A Movie, Tarantino-Style

I came across this delightful little montage on a friend's Facebook feed earlier this month and stored it away for a rainy day. Or a rainy evening.  So here it tis; a compilation of the creative slating skills of Quentin Tarantino's saucy and smart-assed 2nd AC on INGLORIOUS BASTERDS.

This is easily my favorite Tarantino movies and also one of the my favorite films of the new millenium.  So the fact that the slating on this movie is equally amazing only makes sense.  What's most insightful about this too is the amount of setups for a given scene as Tarantino goes through the alphabet once, twice and even three times. That means there are sometimes more than 48 shots for one given scene.  Wow. That's a hells-a-lot of coverage but on a big budget film, that is the luxury you get.

Fortunately, Taranatino made the most of his shots.  And his 2nd made the most of her slates.

A Twitter Contest Celebrating 35th Anniversary of STAR WARS

Over at The New Yorker's website, they threw a Twitter contest to celebrate the 35th anniversary of the release of STAR WARS.  Yes, it was Memorial Day weekend 1977 when George Lucas' blockbuster sci-fi epic hit screens across the country and spawned lines around the block.  So to commemorate the occassion, the magazine asked readers to sum up the movie's plot in a Tweet.  That's right--140 characters to summarize a cultural touchstone and a legendary film.  Easy right?  :)

I'm actually not that crazy about the two winners, which you can read about in full here, but there were a few runners up that caught my attention.  

@fabiorojas: “Whiny, but gifted, teenager trashes spiffy new military base”   LOL!

@samanthaglavin: “In a galaxy far far away, witty robots save stupid humans from trouble over and over again, set to a dramatic musical score”  ROTFL!
And then my favorite for it's simplicity and honesty. How would you sum it all up? Put your tweet in the comment below....or just tweet it!

@mattyshaz: “‘Star Wars’ pretty much sums it up.”

President Obama's Remarkable Record On Equality

There has been a lot of cranky complaints from gay activists since President Obama took office; that he was not doing enough, that he was not moving quickly enough, and that he was just paying lip service to the support of the LGBT community and the cause of equality for all.  However, when you truly look at this president's record, it's remarkable what has actually been accomplished in less than four years.  I would go so far as to say it's astounding. His administration has made it clear over and over again that gay rights are civil rights. Nothing more and nothing less. And that is revolutionary.

This progress is made even clearer in a new video released by the Obama campaign today which summarizes the president's bona fides for the cause of equality.  Is there room for improvement? Certainly.  That's what a second term is for. People seriously need to start looking at how this glass is more than half-full and get to work on re-electing the LGBT community's greatest Oval Office advocate in history.

Get Ready For The Eyes Of T.J. Mecklenberg In 3D

Film geeks on the Internet are abuzz today with the release of the first full trailer for Baz Luhrman's epic reimagining of THE GREAT GATSBY.  And it is epic indeed.  It was also shot in 3D and the trailer has a few shots which indicate how this might work (i.e. glittery confetti falling at a party). It also has an anachronistic soundtrack which one would expect from Luhrman, who infused 70s disco into fin de siecle Paris.  But I'm not so sure about the rap and the Gatz mixing here. However, it is common these days for contemporary songs to be used in period trailers strictly for marketing purposes.

While this does look exciting (New York in the '20s...in color!), it also gave me a bit of a sinking feeling as I recalled another N.Y.C. early 20th century epic from another mad movie genius;  2005's KING KONG courtesy of Peter Jackson. That one was pretty to look at but ended up being a snooze.  We'll have to wait until Christmas Day to see if Luhrman's glitzy take on one of the great American novels has more to it than just pretty pictures.

MAD MEN Features New York's Own Hare Krishna's

This week's episode of MAD MEN featured a trip to the Hare Krishna's hangout on Second Avenue in the East Village.  The formerly kinda cute Paul (who I wrote about here a couple years ago) had shaved his head and started chanting with other hippies seeking enlightenment and love.

Over on The Bowery Boys website, their weekly MAD MEN-related history lesson provides some great background on all this.  The Krishna movement got its start in New York in 1966 when A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, a Hindu teacher and proponent of Gaudiya Vaishnavism, arrived from India and started gathering followers who believed in leaving their earthly possessions behind. One of their most famous early followers?  None other than Beat poet Allan Ginsberg.

The Krishnas hit the mainstream two years later in 1968 when they were featured in a number from the Broadway musical HAIR. Below is a clip of that number from the film version directed by Milos Forman that was released in 1979. I look forward to some reference to HAIR in the next season of MAD MEN.  OMG--Maybe Megan will audition for the show's off-bway version?!

SATURDAY SPECIAL: Mary J. Blige Rocks ROCK OF AGES

When I first saw the trailer for this movie, I have to admit I was excited.  First, there's all the great 80's pop/rock music from Journey, Pat Benatar, and Night Ranger.  But even more exciting to me as a filmmaker was knowing that this was all being directed by HAIRSPRAY helmer Adam Shankman.  The musical adaptation of the John Waters classic was one of my favorite movie musicals in a long time and I dragged a number of friends to see it in the theatre. I went 3 times that summer!

Now, a new clip from ROCK OF AGES has surfaced featuring Mary J. Blige giving her own spin to "Any Way You Want It".  Forget Tom Cruise singing...I can't wait to see more Mary J.!

Getting Close To The Top Of The World

Yesterday was a crystal-clear spring day in New York. When I was walking home for lunch, I turned onto my street and noticed a beam being raised into place a thousand feet in the air at the top of the new 1 World Trade Center building.  The clarity of the steel beams against the blue sky was remarkable, especially after a week when the tower was covered in clouds, fog and rain. So I snapped a few photos which I've posted below.

The pictures came out incredibly blue but that's not just due to the sky. I had just been shooting some video indoors with the same camera and had it on the incandescent setting.  But, in a way, it ended up as an interesting, if unintentional, stylistic choice.

Though there is a new controversy over what it's official height will be, construction workers are getting very close to the top of the structure.  The new WTC is set to top out next month. Yet already the new building has claimed its space in the downtown skyline, balancing out the lower end of the island while providing a new "due south" to help people get their bearings in the urban jungle of Manhattan.