And Speaking of Music Videos....

So yesterday I posted about the oldest music videos and today, I have what could be the future of music videos.

In the last few months, there have been a rash of DIY music videos burning up the blogosphere, with their unique and hilarious takes on hits by Whitney Houston and Miley Cyrus. Now we have a group of Canadian students who have given the Black Eyed Peas Fall '09 party anthem their own, Janet Jackson-esque spin. Though this cost about 1/1000th of Jackson's not exactly one-shot wonder from 1986. What this has that that glossy production didn't is the unbridled spirit and contagious energy of fresh, collegiate youth. Enjoy!

Music Videos Waaay Before MTV

Most people date the birth music videos to that infamous August night in 1981 when MTV took to the cablewaves with "Video Killed The Radio Star". However, music videos actually got their start in the late 1950's with something called Scopitones. These were 16mm film clips with magnetic striped sound that played on a large, dimly lit screen planted on top of a jukebox. These early music videos were very popular in France and West Germany then migrated to the US around 1964.

Lately, Scopitones have been randomly popping up in my cultural consciousness. I watched a bunch of them on a BoingBoing.net's in-flight channel on Virgin America. Then a friend emailed this clip below of a handsome lad named Bobby Vee who had some big surfy hits in the early '60s. These proto-music videos are corny and silly with super-low production value but man, can those kids dance!

If you like this Bobby Vee number, there is a whole website dedicated exclusively to Scopitone's with some pretty hilarious clips. I'd recommend Neil Sedaka doing "Calendar Girl". He's a very talented singer/songwriter and a pretty cute guy too but man, this white boy can't dance or even move his hands convincingly to the beat. But it doesn't stop him from trying, God bless him.

Chi-chi-chi-chia Obama

Somehow this one slipped under my cultural radar until yesterday, when I received a Chia Obama in the mail as a belated birthday present. I totally LOL'd on opening up the package and realizing it was not a gag but a true Chia-thingy that has been Obama-ized. There are two likenesses available, "determined" and "happy" (I got the serious Obama). Anyway, I'll keep you updated as the fro grows....

The Gay Youth of America

As a novelist who has written two books and more than a few screenplays with gay teen protagonists, I am often asked how realistic my portrayals of gay teens are and how many gay teens are really out in high school. Having done many school and library events in the last few years, I explain that there are plenty of out teens and that, if anything, my fictional characters are toned down versions of the gay teenagers in real life. Still, people always seem somewhat skeptical of my answers because I am a writer of a certain age.

This weekend, I read a thoughtful and remarkable article on the topic of gay teens by Benoit Denizet-Lewis that was published in the TIMES magazine. The article, however, is not just about gay high schoolers.... it's about gay middle schoolers. Out gay middle schoolers.

As the average age at which people come out in high school keeps dropping, the tweeners have started getting in on the act, declaring their sexuality at even earlier ages. Kids as young as 11 are now self-identifying as gay. To research this phenomenon, Denizet-Lewis travels to Oklahoma and New England and North Carolina where he meets with tween students, some of whom are involved in Gay Straight Alliances groups. These GSA's, numbering more than 4,000 across the US, initially started forming in high schools but now are taking root in middle schools as kids figure out their orientation at younger and younger ages.

The intial slant of the article is that some people, parents in particular, find this shocking. Of course, if you ask any gay men when they truly knew they were gay, the age is usually even lower than 11. (There's a great book and subsequent HBO show called When I Knew which documents this fact.) There was one quote in the article that really stood out for me, from a mother reacting to her son Austin (pictured above), who has recently come out:

“We just couldn’t wrap our heads around the idea that Austin would know what he was at 13, and that he would want to tell other people.”

I find this statement curious in that most 13 year old straight boys know pretty damn well they like girls by that age. So why not guys?

Actually, many of the parents in the article, including the one quoted above are quite supportive of their gay or bi or questioning kids. In fact, the article ends with the touching story of Austin's father taking him to the Chicago Gay Pride Parade. It almost makes me wonder if the real story here is how much parents and parenting has changed in the last 20 years in regards to dealing with sexual orientation. Probably due to the Internets, kids seem to have a more open dialogue with their folks about sex and sexuality.

Anyway, this article is really a must-read for anyone curious about how much times have changed for gay kids today. Granted things are still tough in terms of acceptance and there is still a long ways to go, but it's really stunning to see how far things have progressed in the couples decades since I was in high school. It actually gives one hope.

Deep Fried Butter From Texas....Of Course

The world famous Texas State Fair opens today in Dallas. This year the fair's deep fried foods contest has 8 new entries that are being unleashed upon the public. There's deep fried peaches and cream, fried pecan pie, and fried peanut butter cup macaroons but the most insane is Deep Fried Butter. The genius inventor of this potentially murderous dessert is Alex Rodriguez, who explained it as whipped butter encased in a pastry shell and then deep fried til it hurts. You can watch the whole thing on this segment Fox News did when they were judging these desserts over Labor Day Weekend.

Subway Yearbook Photos

Those wacky guys at Improv Everywhere are at it again. This time they set up a photo studio on the 6 train, posed at MTA employees and asked passengers to be a part of the official subway "yearbook". Genius. Let's go to the video--

TIMES Reporter Jeff Zeleny Is Kinda Cute

OK--you're all like, uh, who the hell is Jeff Zeleny? He's a reporter for the NY TIMES who has been covering the Obama Administration since the beginning of the year. Just yesterday, he wrote about the White House intervention in the NY state governor's race.

Zeleny has also has been popping up as a talking head on chat shows this year due to his higher profile gig in DC. I saw him on PBS's Washington Week In Review a few months ago but he's also been on Charlie Rose, giving an extensive interview about Rod Blagojevich whom he covered in his years working for the Chicago Tribune. In fact, that's where I got this kinda cute still from.

Despite having asked an infamous silly question at Obama's first press conference, it's clear to me that Zeleny has a future in broadcast journalism. He's that geeky-cute, know-it-all kinda guy who doesn't lord his knowledge over you but simply tells you what he knows with a winning smile. And here's the real kicker...he's apparently gay. At least that's what the Internets say when you Google him.

In fact, my Googling turned up the surprising coincidence that there was another gay blog that called him "kinda cute" earlier this year. Damn! But fortunately, that blogger has a boyfriend and I'm single so, for anyone paying attention, I saw him first. :) Regardless, I can guarantee you'll be seeing more of Jeff Zeleny in the future.

Happy Birthday To Me

Celebrate with Madonna's new song "Celebration", filmed with some very interesting fans from Milan and Barcelona. And a special guest appearance by her now teenage(!) daughter Lourdes dressed like a virgin. Now...who says Madonna fans can't dance?

Kickin' It Old School With "Ghost Busters"

He's done it again...here's another video from the same editor who created the faux "Raiders" trailer circa 1954 that I featured here last week. Now he gives "Ghostbusters" the fake oldies treatment with hilarious results.

What is An Eruv

Time Out magazine has a weekly feature called "What's Up With That" where readers ask a question about some puzzlement of city life. This week's question deals with something I've wondered about myself for a while. Running down Bleecker Street and Houston Street, there are these lines of fishing wire strung up from lamposts. I thought it had something to do with the Christmas decorations that are hung across Bleecker every year. As it turns out, it does have some religious significance but not for Christianity.

The lines are marking an eruv, a boundary that runs from Houston to Harlem and marks the symbolic borders of the local Jewish community. There are 39 activities prohibited by Jewish law on the Sabbath and High Holidays (the highest of which, Rosh Hashanah starts today), one of which is carrying items outside the community. So with the erection of this community boundary Jews can carry things from the local deli or supermarket back to their apartment without breaking the law.

If you want to see the whole thing, it's here on Google maps. In 2007, the Manhattan eruv was greatly expanded from midtown down to Houston Street. I thought it was odd that it wouldn't include the Lower East Side, historically one of the cities largest Jewish neighborhoods. But some more Orthodox forms of Judaism do not believe in the eruv boundaries and will not carrying anything outside their own community, which without an eruv means their apartment building and walled courtyard.