While You're Waiting For GLEE To Return...Flash Mobs!

While GLEE is on hiatus til September, I've discovered a sort of GLEE-substitute: a recent spate of flash-mob dance-in's to mashups from the show's soundtrack. The most recent one occurred in Paris a few days ago but the best one I've seen was in Seattle.  Those kids on the left coast can really move.  And look out for their flawless jazz hands....must be all that coffee.  Go Seattle!  

Live From London It's The National Theatre

Last night I went to see "London Assurance" at the National Theatre and it didn't involve a trans-Atlantic trek. It was just a short walk to NYU's Skirball Center, where the play was shown on a movie screen in HD.  


The play itself is a bit of a chestnut:  a comedy of manners and errors as the lordly city-set get mixed up with the earthy country-set over the matters of an arranged marriage and an land inheritance.  It was written in the 1841 by Dion Boucicault, an Irish wunderkind who was all of 20 when this work debuted. But it does has some sturdy comical bones which have only been strengthened with a polish by UK playwright Richard Beane and sharp direction by the famed Nicholas Hytner.  It also has a stunning cast of British thespians, including Simon Russell Beale and Fiona Shaw, who hijacks every scene she is in. Having a name like "Lady Gay Spanker" certainly helps. 


NT Live is a program that started this year with a series of live broadcasts from the South Bank home of the National Theatre that are beamed out to audiences in countries around the world.  The tickets to this theatrical feast were just $25 and well worth it.  It's brilliant idea and has been such a success that their second season is already planned  for next fall.  First up is a new adaptation of Mary Shelley's "Frankstein" directed by Trainspotting/Slumdogging Danny Boyle.  

The Complete NYC Outdoor Summer Movie Guide

A few years ago, an editorial assistant at Random House named Rebecca Shapiro compiled a list of all the outdoor screenings of movies that happen in New York each summer.  The list has become very popular with her friends, not to mention the public at large.  This year, her list even got published in the NY Times. 


You can check out this comprehensive guide here on the City Blog page.  It's really handy to see them all together in one listing.  There are so many these days!  I just went through and marked my calendar with the one's I want to check out:  top of my list are "The Goodbye Girl" in Bryant Park and "Starship Troopers" at McCarren Park.  See you at the free movies!

The Angriest Soccer Coach In The World (Cup)

Now I don't know much about soccer.  But I do know a hilarious YouTube video when I see one.  Reminiscent of the Winnebago Man (whose movie is coming out next month), Fabio Capello, the manager of the English soccer team, has an extremely short fuse which leads to large explosions of expletives and even some shoving of his scared-looking players.  And that's when his team is actually winning!    


I found this at a site called Kickette, which has great player pics along with soccer gossip.  (Who knew there was such a thing?) It was recommended by a good friend who knows my ambivalence about soccer but, from my Benny video last Friday, my love of entertainment.  And Fabio is nothing if not entertaining.  

US Soccer Player Gives Good Face In DIY Video

Despite their admirable run in the World Cup, I'm not a fan of the USA soccer team.  Or any soccer team really.  But I am a believer in the incredible off-field talents of Benny Feilhaber.  


In one of the sexiest and simplest DIY videos around, Benny does an impeccable version of "No Air", doing justice to both the Chris Brown and Jordin Sparks parts.  Benny is apparently straight and has a girlfriend so I will take him at his word....I guess.  But this guy could seriously beat any NYC drag queen, even with his exquisitely expressive hands tied behind his back. 


Most of the comments on the video are about Benny's good looks, gorgeous eyes and that he is obviously gay.  However, his friends and defenders say he is just a big "goofball".  Hmmmm....is this the new sports world code for gay?  

SkyNet--Please Call Your Agent

The geniuses at IBM's research lab in Hawthorne, NY have been working hard on a new supercomputer called Watson.  This computer is so smart that it is actually beating real live humans' at Jeopardy.  It evens answers in the form of a question!   This thing is so good that it has been freaking the other contestants out, leading to all sorts of nervous SkyNet jokes about when it will gain consciousness and nuke their nerdy ass.  


There's a lengthy article about this super-duper computer from last week's TIMES Sunday magazine. It's worth reading if you are a techno-junkie or techno-phobe.  There's exciting and disturbing news here for both camps. 

Texting While Driving: Two PSA Approaches

Texting while driving is a dangerous and deadly habit, not only in this country but in the world.  Oprah started a campaign against it and there have been some disturbing PSA's to try and warn the public. Here's a couple of them from both ends of the spectrum on this issue: a humorous take from a Southern church and an incredibly graphic approach from India.  Which one do you think works best?

The Prince of Sweden Is Kinda Cute

This weekend the Princess of Sweden married her former personal trainer in the biggest European royal wedding since Charles and Di.  After exchanging "ja's" and even shedding some tears, Daniel Westling became officially known as HRH Prince Daniel, Duke of Vastergotland.  And now I'm unofficially crowning him Kinda Cute.


Unfortunately, the AP, AFP and Reuters declined to cover the event due to restrictions by the Swedish government.  So there is a real dearth of adorkable photos of Prince Daniel.  The Washington Post website has a slideshow of Getty images that are lovely and give a good sense of the Prince's, well, prince-liness.  He was just a commoner but look at him now...a real live Disney character! 


Congrats to the royal couple and here's hoping that their royal marriage truly lasts forever after.

"Nightmare On Elm Street 2" Comes Out of the Closet...Finally

For years, I have been telling anyone and everyone who would listen that the hottest gay studio flick of the 1980's was "Nightmare On Elm Street 2".  Forget all the hype about "Top Gun". Compared to this unlikely gem, Tom and Val only talk a good game. "Nightmare" totally goes all the way: lots of bare asses, S/M in the locker room, and even a full-fledged scene in a gay bar (with New Line co-founder Bob Shaye in a memorable role as a leathery bartender).  


I remember this movie being on cable when I was in college and, everytime it came on, I was riveted to the screen by what I saw.  I remember thinking is anyone else getting all this crazy gayness?!  I couldn't believe this was on TV...then again, it was HBO.  Meanwhile, my roommates were all, "uh...why are you watching that movie for the 10th time?" :)


There is now a comprehensive documentary which tells the history of the "Nightmare" franchise, including an official "outing" of the second installment.  It's called "Never Sleep Again: The Elm Street Legacy".  In an 8-minute excerpt posted on YouTube this weekend, the director of the sequel and New Line executives all claim they were clueless about the gay subtext which is actually more like super text.  But the screenwriter, the production designer and the lead actor, Mark Patton were all Mary's and knew exactly what they were doing.


There are some great stories and quotes in this preview and, if you're intrigued to learn more and Freddy and his special friends, you can order the full 2-disc DVD.  But I would encourage you to just rent or Netflix the original movie.  It's a totally campy and weirdly sexy horror treat.  And there is some off-the-hook bad 80's fashion too.

Welcome To The Wild, Wild West

You might think that state-mandated death by firing squad was something that went out with the 20th century.  Well, you might want to think again.


In today's TIMES, there's a fascinating and disturbing article about a death sentence in Utah that was carried out in this Wild West manner just last night.  Though it's their first firing squad execution since 1996, it still seems a bit old-fashioned to be pasting a target to an inmates' jumpsuit and having five prison guards give it their best shot.  Seriously....that's how it went down.  The even stranger twist to all this is that it is the condemned's own choice; it's either firing squad or lethal injection.


Though Utah is no Texas (with a stunning 450 executions since 1977) it is still rather remarkable that this type of punishment and the way it's carried out is still an option.