They're Coming Out: Zach Quinto & Dan Kloeffler

A week after National Coming Out day, there is a growing wave of celebrities coming out.  It started on Sunday with Zachary Quinto, most famous for playing Spock in the STAR TREK reboot.  He made his announcement in a very low key way, as part of a movie promo interview with New York magazine, choosing not to go the cover-of-PEOPLE-magazine route.  And that is admirable in that is places his sexuality in the same context as any other actor; that is, it's simply a fact and a facet of his personality.

Then, the coming out party picked up steam today when ABC News anchor Dan Kloeffler came out in a similar manner during his World News Now broadcast.  (You can watch the clip below.)  It's also notable in that Kloeffler makes his sexuality an aspect of who he is when he jokingly talks about breaking his rule for dating actors while commenting on the Quinto story. In a short but eloquent follow-up blog post today, Kloeffler said he was not only inspired by Zach's action and also by the fact that young gay teens need to see they are not alone in their struggles.  So true...and so inspiring too.

Getting My MAD MEN Fix In The East Village

It's been a little over a year since Season 4 of MAD MEN ended, leaving me and millions of others anticipating the return of Don and the ladies to our screens (TV or otherwise).  It's been quite a long wait as Season 5 got delayed due to contract negotiations. They finally started shooting back in August but the new season will not begin airing until March 16, 2012.  Sigh.

Until then, there is a zippy alternative that I rediscovered last night at the Wilde Project in the EV.  It's a MM musical spoof called The Mad World Of Miss Hathaway starring my good friends Angela DiCarlo and Patrick Johnson.  Ange plays a singing version of Christina Hendricks and Patrick plays a plus-sized version of Peggy.  This installment, the fourth they've put together over the last year, plays with the Beatnik storyline from Season 3 with some catchy songs and hilarious in-jokes for those MM fanatics out there.  And a special guest starring role for downtown writer Mike Albo as an unemployed, pot-smoking hippie.

There is one more show if you want to catch it....tonite at 8p at the Wild Project, 3rd Street btw A/B. Until the real thing appears next spring, this Mad World is a satisfying "fix" for those suffering from MM withdrawal.  And there will be a holiday episode too, coming in early December.  Talk about a Christmas gift!

DIRTY GIRL is Super Sweet

Over the weekend, I caught a new indie movie called DIRTY GIRL.  The title is somewhat misleading as this was the sweetest and most surprisingly indie I've seen in a while. Set in 1987 (OK--so I may be a little biased), it's about a slutty high school girl, played perfectly by Brit actress Juno Temple, who goes on a road trip to find her father.  Along for the ride is an overweight gay kid she is paired with in a health class, newcomer Jeremy Dozier.

The film truly feels like something from the late 80's with its spot-on soundtrack (four Melissa Manchester songs!) and hazy, pastel look (shot on real film, of course).  It's a bit ramshackle and thrown together but that's part of its charm, as well as featuring some winning performances from the two leads and a colorful cast of well-known supporting characters, like Mary Steenburgen, William H. Macy, Milla Jovovich and Dwight Yoakam.  I don't know why the film has gotten some less than shining critical notices as audiences seem to really be enjoying it...including me!  The film is a fun mix of sweetness and reality, magic and mayhem, with a few music videos thrown in too.

It's only playing in NYC right now but opening in other cities over the next few weeks. So if you'd like a fun alternative to the usual studio fare, this is a great movie to check out.  And a much more enjoyable movie than the other '80s retro film out there now, DRIVE (which I've previously blogged about). Go see DIRTY GIRL and support indie film!  

Gay Rights Pioneer Franklin Kameny, 1925-2011

One of the first proponents of equal rights for gays and lesbians, Franklin Kameny of Washington DC died yesterday at his home.  He was 86 years old and there is a full obituary at the Washington Blade's website today.

In 1958, after being discharged from the Army for being gay, Kameny started fighting the fight and rounding up protestors in respectable ties and jackets to picket the White House for equal rights.   In a time when "homosexuals" were considered deviant and their activities criminal, Kameny took to the streets in the spirits of the '60s to make his case for equal rights.

I wrote about Kameny last year when he attended President Obama's signing of the bill to end the military's discriminatory policy against gays and lesbians. And it's amazing that he died just a couple weeks after witnessing the official end of that policy which made him an activist.  He was a true pioneer for equal rights for gays and lesbians.

Netflix Gets A Clue & Kills Qwikster

I got another email from Netflix yesterday, the third since late July about crazy changes in the pricing and general service of what was once considered one of the great Internet businesses.  Fortunately, the third email was the charm as it announced that the company was not going to split their DVD and streaming into two separate businsses and websites. It was a change no one wanted...except the company's CEO, Reed Hastings.

Curiously, this email was not signed by Hastings but instead sent by "The Netflix Team".  Hastings got slammed for sending an apology email about the price increase that not only didn't truly apologize but, adding insult to injury, also sprung the horribly conceived idea of Qwikster on customers. I wonder if the fact that there was already an angry dude with Qwikster as his Twitter handle and looking to cash in had anything to do with the about face.

Anyway, though this is great news for customers, it's been bad news for Netflix stockholders.  The stock hit a one year low by the end of the day yesterday.  Basically, Netflix will have a long way to go to regain consumer's, as well as Wall Street's, confidence.

LAST FRIDAY NIGHT DIY Video In ASL

It's been a while since I've posted a fun DIY video....but this one is great!  It definitely takes some knowledge of the original '80s-movie sendup by Katy Perry, which probably cost as much as an '80s movie.  Though this version was probably made for a couple bucks, what it lacks in budget it makes up for in uniqueness and the cute charm of its lead, Michael Chase DiMartino.

DiMartino is a singer-songwriter based in NYC....a dime a dozen right?  Well, not exactly.  His day job is what makes him unique as he is a sign-language interpreter for businesses and for music celebrities too, like Lady Gaga.  So using his skills, he made an ASL version of Perry's catchy hit.  It helps that he is adorable and can dance too.  Watch through to the '80s makeover at the end....awesome!

Steve Jobs Made Computers Cute

There are many obituaries, tributes and bios of Steve Jobs online today after the Apple visionary died yesterday at the age of 56.  Many superlatives have been used to describe Jobs and the remarkable impact he had on the world of computing.  One surprising fact to me was that he held more than 300 patents for everything from the casing for the original Mac to the staircases at Apple stores.  

But despite these remarkable technical innovations, Jobs did something unique.  Simply put, he made computers cute. Until the mid-80s, computers were forbidding machines that mathematicians, scientists and businessman used.  Then he created a Mac which smiled when you turned it on and was guided by a hand-operated mouse.  And slowly the world of computing truly became personal.  Later on, the utter simplicity of something like an iPod served as a sort of gateway drug for technophobes into the wonderful world of personal computing. People were surprised to find their parents and even grandparents online, often using a Mac or an iPad. 

In some ways, Job's remarkable story is similar to that of another industrial innovator, George Eastman. Despite what many think, Eastman did not "invent" photography (though he has multiple patents like Jobs).  What he did was to make it accessible with his equally cute and simple Brownie camera that spawned a similar revolution in the way people used photography.  Through his Kodak company, Eastman took an existing technology and made it friendly and usable for the masses.  Jobs did the same, times 10. And the world will never be the same....in a good way.

The SkyNet Chronicles: Apple Introduces Siri

I've posted a few times before about the increasing intelligence of computers and whether or not they are approaching the sinister capabilities of SkyNet, the fictional computer that became self-aware in the TERMINATOR movies and turned on its makers.  Yesterday, Apple was supposed to announce the iPhone 5 but the real big announcement was of a new app called Siri, which is a digital personal assistant.  It makes appointments on your calendar, it tells you where to find local Starbucks, it will even remind you gently to call your wife.

Of course, it does all of this after you tell it to.  But no matter....the Internets were abuzz with SkyNet freak outs yesterday.  CNN reported on this in a story which mentioned old SkyNet precursor Hal9000 from the 2001 movies.  I didn't even know that Hal has his own Twitter feed but he certainly had some snarky things to say on it about his new rival.  No word from Watson, IBM's supercomputer that beat a human on Jeopardy recently.  But maybe if someone set up Siri (who sounds like a woman, though Apple creepily calls her "it") and Watson and they had a baby it would grow up to rule the world! [Insert sinister laugh here.]  Computer conception, though, seems a little ways off....

Is WTC VIEW A True Story? Here's My Answer...

Since our first performance back in 2003, people have been asking me if WTC VIEW, my play about life in NYC after 9/11, is a true story.  I was recently asked to write an essay for my friend Ira Sach's website about "Art & Autobiography" on this topic.  Ira put together this website over the summer as part of the promotion for his own autobiographical film, KEEP THE LIGHTS ON, which is currently in post-production.

I have always found it interesting how people are fascinated by whether or not a work of fiction is true or not.  So I was eager to write about this topic, especially in relation to WTC VIEW.  This was a play (and then film) I wrote about a guy who places a roommate ad on the night before 9/11 looking for a roommate in lower Manhattan.  On 9/10/01, I placed a roommat ad for my apartment on the VILLAGE VOICE website and this was the starting point for this work.  But is the story autobiographical?  Not in the way that people would expect.

So please check out my article on "Art & Autobiography", which posted today. Also, take a look around the rest of the site as well.  Ira has put together some amazing writers and historical pieces about gay life in New York City, all of which are worth reading.

Outdoor Fall Movies On The High Line--TONITE!

One of my favorite NYC things to do in the summer is check out all the various outdoor screenings of movies the city has to offer.  It all started with the famous Bryant Park series back in 1994 and now has spread to countless venues across the five boroughs.  

This year, summer movies are moving into the fall with the advent of the High Line Film Series.  The theme?  Trains of course, in homage the High Line's history as rail freight line that served the West Side until the mid-'60s.  Last week they showed one of my all-time favorites SOME LIKE IT HOT.  And tonight, at the 14th Street passage, they will be showing the Hitchcock thriller STRANGERS ON A TRAIN.  Beforehand, there is a screening of a short film that compiles clips of Hollywood films about trains called ALL ABOARD.  The fun starts at 7pm, up on High.