Gay Pride At The Pentagon Is Not An Onion Headline

That's right...I had to do a double take when this story was first forwarded to me last night. But it's true, as CNN reports that the Pentagon, less than a year after "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" was rescinded, will have a Gay Pride celebration for Department of Defense employees sometime this month.  Though there are scant details about what exactly that entails, it will be similar to celebrations for Black History month where the armed forces honor soldiers and civilians who have served. One doubts there will be a circuit party headlined by Martha Wash in the building's central courtyard.

The reason I find this story even more astounding is somewhat personal as well.  In a former life, I actually worked at the Pentagon for three summers as a paid intern in the DoD's Public Affairs office. Of course, there were gay people in the press office and in the armed forces at that time....particularly in the Air Force for some reason.  But it was all incredibly hush-hush. I remember one particularly flamboyant Army sergeant one summer who everyone talked about being gay, remarkably, without actually using the word "gay"; different, particular, cut-up, and yes....queen.

In my last year at the "Puzzle Palace", Dick Cheney was Secretary of Defense and my boss. I only had a couple encounters with him and he was surprisingly nice. His press secretary was Pete Williams was rumored to be gay and that was considered beyond shocking. Now apparently people feel free enough to go on Grindr at work and celebrate Pride (btw which are NOT the same thing).  I'm sure the DoD is still not the friendliest environment for LGBT folks, but it certainly has changed a great deal since I was there. That is for sure.

NewFest Is Moving On Up...To The West Side

NewFest, the New York LGBT film festival which has been running for 27 years, is getting a big makeover this year with a move upon to Lincoln Center.  The festival, which recently partnered with OutFest, announced their lineup this week with screenings taking place at the lovely Walter Reed Theater on the Lincoln Center campus.  I have had give films screen at NewFest, including AUGUST last summer, so I'm excited to see the festival move to this new venue.

The festival will be somewhat smaller in size/scope this year, running only five days. But the lineup looks great--and I have three friends who have films in the festival this year that I'm really looking forward to seeing: Josh Sanchez has his debut feature FOUR, based on Chris Shinn's play of the same name, Kieran Turner has a doc about the first out gay pop star from the 70s JOBRIATH A.D., and Adam Baran has a short film that I supported on Kickstarter called JACKPOT, set in the suburbs in the '80s. The festival takes place July 27-July 31st and tickets are on sale starting today!

NetPix: BBC's SHERLOCK Reboot Is Brilliant

Over the weekend, I got introduced to the new Sherlock....no, not Robert Downey Jr.  but a true British gentleman by the nam of Benedict Cumberbatch.  Yes, that's his real name.  It almost sounds like the name of a character who comes to Sherlock for help in one of Arthur Doyle's original novels.  But Benedict, who cut his teeth with a great deal of UK theatre (of course) and a surprising amount of radio dramas (don't you love that they still exist even?!), is a unusually articulate and oddly perfect choice for the detective of 221B Baker Street.

I only got to catch one of the episodes, "A Scandal In Belgravia" but it was brilliant.  I'm generally not a fan of crime procedural shows but this is quite far removed from the genre; sexy and literate and smart and funny.  These are not words that come to mind when thinking of, say, an episode of LAW & ORDER. So I was pleasantly surprised and a bit hooked too.  There are three "seasons" of this show which is really more like a mini-series as the episodes are feature length and there are only 3-4 per season.  A curious schedule but perfect for an equally curious show.

Playing Pong With Your Brain

Figment is one of my favorite arts festivals in New York City and it happened again this last weekend. It takes place on Governors Island and is entirely free, with all the art solely for arts sake (ie. none of it is for sale).  A lot of the art is interactive too, like a great mini-golf course which each hole designed and built by a different artist. 

This year, Figment took interactive to a new level though with a video game that was played with your brain. In a futuristic twist on the favorite Pong, player's brain waves moved the paddles as opposed to their hands on a joystick.  There's an article about it in the TIMES City Room blog today and it sounds like it was a hit.  This is actually one piece of "art" I would like to buy.

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.