"Is it just me or does Rick Warren look like every third member of every gay men's chorus in the Country."

Dan Savage with the funniest line of the day.

Click here and you'll see how right he is.

Merry Christmas, Darlings

Now that greeting cards have all been sent and the Christmas rush is through, I still have one Christmas wish to make, a special wish for you, Lazy Circles readers. Thank you for reading my little blog and have a wonderful 2009.

Has Rick Warren Seen the (Pink) Light?

Check out what Rick Warren took down from his web site suddenly:

The Saddleback Church website made clear that gays, excuse me, "unrepentant homosexuals," are not welcome to membership. This was quickly scrubbed after Americablog found it and Rachel Maddow discussed it on her show. Did Pastor Rick have a revelation from God that gays are okay? Don't bet on it. Thankfully, Maddow is not letting it go. Here's a clip from last night's show:

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

How Bad is Tom Cruise in Valkyrie?

"Distractingly bad."

The reviews are in and they're brutal. Tom Cruise's new $100 Million Nazi pic Valkyrie is a must-miss for one reason: Tom Cruise is a bad actor. According to Huffingtonpost, he's "distractingly bad" and "he's outclassed and outmatched by every member of the strong supporting cast." According to MSNBC, "there’s a gaping hole at the center of “Valkyrie,” and his name is Tom Cruise."

The supporting cast, the production design and the direction all receive high marks, but the movie sinks because of La Cruise. Look for it in the DVD bargain bin by Valentine's.

!!!

Click to make it bigger.

Sure, I'm royally pissed about the whole Rick Warren thing, but the man's got abs worth checking out.
Source

Monday's Man: Josh Brolin

I saw Milk again over the weekend and Josh Brolin was amazing as Dan White.

As Emile Hersch's Cleve Jones said in the film, "is it just me or is he cute?"

Vacay Day

I'm off work today preparing for a neighborhood holiday soiree that, in a moment of weakness or maybe insanity, I agreed to co-host. Now the pressure is on. I know the het housewives are expecting gay fabulous - a dollop of Martha, a dash of Noel Coward, and maybe some Paula Deen thrown in for good measure. I've got my work cut out for me. Gotta go.

SAG Honors Milk

The Screen Actors Guild award nominations were announced today and Milk was appropriately recognized with three nominations: Outstanding performance by a cast, Sean Penn for lead performance by an actor and Josh Brolin for supporting performance by an actor. Doubt led the nominations with five: Best cast, supporting actor for Philip Seymour Hoffman, Actress for Meryl Streep, and supporting actress for Amy Adams and Viola Davis. That whole Doubt cast is looking more and more like locks for Oscar noms, and deservedly so.

The entire list of nominations is here.

Jeremy Piven Leaving Speed the Plow

More breaking news from Lazy Circles New York Bureau Chief Doug - Emmy winning stud muffin Jeremy Piven has suddenly announced that he's leaving the Broadway run of Speed the Plow due to a "high mercury count." You read that right, high mercury count. Playwright David Mamet told Variety:

"I talked to Jeremy on the phone and he told me that he discovered that he had a very high level of mercury. So my understanding is that he is leaving show business to pursue a career as a thermometer."

I told Jeremy a hundred times, don't leave a good Broadway gig to come here and whisk me off to Spain where we'll be married I'll be your sex slave forever in a Mediterranean villa. I'm already married and happily so. He never listens.

Chrysler Shuts Down Production

Chrysler has announced that they're shutting down all production at its 30 plants for a month. They're blaming the tight credit market. Sales are down a staggering 47%.

Hey folks, if you've got your eye on that 300 or Wranger, now's the time. Seriously, don't wait.

Another proud American brand that's close to biting the dust. 8 years brilliant Republican fiscal policies have just about succeeded in wrecking the American industrial sector. About all we have left are Wal Mart and mega churches.

A Purpose Driven Inauguration

Obama has selected least sexy bearded guy ever Rick Warren to deliver the invocation at his inauguration. This is the same Rick Warren who worked hard to take rights away from gay people in California, the same Rick Warren who thinks my marriage denies his freedom of speech.

Jesus H. Christ.

As Sullivan said, "if anyone is under any illusion that Obama is interested in advancing gay equality, they should probably sober up now."

It's True

I recently wrote about reports from unnamed sources that New York Governor Patterson had talked to Caroline Kennedy about Hillary Clinton's Senate seat. It's actually true. According to the New York Times, Kennedy has decided to pursue the seat and will ask Governor Patterson to consider her.

Hope for Pontiac?

Last week I reported that GM was going to sell, eliminate, or consolidate Pontiac, Saab, Hummer and Saturn in an attempt to save itself from oblivion. Although there were no details, I thought Pontiac was most likely to be eliminated completely. Now comes word that it might be saved after all. The New York Times reported yesterday that Pontiac may become a "boutique brand" to be sold along side Buick and GMC models. Of course, Pontiacs are sold along side Buicks and GMC trucks now, but this could mean reducing the line-up to one or two special cars available at Buick/GMC dealers without elaborate separate brand advertising.

However it turns out, I hope this proud old American automobile doesn't go the way of Oldsmoble and Plymouth.

At Least He Didn't Cut and Run

An irate Iraqi journalist threw his shoes at George Bush on the President's last visit to Iraq.

Monday's Man: Emile Hirsch

He wowed us in Into the Wild and then completely disappeared into the role of Cleve Jones in Milk.

Like the rest of the supporting case of Milk, he was snubbed at the second-rate glamor fest called the Golden Globes.

Maybe the Oscars will recognize this talent for what it is: the real thing.

Wasilla Bible Church Burns

The Wasilla Bible Church, Sarah Palin's former church and the cite of a widely-viewed U-Tube clip of the Governor speaking, has burned. The fire has been deemed "suspicious."

A church burning is a reprehensible hate crime and I hope whoever did this is brought to justice. All Americans have an absolute right to worship as they see fit without fear or intimidation.

Van Johnson: 1916-2008

Hollywood heartthrob Van Johnson has died at the age of 92 in an assisted living center in Nyak, NY. With his all-American good looks he became a big star in the 40s and 50s starring in such classics as 30 Seconds of Tokyo, Brigadoon, and The Caine Mutiny.

When I was 12, my parents visited Manhattan and stayed in an apartment belonging to a friend of a friend. I didn't figure it out then, but in retrospect, it's quite obvious that the friend of a friend was gay. He also had an autographed photograph of Van Johnson in his living room and reported that Johnson lived in the same building. Mom was thrilled and probably never realized the charge that her adoloscent son got from her minor brush with fame. You see, something about the handsome actor always resonated with me when I watched his old movies as a kid. He attracted me and made me feel just a bit uncomfortable. What on earth could it have been? The Advocate seems to have the answer.

Hugh Jackman to Host Oscars Live on the Beach!

OK, so maybe he won't actually be wet and shirtless on the beach, but he is hosting the Oscars this year. Besides, as the producers pointed out, he looks damn good in a tuxedo.

Prop 8: The Musical

I know this has been out for a week or so, but if you haven't seen it, you really should. Best of all, the radical right is pissed off over it!

"Prop 8 - The Musical" starring Jack Black, John C. Reilly, and many more... by Jack Black

Marriage Equality Comes to Florida!

Oops, not quite, my mistake. I don't know how I could have gotten that idea. Totally heterosexual Florida Governor Charlie Crist married his professional beard manufacturer Carole Rome. Doesn't she look thrilled? The hair and make-up is awesome. His, I mean. Lazy Circles New York Bureau Chief Doug pointed out the most hysterical line in the USA Today article:

"Crist kissed Rome briefly at the end of the ceremony — perhaps too briefly. She put her hands on his face and kissed him again. Afterward, the couple walked out of the church and addressed waiting reporters."

There was also a peaceful demonstration by Impact Florida across the street from the Methodist church where the Crists entered into their sanctified union. Crist needs to be reminded, and often, of his role in denying gay citizens the rights that he enjoys.

Bettie Page: RIP

Bettie Page has died in Los Angeles at the age of 85. She had been suffering from Pneumonia when she had a heart attack on December 2. She rose to fame in the 50s as the ultimate pin up queen with pictures that were naughty but nice. Most seem tame by today's standards, although some are perhaps more disturbing that her popular image would suggest. She disappeared from public life in 1957 and reemerged decades later as a born-again Christian. Her work was rediscovered in the 80s and 90s culminating in the excellent 2006 film, The Notorious Bettie Page. As religious as she became, she never felt shame regarding her work, and always expressed pride in her accomplishments.

Bettie was born in Jackson, Tennessee and graduated from prestigious Peabody College. She moved to San Francisco where she worked as a model, then to New York where she tried her hand at acting. A chance meeting with a photographer on Coney Island led to her career in modeling and she was Playboy's second ever centerfold, after Marilyn Monroe.

“I want to be remembered as I was when I was young and in my golden times,” she told The Los Angeles Times in 2006. “I want to be remembered as a woman who changed people’s perspectives concerning nudity in its natural form.”

And she will.

Globes Spit Up Milk

The Golden Globe Nominations were announced this morning and Milk was almost shut-out. Sean Penn got a well-deserved nomination for his leading role, but there was no nomination for Best Picture, Drama, no nomination for directing, and no nominations for any of the fine supporting players. Instead, the Foreign Press spent a nomination on Tom Fucking Cruse for Tropic Thunder! Are they kidding me with that shit? Tom Fucking Cruise was more deserving of a nomination for a cameo in a fat suit than Josh Brolin, Emile Hersh, Diego Luna or James Franco? Franco was nominated for Pineapple Express, but still, this is a huge insult. I know the Foreign Press is made up of something like 4 old men who maybe wrote a piece for the Slovokia Post in 1952 ("That Betty Grable is a Real Looker!"), but shouldn't they make some attempt at relevance?

I am done with the Globes this year.

Bush Sacrificing Health Care for Religious Pandering...Again

Some time ago I wrote about a proposed Bush Administration rule that would redefine abortion to include oral contraception. Now they've gone one step further with a proposed HHS rule that would prohibit recipients of federal money from discriminating against doctors, nurses and other health care workers who refuse to perform or to assist in the performance of abortions or sterilization procedures because of their “religious beliefs or moral convictions.” It would also prevent hospitals, clinics, doctors’ offices and drugstores from requiring employees with religious or moral objections to “assist in the performance of any part of a health service program or research activity” financed by the Department of Health and Human Services.

Like I said before,

"So, the inner city women's clinic employee who refuses to talk to patients about birth control? Can't touch her. The hospital pharmacist who refuses to fill prescriptions for birth control? She can't be fired or disciplined. The doctor who refuses to give emergency contraception to a rape victim for "religious reasons?" Give that man a promotion."

If a rape victim wants the morning after pill and has the bad luck to draw a pharmacist who believes his religious beliefs should be imposed on others, well that's just too bad. She's gonna "choose life" whether she likes it or not.

Ironically, While pandering to the radical religious right, these Bush hacks are actually endangering decades of civil rights law protecting religious freedom. Current law strongly protects people from workplace discrimination based on religious beliefs and requires employers to provide reasonable accommodations unless doing so would cause undue hardship. There is a careful balance between religious beliefs and the needs of the employer. The Bush rule would throw out all that "needs of the employer" stuff and require that personal religious beliefs trump everything.

So, you're running a family planning clinic and employ a doctor who has a religious conversion and believes he can no longer counsel women on contraception or abortion? That's too bad, so sad. Don't even think about firing the doc for refusing to do his job. You've just become one of those bogus pregnancy counseling centers that refuses to inform women about the choices available to them.

How much longer do we have to put up with this outlaw administration?

Sit Back and Relax

I know I just posted about Fantastics Mag a few days ago, but I couldn't resist sharing Marcus and his physical perfection. Go here to see much, much more of him. Seriously, you don't want to miss this.

Marcus gets bigger when you click on him.

Sunny von Bulow: 1932-2008

Sunny von Bulow has finally, mercifully died, after languishing in a coma for 28 years. She was 75. Her husband Claus was convicted and later acquitted of attempted murder, and the sensational trials were the subject of the film Reversal of Fortune. The New York Times has a great wrap-up of the case here.

She was born Martha Sharp Crawford in Manassas, VA in 1932 and was an heiress on both sides of her wealthy family. She is survived by her three children and nine grandchildren, and will live on through the Sunny von Bulow National Victim Advocacy Center in Fort Worth and the Sunny von Bulow Coma and Head Trauma Research Center in New York.

Beverly Garland: 1926 - 2008

Actress Beverly Garland, who played Fred MacMurray's second wife on My Three Sons, has died in her home in the Hollywood Hills at the age of 82. Before finding success in television, Garland starred in a string of B-movies, often playing tough broads. In all she made more than 40 movies, including five for Roger Corman, and had dozens of TV credits. She was also a businesswoman, as owner and operator of Beverly Garland's Holiday Inn, "the most convenient Universal Studios Hotel."

Monday's Man: James Franco

I'm still reeling from the amazing film Milk which featured James Franco as Harvey Milk's long-time lover, Scott Smith. Somehow, I've never featured the perfect Mr. Franco on my blog. So, here he is, working that Milk for Supervisor T-shirt.


And here he is working a bit less in the film Whatever It Takes, which is obviously a must-see.

...and God Created Adam

If you want to warm up a cold weekend, I suggest heading over to Fantastics Mag and checking out their article on layering up to beat the chill featuring model Adam. Luckily, Adam came out of his layers for this and some other shots worth checking out here.

Click on Adam to make him bigger.

The Next Senator Kennedy?

The Huffington Post is reporting that New York Governor David Patterson has talked to Caroline Kennedy about taking over Hillary Clinton's Senate seat when Hillary becomes Secretary of State. Unnamed sources say she is considering it and has not ruled it out. She would be an excellent pick because she is certainly highly respected and has close ties to the Obama White House. I would hate to see her reputation sullied by politics, but I have no doubt that she would be a superb Senator.

Episcopal Schism

This is a picture of the old, fat, pampered white guys who are so threatened by the fact that New Hampshire Bishop Gene Robinson loves a man that they would rather tear apart the Episcopal Church than deal with their deep seated insecurities regarding anyone who threatens their patriarchy. Never mind that the world they're pining for ceased to exist sometime in the 70s, these Episcopal bishops have formally broken away from the Episcopal Church to form the new Anglican Church in North America based on a "conservative theology" and the "true historic tradition of Anglican Christianity." The new church includes the Dioceses of Fort Worth, Pittsburgh, Quincy, Ill, and San Joaquin, CA, although not all parishes in those dioceses participated in the schism. Also included are other scattered breakaway parishes. Bishop Robert Duncan of Pittsburgh said with incredible pomposity: "The Lord is displacing the Episcopal Church."

Meanwhile, the Lord looked down from Heaven, glanced over at his buddy Harvey Milk and shed a tear.

I say let the fuckers go, and I mean that with all Christian charity. In 15 years these old guys will be remembered as embarrassing dinosaurs and their flocks, if any still exist, will be trying to re-write history to pretend this had nothing to do with gays. A church based on what it's against rather than what it's for has little future. I also believe this will only strengthen the Episcopal Church, which I grew up in. It can now move forward, changing and growing and becoming stronger without the drag of these small-minded little men.

Pontiac, Saab, Saturn, RIP. Hummer Can Rot

GM has announced the sale, elimination, and consolidation of four of their brands, in an attempt to save themselves from oblivion. Pontiac, Saab, Saturn and Hummer are being sacrificed so that GM can concentrate on the "core brands" of Chevrolet, Buick, GMC, and Cadillac. It's odd that they're keeping GMC with it's obvious overlap with Chevy trucks, especially considering the collapse of the truck market. Buick is also a surprise since it's basically a budget Cadillac, but GM brass didn't ask my opinion.

Pontiac has been building American cars since 1907, first as the Oakland Motor Car Company. Their history actually goes further back, to 1893 when the Pontiac Buggy Company was formed. The first Pontiac automobile was introduced in 1926 to fill a price gap between Chevy and Olds, a position Pontiac continued to hold throughout most of its history. Pontiac had its heyday in the 60s when muscle cars like the GTO and the Firebird gave it a sexy, youthful image which it proceeded to squander on crappy Grand Ams and Grand Prix in the 80s and 90s. Does anyone even remember the Parisienne?
Pontiac's demise is not a surprise. Who can tell me what a G5 is? Nobody? See what I mean?


Saturn began selling cars in 1990, as an import fighter. It was supposed to prove that the US could build cars as well as Japan. It didn't quite work out that way, but the cars weren't bad. Today's line up is actually pretty interesting, but several of their models are imported from Opel and the weak dollar makes competitive pricing difficult.
Saab is a heartbreaker. I hope they find a buyer so the brand can go on. I had a 1990 900S that I had a love-hate relationship with for years. Saab was never a high-volume line though and I don't know why GM bought it in the first place. Saab began life as an aircraft company and their first car, a 1949 Saab 92 was designed and built by aircraft engineers. They've always been quirky, interesting and a great drive.

Hummer deserves to die. It's a bloated, fake-military, rolling penis extension for warrior wannabes with tiny dicks and their surburban wives who want to feel safe when they're forced to venture beyond the gates of Devonshire Dale Creekside Estates. They're ugly gas hogs that have inspired one of my favorite websites, the NSFW FUH2. Good riddance.

Monday's Man: David Wenham

I saw the new movie Australia over the holiday weekend and it was, frankly, over-blown and overly long, but it definitely didn't lack in the hot man department. Hugh Jackman looked more gorgeous than ever but he was almost upstaged by Australian actor David Wenham. He played the evil heavy and let me tell you, evil never looked so good.