This week it's the quarterfinals of Dancing with the Stars, which means only two more weeks of having to bear with Tom Bergeron's unfunny attempts at banter and Samantha's unfashionable attempts at hair. But we accept such inane hosting skills because of the excitement of the live dances, and last night, the second hour of dancing had enough amazing moments that let me forget their aforementioned annoying presence.
The inevitable finally occurred on Monday: Mya received a perfect 10. She actually almost did it twice, getting a 29 for her quickstep (which was technically nice but creatively boring), then nailing the coveted 30 for her '70s style samba. Carrie Ann has said she doesn't believe that Mya wants the trophy, but this dance finally convinced her and is almost convincing me. Picking Donna Summer's "Bad Girls" is never going to be a bad idea.
This was the highest scoring dance of the night, but the two Paso Dobles that followed brought in even more entertainment points. Now, if you watched the show live, you know that Joanna and Derek danced first and Donnie and Kym danced second, with the former couple being called genius and the latter couple, doing an 80s Adam Ant style Paso Doble, deemed a mess. And the judges were right: the outfits, the makeup and hair, not to mention the performance of the Dead or Alive song. Bruno said it had more camp than a drag queen convention, and as usual he's hyperbolic, but not entirely wrong. However, I still loved every second of it.
Maybe I'm just a sucker for a performance in a cape.
But the big surprise for the night was Derek and Joanna with their Paso Doble from the future. No, they didn't score three 10s (only a 29, damn Carrie Ann's eagle eyes for spotting a misstep!), but the combination of song choice, theme, choreography, outfits, and lighting came together brilliantly. That lascivious golden Mormon boy Derek is definitely talented.
> No Doubt has filed a lawsuit against Activision -- makers of the same Guitar Hero video game that famously riled Courtney Love a few months back -- because a new Band Hero game allows players to take too many liberties with the band members' avatars. Specific complaints include that the "the Character Manipulation Feature results in an unauthorized
performance by the Gwen Stefani avatar in a male voice boasting about
having sex with prostitutes," and that "bassist [Tony] Kanal’s likeness can be manipulated to
sing, in a female voice, one of No Doubt’s signature hits, 'Just a
Girl.' "
My fascination with Michael came to an end last night on DWTS, as he was the first star to get eliminated flat-out, and it made me wonder, does the proportion of judges scores to audience votes remain the same throughout the run of the show? The explanations are always vague, which seems suspicious. Statistics aside, we were left with the next two couples at the bottom, Marc and Aaron. Oh, Aaron. Poor, poor bottom-two Aaron. He was so confused when that depressing red light shown down on him -- he was flying too high on his double-10s from the judges the night before.
Before we could see the dance-off!, we first watched Rod Stewart do a drunk but entertaining version of his classic "Same Old Song", and then pros Mark Ballas and Derek Hough performed some song about watching bodies (clip above), but it was a little hard to understand what they were singing while dancing simultaneously. However, their lack of cardio wasn't the real problem, it just didn't have the same catchy vanity song chops of say... Don't Be Tardy for the Party.
Then the really great television started with the dance-off!: Mark Dacascos was reunited with his bad girl Lacey and they did a pretty decent cha-cha. The judges were perhaps overly gracious with him, cautiously waiting to see what Aaron would follow with -- they aren't so keen on sending home dancers to whom they have issued coveted tens. Then followed the fragile broken boy himself, digging deep and doing a second jive, that was arguably BETTER than the one he performed the night before. The judges carefully sent home the Iron Chef host with accolades and respect, and the Golden Boy lives on to dance another week. Watch the battle again and ponder how Aaron will attempt to squeeze more votes out of America.
> Following on the heels of Twitter-quitting trendsetters Miley Cyrus,Lily Allen, and the Love-Cobain family, gay British actor Stephen Fry last week caused a flutter after threatening to leave the site, after a follower called his tweets "boring." Like a real grownup, though, he rescinded the threat over the weekend: "Arrived in LA feeling very foolish. Wasn't the fault of the fellow who
called me 'boring', BTW. A mood thing. Sunshine will help. So sorry," he wrote.
> Obama has appointed Sarah Jessica Parker and Anna Wintour, among others, to the President’s Committee of the Arts and the Humanities.
Tonight at 1:51 AM, while the boys of the West Side are swinging to the pre-Halloween hum of electro beats and down in the village greased cowboys are pouring shots of sambuca to the lustful throngs of yuppies exploring their fruitful wild side, it will have been sixteen years since River Phoenix died outside of The Viper Room in Los Angeles.
Alas poor River, I didn't know you at all, but if crushes could span time and space and death and some poorly chosen methamphetamine, I feel we could have basked in the infinite stoned silence, understanding that truly, no one knew you at all.
What so many fail to recognize is that River was a legend long before he became best known a cautionary tale of the potential tragedies awaiting young Hollywood stars. A dark beginning for anyone, he was born to two traveling hippies lured into the cult colony of The Children of God and spent his early years as the golden son of the mystical and child-molesting zealot group. His parents eventually packed him up along with and his siblings and fled back to California and as River entered school he was considered an oddity. With no friends of his own he spent his free time playing guitar with his family on the street. While other children had maps of Central Africa memorized, River wasn't sure who the president was. Instead, he found a home in the world of acting. On his first hit, Stand By Me, director Rob Reiner recalled choosing River because he thought he identified so much with his character Chris Chambers, a lonely and lively symbol of youth whose life is also cut short by a terrible tragedy.
Here is an exclusive first look at the 2009 Out 100: our collection of the 100 gay men, women, and trans people who have made 2009 a year to remember. In the coming days we'll reveal the rest of the honorees, including the directors, writers, Broadway producers, musicians and stars who have shaped popular art and culture; the bravest young voices, the dedicated campaigners, the openly gay politicians and lobbyists who've brought us this far; and the ordinary LGBT people who have inspired us with their extraordinary actions.
This year's theme is a gentle nod to the days that shaped, delighted, and terrified us all and made us who we are today -- school days. We've dubbed Chaz Bono (above, shot by Jason Bell) "Most Likely To Reinvent." The only child of Cher and Sonny Bono, Chaz has a long history in queer activism. After coming out in the April 1995 issue of The Advocate, he went on to write for the magazine, serve as a high-profile spokesperson for the Human Rights Campaign, became entertainment media director for the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, and penned two books centered on LGBT issues. After several years under the radar, Bono broke news in June that he had begun FTM gender reassignment surgery.
Thursday evening, October 29, Entertainment Tonight will begin airing Bono's first interview since he revealed he is transitioning. After you've watched the preview here, check your local listings for channels and times to catch Mary Hart's full chat with Chaz.
These days it seems you can't turn on the television without slamming headlong into an award show of one kind or another. Lately everyone is in the running for something and usually it's less than noteworthy. But, while we can live without tuning into the teen equestrian geriatric skeet shooting stand up comedic competitive monologue reading homemaker awards, we've recently learned of an event that is definitely worthwhile: The Annual Emery Awards.
Kimora Lee Simmons will host the gala evening to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Hetrick-Martin Institute, home of the Harvey Milk High School, as well as its founders and Harvey Milk. The Annual Emery Awards honor those individuals and corporations that exemplify Hetrick-Martin's mission of providing a safe and supportive environment for all young people -- regardless of their sexual orientation or identity -- along with those who have demonstrated outstanding leadership within the community. This year Hetrick-Martin Institute will be honoring its founders, Drs. Damien Hetrick and Emery Martin, and activist Harvey Milk, as well as recognizing such leaders as New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Dr. Joyce Hunter. Special guests include Mary Louise Parker, Rosie O'Donnell, B.D. Wong, and Cheyenne Jackson.
The Annual Emery Awards take place on November 10, 2009. The night kicks off at Cipriani Wall Street with a cocktail hour at 6:30, followed by the awards dinner and an after party. If you'd like to attend the awards or donate to the Hetrick-Martin Institute, please call Darra Gordon at 212-674-2600, ext. 277 or email dgordon@hmi.org. For more information visit www.hmi.org.
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