Poll Vault - Bill Simon's campaign figures out yet another way to fumble. The fact that he isn't trailing that far behind in the polls goes to show how much people dislike Gray Davis. When even George Will is coming down on you, you know things are bad. And, courtesy of Adam, an excellent recap of the critical events that have led up to the gubenatorial election in California.

Eser-o-rama! - Coming out is still cool. The media can't get enough of it. Now that Real Sports has aired, everyone is clamoring for coverage of Esera Tuaolo, the gay ex-NFL "gladiator." You've got Good Morning America, Connie Chung and the New York Times, let alone all the usual suspects among our vast sports media industry. A remarkably well-spoken Tuaolo gives the account in his own words to ESPN Magazine. College sports outlets also weighed in. Then there's the gay press, whose ecstatic reaction has included full coverage from OutSports.com (cha-ching, guys -- when are you closing on the venture capital?) and a rumored upcoming cover story in The Advocate.

As you might expect, much of the coverage has focused on the metaphysical debate over whether the traditional team sports (NFL, baseball, etc.) are "ready" for an openly gay male athlete. Dave Kopay, the go-to guy for comments on gay football, provided his viewpoint to ESPN, which also had its own look at whether the NFL is better or worse than it was in Kopay's day. This is a good question. If it is true that things have gotten worse in the locker rooms, I think it's related to the growing tolerance afforded in society generally. As everyone else becomes more comfortable with homosexuality, it puts more pressure on those few who have real hang-ups. Fundamentalist Christians and men involved in high testosterone occupations seem to feel especially threatened.

In the 1960s and 1970s, when Kopay played, I doubt many straight players felt compelled to think about the issue too much. There was no P.C. police to pounce upon an Allen Iverson or John Rocker when they made fag jokes. And of course those were the groovy ambisexual seventies ("yeahh, baby!"), when you did whatever felt good and didn't worry too much about whether you were The Gay by birth. Nowadays everyone knows that gays are (1) born that way and (2) everywhere. So you have to be nice to us -- under penalty of law. You have to feel a bit sorry for the poor insecure macho man. It must be terrible with all that cognitivie dissonance ringing around in their heads.

Also, for Ben, here's the L.A. angle to the whole made-for-TV story. Care to investigate the backstory on Joe Somodi?

Switcharoo - In what constitutes MAJOR news in my life, there is finally word of a Changing Rooms/Trading Spaces crossover show! I've no doubt that the episode will conclusively prove that Mindy Paige Davis Page can't hold a candle to the brilliant Carol Smille.

The Moose is Loose - The Baltimore Sun profiles a website devoted to the greater glory of the Montgomery County police chief.

Making Hay - The Voice's Richard Goldstein uses the passing of Harry Hay to lament society's failure to offer institutionalized education on gay identity, in today's NY Times. Okay, history not identity, but it's the same thing. I guess what he wants is a gay version of the "Black History Month" awareness campaigns at secondary schools across the nation. (As a communist and Radical Faerie, Hay must surely be one of Goldstein's idols.)

Undoubtedly Hay served the cause of gay equality well back in the day when it took a true revolutionary to begin the process for change, but one wonders if he can be held up as a model to today's youth. Moreover, the whole subject of one's gay identity is so tied up in personal emotional maturation that knowledge about the history of the gay movement seems almost irrelevant to the development of a young gay person. (I can remember feeling little connection myself to the activists who made the papers in the Reagan-AIDS years.) While gay history lessons might teach that there have always have been likeminded individuals, it seems more relevant for teens (both gay and straight) to see gay people around them now. Gay people they can relate to. GSA's help accomplish this task, but probably not as effectively as pop culture and out family members and friends. Let the universities keep offering their queer history electives -- I'll throw my support to MTV. Does Goldstein even have cable?

Free Winona - The refrain Welcome to Prison, Roxy Carmichael may soon be heard as Winona's shoplifting trial got underway this week. The case is being heard by a jury of her peers, including bigwigs from the Hollywood establishment. Most shocking of all? Jurors have been forbidden from visiting Saks Fifth Avenue for the duration of the trial! The LA Times tells us why we just can't get enough of celebrities trials. That's easy though...why doesn't get a little joy out of witnessing someone famous have to put up with the suffering and ridicule that normal people do?

Recaping the Recap - The NY Times reports on the behind the scenes drama at one of my favorite websites, Television Without Pity. The site lets you know that you don't have to be alone when watching a guilty pleasure and reassures you of your normalcy ("Oh thank goodness I'm not the only one who was incredibly distracted by her askew hairdo!" "I may watch hours of formulaic DIY shows, but at least I don't write 18 page recaps about each episode!") Plus, it's the number one place I can turn to if, God forbid, the TiVo goes haywire and neglects to record a favorite program.

There are volumes that can be written about fan/producer interactions, but I'm not quite prepared to delve into that topic in the blog yet. Potential thesis topic?

Safer Sex Made Fun! - "This is how we reach the young people" was the explanation for why a porn star went naked and frolicked with attendees at a St. Louis area seminar put on by a local AIDS awareness group, according to reports in the Post-Dispatch. Another in a long line of sensationalist stories about how your government money is being spent by the AIDS industry. Black Inches cover model Edgar Gaines (aka Sir Bobby Blake) spoke to an engorged -- ahem, engaged -- audience at an event put on by Blacks Assisting Blacks Against AIDS on July 10. It's not the first time the BABAA gang has run afoul of community standards.

I have to admit to being conflicted on this issue. On the one hand, I do appreciate the difficulty of getting safer sex messages out there -- and anyone on Madison Avenue will tell you that using sex itself to "sell" the message is clearly the most effective method. Spending tax dollars to fight an epidemic is a smart investment which pays off in lower social costs down the road. On the other hand, AIDS groups seem to think they should be allowed to do anything they want with "our" money, and I somewhat resent their "we know better" attitude. Even if I agree that their way is better. When you go on the public dole, you buy into a process of consensus -- it's just part of the deal, so get used to it. That may mean you don't get to pull the wildest stunt in your book, and if you can't play by those rules, we'll find someone who can.

Valley Speak - While I question the timeliness of this article on the attributes that make the Valley distinctive, it's fascinating to see the LA Times try to explain pop culture references like "818" as though it was news to its Southern California readers.

California Corner - To some, California is THE place for stereotypes to come true. (Valley girls, Marin County hottubbers, et al) But this World Series-inspired essay in the Weekly Standard on the ways in which Orange County and the Bay Area differ tries to elevate some slightly updated takes on the old regional stereotypes. (Link courtesy of Matt Welch.)

First of all, note that the picture of the perfect Bay Area resident is drawn much less clearly, without the defining elements of a spouse and a car afforded to OC. While there are elements of truth about the perfect Orange County resident, I fully agree with one comment made on Welch's site...a $4 million dollar home would NOT have any Ethan Allen furniture in it. I also doubt that this resident is a typical Angels fan. I feel no need to defend Orange County, but I do think it's important to mention that the population of the wealthy beach cities of OC is quite different from the working class, immigrant households in the inland cities. If you're going to poke fun, at least broaden the targets.

Political Machinations - Empire State Pride, the leading gay political group in New York state, has decided to endorse Gov. Pataki's re-election, according to a story in the NY Times. Apparently, it's their first endorsement of a Republican in a statewide race. Now, there are many in the gay community who find it morally repugnant to support the Republicans. This is especially the case in Federal elections, where a vote for moderate Republicans is considered, by some, to be a vote for Trent Lott and Tom Delay. Perhaps that's why groups like HRC find it easier to throw their support to the GOP in statehouse races. I wonder if any of our reader(s) would care to comment on gay votes in party politics.

Jocelyn Elders and the Law - Who writes criminal statutes like this crap, outlawing dildos and vibrators? And in nineteen ninety-eight, no less? The legislature of Alabama, of course. Thanks to courageous plaintiffs like the businesswomen who own Pleasures of Huntsville and The Saucy Lady, Inc., a U.S. District Court has had the chance to rule that upstanding citizens like you and I have a constitutional right to get off using artificial means. The opinion is written very broadly to recognize a "fundamental right to sexual privacy" among consenting adults. It doesn't take a genius to figure out where that precedent could lead. Somebody alert the One Million Moms.

Big Gay Nose Tackle - Over at Outsports.com, on their bloggish "Jock Talk" page, they're discussing the next high profile ex-professional athlete to come out of the closet -- 34-year-old NFL defensive lineman Esera Tuaolo. A famous Samoan-in-sports who has also tried his hand at a recording career, Tuaolo has singlehandedly ensured that most of the NFL has played with a gay teammate, serving nine years with such teams as the Minnesota Vikings, Carolina Panthers, Jacksonville Jaguars and Atlanta Falcons. Meanwhile, a certain sports columnist for the Minneapolis Star Tribune is furious that Esera gave his story to Ben's idol Bryant Gumbel (and the NY Times) after promising it to his hometown paper. (Don't you just love a bitchy blind gossip item?) Look for Tuaolo (you can't miss all 280 lbs. of him) to lead the GAPA contingent at the next San Fran pride parade.

Beamer High - With thanks to Adam, word that a school district in Federal Way, WA has voted to name a new school after Todd Beamer. What's the connection to Federal Way? (Looks like none). Why Lisa's husband and not some other passenger? (Because she made the most appearances on Larry King).

Gossip Hour - With the premiere of The Two Towers only two months away, Ben, I'd appreciate your wise insight on the rumors swirling about a secret relationship between Elijah Woods and LOTR castmate Dominic Monaghan (the Hobbit Merry).

The Mighty K.C. - As a member of the generation to whom grunge meant the most, I don't mind joining in the Nirvana nostalgia that is now showing up in the press. I recently caught VH1's own look back at the Seattle sound of the late 80s and early 90s. And then there's the new Nirvana song -- "You Know You're Right" -- which definitely recaptures a bit of the buzz that surrounded Cobain's breakthrough sound back in '91. Enough has already been written about Kurt's influence on my generation, so I'll just leave it that, yeah, he was one tortured soul, but he was also one very sexy tortured soul.

Reality Bites - Ben may not believe that I would watch Jerry Bruckheimer's Amazing Race 3 rather than Aaron Sorkin's West Wing, but the former is much more amenable to social viewing, my preferred way of watching appointment television. Besides, who can resist all that gay-friendly content? You know, with real gay people, not heavy drama surrounding gay adoption or some other political issue. (CBS's stealth might end up changing a lot more attitudes than NBC's polemics.)

Speaking of "realness," I came in for some criticism this weekend for my habit of watching a lot of so-called reality TV, and it got me thinking. Just because game shows like Survivor, AR3 and Road Rules involve interpersonal skills to a greater extent than Jeopardy, does that make them qualitatively different? Even Real World or Trading Spaces can be viewed like game shows if you think about it. Yes, the producers have come up with innovative ways to make the game more interesting by involving more of the contestant's character and personality traits, but should that be a reason for scorn? The lady doth protest too much, methinks. I'll take my reality TV any day.

Bride of Frankenstein - Holy makeover, Batman!

War Blogging - As a military science geek from a young age, I can't resist websites like GlobalSecurity.org's Attacking Iraq - Countdown Timeline. Lots of people talk about a war against Iraq, but these people know their shit. You've got satellite surveillance photos and in-depth descriptions of weapons, tactics and planning. (NY Times, eat your heart out.) Shows what you can learn if you're paying attention. On the peacenik side, here's a website with some fun posters.

Underrepresentation - Yes, yes, the number of gay characters on TV is in decline. But what we really need, to be really inclusive, would be more poor, unattractive transsexuals of color on TV! To paraphrase Margaret Cho, where's their parade? But since my life can be accurately represented through QAF's Brian Kinney, I'm not complaining.

Hello, Chelsea! - Our former first daughter demonstrates her burgeoning faghag skills by choosing to make her acting debut in the upcoming Ab Fab special.

Billions and Billions - Pablo pointed me to this BBC item on the re-opening, after 17 centuries, of the library at Alexandria in Egypt. I happened to catch a similar piece in April's Smithsonian Magazine. The story takes me back to adolescence, when I was a big fan of Carl Sagan's Cosmos series on PBS. The show featured a recreation of the original library both to depict the remarkable ancient knowledge of astronomy once catalogued there as well as portray the immense loss to civilization when it was burned.

The timing and symbolism of the re-opening are notable, since the rise of Al-Qaeda has reinvigorated a dialogue about the ability of Muslim nations to overcome their backwardness and rise to modern levels of education and culture. While the Islamofascists scapegoat the West and its "satans," some enlightened leaders of the Muslim world are engaging in the kind of constructive self-criticism that could help revive a part of the world that has failed to keep pace since Renaissance in Europe. It is a much more positive development than the sort of political correctness and moral relativism that typically ensnares Western elite debate about other cultures. However, the question remains whether such criticism can maintain itself in the face of authoritarian governments such as Egypt's, which has censored the contents of the new library. Some argue that the poor and illiterate masses of the Muslim world don't have the political maturity to handle such open debate, but without it, one wonders if they will ever advance. It's a chicken-and-egg problem that the West took many centuries to struggle through.

Swept Away - Will Madonna ever find acclaim in acting? Not when she chooses such dreadful scripts. In her videos, she seems capable of making fun of her own notoriety, so why not translate that self-effacing humor into a movie? John's buddy Camille Paglia weighs in to the LA Times.

Coverage You Can Count On - Intrepid reporter Geraldo Rivera has been reporting on the Washington sniper shootings...in between signing autographs at Hooters.

Commented one customer, "I thought it was pretty tasteless, considering the timing and the proximity to the scene of the killing. It was a circus atmosphere..." and no one would bring me another plate of buffalo wings!

And, anyone else feel their stomach churn over the choice of the word "spree" in the following sentence? "A spokesman for Fox News Channel in New York said the Hooters autograph session was only part of a wider Rivera autograph spree."

Celestial Discrimination - Yes, the whole "is Pluto a planet?" controversy has reached the editorial desk at the NY Times.

Duck and cover - Okay, so Falls Church is a little too close for comfort. I was returning from picking up Jamie in the District last night at about 9:30 pm when I spied the first Arlington cop car, lights flashing, at the 50 East on-ramp to the Roosevelt Bridge. Hmm, I thought. Then as we exited off the bridge onto Arlington Boulevard / 50 West, we saw that the other side of the highway was completely blocked by police, who had set up a roadblock and were processing every car through one at a time. At that moment, Jamie was on the phone with his dad, who had heard the story about the Baltimore arrest of an ex-Marine and assault rifle owner. Jamie's dad had just been saying that he had a bad feeling that the sniper would strike again to prove the cops had the wrong man.

I stayed up late to watch the breaking news story. It was interesting to see all the national outlets pick up the local DC feeds -- CNN was carrying WUSA 9, and MSNBC viewers nationwide got to watch WRC's wonderfully frumpy, phlegmatic police beat reporter Pat Collins. Jamie and I both know that Home Depot well -- a five-mile drive from our home, it's the closest hardware superstore to where we live, and the Fortune Chinese restaurant next to that parking garage has great Sunday dim sum. Knowing the location as I do, I'm inclined to think the shooter was across the highway in another stripmall where most of the stores were probably closed at the time. One of the striking things about last night's coverage was the diversity of the witnesses being interviewed. I didn't see a single non-immigrant or native English speaker among them. I guess it really is true that that part of Arlington/Fairfax is very multi-ethnic.

Everyone in town is on edge (including Tom Friedman), and we are wondering what it's going to take to nab this guy. Personally, I hope he tries to resist and they have to put him down. A long drawn-out trial and jail term doesn't interest me, even if the alternative means we never really know why he did it. Still, there are many bizarre angles to the story -- such as why so many shootings have occurred near Michaels arts-and-crafts supply stores. (There was one in the Home Depot shopping center from last night.) And until hardware stores became a focus, the Washington Post had people avoiding cheap, accessible suburban gas stations. Then there's the pervasive government surveilance story, commented on by the NY Times. Finally, the question has been raised whether police officials have attempted to engage in a secret coded dialogue with the sniper. Who knows? In the meantime, I'll just be following the advice of my title.

Dawson's Descent - Whether I liked The Rules of Attraction is beside the point. I admired the film’s production and casting choices. I was mesmerized by its cool camera tricks and non-linear narrative. And I recognized the fact that a movie about sullen, melancholic, disaffected youth is an attempt to break from the mainstream of Hollywood blockbusters like American Pie and Can’t Hardly Wait. These more typical teen movies feature the same kinds of themes and scenarios – parties, drinking, sex and love – but with very different results. You won’t find any happy endings in ROA, which paints a somewhat more realistic, but entirely bleak picture. ROA shows the lack of connection between people and the (intentional and unintentional) cruelty they can exact upon one another. ROA is the kind of movie you are supposed to appreciate because it breaks the mold by depicting thoroughly unredeemable characters and using inventive cinematographic tricks.

However, even with these genre-busting techniques being utilized, ROA still lacks the ferocity that made American Psycho both repulsive and campy. At least Sean’s brother Patrick showed some passion when he flipped out. James Van Der Beek’s Sean can’t seem to get very excited about anything. The Beek, desperately trying to break out of the Dawson mold (especially since his role in Storytelling was cut out) musters up some energy now and again, but for the most part, his character is devoid of emotion, which is an incredibly difficult role for any actor to play, but especially one of Beek’s limited range. To show anger, he gets a lot of mileage out of angling his head such that his giant forehead dominates the screen.

This movie, plays to the stereotype in My Big Fat Greek Wedding that WASPs are little more than emotionally-stunted drunks who are unable to find fulfillment. Even as the film goes out of its way to show plot development in a non-linear way, the characters lack any sense of future—no hope, no plans, no consequences. Sean unsuccessfully attempts suicide, but on a whim and with a half-assed execution. In the disturbingly energetic but emotionally dead world of a small Northeastern liberal arts colleges, everyone’s searching for their next high, where promiscuity is rewarded and virginity punished. Virgin Lauren ends up being raped at a party, but she seems resigned to the fact that it’s happening (and being videotaped). Therefore, the audience is more disturbed by the fact that the rapist pukes on her than the fact that he’s raping her. Ian Sommerhalder (who, I'm sorry John, desperately needs a haircut) probably does the best job of the whole cast, as a just-queeny-enough gayboy with the balls to go after hotties, even when they reject him.

Perhaps my favorite part of the movie was a lightening-quick summary of one character’s European vacation, featuring a non-stop voiceover and visuals quickly intercut. It is just one more example of the director’s fondness for using interesting distortions of time, scenes that run backwards, and depicting the same situation from multiple points of view. These tricks did maintain my interest in the movie even when the characters and plot didn’t, and they were better executed than in other films such as Go.

Apparently someone has already decided that a sequel would be a good idea. But I’m not so sure…I don’t think I could stomach another two hours with any of these characters, no matter how many visual gimmicks and storytelling devices the filmmakers could come up with.

Rules of Attraction: C+

Rugby Player on Board - Unfortunately, there was no opportunity for heroics last Saturday night in the party district on Bali, when ruggers again found themselves at the epicenter of an al-Qaeda terror attack. An annual "tens" tournament was being held last weekend on the resort island, drawing clubs from around the region. Ruggers being ruggers, the prospect of matches on Sunday did not deter players from going out to the bars and clubs that became the focus of the attack. Among the dead or injured were players from the small towns and large cities of Australia. Hong Kong's tight knit rugby community was also hit hard, and their dead and missing include one American. I know the international rugby community will be keeping all those affected by this dastardly act in their thoughts and prayers.

The Price is Right - A week late, the Wash Post considers bargain stays in the Caymans.

Attention passengers, please lower your window shades - The Cayman trip allowed us to catch up on a couple of in-flight movies we'd had on our list - the delightful About a Boy and the overrated My Big Fat Greek Wedding. (Travel Hint: Don't return the four-dollar headphones, and you can listen for free on the return flight!)

You don't have to like Hugh Grant to enjoy About a Boy, and how could I resist all the footage of trendy London locales? While the happy ending was perhaps a tad contrived, it was pleasant to watch Grant - stretching his acting skills by playing an immature selfish bore - try to relate to a feckless adolescent who is as ruthless in getting help for his mentally unstable mom as Grant's character was about bedding women. Besides, it's got a killer hip soundtrack by Badly Drawn Boy.

MBFGW, however, was just over the top. Maybe I'm taking it personally, but WASP families simply aren't that cartoonishly bland. And John Corbett totally phoned in his performance as Nia Vardalos's love interest. (I bet he was never expecting this little indy to make it so big, and he's got to regret not working at it harder. John, you blew it.) I found the premise bizarre also -- why on Earth would Corbett's character submit so meekly to the annoyances of his Greek in-laws. I didn't buy that there was any infatuation, so I guess he's just supposed to be a pussy. Even one tiny confrontation or argument would have at least made more sense and added a touch of interest. For a better exploration of the tumultuous family relationships of Greek immigrants, check out that steaming-hot Alex Dimitriades in Head On.

Not the Gayman Islands - The Caymans aren't known for the hospitality to gay tourists. Notably, in 1998 the tourism minister here refused landing rights to one of those all-gay cruises. The HRC got involved when it protested the action to the British Ambassador to Washington. This must have made Tony Blair's government in London mighty uneasy, since the Caymans are crown colonies, also called dependent territories, of the U.K. (Belize ended up hosting the poor passengers of the ghost ship.) So when Labour presented its so-called White Paper plan in 1999 to make the inhabitants of the crown colonies citizens, it set a requirement that the local governments bring their laws on environmental protection, financial regulation and human rights up to European standards. That included the repeal of sodomy laws.

The Caymanians balked at this imposition. They refused to repeal the law themselves, so in December 2000 the Queen's privy council did it for them. The council is a sort of supreme court / executive office under the British constitutional system, and it published the Caribbean Territories Criminal Laws (2000) Order, decriminalized sexual activity between consenting adults in private. The order applied to Anguilla, the Cayman Islands, the British Virgin Islands, Montserrat and the Turks and Caicos. I gather the way this works is somewhat like the U.S. Supreme Court striking down a state law. It may still be on the books but enforcement is illegal. (Too bad there isn't a privy council with power over Virginia laws. Britain, meanwhile, is so progressive on this issue that their "state department" actually issues country-specific tips for gay and lesbian travellers.)

Unsurprisingly, the council's action pissed off the Caymanians. A very seriously religious people, Jamie and I saw more 7th Day Adventist and Jehovah's Witnesses churches on the island than we've seen all year in the DC metro area. At last report (late Winter 2001) they were drawing up a protest petition and the Brits had agreed to listen to it. According to those reports, Britain was not expected to reverse its stance -- a position that "was made after long deliberation." The news archive trail then grows cold, although it seems no substantive action was taken on the petition.

For what it's worth, the Caymanians finally became British on May 21, 2002 (which was the point of the forced repeal in the first place). Among other things, this status allows them to carry a British passport and apparently entitles them to live or work in the UK and the rest of the EU and to visit the US without a visa. There are no more "colonies," just UK Overseas Territories. Perhaps the belated delivery of that promised reward may have helped them put bad feelings over the repeal behind them somewhat.

Caribbean Queens - Jamie and had a wonderful but all-too-short vacation in the Cayman Islands last weekend. The trip came together after US Airways propitiously offered discounted frequent flyer awards to the Caribbean, including Grand Cayman where my uncle's girlfriend Missy has been working since February. She had been urging the family to come visit, and we called her bluff. It turns out she knows everyone on the island, so she totally set us up with discounts on dinner cruises, scuba diving, and stingray snorkling. Best of all, through a friend of hers we were offered a three-bedroom oceanfront condo at 7 Mile Beach -- all to ourselves for just $125 per night. You just don't turn that sort of thing down.

We enjoyed uncrowded Airbus 321 service to and from the islands, and immediately after settling down into our spacious resort digs, took a walk down the beach to the Westin where Missy had arranged a sunset dinner cruise through her friends Red Sail Sports. The next morning we drove down to George Town for a resort course instruction on scuba diving. Jamie had never been diving before, but I knew from prior Cayman experience he would love it. After some brief training, we did a harbor swim from the beach out to the Wreck of the Callie then on to an awesome reef complex - 3,000 years old and 30 plus feet high off the bottom. Jamie didn't hesitate when asked if he wanted to go on the afternoon dive as well. This time we took a short boatride out to the Lobster Pot reef, which excellent swim-throughs and overhangs sheltering massive tarpons and other tropical fish.

Monday we made the hour's drive out to Rum Point, a great relaxing spot to get a frozen blended beverage and then head out on a glass-bottom boat to Cayman's famous Stingray City. (My big encounter there was with a green moray eel that mistook my camera for a tasty morsel.) Tuesday, the day of our return, we went for our last snorkling off the beach at Coral Stone Club. We again saw some great sealife, but the highlight by far was when Jamie spotted the young sea turtle.

All in all, it was a great trip producing some wonderful memories. Can't believe how quickly it was over.

P.S. Yes, they actually play Billy Ocean on the radio there.

Disco Fever - Are Democrats now the ones who are gaybaiting? Mike Taylor, the Republican U.S. Senate candidate from Montana thinks so, and the NY Times found some Dems who agree. The uproar is over an attack ad, produced for incumbent Max Baucus by a Washington outfit and partly paid for by the national Democratic funds, that focuses on Taylor's earlier career as the shady owner of a chain of beauty schools. (The ad is not shown on the Baucus website.) The ad includes footage from "Beauty Corner," a weekly television show Taylor did for a Denver television station in the early 1980s. According to the Helena Independent Record, the ad showed a much slimmer Taylor, sporting a full beard, dressed in a tight-fitting three-piece suit with an open collared shirt that shows him wearing a number of gold chains. Taylor is shown rubbing lotion into another man’s face.

"It made me look gay," Taylor asserts. Howard Kurtz thinks it just made him look like John Travolta, circa 1979. (ToMAYto, toMAHto?) Dems say it was intended to depict Taylor's violations of Federal student loan rules, but the choice of disco background music and the sex of the customer depicted certainly suggest there were other messages also being sent. The Times cites polls that say Taylor's numbers, already far behind Baucus, plummeted after the ad was shown. In a surprise move, Taylor decided to withdraw from the race.

At Tim's invitation, I recently attended a gay fundraiser for Jean Carnahan held here in Dupont, so I've seen how the money machine works. (If only I could shake that John Kerry booster I met there who keeps thinking he can get $5k out of me.) Now Baucus actually gets decent ratings from HRC. Given the overkill, one wonders if it was wise for Democrats to irritate its good donors in the community with this kind of b.s.

Polling Place - As noted by Drew and others, a recent Gallup poll shows that Americans believe that 20% of the population is gay. Rather than try to interpret the data, I have to say that I simply believe that Americans are terrible at math and can't estimate percentages very well. I don't think there's a deeper meaning about the Gay Mafia controlling the media or some other such nonsense as Drew muses.

Which leads me to this rather uninformed article from the Toronto Star. The author wonders, "Why are gay black characters imbued with high dosages of masculinity?" Clearly, he doesn't know any gay black men. In my admittedly limited (but obviously less limited that the author's) experiences, black men are generally marginalized in the white male gay ghetto culture. Therefore, to generalize, some gay black men simply reject the gay ghetto culture while others go in the opposite direction and celebrate their effeminate side. Who's the most prominent gay black man? Arguably, it's RuPaul. But the other side of the stereotype is accurately portrayed on Six Feet Under and The Shield, as part of the straight-acting "down low" persona. Granted, Keith on SFU is out, but I think the example is still fair.

Big Box - Only in Manhattan would a trip to a big box retailer seem like a journey to a foreign country. This NY Times article feels out of place when read from outside New York. The author beings with this ridiculous premise: "To see what the appeal is, I set out to throw a fancy New York dinner party, and I went to a big-box store to shop for it, to see if it held up to the hype." No one does ALL his shopping at Costco. Of course suburbanites shop at local grocery stores in addition to trips to warehouse clubs. You can't get everything you need for a "fancy New York dinner party" at a single location. One goes to Costco to purchase toilet paper, batteries and frozen chicken, and just might happen to get other gourmet supplies along the way. Consumers don't expect to find a full range of "fine ingedients" at Costco, and that's what makes the entire article seem pointless to me--revealing deep dark retailing secrets that 90% of the country not only already know, but experience on a regular basis at their local warehouse store.

Add His Name to the International Male Mailing List... - The Onion reports on the stereotype-busting actions taken by one newly out gay man.

Conduct Unbecoming - Most interesting story on a man who tricked(!) Marines into getting drunk and having man-on-man sex on videotape. Yes, extortion is bad and the plight of closeted military servicemen is difficult. But I think we all know why this story made the PlanetOut/Gay.com update...naked Marines.

I am most honored to accept your waste - So said the Japanese toilet to Homer Simpson in "Thirty Minutes Over Tokyo." Now read about the real thing in the NY Times.

Spongebob Squarepants - Gay?

(Also, oddly rehashed at the Gay Financial Network website).

TV Today - First, get the dish on Lily Tomlin's new role on The West Wing.

Then, read about progress for fat girls from the NY Times. I'm not sure that any show starring Andy Dick should be categorized as "groundbreaking." I'm a fan of Sara Rue, back from her Popular days (an aside: doesn't Leslie Bibb look like crap on ER?), but I'm not sure she can carry a show, regardless of her weight. And comparing anyone to Anna Nicole Smith is an insult.

TV Habits - A fascinating (to me) report in the LA Times comparing local viewership to the more widely distributed nationwide Nielsen ratings. It's interesting to see how viewership in the flyover states contributes to the decisions made by executives who live on the Coasts.

Hands, nose or fingers -- maybe - Just not shoe size. Size 8's of the world, rejoice.

Virginia park now taken over by gay sex - The Washington Times's headline speaks for itself. No, there isn't anything new in this story compared to last week's, already noted here. But it does sell newspapers. While the story is written in the classical style of a hit piece, I also can appreciate the sentiment of the 74-year-old who says "I don't understand those kind of people ... it's a shame that people can't use the park anymore." Yes, the Wash Times pushes all the inflammatory buttons and barely gives us gay men (sorry, homosexual men) any respect. (At least Frank Kameny got two small paragraphs at the end. Talk about a blast from the past!) Rather than give in to our kneejerk reactions, however, gays need to be smarter. We will win more sympathy not by complaining that "society's oppression makes us do it" but by denouncing public sexual behavior and agreeing that kids and neighbors can legitimately expect better of us. Virginia's public parks are not, and never will be, the right place to fight the battle for sodomy reform.

On the Bleeding Edge - Recent blog commentary has suggested Virginia doesn't live up to its billing as the Silicon Dominion, but I beg to differ. Exhibit A: Arlington just installed an intelligent pedestrian crossing system, with infrared activation, in our neighborhood.