The Burke Family

Brian Burke's son Brendan, currently student hockey manager for the University of Miami, recently came out. His dad's reaction: "We love you." It's quite interesting when Burke's dad, currently GM of the Toronto Maple Leafs, says:

There are gay men in professional hockey. We would be fools to think otherwise. And it's sad that they feel the need to conceal this. I understand why they do so, however.

Read the full story on ESPN

The Absent Presence

Brian Croxall, a visiting professor who could not afford to attend MLA after the 41 (!) jobs that he applied for produced not a single interview, delivered this paper by proxy. It has now swept through twitter and is quickly becoming an MLA legend:

"I’m sorry that I can’t be delivering these comments in person, and I thank Prof. Cavanagh for her willingness to read them on my behalf. Hearing talks delivered by the person who did not write them is only slightly better than having to be the person who is reading a talk she didn’t write, so I’ll be brief. At the same time, however, I can think of no more appropriate way for me to give a talk in a panel titled 'Today’s Students, Today’s Teachers: Economics' than in this manner. After all, I’m not a tenure-track faculty member, and the truth of the matter is that I simply cannot afford to come to this year’s MLA. I know that we as a profession are increasingly aware of the less than ideal conditions under which contingent faculty members (and graduate students) labor while providing more than half of the instruction that undergraduates receive across the nation...."

Read the full paper on Professor Croxall's website

Dorian?

From the new adaptation of Dorian Gray directed by Oliver Parker. I really don't remember this scene from the book....

Poker Face

The UC-Berkeley men's a-capella group performing Poker Face. Pretty sweet.

Greek

Calvin and Grant, two gay frat-brothers, enjoying some homotension on Greek. It's so interesting that a network like ABC Family has decided to incorporate queer characters within a show that's basically intent on making macho fraternity culture seem more palatable and friendly. I'm not sure if it's a kind of cynical tolerance in order to snag more teen viewers, or a genuine declaration of interest in alternative sexualities on campus. Probably both. At least it's better than any of the gay stories on Touched By An Angel.

Inhuman Resources

The new cover is up for Inhuman Resources, which is available for pre-order on Amazon. Book 3 in the OSI series includes:

More goblins

Baroque art

Cats

Interrogation scenes

Something wicked (and winged) shambling towards Vancouver....

Politics of Disgust

Martha Nussbaum discusses her new book, From Disgust to Humanity: Sexual Orientation and Constitutional Law:

“What is it that makes people think that a same-sex couple living next door would defile or taint their own marriage when they don’t think that, let’s say, some flaky heterosexual living next door would taint their marriage? At some level, disgust is still operating.”

Read the NYT interview here

I first read Nussbaum's Love's Knowledge when I was an undergrad, and her discussion of The Symposium pretty much blew my world open. I still really enjoy her work, and like that she isn't afraid to wrangle with Judith Butler.

Colfer: "Yes."

Chelsea Handler interviewing Chris Colfer from Glee.

Vampire Diaries

This is what I've learned so far from watching The Vampire Diaries. If you are a teen girl, and have premarital sex, you are going to get killed by a vampire. Whether you're camping with your boyfriend, at a kegger, or taking pills...the outcome is always the same. A vampire's going to get you. The vampire will look exactly like Boone from Lost.

In actual fact, it is not a bad show so far. I can see how it's trying to capitalize on the tween readership of Twilight, but I also recognize that Stephanie Meyer's series is one of those meteoric events that crashes into a genre like YA lit, and it can't be avoided. The Diaries borrows more heavily, I think, from the cultural inventory of Buffy. Probably for that reason alone, I'm willing to keep watching. And then there's the faint hope that a young queer character might appear. Or one can always hold out for the 'pansexual vampire' trope, because, hey, the lead looks a tiny bit like David Boreanaz, and that could be good.

James Baldwin

Baldwin being interviewed after a meeting with Senator Robert Kennedy, talking about violent vs. non-violent protest tactics. "I want to get to your point...and I'm going to." The lighting of the cigarette is masterful.

Ellen and Lady Gaga

Lady Gaga on Ellen. I love at the end of the clip, when she says: "Be good to your parents!"

Ciao

I was procrastinating on Youtube, and found this video, marked "best gay kiss ever." It is from Alessandro Calza's 2008 film Ciao. Maybe not 'the best,' but definitely one of the sweetest ones I've seen in a while.

"And What About Love?"

The XBox game Dragon Age Origins features a surprisingly steamy sex-scene between the main character and (of course) an Elf. Where was this game when I was a teenager? There was definitely no gay sex in Crusaders of the Dark Savant.