I Heart Tarkan (And My Blog . . . Oh, And My Readers Too)

Dear friends, I'm still alive. I've just been terribly busy. Anyway, my poor, little blog needs some love and nourishment (i.e., words and images). Therefore, I've decided to give it lots of love and a high dose of Tarkan, an amazing performer known as the Turkish Prince. I heart this man so much. Who cares if he claims to be a heterosexual! He and Ricky Martin aren't fooling anyone. But that's an issue to be discussed later. For now, let's enjoy Tarkan's new single, Vay Anam Vay.

Celtic Women Rock

PBS is at it again, dear friends; they’re playing one of the I am Celtic Woman specials. They usually broadcast these specials during a pledge drive. You should consider making a donation to your local PBS station, if at all possible. Anyway, this ensemble of talented Irish women is amazing.



First off, they are lovely. Don’t you think? They’re lovely in a healthy and natural kind of way. Don’t get me started about Hollywood’s obsession with superficial beauty. Anyway, these gals are a breath of fresh air.



I enjoy watching them play the hell out of their instruments, dance around on stage, flirt with the male dancers (young Irish men, I presume), and sing like angels. These women have achieved a level of success that’s quite impressive. But before these Irish ladies dazzled us here in the states, we were captivated by the one and only Enya!



Ah, who doesn’t love Enya? She has a great voice, and she’s also very lovely. Seriously, where do they find these amazing Irish women? Ok, I have nothing against U2. I enjoy some of their songs, but this post is about female musicians. I’m sure Bono will understand. Moving on; one of my favorite Irish bands is The Corrs. Amazingly, this group is made of up 4 siblings—three sisters and a brother.



These women are beautiful. Andrea, the lead singer, is my favorite of the bunch. I actually went through a brief Corrs phase a few years ago. I enjoyed their music and even liked the stuff they did with Mutt Lange, although the song breathless sounded a bit Shania-ish to me.



I hope you enjoy these wonderful music videos. Celtic women rock!

The Media Giveth, The Media Taketh Away

Ok, I don't even know where to begin. This whole Britney debacle has been buzzing around the blogosphere for the past few days. It's old news, but there have been some new developments that we should consider. Even the popular Bravo bloggers Tom and Lorenzo blogged about Britney's unfortunate performance. Are the boys right? Is Britney's VMA performance going to destroy her career in the music industry? Who knows. This is the same industry that profited from the William Hung phenomenon and managed to get people to buy Paris Hilton CDs. I don't question it. It just is. So, Britney probably won't enjoy the level of success she achieved as a teenage pop diva years ago, but she'll probably be around for a while.

To be honest, I never understood the whole Britney phenomenon. Back in the day, she was worshipped by millions of fans around the world. Sure, she was hot, but she lacked the one thing that defines a real musical artist--talent! Yep, I couldn't understand her success. How could a girl with little talent dominate the music industry and popular culture the way Britney did years ago. Well, I think her success was due at least in part to the attention she received from the media. They were obsessed with her, discussing almost every aspect of her life on and off the stage. The media created Britney Speras. Well, now the tables have turned. The media types that declared Britney the queen of pop music years ago have now turned against her. And they delight in showing clips and images of Britney behaving badly.

Of course, you can't blame the media for Britney's unfortunate mistakes, but one can argue that they are at least partially responsible for creating our media obsessed culture. They, quite frankly, created Britney Spears. They also created Jennifer Lopez and the Spice Girls. In fact, I think Britney should have faded into obscurity just like many artists have done for decades. That's just the nature of the business. But, no! Viacom, MTV, and various other media outlets keep pushing Britney Spears on their young consumers. I blame the media for all of this mess.

I enjoyed some of her songs back in the day, but I am not a fan. I consider her little more than a superficial product of the entertainment industry. Ok, I will admit that I kind of feel sorry for her, but I'm not going to shed a tear for Ms. Spears. She's a very wealthy woman; she'll survive.

Fortunately, Britney has never been alone. She will always have the support of some members of the gay community. For example, Boy Shakira, an amateur drag queen, performed Hit Me Baby One More Time on America's Got Talent. It's very clear that Boy Shakira loves Brit.



And recently, the youtube phenomenon Chris Crocker defended Britney with a passion that one rarely sees expressed by sane individuals. Here's what Chris had to say about his favorite pop diva,



God, I love unstable gay men. I didn't think anyone could possibly top Boy Shakira, America's favorite amateur drag queen. Well, Chris' little outburst is certainly giving Boy Shakira a run for his money. Oh, and Chris is now getting a lot of (negative) attention for his little youtube rant. Fortunately, my beloved Seth Green has a few words for all you Chris Crocker haters.



American culture never ceases to amaze (and scare) me.

Flipping Out Montage

I put together a fun little clip for fans of Bravo's new reality show Flipping Out. The name of the song is My House by Tom Novy. Enjoy!

Crazy About Raúl

I'm sure most of you are watching the Tony Awards as I post this. Of course you are. How silly of me to suggest otherwise. It's about to end soon, actually. Anyway, the performances have been great so far. It kind of makes one envy those who live in the big apple--those lucky bastards. Well, I've always had my eye on one particular performer, Raúl Esparza. He lost the Tony Award for best performance by a leading actor in a musical to David Hyde Pierce. Now, even though I was kind of rooting for Raúl, I'm actually glad David won. He's such a good performer. However, this post is all about Raúl. I always enjoy seeing him perform on television; I haven't had the opportunity to see him perform live, which is a shame. Yes, this Cuban-American hunk is such a great talent. Below are a few pictures of Mr. Esparza and a little clip from the Broadway musical Company. I think I'm in love. Enjoy!

Spider-man 3, Symbiotic Organisms, and Kelp Shakes

Beware of Spoilers!

A lot has been said about Sam Raimi’s Spider-man 3—too many villains and subplots, as well as other problems. Yes, I think most would agree that Spider-man 2 is far superior to Raimi’s third Spidey film. And, as some have suggested, that isn’t surprising; how do you top Spider-man 2? Personally, I don’t think the film was a total disaster. I wasn’t blown away, but I was entertained. Anyway, I’m not going to repeat what others have said about the film. Instead, I’d like to talk about . . . hair! No, I’m not kidding.

In Spidey 3, Peter Parker comes into contact with some black substance from outer space. What is it? I have no idea. As MarryAnn Johanson would say, it’s just comic book science. I guess we don’t question this sort of thing. Anyway, this symbiote wraps itself around an unsuspecting host and turns it black (of course). It also seems to influence the host’s personality (and not in a good way). Yep, Peter wears his new black suit and loses himself in the process. He flirts with the dark side and does some pretty nasty things to his friends. So, I guess this symbiote increases aggression, decreases inhibitions, and makes the host act like an asshole. The dark side is one scary place.



Now, let’s talk about hair. Yes, the first thing Peter changed was his hair style. It was kind of silly, but it makes total sense. As Peter Parker, the good boy, he would usually go with a pretty traditional style—looks a lot like the Princeton, a very clean-cut look that screams White Boy. Ah, but the Princeton is not appropriate for the dark side. No! Peter needed a drastic change that would coincide with his new (evil) persona. So, he went with . . . bangs?!? Hm, I guess that’ll work. Maybe it’s comic book science. Who knows?

Tobey McGuire’s character isn’t the first person to venture into the dark side. In 1963, Jerry Lewis starred in the delightfully entertaining film The Nutty Professor. This movie was great. Lewis delivered a great comedic performance, and Stella Stevens was perfect as Miss Purdy.



In the movie, the clueless chemist, professor Kelp, created a potion that completely changed him from a nerdy scientist to an attractive playboy (Buddy Love). Interestingly, his little potion also made him a good dancer and musician. So, the symbiotic organism from outer space makes you an asshole, but Kelp’s wacky potion does that and more! I’d like to order a Kelp shake please, but go easy on the asshole. As in Spidey 3, Kelp’s transformation wasn’t complete without a new hair hairstyle. Kelp’s hair was clean-cut and natural; it was the kind of style preferred by conservative business men in the 60s (or so I've read). Buddy Love, on the other hand, loves hair products. His hair style was a classic taper that was messier, more modern. Honestly, it wasn’t much different, but it was effective. We got the point: Buddy Love is a bad ass.

Musicians are just as vulnerable as actors. Garth Brooks also flirted with the dark side (check out his pic).



In the late 90s, this Country Music Superstar decided to release an album as his alter-ego Chris Gaines. Yep, before Peter Parker experimented with bangs, Garth had been there and done that. I’m not sure what possessed him to attempt such a bold career move. Was it some black substance from outer space? Or one of those awesome Kelp shakes, perhaps? I have no idea. I’m sure his fans were just as puzzled as I am to this very day.

So, I guess the take home message is never underestimate the power of (superficial) change. When we’re getting ready to go out to a club, bar, social event, or whatever, we usually dress to impress. Some people spend hours in front of the mirror trying to achieve the perfect “look.” In our minds, that “look” conveys a message. Some people want a style that says, “hi, I’m single and looking for action.” Other styles convey a different message, “hi, I’m responsible and intelligent; please give me a raise.” Of course, these changes are superficial, and, most of the time, our behavior stays pretty much the same. To an outside observer, a hairstyle change doesn’t seem to do much. However, to the person who styles his or her hair before some important event, a change can energize and sometimes change our disposition. By the way, I’ve experimented with bangs and still do from time to time! But don’t worry; I usually go with a Ceasar or my version of the Princeton. I rarely go the dark side.

Old News: Christian Chavez is gay (and married)

Christian Chavez, member of RBD, a Mexican pop group, was forced out of the closet when pictures of his marriage to a man were posted on Latin Gossip . And shortly thereafter, he acknowledged on the group’s website that he is gay. Honestly, this wasn’t surprising—you can tell he’s gay just by looking at him (check out his picture above). What is surprising is that he wasn’t more careful. Will this have a negative impact on RBD’s continued success? Only time will tell. Apparently, the Mexican Catholic Church isn’t too happy with Christian’s actions. I, on the other hand, am very pleased that Christian decided to come out. This is a big step forward for gays in the Mexican entertainment industry. I wonder what Juan Gabriel has to say about all of this.