Ask the Flying Monkey! (November 16, 2009)

"ours kept looking sillier and sillier"

But that's what made the Two Gay Guys vlog so adorable! (That's what you were shooting for, wasn't it?)

Count me as one of the many fans of the vlog, and while I miss it, I guess it's better keep you and Michael together. :-)

 

Thank you to Eliot for asking, and to you Brent for the honest reply.

I loved the "Two Gay Guys" video blogs, and was wondering why we hadn't seen any for a while. But if they were causing so much trouble, I can understand you not wanting to make any more. There's enough stress in the world without adding to it.

The Valentine's Day blog was hilarious. I really loved that one, and remember reccing it to my Live Journal friends. I laughed out loud watching it again just now.  At least you'll have some great memories when you look back on them.

I'm going to disagree a little bit with your disapproval of Dancing With the Stars. If they wanted to do a season of same sex partners, that would be one thing, but to mix a same sex couple with opposite sex couples means that one couple will be judged on different criteria than the others. This isn't discrimination, as gay participants have been welcome from the beginning of Dancing. And an interesting side note on gay friendliness from Dancing, Cheryl Burke Dance offers classes specifically for same sex couples and is referenced on the California Dreaming Dance Sport Festival (a same sex dance competition) website as a recommendation for beginning dancers who would like to learn at a competition level.

I have been a fan of Madonna since I first heard Holiday on the radio. I have watched her foibles and shocking behavior and took it with a grain of salt. I agree that perhaps she isnt as talented as Cyndi Lauper, whom I also have been a fan of since the early 80's. Cyndi is no BS, but I think Madonna is a lot of BS, to make up for the lack of the level of talent of other people. I have said for years that Madonna is a great business women and a fabulous marketer of her product, which is herself and her excesses, ie: the sex book!  With that said, she puts on a great show. I must admit though, that I havent been super excited about any of her albums since Ray of Light came out when I was a senior in college! "LIVE! LIVE! LIVE!  Life is a banquet, and most poor suckers are starving to death!" Mame Dennis Burnside - Auntie Mame 1958 

My choices (aside from those you mentioned already, and in no particular order):

F.W. Murnau - Sunrise (1927)

Sergei Eisenstein - Battleship Potemkin (1925)

Julian Hernàndez - Broken Sky (2006)

Nicholas Ray - Johnny Guitar (1954)

Luchino Visconti - Death in Venice (1971)

Edmund Goulding - Grand Hotel (1932)

Charles Laughton - The Night of the Hunter (1955)

Marcel Carné - Children of Paradise (1945)

Mitchell Leisen - To Each His Own (1946)

Gregg Araki - Mysterious Skin (2005)

They started filming this monday and they will finish in february, that's why Christina's album was pushed until next year.

Those Who Love Me Can Take the Train (Patrice Chéreau, 1998)

 The Night of the Hunter(Charles Laughton, 1955)

 Un condamné à mort s'est échappé (Robert Bresson, 1956)

 Record of a Tenement Gentleman (Yasujiro Ozu, 1947)

 **** /Four Stars (Andy Warhol, 1967)

 Good News (Charles Walters, 1947)

 The Leopard (Luchino Visconti, 1963)

 Salo (Pier Paolo Pasolini, 1975)

 If. . . (Lindsay Anderson, 1968)

 The Last of England (Derek Jarman, 1988),

I may just have a bias, but I seriously loved Bryan Singer's X-Men movies! They're fantastic movies to begin with AND Bryan manages to contrast the mutants' civil rights fight with that of the gays today. :)

Regarding the son's freaking out because Mrs. Doubtfire was standing while peeing. I wouldn't expect a child of that age to comprehend what a transgender person is.

Lucy Lawless is absolutely right to stay away from the black dye-- it's absolute murder on your hair both to try to get it out or continue re-dying it.

It seems to me that female celebrities become gay icons by being over the top, unapologetic, and triumphing over adversity. Madonna still certainly has the first two covered, but I think the only adversity she faces now is created of her own obvious desperation.

"Go, or go ahead and surprise me."  -- Rufus Wainwright

Whenever Chris cried on "Project Runway," I'd want to hug and then feed him.

"Go, or go ahead and surprise me."  -- Rufus Wainwright

Glad to see you included Cukor although Born Yesterday is one of my least favorite films from him.One to add to the mix is my favorite film of all time,namely La Belle et la Bete by Jean Cocteau.Not only is the director gay but it stars his longtime lover Jean Marais.Pure Magic!

Hated her in '85, hated her in 95, continue to hate her today. She's a semi-talented dancer who slept her way to fame (just ask Jellybean Benitez)and used her impressive marketing savvy to keep herself there. She can't sing, and the only entertainment her music provides is due to the talents of the producers of her records. She is a gay icon because of the appeal of her dance music, and if you actually listen, it is the instrumentals that are repeated ad infinitum in the dance remixes with some heavily doctored vocals inserted from time to time. Singers sing in tune, musicians produce music. Madonna does neither. Madonna is a marketer and a bitch. Some admire that; I do not.

I believe Stephen Daldry describes himself as a gay man who just happened to marry a woman. Different than bisexual.

Whatever star appeal is, Madonna obviously has it, and as long as she's willing to innovate and work with producers like Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo, she may just be around forever. Personally, I've never bought one of her records, although I always look forward to her videos.

As for the lists of films by out directors, Joseph and David's lists are both masterful. Vicsconti is my personal favorite, especially "The Leopard" (who can resist Alain Delon in anything), with "If" a close second. Third for me, though, would have to be "Romeo and Juliet"--the Zeffirelli version. There has never been a more beautiful movie. Amazingly, all these films are now at least forty years old.

Finally, however, I must say, Brent, "the movie version" of "Hairspray" didn't star John Travolta: it starred Divine. And it's one of the best.movies.by.an.out.director.evah.

"The mountain has wings."

Is he out?

Maybe in the 80's Madonna wasn't overrated...but now? hmmm.....yeeah.

i was not born yet/too damn young to even remember the craze....but today, i really am like "retire dammit" because i feel like she is trying wayyyy too hard. it's like she is trying to recapture her youth or something. enough lady!

add to the fact that it's annoying that she seems to convert everyone to kabballah or whateverthehell it is called. whats with celebrities and converting people? maybe she and tom cruise could- oh i'll go rant to myself about this.

I never thought madonna was a gay icon. i only know about it when i read about it here. other than that, i never got the sense she was one.

I liked Madonna a lot, back in the 80's, and even some of the 90's. She lost me after a certain point, and now I just wish she would go away. She tries way too hard now to be relevant (making out with Britney at the VMA's) and the whole fake British accent thing REALLY bugs me!!

I too was in the camp of Cyndi having way more talent and way more staying power when they both first came out. Well, at least the talent part was right. Madonna clearly has more business sense, and the ability to adapt herself. So, I do respect that, but enough already!

 

"Open up your mind and then open up your heart. And you will see that you and me aren't very far apart." - Blessid Union of Souls

"...the history of women in pop music can pretty much be divided into two periods: Before, and After, Madonna." (She was #8 on the list, BTW.) Madonna's voice was thin and chirpy on her first couple singles ("Lucky Star" "Borderline"), but started to warm up and mature with "Holiday." By the time she unleashed the socko singles from "Like A Virgin" (the title track, "Angel" "Material Girl" "Dress You Up") and two flat-out brilliant movie songs ("Into the Groove" "Crazy For You"), she'd become unstoppable. Yes, her albums have always been a tad uneven (suprisingly, "Like a Virgin" "Ray of Light" and--who knew?!?--"Erotica" seem the most consistent), but no woman in pop--not even Mariah Carey--has had more of an impact with regards to singles and dance music. In terms of gay impact, no artist before Madonna lassooed the gay community as a political force (Garland made us cry, Streisand thrilled us, Midler made us laugh) and exploded the whole idea of gender, queerness, etc. (Annie Lennox tried, and had a better voice, but she was a little too chilly.) Remember Madonna's quote in the early 90's about how every straight man should have another guy's tongue in his mouth at some point? Remember the ACT UP footage in "Truth or Dare"? Remember her speaking out about AIDS, about gay rights, about women's rights, about busting taboos? Lauper had a fine voice, but after her first two albums her impact dribbled away; Madonna, in the words of Henry Rollins, keeps working--while the world eats, sleeps, etc., she's still working. So she's a Leo who had to burn some bridges and make some enemies to get to the top and stay there; so what? Is there another woman of the past 25 years who's done what she's done and has consistently gone back to the gay community time and again, taking us on the ride to the top with her? I'm waiting for a name, besides possibly Cher. (She's also, unlike fellow Leo diva Whitney Houston, kept a famously disciplined performance regimen and not skipped/cancelled shows, shown up late, become publicly addicted to drugs, abused her body and voice, etc.) The pop world is littered with Madonna imitators and rip-offs, some very talented (Xtina, Lady Gaga), some even less than Ms. Cicconne (Britney), but there is only one Madonna. (Maybe we should be grateful; two might start an army, or Armageddon.)

I'm glad someone else mentioned George Cuckor, as "The Women" "The Philadelphia Story" or "A Star Is Born" would all be very high on my list. Poaching from others' comments and my own taste, I'd also choose "Billy Elliott" "Sunrise" "Mysterious Skin" "Far From Heaven" "Milk" "West Side Story" (co-directed by Jerome Robbins), "Cry-Baby" "Hairspray" (both versions), "Kinsey" "Dreamgirls" and "Gods and Monsters" (all Bill Condon, that brilliant thing), "Gigi" and "Meet Me In St. Louis" (Vincente Minnelli was bi), and "Rebel Without a Cause" (so was Nick Ray).  And Pedro Almovodar is essential viewing.

TBH, it makes me angry when people try to "redefine" the meaning of words the don't understand. I actually got into a fight with a straight guy I used to be good friends with over his use of the f-word. He claimed he had a "right" to use it, and that I shouldn't be offended he "didn't mean it that way." That fact is, like you said, its a hurtful word to a group of people (the LGBT community) and thus is not a straight guys decision whether or not its appropriate to use to mean "lame" or "stupid". It typical straight white men thinking the run the world and there freedom of speech is more important than respect of oppressed groups.

But why is it that pretty much everyone agrees its inappropriate for a white person to use the n-word, but straight people still claim they have the right to use the f-word however they please?

On another topic - Madonna has annoyed me for quite some time. She's not really that impressive to me and I agree she seems like she grasps desperately at silly attempts to shock people. But I lived less than two years in the 80's, what do I know. ;)

 

"I paint objects as I think them, not as I see them." - Pablo Picasso

I'm with you on Madonna, I'm not one of those who think she is a great artist. Some good songs (mostly the early years) but nothing I would classify as great. The only Madonna album I own is her new 2CD Celebrate,... and only because someone gave it to me - in order to reverse my opinion. I haven't. I feel the same with Whitney, and Janet Jackson. My taste in female singers is pretty eclectic. One of my favorite artists is Jane Olivor who I consider better than Streisand. I saw her many years ago at the Wolf Trap in the Washington DC area. Recent artists I've found interesting have been Joss Stone and believe it or not Lady Gaga. One of my favorite female singers is in a group and her voice is magical. Janis Siegal of the Manhattan Transfer. She is one of those who could sing the phone book and make it sound like it was a masterpiece.

She was fine in the 80's. Since the 90's, she's been trying waaaaaayyyy too hard to be relevant.

Time for someone to take her act to Vegas, and put on a nostalgia show for those of us who grew up in the 80's. Her attempts to remain relevant just make her look really, really sad. To everything there is a season. Hers ended years ago.

because -- as no one has yet pointed out -- she publicly scapegoated herself in the 90's as an unapologetic advocate of sex -- and of fluid pan-sexuality. Much homophobia is rooted in fear (often hypocritical) of sex itself. As an advocate of sexuality, Madonna rocked the U.S. to its still-puritanical roots. And for that, she moved beyond the sex-doll costuming of Cher and the bawdy burlesques of Midler and Streisand, she is a unique icon.In the 2000's, I think "Hung Up" and "Give it to me" are two of her strongest dance singles in years.  '

So you may have issues with Madonna, but I lover her still. As she sings,

"I'm not sorry 

I'm not your bitch don't hang your shit on me."

When I think of Madonna I picture this extremely short, dark haired italian chubby girl surrounded by all these model-like, long-legged blond babes at some NYC audition in the early 80s. Not real talent but with a lot of drive.

She definitely defied her destiny and I respected her for that. Is she too busy these days "trying to save the world" instead of doing the best music she can? maybe. But it's her her life. her choice.

In addition to those already mentioned there are a number of directors I could see on the list: IRVING RAPPER (Now Voyager) My all time personal favorite. ANTHONY ASQUITH (The V.I.Ps) MITCHELL LEISEN (Lady in the Dark) VINCENT MINNELLI (Gigi) You know he was Liza. CHARLES WALTERS (The Unsinkable Molly Brown) LUCHINO VISCONTI (Death in Venice) NICHOLAS HYTNER (The History Boys) BILL SHERWOOD (Parting Glances) DON ROOS (The Opposite of Sex) JOHN CAMERON MITCHELL (Hedwig and the Angry Inch)

 

That's all I am saying... 

INSIDEGUY

I came to become a fan of Madonna in the early 1990's. I was still a bit too young and not musically aware of her when she burst onto the scene in the mid 80's. So I came in around the Erotica era and all the controversy of the Sex book. I admit all that is partially what got me interested in her. But honestly I liked her music and videos as well. I remain a fan of hers today.

I have pretty eclectic tastes in music so her dabbling in more R&B infused beats of Hard Candy was fine with me as R&B is a staple genre for me. The dance inspired Confessions on the Dance Floor was fun for me as well. The techno/trance inspired Ray of Light remains her best work to date. Do I think she tries way too hard to remain provocative and relevant in today's media? Sure do. I wish she'd just sit down and shut up most of the time. I don't agree with much of what she says nowadays. But despite all that I still enjoy her as a music artist.

As we all know the music industry is not completely about talent. It is about marketability, talent, drive, business saavy and star quality. Madonna may have only a modicum of singing talent but I think most can for sure say she has plenty of the remaining ingredients that has taken her to where she is and are why she is still around (though not nearly as big as she'd like to be). I think her voice has gotten stronger over the years. I don't think anyone will ever say Madonna is a great singer. She's an OK singer in my book. I think she sings better than Janet Jackson. But I still love Janet as an artist! What Madonna has done in her going on 3 decade career I don't think should be diminished. Love her or hate her you have to acknowledge that she paved the way for female artists.  She  defined her career on her own terms. I think many a music artist would be happy to have even half the career that Madonna has had.  

Once upon a time I died.  And like my namesake I got better.

Thank god I'm not the only one who doesn't like her! I never really understood why she was a gay icon, and never really liked her look, style, persona, or image. To me she is the epitome of how you don't have to have (much) talent to be popular. But people always give me this shocked look when I say I don't like her (same thing when I say I don't like the Beatles)

Artists like Madonna, Justin Timberlake, Britney Spears are all examples of what great marketing can do for an artist of average talent. Are they bad singers? No. But would they win a competition? I'd say no. And I'm not saying this is a bad thing, as they are still great performers and entertainers. Bryan Adams is my favourite artist of all time, not because of pure voice talent, but because of emotional and lyrical appeal.

True talent, like Josh Groban, Michael Buble, Taylor Swift (though her true talent is songwriting, not singing), Christina Aguilera, JC Chasez, Kelly Clarkson, is hard to find. Personally, I am way more impressed with the performers on Canadian Idol than I am of some major artists.

And then there are those frustrating artists who have tons of raw talent but rank 0 in terms of artistic merit. I'm talking about Mariah Carey, Jessica Simpson, Celine Dion (I don't really mind her but most Canadians seem embarrassed of her).

As for Mrs. Doubtfire, I haven't seen it in a long time, but I'm willing to sort of forgive it on the basis that it was along time ago, and that as trans issues have beeb talked about more, these actors might have made different choices as to the movies they made. Sometimes I just can't stop loving a movie despite its flaws. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer is horribly sexist, but still my favourite Christmas movie of all time.

 

You too can be saved by the blog! www.savedbytheblog14.blogspot.com 

I may be straight, but I'm not narrow.

What happened to the politco vlogs you used to have on here? I do not remember the mans name but her worse glasses.

As to Hitchcock being gay... I think there is more evidence to the contrary and I personally never think of him anything more than straight.

Among gay directors ,let us mot forget the works of frenchman Francois Ozon : sitcom (is my favourite), 8 women etc...