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Morning Meme: A Virus of Hugs. Plus, Coming Out Is No Illusion, but "Glee" On Broadway Was a Fantasy

Ryan Phillipe revisits Billy Douglas, Dr. Horrible to the big screen, and Rosie is back on television.

Nobody disputes James Randi is a smart man. A noted illusionist in his younger days, these days he spends time investigating the paranormal and the pseudoscientific. He’s also, as of yesterday, out at the age of 82. One at a time, in our own time.

I found out about James Randi coming out from Wil Wheaton’s blog. I’m obviously a fan of Evil Wil Wheaton on Big Bang Theory, but I even liked a young Wesley Crusher on Star Trek: TNG. Wil doesn’t do politics often, but this is the second time recently he’s spoken out on the subject of GLBT rights. I’d like to share:

I hope he's right. I hope that, one day, we will live in a more tolerant and enlightened world, where people won’t feel like they have to keep their identity hidden from all the ignorant bigots who reflexively hate them. Until then, I applaud people like James Randi who have the courage to speak up, and the greatest sympathy for those who feel like they can’t.

Robert Pattinson is not gay. He’s also getting a lot more media savvy and elegant about how he tells you that. I can appreciate the learning curve, and how much better he said it this time.

Billboard is a little confused: they can’t remember a cast recording for a student play ever making their charts. But University of Michigan’s student production of Me and My Dick has debuted at #11 on the Top Cast Albums Chart. They have some video. Frankly it’s adorable and reminds me a lot of Avenue Q in the approach.

Speaking of cast recordings, Glee: The Music, The Power of Madonna is available for preorder at Amazon.com, but doesn’t ship until April 20th. It looks like a couple tracks are mashups.

In other Glee news, it was reported in Playbill that they were negotiating for a Broadway version of the show. Sadly, two days later 20th Century Fox said “Whaaaat?”

As we know, bacon is nature’s perfect food. Here are 101 Bacon Products, though sadly many are inedible t-shirts extolling the virtues of bacon.

Diary of a Wimpy Kid, which I understand is now going franchise, came in at a healthy #2 at the box office this weekend at $21.8 million. While this put it behind Alice In Wonderland, it was still ahead of expectations, and even ahead of the Gerard Butler/Jennifer Aniston vehicle The Bounty Hunter. Kids breaking Jennifer's heart, and it's not even a tabloid rumor.

We’re at the nine month point since Torchwood: Children of Earth broke our hearts. They said they’d continue the story, but all we’ve heard are vague murmurs of an American Torchwood. Shouldn’t they be filming something by now?

 Parks and Recreations star Aziz Ansari is negotiating with MTV to host the 2010 Movie Awards this June. Didn’t they used to use, you know, movie stars to host the Movie Awards.

A school in Oregon had an outbreak of hugs, and it was getting serious. So they banned hugging. All hugging, called it a “virus.” The world is now a sadder place because of this.

Lady GaGa went on record to remind the world that we are born gay, we don’t choose this, and people that try and lay that label of choice on us are extremely destructive to our society.

Rosie O’Donnell is coming back to daytime, but she’s going outside the normal studio system. Nobody is quite sure how she’s going to sell the program, or if it will be her previous Queen of Nice format or a more political program. Assuming it goes forward, by next year we could have a gay majority on daytime chat shows, what with Ellen, Rosie, and Nate Berkus’ new show.

Nigel Lythgoe talks about the changes in the upcoming season of So You Think You Can Dance, Paula Abdul, American Idol, and his own judging table.

I am so not ready for the work week. It's 65 degrees outside and I want to be out there. Pete here shares my feelings.

Wanna go play?

Cory Monteith lives in Los Angeles now, so the good weather can't be why he looks like he's against the weekend ending.

Then again, he's Canadian, so the sun may affect him differently.

Presented without comment.

I've completely fallen in love with this bookcase concept. I'd love the style even if it didn't have the trick of collapsing into a column.

I think it's for sale. I don't normally see prices that high where I shop.

Tide with a touch of Downey.

Okay forget testing yourself to see "Which Sex and the City girl you are." I thought we'd have some fun with this How Progressive Are You? quiz. Mostly I'm suggesting it because I have a feeling that AfterElton.com readers can skew leftward the results for the whole sample. I tested fairly high - certainly higher than average.

Yeah, I'm flaming in more ways than one.

On Friday we met the newly popular Meme animal Hover Cat. Over the weekend Hover Cat must have mated with Saturday Night Live's Laser Cats. This is the result.

Neil Patrick Harris ran into MTV somewhere, and they talked about Dr. Horrible's Sing-A-Long Blog. It seems the sequel might be straying from the original concept and is headed to the big screen. I'm unsure how I feel about this, because I worry a studio will screw it up.

Why are blue people so popular these days? Na'vi, Smurfs, Blue Man Group? Where are all these azure people coming from? And is the body paint safe for the actors?

Ryan Phillipe (so very hot) was interviewed at SXSW, and he mentioned his next film is a remake of the western The Big Valley. The interviewer then asked him if he'd ever consider going back to soaps, where he played Billy Douglas, One Life To Live's first gay character.

Comments

Androjai's picture

wow

 

 I am 333!

O Liberté, que de crimes on commet en ton nom!

Liz's picture

does robert pattinson get asked that a lot??

does robert pattinson get asked that a lot?? him being gay or not, i mean...

 

NC Guy's picture

He must

Since he played gay and sometimes comes across as gay-ish, he must get asked that all the time.   Personally I'm unconvinced of the purity of his heterosex-ness-- not that it's any of my business whatsoever.
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FakeName's picture

I beat Ed with a stick

330 on the progressive test. Eat my ideological dust!
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RangerDeon's picture

Yes!

THe hover cat! I like it. The dog scared the crap out of me. BOTH OF THEM! If I see a tall dog walking towards me, you will see a Deonte-shape hole in me wall. No time for doors!!

I've always had a silent crush on Ryan Phillipe. He's a reeeeeeeal looker. 

The bookcase. Wow. I want. 

 

As for my Progressiveness I'm a mere 248. I'm not sure if that's good or bad, but it's what it is.

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Mia's picture

I'm extremely progressive

My result is 346/400, which makes me extremely progressive. The average American has a score of 209.5.

I actually don't consider myself progressive, I just believe in the same rights and opportunities for everyone.. sexuality, ethnicity, income, age, none of those things matter. We are all equal, and we should all have the same rights. And if that makes me progressive, then so be it. I don't mind;)

I'm a social democrat, and vote for Labour here in Norway. So you can imagine what I answered on those government spendings and tax questions..:)

Oh yeah, and Canadians are awesome.. sure, they don't get much sun up there (except for the Prariers), so I understand why Cory is a bit sceptical of the sun, I would be too. Well, actually, I don't see the sun a lot, since I'm from the rainiest city in Europe. It rains 300 days a year here, we get three times as much precipitation as Seattle. So yeah, I wouldn't mind more sun. Maybe I should travel to LA! lol.

 

 

Harvey Milk: You gotta give 'em hope.

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GayHermit's picture

Progressive Score

My progressive score is 287/400, very progressive.

My score might change if I actually understood/had knowledge of all the information needed to answer a few of the questions.  (Being a creative individual, my knowledge of the business/financial/taxes world is not the greatest.)  I also found a few of the questions to be "semi-trick" questions, as my view on one part was different from another.  {Yeah, I'm kinda fun that way. ;-) }

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Matt 's picture

Progressive Score

My progressive score was 293-400, very progressive. This was an interesting quiz, If I was better schooled in the tax and business areas, I might have gotten a higher score. I live in a state where we are taxed to death.

"LIVE! LIVE! LIVE!  Life is a banquet, and most poor suckers are starving to death!" Mame Dennis Burnside - Auntie Mame 1958 

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Budi's picture

Extremely progressive

340/400. It's very easy even for non-Americans. it's pretty much Democrats vs Republicans values. No cute animal photos this morning? Anyway LoL'ed @ Downey Tide. Lastly, I thought I'd be getting some news about Torchwood or the US remake....false alarm i guess.
Ed Kennedy's picture

You've hurt Pete's feelings

Pete thinks he's adorable, but you've hurt his feelings now. poor little Pete. ;)
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Matt's picture

Pete

Sorry Pete, but I think you might give me nightmares.
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Ladymacbeth's picture

Extremely progressive

 

361/400 Oh well, I do come from a socialist country where gays reign supreme and the traditional family is falling apart ;)

I must be brainwashed! 

 

 

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Samwise's picture

359 over here

...only I'm from the conservative Colorado suburbs. How the hell did that happen?
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dancingduck's picture

liberal country problem

I haven't even dared to try! The last time I did one of these questionaires (I am centre left in UK terms) I came out as a dyed in the wool socialist, and then when I answered with more right wing replies from a British point of view I came out as only slightly to the right of centre! Different countries, different hot button issues.

Ladymacbeth's picture

Yeah, I'm centre left too in

Yeah, I'm centre left too in Dutch terms. Though I'm not sure what that means for being progressive. We have progressive right wing parties and progressive left wing parties, but also conservative left wing parties and conservative right wing parties though conservative here is still pretty progressive in other parts of the world. 

We now have this new party that's extremely conservative and progressive at the same time. Weird.

dancingduck's picture

355/400

I decided to bite the bullet as it were, and I am not as progressive as I thought, but still. I think again it is different hot button issues, and all our parties are pro the NHS over here ('closest thing the British have to a religion' Nigel Lawson once said (a Tory)).

I am not sure if I understand your new party over here. It does seem strange that you have a far right party defending gay rights and women's rights!

Though progressives and conservatives do agree on one thing, where consenting adults are concerned, the role of the state stops at the bedroom door. It is just as progressives we don't want to walk in.

Matt's picture

Me too!

I got 361/400 as well. I think I would've been higher if it weren't for my slightly more conservative views on sex and violence in the media.
Rob's picture

my score

suggested that I was a neanderthal but my knuckes weren't dragging....yet.
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Saltpork's picture

I scored a 317. That should

I scored a 317. That should balance out all my friends who I sent the test to. Some of them are pretty far to the right. Yikes!
Joe's picture

Progressive

310. I can live with that!
NC Guy's picture

350/400 = borderline pinko commie

I've always thought of myself as extremely progressive, so glad the survey proves that out.  I'm proud of my 350/400-- and remember, guys-- I was born and raised and have lived in the American South my entire life.

Also, Cory Monteith is just way yummy, Hover Cat ROCKS, and I will totally fight Ed for those shelves. 

Now i have to get back to watching Me and My Dick which is over-the-top genius work.

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roliepolie's picture

Runner up I guess!

344/400
JC's picture

Progressive score

337 I'm a bit shocked as I thought I'd score higher... guess I'm not as progressive as I thought!

The bookcase is amazing... Wish I had one it would make moving sooooooo much easier! 

dback's picture

I was a 317 Extremely Progressive, too

Surprisingly, I didn't see any questions about drugs or law-and-order, which are two of the areas in which I AM somewhat conservative, which might have adjusted my score.  (If they legalized pot, I want it to be like alcohol and restricted to those over 21; all non-violent arrests that have been made for possession should be overturned and those people released, so that we can keep child molesters, rapists, and violent criminals locked away for life.  Get the seriously scary and violent folks off the streets!)

The hugging case is sad, as I teach in the Oregon public schools.  Unfortunately, as the article pointed out, this isn't really about hugging; it's about middle-school social dynamics and cruelty, and trying to use an intimate, affectionate gesture as a way to encourage ridicule, embarassment, stir up fights between people, etc.  I wonder what would've happened if they'd amended it so people would have to ask, "May I give you a hug?" and abide by what the potential recipient says, e.g., No Means No.  That might have take care of a lot of the issues.  (And no, I almost never hug my students, although, interestingly, I've had a couple students hug ME.)

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Alejandro's picture

256!

I definitely thought I was more progressive, but most of the questions just don't have a clear cut answer, and each case must be looked at particularly. Just "agreeing" or "disagreeing" more or less doesn't really say much. Anyway, I find moderation to be the best approach almost always, so I'm not sad at my score. In a way, being selectively progressive is more progressive than just being flat out progressive for the heck of it!
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PM's picture

330

330 - There were some tough questions there.
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Jared1080's picture

279 Very Progressive

I got a Very Progressive ranking.  I have mixed opinions on many issues.  Clearly as a gay man I am not going to favor religious institutions.  I also do not like abortion but I refuse to see it made illegal again.  I favor birth control. I support the death penalty but I would like to see extensive prison reform along with an end to the so-called "War on Drugs".  I say this even though I hate drugs and the effects they have on people. There are some things that are black and white and many shades of grey. I see myself as a child of the Enlightenment. Economically, I think we should have capitalism tempered by social justice.
Cufflinksandtie's picture

Speaking of bookcases

wuddnt it be luverly if it could fold up like that with all your Bruce Weber pictoporno and Rimbaud poetry in it?  Of course the point of bookshelves is to show just how much Jackie Collins and Danielle Steel you have actually read.

For connoisseurs of  shelvage, I recommend watching GTST and the amazing sets, including of course the cupboardage in the background of Lucas' home- quite Dutch De Styjl.  

And does anyone know where I can get a copy of that enlargement  print of Napoleon in the entry hall?  It's so gay.

 

 

Aime-mois moins, mais aime-moi longtemps

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Lazycrockett's picture

Dr. Horrible.

I'm not sure Dr. Horrible would work on the big screen.  Hell I don't know that it would even work on tv.  Honestly If you aren't a big time fan of Joss and what he does you aren't going to drop $10 to see a niche movie.

 

321/400 btw.

Metabaron's picture

Eat it!

155/400! Woohoo!

 

Just kidding. I got a 210/400. I just don't believe illegal aliens should get free health care or government services. They don't pay income taxes (and anyone who wants to challenge that can go to Hell because you need a social security # to pay your income taxes. No one would voluntarily pay income taxes. And if they did go to the trouble of illegally getting a fake SSN (by most likely stealing someone's identity) then they're breaking the law.)

 

N.'s picture

I got 251. I answered

I got 251. I answered neutral on a lot of the questions, just for the fact,  that while I may not agree with the statement 100% there is part of it that I did agree with, just not in that way it was worded.
Libertylove's picture

346

I got 346 - Extremely Progressive. I actually thought I'd score higher. I think it's funny I'm this progressive when I come from a very conservative area of the country and my mom hangs on every word Glenn Beck utters. 

 

Yay for progressivism!  

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sandy's picture

Quiz SCORE

I got 326/400 and that  is extremely progressive, which I think I am. I wonder what the average score for Canadians is, since I am a Canadian myself. 

 

chip's picture

348 in Virginia

I've often felt like a fish out of water in my beloved commonwealth of Virginia.  I guess this is one more reason why.  And I'm one of 5 people in Virginia who is disappointed in Obama because he hasn't been liberal enough.
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Gen of montreal's picture

360/400

I always find it funny that what most Canadians and Europeans would consider "normal" such as universal healthcare is regarded as a liberal abberration in the US. But, then again, I'm from the liberal part of Canada (Québec)
Madeleine's picture

316/400

but I'm not sure that's fair since the questions are geared to Americans not Canadians, plus I didn't understand them all.

It's no secret I'm in love with Robert Pattinson, though I'm not as crazy as those girls mentioned in the interview. But I will admit that he is an awkward person, and I think that's where a lot of these rumours come from. I don't think he's homophobic, but just found simulated sex scenes weird. Honestly, his awkwardness makes me love him so much more. *sigh* Don't care if he's gay or not. Also, I found that interview itself badly done.

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

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

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