Morning Meme: "American Gods" To HBO, Kobe Bryant Is (Un)Appealing, and Kurt Makes a Hat Work On "Glee"

It seems like once a month I get all excited about a Neil Gaiman project getting developed, but most of them never make it. I think it’s because his vision is just so unique things get expensive fast. But now that Tom Hanks’ company is developing American Gods as a series for HBO, I think this one has a chance.

Reader kimiwhit sent me this story about a volleyball player in Brazil who was subjected to homophobic taunts during an away game. He eventually came out publicly, but it's what happened next that’s so awesome. His team wore pink warm-ups , and the home crowd at the next game unfurled a massive banner and waved pink thundersticks the whole game. And I’m not sure what a “librero” is, but theirs donned a rainbow jersey in support. The pictures are awesome.

I know there’s nothing explicitly gay, but I also know some of you are closet iCarly fans. They just renewed the show for a fifth season.

The Delaware House just passed the civil unions bill, and the governor plans to sign it. I’m choosing to just celebrate the victory for now and not be one of the many blogs whining about second class marriage. It’s a step forward, people. We can always take another.

Kobe Bryant is planning to appeal his $100k fine from the NBA for using a homophobic slur. He says appealing it is standard procedure for all fines, even if you accept responsibility. I’m sorry, but you can do the standard, or you can be a step above, put on your big boy pants and pay the fine to show your millions of fans you know it was wrong. This f**king fag is still mad.

In this ridiculous battle over studios offering a “premium VOD” window for movies as little as eight weeks after they hit theaters, I’m actually siding with the studios, which I never do. As a consumer I want a choice in how I consume media (but $30 to rent? Crazy!). But would the major cinema chains really boycott the final Harry Potter movie in protest?

In Newsweek news this week, white knight Sidney Harmon, who bought the magazine, passed away at age 92, bringing into question the future of the publication, since he was underwriting it personally, rather than injecting capital. Which it needs, since the latest issue had only six ads in the entire magazine.

Sony has signed a deal with MGM to not only distribute James Bond 23, but also Bond 24, bringing the possibility of a quick turnaround on the series after the long quiet.

When I read this analysis over at Rubinville of the Out 50, I have to wonder, as I did years ago, what the magazine thinks it’s accomplishing by putting closeted, or worse, vaguely rumored gays on their list. Are they so hopelessly out of touch with reality that they think this is a net positive?

Snoop Dogg tried and failed, but now you can rent the entire nation of Liechtenstein if you have the money. In fact, there’s a new service that specializes in renting entire countries, villages and counties.

That budget deal that that nearly shut down the United States last week, and cut $38 billion? Yeah, the savings are more like $352 million. Can we elect people who are better at math?