Morning Meme: Meet The Lorax Who Speaks For the Trees, Wendy Williams Speaks the Truth, and Patton Oswalt Says "Make It Better"

Playwright Joseph Stein, responsible for turning a Yiddish short story into Fiddler On the Roof, has passed away at the age of 98. His career in the theater spanned more than 60 years. He supplied the book for Zorba, Mr. Wonderful and nearly a dozen musicals. Our thoughts are with his family and friends.

Uwe Boll, for no discernable reason, has filmed Blubberella, which the official synopsis describes as “The first female fat superhero …She will kick major ass – with her major ass …”

In Washington, a group of high school football referees are facing a two game suspension and disqualification from working the state tournament because they wore pink whistles to a night of games for a breast cancer fundraiser. They were all donating their checks for the night for breast cancer research, but the state authority says they violated the rules by not asking permission to deviate from regulation black whistles.

Alex Anderson, creator of Rocky and Bullwinkle, has passed away at 90. Rocky will lead a squadron of flying squirrels over the funeral.

The Parents Television Council is facing hard times, with a loss of donations over reported membership, and a court system that seems determined to limit the FCC’s power. The increasingly sophisticated viewing public is finding it increasingly difficult to muster outrage over things like CBS naming a show $#*! My Dad Says.

My mother is obsessed with not being hit by lightning. She won’t take a shower or talk on the phone in a storm.  I’m the type of guy who sits outside in a storm to watch it rage. Maybe mom is right, because it is possible to get electrocuted in the shower or even standing at a sink. But excuse my amusement at the exit point for the lightning on the one example.

Why does the web love cats? I think it’s a global surveillance system designed to pinpoint a weak spot in my defenses.

Madonna is opening Hard Candy Fitness Centers all over the world, starting with Mexico City. Because everyone wants their arms to look like Madge’s.

This Barbie Collector catalog that connectme tipped me to is ridiculous, from the Mad Men dolls to my favorite, the Bob Mackie that would make Cher blush. 

For those who still care, my outing of Sesame Street's Bert is now an international incident. The Independent notes we are "an influential gay blog" and then uses my name. I'm never passing a background check again, am I?

Gay down! Gay Down! ABC canceled The Whole Truth, costing us a gay of color. It's the first male GLBT character lost to cancellation this season.

Spurf has a lot of intel about the next season of True Blood, but none of it is gay. Which means he’s holding out on us, because this is True Blood, something is always gay.

Comedy Central has greenlit a pilot for a series adaptation of Waiting, which originally starred Ryan Reynolds. If I remember the movie correctly, testicles figured prominently.

FX has picked up Wilfred for a 13 episode series order. It’s an Australian import, and will star Elijah Wood as a pothead with a talking dog, Wilfred, as a neighbor. Wilfred is played by Aussie comic Jason Gann, who co-created the original. Wilfred is described as half Labrador Retreiver, half Russell Crowe on a bender.

Michael Jackson was the top earning dead celebrity in 2009, with more than $90 million, easily besting perennial king Elvis, with $66 million.

Log Cabin and SLDN have both filed their objections to the Ninth Circuit’s stay of Judge Virginia Phillips’ order against Don’t Ask Don’t Tell. Chris Geidner does a better job explaining it than I would, but basically they say only gay soldiers are being hurt, not the military. 

Patton Oswalt has written a rather unique letter to his young self, and other young guys like him as his own contribution to the It Gets Better Project. It’s really worth taking time to read.

Unsuspecting Ian Brennan, on his first regular TV writing job, is responsible for making Sue Sylvester as mean, nasty and memorable as possible. Where does he get his inspiration? Ryan Murphy on a bad day.

Mark Wahlberg is in discussions to star in Seth MacFarlane’s first feature helming job, Ted. Ted is an R rated buddy comedy about a normal Boston guy, except he made a childhood wish for his teddy bear to come to life, and it did. It’s now a bad influence on his adult friend, played by Wahlberg. It’s either brilliant, or awful.

The Glee Christmas album will be out November 16^th. The track listing is full of surprises, like a duet with kd lang and Matt Morrison. But beware, the listing also has significant potential spoilers for Kurt’s storyline. You have been warned. Follow spoiler rules in the comments, nothing in the subject lines. Play nice!

For the first time in history, the Department of Education is going to issue guidance to the nation's schools on their obligations under Title IX to protect GLBT students from bullying. The Assistant Secretary of Education for Civil Rights Russlynn Ali is issuing the guidance that may stretch traditional understanding of Title IX to the breaking point, but Chris Geidner at MetroWeekly explains that it's possible under the SCOTUS Oncale decision. But don't take my word for it, read his.