The Malcontent

Anderson Cooper Feels the Truth With Oprah

Returning both to his roots and the story that made him a household name, Anderson Cooper once again graced Oprah's Court this morning in a quasi-reunion with fellow Channel One alumn Lisa Ling. The pair followed up on the victims of Hurricane Katrina six months after the storm, finding people living in conditions little better than Third World refugee camps.

Here, Anderson has wisely decided on solid reporting that speaks for itself, rather than the unmuted hysteria and rumor-mongering of his original, error-filled Katrina freak outs - where unchecked emotionalism became the new objectivity in national media circles.

It's a depressing, poignant piece of cross-marketing (hey, folks may be homeless, but the boy does have a book to sell, people).

The second half of this clip is a bit of Malcovision schizophrenia. I was busy tapping away at work while recording, and I inadvertantly caught the intro to today's View. Look, it's a bunch of Chippendales dancers prancing around in Vegas. Enjoy the beefcake as a tonic for the soul destroying Katrina footage.

As Star Jones and the others tease producer Bill about his stripper credentials, I couldn't help but wonder if her questions might better be directed towards her nominally hetero hubby, Al "The Stallion" Reynolds.

Video clips deleted at demand of Jeffrey Friedman, attorney for Oprah Winfrey

Rooster, Bring Me The Labor!

At last, the sinister orphanage lobby's monstrous influence pays huge dividends.

Efforts to ban gays and lesbians from adopting children are emerging across the USA as a second front in the culture wars that began during the 2004 elections over same-sex marriage.

Steps to pass laws or secure November ballot initiatives are underway in at least 16 states, adoption, gay rights and conservative groups say. Some — such as Ohio, Georgia and Kentucky — approved constitutional amendments in 2004 banning gay marriage.

That sound you hear is a scotch-swilling Miss Hannigan cackling triumphantly as her marionettes on the religious right dance to her drunken tune. Children need to be raised by one mother and one mop bucket.

I was adopted by heterosexuals (I assume. I don't know and I don't want to). Given the kind of parental crazy I've been subjected to, a gay couple really couldn't have been much worse.

Out Oppressing, Leave a Message

I thought this was an interesting question: "Would the rich, gay white men please stand up?" Bemoaning a lack of interest in activism by wealthy, pale-faced, XY afflicted benefactors:

Observers within the LGBT community attribute the political anemia to apathy, factionalization, and the scarcity of openly gay, wealthy white men to kickstart a genuine movement beyond the bars and cocktail parties.

“The only leaders are the lesbians and drag queens,” says Sam Sanchez, who in late 2004 moved back to his native San Antonio after 30 years of working in corporate and gay media in New York, San Francisco, and Fort Lauderdale. He recently started a website, QSanAntonio.com, for the local LGBT community. “Gay society is politically invisible. There is not a critical mass of gay men willing to step forward.”

What I found amusing is the article answers its own question:

Graciela Sanchez, a lesbian and director of the Esperanza Peace and Justice Center, which combines culture with social justice and politics, says she felt frustrated that the GLCC didn’t understand the connection between sexuality, race, class, and overarching social-justice issues. “Homophobia has the same roots of oppression,” Sanchez says.

Good grief.

Wiretapped? Here's a Quarter to Call Someone Who Cares

Bill Maher began a new season of his HBO show "Real Time" on Friday.

His cast of characters included Sen. Russ Feingold (D-Wisc.), Fred Barnes, former Coalition Provisional Authority spokesman Dan Senor, comedian Eddie Griffin, and everybody's favorite crazy aunt in the attic, Helen Thomas.

The interaction among the panel was mostly lame, although I did prick up my ears when Helen essentially said it was fruitless to try to deny nuclear weapons to Iran, and Griffin furthermore argued that to do so would be racist.  (I know, it doesn't really compute with me either.)

But I thought Maher was at his best when he counseled Americans to simmer down a little about who might or might not be wiretapping them.  Most of us, it seems, are lucky if we're interesting enough that anyone wants to pay attention.

[Watch video – 3:32, WMV format, high bandwidth]

[Watch video – 3:32, WMV format, low bandwidth]

Soupy Gayness

There's gotta be something very meta about doing highlights from a show that itself is about highlights.  But such are the posers we like to kick around here at The Malcontent.

The most recent edition of "The Soup" on E! followed the lead of the gay blogosphere with a round-up of all things "Brokeback."  You'll probably already recognize some of the clips from MalcoVision.

Then the talk turned to "balls" and "7-inch diameters," so how I could not include that too?

[Watch video – 3:04, WMV format, high bandwidth]

[Watch video – 3:04, WMV format, low bandwidth]

Weekend on the D-List

If I were a queen with money to burn, I'd pay a princely sum to ingratiate myself with Kathy Griffin in a pathetic attempt to become one of "her gays."

But I'm not, so instead some other lucky moneybags will be spending a very intimate weekend with the fabulous D-lister herself.  (Far be it for me to assume things, but if a straight person paid $28,000 for the pleasure of hanging with Kathy, I'll eat my feather boa.)

Griffin auctioned off a special weekend with her and her friends (to be taped for her show, "My Life on the D-List") to raise money for a charity that helps prevent domestic violence.

On Friday, she spoke about it with "Howard 100 News."

[Listen – 2:01, 973kb, MP3 format]

Straddling the One-Note Pony

Need an indication of how deeply rough and tumble gay cowboys have penetrated American pop culture? Look no further than America's highest rated television show, American Idol. (that's a lot of America)

Faux movie trailers, some of the most effete men to ever don boots, and a song choice that nudges combustion, the gay cowboy is here, he's queer . . . and he apparently can't sing to save the ranch.

I had meant to post this yesterday, but obviously I spent all my free time ogling hot, Italian figure skaters and snowcross cuties. I do have priorities, you know.

[Watch video – 6:08, WMV format, high bandwidth]

[Watch video – 6:08, WMV format, low bandwidth]

13th on the Podium, First in Our Groins

(UPDATE: Sorry the pictures disappeared for a while.  They are back now, after the jump.)  Robbie is helping prove today why more eyes and ears are better than less when it comes to MalcoVision, as he pointed me toward this little gem:

Canadian (by way of Italy) skater Emanuel Sandhu won't long be remembered for finishing 13th in men's figure skating at the 2006 Winter Olympics.  But thanks to the high-definition cameras of NBC, he wins immortality in our hearts – and in other places on our body.

The purple-clad cutie had a mishap-strewn performance that seemed to have him more on his ass than on his blades.

But as he left the ice, NBC cut away to a super slo-mo shot of Sandhu than answers the age-old question: "What do figure skaters wear under their spandex?"  It might also answer the question of what Sandhu's religion is.  Ba-DUM-bum!

Yes, Sandhu's Lycra-gripped man-parts flopped all to and fro as he fell down, and were broadcast to a potential 3.7 billion viewers worldwide – and to a lucky few of us, in all their 1080i glory.

As Robbie said, Johnny Weir didn't actually skate all that badly yesterday.  He was just distracted.

Stills images follow after the jump, but first there are a couple of videos.  The first is what I would term "the good part," and the rest is his entire performance for the ice queens who would scream if I neglected to include it.

[Watch video "Good Parts" – 1:19, WMV format, very high bandwidth]  (Why bother with low-bandwidth??)

[Watch video – 6:25, WMV format, high bandwidth]

[Watch video – 6:25, WMV format, low bandwidth]

No Good Deed Goes Unpunished

A Slovenian fireman might have contracted bird flu after pulling frozen swans from a river.

Web-Washing Gays From History

Before: Apparently unsafe for human eyes

After: Safely Sanitized

Alert blogger EgOiStE pointed me to this story that seems to be getting far too little play among those who should care.

Two weeks ago, the Anti-Family Research Council sent out a bulletin trumpeting more gay-hating inroads they had made within the Bush Administration.

A website within the Department of Health and Human Services had been providing information on a range of GLBT issues, such as health and homophobia.  Undoubtedly, Tony Perkins and his pliant ogres pricked up their ears at now-pedestrian buzzwords such as "pride" and "diversity."

The dogs were sicced on HHS, the unnamed contractor who created the website was sacked and the rest is history.

The Rude Pundit pointed out that whoever pulled down the information was either hasty or careless, leaving behind much of what was there previously.  But since that writing, the oversight has been corrected, and gays and related information have been purged from the site in a brilliant Stalinesque move.  (If you follow the link above, however, you will see that it's all still held in Google caches.)

As Mr. Perkins admonished his members:

"(Officials) did not explain how HHS became involved in promoting the unhealthy homosexual lifestyle in the first place.

"What this episode shows us is that even under a friendly, pro-family administration, the bureaucracy can run amok."

What it really shows us is that, when it comes to the way gays are treated by their government, it is not the government that is calling the tune.

This is not the first web-related kerfuffle that has sprung forth from the Bush Administration.  Last year, another HHS-related website drew fire for its treatment of GLBT issues.  4parents.gov is intended to present a variety of behavioral and mental-health information to parents.  But it deals with "sexual orientation" on its "abstinence" page, discussing the issue in what many would feel is a loaded manner, to say the least.  (Among its advice is to point families to "counselors and other health professionals," as if being gay is intrinsically disordered.)

The previous year, the Administration's new Special Counsel, a previously obscure position, re-interpreted a 1978 law in a way that appeared to strip employment-discrimination protections from GLBT employees, having already deleted references to those protections from the Special Counsel's website.

UPDATE: "Good As You" is at least one site that has been on top of this for a few weeks.

Your Daily Brokeback

Guess what?  It's another "Brokeback Mountain" day here, of sorts.  I'm sure the cheers and jeers are flying in roughly equal measure right now.  (Didn't I do a post a while back about being "Brokebacked out"?)

This post is a three-fer from me, and then Robbie says we should expect one from him later today.  (I should warn you that much of this is NSFW.)

First up is last night's "Drawn Together" on Comedy Central.  The "Malcon-noisseurs" among you know that I follow the show and have about as unhealthy an obsession with Xandir as one can have with a cartoon character.

"Drawn" is known for regularly going gay, with storylines that have included the gay marriage of Xandir and Spanky Ham, the Internet download pig.

This time it was Captain Hero who was vying for Xandir's affections.  Hero showed up in the poorly conceived guise of "Tim Tommerson" as a way of exploring his own possible gay tendencies.  And how the hot cartoon love did commence.

[Watch video – 8:38, WMV format, high bandwidth]

[Watch video – 8:38, WMV format, low bandwidth]

Next is the latest moment of gay zen from Howard Stern, who has been having a lot of them lately. 

I know my sense of humor probably runs a wider gamut from high-brow to low-brow than most people's.  In fact, my brow is sometimes so low that I trip over it, which is why the Stern Show's parody "Buttcrack Mountain" this morning got at least a couple of chuckles out of me.

[Listen – 5:32, 2.53mb, MP3 format]

And finally, after the jump is something that has already been on a few websites, but which I came across for the first time last night.

If you're familiar with "Brokeback," you'll remember the trips down the mountain to restock provisions.  I howled as the hubbie read me the "Brokeback Mountain Weekly Grocery Lists," which became more and more – shall we say – "elaborate" as that long summer herding sheep wore on.

Step One in Our 12-Step Program?

No, you haven't made a mistake – you've come to the right blog.  But I've just decided to have a little fun with our stylesheet.

I might switch things up a little from time to time to keep things interesting, probably focusing on whatever gay/pop culture/iconographic flavors grab me.  The first one might as well commemorate the Great National Gay Obsession of the past few months.  (Maybe I'll keep it up until after the Oscars like that Pittsburgh quarterback did with his beard before the Super Bowl.)

Suggestions for new looks, of course, are always welcome but will be entertained contingent on my mood and technical capabilities.

UPDATE: My stylesheet says the new design is applied, but it appears to have reverted back to the old design.  Damn you, Typepad!  DAAAAAAAAAMMMNN YOUUUUUU!!!

Pissing Match!

You think things get bitchy among the gay bloggers?  We got nothin' on the podcasters!

While we shoot spitwads at each other from the safe foxholes of our little blog postings, they resort to blasting off howitzer-like press releases and shit.

Accusations of theft, threats of legal action and Duff-Lohan analogies landed in my inbox today in the form of a press release from filmmaker Chuck Griffith, written in the third person.  In it, Griffith "lays claim" to the idea behind "Gay Pimp" Jonny McGovern's new podcast.  (Full disclosure: I count myself a fan of McGovern, who was behind such infectious homo-infused tracks as "Soccer Practice" and "Lookin' Cute, Feelin' Cute.")

"It was my idea. I approached Jonny McGovern way back in October about doing a podcast. But he got so creatively demanding that I couldn't produce fast enough for him," claims gay filmmaker, Chuck Griffith (Thank You, Good Night). "He just had too much energy and was shouting and yelling; I couldn't take it anymore. I had bigger fish to fry," he says, referring to his upcoming feature SHIFTING THE CANVAS. "But the least he could do is acknowledge that I gave him the idea, and believe me, if there's money to be seen, there will be lawyers involved."

And, of course, it wouldn't be a blogwar without Perez Hilton.  Griffith alleges it was his idea that the noted gossip whore should be a part of McGovern's podcasts.  Griffith concludes:

"True talent really reveals itself in time, and everyone in town [New York City] knows I had a hand in Jonny getting his podcast going."

OK, Chuck.  Deep breaths.

Meanwhile, in an apparently unrelated story, Mal-confidants Fausto and Marc of the fabulous "Feast of Fools" podcast have also sent out a press release touting their own alpha-dog status amongst gay podcasters, as well as their upcoming 250th episode.

The stench of urine is getting overpowering!

Pop-Up Torino, AKA "Johnny Weird" Takes the Ice

A lot of words have been used to describe U.S. champion figure skater Johnny Weir: "Entertaining."  "Eccentric."  "Flamboyant."  "Confirmed bachelor.  OK, I made up that last one.

But you get the picture.

Johnny and "Camille" dazzled last night in Torino, finishing a surprisingly strong second after the short program.  But as the media have tip-toed gingerly around any overt suggestions about Johnny's sexuality, I decided to ponder those code words a little more deeply.

MalcoVision brings you the result of those ruminations, a sort of "Pop-Up Video" – Olympics style.

Don't worry, purists: I have provided his performance in full, defiling only NBC's pre-skate profile of Johnny.

[Watch video – 9:27, WMV format, high bandwidth]

[Watch video – 9:27, WMV format, low bandwidth]

RELATED: A song whose title has a word that rhymes with "Weir."  [H/T: Queerty]

Something You'd Like To Tell Us, Cooper?

And a Happy Valentine's Day to you too:

[H/T: John]  (UPDATE: I should have guessed that Gawker had this too.)

Not So Secretly Fond of Willie

Andy posted about Willie Nelson's new Valentine's Day song, an ode to the spirit of "Brokeback Mountain" titled "Cowboys Are Frequently Secretly (Fond of Each Other)."

It premiered on iTunes today and also on Howard Stern.  Which means, of course, that we bring the audio to you.

[Listen – 3:45, 1.7mb, MP3 format]

Depressing for More Reasons Than One

Gay Bits

U.S. military has wasted $363.8 million over 10 years discharging gays, also known as 404,672 suits of body armor.

One year later and "the leads have all but dried up" in the brutal dismemberment of Rashawn Brazell, a bisexual Brooklyn teen.  Police are pointing to the possibility that a "chance encounter" took his life.  —Reg. req. for link. (Thanks, James)

Andy has a good round-up of recent gay-marriage news:  William Weld continues to disappoint; Frist continues not to surprise.  Meanwhile, "It's good for your health!"

Tom Cruise: Still sue-happy after all these years.

DNC imitates gay-left blogophere: "You're ugly!  And fat!"

It's "Zbooby"?  Looks more like It's "Zpenis" to me.

MalcoVision will be studying Johnny Weir's every fey move tonight.

We Are All "Liberals" Now

GayPatriotWest chronicles Andrew Sullivan's accelerating slide into hysterical irrelevance.  The crux is Andrew's self-pitying posting of this quote by Glenn Greenwald:

Now, in order to be considered a “liberal,” only one thing is required – a failure to pledge blind loyalty to George W. Bush. The minute one criticizes him is the minute that one becomes a “liberal,” regardless of the ground on which the criticism is based.

Money quote from GPW:

It seems, however, that since 02/24/04 (the day the president announced his support for the Federal Marriage Amendment) Andrew has been bending over backwards to appease those who once reviled him.

I'm a frequent critic of President Bush and many of his policies and philosophies, yet my critiques of Sullivan's sorry decline have drawn from him the same kind of one-dimensional criticism of "blind loyalty" that now seems to color his own opposition.

Pity, that.

(Completely off-topic private note to Robbie: Someone needs to lay off the caffeine!)

Tyra's Next Top Gay Cowboys

The Brokeback talk show avalanche gains momentum as Tyra Banks brings "The Real Brokeback Mountain" to daytime television, interviewing two different cowboy couples on the difficulties of the closet, their faux hetero relationships, and the reactions of their families.

Surprisingly, the cowboys are the blandest part of the show. They inarticulately relate the slow realization of their sexuality and how it has affected their lives in fairly uninteresting sound bites that have been said a thousand times before, and by others more eloquently than them.

Far more compelling is the first guest's former fiance as she explains how she was affected by the lie of her relationship with a gay man. Concentrating more on the Alma aspect of Brokeback, the fiance makes a powerful case for honesty, and how men forced to keep their sexuality and loves a secret are more damaging to a family than any open relationship could ever be.

We're just going to ignore the last segment of the following clip, where the fiance discusses her new husband. It's a pure WTF moment, and we probably don't want to know.

[Watch video – 11:16, WMV format, high bandwidth]

[Watch video – 11:16, WMV format, low bandwidth]