List: The 50 Most Powerful Coming Outs of 2012

Another list, to add to my last post...

From Towleroad -

I'm Gay: The 50 Most Powerful Coming Outs of 2012

2012: GAYEST YEAR EVER

"The fact is, I'm gay." Anderson Cooper's long-awaited announcement sums what it meant to come out in 2012. Again and again we heard the same sentiment — from pop singer Mika's equally anticipated confirmation, "If you ask me am I gay, I say yeah," to actor Andrew Rannells casually remarking about relating to a gay character, "I am gay in real life, so I definitely get it." —  proving that coming out today is in many cases a non-event, and certainly secondary to other achievements.

Yes, a lot has changed in the 15 years since Time magazine ran that cover of Ellen DeGeneres declaring, "Yep, I'm Gay," and even in the six since Lance Bass told People, "I'm Gay." Entertainment Weekly published a cover story this summer called "The New Art Of Coming Out," concluding, "The current vibe for discussing one’s sexuality is almost defiantly mellow."
Yet most of this positive change has happened in familiar territory.

Former NFL star Wade Davis' coming out was a first, as was current professional boxer Orlando Cruz's. And Lee "Uncle Poodle" Thompson from Here Comes Honey Boo Boo helped broaden the overall discussion about LGBT people. But there are a few people on this list who were less valiant, like Republican Sheriff Paul Babeu, and still others who remained quiet about their sexuality to the day they died. The debate over balance between privacy and responsibility is still one worth having, and clearly there are more arenas where LGBT people need space to shine.

All in all, though, 2012 shows that gay people who break down that closet can have it all.
Who had the 50 Most Powerful Coming Outs of 2012?

Read the list here.

Daily Stops

When I get home from work, I take about 20 minutes to browse through some blogs I enjoy reading. I thought tonight I'd share a few of them with you.


Marc and Angel Hack Life: Practical Tips for Productive Living

As you may know, I love lists. This site has lists with great life lessons. Some recent examples:
10 Things I Wish I Knew 10 Years Ago
12 Choices Your Future Self Will Thank You For
10 Ways to Write a Life Story Worth Living
9 Free Ways to Become Wealthy


Wil Wheaton Dot Net (now 2.0)

Yes, that Wil Wheaton.

He's a really witty writer. I think you'll enjoy his writing - especially if you're a geek.

I also own two of his books.
















Reality Blurred

A column all about reality TV


!! omg blog !!
and
After Elton

A summary of the gay items around the internet each day - entertainment and the lighter news.


Towleroad

A summary of the gay items around the internet each day - very political


Literally Unbelievable - "Stories from The Onion as interpreted by Facebook". It's quite funny to read how gullable some people are!


Then I browse through a few blogs dedicated to shirtless and/or nude celebrities, and then move on.

Kristy McNichol Comes Out

I've suspected for years...

From an article at People.com

Kristy McNichol Wants to "Be Open About Who I Am"

Kristy McNichol has been out of the public eye for 20 years. Now she's chosen to come out – to try to help kids who are being bullied. 

McNichol, 49, who has lived with her partner Martie Allen, also 49, (photo of both below) for the past two decades, decided to make a statement about her sexuality and share this photo because she is "approaching 50" and wants to "be open about who I am."

She "is very sad about kids being bullied," her publicist Jeff Ballard tells PEOPLE. "She hopes that coming out can help kids who need support. She would like to help others who feel different."

Best known for her Emmy Award-winning role as Buddy Lawrence in the '70s show Family and later as Barbara Weston in Empty Nest, McNichol left it all behind when she dropped out of Hollywood to focus on her health.

Done with acting, McNichol spends her time focusing on tennis, yoga, travel and raising her beloved miniature dachshunds. "She is very happy and healthy," says Ballard. "And she enjoys living a very private life."

Post Scrips II

Back in June 2011, I updated a few past posts. As I type this, it is Sunday morning and Carlos is still in bed - so I have a few minutes to update some other posts, which I have been meaning to do for awhile.

----------------------------------------

Update to Gardening: Year Two
and
Gardening: Year Two, Week Three

The Summer 2011 here in New Orleans was very dry for about two months. Then we had tons of rain for about a month. This year's crop - green bell peppers, cucumbers, eggplant, jalapenos, and snap beans - shriveled up in the heat. And then were drowned out by the rain.

NOTHING grew this year. Next year, I'll try bell peppers, cucumbers, snap beans (which seemed to do the best this year) and onions - a new choice, that Monica, a friend of mine at work, tells me grows well.

----------------------------------------

Update to Fun with Remodeling

At the end of the post, I wrote, "Once all this is completed, I’ll post before and after pictures". Well, I completed the office remodeling project in February 2008, but never got around to posting pictures. Thanks to a reader (Hey Iona!) for pointing that out. Here are before and after pictures of my office / guest room.

Back wall...

Front Wall...

 

-----------------------------

And an update to a very recent post...

Update to An Evening with Stephen King

 "The doors open at 6:30 pm." My plan was to pick up Carlos at 5 pm, eat at a restaurant about a block away from the event, and get in line at 6 pm. We altered our plans a bit and ended up getting there about 5:45 pm. This is what we saw:

The entrance was on the other side of the block - meaning that the line snaked around the front of the building, down the entire left side of the block, and back to near the middle of the next side of the block - where we joined it.

By the time, everyone was let in at 6:30 pm, the line almost joined back to itself at the front of the building. In the auditorium, we were in the middle - so the seating wasn't too bad.

We received a free book with our ticket. Only 250 out of 2000 were signed - randomly distributed. I got one!

Since I'm also in the Stephen King Book Club, I will also receive the book within the next month. I'll give that copy to charity.

Carlos and I ate at the newest location of New Orleans Hamburger & Seafood Company on St. Charles Avenue. New Orleans has many, many great restaurants so there is really no reason to eat at a chain. This chain is the only one I enjoy.

Ryan Kwanten: GQ Australia's Man of the Year

Ryan Kwanten is GQ Australia's Man of the Year.


Thanks to Carlos, I read the US version of GQ. Maybe I should start picking up the Australian version.





Here is my favorite picture of him.


For those who don't know who he is, here's his IMDB page.

Mystery Solved

Remember the guy in the below photo? He is the mystery actor described in this post.

Carlos figured out who he is. We were watching Runaway Jury yesterday morning and recognized him. His name is Cliff Curtis. Here is his official IMDB photo.


Here is his bio via IMDB:

Cliff Curtis was born in Rotorua, Aotearoa, New Zealand, on July 27, 1968.

Of New Zealand Maori descent (Ngati Hauiti, Te Arawa) he spent time when young learning the traditional Maori fighting styles of mau rakau. He enrolled at the New Zealand Drama School, and then the Teatro Dmitri Scoula in Switzerland.

After returning to Aotearoa New Zealand from Europe, he was cast in The Piano (1993). Subsequent roles in New Zealand include the camp melodrama Desperate Remedies (1993), the gruelling urban drama Once Were Warriors (1994), and the lighthearted comedy Jubilee (2000).

In Hollywood, Curtis has played a range of different roles and ethnicities in films. He plays a Colombian in Blow (2001), an Arab in Three Kings (1999) and The Insider (1999), a Latino in Training Day (2001) and Runaway Jury (2003), and a drug dealer of ambiguous ethnicity in Bringing Out the Dead (1999). However, he is probably best known for his role as Paikea's father Porourangi, in Whale Rider (2002).

Carlos has a great memory. He said that he couldn't remember the guy's name, but remembered that he had starred along Bruce Willis in a movie. We can now confirm that movie is Live Free or Die Hard.

Dead Pool

Remember the 1988 Clint Eastwood movie The Dead Pool? I haven't actually seen it, but I can relate to it. I keep track of celebrities who have died.

Some days when Carlos and I talk after work, I open the conversation with, "Guess who died today." (Carlos, who keeps up with pop culture as much as I do, usually knows the answer.)

I subscribe to the newsletter for the website Who's Alive and Who's Dead - including daily bulletins for very famous people.

I receive the daily and weekly posts from the associated Yahoo Group.

CNN sends me daily bulletins.

All so that I can know information like Jill Clayburgh's death was announced yesterday.


I have never played the game The Dead Pool, but I may play this year. Once I have my list - and after I post it to The Dead Pool - I'll post it here.

Justin Timberlake and Jimmy Fallon Perform the History of Rap

This article is taken from here.

-----------------

Justin Timberlake just chalked up another awesome TV appearance when he pulled off a history of hip-hop medley with Jimmy Fallon on Wednesday night. The duo rocked every rap hit from The Sugar Hill Gang to Jay-Z, starting off in the 80s and working their way up to current tracks.

Timberlake pretty much rocks it every time he appears on TV -- consider D*ck in a Box and J*** in My Pants -- and this performance on "Late Night With Jimmy Fallon" is no exception. The only surprising bit is that Fallon pulls off the raps pretty well, and that both of them do spot-on impressions of their favorite rappers. It also doesn't hurt that Fallon's backing band is legendary hip-hop outfit The Roots. The whole thing feels like a classy rap edition of Evolution of Dance.

My personal favorite moment: Fallon and Timberlake doing the Soulja Boy dance.



------------------

I wish I stayed up late enough more often to see Jimmy Fallon.

Katy Perry - Update

Here is an update to this post.

-----------------

According to the 9/23/10 Los Angeles Times:

When Katy Perry visited "Sesame Street," Elmo didn't seem to mind her cleavage -- but parents who previewed a version of her singing a rewritten "Hot N Cold" while playing tag with the furry red guy begged to differ.

Seems that sheer fabric that goes from neck to, um, places lower than Katy's neck on her "dress-up clothes" won't cut it as a preschool-appropriate outfit, with show producers Sesame Workshop deciding to pull the segment from the kids show's Sept. 27 season premiere.

"Sesame Street has always been written on two levels, for the child and adult. We use parodies and celebrity segments to interest adults in the show because we know that a child learns best when co-viewing with a parent or care-giver," the producers said Thursday in a statement.

"We also value our viewer’s opinions and particularly those of parents. In light of the feedback we’ve received on the Katy Perry music video which was released on You Tube only, we have decided we will not air the segment on the television broadcast of Sesame Street, which is aimed at preschoolers. Katy Perry fans will still be able to view the video on You Tube."

----------------

From my other blog, here are tons more shirtless pics of Alexander Rodriguez.

Rock Paper Scissors Lizard Spock

Gotta love The Big Bang Theory!


1) Rock Paper Scissors Lizard Spock
Scissors cuts paper,
paper covers rock,
rock crushes lizard,
lizard poisons Spock,
Spock smashes scissors,
scissors decapitates lizard,
lizard eats paper,
paper disproves Spock,
Spock vaporizes rock,
and rock crushes scissors.


2) One of my favorites, Wil Wheaton has guest starred twice - so far.


3) They wear cool costumes.

More Quotes I Live By

[For the original list, go here.]

"I've always believed that when you work hard and are kind to people, wonderful things will happen. And some of those wonderful things will happen to you." - Wil Wheaton


“Maturity is: The ability to stick with a job until it's finished; The ability to do a job without being supervised; The ability to carry money without spending it; and The ability to bear an injustice without wanting to get even” - Abigail Van Buren

Ho, Ho, Ho!!! Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas to Everyone!

From top down -
Justin Timberlake
Jake Gyllenhaal
Eric Winter
Austin Drage
Anton Antipov
Slavco Tuskaloski
Ryan Phillippe (my favorite of this group)
Ryan LeBar
Phillip Olivier
Lee Ryan
Timothy Olyphant














For those interested, join my Male Stars Shirtless Yahoo Group.

Bennie and the 27 Dresses

One day I'll have to make a top ten list of Top Ten Best Uses of an Elton John Song in a Movie.

Until then, here's an addition to my Almost Famous coupled with Tiny Dancer post -

27 Dresses coupled with Bennie and the Jets.



Bonus: It has one of my Top 20 Favorite Stars of All Time - James Marsden. (Here's my original post. James Marsden is #11!.)

Wil Wheaton & Stand By Me

Wil Wheaton's blog is one of the handful I eagerly await a new entry from. Yes, the actor - and now writer. I recommend his 2004 book Just a Geek.

Here's an excerpt from his most recent entry, along with the picture he is referring to.

This photo captures our personalities perfectly: River and Corey are focused and serious (Corey is even wearing a tie and drinking coffee!) I am listening to the same person they are, but I'm not even trying to contain how excited I am to be going on a television show that I had been watching with my Aunt Val since I could remember, in front of the whole country, no less.

My favorite part of this picture, though, is Jerry. It's almost like he caught my mom or dad taking this picture of us, and decided to strike a pose, just to be silly. I just love that he isn't taking the thing too seriously, and that he's just having fun and enjoying the whole thing. As I got older and began to feel like the teen magazine publicity stuff was taking over my life, it stopped being fun, and it started to feel like a chore. I always envied that Jerry seemed to take it all in stride, keep it in perspective, and just have fun with it. I heard him on the Adam Carolla podcast about a week or so ago, and he hadn't changed a bit: still silly, still cracking me up, still keeping everything in perspective.


I've always said that Stand By Me was so successful because Rob cast four young actors who were so much like their characters, but I think it's spooky how the four of us ended up being so much like our characters: River died too young, Corey struggled like crazy to get his personal demons under control, Jerry found success and happiness, and I'm a writer.

You can read his entire blog entry here. It's much longer than what I posted.

Here's a link to the ending of the movie. Scroll over to around the 6:45 minute mark. From there until the end makes me tear up every time.

Top Male Stars of All Time - Part II

I have that neat little device called FEEDJIT Live Traffic Feed that lists which web site each hit comes from, which site the person leaves to, and which specific blog page the person initially enters.

My friend Debbie obsesses about that information.

My friend Jason mentioned it in one of his entries, but I can’t find the specific entry right now. (Jason – Link please?)

Invariably, the specific page that draws my visitors (right now, 6 of the current 10 listings) is Top Ten Favorite Male Stars of All Time, usually from a Google image search.

Since that page is so popular, I thought I would revisit it. Then round out my Top Twenty.

Recap of the Top Ten:
1. James Duval
2. Stephane Rideau
3. Ryan Phillippe
4. Tommy Kirk
5. River Phoenix
6. William McNamara
7. Kevin Zegers
8. Ethan Embry
9. Steve Antin
10. Peter Facinelli

The Top Ten List has remained constant over the years. The rest of the list, leading to #20, does change.

Here is my current list, with pictures (click them to see larger) and some information on each person.





#11
Name: James Marsden
Current Age: 35
Where You Probably Know Him From: Cyclops in the X-Men movies
Where I Discovered Him: The 1996-1997 TV show Second Noah
Best Place To See His Body: He has long shirtless scenes in the movies Heights and Sugar & Spice, and the TV show Second Noah. He has never done frontal or rear nudity.
Has He Ever Played Gay?: In the movie The 24th Day and at least one other. (I don’t want to reveal the other movie. I consider it a SPOILER.)
Sexual Orientation: Straight.
Did You Know?: He isn’t known for his singing, but sings (well) in the TV series Ally McBeal, and the movies Hairspray and Enchanted. Although not related to actor Jason Marsden, they are actually good friends and their respective wives have been friends since they were six.





#12
Name: Jim Verraros
Current Age: 26
Where You Probably Know Him From: Season one of American Idol
Where I Discovered Him: American Idol
Best Place To See His Body: Google search (for magazine photo shoots)
Has He Ever Played Gay?: In the movies Eating Out and Eating Out 2: Sloppy Seconds. He doesn’t show any skin in either one.
Sexual Orientation: Gay. Came out in The Advocate in 2002.
Did You Know?: Both his parents are deaf.


#13
Name: Kal Penn
Current Age: 32
Where You Probably Know Him From: “Kumar” from the three Harold & Kumar movies.
Where I Discovered Him: The movie Van Wilder
Best Place To See His Body: The movies Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle (rear nude) and The Namesake (shirtless)
Has He Ever Played Gay?: Not that I can find
Sexual Orientation: Straight
Did You Know?: His real name is Kalpen Modi.






#14
Name: Sal Mineo
Current Age: Killed by a mugger in 1976, age 37.
Where You Probably Know Him From: “Plato” in Rebel Without A Cause
Where I Discovered Him: Krakatoa: East of Java – late night TV when I was a kid
Best Place To See His Body: The movie The Gene Krupa Story (shirtless) and the Harold Stevenson's painting The New Adam (full frontal nude)
Has He Ever Played Gay?: He was smitten with Jim Stark (James Dean) in Rebel. He played opposite Don Johnson in the 1971 gay-themed play Fortune and Men’s Eyes.
Sexual Orientation: Came out in the early 1970’s.
Did You Know?: In 1957, he had a #9 single called “Start Movin’ (In My Direction)”




#15
Name: Ian Somerhalder
Current Age: 30
Where You Probably Know Him From: “Boone” in the TV show Lost
Where I Discovered Him: The very short-lived TV show (8 episodes in 2000) Young Americans – written by my #9 favorite Steve Antin.
Best Place To See His Body: The movies The Rules of Attraction, In Enemy Hands, and Marco Polo (shirtless), and the TV show Tell Me You Love Me (obscured frontal view)
Has He Ever Played Gay?: Yes, in The Rules of Attraction
Sexual Orientation: Straight
Did You Know?: He’s from Covington, LA – right over the Causeway Bridge from my house. No, you probably didn’t – or cared.





#16
Name: Danny Nucci
Current Age: 40
Where You Probably Know Him From: Leonardo Dicaprio’s doomed friend from the movie Titanic
Where I Discovered Him: A 1986 episode of the TV show Growing Pains.
Best Place To See His Body: The movies Sublet (shirtless), Shark In A Bottle (rear nude), and the TV show Some of My Best Friends (shirtless)
Has He Ever Played Gay?: The movie The Unknown Cyclist and maybe other times
Sexual Orientation: Straight
Did You Know?: He was born in Austria, was raised in Italy, and moved to America in 1976.




#17
Name: Rafael Nadal
Current Age: 23
Where You Probably Know Him From: Watching tennis
Where I Discovered Him: The same
Best Place To See His Body: The cover of a magazine, a Google search, or The Tennis Channel
Has He Ever Played Gay?: N/A
Sexual Orientation: Straight
Did You Know?: He is the only male player to have won French Open, Wimbledon, and Olympic gold medal in the same year (2008).






#18
Name: Logan Marshall-Green
Current Age: 32
Where You Probably Know Him From: Played “Trey Atwood” on the TV show The O.C.
Where I Discovered Him: Played “Tyler Fogg” on the short-lived 2007 TV series Traveler
Best Place To See His Body: Short shirtless scene in a movie/TV show that I cannot yet identify
Has He Ever Played Gay?: Not that I know of, though he does more theatre work than movies/TV
Sexual Orientation: Straight
Did You Know?: He has a twin brother named Taylor Marshall-Green.



#19
Name: Andy Roddick
Current Age: 26
Where You Probably Know Him From: Tennis on TV
Where I Discovered Him: A tennis tournament that I was watching in 2000 that he won the day he turned 18. I don’t remember the name of it. I just remember never hearing of him before watching that.
Best Place To See His Body: a Google search
Has He Ever Played Gay?: N/A
Sexual Orientation: Straight
Did You Know?: Roddick hosted Saturday Night Live on November 8, 2003, becoming the second professional tennis player to host (Chris Evert being the first).


#20
Name: Jesse Spencer
Current Age: 30
Where You Probably Know Him From: Plays “Dr. Robert Chase” on the TV show House, though he hasn’t gotten much screen time in the last couple of years.
Where I Discovered Him: In the 2003 movie Swimming Upstream
Best Place To See His Body: That movie – he’s in a Speedo for most of the time.
Has He Ever Played Gay?: No
Sexual Orientation: Straight
Did You Know?: He is fluent in French.





As I mentioned in the original entry, if you enjoy male stars, you really should join my Yahoo group MaleStarsShirtless. And be sure to check out my other blog of the same name.

Brad Renfro - Rest in Peace

Reminds me of the day I heard about River Phoenix's death. Drugs kill, you dumb kids!

Michael Vartan, Laura Bush and Hal Sparks Walk Into A Bar...

I read about this site in a magazine recently. It has face recognition software and a database of celebrity faces. It'll compare your uploaded photo to celebrities and tell you who your face most closely resembles. I uploaded a picture of myself, one of my mom and one of Carlos.

My face most closely matches Michael Vartan (2nd place was Rick Schroder), my mom's Laura Bush, and Carlos's Hal Sparks (2nd place Gael Garcia Bernal).



Imagine the three of them hanging out together!

Stalking Ryan Phillippe

Carlos and I made a rare Sunday outing today. (I try to spend Sundays alone, mentally preparing for the coming week.)

The blurb in Friday’s Times-Picayune said:
Actors Ryan Phillippe and Jesse Bradford (and reportedly other stars, yet to be named) are expected to walk the red carpet Sunday afternoon at the National World War II Museum’s invitation-only reception in honor of the upcoming release of Clint Eastwood’s “Flags of Our Fathers”…. The public is invited to line the red carpet as the stars arrive.

Ryan Phillippe is one of my Top Ten Favorite Actors* so we had to go.

We arrived at the red carpet about an hour early. There were four quite old people there, probably waiting for Clint Eastwood, so we walked around The Warehouse District, coming back around 3:30 pm. By then, the old people had left, replaced with five girls and, Carlos’s guess, one gay guy.

There was no large crowd. There were no stars. There were no limousines. Maybe it was because of the rain, or because there was a Saints game at the same time.


We ended up leaving, but not before Carlos took these two pictures. The first one – taken while I was driving about 30 miles per hour – is of the red carpet from one street perpendicular to the front entrance to the museum. The other is of the red carpet from a second street.

For those of you who came here for a picture of Ryan Phillippe, here ya’ go.






*The entire list – concentrating only on living actors – in order from most favorite down:
1. James Duval
2. Stephane Rideau
3. Ryan Phillippe
4. Tommy Kirk
5. River Phoenix
6. William McNamara
7. Kevin Zegers
8. Ethan Embry
9. Steve Antin
10. Peter Facinelli

Movie Maker

Debbie showed us a (quite cool) video collage of some pictures she took on her recent trip. I asked her which program she used - Windows Movie Maker. I've been messing around with that program and came up with this:

Survivor Metairie

Let me catch you up with my latest celebrity encounter. Here's the story from the beginning.

Last April, my friend Jason put together our own version of the TV show Survivor, calling it Survivor Metairie. Here's a link to some pictures from that day.

We videotaped the entire 10 hours. My friend Debbie - after six months of editing - put together a four-hour version for us to watch, complete with after-game interviews from each player. She hosted a party for all of us to see the video two Saturdays ago.

The previous day, Debbie's tenant Christine came by to see how Debbie had decorated for the party. Christine works at The Gap in Lakeside. Saturday afternoon, Lisa Keiffer and her husband Thomas came into the store to shop. Thomas mentioned to Christine that Lisa is a player on the current season of Survivor. (The show tapes months in advance.) Here's a link to Lisa's bio on the official CBS web site.

Christine said that Debbie was having a Survivor-themed party that night and they should stop by if they're in the area. Lisa and Thomas tried to call us that night, but Debbie didn't answer her phone because we were all busy watching our Survivor Metairie highlights. They decided to just pop in.

You have never seen a more funny sight than watching 14 Survivor fan's reactions when one of the people they watch weekly on TV walks into their party.

Lisa and Thomas ended up staying for three hours. Lisa answered all our questions about the show that she was not bound by her CBS contract to not answer, and then watched the remaining 30 minutes of our Survivor Metairie video with us.

She was having her own Survivor-watching party that next Thursday (October 14) and invited us all to her Mandeville home to watch the show with her. Debbie, Gina, Jason, and I went.

It was so much fun!

Lisa and Thomas had about 50 people there. Lisa introduced us to the entire room as "the people who I was telling you about. They put on their own version of Survivor and I went to their party last week." I have some pictures from that night too, but I have to get them developed.

Well, that's it for my latest celebrity encounter. For now. Pretty cool, huh?