May, 2007

fashion / hair / television — No Comments
31
May 07

Shear Genius: The Final Cut

In the finale, Rene Fris doesn’t have to fear sexual harassment from Dr. Boogie. The top three are Anthony, Ben, and Daisy. Their special treat before the competition: meeting with Vidal Sassoon, who speaks to them about Who Does Your Hair Dot Com.

Who would have thought hair was about narrative? Rene Fris tells the stylists their hair must tell a story. So, before their begin to work on their models, they pick out some dresses. Daisy picks a black and white theme, Anthony looks for dresses that are modern with movement, and Ben seeks color. I guess the dresses are to help the models line up like a story book so their story can be told through their hair. The first model’s hair will say “Once upon a time,” while the second model’s will be the body of the story, while the third will say “The End.” Okay, that was kind of ridiculous, but sometimes its fun to poke fun at rhetorical language, especially that of a Bravo TV program.

Ben’s story is about the Hollywood chick, Anthony’s is about modern movement, and Daisy is about vintage hairstyling.

Anthony and Daisy look naturally look very nice for the competition, while the shaved and tattooed Ben cleans up and wears a black suit. Too bad they don’t pick the models. The selection’s been made for them based on their selections of dresses. This is the editing they need for their story books.

The real story is in their running against the clock to finish their hairstyles. Anthony tells Rene to go away (good for him), while Ben and Daisy are on the wire, and Daisy does not have time to completely Marcel wave the Nancy Kwan bob on one of her models.

Vidal Sassoon is the charming old dandy I hope to be when I’m his age. I love the thick frames, the ascot, his suit, and his generous opinions of the hairdressers. They each did a bob in hopes of getting on his good side (which it did), but he felt they could be shorter in the back.

Ben falls short with the updo, Daisy does better but is eliminated first, and Anthony is the winner.

Coming up in two weeks: Top Chef, the next stop-gap for Project Runway.

blogging / music — 2 Comments
30
May 07

Funny Bjork Quote

Chris has posted a funny quote from Bjork. I love Bjork (at least her music, anyway) and some of the daffy things she does (it’s safe to say Chris doesn’t like her at all). Then, there are the overall daft things she says, such as an example mentioned by my cyber-pal:

“I cannot imagine anything better than having a conversation about giraffes and why they are not blue.”

I have to admit, I’m laughing my arse off at that one. At least she isn’t bitch-slapping reporters in Bangkok.

BTW,
Bjork’s new album is fantastic!

religion — No Comments
30
May 07

Moore Gets Phelps Real Good

My friend Gary sent me this video where Michael Moore gets the Gay Team on Fred Phelps and his church. The poor guy just withers at the sight of two (or more) men kissing, and can’t accept Moore’s invitation to come aboard the Sodomobile, which is rocking with buggery.

Gary also sent me this article in the Anorak, where we get to see the Phelps-sired Westboro Baptist Church sing “God Hates The World“*, their saccharinely angry parody of “We Are The World.” As religious kitsch, file this awful song alongside Chick Tracts and the Left Behind series.

* warning: hearing the Phelps and company sing can be traumatic to the listener.

science fiction / television — 2 Comments
30
May 07

Catching Up With Eureka Via iTunes


Eureka will be one of my science fiction fixes in the absence of Battlestar Galactica. I just downloaded a few episodes from iTunes, and a second season is due in July, so I have plenty of time to catch up. I just watched the pilot, so here’s my take on it.

The hot leading man is what lured me in. A lot of TV shows have hot men, but it’s often not enough to keep me hooked. However, Colin Ferguson is someone I can watch all day. He’s ruggedly handsome and he’s got a nice body (there’s a scene where we get treated to a view), and his suit fits him like a glove (I hate to use a cliché, but this one is very appropriate). He’s definitely charming in his role as Jack Carter, a U.S. Marshall who eventually gets a “promotion” to the sheriff’s office in Eureka.

For the straight male viewer, female eye candy comes in the forms of Allison Blake, an agent of the Department of Defense, and Beverly Barlowe, a sensuous and sympathetic town psychiatrist who is more than she appears to be. Agent Blake is a strong, professional woman who doesn’t want Jack to get any wrong ideas and reacts strongly to his jokes, hinting at some romantic tension and chemistry to come.

As far as pilots goes, the storyline is typical fare, though the events are not. Jack and his daughter Zoe come into Eureka by accident and wind up staying in the town in the end. Their relationship is anything but perfect. Jack meets the stereotypical county sheriff, a middle-aged paunchy man who turns out to be more than just a sheriff. Here and there, he encounters super-intelligent children, one being Agent Blake’s son. This kid gets to have a Wesley Crusher moment and helps save the day. Setting up the entire storyline (and making the Wesley Crusher moment possible) is the genius whose experiments in a temporal device go awry. Even though the main dilemma occurring from the machine is resolved in the end, there are still plenty of loose ends for the show to follow up on.

Is this show set in Eureka, California? Perhaps, as Eureka is on the way to Los Angeles, where Jack and Zoe are headed for a custody hearing. It’s vaguely hinted that Eureka is in the Pacific Northwest. This Eureka is a town created as a haven for the geniuses responsible for all the interesting technology from the Cold War and on. No one is who they initially appear to be, such as the sheriff and the mechanic who fixes Jack’s car. And for Jack to work there in the end, his security clearance is upped and he is given a “promotion.”

Overall, I loved the pilot and I’ll keep downloading episodes. It’s a quirky show, and even if some things appear to be borrowed from Star Trek or the X-Files, it works. And, I don’t have to wait long for Season 2.


Eureka - Eureka, Season 1
 Catch Eureka‘s pilot on iTunes.

English language / teaching — 2 Comments
30
May 07

I am not candy!

I have been teaching a small, first level course at the language school. There are only four students, all young men, and sometimes they are a bit rowdy and joke around, which makes the course fun. There is a Korean named Joo Sung and he goes by Julius; however, the three other guys have conspired to call him Ju Ju. This nickname reminds me of JuJubes, one of those soft, chewy candies I enjoyed as a kid. I told the class about this, and I think this only encouraged them more. They’ve done it so many times that I have occasionally (and unintentionally) called the poor guy Ju Ju. I suspect this is a case of the students training the teacher to do something.

I do try to call him Julius as much as possible.

Uncategorized — No Comments
29
May 07

Jesus & George

This morning’s broadcast is brought to you by Psychic Bunny. What would President Bush do if Jesus suddenly appeared to him? Watch and find out.

food — 2 Comments
28
May 07

Just Evil…

Whoever had the genius to come up with salt and pepper potato chips is just evil. Especially Kettle Chips. They’re so addicting.

Salt and Pepper

I am the Yin Yang of Spice

fashion / gay — 2 Comments
28
May 07

L’Oreal’s Very Gay Moisturizer Ad


Here’s a viewer created ad for L’Oreal I found on YouTube. There’s the pouty girl and a self-absorbed guy into his beauty regimen–can’t picture them as a heterosexual couple. He’s a little too bitchy in his no saying and she turns into a frog with too much moisture, and his reaction says a lot. He seems to have some revulsion towards women.

Maybe it’s just me and my gayboy interpretations. What do you think?

religion — No Comments
26
May 07

Kudos to Archbishop Desmond Tutu

Here is a man more worthy of screentime on ShindoTV: Archbishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa. On the BBC website, Tutu mentions there are more pressing issues in Africa, yet many of his fellow Anglicans have focused on homosexuality. Some are more worried about gay priests than they are about other issues: poverty, disease, and political corruption. Tutu says:

We’ve, it seems to me, been fiddling whilst as it were our Rome was burning. At a time when our continent has been groaning under the burden of HIV/Aids, of corruption.

There are so many issues crying out for concern and application by the church of its resources, and here we are, I mean, with this kind of extraordinary obsession.

Bishop Akinola, are you listening? African nations such as Nigeria and Zimbabwe are in turmoil, yet you’re preoccupied with gays when you are in a position to help your fellow Nigerians and other Africans.

The Most Reverend Tutu, you’re my hero.

religion — 1 Comment
26
May 07

This is seriously frakked up!

Religiously motivated hate crimes are not cool at all. Reported in the NY Times this morning, Umair Ahmad, a Moslem teenager in Queens attacked a Vacher Harpal, a Sihk classmate, in retaliation for insulting his mother. Even though Vacher apologized, Umair wouldn’t accept it. Instead of insulting him back or walking away, Umair chose cut Vacher’s hair after making him go into a school bathroom. His reasoning? His religion told him to do it. That seems to be a favorite excuse of many perpetrators regardless of their religious beliefs.

I’m glad it didn’t stick and that he’s charged with felony hate crimes. His look-out should have been charged. Many of these perps don’t do their dirty deeds without some help.

I hope that other hate crimes offenders don’t get off lightly, especially those who attack gays and minorities in the name of Jesus. The First Amendment does not extend to hurting other people, contrary to what some people may think.

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