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The House Armed Services Committee will be holding the first hearing on "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" since the inception of the policy in 1993. Blade reporter Chris Johnson is at the hearing and updates will follow throughout the day.
You can watch the hearings LIVE here.
 Posted by Rebecca Armendariz,
Online Edito| Jul. 23 at
12:18 PM | RArmendariz@washblade.com
If you're hooked up to the Internet at all, you probably know that Estelle Getty, best known as Sophia from "The Golden Girls" has gone on to the big TV studio in the sky.
According to the Washington Post, she died at about 5:30 a.m. this morning at her Hollywood Boulevard home. She apparently had been suffering from advanced dementia.
I'm not exactly sure how "The Golden Girls" became such a big hit with gay viewers young and old, but the show's woman power themes struck home with various generations of homos (including this homo, who saw the show as a child and loved it).
Getty was a regular high point on the program as Bea Arthur's persnickety mother, who never tired of lobbing zingers on the rest of the characters. I have very strong memories of my parents and I laughing at the one-liners she would drop while sperched at the kitchen table or heading back into her bedroom.
Interestingly, Getty, at the time of her auditions for the series, was currently in Harvey Fierstein's "Torch Song Trilogy" as the protagonist's mother — an incredible, nuanced role in an equally incredible show. I would have liked to have seen her other work, although once she got into "Golden Girls," she was pretty much set for the rest of her career.
Rest in peace, Estelle, and thank you for the hours of laughter you've provided countless audiences.
Posted by Greg Marzullo,
Washington Blade Features Edito| Jul. 22 at
3:20 PM | GMarzullo@washblade.com
Tomorrow Congress will hold a hearing to revisit the military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy regarding gays in the armed services. Over 50 retired generals and admirals supporting the repeal of "DADT" will give testimonies.
The Blade will have a reporter at the hearing, so stay tuned for updates throughout the day.
Posted by Rebecca Armendariz,
Online Edito| Jul. 22 at
10:38 AM | RArmendariz@washblade.com
Last night, on our weekly date night, my hubby and I eagerly checked out the film that's been getting so much buzz, not only by way of positive reviews but certainly in part because of Heather Ledger's premature death.
In short, the movie is pretty damned fantastic.
I'm not one of those comic book queens who used the stories of superheroes as projections for my own hidden identity (all while ogling the muscley protagonists in the pages of the latest X-men serial). A straight friend of mine, who is a comic book nut, got me interested in one only, "Lucifer," all about the fallen angel, who was a sarcastic blond with a penchant for doing the right thing as opposed to the biblically-correct thing.
So, I was really surprised, in 2005, when I was so thrilled with the newest installment of the Batman franchise, "Batman Begins." I thought it was a great take on the story, and finally, we had a Batman who didn't suck. (Not to mention, I would happily watch Christian Bale do just about anything - drink coffee, run on the beach, sleep, whatever.) This second film did not disappoint.
"The Dark Knight" was indeed dark and marveloulsy so. The Joker character has always been one who highlights Batman's moral relativism, and this "villain" is no different. The script, written by Jonathan Nolan and director Christopher Nolan, allowed for these finer points of "good" and "evil" to be deeply explored in story and character.
District Attorney Harvey Dent (played by the wonderful and drop-dead gorgeous Aaron Eckhart) becomes a touchstone of morality, someone that everyone looks to as the epitome of what Gotham can achieve. Conversely, Batman morphs into the hero that Gotham needs, not the hero that Gotham wants. It's a fantastic juxtaposition that becomes a running theme right up until the credits roll.
Of course, then there's the Joker. Ledger is downright magnificent in the role, and I went into it kind of skeptical. For whatever reason (call it upbringing, call it being too critical, or call it being a hateful bitch), I shut down whenever something has too much hype. Yes, Ledger is dead. Yes, it's terribly sad. No, that doesn't mean that the Joker is going to be the best performance of his career. His death lends nothing special to what he created, except an offscreen poignancy that there will be no more from this very fine artist.
So, I was delighted to find that he was everything that people said he was. There absolutely was something Brando-esque about his characterization - a certain nuance combined with fearlessness that made him so mesmerizing and mysterious. We're never quite sure what creates this monster, but in certain moments, we're let into a broken heart that has festered and rotted for an untold number of years.
He's terrifying, bitterly humorous and glorious all at once. Just amazing.
Bale, as usual, is the perfect anti-hero. He wrangles with his own inner demons with such grace that Bruce Wayne's stagnation and self-punishment are utterly believable. While Ledger has the benefit of playing a character who's intoxicated generations of readers and movie-goers, Bale is more than an equal match, playing against Ledger's scattered madness with an intensity of focus that is equally unnerving.
And that's part of the point, isn't it? At the end of the day, each of us has the capacity to be either the Joker or Batman. On a certain scale (hopefully, a much toned-down one!), we are capable of committing horrible acts of cruelty, acts of vengeance masked by self-righteous heroism and the occasional selfless act of true heroism. Few of us are saints. All of us are sinners. The question becomes what kind of sinner will you be?
Posted by Greg Marzullo,
Washington Blade Features Edito| Jul. 22 at
9:47 AM | GMarzullo@washblade.com
Neil Patrick Harris has a new cult hit: "Dr. Horrible's Sing-a-Long" has taken the internet by storm, adding to the Harris cult-fan machine.
The star of "How I Met Your Mother" and the "Harold and Kumar" films has teamed up with Joss Whedon (producer, "Buffy the Vampire Slayer") and Nathan Fillian ("Firefly," "Serenity") for Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog (www.drhorrible.com) a 3-act musical miniseries with Harris playing the titular role, Dr. Horrible, an evil mastermind determined to win the woman (!) of his dreams and take over the world.
Fillian is nemesis Captain Hammer, and Felicia Day portrays Laundromat Girl, the redhead with a sweet singing voice who has won both of their hearts.
The first two acts were released this week and can be seen right now. The final third act will be released July 19, and the whole thing will only be available through July 20. Once it's gone, it might not be gone for good, however. Dr. Horrible has been a runaway hit, with reported traffic of up to 1000 visitors to the site per second.
It's also available for $1.99 on iTunes; the success may pave the way for a release to iTunes or DVD, and possibly even future projects for the cast of characters.
All three acts were made in under a week and the entire project cost in the low six figures.
WATCH:
Dr. Horrible's Sing-A-Long [Hulu]
Posted by Dan Renzi,
| Jul. 18 at
5:18 PM | drenzi@expressgaynews.com
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