Nice is nice

I simply love the style of the sixties. The narrow ties, the bouffant hairstyles, the elegant cocktail dresses, the entire world dressed as if about to step out of a 1964 Lincoln Continental.

Even the lowly sitcom had panache, to wit the Dick Van Dyke show with the lovely and talented Mary Tyler Moore. Both trained dancers, in case suburban living should suddenly cause one to burst into song. Which it often did.

And in their third season, the revered Christmas Special, called "Alan Brady Presents". All in all one of the best Christmas episodes of any sitcom (mental note: remember when sitcoms had Christmas episodes)?

The interplay between Rose Marie and Morey Amsterdam is charming, but I'm simply all about the hot Santa-On-Santa action at 1:45. An original song by Persky and Denoff, and Dick and Mary do an engaging dance number. Be sure to listen to Mary's cutesy catty comments at the end of each line, and watch their faces- they are having a great time.

What ever else you do, stop at 6:00 before the awful nails on a blackboard rendition of "Little Drummer Boy" by Larry Matthews. The most untalented child actor of all time, this rendition proves that not all children are cute. A reminder of how welcome Thenol was in the sixties. Enjoy:

if hermey were gay

Although Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer was my favorite Christmas special, it nonetheless gave me nightmares. The passive aggressive Santa, seeing poor Rudolph forced into the closet, and Hermey. Where did he get that hairdo?

Well, kids, this is just about the funniest thing I have ever seen. Imagine what would happen if Hermey the Elf and Avenue Q crashed head on and there were no survivors..The bedroom scene alone is simply brilliant. Check it out...

Prop 8: The Musical

I know I'm the last one in the world to post it, but here it is..

Prop 8: The Musical:

See more Jack Black videos at Funny or Die

The latest news is that some wingnut organization calling itself the Christian Anti Defamation Commission wants an apology. Apparently the piece is so right-on in nailing their hypocritical asses regarding selective interpretation of the Bible that they are offended.

So hurry up and apologize, y'all. Right.

deer friends

Here from Father Tony, who got it from Tornwordo. So it's the pass-around-Sally of Holiday greetings.

And yes, this is the real me. And I'm mostly okay with it, although to go through life with a secret alias from a Volkswagen of the seventies is a bit offputting.

You Are Dasher

You're an independent minded reindeer who never plays by the rules. Why You're Naughty: That little coup you tried to stage against Santa last year Why You're Nice: You secretly give naughty children presents.

Which of Santa's Reindeer Are You?

best friends girl

When was the last time a song made you feel as good as this?



I do admit to a certain summer evening in 1984 when I danced around my red sports car in the garage while this played on the radio.

I'd go back there in a heartbeat...wouldn't you?

gentle angry people

A follow up to yesterday, here's Holly Near and the San Francisco Gay Mens Chorus at the 2008 Moscone and Milk memorial, singing the song she wrote in response to the political assassination of Harvey Milk. Dan White pulled the trigger but Anita Bryant and John Briggs have their fingerprints on the gun.



Never more appropriate than it is today as we recoil from the lies and the bigotry and the persecution which certain so called "evangelicals" are slinging our way for the crime of merely existing.

Well, I have news for you all (and I know you visit here). We exist, and we do not apologize for that. Our right to be here is not one iota less than yours. And we will not be demonized. We have conducted peaceful protests in every major city in the US, and that's just the beginning.

We're not the aggressor here, we've been demonized and tortured for thirty years. You are not the ones whose rights are being diminished. You are not the ones being murdered on the streets. You are not affected in the least. We are. We are not attacking you, we are responding to your attacks on us.

I was made by the same benevolent creator that you were. If you have a problem with that, take it up with Him (or Her).

We are a gentle angry people, and we are singing for our lives.

got milk

Today I had a much needed day off at the end of a tumultuous month in which we saw the beginning of a much needed new day for the Presidency and our international reputation, a severe setback at the hands of the forces of bigotry and oppression, and a wave of optimism and power as our forces take to the streets and demand our civil rights.

On this World AIDS day, I took myself to see Milk, about the life and times of the greatest gay politician we have yet seen. And the parallels to our time are as stunning as the film itself. It is a must see for everyone who has a piece of this struggle.

A deeply moving and indescribably amazing film, we watch this seemingly irrepressible man try again and again to find a place at the table for his gay and lesbian people. We see a striking similarity with the utterly evil Proposition 6, which would have compelled school districts to fire gay teachers. In what could only be described as a triumph of common sense, Proposition 6 went down to defeat. And I strongly suspect that if we had a focused leader such as Harvey Milk in our presence today, Proposition 8 would have failed as well. In fact, if this film had opened a month before the election instead of a month after, it might have made the difference.

In his own words, spoken at his memorial by Anne Kronenberg:

I can be killed with ease.
I can be cut right down.
But I cannot fall back into my closet.
I have grown.
I am not myself.
I am too many.
I am all of us.

And here is a tribute by Sean Chapin to Harvey Milk and George Moscone on the thirtieth anniversary of their tragic loss:



Read more about Sean's tribute here.