The Daily Sheet November 2010

[killersmom]

Tuesday, November 9th, 2010

The story behind the Boston Brokebash bookmark By fofol The original date janjo posted this SNIT picture with the incredible poem is lost to me, but it moved me then and now to my core: I’ve been a gay rights activist almost since the day I came out, decades ago - no one should have to live in fear or ignorance. I’ve marched, spoken out at both gay and straight functions, and written two or three letters a day for years for ‘Fenceberry,’ a now-defunct internet gay rights letters-to-the-Editor group, published, nationally and locally, coast-to-coast. I guess that all that civil rights involvement had insidiously made me cynical, especially where heterosexuals were concerned - who could deal with the atrocities of the ‘enemy’ daily for so many years and not eventually develop a good guys/bad guys mentality? At any rate, janjo’s posting was a genuine two-shirts-in-one enlightenment for me, and I had to find out who wrote that incredible poem: who could get it so completely that she could put that picture and those beautiful words together? Her answer rocked me to my roots: this wonderful lady had taken the most poignant homosexual image ever in a popular movie and blessed it with the words she wrote to herself on her wedding night. I wrestled long and hard with a fear of gilding the lily, but still had to acknowledge such a wonderful contribution to my personal peace and finally came up with a design which uses stylized references to the best places in our boys’ lives. The sheep’s head and the full moon are obvious, but it has snowy mountains, the ‘lotments, rushing torrents of water (behind Boston), green grass and trees, and the boys are together on a bed of pine needles - extending that metaphor, the mountains, the moon and the lake right behind them form sort of a grand-scale head board. Just because I wanted to, I gave them each a flight of golden eagles, but still, the design is not a wish for Ennis and Jack, and is not intended for their lives. Rather, it embodies a recognition of the story’s restorative power: it represents what life can be without the irrational fear which is homophobia, the matrix of evil that causes the pain and misery in all the Brokeback lives.  “It could be like this, always.” It should be like this, for everyone. Thank you always, Jess. <<< Click to enlarge.

Q&A With Annie Proulx Annie Proulx, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Shipping News and the short story Brokeback Mountain, celebrated the 10th anniversary of the Katherine Anne Porter Literary Center’s restoration with a public reading and book signing in Kyle. Proulx spoke of the letter she recently received in the mail from a rodeo performer who appreciated Heath Ledger’s attention to detail in the portrayal of Ennis Del Mar in the movie Brokeback Mountain. Proulx addressed the fact that she doesn't like to read fiction unless forced or paid and spoke on familial ties to Wyoming. Jordan Gass-Poore': Has Katherine Anne Porter influenced your writing? Annie Proulx: When I was a kid we lived in North Carolina and I read Katherine Anne Porter for the first time when I was a young teenager (there). I remember being absolutely blown away. I don’t think I can say I was influenced, but I have returned to her stories now and again with great pleasure and find them still enormously powerful. JG: Do you care to comment on the article (Annie Proulx: Blood on the red carpet) you wrote about Brokeback Mountain’s Oscar losses? AP: Before the Academy Awards, I was going to write a piece for the Guardian about the Academy Awards and I expected, and they expected, it was going to be about the gowns. I was very disappointed that Heath Ledger did not receive the much-deserved award and I know that he had pulled the characterization of Ennis Del Mar out of his gut. I think he had called on his gay uncle to help him with a lot of his scenes. I felt very highly of Heath. It was a great tragedy when we lost him.   JG: What did you think of Jake Gyllenhaal’s performance in Brokeback Mountain? AP: I think he’s a sweet boy. JG: Are you still in contact with Larry McMurtry (author of Lonesome Dove and co-writer of the Brokeback Mountain screenplay), do you visit him in Archer City? AP: We exchanged letters for quite a long time. I used to (visit him), but this time I don’t have time to get down there. I’m not sure that he’s there. He lives in Arizona.   JG: Where do you get the details about Wyoming ranching? AP: Hey, I live there. I’m surrounded by ranchers. I know lots of ranchers. I don’t go down into town and hang out at the bar or the restaurant or whatever. If I happen to find myself there I listen. And I have a lot of friends who are ranch hands, archeologists, geologists, and so forth. I get all I need from them.   JG: Was the ending to The Shipping News a happy ending? AP: It is not a happy ending. It is the illusion for a happy ending. At the end, what you got is the absence of pain, so that makes it seem like a happy ending.   JG: What are you reading these days?   AP: I'm reading history as usual. I went to graduate school in Montreal and my field was history, European histories, specifically Renaissance economic history, the Canadian North and traditional Chinese history. It was a small department. Source: star.txstate.edu

Brokeback Mountain in course devoted to Classic Gay Literature The Department of Comparative Literature is pleased to offer its first course devoted to the study of gay literature from around the world. We will be reading Thomas Mann’s Death in Venice, Yukio Mishima’s Confessions of a Mask, Tennessee Williams’ Suddenly Last Summer, Virginia Woolf’s Orlando, Annie Proulx’ “Brokeback Mountain,” Plato’s Symposium, and the lyric poetry of C. P. Cavafy. These texts represent cultures as far apart as Japan and Egypt, ancient Greece and 21st century U.S. Our chief goal will be to examine how these writers transform same-sex experience into literature. Throughout the semester we will be focusing on themes of social repression and class consciousness, gender stereotypes versus biological sex, definitions of beauty, the operations of desire, and their expression through artistic creativity. In addition to reading novels, drama, and poetry, we will watch film adaptations of two of our texts: the Williams play and the Proulx short story. Semester workload will include three analytical essays, one take-home exam, and outside readings on historical contexts and the status of gay people in the writers’ cultures. This course is open to all interested persons, but it is recommended that you have completed the university’s undergraduate composition requirement. Read more.    Source: indiana.edu

Elaine Lancaster Wants Something Very Brokeback Mountain There's are very few places in this fine country where you can make a career out of getting people into a club. Well, one person that knows all about taking the nightlife track is Miss Elaine Lancaster (real name James Davis). Even if you've never heard of her, there's a good chance you've seen her around town. She rolls with the richest and most A-List crowds in Miami. She even calls Pamela Anderson her BFF. This fall, she'll appear on the new season of Bravo's Real Housewives of Miami. So before she starts on her new path of reality stardom, we sat down with the world famous drag queen to ask her about the super secret show and her rumored affair with hottie Colin Farrell. She also revealed that she watches a lot of Fox News and wants to live her own Brokeback Mountain. ...

Did you always know you were going to be a drag queen? I didn't know my vehicle was going to be drag, but I knew I was going to be in the entertainment business. It has created so many wonderful things in my life. At the same time, many people have judged as well. People see me as man dressed as a woman and think to themselves, "That man must want to be a woman." I'm an actor. Speaking of men, do you have one in your life? I say that I am a kept man, because this big blonde woman takes care of me. She pays all the bills; she bought the building I live in. Elaine has been very good to me. One day I will have to send Elaine off to some fabulous resort to live and never see her again. Ultimately, I would like to have a ranch in a western state and spend a lot of time there. Something very Brokeback Mountain. Read more.    Source: blogs.miaminewtimes.com

My Son Is Gay A wonderful mother reflects on having her five-year-old son dress like Daphne from Scooby Doo. Check out some of her post below and read the rest here. We wish all mothers were as accepting and loving as this! "If you think that me allowing my son to be a female character for Halloween is somehow going to ‘make’ him gay then you are an idiot. Firstly, what a ridiculous concept. Secondly, if my son is gay, OK. I will love him no less. Thirdly, I am not worried that your son will grow up to be an actual ninja so back off. "If my daughter had dressed as Batman, no one would have thought twice about it. No one. "But it also was heartbreaking to me that my sweet, kind-hearted five year old was right to be worried. He knew that there were people like A, B, and C. And he, at 5, was concerned about how they would perceive him and what would happen to him. "It is obvious that I neither abuse nor neglect my children. They are not perfect, but they are learning how to navigate this big, and sometimes cruel, world. I hate that my son had to learn this lesson while standing in front of allegedly Christian women. I hate that those women thought those thoughts, and worse felt comfortable saying them out loud. I hate that ‘pink’ is still called a girl color and that my baby has to be so brave if he wants to be Daphne for Halloween." Read more.    Source: passportmagazine.com

Against Friendship The glaze in their eyes gives it away, the slight tightening of their lips, and the nervous breath. When colleagues learn about my new project, they begin to feel sorry for me. “Why friendship of all subjects?” It’s seems quaint to them or just light; in any case, not a legitimate object of inquiry. And when hosts ask me about potential lecture topics and I mention friendship, they ask: “How about something on nationalism or what about aesthetics? The politics of criticism, maybe?” And when I insist on friendship, I pick up the edginess of their fingers on the keyboard. So what’s wrong with friendship and why are people so indifferent to it? How can an important relationship be so lost in the academic radar screen? Of course, there has been in the last twenty years some work on friendship in many fields, such as literary criticism, sociology, psychology, and philosophy. Interestingly, many of these studies begin with the standard complaint about the little interest expressed by the academy in the topic. In Epistemology of the Closet Eve Kosovsky Sedgwick lists many ideological tensions in her examination of the crisis in representation: the heterosexual/homosexual, secrecy/disclosure, in/out, natural/ artificial, masculine/feminine, canonic/noncanonic, discipline/terrorism, majority/minority amongst others. Friendship gets not even a mention because it does not fit into the definitions she examines. It does not manifest the oppositions she believes come to express the modern age. Sedgwick makes a point by her very silence. We’re not really interested in the friend as a simultaneous exchange of the same and the different; but only if this ambivalence can be reduced to an identity. This is why the two men, Jack and Ennis in E. Annie Proulx’s short story, Brokeback Mountain (later made into a film by Ang Lee), can’t be friends. Unlike Gilgamesh and Enkidu, Achilles and Patroclus, David and Jonathan, they can’t fall in love with each other without their love being turned into a binary opposition. Read more.    Source:arcade.stanford.edu

Inspired by Love: Brokeback Mountain Fan Art

A quick search on the internet will reveal wonderful fan art related to Brokeback Mountain,
Jake Gyllenhaal, and Heath Ledger. Take a look at some examples of what devoted fans
have created with their own hands. Images link to their source, click for more info.

















         

Openly gay candidates: Some surprise victories in 164 races The results for some high profile openly gay candidates are often mixed, and they were Tuesday night—with nine of eighteen openly LGBT candidates winning. But there was one big surprise Tuesday night and one shining star and, overall, the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund reported that 106 of the 164 openly gay candidates running Tuesday won their races. The big surprise came in Lexington, Kentucky, where openly gay construction company executive Jim Gray won election as mayor. The Lexington Herald-Leader reported the news shortly after the polls closed at 6 p.m. Gray has been serving as the city’s vice mayor and defeated incumbent mayor Jim Newberry. The paper said the campaign has been one of the most expensive in the city’s history and only the second time in history that a sitting mayor has been defeated. The ballot in Lexington does not indicate party affiliation. According to results published by the Herald-Leader, Gray won with 53 percent of the vote, to Mayor Jim Newberry’s 46 percent. The Herald-Leader noted that Gray lost a bid for mayor in 2002, when his sexual orientation was not public. Gray came out before running successfully for an at-large seat on the Urban County Council. Read more.    Source: keennewsservice.com

The United States Of Movies: Map Assigns A Flick To Every State



Well, they got Wyoming right!

"Do you agree with the movie your state is paired with?"

See a larger map and read more.    Source: huffingtonpost.com

Tuesday’s “Never Been Kissed” episode of “Glee” Glee’s next episode on Nov. 9 is called Never Been Kissed. In a timely decision, producers have opted to address the current rash of bullying through Kurt (Colfer). Fed up with football players harassing him, Kurt ventures off to spy on his glee club’s competition and meets another openly gay student, Blaine (Darren Criss). Producers, according to EW, have not officially decided whether Blaine will be Kurt’s love interest but he motivates Kurt to stand up to his tormentors. Chris shares with EW that he was a social outcast in high school and was bullied by classmates who would often taunt him with gay slurs. Not unlike Kurt, he would fight back with wit instead of his fists. “One time I was walking and someone said, “F–!’ and I turned back and said, ‘Yeah, but can you spell it?’” Read more.    Source: greginhollywood.com[/url

Brokeback Mountain Humor





Spilled Beans



Look, Jack! No Hands!

Have you heard? I'm hosting SNL in November! Stage veterans Scarlett Johansson and Anne Hathaway will each host NBC's Saturday Night Live in November, according to EW.com. Johansson will host the November 13 episode which will have Arcade Fire as the musical guest. Hathaway will emcee the November 20 show, featuring Florence and the Machine. Hathaway's stage credits include Twelfth Night, Carnival, Jane Eyre, and Gigi. She received an Academy Award nomination for Rachel Getting Married, and also appeared in the films Bride Wars, The Devil Wears Prada, Get Smart, Brokeback Mountain, and The Princess Diaries. Source: theatermania.com

Ian McKellan Believes Gay Stars Are Still Pressured to 'Stay in the Closet' Hollywood still has a ways to go when it comes to accepting gay actors and actresses, according to openly gay actor and longtime LGBT rights activist Sir Ian McKellen, who told PopEater on Thursday that he fears agents and managers are still forcing stars to stay in the closet. "I don't think any gay person is going to be happy and bring joy to themselves and other people unless they can be honest about their sexuality, and if other people don't like that honestly, that's a comment on them and not on the person who is being honest," McKellen said at the Savannah Film Festival. "That might seem a harsh thing to say to a young actor who is being advised by an agent to stay in the closet. There are no openly gay stars in Hollywood, so someone is telling them to shut up." Read more.   Source: popeater.com

Jazz Radio Comes to Riverton October 13, 2010 — A non-commercial jazz station, with news headlines from National Public Radio, can now be heard 24 hours a day in Riverton. Wyoming Public Media this week begins broadcasting Jazz Wyoming at 90.5 FM in Riverton. Jazz Wyoming is part of WPM's statewide public radio service. "We are happy to be able to bring Jazz Wyoming to Riverton," says Program Director Roger Adams. "Three years ago we launched Jazz Wyoming in Laramie. It can also be heard in Casper, Cheyenne and Thermopolis." In addition to the wide range of jazz artists featured each day, Jazz Wyoming offers news headlines each hour from NPR. Sunday mornings at 9 a.m. listeners can hear "Open Spaces," the news magazine about Wyoming produced by Wyoming Public Radio news. Jazz Wyoming is non-commercial and listener-supported. A service of the University of Wyoming, Wyoming Public Media is a member of National Public Radio and an affiliate of Public Radio International and American Public Media. A complete program schedule can be found at www.wyomingpublicradio.net or by calling 800-729-5897 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting              800-729-5897      end_of_the_skype_highlighting or (307) 766-4240. Source: uwyo.edu

The Ladies of Brokeback Mountain


         

Nudity in Film: Our Great-Grandfathers' Butts The wonderful thing about erotic reality is that it rears its ruddy head wherever and whenever it has the chance. So I should have anticipated my initial shock and subsequent delight when, on a random Netflix billet-doux, I saw cinematic drool and lust run rampant in a 1934 pre-Code Paramount feature called Search for Beauty. That's a nice title, no? It stars Buster Crabbe, well-known even now as a firm aquatic Tarzan, and an unrecognizably blonde Ida Lupino. The movie proposed a contest to choose the most athletic specimens from gymnastic Anglo places such as Scotland and South Africa, and it was in fact a "real" contest -- in which 19-year-old Ann Sheridan won a part, a contract, a life. Here's the deal. The movie has a scene in which hunky guys show their bare butts. What?!? The gluteal exposure adds nothing to character or plot development, and neither George Cukor nor Mitchell Leisen directed. Towels snap; flesh quivers; it all takes eight or nine seconds. At the time, anyone with a quarter could buy a ticket. ednayarkspay: "It's a madcap movie. Trust me! Nothing says 1930s hunk like Buster Crabbe. When this movie was televised in the 1950s, the locker room scene was abbreviated so as to not offend those who had never seen a grown man naked."   Watch scenes from the movie. Read more.   Source: artsjournal.com/outthere   Watch the locker room clip.

After 14 years as favourite, Jack is toppled into second place Oliver becomes most popular boy's name in England and Wales The 14-year reign of Jack as the most popular boy's name in England and Wales officially came to an end today, with Oliver at last claiming first place following an impressively rapid rise since 2004. The fastest rising boy's name in America was Cullen, the surname of the lead character in the Twilight series of novels, whose girlfriend is called Bella, short for Isabella. Read more.    Source: guardian.co.uk

It's So Easy to Fall in Love




BayCityJohn submitted the image above and says: "I knew there had to be
Brokeback connection! Linda Ronstadt!! Her dad sold farm equipment "

Topic of the Week: Tell Us About Your Profile

The current Topic of the Week suggested by foreverinawe, has been extended an additional week. Make sure you visit and add your own posting, and learn more about your forum friends. CellerDwellar115 says: In the past we've done topics that had personal bent to then: "When did you first see the movie?" "How did you find the forum?" I have some questions that is forum related that I think could be interesting.   How did you choose the set up of your profile? Does your Screen Name have any special meaning? How did you choose your Custom Title? Why do you have the avatar you have? What does the text under your avatar represent? Why did you decide on the signature line that you have? How does it all express you? Visit TOTW today!

The Fifth Anniversary of Brokeback Mountain



Join us in Los Angeles as we celebrate the 5th Anniversary of Brokeback Mountain.

For more details and to keep updated on any relevant news,
visit the Brokeback Mountain Fifth Anniversary thread.

Fun Question of the Week

This week's question: When and where was the first drive-in theater in America built? Here's a hint -- it wasn't any of these defunct drive-ins in Wyoming: Cory Drive-in, Basin, Wy Sunset Drive-in, Buffalo, Wy Mile Hi Drive-In, Casper, Wy Terrace Drive-In, Casper, Wy Motor Vu Drive-In, Cheyenne, Wy Starlight Drive-In, Cheyenne, Wy West Drive-In, Cody, Wy Star Drive-in, Douglas, Wy Aspen Drive-In, Jackson, Wy Diane Drive-in, Lander, Wy Skyline Drive-In, Laramie, Wy Drive-in, Louell, Wy Wyoming Drive-In, Newcastle, Wy Knight Drive-In, Riverton, Wy West Drive-In, Riverton, Wy Motor Vue Drive-In, Rock Springs, Wy Sundance Drive-In, Sundance, Wy Rio Drive-In, Thermopolis, Wy Hilltop Karvue Drive-In, Torrington, Wy West Drive-in, Torrington, Wy Upton Drive-In, Upton, Wy Seven Flags Drive-in, Wheatland, Wy Lloyds Drive-in, Worland, Wy Let us know your answers in the Response Thread. Last week's question and answer:   What Hollywood film was the first to show a woman wearing only a slip and bra? Ennis Del Mark said:  "I'm pretty sure it's PSYCHO (1960), and if so, the lovely lady in question was Janet Leigh." That is correct! The first movie to show a woman (Janet Leigh) in just a bra and slip was Psycho. It was also the first movie to show a flushing toilet!

The Forum Image

Posted by ingmarnicebbmt in Life Through The Lens 5

Post of the Day

Posted by Guardian in Awards Aftermath Part 2

In defending his use of the “that’s so gay” joke in his movie “The Dilemma,” Ron Howard states that he believes in sensitivity, but not in censorship.  As has been pointed out by others on this thread, Ron Howard is a hypocrite on both counts. Has he not heard of the rash of gay teenage suicides?  Does he think, perhaps, this has resulted from sensitive young men being stigmatized because they’re gay?  Does he think that the casual use of the phrase - “That’s so gay! – is going to help troubled gay youth to accept their sexual identity?  Or does he think that the insulated, in-bred, incestuous world of Hollywood, where the putting down of gays is considered just good-natured ribbing, reflects the real world we’re living in?  It would appear that Ron Howard’s sensitivity stops at the Hollywood border. As for censorship, Mr. Howard had no trouble censoring Sylvia Nasar’s book, A Beautiful Mind when he made the film version.  All references to gay relationships John Nash (Russell Crowe) had were expunged in an obvious attempt to make the character more acceptable and sympathetic to the mainstream audience.  Many critics called him on this in citing his whitewashing of his hero and in the romanticizing of his marriage. But what I find particularly pathetic is that Mr. Howard is taking his “free speech” stand on a line that has become so tired from being used in every other TV sitcom.  Perhaps when it was first coined twenty years ago, there was a good-natured ribbing aspect to it.  But over the years it has taken on a sinister cast: It is one man questioning another man’s manhood.  It’s saying: You’re not one of us, you’re one of THEM.  When I hear – That’s so gay! -  it smacks my ears as – You’re so queer!  It is used as a put-down.  As a slur.  It has made the word “gay” stand for something not acceptable.   And what is the epic vehicle that this brilliant bon mot is being used in?  Yet another Vince Vaughn “buddy” comedy to add to the other lame Vince Vaughn “buddy” comedies that have littered the movie landscape.  Dumped on the market in January, the cemetery of movie months, this is the movie that Ron Howard wants to stake his sensitivity and truth on.  This “comedy” better be another Some Like It Hot! Those who wish to defend Ron Howard and Vince Vaughn fall into the same trap many gays do.  Let’s not seem petulant.  Or spoiled sports.  Let’s show we can take a joke as well as the next guy.  Never mind that if the word “gay” were replaced by the word “black” or the word “Jewish,” and used in the same context, it would not fly in Hollywood.   This attitude of let bygones be bygones is strictly a one way street, with gays having to do all the heavy lifting.  This is the same attitude that was adopted by many in the gay community when Brokeback Mountain was denied the Best Picture Oscar because so many in the Academy refused to see the movie due to its “disgusting” (Tony Curtis) subject matter. This is being gracious to the point of self-annihilation. Homophobia in Hollywood continues apace.  And sadly, many in the gay community are willing to accept it as business as usual.

The Cowboy Image

By george66 in Cowboy Up!

"Talk about Vintage!!!"

Quote of the Day

"Thirty years ago, anything was possible in California..."

~ Meg Whitman ~



Jerry Brown and Gregory Hinton in 1978

Photo Caption of the Day

Posted by doodler in Photo Captioning Fun 6

One curve in the road and they missed it

Contributors: Guardian, george66, ingmarnicebbmt, doodler

Calendar of Events If you have ideas about initiating a gathering, go to Start Your Own Threads and get the ball rolling to plan a get-together near you. Fifth Anniversary Screening of Brokeback Mountain and the staged reading of selections from Beyond Brokeback Los Angeles, CA, December 11th, 2010 Let us know of any events you’d like listed here.

The Daily Sheet is a production of The Ultimate Brokeback Forum at www.davecullen.com/forum.

Today's edition by gnash

Researchers: BayCityJohn, Killersmom, Kittyhawk, Marge_Innavera, Stilllearning

Editors emeritae: CactusGal, Marge_Innavera, tellyouwhat, Stilllearning, MissYouSoMuch

We count on you to send us your news items, questions, and nominations for posts of the day.
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[killersmom]

Tuesday, November 23rd, 2010

‘Shameful’ UN vote ‘may lead to more gay executions’ The UN vote removed reference to gays and lesbians in the resolution   A United Nations panel’s decision to remove sexual orientation from an anti-execution resolution is “shameful” and may encourage murders of LGBT people, gay rights campaigners say. The body voted this week on the amendment, which was passed 79-70. The vast majority of countries in support of the change were African or Arabic. Veteran gay rights activist Peter Tatchell said the move was a “shameful day in United Nations history” and would give a “de facto green light to the on-going murder of LGBT people by homophobic regimes, death squads and vigilantes”. Gay rights group Stonewall also criticised the move and said the government should “lead from the front foot” to end homophobic persecution. Chief executive Ben Summerskill said: “The vote by a UN panel to remove sexual orientation from this significant resolution is deeply disturbing. Lesbian, gay and bisexual people face violence, abuse and in some states, execution, because of their sexual orientation. “This is a worrying and regressive step. We call on the UK government to lead from the front foot to end the persecution of gay people in other countries.’ Read more.    Source: pinknews.co.uk

Student mob challenges anti-gay protestors Three members of the Westboro Baptist Church who hoisted signs with anti-gay messages at Michigan's East Lansing High School were met by a counterinsurgency of students. "They're targeting us because in our community we don't care if you're gay or bi-sexual," said Haley Canby, an East Lansing freshman. Read more.    Source: wmbfnews.com

True Blood's Ryan Kwanten Likes His Loyal Gay Following Ryan Kwanten, who plays Jason Stackhouse on the HBO vampire drama True Blood, says his gay fans have stuck with him “through thick and thin.” The 33-year-old Australian born actor talked about his male fans and his gay brother in an interview with gay glossy the Advocate. Kwanten said he's always been comfortable with the idea of male admirers. “Australians are a very open-minded society,” he said, “and I come from a very liberal, open family, so it's something that I've embraced from the get-go.” Read more.    Source: ontopmag.com

City's settlement with Scouts draws fire from gay leaders Philadelphia -- Prominent gay leaders are voicing strong criticism of a proposed legal settlement between the city and the regional Boy Scouts organization, and a key City Councilman is balking at the deal. The proposal calls for the Boy Scouts group to pay the city $500,000 to buy its 13,000-square-foot headquarters in Logan Square, the focus of a civil-rights dispute that began over the Scouts' national ban on gay members. The price tag is less than half the appraised value of the building. But the settlement would end an expensive legal fight and the risk that city taxpayers would eventually have to pay the Scouts' legal bills, now approaching $1 million. Gay-rights advocates say the city's lawyers are putting financial concerns ahead of principle, appearing to subsidize the Scouts' discrimination. Read more.    Source: philly.com

Truth of story about gay wedding on Virgin flight over Canada is up in the air As the residents of Windsor, Ont. lay fast asleep, somewhere in the night sky overhead, two gay men were taking advantage of a brief jaunt into Canadian airspace aboard a commercial flight to tie the knot in front of the captain. At least, that was the story. But even as the romantic tale spread like wildfire across social media networks, cheered on as a novel way to flout American marriage laws, the airline itself cast doubt on its veracity. By the end of the day, it was still unclear whether the purported nuptials were an historic first or merely a joke played by a member of the flight crew on sleepy passengers. It all started early Thursday morning, as passengers disembarking from the overnight Virgin America Flight 28 from San Francisco to New York City began tweeting about the wedding. The plane, they wrote, had diverted over Canada while the captain officiated a ceremony in the galley. “There was a wedding on my flight to New York!” wrote Matt Mullenweg, a San Francisco entrepreneur who developed the WordPress blogging software. “The captain flew briefly over Canadian airspace so two gentlemen could marry.” Read more.    Source: globeandmail.com

Anne Hathaway & Jake Gyllenhaal help each other in the kitchen "Brokeback Mountain" stars Anne Hathaway and Jake Gyllenhaal have become culinary pen pals in real life - they help each other out with kitchen nightmares. Hathaway and Gyllenhaal, who played man and wife in the 2005 film and team up again as lovers in new movie "Love & Other Drugs," often text each other cooking queries. Hathaway has been taking cooking lessons to perfect her kitchen skills and Gyllenhaal is considered one of the best celebrity chefs in Hollywood - so they always have a lot to text about.       The actress tells Entertainment Weekly magazine, "I now have a go-to cooking teacher, which is wonderful." Gyllenhaal adds, "She texts me when she has questions about cooking... The other night, Annie texted me and she was like, 'How can I make breadcrumbs quickly?' "I wrote all these instructions, and it took me 15 or 20 minutes. And she goes, 'Oh, yeah, I already thought of that. That doesn't work.'" Read more.    Source: blog.seattlepi.com

Heath Ledger's Former SoHo Loft To Go On Sale The New York Times reported that the building has been turned into condominiums, which people working in the building said were due to be put on the market any day now. The owner of the building, Donald Burns, renovated the lofts after the actor's death, converted them into condominiums and added two floors to make a $20 million penthouse, the Times reported. Other condos in the building were valued at $3.9 million, for a two-bedroom with 4,400 square feet of space and $5 million for a three-bedroom, the paper reported. Ledger had rented the three-bedroom, 4,400 square foot loft for $23,000 a month, Curbed reported. A real estate agent for the lofts with the Corcoran Group, Jim Farah, said the lofts were not yet on sale. Read more.    Source: dnainfo.com

'Cowboys & Aliens' not an inter-galactic take on 'Brokeback Mountain' A trailer was released online Wednesday and, among other things, the clip makes it abundantly clear that the movie is not an inter-galactic take on "Brokeback Mountain." Instead, a smoking Daniel Craig (who out-hots Ryan Reynolds even on his bad hair days) plays a cowboy who was abducted by aliens and returns to earth apparently having forgotten he's an outlaw. Harrison Ford comes into the picture as the law. And, if this thing is going where the trailer leads, the outlaw and, umm, inlaw join forces to battle aliens. Think of it as "High Noon" meets "Close Encounters of the Third Kind." Read more.    Source: voices.washingtonpost.com

Completely Gratuitous. Jake Gyllenhaal was snapped heading into the Ed Sullivan Theater yesterday to make an appearance on The Late Show With David Letterman, and we cannot tear our eyes away from that SMOKING bod of his! See more.    Source: perezhilton.com

Children of God Picked Up by TLA TLA Releasing has just announced they are handling theatrical and small screen distribution of Kareem Mortimer’s “Children of God” in North America and the UK. The gay Bahamian film, made in a country that has banned screenings of “Brokeback Mountain,” was embraced at the Bahamas International Film Festival. It went on to win awards at NewFest, the Trinidad and Tobago Film Festival, and more. “Children of God” follows the trajectory of three characters:  Lena (Margaret Kemp), a conservative wife of a secretly gay evangelical preacher; Romeo (Stephen Tyrone Williams), a young black man who must deal with hiding his sexuality from his family; and Jonny (Johnny Ferro), a white Bahamian art school student who is figuring out his own identity. Read more.    Source: indiewire.com

Local author quips about flicks Michael Onesi recently watched the movie Marmaduke. His opinion: "Great Dane. Bad movie." The Kingston man's knack for coming up with funny one-liners to sum up movies has led him to co-write a book, Four Word Film Reviews. Some gems in include: for The Wizard of Oz, "Yellow-brick road trip," for The Bodygaurd, "Houston has a problem," and for Brokeback Mountain, "Cowboys enjoy ranch undressing." Onesi paired with a London, England man named Benj Clews to write the book, which was published by Adams Media and is in bookstores across Canada now. ... The book has several chapters, representing different genres of movies. The names of the films are listed with a brief description and up to four humourous reviews are listed. Onesi said he wrote 250 reviews for the book, however 125 people from around the world contributed. A Hollywood actress, a reality TV show producer and the brother of the Old Spice commercial star are among the regular contributers to the original website. Read more.    Source: emckingston.com

Gay prince at special screening of 'Dunno Y...' 'Dunno Y Na Jaane Kyun' might have got dismal reviews everywhere and has definitely not made a mark at the box office but that’s not stopping the gay community of Mumbai from celebrating this very controversial film. While several theatres in the city have taken the film off from their daily screenings, the cast and crew of the film are happy that members of several gay communities have arranged for a special event tonight to honour the movie. At a special screening at PVR Juhu for gays, a completely colourful gay parade will be organised that will be attended by Manvendra Singh Gohil. Gohil is famous for being the only known person of royal lineage in modern India to have publicly revealed that he is gay. The gay prince from Gujarat has even appeared as a guest on renowned talk show host Oprah Winfrey’s chat show. Read more.    Source: ibnlive.in.com

'Office spouse' shares intimacies of the workplace Maybe it's a proximity thing: You're both in the same department or you sit near each other at work. You have the same boss, the same complaints, the same lousy insurance, the same pay cuts. You start talking about work and move on to home repair, childcare or families. Next thing you know, you are having lunch together and pretty soon ... you have an office spouse. They used to be called "a close friend at work," said Jacqueline Olds, an associate in psychiatry at McLean Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. "The expression 'work spouse' is so useful," because immediately people know what it means. "Some people have them and some people don't." ... A work spouse does not have to be of the opposite sex: 67 percent of married women reported they have had a same-sex office spouse , while 34 percent of married men said their office spouse was a dude, kind of "Brokeback Mountain" with office furniture. Read more.    Source: scrippsnews.com

Hit The Road, Jack: The Playlist’s Favorite Road Trip Movies What is it about the road trip that lends itself so well to cinema? Looking down the entries to the genre, some of our very favorite films of all time qualify as part of one of the oldest tropes in the movies, and today’s release of Todd Phillips’ “Due Date” confirms, if confirmation was needed, that the style is still alive and kicking. It’s partly that the filmmaker gets to include as many cinematic locations as they can get their protagonists to visit, it’s partly that the nature of a chase, or a journey, is inherently filmic, and it’s partly that there are few better ways to create drama than sticking a group of characters together and forcing them to travel in the same direction. In honor of Phillips’ movie (which as we’ll see, is dividing the staff here as much as it’s dividing critics around the world), we’ve picked over twenty of our favorite big-screen journeys. Not all are perfect, but all are worth adding to the Netflix queue.

”Wendy and Lucy” (2008)  As silly as it sounds, Kelly Reichardt‘s third film is really more of a detour movie, consisting of what happens when a naively planned life changer of a trip hits a bumpy road. These pictures tend to be minimalistic as it is, but “Wendy and Lucy” really strips the genre bare, focusing on an occurrence that any other film would probably spend a mere ten minutes on and never give a second thought. In doing so, it unearths the strange, dismal, and ultimately probable (whether you naysayers believe it or not) situation of everything falling apart in succession. It manages to hit most of the same notes that other road movies do, but by restricting the traveling to pre-movie and ending, it deals with the various unseen and frightening limits of the country, the system, and humanity in a very enclosed space. It’s also one of the few to really capture genuine and profound kindness, illustrated by Wally Dalton in a key end scene: something that its colder brethren often overlook. [A-] ”The Motorcycle Diaries” (2004)   This story of young Ernesto “Che” Guevera on a long road trip with his friend Alberto Granado is an incredibly intriguing coming-of-age adventure movie that provides insight in to the revolutionary’s beginning. When Steven Soderbergh released his two-part epic on Che’s guerrilla war efforts in Cuba and Bolivia, a wonderful, inadvertent trilogy was finished (franchise, anyone? “Che Guevara: On Stranger Tides?”). Director Walter Salles, DP Eric Cautier and the music by Gustavo Santaolalla paint a lyrical look at South America, as Ernesto and Alberto cruise along the continent via the titular vehicle, providing a worthy backdrop that expresses Guevara’s love for the people and culture while hinting at the motivations to his future revolutionary philosophy. The landscapes are lush and wonderful as the two friends journey through a life changing experience. Lead actor Gael Garcia Bernal (“Amores Perros,” “Y Tu Mama Tambien”) has rarely been better, and it’s proof that Salles is the perfect choice to helm the ultimate road movie, next year’s Kerouac adaptation “On The Road.” [A-] Click for the full list.    Source: blogs.indiewire.com

First Look: Garrett Hedlund As Dean Moriarty In Walter Salles’ Jack Kerouac Adaptation ‘On The Road’ There aren’t many other projects kicking around at the moment we’re more excited for than Walter Salles’ adaptation Jack Kerouac‘s iconic novel “On The Road.” Starring Garrett Hedlund and Sam Riley as protagonists Dean Moriarty and Sal Paradise on a journey across the North American landscape in pursuit of self-knowledge and experience, the adaptation quickly came together earlier this year after spending what seemed like an eternity in developmental hell—a tale well-told in Salles’ work-in-progress documentary “In Search of On the Road”—conjuring a stellar cast including Kristen Stewart, Viggo Mortensen, Amy Adams, Kirsten Dunst, Tom Sturridge, Steve Buscemi, Terrence Howard, Alice Braga and Elisabeth Moss. ...                                                      As if we need more reason to be excited, the project also serves as a reunion for Salles with the majority of his behind the camera team from “The Motorcycle Diaries” including writer Jose Rivera, DP. Eric Gautier, production designer Carlos Conti and composer Gustavo Santaolalla. Of the score, two-time Oscar-winning composer Santaolalla (”Brokeback Mountain,” “Babel”) revealed that “it’s a challenge. Because every time you work with a well known book, an iconic book, it’s already hard to make on a cinematographic level. But in this case in particular, it’s also a musical challenge, because all the beats poets have a very important relation with music, and with a particular music style that’s the Bebop, and a period of time that was very important in music. In that time, people like John Cage, Harry Partch, and Harry Parker became known. That’s something that makes me very excited and that presents me a challenge and I love that.” Read more.    Source: The Playlist

Jake's Got Rhythm! After setting female pulses racing with his recent nude magazine covers, Jake Gyllenhaal turned his talents to rapping last night. The actor appeared on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon with a boyband called The Banana Boyz. He then showed off his impressive dance moves as he joined the host in a very bizarre rap called Gonna Eat That Talkin' Sandwich: The Sarah Palin Song. The obscure number was inspired by Jimmy's rather odd claim that Sarah Palin reminds him of a BLT sandwich. And in his head-to-toe yellow outfit with a yellow bandana, Jake showed that when it comes to talent, he's no one trick pony. But as Jake says, it all comes down to rhythm. The 29-year-old recently opened up about the sex scenes in new movie Love & Other Drugs. He says: 'Anne and I had already had sex on film. There’s something about the way Annie and I both work which is inherently very musical. 'It’s all about rhythm. There’s a rhythm to writing, there’s a rhythm to sports, there’s a rhythm to sex.' See the video and read more.    Source: dailymail.co.uk

Not a Hard Nut to Swallow: Quirky Turkey Facts When removing the giblets before roasting Tom Turkey on Thanksgiving Day take a close look at the gizzard. The tough muscular gizzard, with the help of a little grit, accomplishes some amazing feats. Wild turkeys swallow food whole. Food may be temporarily stored in the crop - a structure like a storage sac extending off the esophagus - before passing on to the gizzard. Turkeys would have a rough time digesting all the acorns and other hard nuts they eat in fall and winter without gizzards. A turkey gizzard is so powerful its muscular contractions can break a thick-shelled pecan into small pieces in one hour. It can grind up 24 English walnuts in the shell in four hours. Hickory nuts are harder nuts to crack. It can take eight hours in the gizzard for them to even begin to crack and 32 hours to be broken into small pieces. Read more.    Source: knoxnews.com

Every Shirtless Pic of Jake Gyllenhaal on the Internet 1. See more shirtless pics.    Source: buzzfeed.com

Happy Thanksgiving from TDS!




A Roar from the Bunkhouse

Nary a thing to eat Thanksgivin'
   Only tin can truck!
Gettin' tired of such a livin',
   Blame the orn'ry luck!
Nothin' only beans an' bacon—
   Pard, excuse these tears!
Seems jest like we've been fursaken—
   Darn this punchin' steers!

Folks back home are jest a-stuffin'
   Turkey-meat an' pie;
At them feed-fests there's no bluffin';
   Gosh, it makes me sigh!
No sich dinner for us fellers
   In this camp appears;
Turkey ain't fer cowboys' smellers—
   Darn this punchin' steers!

Weather soggy-like an' murky;
   Makes me mighty blue;
Thinkin' of Thanksgivin' turkey
   Makes me h'umsick, too.
Sour-dough bread an' canned tomaters
   Ain't th' grub that cheers;
Oh fer pie an' mashed pertaters!
   Darn this punchin' steers!

Bunkhouse bunch are sick as blazes
   Bein' fed this way;
Gettin' so th' maynoo raises
  Sam Hill ev'ry day!
ev'ry mother's son a-kickin'
  When th' truck appears!
Never git a sniff o' chicken—
   Darn this punchin' steers!

Same ol' bread an' beans furever!
   Gosh, we'd like a change!
Reck'n we won't git it never
   While we ride th' range!
Oh, fer some o' mother's cookin;—
   That's th' dope that cheers!
Guess my callin' I've mistooken—
   DARN this punchin' steers!

~~~

by E. A. Brininstool, from Trail Dust of a Maverick, 1914

Read more about E. A. Brininstool and his poetry here.  Source: cowboypoetry.com

Fun Question of the Week

This week's question: In 1939, President Franklin D. Roosevelt moved Thanksgiving one week earlier in November, believing that doing so would help bolster retail sales during one of the final years of the Great Depression. While most states switched over that year, some held back in protest. Which state was the last to change, observing the last-Thursday Thanksgiving for the final time in 1956? Let us know your answers in the Response Thread. Last week's question and answer:   When and where was the first drive-in theater in America built? Lyle (Mooska) got it right when he pinned New Jersey down. According to wikipedia: "The drive-in theater was the creation of Camden, New Jersey, chemical company magnate Richard M. Hollingshead, Jr., whose family owned and operated the R.M. Hollingshead Corporation chemical plant in Camden. Hollingshead's drive-in opened in New Jersey June 6, 1933. He advertised his drive-in theater with the slogan, "The whole family is welcome, regardless of how noisy the children are."(The first film shown was the Adolphe Menjou film Wife Beware.)"

The Forum Image

Posted by Trigger Hippie in Life Through The Lens 5

"Some pics of a panto cast"

Post of the Day

Posted by BayCityJohn in Brokeback Mountain Memorabilia

Found this on Craigslist today. I can not vouch for authenticity Date: 2010-11-11, 9:48PM PST Set of 6 $75 each Whole set is $450 These chairs were used in the Thanksgiving Dinner scene at Jack's house in the award winning Brokeback Mountain Excellent condition Plush aubergine velvet

 

Source: vancouver.en.craigslist.ca

The Cowboy Image

By BayCityJohn in Respond to the Daily Sheet

"Brokeback Mountain", Acrylic on canvas, by Steve Walker

Quote of the Day

"When an old pond gets a new frog, it's a new pond."

~ Zen saying ~

Photo Caption of the Day

Posted by Marc in Photo Captioning Fun 6

Oh my God, Ennis ... those are the worst fake sideburns I've ever seen!

Contributors: BayCityJohn, Lyle (Mooska), Trigger Hippie, Marc

Calendar of Events If you have ideas about initiating a gathering, go to Start Your Own Threads and get the ball rolling to plan a get-together near you. Fifth Anniversary Screening of Brokeback Mountain and the staged reading of selections from Beyond Brokeback Los Angeles, CA, December 11th, 2010 Let us know of any events you’d like listed here.

The Daily Sheet is a production of The Ultimate Brokeback Forum at www.davecullen.com/forum.

Today's edition by gnash

Researchers: BayCityJohn, Killersmom, Kittyhawk, Marge_Innavera, Stilllearning

Editors emeritae: CactusGal, Marge_Innavera, tellyouwhat, Stilllearning, MissYouSoMuch

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