Whine & Cheese

Random Friday Ramblings

We built this beautiful new stadium and no one shows up! 

That is what the folks in Shanghai have been saying this week. It has not been a good first year for the brand spanking new Qi Zhong Stadium.  The stadium is supposed to resemble a magnolia blossom... and even cooler yet, the roof is retractable!

But the stadium is probably the biggest attraction at this year's Tennis Masters Cup - the big year-ending event on the professional men's tennis tour.

The event is supposed to feature the Top 8 players of the year in a round-robin event.  Astonishingly enough, 3 of those 8 either did not make over to China due to injury/personal reasons and 2 more withdrew prior to or shortly after their first match.  The ATP Tour is having a hard time explaining this to tournament officials... calling it a "perfect storm" and promising there will likely not be a repeat any time soon. 

I am guessing those who do not follow tennis likely are more familiar with the players NOT playing... Rafael Nadal, Andy Roddick, Lleyton Hewitt, Andre Agassi, and Marat Safin... than those who ARE on the court.  So the Cup is pretty much just left with #1 Roger Federer, who has been a bit hobbled with an ankle injury of his own.  Heck, even as a pretty rabid tennis fan, I am finding it hard to muster up some enthusiam over a Nikolay Davydenko vs. Mariano Puerta match!

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What exactly did Jennifer Aniston do to be named "Woman of the Year"?  Well, except to agree to be photographed on the cover of a men's magazine with half a breast exposed.

Despite being accused of some recent Jen bashing in my household, I really do like her just fine... she genuinely seems like a nice person and I do think she is quite a attractive.  It is just every so often, I experience some "Jen fatigue."  Like when news of the divorce from Brad Pitt hit... or during the never-ending "Friends is ending" media coverage... or when she got married to Brad Pitt... or when "the Rachel" hair-do was all the rage... but other than those times, I really don't mind her at all... seriously!

Now she has publicly handled the divorce with all the grace and dignity you can ask ... but I just tired of seeing her have to dance around the topic on every single talk show in the country (and also her new non-relationship with Vince Vaughn)... it is really no one's business, despite these talks shows trying to convince us otherwise.

But Woman of the Year?  Now, I realizes this is not Time Magazine... so it is of no real consequence... more of a marketing ploy... but c'mon she got a divorce, made a movie (or two), and had to go on the press junket from hell... is this really an accomplishment?  Now, Angelina Jolie wooing Pitt away from America's Sweetheart... now that's doing something!

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Note to future Survivors:  You want to keep the annoying guy!

It was another classic Survivor repeat blunder on last night's show.  With all the tribe shuffling, I have lost track of who was on what tribe... but going into the merge it was 6 vs. 4... the plan (as it always is) is for the 6 to get rid of 4 before turning on each other.  But this never ends up happening... and "the plan" got thrown to the curb again last night.

Now I could certainly sympathize with the Survivors, we only saw part of Jamie's paranoic ramblings on last night's show and I was rolling my eyes and thinking to myself "shuuuut the ff&$#ck up" ... but this is the under-rated "survival" part of Survivor.  Sure the elements, lack of food, physical contests, being away from your family are all tough... but keeping around a person you (and no one else!) can't stand ultimately ends up being the one challenge most Survivor contestants fail at.

I think anyone could have won in the finale over Jamie.  Heck, even Lydia... who Probst just stopped short of calling a "capital-L" Loser during last night's challenges.

Now, we'll just see if the women are smart enough to take advantage of this abandonment of the 6 vs. 4 plan.  The ladies now have a 4-3 advantage... pick off each of the guys.... barring an individual immunity the following week the original trio of Steph, Cindy and Lydia then knock out Danni... Steph and Cindy battle it out to take Lydia to the final and take the crown.  Easy, huh?  But we all know that is not going to happen... it never does!

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Finally (!!), Oprah's topic yesterday was When I Knew I Was Gay. 

Well, actually the first half hour was devoted to that specific topic... with the remainder of the show focused on an 18 year old lesbian dealing with her mother's not-so wonderful reaction to her relationship with a 21 year old "I never was attracted to another woman before her" girlfriend (in the name of Anne Heche, run young girl run!)

So that got me thinking... when did I know?  "Know" not being acceptance or action (that's a whole other post...or not!). 

But one memory does stand out to me... and as embarrassing as it is, I guess I will fess up.  One time when I was shopping for spiral-bound single-topic notebooks for the new school year, I remember being drawn to one featuring a shirtless Dirk Benedict of Battlestar Galatica... well, not he had a sweater with the sleeves thrown over his shoulders and tied together over his chest (quite the fashion statement, huh?).  Not this picture here... which is really quite more gay than this particular notebook cover (don't you just love the unbuttoned denim shorts?).  The funny thing is I don't even remember if I watched the show... but Dirk was pretty hunky at the time.  So how old did that make me... well a quick check shows Battlestar aired in 1978... so that would have made me 10 or 11.

But I am sure I "knew" well before that... flipping through 70s pictures to find that Dirk picture stirred up some other memories.  I seem to remember being a fan of Nancy Drew (played by future Dynasty star, Pamela Sue Martin), but having a pull towards the Hardy Boys (Shaun Cassidy and Parker Stevenson)... both of those were circa 1977... and I think I was even guilty of getting an issue of Tiger Beat (or two)... so gay, gay, gay, gay...  I guess I should stop my mental teasing of Carson Kressley!

Amateur Hour Photography Critique: Volume 2

Ok some Friday fun and time for another round of making having hopefully a little bit of a laugh with some "naughty" amateur pix... if you missed Volume 1 you can check it out here.

Just a reminder... I have blocked out the faces to protect the guilty... as well as any nudity... that said, clicking on the links below will "pop-up" a picture that may NOT be 100% "work" safe.

I thought it would be a bit difficult to keep this going... but apparently there is not a shortage of questionable choices when it comes to amateur photography... so here we go...

Insert Pussy Joke Here - Another of my amateur pic pet peeves is ... well, including your pet you in the photo!  I know this can happen... pets tend to be interested in what you are doing and follow you around... but when it does purposely I have more of a problem with it.  And let's face it, this kitty can NOT be very comfortable in this picture!

Medusa? - Here is another example of being careful what your background is when you are taking a picture.  I am guessing it was not this guy's intention to have it look like candles and ironwork were coming out of his head.

Strong Shelves, I Hope - This picture makes me a bit nervous... no, it has nothing to do with the guy in his tighty-whiteys on the bed... but could you sleep soundly if there were that many books and other crap piled quite high on shelves right above your head!?!

Invite Me Over For Brunch! - Nothing wrong with this photo... granted I think it is a strange time to snap a photo -- getting dressed in the middle of the living room.  But what caught my attention here was the food on the countertop... quite the spread and it all looks yummy!

Time to Clean The Bathroom - Oh boy... this one is a mess... literally!   While I admit to occasionally leaving an oft-used personal hygiene product out on the bathroom counter... there is just waaay too much crap here.   Mouthwash, shaving cream, soap, deodorant, toothbrush, vitamins, aspirin... and those are thing things I can identify!!  To top it off, the mirror is filthy!!  But at least this guy does not commit the amateur faux paus of holding the camera to his face and it being a picture of himself taking a picture of himself ... got that?

Naked in the Woods - Well, this picture would be okay if this guy was outside... however when the tree and butterflies are painted on the bedroom wall... maybe you should re-consider your setting!  A bit inappropriate if it is a kid's bedroom... and if it is his bedroom (don't worry he's listed at age 27 years old AND... a top!), I think a paint job is long overdue!

That's all for now.  We'll see if I have any troubled coming up with some more... but since I already have my first candidate for next time, I pretty confident there will be a Volume 3!

AI4: "Not That There's Anything Wrong With That" News Edition

Boy, just a whole lot of gay-related news swirling around American Idol-land... here are scoops and links!

Current Idol contestant Anwar Robinson has been outed by AfterElton.com -- guess he wasn't really keeping it a "secret."

That most trusted of sources, The National Enquirer, says the reason Mario Vazquez left the show this season was that another contestant was threatening to out him.  In an added twist, Mario also hired Clay Aiken's lawyer... while many hinted this might have something to do with the sexually ambiguous Season 3 runner-up, general thought it was more for legal advice on dealing with those reportedly "sign your life away" AI contracts?

Openly gay Season 1 contestant Jim Verraros has a whole new look and is releasing an album of dance/club music. Verraros has also appeared in the gay indie film Eating Out.

Gay-fave from Season 3, Kimberley Locke is shopping around a reality series called "Aren't You That Girl?" which would follow Locke as she heads back into the studio to record her second album and get married to Don Campbell.

Finally, recently ousted Mikalah Gordon (and drag queen/fag hag wannabe) is not being shy about wanting to land a role on a sitcom...  no shocker that she mentions Fran Drescher's new show.

Amateur Hour Photography Critique: Volume 1

With a basic digital camera so affordable these days, it seems like nearly everyone has one... or if they don't they probably have a cell phone that takes pictures.  And so the "popularity" of taking risque and publicly posting pictures of oneself has exploded as well.  Gay men, in particular, seem pretty open to this activity... kind of makes sense since the general belief is that men (hetero or gay) are more visually oriented. 

So finding an "amateur" website on the Web is not a challenging task at all.  While I am not a big proponent of "you've seen one, you've seen them all" - you definitely start noticing other things. 

Although I don't do it all that much these days, I think I am a fairly good photographer.  People tell me I have "the eye" and my other half can tell you many a story where I waited (and waited and waited) to get "the right shot."  And if I couldn't get the right shot, photography-oriented software has been one of my favorite things to tinker with (improving the lighting, cropping, etc.). 

So I am going to do a little combo of the two... looking at some "naughty" amateur pics and doing a little photo composition crticism.  Why did you take a picture there?  Are you trying to get on home improvement show? 

I can't take credit for this idea... there was a website that was totally devoted to this type of "analysis"... I forgot its name, but it was pretty fun... so hope they don't mind that I borrowed the concept.

Now, the faces have been blocked to protect the guilty... and similiarly I have "black-boxed" out any nudity.  That said, I am presenting these pics as "pop-ups" for a reason... nudity is well-implied tho, so I do NOT consider these to be work-safe.

Are you ready?  Click on the link to pop-up the picture:

Got Wood (Paneling)? - I am not exactly sure what this guy in the speedo was thinking. He is not centered in the picture, so I think the object was to show off this lovely wood paneling and that he has no place to store his CD collection. Likewise, note the area around his feet -- obviously he had to move a very heavy circular object in order to pose in that exact spot.

Harnessing Electricity? - There's not too much wrong with this 20-something, especially if you are an aficionado of leather harnesses.  While my initial focus was on the subject at hand, there was eventually a distraction.  Good idea to take a pic against a blank wall ... but ideally you would have unplugged the cords (going off somwhere outside of the picture's range) and had your leg cover up the outlet.

How *Not* To Improve An Already Ugly Couch - Nothing wrong with taking a nap on the couch au natural (ok, he probably wasn't sleeping... just pretending to) - but man this couch has go to go!  The crocheted blanket only adds to the design disaster... and what would Grandma think?!  If you love the couch too much at least go out and consider a nice slip cover!

Shutting the Closet - Let's see...  my closet could probably qualify for disaster relief funds, clothes all over my un-made bed and strewn about... I know, I'll take a naked pic of myself!! I admit to not being the neatest person in the world, but what a mess... or maybe it was just laundry day?!

Cleaning the Counter Top? - A pretty nice kitchen, but a bit cluttered don't you think?  That is if you can get beyond the naked man on the countertop!  Now I have seen the sit on the counter top pose, but not quite this completely horizontal take.   Hope they had some Lysol Santizing Wipes for afterwards!

Separation of Church & State (of Undress) - Counter top man strikes again... a pretty cute pic... always a fan of using the cowboy hat to cover up the privates... but this is an example of one one of my biggest amateur photo pet peeves - if you are going to take a naked or semi-naked picture of yourself, you should try your best to avoid the crucifix being part of the picture.

That's all for now.  As you see, I dubbed this post "Volume 1"... so it will probably be a semi-regular feature here on W&C.... research, research, research.  Tough task!

Free Willy

Thanks to the Beaverhausen Blog for making my Monday a little brighter with the links to these pix...

Prince William has taken up water polo! And no sir, not with those aerodynamic full-body swimsuits that are the rage these days among competitive swimmers...folks, we have speedo!

So here are some links... which a) make me feel 49% dirty man for actually remembering when he was a baby and b) 51% for making me feel... ummm... something else...

Will in the pool
Out of the pool...holding the ball
Full frontal speedo
The Royal Bum...almost

Gym Music

Since there was no American Idol on last night (though I did see this one guy do quite a bit of dancing), I thought I would still keep today's blog entry music oriented. I have been to the gym 2 times in the past 4 days (quite the record of late)...and my workout would not be complete with my MP3 player.

With a little hesitation, I thought it would be interesting to disclose the songs that I work out to. My fear was that it would be "too gay"...but then it crossed my mind that I should have thought of that before I started blogging! But let's face it - gay-cons like Cher and Madonna are good workout music material...

So here's the current playlist... I hit shuffle and jotted them down:

"Get Down Tonight" - KC and the Sunshine Band
"The Shoop Shoop Song (It's In His Kiss)" - Cher
"Whenever, Whereever" - Shakira
"Vogue" - Madonna
"My Love Don't Cost A Thing" - JLo
"Rock Your Body" - Justin Timberlake
"It's My Life" - Bon Jovi
"Got To Be Real" - Cheryl Lynn
"The Rising" - Bruce Springsteen
"I'm Gonna Get You Good" - Shania Twain
"Midnight Train to Georgia" - Gladys Knight & The Pips
"Sweet Dreams" - Eurythmics
"Don't Tell Me" - Madonna
"Walking on Broken Glass" - Annie Lennox
"Half Breed" - Cher
"Why Can't I?" - Liz Phair
"Believe" - Cher
"Intuition" - Jewel
"Everywhere" - Michelle Branch
"Missionary Man" - Eurythmics
"Long Time Gone" - Dixie Chicks
"I Drove All Night" - Celine Dion
"Sledgehammer" - Peter Gabriel
"One Week" - Bare Naked Ladies
"If I Wanted To" - Melissa Etheridge
"This Kiss" - Faith Hill
"Kiss" - Prince
"Up" - Shania Twain
"Deeper and Deeper" - Madonna
"Smooth" - Santana w/ Rob Thomas
"All Things Just Keep Getting Better" - Wide Life
"Crazy in Love" - Beyonce
"Into the Groove" - Madonna
"Come to my Window" - Melissa Etheridge
"Drops of Jupiter" - Train
"3 AM" - Matchbox 20
"Strong Enough" - Cher
"Even Better Than The Real Thing" - U2
"That Don't Impress Me Much" - Shania Twain
"River of Dreams" - Billy Joel
"Suspicious Minds" - Dwight Yoakum
"Fighter" - Christina Aguilera
"Soak Up The Sun" - Sheryl Crow
"Walking on Sunshine" - Katrina & The Waves
"Breathe" - Michelle Branch
"Keep Your Hands To Yourself" - Georgia Satellites
"Pavement Cracks (MacQuayle Mix)" - Annie Lennox
"Hard to Handle" - Black Crowes
"Always On My Mind" - Pet Shop Boys
"Hey Leonardo (She Likes Me For Me)" - Blessed Union of Souls
"Gypsies, Tramps, and Thieves" - Cher
"Elevation" - U2
"Can't Get You Out of My Head" - Kylie Minogue
"Lady Marmalade" - Moulin Rouge soundtrack
"One Last Breath (Six Feet From The Edge)" - Creed
"Maria" - Ricky Martin
"Steve McQueen" - Sheryl Crow

Pretty darn eclectic I think... spanning musical genres and the past three decades!

What's your favorite music to workout to? I am always looking for new stuff to add into the mix.

Coming Soon: Big Brother! The Amazing Race!! Dunkleman???

A couple of TV tidbits from Zap2It to start off the week:

'Big Brother,' 'Amazing Race' Return in July

Although I knew that two of my favorite reality shows were scheduled to be back this summer, it was still nice to read about it in print! Big Brother is the guiltiest of pleasures...while if I was forced (and it would be by force dammit!) to limit myself to one reality show it would be The Amazing Race.

There is a little crossover between the two shows this season...the "good" news is that they will be airing back-to-back on Tuesday nights (with BB getting its traditional two more airings per week)... the bad news BB4's Alison and her footballer-boyfriend Donnie will be one of the teams on TAR5. Remember finalist Alison or had you almost (like myself) managed to repress her from your memory? She was last year's runner-up but was most well known for flirting with almost every guy on the show...then running off and crying about hurting her boyfriend Donnie...but recovering quickly enough to straddle some other guy five minutes later. I know its part of the "game"...but she was still pretty annoying beyond this "strategy." I will have to come up with some of my own reality TAR "dream" teams some time.

Another site also unveiled a new feature for TAR5...which I am sure host Phil will happily define for us each week...it is called "the yield." Like the fast-forward, teams will have a one-time opportunity to delay a team that is on its heels. This should
be pretty juicy...tensions get high on this show and I can only imagine how pissed off teams will be when they are purposely delayed by the competition.

VH1 Will Test Celebs' 'Gaydar'

Is America's new favorite pastime trying to figure out who is straight or gay? Apparently so (though the producers of Playing It Straight may tell you otherwise), VH-1 entering the "game" with a twist on "To Tell The Truth" where a "celebrity" panel will grill contestants to determine their sexual preference.

Who's hosting... American Idol ex-co-host Brian Dunkleman! Yes, the very man who left (was let go?) after season one because (I believe) he did not want to be pigeon-holed as a game-show host...and thus allowed Ryan Seacrest to take over the world! But heck who knows, maybe he is on to something...before Survivor Jeff Probst's greatest claim to fame was hosting VH-1's "Rock 'n Roll Jeopardy."

The Real Southwest? / Introducing the F.A.G. List

Caught up on a couple of episodes of A&E's Airline last night...this is the reality-documentary show that follows Southwest Airlines' staff and passengers as they cope with traveling challenges...and often with each other. Who "wins" is anyone's guess... I can't imagine anyone watching this show and not think twice about booking a flight on Southwest. I have flown Southwest several times (mostly short jaunts to Vegas) and I have never had any problems with them...but despite being one of the few successful carriers out there this show more often than not shows them in a poor light.

But is it the airlines or the type of passengers they seem to draw? Do I want to be sharing a seat with a passenger that is a) drunk, b) rude, c) senile, d) wacky, or e) all of the above. The show makes you think that 85% of passengers fall into one of these categories. But I guess boring passengers like me don't make for good airplay on a TV show. So I will continue to be amused by the show...until something like what happens on the show every week plays out for me in real life.

I just imagine Yolanda has risen to rock star status by now over at LAX...she seems pretty cool!
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As another added service to my blog, I thought I would help out the poor folks who land on this site thanks to a search engine a little bit more. Why they click on what is obviously a blog is a totally different issue!

I have already created an index of my American Idol-related blog entries - by far the most popular search topic ever for my blog.

But there are other topics...well actually men...that bring folks to my blog over and over and over again. So I figured I would do my best to answer their search requests. So I introduce my F.A.G - Frequently Asked (by) Googlers (also referenced on the sidebar to the right).

The first two honorees into my F.A.G Hall of Fame:
Josh Duhamel and Nate Berkus

QAF Cover Boys / Idol Odds / Gotta Love Jessica

The gay media machine is already in overdrive about the return of Showtime's Queer As Folk 4th season premiering April 18th. The most popular gay rags have interviews with on-air couple Robert Gant (Ben) on Out and Hal Sparks (Michael) on The Advocate....but don't fall for the false advertising on the cover...

Out shouts "His Most Revealing Photos Ever!"... but turn to the interview and the hunky Gant is quite dressed up but has nude models around him (one even with a [gasp!] woman)...still sexy, but not what I was hopin' for. The Advocate boldly predicts the Sparks piece is "the interview you've waited four years for"...but what a eye-popper, the interview piece features the hetero-but-homo-friendly Sparks with only a rainbow flag slyly hiding his privates.

So what do we learn? Sparks thinks Gant is a pretty good kisser, while Gant acknowledges that he and Queer Eye's Kyan Douglas "are just getting to know each other right now" but not much else. Imagine all the product used in that house! At least they probably shave in the right direction.... oh boy, won't go there!
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Ready for our first look at the Final 12 American Idol contestants? If you are looking for probable eject-ees... the money seems to be on legend-in-her-own-mind Leah LaBelle and cocky footballer Matt Rogers ... both are "leading" the current Entertainment Weekly departure polls (45% for LaBelle, 27% for Rogers... everyone else in single digits), while professional odds-makers online have also placed that duo on top of their dark horse list... Labelle 31:1, Rogers 26:1.

Are Fantasia, LaToya, and Diana already destined to be the Top 3?
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Jessica Simpson is at it again... this one from Richard Leiby's "Reliable Source" column at The Washington Post:

Simpson, whose verbal gaffes are legendary, pulled another one Sunday visiting the White House, our sources say. The singer was introduced to Interior Secretary Gale Norton and gushed: "You've done a nice job decorating the White House."

Gayer.... Totally!

There is that joke that "my TiVo thinks I'm gay"...a quick gander of our "Now Playing" list on Saturday morning left little doubt...

Totally Gayer - Yet another one of those compulsively watchable, but instantly forgettable, VH-1 specials and the sequel to the aptly titled "Totally Gay." As I just said, can't really remember all that much about it...but it was bubble gum fun...as one of the "expert" panelists said it is totally a different world for kids growing up today with gay folks heavily littering TV and movie screens. All I remember from my youth was Billy Crystal on "Soap" and John Ritter's Jack Tripper "playing gay" on "Three's Company"... no wonder it took me so long to come out!

Playing It Straight - Pretty conflicted about this one as I was with Bravo's original take, Boy Meets Boy (or "Playing It Gay"). What we learned on the premiere episode was that a hair dryer is the "gayest" thing a man can own (btw, I don't own one)... half the show seemed obsessed with this very issue as our gal Jackie tried to ferret out the gay men in order to land $500k. Poor Jackie was just in tears over being lied to (yes, LIED TO!) by the gay guys just trying to win money (if she picks gay the guy gets $1 million, if she picks straight she splits $1 million w/ her hetero). I could totally empathize, who would ever expect to be "lied to"...on a reality show...on Fox?!?! Jackie's gaydar probably needs to go back to the shop as she tossed off two straight guys (out of 14 candidates) in the end...after an elimination process that made American Idol's results show seem speedy...

Will & Grace - Poor Debra Messing... with months to go on her pregnancy I am thinking the show will soon have to be presented in letterbox! Not a stellar episode (but that is pretty much the case these days), but nonetheless it was fun to see Edie Falco play something other than Carmela Soprano.

Queer Eye - A little backed up on episodes here...but decided to "skip ahead" and watch the latest episode featuring USA pairs skater, John Zimmerman...still the hottie I remember from the Olympics! For the first time in QE history no physical makeover to really speak of...even Kyan was having some hair envy...but I think even a pedicure could not do much for that poor guy's feet...do ice skates be officially re-classified as some sort of torture device?! Though a little slow on some things (he hasn't learned any of the language or traditions of his Italian honey over 6 years of dating and 4 months of marriage?), he certainly was not lacking much in the romance department. Heck, his interpretation of the pretty awful "paper art" was a lot more gag-worthy than most of the "advice" that Jai comes up with (and that is saying something!).

Newlyweds: Nick & Jessica - Okay, not explicitly gay-themed except for the thoughts that go through our heads whenever Mr. Lachey is on the screen. We are finally well into Season 2 - though a still handful of episodes behind. Still very amused by the show, though had to spit up a bit finding out that Jessica's birthday wrist-watch gift to Nick cost more than I made salary-wise for all of last year!