YouTube Violence - A Case For Compassion

urban violence
Originally uploaded by Mihail Mihaylov

I was reading through The Huffington Post this weekend, as I usually do to get my daily news fix, and while I was reading about oil spills and joblessness, I found not one, but two separate links to videos showing real life people getting shot! One was the horrible shooting in Oakland CA, and the other was, I think, a mugging in Europe.

My question is this? WHY? Why do we need to see this violence and why does a respected news provider feel the need to share this violence in video form?

This YouTube age in which we live, where every cell phone and electronic device can become a video recorder, and then that video can be posted on the web by any Joe Schmo with a broadband link, is becoming too much for me. I already know the terrible things my fellow human beings are capable of, and I have an imagination to give me the corresponding images. I do not need to actually see real life crimes and violence taking place!

For years we have been talking about how the young generations are being desensitized to violence by TV shows and Movies, and how shoot ‘em up video games can possibly encourage violent behavior in their players, but where I think the real danger lies is giving people access to images and videos of real life violent crimes. By watching these horrors every day we program our brains to become numb to the atrocities of the world. I am afraid our human compassion for each other is becoming endangered of extinction. Watching someone’s life get snuffed out should not be entertainment - it should be horrifying!

I am all for the media sharing with the world everything that happens, even the not so great stuff. We, as citizens of this world have a right and a duty to keep informed on world events. However, there needs to be a line that we should not cross concerning how much info is too much. We need to remind ourselves that each story we hear or see is about real flesh and blood people with families and hopes and sorrows all their own. The human capacity for compassion is one of our greatest assets. It should be nurtured and cherished and we need to do everything we can not to let it die.

Sing Elton, Sing!

elton john
Originally uploaded by Yourticketmarket

This last week Rush Limbaugh got married for like the hundredth time because he feels that marriage is sacred and he just can’t do it enough. But that is neither here nor there. The fascinating part is that he offered Sir Elton John 1 million dollars to perform at the wedding, and The Rocket Man accepted! For days now, pundits and those ladies at The View have been going crazy about the “should he or shouldn’t he have” aspect. After all, in case any of you live under a rock, Elton is gay and Rush hates the gays. Take a moment for some deep breaths now if that shocked any of you.

Here is what I say. Hell yes take a million dollars from Rush. At least we know it’s 1 million less going towards his hate mongering. That said, though, I am proud of Elton. Just because Limbaugh is a bigot does not mean that the rest of us have to be. In fact, Elton is the only person out there right now willing to cross over and possibly build some bridges. He has gone where no gays have dared to go before (at least so publicly), and that goes for his concert in the Middle East a few weeks ago as well. I applaud you Sir Elton. We need to stop standing on principle and have the balls to be the first to reach out a hand for a shake. Now Elton, take that money and put it in your AIDS fund and tell everyone that Rush made a generous contribution, then come on back to Sherwood Forrest. You deserve a big gay party!

New Summer Music!

put the record on the needle
Originally uploaded by dz_knight2003

OK kids; get your headphones ready and your excited faces on because some brand new music is heading our way this summer! The two new albums that I am most excited about are Kylie Minogue’s “Aphrodite” and Scissor Sisters’ “Night Work”. Yes, you read right. New Kylie and Scissor Sisters in the same summer! I am so excited I alliterated without even trying!

Kylie’s first single off “Aphrodite” is entitled “All the Lovers” and is already becoming a hit on the radio. I listened to it for the first time last weekend when it was released online and I was enraptured – a strong word, I know, but it’s truly how I felt. There is an ethereal quality to this song that is not quite like anything I have heard from Ms. Minogue before. She has always had that cheesy electro pop sound defining her music, which worked wonders for her smash 2002 album “Fever”, but, despite critical success with her two subsequent albums, I felt they were a bit “same old same old”. How pleasantly surprised I was then when I laid ears on “All the Lovers”. It still has that signature electro-pop sound, but more mature now and sitting at the grown up’s table. If the rest of the album follows suit with “Lovers”, then we are all in for a real treat come July 5th when it is released.

Scissor Sisters are also sounding pleasantly different these days. They have been giving sneak previews of tracks from “Night Work” on their website which is where I heard their new song “Invisible Light”. If I didn’t know what I was listening to, I might not have guessed it was Scissor Sisters coming through my speakers. We all fell in love with those over the top campy tunes from their first two albums and I was expecting more of the same this time around. Instead, I encountered a much harder, and heavier vibe with less falsetto and more pulsing bass - visions of dark, smoke machine filled basement clubs dancing in my head. I have read that the band had a hard time putting this album together, and ended up scrapping their first try all together prompting them to take a break during which they got inspired by euro-disco and techno from the 70s and 80s. The visions of smoky basements now all make sense. I like what I have heard so far. It is a new step for this group, and I think, one in a good direction. Look for “Night work” on June 28th.


To hear Kylie’s “All the Lovers” click here:
http://www.kylie.com/

To Hear Scissor Sisters’ “Invisible Light” click here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zPnDEvn_HW0

I Quit Perez (or at Least I’m Gonna Try)

You may have been reading these past few weeks about that article in “Newsweek” by Ramin Setoodeh entitled “Straight Jacket”. It about how he believes gay actors cannot convincingly play straight. He uses Sean Hays - whom you probably all know best as Jack from the TV show “Will and Grace”, and who is currently staring in the Broadway revival of “Promises Promises” - as his shining example. Setoodeh stated that Hays’ portrayal of a heterosexual man in the musical isn’t believable. Hayes is just too gay.

Oh dear. That is awfully tricky stuff to be printed in a national news magazine. A lot of other people thought so too and a firestorm of responses quickly erupted.

One of the more prominent online responses came from Hayes’ co-star in the show - the amazing and genius (my humble opinion) - Christen Chenoweth. Chenoweth wrote a poignant and eloquent letter to “Newsweek” in defense of Hayes and all the other out gay men who are working, as actors. Along with support for Hays’ performance she also states that Setoodeh’s article is homophobic.

Oh dear again. This kind of statement is prime fuel for that firestorm, and indeed the storm did grow.

I read both the “Newsweek” article and Chenoweth’s response, and as a gay man as well as someone who works in this business they call show, I was cheering for Chenoweth. I agreed with her thoughts on how difficult it is to be an out gay man, or woman for that matter, and be a successful, working actor or performer. There is just no precedent right now for accepting gay actors as “actors” as opposed to just “gay”. Neil Patrick Harris maybe.

The final piece of this crazy puzzle for me, however, was a response to both of these pieces written by screenwriter, producer and playwright, Aaron Sorkin for The Huffington Post. He supports Chenoweth’s statements but also cuts Setoodeh some slack. Sorkin’s main point, though, was that America, and the media in particular, have just gone crazy in terms of that we are calling “news”. Due to the fact that we have such easy access to information these days, we are demanding something new every time we turn on our computers. In order to meet that demand, the media is then “reporting” on more and more outrageous stories. Sorkin, in his article, makes a point for us – the news consumers – to stop demanding such trash from the media. Every time we click on Perez Hilton or turn the channel to Extra, we are saying, “Give us more gossip and negativity!”

Reading Sorkin’s article made an impact on me and made me realize that I was just as much to blame for all the gossipy reporting out there as those actually putting fingers to keyboards. I click on Perez every day, and often devour the gossip for an hour or more. It’s a form of entertainment. But I forget, as do we all, that each story is actually someone’s life.

I have decided that I am going to quit Perez Hilton ( I am only using this site as an example, there are many other gossip sites out there as well. Perez just has the distinction as being the most well known). I am removing the site from my bookmarks and will instead click on the real news, or just not click at all. I may be only one of millions getting their daily gossip fix, but if I let myself believe that my one voice doesn’t count at all, then I should just go ahead and quit now. So my friends, think about the bigger picture and then maybe make a change.

For the Newsweek article click here:

http://www.newsweek.com/id/236999

For the Chenoweth response click here:

http://blog.zap2it.com/thedishrag/2010/05/kristin-chenoweth-slams-newsweeks-anti-gay-actor-theatre-review.html

For the Sorkin piece click here:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/aaron-sorkin/now-that-you-mention-it-r_b_574210.html

What do you remember when you hear...

Don't you love when you hear a song from your past and how you can be immediately transported back to a very specific time and place in your memory? You often go to that first time you heard the song, or an important event were the song was playing. It never fails, though, to be completely vivid! This song came on my ipod the other day and I instantly flashed back to the first time I head it. I was in high school and away at band camp. (yes I went to band camp) It was after the long day of marching and drills and we were all sitting around in the common room listening to music. That's it. I don't remember who I was with or any other song. I just remember feeling tired and happy.

What do you flash back to when you hear this song?

Making a smoothie!

I LOVE Chicago – Alinea

So, Restaurant Magazine – a UK publication – just released it’s World’s 50 Best Restaurants list for 2010, and a Chicago institution – Alinea - made the list at #7 making Chicago the home of the best restaurant in America! Not so Second City now, are we?

I have lived in Chicago now for 11years and it has become my hometown. I am so proud to be a Chicagoan and it has always irked me when this amazing city on the lake gets overlooked in favor of New York and LA and the such. Every once in a while, though, a gleaming beacon shines through and catches people’s eye making them pay a little more attention to what Chicago has to offer. Having the best restaurant in America is just such a beacon.

This will be my last summer in Chicago as new opportunities take the BF and me off to California, but we are determined to enjoy every bit of amazingness this city has to offer till we go. Throughout the summer I hope to share a little more on the many things and places that make me love this city and hopefully make you love it a little more too.

For more information on The World’s 50 Best Restaurants List and Alinea visit these websites:

http://www.theworlds50best.com/

http://www.alinea-restaurant.com/