I’m four days late on this, but in my defense, I’ve had a busy week and just last night got to catch up on some of this week’s Daily Show/Colbert. This was tough, because I’ve been dying to watch Operation Iraqi Stephen all week.
Unfortunately, I heard about the haircut beforehand. (Thanks a lot, Washington Post Express. Next time, I WON’T take a free paper when a vendor offers me one on my way to the Metro.) I knew he shaved his head on the order of President Obama. So, that was out.
I DIDN’T know he would be wearing an awesome camouflage suit. Nor did I know he would show us his “rigorous” 10 hours of basic training in South Carolina. Most of my favorite segments on The Colbert Report are when he goes out into the field, and this was no exception. Also, friend of the blog Nicki observed that watching him do push ups was kind of hot, and I totally agree.
Also hot, and totally unexpected? How good Stephen Colbert looks with a shaved head. See:
Those who know me know that I am usually all about the long, unruly hair, ala Tim Riggins. I am not usually a fan of the close cut. But, well, damn Stephen. You pull that off real nice. (Or, in the words of Kevin Malone, Niiiiiiiceee.)
I’ve got two more episodes left, and don’t know when to watch. A part of me wants to now; another part wants to drag out the magic a little longer.
Nice going, Colbert.
Video of the Day: Evidently, they needed to rehearse the cut. Ha!
I am behind on my Daily Show watching. For shame. It’s bad, but I always feel so out of touch when I don’t get my daily dose of fake news from Stewart and Colbert.
I haven’t posted anything about the American Idol finale, mostly because I don’t want to cause any interweb wars over Adam vs. Kris.
I will just say that I think the wrong person won, and even though it will be better in the long run for Adam to not be contracted with American Idol, it still pissed me off and made me sad because he should have won. He was clearly more talented. And I don’t even think that’s objective. Say what you will about his style of music, and his artistic choices – I know they are not everyone’s cup of tea. I didn’t like everything he did (despite my love for Simon Cowell, and generally thinking he is a brilliant music producer, Adam completely ruined “One” a few weeks ago – you don’t mess with perfection), but it was clear from the start he was the most talented contestant. And, if that weren’t enough, I am honestly still kind of baffled by his losing after the penultimate show – “A Change is Gonna Come” was, hands down, the best performance of any song ever to grace the American Idol stage. (And that includes anything Melinda Doolittle ever did – which says a lot.) In case you missed this performance, here it is. You can’t tell me he didn’t deserve it after that. (Not even taking into account the whole season – “Tracks of My Tears”, “Mad World”, etc.)
Vodpod videos no longer available.
Anyway…those are my thoughts.
Except – have you all seen this? It’s for some charity event awhile back. May I just say, on a totally superficial note, DAMN. I’m totally going to an Adam Lambert show one of these days. The entertainment value alone will be worth the price of admission.
In case your DVR cut out in the middle of the AWESOME end to Glee last night, here is the song, in full. Thanks, Hulu!
I am going to have this song in my head for days now. Also, the Glee-tastic (I just made that up) versions of Rehab and Don’t Stop Belivin’ are up on Itunes. I’m all over that.
So, I can pretend this post is going to be about all the things I’ve been promising to write about: The Ben Folds a cappella CD, (Still good – only 2 real duds – one of which is, surprisingly, “Brick.” Best tracks hands down are “You Don’t Know Me” and “Magic.” See this post to hear the erm, magic that is “Magic.”) a review of Grey Gardens (Loved it so much, and not just because Broadway Boyfriend Malcolm plays piano – though it doesn’t hurt.), my new media obsession (It’s Dan Savage, and his Savage Love Podcast. I recently started working out on a [semi] regular basis, and I find his podcast is perfect for those 30-40 minutes – not serious, entertaining, and doesn’t require all of my attention.)
I could also write about the fact that yesterday, I received two CDs in the mail – the Broadway cast recording of The Story of My Life (*sigh* I’m still not over it being closed so soon), and The Journey Home, which is the first solo CD from my Broadway love, Malcolm Gets. (Yes, that’s right – TWO Malcolm Gets CDs in one day! I know! This is very exciting if you are me.) Get yours here and here.
But what I really want to talk about is this show I can’t seem to stop watching. I’m so six years behind on this, but uh, Queer as Folk – the American version? Oh my god, you guys. WHY did no one tell me about this show? And why one earth did no one tell me about Brian Kinney? Huh? Huh, Internets? I had no idea what I was missing!
Okay, so the show isn’t perfect. In fact, there are times when it’s downright cringe-worthy. (And no, I’m not talking about the love scenes, unless you’re talking about Dr. Dave and Michael. In which case, yeah, gross. Cause Dr. Dave SUCKED.)
But, the thing is, when it’s good? It’s really good. I feel kind of weird saying that, because I think for the most part, it’s thought of as a guilty pleasure show, and maybe even…dare I say it…network approved gay porn? (Maybe? Maybe not. I don’t know.) That’s not why I like it. (Though, it certainly doesn’t hurt that there are pretty boys making out with each other. I mean, I’m only human.)
When I first started watching, I thought, “Okay, so this is kind of like a gay male Sex and the City.” And it is, to an extent. The show follows the lives of five gay men living in Pittsburgh. Their friends are their family. Instead of meeting at a coffee shop every morning, it’s the Liberty Diner. They don’t go to every hot club in town, just one, Babylon. But that’s not why I like it, either.
So, why do I like the show? (Besides getting to stare at Gale Harold and Robert Gant for an hour?) I think it’s the relationships. I care about Brian and Michael’s lifelong friendship. I want things to work out between Justin and Brian. I kind of love Professor Ben, and think he’s such a better match than stupid Dr. Dave. (Have I mentioned how much I hated him?) I was happy for Michael when he got the comic book shop. Heck, even Brian’s Lesbians (TM TWoP) grew on me after awhile.
Oh, and Emmet Honeycutt. Anything with Emmett Honeycutt. More Emmett, please! Particularly if he’s in drag. I almost died when he dressed up like Jackie O.
Things I could do without?
– Michael’s mother. This mostly has to do with the actress. I like the idea of her character, but Sharon Gless is just terrible in the role. (Please don’t throw garbage at me, Cagney and Lacy fans!)
– Uncle Vic. Again, I like the idea of him, and don’t even mind the actor. But they give him the worst story lines and dialogue.
– Ted being a douche. I like Ted, but he has a big d-bag quality that makes me hate him half the time. Also, I don’t care what anyone says, running a porn site is just creepy. *shudder*
– Stilted dialogue. The show has good ideas, but sometimes the execution is less than stellar. And sometimes the dialogue is really bad.
But then sometimes, it’s awesome. Like when Brian’s father died:
Tears, folks. There were tears. Also, props to the QAF team for playing a Badly Drawn Boy song in 2000, when he was still relatively unknown (at least in the US). Also, if you’re going to use a Badly Drawn Boy song, that’s the one to use. It’s the best song he’s ever written.
Also, this scene, which is amazing. I know it’s nothing new to old QAF fans, but I rewound it about five times when I saw this episode. (We won’t talk about what happened after.)
Other observations. (Note: I’m only on season 2, so no spoilers, please!)
– Bring back Daphne, please!
– Seriously, more Emmett Honeycutt. I seriously underestimated Peter Paige when I first started watching, and now, he’s one of my favorites. He can go from cracking me up to making me cry in the blink of an eye.
– Brian Kinney. Seriously. OMG. Love him. So much that I am now totally bummed that it seems like Jackson’s storyline is done on Desperate Housewives. I watched all season and didn’t know! I didn’t know he was so fabulous! Dear World, Please cast Gale Harold in more things.
– I like Justin’s mother, but she needs to grow some more balls. She’s improved this season, but still has more growing to do. Which is fine – I like seeing character growth over several seasons. Just…keep it up.
– I read that Emmett and Ted are a THING in season 3. Ted is at his best when he’s with Emmett, but I’m still unsure about this whole thing. They’re so good as friends. Plus, Emmett is too good for Ted. (I don’t hate Ted; he just needs to grow, too.)
– I am so glad they gave Michael a decent boyfriend in season two. Also, Robert Gant is sort of impossibly good looking. Especially when he’s wearing glasses. So, good on you, writers. So why Dr. Dave in season 1? Was this supposed to help Michael grow, somehow? To have him love someone other than Brian? If so, you all failed. But then you brought in Professor Ben, so all is forgiven.
And um, thus ends my probably incoherent fangirl rant about Queer as Folk. Sorry. I just…had to get that out.
Those who know me know that I am usually all about the long, unruly hair, ala Tim Riggins. I am not usually a fan of the close cut. But, well, damn Stephen. You pull that off real nice. (Or, in the words of Kevin Malone, Niiiiiiiceee.)
Retrowatching 