James Franco keeps me sane

It’s been a week of insanity, with Canada now an international laughing stock. Thanks, Steve!

In other right-wing-idiocy news, 72-year-old Moscow mayor Yuri Luzhkov spoke at an HIV/AIDS conference and said that condoms don’t work and homosexuality should never be discussed:

“We have banned, and will ban, the propaganda of sexual minorities’
opinions because they can be one of the factors in the spread of HIV
infection.”

I can only speak for the sexual minority propaganda on this blog but I’m sure someone would have emailed me by now if they’d contracted HIV from it. Dick.

Besides, if he read any science at all, Luzhkov would know that HIV has been around a hell of a lot longer than any of us suspected. Or wanted.

Kind of like the Catholic Church, which still inexplicably exists after centuries of murdering women and raping children. Go figure. Now, San Francisco Archbishop George H. Niederauer is trying to mend fences with gay people after his leadership on the California gay marriage ban led to protests:

“Proposition 8 simply recognizes that there is a difference between traditional marriage and a same sex partnership.”

See? Just a difference! It’s like a different water fountain or a different seat on the bus — why so serious?

Meanwhile, the Church is advertising its annual calendar of hot Roman Catholic priests:

It’s like they’re acting out “The Thorn Birds” except that Richard Chamberlain finally came out! Their pathology is off the charts — it makes me crazy!

Movies usually cheer me up but today comes word that Hollywood is working on remakes of 80s favourites like “They Live,” “Arthur” and even “Romancing the Stone.” Kathleen Turner replaced by…who? Anne Hathaway? I go insane!

But a new study says that happiness is contagious — it’s the little things that get us through, like this list of The Top 10 Male Nude Scenes of 2008

 

(Nice to see Jason Segal getting some love!).

James Franco, so lovely and solid in “Milk,” is on that list and a Black Book interview with him cheered me up enormously:



“As soon as I got out of high school, I was like, I don’t care if anybody’s gay. It doesn’t matter. Doing “Milk,” I don’t know if it broadened my mind at all. I like to think that I was as open as I could be at that point.”

Steven Harper, take notes: this actor is smarter and more humane. Thanks, James!

A former editor of the late, lamented fab magazine, Scott has been writing for Xtra since 2007 on a variety of topics in news pieces, interviews, blogs, reviews and humour pieces. He lives on the Danforth with his boyfriend of 12 years, a manic Jack Russell Terrier, a well-stocked mini-bar and a shelf of toy Daleks.

Keep Reading

The cast of All Stars 11

‘RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars 11’ is a second chance for the bracket format. Will it work this time around?

Early enthusiasm for the Tournament of All Stars last season was dampened by the back half of the season, raising the question of whether this format is viable in the long term
A flaming torch

‘Survivor’ helped me climb a volcano

Instead of training for a gruelling day-long hike, I listened to podcasts about my favourite TV show. It paid off
Michaela Coel and Anne Hathaway

‘Mother Mary’ nails how devastating a first lesbian breakup can be

In A24’s new pop star drama, Anne Hathaway captures the physicality of a tormented ex-lover aching for answers—and deliverance
The cover of Afternoon Hours of a Hermit; Patrick Cottrell

In ‘Afternoon Hours of a Hermit,’ Patrick Cottrell writes a protagonist who does everything wrong—again

The pseudo-sequel to Cottrell’s acclaimed first novel brilliantly retraces old ground
Advertisement