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Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Monday, May 30, 2011
Vacation Vixen: Naya Rivera
Friday, May 27, 2011
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Vacation Vixen: Alex Kingston
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Vacation Vixen: Sarah Shahi
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Hey, hotties
But, of course, whenever there’s a list of anything (hotties, TV shows, humus recipes, paint thinners, etc.) you also have people complaining about whoever is on the list. “How could Person X not be on this list?!” “How could Person Y be on this list?!” “You are all nuts because Person Z should be the only person on this list 100 times, and then another 100 times because that’s how awesome Person Z is.” “Whatever, Person Z is fat.” Sigh.
I’ve discussed the sometimes problematic exercise of ranking women in the first place before. But I consider the AfterEllen Hot 100 voting to be a somewhat respectful objectification, more than just tawdry leering (fine, OK, there’s a lot of that, too). What I enjoy I enjoy most about it is not just looking at this list of beautiful women, but looking at this list of beautiful women who queer women consider beautiful. We can argue all we want about who is and isn’t on the list, but in the end we made the list. This was voted on by us. And that’s why I like it. I think us gay gals bring a different perspective that is all-too-often missing from the oiled-up bikini babes that tend to dominate other such lists. And, no, I am not bashing oiled-up bikini babes. Especially since I hope to see many when I’m near the beach in the very immediate future. Still it’s that variety, the nuance and the reasoning that always intrigues me about this very special list of 100 ladies each year.
The Top 10 this year is particularly interesting:
- Naya Rivera
- Heather Morris
- Jessica Capshaw
- Sara Ramirez
- Olivia Wilde
- Amber Heard
- Shay Mitchell
- Dianna Agron
- Lily Loveless
- Lea Michelle
I find this group fantastic because it says that what we love most in women this year is women who play gay, are gay or act gay with their best friend on Twitter (oh, Achele, you adorable teases). We think it’s beautiful when women allow us to see ourselves reflected through them – either through their real lives or their portrayals on screen. That’s an important thing to celebrate and acknowledge. We are very loyal to those who are good to us. One of the greatest struggles when you’re part of a minority group is to find yourself in the wider world. Where are the other people like me? How can I see my own life? Who will tell my stories? And these women have given us that, and that’s special.
We may disagree about who ranked where and when. We may argue about who should be higher and who should be lower. We may bemoan what kind of women got left off and what kind got let on. But, in the end, it’s just a list. What is important is that women – in all their forms, shapes, colors and ages – are beautiful. They all deserve to be on a list. And we, as women who love women, should feel great about the simple act of acknowledging our attraction and appreciation for them out loud. Sometimes, you’ve just got so say it. Damn, women are fucking hot.
Monday, May 23, 2011
Live Glee Girls
“The Glee Live! In Concert!” (their exclamation points, not mine), kicked off on Saturday in Las Vegas. It’ll run until July 3 (ending with dates across the pond for you UK Gleeks). And already there are breathless reports from fans about who danced when to what. And video, lots of delightfully shaky, enthusiastically joyous video. And, because I care, I’m happy to share them with you without even charging a service fee.
My life can now be split into two distinct categories: 1) Times when I am watching Heather Morris dance and I am happy, and 2) Times when I am not.
Naya Rivera, “Valerie”
She ran, backwards, in heels. Also, don’t think I didn’t see you checking out Naya’s ass there, Heather.
The Cast, “Born This Way”
Naya wore the Lebanese shirt. And black knee socks. And tiny, tiny, tiny shorts.
Right, so, clearly in the interest of supporting these hard-working actors and allowing them to continue to practice their craft, I must now buy a ticket to this show.
It’s about the appreciating the arts, people – not seeing those tiny, tiny, tiny shorts in person. Ahem.
Friday, May 20, 2011
My Weekend Crush
The industry always frets that “women’s films” don’t make money. But the truth of the matter is bad women’s films don’t make money. And, let’s be perfectly honest, most chick flicks suck. But when instead you give us quality, fleshed-out characters and whip-smart writing, and we will come to the tune of a $26 million opening weekend. And, heavens, I haven’t even started on the performances. Perfect cast is perfect. Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph, Rose Byrne, Wendi McLendon-Covey, Ellie Kemper, Melissa McCarthy. Good God, Melissa McCarthy. You all know I love Kristen to bits and pieces already, but Melissa nearly stole the show from some of the best show stealers in the business. If this cast doesn’t finally and forever put to rest the idiotic “women aren’t funny” bullshit, then nothing ever will.
I think one of the best things about this film, other than the free ab workout from the ugly snort laughing, was leaving the theater made me feel good about being a woman. Too many films make us feel bad about our womanhood. They say only the happily ever after will make us truly happy. But “Bridesmaids” reached for a different kind of aspiration, the sort that says it’s OK to let your freak flag fly. We’re too complex for the stereotypes, too interesting for the Hollywood ending. We women are weird and wonderful creatures, and it’s nice to have a film that celebrates that for a change. Boys, you are more than welcome to come along for the ride. But this movie, this movie is all ours, baby. Happy weekend, all.
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Doctor-patient privilege
And one of those shows, which I’ve quietly watched and loved, is “Lost Girl.” I know right now many of you are smacking your foreheads and saying FINALLY! And I know many (many, many) of you emailed and tweeted me about this show last year to alert me to its amazingness. Fear not, it did not fall on deaf ears. I’ve mentioned my total enjoyment of the Lauren & Bo bits before. But news yesterday of the SyFy channel picking up two seasons of the Canadian series to air in the US has convinced me to finally talk about the supernatural sexiness that is this show. A bisexual succubus who feeds on sexual energy and gets involved with a human doctor who is, essentially, enslaved by the Light Fae (supernatural forces, there are Light and Dark, just go with it). Now that is interesting stuff.
But back to Bo and Lauren. I, basically, love them together. The pathos, oh, the gorgeous gorgeous pathos. First there’s Anna Silk, who is like sex on a sharp, pointy stick. She’s like Mary Louise Parker had a younger sister who had a thing for leather. And then there’s Zoie Palmer, who is our soulful Dr. Hotpants. If we all had primary care physicians like her, we’d never ever eat apples. (Because, um, they keep the doctor away…get it?) Together they’re this delicious combination of reserve and hunger, often from the person you least expect. Their slow burn in the first season was grown-up and complicated. And, heavens, was it hot. So, so hot. (Some spoilery bits in this video, but come on, you know you are curious.)
Seriously, thank you, Canada. I will never make an “aboot” joke again if you keep bringing the Bo and Lauren sizzle.
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
A perfect match
Right, so now I think they’re just fucking with us. Jane Rizzoli and Maura Isles at speed dating? Jane and Maura ending up with each other? Jane and Maura being called “a perfect match?” BE MORE GAY, RIZZOLI & ISLES. Seriously. What I’ve always enjoyed about this show is that the powers that be haven’t shied away from the undeniably electric chemistry and unabashed female friendship. Quite the contrary, TNT seems to be reveling in it. In fact after that promo, come on, they’re practically taunting us with the subtext. They’re essentially begging us to make it maintext. Don’t think we won’t, TNT. Don’t think we won’t. Have you seen some of the photo manips out there? Yeah, we’re ready.
Speaking of ready, have you seen the finished use-that-crime-scene-like-a-catwalk promo?
Good gravy, do we really need to wait until July? That just seems interminably long until the return of all that eye sex. Sigh.
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Tank Top Kalinda
Right, so, first things first. That was hot. Also a) Kalinda needs to wear less high-necked tops and show those girls off more because daaaayum and b) I would watch an entire hour of nothing but Archie Panjabi kissing women’s backs – I really would.
As I’ve mentioned before, I’m not a regular “The Good Wife” watcher, which I know I should probably be because it’s a quality grown-up show. So here are a few of my more-than-likely ill-informed thoughts on the matter.
First, while I will take my primetimes hook-ups between female characters on American television almost any way I can get them, I’m always a little disappointed when they’re part of some sort of downward trajectory/shame spiral/reckless period for a character. The perfect example of this is when Thirteen on “House” had her hooking up with hotties phase (when she was also clubbing and drugging, for an episode). Was it hot? Yes. Was there a built-in even if not explicitly intended message that sleeping around with women is reckless. Yes. And given Kalinda’s current fallout with Alicia, I would say she at very least isn’t in the best place emotionally. But, again, I could be off base on this.
Second, I am glad to see however that the realization that she is having yet another affair and potentially hurting another relationship is sinking in. So that seems like growth. And it also suggests that had the lady with the bed head been single, none of this would be a problem and many, many more back kisses would be happening.
“The Good Wife” is a rich and textured show, and I appreciate the slow burn they’ve done while revealing Kalinda’s sexuality. And I also appreciate that as a bisexual character the liking ladies part of her personality isn’t just told in stories about her past or random dangerous hook-ups, as they have mostly with Thirteen.
Man, I wish Jill Flint wasn’t on “Royal Pains” so they could bring Lana back. Now that was some smoking, available, shame-free hotness right there. And, I am not kidding, I could watch Archie kiss women’s backs forever.
Monday, May 16, 2011
GLAAD to meet you
Waiting along a red (well, in this case blue) carpet rope line is a strange thing. You wait, and you wait, and then you wait some more. And then, all of a sudden, people you’ve seen on TV appear before you. It’s really quite bizarre. Like, hey, that’s Mario Lopez. Or, wait, is that Tabatha Coffey. And then your heart about stops dead in your chest because, oh my sweet heavenly God, IT’S NAYA FREAKING RIVERA.
But, I just might be getting ahead of myself. For those who don’t know, I covered the GLAAD Media Awards in San Francisco for AfterEllen.com over the weekend. Naya Rivera was the host and Sara Ramirez was a presenter. “Sex and the City” star Kim Cattrall and “The Kids Are All Right” director Lisa Cholodenko won awards. And I was there for the whole thing. I know, such a terrible gig.
So there I was with I’d guess about 20 to 25 other media outlets – some were photo services, some were for video outlets and many for online publications. Every outlet gets a spot on the carpet marked by one plain white sheet of paper. Luckily, not all the press showed up so my photographer and I didn’t actually have to squeeze ourselves into the size of an 8x10 sheet of paper. We had about two pieces of paper worth of space instead. (p.s. I took this crappy shot, clearly.)
As soon as one of the celebrities stepped on the carpet it was flashbulbs and the event publicist going down the line asking which outlet wanted interviews with which celebrity and then the celebrity’s publicist ushering him/her to each spot and then the celebrity smiling and answering a different variation on the same question X-number of times.
Right, but back to Naya. She came out relatively early, wearing a shimmering gold dress and some fierce, fierce matching heels. If you’ve ever wondered what it looks like the second Naya Rivera steps on a red carpet, it looks like this.
Sorry that’s so ridiculously short. I actually took it on accident, meaning to capture still photos. Clearly I’m no professional videographer, so forgive, well, pretty much everything.
A few male celebrities walked the carpet before Naya (including Mario and the cutie who won “Top Chef: Just Desserts”). But, let’s be honest, we were not there for the boys so we let them all pass. And then, then came Naya. Now, it’s a little intimidating to have the first interview of the day be The Big One. I’ll admit, I wish Lisa or Tabatha had been first to at least warm up my routine and get the bugs out. But, hey, I’ll take my Naya anytime, anywhere over not taking at all Naya. You know what I mean? Wink-wink, nudge-nudge.
First things first, she shook my hand. Yes, that’s my hand. Yes, I thought temporarily about never washing it again. No, I’m not that crazy and unhygienic. Fine, I am that crazy but I’m not that unhygienic.
Second things not actually secondary, she was very warm and very gracious and very articulate throughout my interview. She also gave terrific eye contact. I got to ask her six questions (again, you can read them on AfterEllen later today), and then asked her to do a video shout-out to all her AE fans. When you see the video you’re going to laugh at its jitteriness because I couldn’t keep my hand from shaking for some unknown reason. Have I mentioned how gracious she was? I feel like I can’t use that word enough. Or the word hot. No, wait, that’s the one I can’t use enough.
And then, after I thanked her and she thanked me (I know, wait, what?), she was gone.
I’m not going to lie, after Naya all the other interviews seemed like a cakewalk. It’s not that they weren’t important, it’s just the nervous butterflies and sweaty anticipation were over. Also, I learned Sara Ramirez wasn’t going to walk the red carpet. News like that will bring down your buzz.
The rest of the night’s interviews went smoothly. Tabatha Coffey from “Tabatha’s Salon Takeover” was delightful. Also, she’s really tall. OK, I’m really short, but still, that one is a tall glass of lovely. And funny, too.
Lisa Cholodenko looked exactly like Lisa Cholodenko with her leather jacket and dark glasses and “Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day” hair. I asked her about that movie, by the way. And that other movie. And that thing that a lot of you didn’t like about that other movie.
And then Kim Cattrall walked the carpet last. She was there with her co-author and psychologist Michael Bader. You’ve got to hand it to her, brining a shrink to the red carpet isn’t the worst idea I’ve ever heard of. She was professional and took her responses seriously. Though she was seriously not taking it when the interviewer after me addressed her as if she was Samantha. The line between fact and fiction is a serious thing when you travel with a shrink.
And then it was time for dinner (chicken and couscous, if you must know). Naya came out wearing a new white dress and opened the show. Sara came out next and they hugged while passing on stage. I did not get a picture of the hug, to my eternal shame. But here they are together courtesy of GLAAD and Roxx Vodka.
You’re welcome, lesbians.
More people got awards, more people presented awards. There was an acrobatic performance by a very muscular man in very tiny underwear from Cirque du Soleil’s “Zumanity.” There were some video montages. There were some touching testimonials. All Things Digital founder Kara Swisher won the local hero award and was particularly impressive with her acceptance speech because she was both a) extremely smart and b) extremely funny.
Then Naya was back, first playing a game with members of the audience called “Glee Gone GLAAD” and then to auction off “sweet lady kisses.” For a second, emptying my 401K seemed like a perfectly rational decision given the circumstances. But, alas, I decided to do the fiscally responsible thing and other people (a guy and a gal – more on that at AE) won. Whatever. I’m not jealous.
And like that, the night was over. Well, not like that. We’d been there for more than six hours. And there was an after party that included booze and music and a few of the night’s celebrities roaming about freely. (No, not Naya, though apparently she did make a split-second appearance before being whisked away.) I tried to get Nelsan Ellis, that’s Lafayette from “True Blood,” to give me scoop about the upcoming season. He wouldn’t, but he was nice about it. And Tabatha continued to be a hoot and a half. Though being around her did make me feel a little self conscious about my hair. (Too many fly aways? Not enough product?) And then, then the night was really over.
Wait, did I mentioned I made Naya laugh during my interview? Yeah. Every once in a while it’s not so horrible being me.
Just a little patience
Friday, May 13, 2011
My Weekend Hot 100
Some of my picks are perennial favorites. (Like I was ever going to leave My Fake TV Wife off the list – or Padma.) But this year also has a smattering of new and very worthy faces. I really did agonize. I mean, Angie Harmon isn’t on the list because as much as she is hot like fire, her politics get in the way of my total uninhibited wallowing in The Sexy. Amy Poehler didn’t make the list because it almost felt like cheating on Tina. Hot Cop Heather Peace isn’t on the list because there are only 10 spots and I’m only human, dammit. Achele fans know that I came so close, but I couldn’t totally Gleeify my list.
But enough apologizing. Bring on the hotties. My Top Ten.
- Tina Fey
- Naya Rivera
- Lena Headey
- Padma Lakshmi
- Jennifer Beals
- Sara Ramirez
- Kate Winslet
- Tilda Swinton
- Heather Morris
- Pippa Middleton
There you have it. There are 10 of the finest, most amazing and, of course, hot women on the planet. So, I’ve shown you mine. Now you show me yours. Happy weekend, all.
Thursday, May 12, 2011
Glee like me
So then this little tidbit from The Hollywood Reporter issue on “Glee” particularly struck a chord:
[Lea Michele] is supposed to be on set with her cast, but insists that the little [10-year-old] girl with two fathers wait for her outside the auditorium. Once there, Michele wraps her delicate arms around the girl and asks her about the experience. “How do you feel in school? What did you tell them?” she asks, visibly touched by her character's impact. “You're cool now; you’re like Rachel Berry,” she says to the nodding fan, adding, “I’m so proud of you.”
What has impressed me most is how they’ve welcomed their fans, many of whom are members of some of the very same outsider groups they portray on screen – gays, minorities, theater geeks, you name it. They also seem to understand the import of portraying those groups on screen. From Colfer to Naya Rivera and Heather Morris, the actors take the responsibility seriously and are in fact honored to do so. Just like Lea, they’ve embraced it with open arms. There can be a lot to complain about on “Glee,” but the cast has never been one. (Fine, they need to give Matthew Morrison more to do than stare creepily at the kids while they sing. But you know what I mean.)
UPDATE: This post got mysteriously swallowed by Blogger during its 20+ hour outage and then regurgitated without your previous comments. So I apologize if they vanished. Sometimes, I guess, the series of tubes just gets cranky.
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
The Canceled Code
You canceled “The Chicago Code.” That means you’ve cancelled Jennifer Beals. That means she will no longer be on our TVs. That means the universe will miss this.
LOOK AT YOUR LIFE, LOOK AT YOUR CHOICES, FOX!
How could you do this to Jennifer? How could you do this to us?
She wore ties.
She wore tank tops.
She showed us her cop arms.
She showed us her shiny, shiny hair.
What more could this woman possibly do for you? What more could she do for us? Sigh.
I believe to deprive the world of Jennifer Beals is a mortal sin. A sin, Fox, a sin.
Sincerely miffed,
Ms. Snarker
p.s. Still not convinced you have made a terrible life choice, Fox? Click that collage to enlarge all the Beals you will make us miss.
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Lights, camera, fanvids
A few recent favorites from a few of my favorite ships.
See, Brittana and Faberry fans can get along. In fact, we can help each other.
Rizzles, “Rizzoli & Isles”
Rizzoli & Isles as Cagney & Lacey. Just try not to smile.
Emily/Paige, “Pretty Little Liars”
Gwyneth Paltrow isn’t the only member of her household who mixes well with lesbian drama.
Naomily, “Skins”
Another slice of loveliness by the prodigiously talented Rin of Rophy Does.
Willow/Tara, “Buffy”
You never forget your first real ship.
Calzona, “Grey’s Anatomy”
Don’t even pretend there’s something in your eye except big, fat tears.
So, hit me with your fanvid favorites. Let’s see those budding lesbian Spielbergs so someday we can say, I remember when she was just making Brittana fanvids to post on YouTube.
Monday, May 9, 2011
Naked Lady Monday: Black & White Edition
Amber HeardHot. Gay. Hot some more.
Charlotte GainsbourgNo one wears scarves better than French women.
Penelope CruzThe curve of a woman’s back is one of the ways we know we live in a benevolent universe.
Olivia WildeThe round of a woman’s bum is another.
Charlotte RamplingLet’s make it a rule that all women named “Charlotte” need to get naked today.
Rosario DawsonRosario isn’t nude. But she’s not wearing pants either. Totally counts.
Heather MorrisYeah, so no wonder Santana is doing everything she can do to win Brittany back.
EDIT: Whoops, that should be Naked Lady Monday not Naked Lady Woman. Though there ain’t nothing wrong with a naked lady woman. Nothing at all.
Saturday, May 7, 2011
Daily Afternoon Randomness
Heads Up, Lauren Gentile is still in theCHIVE offices shooting on our live webcam right here.
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