Luke Macfarlane’s Stealth “Supergirl” Role, Leonardo DiCaprio Was Not Raped By A Bear: BRIEFS

02/12/2015

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Birthday shoutouts! Charlie Puth (above) is 24, Britney Spears is 34, Jason Collins is 37, Dan Butler is 61, Steven Bauer is 59, Cathy Lee Crosby is 71, and my all-time favorite tennis player Monica Seles is 42. *GRUNT!*
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ICYMI

Chris Hemsworth cuddles with kittens, heals the world.

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Sting’s adult child, Eliot Sumner, comes out as genderfluid: “Nobody ever asked”


Ten Walls atones for homophobic post by releasing new track with trans singer Alex Radford.

“Behind the walls of silence stood emotional, sleepless and creativity—filled days and nights. Together with Alex, we made it and it is yours now.”


34 ways you can honor Britney on her birthday.


EXCLUSIVE: Shadowhunters stars Harry Shum Jr and Matthew Daddario on conjuring the show’s gay romance

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 IN OTHER NEWS

Our thoughts are with the victims and everyone affected by the mass shootings in San Bernardino.


Louisiana’s next governor John Bell Edwards will protect LGBT workers by executive order. Hopefully the Jindal era will quickly fade from memory.

“The Times Picayune of New Orleans reports that sometime after his inauguration January 11, Edwards will sign an executive order to protect his state’s gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender state employees and government contractors from getting fired, being discriminated against and harassed.”


Contrary to what the vile Matt Drudge says, Leonard DiCaprio is NOT raped by a bear in his new movie.


Okay, I admit it, the last few episodes of Supergirl are still sitting on my DVR. Hey, I have a husband to tend to, and kids to raise (in Skyrim, but still …), so I missed that Luke Macfarlane is back on our TV screens! Well, very, very briefly.

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He showed up for a couple of scenes in Monday’s episode, had two lines, and was seen in the background a couple of other times. He is scheduled to appear on next week’s episode, too, so hopefully he’s more than an overqualified extra. (h/t JohnEd)
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Checking in on Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D., gay metal-melting superhero Joey made another appearance last night, and he’s finally a member of the team! Well, they really had no choice, since all hell is breaking loose. He only had one scene, but it looks as though he’ll have a bigger part in next week’s mid-season finale. Go Joey!

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 Speaking of S.H.I.E.L.D., does anyone else have the same problem I do?

Here’s the first official trailer for Tom Hiddleston as Hank Williams in I Saw The Light, which will open in March.


And here’s The Weekly ShoutOUT™. Each week we’re going to focus on one out athlete/performer and feature a daily pic and career timeline. We’ll be showcasing the big names, but also the lesser-known gay and bisexual celebs who deserve more recognition. This week we give a ShoutOUT™ to … Troye Sivan

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Troye starred in the 2010 coming-of-age film Spud, as a boy spending his first year at an elite boarding school, given the nickname “Spud” because he hasn’t yet reached puberty. Troye was nominated for a South African Film and Television Award for Best Lead Actor In A Feature Film.

He made two sequels, Spud 2: The Madness Continues in 2013 and Spud 3: Learning To Fly in 2014.


Three years ago I presented my personal favorite Briefs list, The 100 Greatest Lost Hits of The 80’s, and because if there’s one thing Hollywood has taught us, it’s that sequels and reboots and remakes are ALWAYS better then the original, we’re going to the well again with The 100 Greatest Lost Hits of The 80’s Part 2: The Even More Forgotten

We’ll be spotlighting 100 more of the greatest minor hits of the decade, the songs you don’t hear on any 80’s nostalgia show. Songs that missed the top ten, or top twenty … or top forty. Hopefully these forgotten gems may ring a long dormant bell, or for younger readers, provide a pop music history lesson.

At #55 is “Do It Again” by The Kinks

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The Kinks had a big comeback in 1983 with the top ten smash “Come Dancing” (their first top ten in the U.S. since “Lola”), and had a minor hit with the followup “Don’t Forget To Dance” (#29), but the first single from their 1984 album Word Of Mouth should have been a bigger hit.

“Do It Again” hit #41 in February 1985, and was their final entry on the Hot 100.

 


Congrats to Lazycrokett (who beat Bucky619 by about 10 seconds), who guessed that yesterday’s Pixuzzle™ © ® was Lawrence Of Arabia

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Here’s today’s Pixuzzle™ © ®. Here is a scene from a FAMOUS MOVIE. Can you name it?
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And today’s Briefs are brought to you by … Jeff

Side Dish: Oreo Cookies (April 12, 2010)

12/04/2010

Too much free time can make you do crazy things.

Now don’t worry, I haven’t been out robbing banks or anything like that. Instead, I’ve been using some of my extra free time to try and notice the little things in life. Like how little Kevin and I have in our savings account. When you have more time than money, sometimes you write letters to companies about their products.

And sometimes those letters get you free Oreos.

So here is an example of a letter I wrote recently to a big company about its product. Hopefully you’ll enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. If nothing else, this proves that you can, indeed, have too much free time on your hands.

Today I purchased a bag of Oreos filled with delicious chocolate creme. I have enjoyed Oreo cookies for years and, wanting a quick and delicious snack, grabbed a bag of Oreos to eat as I ran (not literally!) to the podiatrist for an appointment I had to reschedule two times!

As I opened the bag, the familiar smell of chocolate and Thiamine Mononitrate greeted my weary nose. As I started enjoying the cookies, however, I came to realize there was something strangely different. It took me a few minutes until I realized that some of the cookie part of my little “sandwich cookie” were put on backwards. So I saw a flat cookie back rather than the traditional design I have come to love, know and–quite frankly–expect.

I was shocked!

In fact, this was NOT just one isolated cookie incorrectly constructed. Several of the chocolate sandwich cookies in my bag were improperly put together!!! Initially, I hesitated to bring this to your attention. In over twenty blissful years of enjoying what I consider to be America’s premier sandwich cookie, I realize the potential implications this brings. Trust me when I tell you that it pains me to bring this to your attention. However, I recognize it as my duty as an American consumer to at least bring these misconstructed cookies to your attention.

Thinking about the nation’s children being brought up on generic sandwich cookies rather than Oreos makes me cringe as well. I look forward to hearing back from you about this issue.

Scotty Wandell

Side Dish: Lost job (March 15, 2010)

15/03/2010

They say that when one door closes another opens. Well, I certainly hope so, because until that happens you can feel stuck in a room with no way out. As I’m sure many of you know by now, San Estephe closed its doors for good this week. Despite our best efforts at staying afloat, we went the way of so many other small restaurants in a down turned economy.

I almost couldn’t bring myself to write a blog this week. Its hard to not feel like a failure when you pour your heart and soul into something only to see it not succeed in the ways you had hoped. But my Dad used to tell me, “You’re only responsible for the effort, not the outcome, kid.” I guess I will just hold onto the idea that everything happens for a reason. So as long as the reason this happened isn’t so the universe could get a good laugh at my expense. You know, sometimes you’re on top and you’re totally in control. Other times you’re on the bottom where all you can do is grit your teeth while you get slammed from all sides. At least Kevin can commiserate.

So what’s next for me in the long term? Who knows? I can always do some catering to make ends meet. Maybe I’ll get to open my own restaurant some day. A place that I’ve dreamt up all by myself. What’s next for me in the short term? A little bit of comfort food (see recipe below) and a few bottles of wine that were gifted to me from the bar at San Estephe.

Scotty’s Mac and Cheese

1 Box Large Pasta Shells
¼ cup butter for sauce and ¼ for top of casserole
¼ cup flour
2 cups whole milk
Salt, pepper, garlic salt, onion salt to taste
Splash Worcheshire sauce
1 8oz bar of sharp cheddar cheese cubed
1 8oz bar of extra sharp cheddar cheese cubed
2 cups Italian style bread crumbs

1.) Cook pasta as directed by box and set to the side
2.) In a medium saucepan melt butter mixing together with flour over medium heat.
3.) Gradually add milk while stirring. The sauce should get think.
4.) Add salt, pepper, onion and garlic to taste.
5.) Add Worcheshire sauce.
6.) Add sharp cheeses while stirring continuously.
7.) After all the cheese melts combine with pasta and pour into casserole dish.
8.) Sprinkle bread crumbs on top and dob butter on top.
9.) Cover and bake in 350 degree oven for 45 minutes or until bubbling.
10.) You can take the cover off for the last 5 mins if you want it crispy on top.
11.) Cool and serve.

Side Dish: Wines (March 1, 2010)

01/03/2010

Sometimes you just need an escape. And when you’re a Walker, escape is just a corkscrew twist away. While I have always enjoyed wine I did spend a long time intimidated by it as well: the elaborate tasting rituals, the talk of its “tannins” and “legs” and “nose.” I remember my first wine tasting vividly. As other students inhaled deeply, they described the aromas in evocative (and occasionally inedible) terms: “I smell ground white pepper” and “A very strong dark chocolate foreground with a hint of shoe leather in the back.” Meanwhile I inhaled deeply and (without thinking) said the first thing the smell invoked: “This smells like my grandfather.”

Needless to say, it was a while before I showed my face at a wine tasting again. But here’s the secret: people who love wine usually love sharing their enthusiasm for wine as well So while most of America gets their wine advice from Trader Joe (well, Charles Shaw, actually), I am lucky to have an Uncle Saul. And even though Saul is a Holden, he drinks like a Walker. That is to say, like a fish. The other night during a dinner at Nora’s house, Uncle Saul and I struck up a conversation about what he has learned from his many years enjoying the finest wines from across the globe. Obviously Walker Landing is a product Saul is passionate about, but he was just as comfortable telling me about a summer he spent working at a vineyard in Bordeaux or when he crushed grapes in a barrel at a tiny vineyard in Napa Valley. One of the first things Saul taught me is that finding a good wine doesn’t necessarily mean buying expensive wine and with that he started giving me his top wine picks from outside the US – all available for less than $20. (Not surprisingly, his top picks in the US were all from a little label called Walker Landing). I guess this week, we’re all lucky to have an Uncle Saul…

REDS
1) The Guigal Rhone is always a good choice and NEVER fails to please. The wines from the Rhone Valley are usually the Syrah grape. This can be had for under 10 bucks (whatever year is available is ok).
2) Guigal Gigondas (2005) — This is also Syrah but a much lovelier bottle of wine for around $20.
3) Chateau Cote Montpezat (2000) – A mixture of Merlot, Cabernet Franc, and a little Cabernet Sauvignon. Around $19.
4) Arnoux Gigondas (2004) – A delicious choice for approximately $14.
5) Puig Parahy George (2007)
– This wine should cost around $10 and is a mixture of Carignan, Grenache and Syrah
6) Vinos Sin Ley Gra2 (2007) – This is from Rioja Baja and costs around $14. It’s 100% Graciano grape (which is usually a grape for blending, but in this case is quite nice by itself)
7) Vigna Vecchia Raddese (2001) – This wine should be under $20 and is 100% Sangiovese.

WHITES
1) Joseph Drouhin Chablis (2007) – They always make good wines and this particularly good one can be had for under $20
2) Christian Moreau Chablis (2007) – Should be around $18.
3) Lucien Crochet Sancerre — The La Croix du Roy is my favorite and should be about $23.
4) Mollet Florian Sancerre Roc de L’abbaye (2008) — This is the least expensive wine on this list and should be around $13.
5) Bzikot Bourgogne Blanc (2007) – Should be around $20 and worth every penny.