High School Loners, Pop-n-lockathons, and Unfortunate Implications.

If I were a betting man, I'd put money on it turning out to be a gorgeous day. I'm jamming out to Pandora (a freaking lush electropop and nerdcore station inspired by "Toro y Moi" , which I've posted a song to earlier) working on some copy editing, and smiling absently. I thought I'd take the liberty of sharing some of the "cooler" pop-culture trends (music, video games, comic books) I've snuck upon this week in this post:

• Comicon. Nothing says nerdy like a comic book convention, and unsuprisingly I've always wanted to go (and if not for that abject poverty...). Comic book character cosplay, consorting with the creators, artist and writers of your favorite books, getting insider info on upcoming games and plots... yeah, there's nothing more nerd chic than NYC's Comicon. There's a lot of odd ball fun that goes on at these conventions. Just when you think there's nothing better than watching a drunk cosplay Thor vomit in a potted plant...you've got an X-Men Pop and Lock-athon. (Who knew Iceman was such a bitchin dancer?) The spectacle needs to be seen to be believed.

• Comics Alliance puts out some laugh out loud funny and clever articles on comic book media and culture, one of my faves is the periodical that lampoons and explains the more asbsurd backstories of some of the older characters. And you'd think having the name Ant Man would be the worst possible thing...
  
  
  

I admit with some trepidation that I've been watching Glee for some time, and am continually impressed with the level of irepressible spirit and unquestionable talent Ryan Murphy has managed to assemble in the telling of his absurd yet winning musical theatre dramaedy. Other nods? Its easily one of the most diverse television shows on network television, what with hispanic snarky head cheerleaders, out and over the top fabulous soprano gays, orientationally ambiguous jock comic fans, multi-racial primadonnas and asian goths. This weeks episode was both brilliant (Every single number was fantastic, the New Guy is really likeable, Other Asian actually has lines!) and subtextually frustrating.

What I found grating about the epsidoe after the fact revolves around interpetation of homophobia. Finn, our masculine ideal, basically insists that Kurt- the lone gay should "back off" any percieved interest in new kid Sam because "two guys singing a duet together would be social suicide", despite the fact that Sam is not at all bothered by the idea (and also comments about his insistance that Sam should see this as icky as homophobic). Instead Kurt backs off out of self-sacrificing guilt and sulkily decides he's destined for solitude. What drives me nuts is that the only reason he's being isolated is because his so called friend has gone out of his way to make this happen. If the moral of the story is suck it up queer boys because expressing interest in anyone who isn't openly gay is predatory, I'm going to go ahead and call unfortunate implications there. And I'll say it. Finn is a jerkass. And this show is full of mixed messages and mised opportunities...but its always fun to watch.

• I've been having a great week with new music. I've already yammered about my current anthem Toro y Moi's "Low Shoulder", give a listen to Xiu Xiu's "Grey Death", Foals "This Orient" (outstanding track) , and a new find of mine Javelin "Moscow 1980". Later Days!

Xiu Xiu- Grey Death

Foals- This Orient.

Superbad.

http://www.hiphopdx.com/index/news/id.12565/title.ne-yo-comic-pioneer-stan-lee-appear-together-at-comic-con/

Yeahhh. Cant be 100 percent positive, but...I'm pretty sure this is a clear sign of the apocalypse. Stan "the Man" Lee teaming up with Ne-Yo? Unlike comic book team ups of yore...I'm somewhat hoping this doesn't start with opposing super heroes having a foolish disagreement that turns into a property damage causing fight. (Because Stan would win)

Home > News > Ne-Yo & Comic Pioneer Stan Lee Appear Together At Comic Con
Ne-Yo & Comic Pioneer Stan Lee Appear Together At Comic Con
by Allen Jacobs

posted October 12, 2010 at 1:47PM EDT 0 comments

"The Libra Scale" will have a corresponding comic book and video series, as POW! Entertainment teams with the Def Jam star, and they unveil the plot.

On Saturday October 9, Def Jam singer Ne-Yo and former President and Chairman of Marvel Comics appeared together at New York's Comic Con. Lee, now head of POW! Entertainment, has worked with Ne-Yo on his upcoming album, The Libra Scale, which will feature a companion comic book.

The two appeared in a panel, moderated by journalist, blogger and HOT 97 radio personality Miss Info. Ne-Yo revealed that Libra Scale's first three singles, "Champagne Life," "Beautiful Monster" and "One In A Million" will have videos that feature the corresponding comic in live action.

The Libra Scale character, "Jerome," has vowed to never fall in love in exchange for super-powers. When he meets the character of "Pretti Sinclair," that temptation is tested.

Also, having just read that, I threw up in my mouth a little.


And now for some (admittedly goofy) mood music:

Neither Fair Nor Balanced.

Its interesting that the Washington Post is willing to provide the "balanced" viewpoint of the esteemed Tony Perkins (head of the dubiously named Family "Research" Council) in the wake of the epidemic of gay suicides. Sure, yes, further indotrinate the idea that gay people are degenerates and see how much that helps. Something I think its interesting about how gay issues are handeld in the media is that when a gay rights issue comes up, there's point and counterpoint; most of the time provided of someone from Perkins' rolodex. The last word is given to that of the "family value" set, and the news organization calls it a day. Its troubling though how so few dialouges about anti-semitism or racism are presented with counterpoint from Matt Hale from the Church of the Creator... is it ethical or even logical to provide platforms for gay issues to institutions that will adhere to their blind, dehumanizing biases regardless of the reprocussions?

The impressivley documented blog Good As You does an amazing job debunking Perkins editorial barbs:

So yea, in short: FRC's body of work is made up of some enormously jaw-dropping
charges, the likes of which unabashedly dehumanize LGBT people and their allies.
Charges that have all gone down under Tony's watch/embrace. Yet despite the
record, Tony is constantly afforded the opportunity to throw on a suit, fire up
the talking point machine, and take to one of our nation's esteemed mainstream
media outlets, identified as little more than a "from the right" voice of
political dissent. On "Face The Nation." On CNN. And now in The Washington
Post's "On Faith" column, where Tony has been granted a forum to peddle his
views about homosexuality itself being the reason why so many gay kids suffer,
and that "change" through Jesus is the best remedy for bullying/suicide/crimes
of bias.

My only pressing question would be what would compell the Post to publish a tirade from Perkins and not one from David Duke (as their biases against particular groups have both made their careers)? What do you make of this, friends and neighbors(s)?

Scared Straight.

Today is National Coming Out Day. I was having a conversation with a conservative frenimey of mine about how blandly unimportant being out should be, and was struck with how important it is after reading this article.

Undoubtedly, Homophobia is inherent in our culture. Its fostered from childhood on in conjunction with gender socialization and internalized by young men and women who are coming to grips with their sexual identities as they move into adulthood. Often, these men and women are met with an openly hostile world before coming out. Gay people are perverts, or deviants, weak, psychologically unsound, sick and sinful among other things. The message beamed across the airwaves and taught in families, passed around in peer groups and shouted down from pulpits is one that most members of our society get loud and clear. That its strongly discouraged if not aggressively opposed, That ridicule, intimidation and the full brunt of social stigma are tools of the dominant culture in ensuring that homosexual behavior remain as removed as possible from their perception of reality.



Homophobia is such a longstanding component of our culture (the Cold War and McCarthyism fanned the fears of the Lavender Scare to a fever pitch) that it can be argued that it permeates nearly every aspect of it, and often the spectre of it was and is enough to keep people clinging to the status quo. People including parents, teachers and other gatekeepers to our culture.



It is an easy thing to rail against the monsters and the perverts out in the world doing what one is certain is true evil. Its an entirely harder matter to be forced to condemn your friends, children, and co-workers out of hand. That is why I'm convinced that coming out is important because it shatters the illusion that gay men and women are some invisible minority that are conveniently exorcised upon discovery. That Issac Katz comes out in the wake of his father's rather virulent screeds on homophobia may not cure Johnothan Katz of his biases, but it does serve to inform him that homosexuality isn't some vile infection that visits perfect and dispicable strangers. It is about sons and daughters, family and the idea that people are more than who they fall in love with and share their lives with; more than who they're attracted to.

Coming out is about courage and integrity in the face of misinformation and rancorous cruelty. It sends the message to both the apathetic and the vulnerable that there are more people in this world of ours that can summarily be written off as sinful- That we are more than a collection of trite stereotypes. It is about elevation and transparency, about confronting the outdated ideas of a dwindling age. It is about reaching out and destroying more hegemonic paradigms enforced from the myopic positions of our forebears, and decentering the hatred and bias misconceptions perpetuate...

But more importantly, its about him, and him and also him and countless other kids who've been devalued and intimidated and informed they're somehow less than by peers and parents alike. Its about informing gay teens with fragile self images that it gets better, and that they've got it wrong.