Random Musings

So, Mariah Carey and her husband Nick Cannon decided to renew their wedding vows; apparently they have done so each of the five years that they've been married, a la Seal and Heidi Klum--and we know how that worked out.

Still, it's kind of sweet, you know, reaffirming your love and commitment, but ...

And you just knew there had to be a but.

Carey and Cannon renewed their vows at Disneyland in California, and had the entire park shut down for their ceremony. Then they invited "journalists", like Entertainment Tonight host Nancy O'Dell, and sold pictures to the magazines of Carey dressed like a princess, Cannon dolled up like Prince Charming, and their two kids in storybook costumes.

So, the question is, is this love or self-promotion? Or, as the cynic in me wonders, is it an attempt to say 'Look at us, we're so in love' when they actually might not be?

Asking for a friend.

Remember when Right Said Fred was 'too sexy for his shirt'? Yeah, well he's got nothing on one Omar Borkan Al Gala. He's too sexy for Saudi Arabia and has been deported for being too hot.

You read that right ... deported for hotness.

It seems that Saudi Arabia was a'scurred of what Omar might do to their women-folk--and perhaps some of their men-folk--and so they ALLEGEDLY had the man kicked out of their country and sent back to Abu Dhabi. 

I have tried to find Omar because I think he's just sexy enough for Smallville.

While we're on the topic of hot men ...

One Life To Life and Desperate Housewives hunk, Tuc Watkins, has officially, and publicly, come out as gay. Though he never hid the fact, he also never spoke of his personal life. Still, the pingpingping of the Gaydar was right this time.

Life imitates art, and vice-versa. When Watkins joined Desperate Housewives as Bob Hunter, one-half of a gay couple--with Kevin Rahm--their storyline included one about adopting a baby.

The plotline hit close to home, because Watkins was going through the same thing--albeit as a single dad--in his real life. He recently welcomed twin sons, Catchen and Curtis, via surrogate.

He said, of being gay and being a father:

"A lot of people at some point in their lives think, 'Am I going to be a parent? Do I want to be a parent?' And when I was young, I knew three things: I knew I was gay, I knew one day I was gonna be a dad, and I knew that Gene Wilder's Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory was going to be the best movie of all time. So far, I've been right about all three."

Hot Funny Gay Daddy.

Congratulations on both events!

On the Broadway front, I smell a bomb of epic proportions. Or, a big smash if craptastic gets butts in seats.

See, ahem, Rocky is going to be a Broadway musical.

This production--which recently premiered in Germany--brings together Tony Award-winning writer Thomas Meehan--The Producers and Hairspray--with composer Stephen Flaherty and lyricist Lynn Ahrens--Ragtime--director Alex Timbers--Here Lies Love and the musical-play hybrid Peter and the Starcatcher--with fight choreography by Steven Hoggett--Once--and dance choreography by Kelly Devine--Rock of Ages. That's quite the list of talented folks working on the musical, but I keep thinking one of the big numbers has to be Yo, Adrian and I get a little queasy.

For his part, Sylvester Stallone, who penned the original Rocky and plied him through four sequels, says, “I couldn’t be more proud or more excited about this production and how my original story of Rocky Balboa has been brought to spectacular life onstage.”

Yo, Adrian.

And speaking of Broadway, the four child actresses who rotate in the title role of the Broadway musical Matilda will not be eligible for a joint Tony Award nomination for best actress in a musical this spring.

The decision is noteworthy because it sets aside a precedent that allowed the three teenage boys sharing the lead role in Billy Elliot to be eligible for a joint best actor nomination; and the three did win the Tony.

The producers of Matilda had sought joint eligibility for the four girls--Sophia Gennusa, Oona Laurence, Bailey Ryon and Milly Shapiro--but, instead of granting the request, the Tony committee announced that the actresses would receive a special award, a Tony Honors for Excellence in the Theater, “to recognize their outstanding performances this season.” 

It's a shame that the girls couldn't get the same treatment as the boys.

I think we're going to see The Great Gatsby this weekend. I think it looks amazing, though, for the life of me, why they have a 3D version is beyond me.

But, it's directed by Baz Luhrman, who directed Moulin Rouge so I imagine it will have that same sense of flash.

Speaking of Baz, I have had a wee crush on him since the first time I laid eyes on him and it keeps going and going and going .... The gray hair, that accent.
I am a sucker for a man with an accent.

Texas Governor, and Not Gay, Rick Perry, got his granny pants ion a twist last week when the Sacramento Bee ran a cartoon that showed Perry boasting about booming business in Texas in one frame, than showing an explosion in the next.

The cartoon ran a week after a fertilizer plant explosion killed 14 people in a Texas town and Miss Ricky says she wants an apology from the newspaper on behalf of the town:

"While I will always welcome healthy policy debate, I won't stand for someone mocking the tragic deaths of my fellow Texans and our fellow Americans. Additionally, publishing this on the very day our state and nation paused to honor and mourn those who died only compounds the pain and suffering of the many Texans who lost family and friends in this disaster."

The Bee's editorial page editor, Stuart Leavenworth, responded that the artist, Jack Ohman, "made a strong statement about Gov. Rick Perry's disregard for worker safety, and his attempts to market Texas a place where industries can thrive with few regulations. … It is unfortunate that Gov. Perry, and some on the blogosphere, have attempted to interpret the cartoon as being disrespectful for the victims of this tragedy. As Ohman has made clear on his blog, he has complete empathy for the victims and people living by the plant. … What [Ohman] finds offensive is a governor who would gamble with the lives of families by not pushing for the strongest safety regulations. Perry's letter is an attempt to distract people from that message."

What Ohman showed was not disrespectful to those who died, what he showed was that, if not for Perry’s political dealing, with low taxes and no regulation—the plant that exploded had not been inspected in seven years—this might not have happened.

And he’s right. Miss Ricky should be ashamed of herself.

Miss Ricky is such an asshat. A Texas-sized asshat.

Sometimes I love South Carolina.

We live in "Smallville" which is about forty miles--as the crow flies--from Columbia, the state capital. And this week, in Columbia, a new billboard went up that is causing a stir and some giggles.

The controversial new billboard, by AshleyMadison.com--a dating site, designed for people already in relationships who want to have affairs--features our very own Appalachian Trail Hiking ex-Governor, and current candidate for the House of Representatives, Mark Sanford.

It says "Next Time Use AshleyMadison.com To Find Your Running Mate."

Again, sometimes I love South Carolina.

I didn't watch the Amanda Knox interview on ABC though I saw bits and pieces as it was promo'd to death. And, I didn't really follow the story too closely as her murder trial went down in Italy, so, well, to be honest, I may be wrong but ....

She doesn't seem to have any emotion about the murders--whether she's guilty of them or not. In fact, she seems aloof and detached and, well, not quite truthful.

Just sayin.

Speaking of TV interviews, the other night Piers Morgan interviewed Jason Collins' ex-girlfriend of eight years Carolyn Moos about her reaction to the news that he is gay.

She said: "He actually called this past weekend and we spoke a couple of times on Monday, so it's really fresh in my mind. It's going to be a process, absolutely, and it just takes a lot of perspective, and a lot of understanding, and a lot of open conversation."

Then Morgan asked, "Did he apologize to you?"

Moos replied, "I think he's in the process of taking ownership of the here and now which is actually coming out. That can be very – I assume – overwhelming."

Urn, again, I may be wrong, but why does he need to apologize to her because he's gay? Is it because he kept that secret from her? Perhaps not, because maybe he wasn't ready to face the fact that he was gay and thought being in an opposite-sex relationship would be the thing to do.

Perhaps he thought he was bisexual, and interested in Moos at the time.

And perhaps he was interested in her, but was still working through his own ‘stuff' and didn't know what to say and do.

But he doesn’t owe her an apology the same way a man who dates a woman for eight years, breaks it off and then marries another woman doesn't owe the first woman an apology.

By asking if he apologized, Morgan is playing up some notion that Collins lied, and tricked, Moos into being in a relationship.,

Last I checked she's a grown-assed woman and she made the choice to be there.

Apologize? Never.

Speaking of Jason Collins....TWEET OF THE WEEK: