T Town Tommy

John Cena in a Thong, Need I say more?

Hat tip to Toby at vividblurry

Tokyo Dance Trooper in Shibuya

Lucas to expand Star Wars universe with TV series:

George Lucas told the L.A. Times he has started work on a live-action TV series which will be set in the Star Wars universe. These will be different stories, with different characters, but I suppose Star Wars fans will be plenty interested all the same.
Rest of the story with The Star Phoenix

Merv Griffin was in the Closet

Reuters reported in a now yanked article from their web site that media mogul and entertainer Merv Griffin who passed away last Sunday of prostate cancer was gay. Griffin was divorced in 1976 and never remarried. Canada.com who is still running the Reuters story on Griffin's closeted homosexuality stated "the elephant that was his sexual orientation never really stopped following Griffin from room to room. He could duck it for a while, but it would always find him. It's disheartening that Merv had to die to shake it for good." Many who are reporting the story are criticizing his decision to be a staunch Republican Conservative supporter and not help the gay community during the Reagan Presidency years which marked the massive loss of life due to the emergence of AIDS. Up until his death he was long time very close friends with the Reagan family and Nancy Reagan. Griffin was also close with the current President, in a recent article in Rolling Stone he had this to say about Bush; ''Oooooh, I love him, yes,'' says Merv. ''He's funny, bright, intelligent and loves to have a good time."

The media in general skipped over reflecting or reporting on Merv's sexual orientation initially except for the New York Times. The most obvious question to ask in our modern culture was best stated by Ray Richmond who wrote the Reuters article:

Merv Griffin was gay. Why should that be so uncomfortable to read? Why is it so difficult to write? Why are we still so jittery even about raising the issue in purportedly liberal-minded Hollywood, in 2007? 

If you're Griffin, why would you think a judgmental culture would be any more tolerant as you grew into middle and old age? Even in the capital of entertainment -- in a business where homosexuality isn't exactly a rare phenomenon -- it's still spoken of in hushed tones or, more often, not at all. And Merv's brush with tabloid scandal no doubt only drove him further into the closet.

While it would seem everything has changed today, little actually has. You can count on the fingers of one hand, or at most two, the number of high-powered stars, executives and public figures who have come out. Those who don't can't really be faulted, as rarely do honesty and full disclosure prove a boon to one's showbiz livelihood.

My only response being that he started in the entertainment business that at one time was one of the most bigoted industries in the United States. The World War II Generation and the Baby Boomers expected a heterosexual ideal in their television and other mass media consumables. If he had started his career in 2007 his orientation could have very well be a promotional tool.

Merv Griffin will have a spectacular business and entertainment legacy however he will always have his obvious closeted sexuality and denials to follow him through history. From both my own early experiences and knowing married men in the closet and the damage it causes one cannot be sure if Griffin was truly happy. Both a $200 million dollar palimony lawsuit filed by his secretary/driver/horse-trainer/bodyguard and a Sexual Harassment lawsuit filed by 1980's television host of "Dance Fever" Denny Terrio against Griffin in 1991 raised the issue to a public level . Both lawsuits where dismissed but in court documents Griffin did not deny he was gay.

Regardless of his orientation thought Merv Griffin amassed a huge fortune in the entertainment, real estate and hotel/casino business over his 60 plus year career. One blogger is showing the 6.2 million dollar house that belonged to Griffin that is now for sale.  After creating Merv Griffin Enterprises, Griffin brought to television Wheel of Fortune and a new era of Jeopardy two of the most well known game shows of all time. He later sold his company and both shows for $250 million dollars. Griffin also went head to head with Donald Trump over ownership of the casino business Resorts International now owned by Bally's and later bought Paradise Island in the Bahamas for $400 million from Donald Trump but he took a bath on the Bahaman operation having to sell it for only $125 million.

I can say this about Merv Griffin and his sexuality, money may not buy happiness, but it can buy the type of misery you can live with. A complicated and successful entertainer he will be missed by millions.

The Fox News Attacks on Bloggers

Fox News and Rupert Murdock attack bloggers, you decide...

Why HGTV's Design Star Winner Almost Didn't Come Out

Whether they're demonstrating their willingness to eat worms, whip up a soufflé, get a makeover, or have their living room redecorated with items currently languishing in their own garages, reality TV has always been a pretty good place for the gays. Striking a note more of gentle subversion than in-your-face sensationalism, most of the home decorating, cooking and fashion makeover shows treat queer guests and contestants pretty much just like everyone else.

The Home and Garden Network is no exception, regularly fixing the severe organizational problems and real-estate woes of same-sex couples without batting an eye. And when they decided to do a home decorating reality competition show called Design Star, they didn't bat an eye that one of the contestants — and its ultimate winner — was David Bromstad, an out gay designer from Miami.

What was the prize for Bromstad's victory over the other 10 contestants? His own show, Color Splash, which debuted on HGTV in March and has already been picked up for two more seasons.

Gay viewers might be excused for thinking, "Wow, stop the presses! A gay interior designer!" But Bromstad wasn't sure at first just how out he wanted to be when he signed up for Design Star.

"It was definitely something I thought about," Bromstad told AfterElton.com. "I think any normal gay man, at least when they're not super flaming, would go, 'How should I play this? Should I play the 'He's just a very artistic guy, but he still likes girls?'"
Read the full article on AfterElton.com

Check out David's hit show "Color Splash" on HGTV Monday nights, check local listings for times.

SciFi Channel Pulling the Plug on Battlestar Galactica

For my frequent readers if you haven’t figured it out by now I am a bit of a science fiction geek. One of my guilty pleasures for the last few years is the reincarnation of "Battlestar Galactica" on the SciFi Channel. Producers announced today that 2008 will mark the end of the new "Battlestar Galactica" series. The executive production staff said Thursday:

"This show was always meant to have a beginning, a middle and, finally, an end," "Over the course of the last year, the story and the characters have been moving strongly toward that end, and we've decided to listen to those internal voices and conclude the show on our own terms. And while we know our fans will be saddened to know the end is coming, they should brace themselves for a wild ride getting there -- we're going out with a bang."

Although I will be sad to see the series go after just a few short years I can understand the reasoning behind the move. Other than the "Stargate SG-1" series, which concludes this summer,  no other series on the network has lasted over a few years. With the high production cost and dizzying array of channels on digital cable it is hard to compete for advertisers dollars. For anyone who has watched the new "Battlestar Galactica" series the mind blowing special effects and sets are very expensive to produce to a quality acceptable for today’s television viewers.

The only real big story line questions I have are, does the rag tag band of survivors find Earth? If so in what year of Earth’s history or future do they arrive? Do the Cylons invade our home planet? Will the crew be welcomed or feared by us mere Earthlings? I guess we will just have to wait till next winter to find out! The fourth and final season of "Battlestar Galactica" will start in November with "Razor," an extended two-hour episode, with the rest of the season scheduled to air in early 2008.

Henry Rollins Talks About William Shatner

Henry Rollins Reveals Why Friend Bill Shatner Is A Sought After Guest

I have been a huge fan of Henry Rollins since my punker days in the 80's when he was the lead singer in the punk rock band “Black Flag”. Through the years Henry has had multiple highly respected spoken word and musical albums, his first of which earned him a Grammy. His music albums, books, spoken word recordings and live concerts show the many facets of true original talent. An outspoken advocate of human rights and gay rights Henry has shown what a true twenty first century renaissance man is in our modern American society. For two years Henry has been host of his own one on one talk show "The Henry Rollins Show" on the Independent Film Channel.

I decided to show this clip on my blog because this weekend Henry will have a very special guest, William Shatner. Shatner has been another celebrity I have enjoyed basically my entire life. From reruns growing up of "Star Trek TOS", the franchise "Star Trek" movies where he played Captain Kirk and his numerous acting roles over his 50+ year entertainment career he has always entertained me. He can be found today on the hit show "Boston Legal" and his reoccurring roles in Priceline.com commercials.

If you are free this Friday night and have access to the Independent Film Channel then it would be well worth your time to watch "The Henry Rollins Show" at 10 pm Central time. I guarantee you will see an interview like none other you have seen on mainstream television. So check it out!

Looks Like Tracy Morgan is Doing Great After SNL

Former SNL star Tracy Morgan is interviewed on morning television by Robert Holguin of KVIA in El Paso, Texas. Obviously intoxicated Morgan goes a little nuts during the interview; making for great television but probably bad sales for his concert tickets.

Fox News Anchor Blooper

Is it cocks or cops on Fox News?

Cop Or Cock - The most amazing videos are a click away

Shatner Comments on Recently Canceled "Show Me The Money"

William Shatner released on LiveVideo.com today his take on his recently canceled game show "Show Me The Money". He goes on to explain how all these hit game shows find the crazy contestants. Had "Show Me The Money" not been canceled it would have been up against American Idol this year.

Shatner Responds: Show Me The Money

Shatner off to a new frontier with game show

William Shatner, happy dancing gay guys and hot show girls. What else can you ask from a game show? Shatner was in top form last night for the debut of his new game show “Show Me the Money”. I forgot it was on and only watched “Heroes” last night on NBC. Clip found on DListed.

Update: The show got canceled very quickly...

It’s Beta v. VHS All over Again!

Some of my readers will be too young to remember but back in the day movies on video tape where brand new and all the rage. Two competing formats hit the market beta video tapes and VHS video tapes. Eventually VHS won over the market but not without some buyer remorse for those owning beta tape players.

Welcome to the 21st Century:

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Warner Home Video said on Wednesday it will release 10 high-definition titles on September 26, including six in the Blu-ray format and four in the competing HD-DVD format.
Yahoo News

History has a way of repeating itself. Taking a lesson from my parents with the video tape controversy of the 80’s;  I am going to wait this one out till the market decides which format of disc everyone is going to use with the new home high definition systems.