Gay Idol

My first exposure to Idol was Britian's version, called Pop Idol, when Annie and I were in England a few years ago. The winner was an out gay guy named Will Young.

I'd love it if we had an out gay/lesbian/queer Idol...and there are a number of possibilities this year.

Tonight's episode should be interesting given that the news recently broke that contestant David Hernandez--who had an outstanding performance last week--worked for years as a stripper at a gay club.

And whoa, Danny, I wish you'd wear this makeup and show this same attitude on TV! (But of course the internet is already being filled up with a bunch of homophobic rantings about these guys ... )

No Obama, Hillary or Colton Berry

Instead of watching the Democratic candidates debate or the first American Idol results, Annie and I went to the San Jose Museum of Art for a reading by David Rakoff.

He lived up to his sassy, bitchy--often outrageous--This American Life reputation by starting out with a juicy piece about becoming an American citizen (he was born in Canada), that involved some incisive cutting-up of Barbara Bush and her son.

He also read an edgy and surprisingly quite moving piece about being a (short, queer) outcast in high school.

During the Q&A he was asked if writing is easy for him. He said, "Have I been very foul-mouthed during this talk?" and the audience, obviously egging him on, said, "No." "Well," he said, "for me writing is like pulling teeth ... out of my dick." Then he shyly grinned and said, "Okay, that's my bluest material for the night."

Speaking of blue, there was a Picasso exhibit--"Etchings of Love and Desire"--at the museum that we perused prior to the Rakoff talk. Whoo-wee was he into genitalia (and not just female) in the last stretch of his life. I thought it was all refreshingly frank--while also being richly expressive. As Picasso said, he didn't paint life but life as he saw it.

I like another Picasso quote displayed on the museum wall: "Art is never chaste. Art is dangerous. Where it is chaste, it is not art."

Bird of Another Heaven

Here's the verdict: I sacrificed American Idol and went to Santa Cruz to see Jim Houston read from his new novel, Bird of Another Heaven. And I'm sure glad I did. The excerpts he read were compelling and beautifully written. The novel is an historical one that imagines the life of the last King of Hawaii and his love, Nani; it's told through the eyes of a present-day Bay Area radio talk show host as he discovers his familial connections to Nani.

I can't wait to sink into the novel, which I plan to do soon since the semester is winding down, and my stacks of papers to grade are dwindling.

After reading Collin's blog about tonight's Idol, sounds like I didn't miss much. I may even forego watching the tape my brother-in-law kindly taped for me.

Speaking of other people's blogs, Montgomery Maxton is no longer afraid of words and is therefore blowing people's minds. It's true. Check him out.