Goodnight Irene (or: I'm Keeping My CDs)

Who knew Granny Clampett packed such a wallop?

Hurricane Irene has come and gone and while there is still devastating flooding in the area, Uncle P made it through with electricity intact and only an annoying pile of debris across my driveway and lawn. Of course, some of my neighbors at the lower end of my street weren't quite so lucky and there are several piles of pulled-up carpeting on the curb this evening. And lots of folks in my town are still without power.

Being completely lame, I was unhappy with the choice of breakfast foods in my house this morning, and I decided to head out to Dunkin Donuts for a bagel. The drive-thru line was literally out on the the street and the line inside wrapped around the tiny store enough times for me to walk out. I tried three other places (including what I would ordinarily consider to be a disgusting fast food chain), only to find similar situations. I finally ended up at the over-priced local grocery store, where I was pleased to find bagels that were still warm. I know, I know... such a White Whine. 

Honestly, I am quite grateful that I only had to do some sweeping up. Many folks in the region had far more dire problems. Trees were downed; cars were crushed or swept away; people were displaced from their homes and 18 people actually lost their lives. And there is still much more flooding expected in the region as the Delaware river and its many tributaries have still not reached their crests. Many of my friends in NJ are cut off due to flooding and tens of thousands in the region are still without power. And truth be told, it could have been much worse. 

And I am happy to report that none of my friends and family will have to fight over my book, CD and DVD collections. They remain dry and in my full possession. I hope that all of my East Coast readers were as lucky as I was. If you weren't, you have my deepest condolences. Now that Irene has moved into Canada, you can expect a return to my usual nonsense this time tomorrow. But I will leave you with this:

Okay - how gay was that?

More, anon.
Prospero

The Gayest Thing You'll See This Week

This week's Gayest Thing is also quite possibly the Worst Musical Ever Made.  Thanks to my dear Stephen over at Post Apocalyptic Bohemian, who posted about producer Alan Carr's (Grease) birthday yesterday, I was flooded with memories of this 1980 stinker directed by none other than Rhoda's mom and paper-towel pitchwoman, Nancy Walker.

Can't Stop the Music tells the completely fictional story of how infamous disco group Village People came to be. Starring Valerie Perrine (Lenny; Superman: The Movie), Olympian Bruce Jenner (with his original gorgeous face), Steve Guttenberg (before he beefed up for Cocoon) and the Village People as themselves. It also featured gay icons Tammy Grimes, June Havoc and Barbara Rush.

The story is preposterous (a song writer wants to create a Disco 'Super Group') and the musical numbers are just plain ridiculous. The only reason anyone saw this movie was to ogle the literally hundreds of half-naked men in pools, gyms and various dance floors, grinding away at one another without a single mention of the words "gay," "homosexual" or "fabulous." The very closeted 19 year-old me was in awe. The very openly gay me of today is  simply appalled. Just take a look at this number, called "Do the Shake:"

Giant pornstaches; belly shirts; leather vests; short-shorts; showers and locker-rooms abound, but not once is it suggested that any of these fellows might be gay. Puh-leeze!

Is it any wonder that most of the people in this movie have fallen into obscurity? Of course, reality TV has brought Jenner back into the edges of the spotlight and insanity has kept Guttenberg from falling completely out of our collective memories. Walker passed away in 1992, and while Can't Stop the Music was her only feature film, she directed several episodes of "The Mary Tyler Moore Show," "Rhoda" and "Alice." 

If you love bad movies, half-naked men or Disco, you must add Can't Stop the Music to your Netflix queue. I only wish the folks at MST3K had been able to take a crack at this infamously bad musical, even if it actually failed to "launch the 80's."

More, anon.
Prospero

The Gayest Flash Mob You'll See This Week

Also via Towleroad, this Australian flash mob tribute to The B52's; Dolly Parton; Whitney Huston; Beyonce; The Village People; The Pointer Sisters and more, led by Oz's favorite drag queen, Joyce Maynge (I suppose she's their less pretty version of RuPaul) at Bondi Beach:

Honestly, how FABULOUS was that? And it certainly doesn't get much gayer than that, does it?

Even more, very anon.
Uncle Prosper