Who doesn't want to be famous? I've always wanted to be famous, so I feel very little pity for "oh woe is me" celebrities living the glam, glitzy life that I know I could do a much better job living.
Well… I used to feel little pity for them, until I watched the paparazzi-drenched Britney Spears documentary, Britney: For the Record.
People like me, who have grown up alongside the Britster, have been right there with her through the highs (strip tease, snake dance, Madonna kiss… ) and the lows (K-Fed, Lutfi, and that guy from Louisiana), and somehow her downhome mediocrity still makes me feel like I too can make it. Britney and I, we have this kindred connection. The entire time I was watching the film, I felt so sorry for the girl, that my poor little Cancerian insides nearly lost it.
Arguably, this was the whole point. The "documentary" was brought to me with no commercial interruptions by the Britney Spears Fragrance Line, and if you ask me, MTV has a little too much at stake in this whole "comeback" thing. Still, the film left me to ponder our fame-obsessed society and the toll it takes on people who are probably a little off their rocker to begin.
If you'd care to watch the MTV/Britney infomercial, I am sure it can be caught tonight or any other night for the next two months on MTV. (Wed., Dec. 3, 1am, 3pm, 9pm ET/PT and Thu., Dec. 4, 10am ET/PT.)
If you, like we, are orphaned this fine Thanksgiving, meet us and a couple hundred queer brethren at Charlie's Nightclub & Grill on Lavaca today at 1pm. Every Thanksgiving and every Christmas for the past 22 years the club has offered a sumptuous feast with all the trimmin's. For fans and regulars of the club, this is, of course old news. But if you are not acquainted with the club and its annual tradition – or if you're new blood and want to know where your fambly at: Come on down!
Happy holidays, friends. We hope you are with your loved ones, however you define that, and that the hearth is brimming and that you have remembered to candy your yams. And your sweetie's. And of course, your ex's and his ex's and that twink who is staying in your garage until he can find a place.
The holidays, with their year-end time for reflection and warm/fuzzy family vibe, are as good a time as any to extend some good will to our president-elect and to send him a note of congrats and glad tidings.
Earlier this week, while I was gathering local info for my small piece, "Gay Gut Punch," for this issue's News section, I learned that a group of local gay-rights organizations were meeting to plan action and response to the passing of the anti-gay ballot measures across the U.S.
Of particular interest was this growing groundswell of young gay activists on a national level calling for a concerted national protest. So what was the role of the established NGO to be?
Austin's National Protest volunteer organizer, Allyson Mays
photo courtesy Allyson Mays
Hey Austin, meet Allyson Mays, our local organizer for this weekend's protest at city hall. Inspired by the inspired, Texas college student Allyson is jumping head first into the protest fray. We asked her to send along a short profile, so Austin folks could put a face to the local manifestation of an exploding international movement. And, ladies, she's single.
