Adieu to 2008

In my last post of the year, I'm going to do a Best Of list of my own. Not everything on the list necessarily came out this year, but I first experienced it in 2008.

Best Classic Fiction Book I read this year: To The Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf

Best Modern Fiction Book I read this year: The Northern Clemency by Philip Hensher

Best Non-Fiction (History) Book I read this year: The Mayor of Castro Street by Randy Shilts

Best Non-Fiction (Literary) Book I read this year: The Library At Night by Alberto Manguel

Best Film I saw this year: Shelter

Best Half Hour long TV Show: How I Met Your Mother

Best Hour long TV Show: (tie) Pushing Daisies & Supernatural

Best Daytime Soap: One Life to Live

Best CD: Jay Brannan's Goddamned

New Guilty Pleasure Addiction of the year: Watching Collab Channels on YouTube

Favorite Gay Website of the year: AfterElton.com

Hottest Actor (Daytime): Van Hansis

Hottest Actor (Primetime): (tie) Jared Padalecki & Jensen Ackles

Hottest Actor (Film): Jake Gyllenhaal

Hottest Athlete: Matthew Mitcham


Favorite Actress: Kristin Chenoweth

Best Day of the Year: Election Day!


So, 2008 is about to become nothing more than a date in the history books and to say that it hasn't exactly been a year of peace and prosperity for the world would be the understatement to end all understatements.

But as one bad year ends, I think it far more fitting to focus on the promise of the year that is about to begin. 2009 is so full of potential for real change.

I hope you all have a fun & safe New Year's Eve and a fantastic 2009!

So Close.... and Yet So Far

It was a big day for Luke & Noah on As The World Turns today, but not in the way that they (or the fans) were hoping for.

Things started out in a promising way: Luke returned home to get ready for his New Year's Eve date with Noah to discover that his boyfriend had sent him flowers. Of course, he also walked in on Lucinda & Brian fighting over sex. Lucinda wanted to spend New Year's Eve in bed with her husband and he wanted to take her out to the party at Metro.

After Lucinda stormed out, Luke made it clear to Brian that since his Grandmother is obviously not happy, Brian's sexuality is an issue that he can't ignore. Brian told him once again to mind his own business.

The best part of the episode was Luke's arrival at Metro. He walked in the door, looking incredibly sexy, and his and Noah's eyes met across the room. Talk about hot! The chemistry between these two is off the charts. I swear you could actually feel the sexual tension radiating between them.

Their conversation was perfect, too:

Luke: Nice tie.

Noah: Thanks, my boyfriend gave it to me.

Luke: That's so I'd have the excuse to do this. (Luke straightens Noah's tie, in a manner reminiscent of the moments leading to their very first kiss nearly a year and a half ago)

Luke: (noticing lipstick on Noah's cheek) Who kissed you?

Noah: Maddie. Did you get my flowers?

Luke: Yeah, yeah, they were great. What was up with that letter, 'Don't open until 2009'?

Noah: Exactly what it says. You don't get to open that until tomorrow when you wake up next to me.

Luke: So tonight really is the night.

Noah: Finally.

Luke: Dance with me?

(Noah hesitates)

Luke: Oh, whats the matter, Noah, you afraid of sticking out in the crowd?

Noah: Not if it's with you.

If only the whole night had continued in the same manner! But, rather ominously, Brian walked in the door just as Luke & Noah moved to the dance floor and quickly took up a position at the bar where he could drink and stare moodily at the guys dancing.

Jade arrived shortly after and interrupted Luke & Noah's dance so that she could patch things up with Luke. While they were talking, Maddie arrived in tears, having just overheard Casey in bed with another woman. Luke looked up just in time to see Noah leaving with his ex girlfriend without saying a word to him about where they were going or why.

After he finished talking with Jade, Luke went looking for his boyfriend. Since Noah had actually left the party completely and taken Maddie to a nearby diner, Luke had no luck finding him and, most frustratingly, immediately started knocking back drinks at the bar.

Brian, of course, observed all of this and followed Luke to Old Town when he left the party. Luke, who inexplicably got completely wasted after what looked like two glasses of champagne, told Brian to stop trying to take care of him after the older man offered to help get him home. Brian did help Luke to a bench, though, after he nearly fell over. That's when things took a real turn for the worse.

Brian: Luke, you are a mess. You need somebody to take care of you, even if it's not me.

Luke: (Bumping Brian's shoulder flirtatiously with his own): But you want it to be you, right? (Moving closer to Brian and whispering) Noah doesn't want me. But you do, right?

And that's when Luke kissed Brian, rather forcefully, just in time for Noah to walk up and see them. Noah immediately, and logically, thought that Brian was kissing Luke against his will again and pulled him off his boyfriend before punching him in the face and getting Luke out of there.

Back at the house Noah was talking about how out of it Luke seemed and wondering if Brian had spiked his drink, and apologizing to Luke for not believing him the first time Brian kissed him. Luke, clearly feeling very guilty, had to confess what really happened.

Noah: When I saw him kissing you, I could have killed him.

Luke: Noah that's not how it actually happened.

Noah: What do you mean? I saw it, he was kissing you. Luke, he started it right? (Luke doesn't answer, but looks guilty) No. No no no. You wouldn't have done that.

Luke; Noah, I-

Noah: You wouldn't have done that to US! Why, Luke? Why?

Luke: Because I saw you leaving with Maddie-

Noah: I have got to get out of here.

Luke: Noah, I had a couple of drinks, I just-

Noah: DO NOT TOUCH ME!

Luke: Noah- (Noah leaves, slamming the door)

The worst part was that Noah yelling at Luke not to touch him coincided with the ringing of the bells at midnight. So, not only did they not have a New Year's kiss or make love for the first time, they started the year on that awful note!

After Noah left, Luke sat down at the table and opened the letter that Noah sent with the flowers.

Dear Luke,
If you followed my directions and didn't read this last night then it's the first day of 2009. We spent our first night together and I'm lying in bed with you, watching you read this. Knowing me, I'm betting I didn't say everything you needed to hear last night. You've always been better with words than me, but I want to thank you Luke, for being my love, for being my future. Happy New Year.

Wow, talk about pouring salt in the wound! I can't speak for all fans, of course, but for me hearing that note and imaging how it should have been read, with Luke in bed with Noah, made this turn of events even more awful. That was the point, of course, and it was clear that Luke felt exactly the same. The look Van Hansis had on his face in this scene completely said it all: Luke knows he just ruined everything and that he has no one to blame but himself. He truly broke my heart with that look.

This was good drama and that's what soaps are about. Luke is still clearly driven towards self destruction and his issues with alcohol haven't magically gone away. Seeing him eventually deal with this and get help should make for an excellent story for Van to play.

Luke being jealous of Maddie is also one of the more believable scenarios that the guys have dealt with in their relationship, especially given that he & Noah haven't been together physically and Luke knows quite well that Noah did have sex with Maddie. It also makes perfect sense that a drunk Luke would feel rejected and lonely and try and throw himself at someone he knows finds him attractive.

There's no denying that couples whom the audience want together are regularly driven apart in daytime. It is a staple of the medium, and the payoff of the eventual reunion can usually make it all worthwhile, provided that the story is written well.

But my issue here is that with other couples, there would already have been a payoff long before this. Yes, it's good drama, but it's drama whose main purpose is to keep Luke & Noah as daytime's longest suffering gay virgins.

There are only so many times that the show can break up and reunite these two without them finally making love, and I think we're already one or two break ups past that point.

Still, I'd be lying if I said that I wasn' t interested in what was going to happen next from here, not only between the boys but also with Brian. Plus, it's the first gay love triangle in daytime, sort of. I mean, Luke would need to have feelings for both Brian & Noah for it to truly qualify, but then who knows what the future holds?

Van Hansis and Jake Silbermann were both amazing in today's episode. Luke's continuing flirtation with self destruction and Noah's pain and anger were all perfectly played. The two of them really make this story worth watching, no matter how frustrating it can be

Call me naive, but I really think fans will eventually have a real payoff with Nuke. They're still far more sexual than any other gay male characters have ever been allowed to be on daytime and that alone makes them groundbreaking. We just need to get them to the next level already!

The Men Who Made 2008

First, a few more lists. Out Gay Life has a list of the Top Ten LGBT Rights Moments of 2008 and Politico has one naming the Ten Biggest Political Upsets of the year.

Second, just in the spirit of taking things easy this week, I'd like to share some of my favorite guys that I 'discovered' in 2008. I should note that several of these pictures came from Superherofan.net, which is now in my links over on the side ---->.

First, my favorite 'new' guy this year, One Life to Live's Mark Lawson. He plays the troubled Iraq War veteran Brody Lovett on the show, and he's just incredibly sexy. He's so hot, in fact, that I couldn't just choose a couple of photos to share! It was hard enough limiting it to five.
Mark was a bit less manscaped when he first debuted on the show, which I liked, but I'll take him any way I can get him!

Next up, Zachary Levi, who plays Chuck on, well, Chuck. I only recently started watching the show and discovered the very sexy Mr. Levi.
Then we have German soap star Thore Scholermann, who plays Christian Mann, one half of gay couple Christian & Ollie, on Verboten Liebe. Both men are hot, but Thore is just downright beautiful.
Andreas Jancke, who plays Christian's brother Gregor on Verboten Liebe, would also have to make my list, and I'm sure you can see why:
Next is someone I suppose I actually 'discovered' in late 2007, but I didn't really start to think of him as truly hot until this year. I don't watch his show, but I love coming across pictures on him online and I love searching YouTube for videos of him talking in his sexy real life British accent. I'm talking, of course, about Ed Westwick of Gossip Girl. Just the way he looks at a camera radiates sex.

Here's hoping the guys of 2009 will be just as hot!

Yes, More Lists

Yes, I'm giving you even more Best Of lists for 2008. I think the days between Christmas and New Year's Day should generally be a period for relaxing and reflecting.

James Wood of the New Yorker offers his Ten Favorite Books of the year, while Anthony Lane does Ten Best Films, with David Denby also offering his own film choices. I've read none of Wood's picks and seen none of the films that Lane mentions. I wonder if I should take this as a sign that I'm completely out of it, culturally speaking? Luckily, I have seen one of Denby's films, the excellent Rachel Getting Married. I also desperately want to see one of his other picks, Milk, but it's still not playing near me!

The fun continues with Sasha Frere-Jones' list of the Best Recordings of the year, Hilton Als' Best Stage and Screen Performances, and John Lahr with the Best Plays.

Now that I'm exhausting the supply other people's lists, I'll be doing some of my own in the next couple of days.

Review Time!

More year end reviews to peruse! I have to admit, I love these lists every year. It's always nice to pretend we can wrap up the year in neat little packages with a label or in succinct summaries.

AfterElton has 2008 in Gay Movies, and the year in Gay Television, while 365 Gay offers the eight top gay videos of the year. NPR has a nice section of Best Books of 2008 by various categories. The Guardian has a great angle on the tradition of year end lists, allowing readers to note their own selections of noteworthy books.

Gawker even has the Top 10 Feuds of 2008, complete with video evidence!

'Twas the Day After Christmas

I hope everyone had a great Holiday, whichever one you celebrate.

Jumping back to last Tuesday's episode of As the World Turns, Luke's cousin Jade managed to be almost extradited to Florida, held at knife point, cleared of all charges, and discover her long lost father all in the space of an hour of television.

Luke was present for most of that, while Noah was back at the coffee place lending a friendly ear to Maddie over the mixed signals Casey is sending her. Luke headed to Java for some boyfriend-ly comfort after Jade made it clear that she's still upset with him for calling Lily when he said he'd help her leave town. When he walked in and saw Maddie's hand resting on top of Noah's while they talked, Luke got upset.

Luke fled, but Noah ran after him and reminded him that he & Maddie are just friends. Luke admitted that he was actually upset about Jade. When Noah told Luke that Casey was going to be at the New Year's Eve party with them and Maddie, Luke had a request:

Luke: Promise me that we'll find some time to be alone together. And I mean really alone.

Noah: I promise.

Luke: Are you sure?

Noah: I have never been more sure of anything in my whole life.

It was clear that the boys were not talking about just jumping on the bed this time. It will be interesting to see if the show finally lets them go there.

Well, it's getting to be the time of year when we all look back at the best and worst of the the twelve previous months. With that in mind, check out AfterElton's Best Gay Year Ever retrospective on 2008.

Kennedy Supports Marriage Equality, Ignores Warren Issue

Luke & Noah will be on As the World Turns today, but with my work schedule for the day and my holiday plans, I won't actually be writing about the episode until the day after Christmas.

I just wanted to note a few things today. First, Caroline Kennedy gave (very brief) answers to some questions about her political positions that were submitted by Politico. This one, in particular, caught my attention:

QUESTION 2: Same-sex marriage. Do you support the right of gay and lesbian couples to marry? Do you think it's appropriate that Rick Warren, who campaigned to ban gay marriage, is delivering the invocation at Obama's inauguration? If not, have you expressed that to the president-elect?

ANSWER: "Caroline supports full equality and marriage rights for gay and lesbian couples."

I'm thrilled that Carline supports full marriage rights, not just the half-measure of civil unions that so many Democrats (including the next President) are in support of. I'm not surprised that she failed to address the Rick Warren question, but I am pretty disappointed.

Speaking of Rick Warren, AfterElton has a post on Rachel Maddow's skewering of Warren and his role in the Inauguration that is worth reading. They also include the actual video which is really a must see.

Well, I won't be writing for the next few days because of my holiday plans, but I'll be back on the 26th. I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday!

It's the Real Noah Mayer!

For the first time in a few months, I can say that there were some truly fantastic Luke & Noah scenes on As the World Turns today. In fact, today was probably the best Nuke episode since at least last summer.

Best of all, the real Noah Mayer has returned to Oakdale, and I'm hoping he's here to stay. Ever since the election fiasco, Noah has been written in a way that I just didn't feel was at all true to who the character has been. Today, though, it was as if a switch had been flipped and the guy who is one half of the hottest couple on daytime was finally acting like himself again.

Things started out when Noah showed up at Luke's place with Christmas presents for his family and the two had a chance to sit down and talk. Luke filled Noah in on the most recent developments with Brian and while I would have loved a moment where Noah said something along the lines of "I'm sorry I ever doubted you, Luke" I was at least glad to see that Noah seemed to finally be on Luke's side again.

The magic moment, though, seemed to come when Luke told Noah about Jade's return and her trouble with the law. After Luke revealed how bad he feels that Jade will probably be spending Christmas in prison because he convinced her to turn herself in, Noah told him not to feel bad, that he'd done the right thing. In fact, it was "...the kind of thing that the guy I fell in love with would do."

Noah & Luke headed into town together to hang out and after Luke reminded Noah of how close they were at Christmas time last year and said he wanted to get back to that, Noah didn't pull out the old "We just can't!" routine that he'd inexplicably been favoring lately. Instead, he said that he wants the same thing, and that he'd spent the whole morning wrapping gifts just so he'd have an excuse to come over and see Luke.

Noah decided to give Luke his gift a bit early- a watch inscribed with 'Worth the Wait'. Awww! Okay, I know I'm a total sap, but that was really a sweet moment between these two star crossed lovers. It got even better right afterwards when, in what can only be called a nod to Christmas Past, Noah & Luke found themselves under the mistletoe and reminisced about kissing under it last year after Luke first told Noah he loved him.

Of course, last year the camera panned away from the kiss and up to the mistletoe before their lips ever met, outraging Nuke fans and confirming that there truly was a ban on kisses for the guys after their first two, months before that. This year, though, the kiss under the mistletoe was truly a gift to the fans. What a difference a year makes! Maybe by this time next year, they'll be having love scenes in the bedroom like the straight couples on the show?

That almost sounds like a whole episode worth of Nuke scenes right there, but there was still more to come. Right after their kiss, Noah & Luke spotted Noah's ex girlfriend Maddie, who'd just returned to town from college for Christmas break.

After a warm greeting in which Maddie congratulated them on being together (it was still up in the air when she left town), Luke clearly began to feel a bit jealous as he watched Noah & Maddie instantly connecting again over their shared love of old movies and as they finished each other's sentences.

Maddie told them about her recent break up with a guy at school and made it clear that Noah is not the ex she's hoping to get back together with. Maddie's feeling for her first love, Casey, were never resolved after he went to prison and broke up with her by letter. In fact, it was right after she got the Dear Maddie letter that she turned to Noah for comfort and jumped into that relationship. Now that Casey is out of prison, Maddie is hoping to rekindle their romance but their initial reunion didn't go well.

After hearing about this, Noah invited Maddie to spend New Year's Eve with him and Luke at the local nightclub, Metro (wait, when did he ask Luke to spend New Year's with him?).

After saying goodbye to Maddie, the boys went back to Luke's place, where Luke confessed that seeing Noah with Maddie brought up all the feelings he had back when he had to watch Noah & Maddie together all the time as a couple.

Noah: We're friends...

Luke: Noah, you're friends who used to sleep together.

Noah: Hey look, that part of my life is over. That's not me anymore.

Luke: You're not her lover.

Noah: No!

Luke: No, but you're not mine yet, either.

Noah: Hey, listen to me. Look at me. I love you. I want to be with you.

Luke: I want to be with you, too.

Noah: I know we have a lot to work out, but there is no way I could ever feel for Maddie what I feel for you. Not even close!

(They Kiss)

Noah: You believe me?

Luke: (kisses Noah again) I believe you.

Okay, after several weeks of Nuke scenes that made me want to throw something at the TV (and Noah, specifically) today we got to see the guys reunite, confirm their love, finally have their kiss under the mistletoe, and then end the episode with even more kissing. Talk about a present from Santa! Plus, Noah was himself again and I liked that Luke was upfront about his jealousy of Maddie instead of trying to hide it or worry over it in silence.

Of course, from tomorrow's previews it looks like things may not all be smooth sailing on the Maddie front where Luke is concerned, but just leaving it where it stands with today's show, I'm very happy!

I'm also really glad that they're having Luke address the fact that he & Noah have never made love. That's twice now in recent days (he mentioned it to Brian last week) and it's making me think that they're finally going to start leading up to the boys truly being together.

Overall, the only thing that would have made me happier today would have been if the show had brought Alexandra Chando, the original actress, back as Maddie. She was one of my favorites and this new actress just doesn't seem at all like Maddie to me. Hopefully she'll grow on me, though.

For now, all I can say is Nuke is back and I'm loving it.

Great Chenoweth Interview

Okay, I know I just blogged about Kristin Chenoweth yesterday and that I should probably pick a new topic today. But Kristin was interviewed on CBS's Sunday Morning today and gave a fantastic interview in which she discussed, among other things, her strong faith and her equally strong support of gay rights.

Kristin: I'm a big gay rights person. I believe that... people should be able to get married who want to get married.

Interviewer: Now you grew up Southern Baptist, right?

Kristin: Sure I did...

Interviewer: Gay Marriage?

Kristin: I support it.

Interviewer: Gay adoption?

Kristin: Yep.

Interviewer: But there are many Christians who have issues with homosexuality.

Kristin: Sure, and I understand that. That's what they've been ingrained. But you know, I have been exposed to a different way of life. I've been exposed-

Interviewer: Now some folks in Oklahoma might say corrupted.

Kristin: Yeah, corrupted. And that's okay. I'd hate for them to judge me, I don't judge them. You know, I just can't apologize for it.

I knew already that Kristin had a strong Christian faith (her second CD, As I Am, is mostly Christian music) and that she was a very gay friendly person, but I still loved seeing her voice her support for gay marriage and adoption on national TV.

What can I say? Kristin is just made of awesome.

Kristin's New Role

Well, it's being reported that Kristin Chenoweth has already landed a starring role in a new series. You know I adore Kristin completely and will totally be watching. I'm happy for her, but I'm also sad for two reasons.

First, this is totally the nail in the coffin for Pushing Daisies. Yes, it was already canceled, but there was always the hope, however slight, that some other network would pick it up. Now, with Bryan Fuller back at Heroes and Kristin getting a new show, I have to accept that Daisies is really over.

The other reason I'm sad is that the show Kristin has landed is a new legal drama by David E. Kelley. It's called Legally Mad and is set at a law firm in Chicago. Does this sound familiar? How about this description of Kristin's character: "a cheerful and brilliant attorney who nonetheless exhibits flashes of psychosis — and enjoys being mistaken for a teenager."

Does this not sound like Ally McBeal redux? Okay, Ally wasn't usually cheerful, but flashes of psychosis? I have to admit that, once upon a time, I was a major McBeal fan. In its first few seasons, I thought it was incredible. But then it became all about pratfalls and silliness. It became less a fun show with quirks than a show built on nothing but quirks.

I just worry that the same thing will happen with Kristin's new show. I think Kelley does legal dramas far better than he does legal comedies, and even though this is described as a drama in the article, it sounds more along McBeal lines to me.

The real kicker, of course, is that her character's name is going to be Skippy Pylon!

I'll be watching for Kristin and one thing I'm sure of is that she will spin whatever gold she can out of the material and make it fun to watch.

Kennedy Pro/Con; Brown v. The Forces of Darkness

Ellen Goodman has written an essay at Truthdig that is pro-Caroline Kennedy for appointment to the U.S. Senate seat that will soon be vacant in New York. I've already voiced my opinion on the matter a few times, but Goodman does so much more eloquently than I could:

'But I find myself unable to dredge up even a modicum of outrage at the idea of this Kennedy bumping to the top of the list of Senate candidates. Her résumé shows no more chutzpah than Al Franken’s. Her celebrity is no greater than that of her cousin-in-law Arnold Schwarzenegger, “Kindergarten Cop” and governor. Is she any less entitled to this post than the business leader who decides that his acumen at widgets qualifies him to lead a country?

There is something refreshing in seeing a mother and public citizen auditioning for a second act. Beyond that, there is something tender and timely in seeing this particular woman coming home to the family business.'

...............

'I don’t know if Kennedy is tough or politically talented enough for the back-to-back races she would face to win a full term. Appointed candidates do not have a high rate of success in elections. But I do have a sense that this woman is less focused on the Kennedy legacy—perhaps even less than the rest of us—than the Obama beginning.

She described her reasons for supporting Obama, saying: “My reasons are patriotic, political and personal, and the three are intertwined.”

So are the reasons for seeing her as a Sen. Caroline Kennedy. Pick Caroline and you are not choosing the latest scion of a dynasty. You are choosing the emblem of a generation—and maybe a country—coming back to life. Public life.'

Truthdig also has an essay up by Joe Conason on the same topic that isn't entirely anti-Caroline Kennedy, but does raise some key questions about such an appointment:

'Aside from money, celebrity and tradition, what else does Kennedy need to propel her candidacy? New York Gov. David Paterson, who will actually make the interim appointment, may have asked himself that question when she called to inform him of her interest. As he told reporters, “She’d like at some point to sit down and tell me what she thinks her qualifications are.”

In the governor’s remark, there is an edge that expresses what many politicians may be thinking. Unlike members of Congress who want the promotion, Kennedy, a nonpracticing attorney, has little familiarity with the legislative process. Unlike them, she has never tested herself in the brutal arena of electoral politics. And unlike many of them, she has lived in a world of privilege quite remote from the concerns of most voters.

It is not hard to imagine the difficulties Kennedy might confront in a race against someone like Rep. Peter King, the first Republican to declare his intention to run for the Senate seat no matter whom the governor appoints. How would the soft-spoken lady from the Upper East Side hold up in a debate against a self-styled populist from Long Island?

Nobody who knows Kennedy doubts her intellect or her commitment. But beyond her endorsement of Barack Obama at a crucial moment in the Democratic primaries, nobody knows much about her positions on public policy. Presumably, the governor will explore that question when they meet.

The same criticism—that she’s only where she is because of her name—was leveled at her Uncle Ted when he first ran for the Senate. Then again, we know how he turned out. If that is what she means to become, New York could do much worse.'

On another subject, California's Attorney General Jerry Brown surprised everyone today by submitting a brief to the state Supreme Court arguing that Prop 8 should be overturned.

'In a brief submitted to the court Friday, Brown’s office said the measure should be invalidated because it deprives people of the right to marry—an aspect of liberty that the Supreme Court has concluded is guaranteed by the California Constitution.

“Proposition 8 must be invalidated because the amendment process cannot be used to extinguish fundamental constitutional rights without compelling justification,” Brown’s brief said.

Brown argued that in order to invalidate such a fundamental right, the court “must determine that there is a compelling justification to do so.”

But in the marriage cases that the court ruled on earlier this year, striking down the ban on gay marriage “the court found that no such compelling justification exists. Accordingly, Proposition 8 must be stricken,” the brief said.'

Brown personally opposed Prop 8 last month but was still largely expected to argue in favor of upholding it in his position as Attorney General.

I applaud Jerry Brown for doing the right thing. No Majority should ever get to decide a basic rights issue for any minority. That's not equality and it's not democracy.

Those defending Prop 8 have recruited the odious Ken Starr to present their case before the court. You know, if I was a prop 8 supporter, just having Ken Starr on the same side as me would be enough to make me change my mind!

The case isn't going to be heard until March at the earliest, but all eyes are on California.

Van Hansis Interview, Stage Pictures

Luke was on As The World Turns again today, though not really in his own story. His cousin (and former beard) Jade returned to town and Luke was immediately embroiled in her drama, just like the last time she blew into town.

This time around, Jade is running from the law and showed up to ask Luke for enough money to help her disappear for good. Luke agreed to help her but called Lily on the sly and together the two of them convinced Jade to turn herself in to the Oakdale P.D. and get the pesky charges for armed robbery dismissed. It seems Jade was with the wrong guy at the wrong time and now the police think she helped him rob a convenience store.

Instead of dismissing the charges, though, they're extraditing Jade back to Florida, where she probably won't get bail since she's already proven to be a flight risk. This left a dejected Luke telling Lily that even when he tries to do the right thing, he messes it up.

I'm glad Jade is back because Luke needs a confidant and Jade, for all her faults, was always there for him in that way. Well, except for when she was blackmailing him over his sexuality while he was still closeted. But, hey, nobody is perfect, right? Since it looks like they're also introducing Jade's long lost biological father, though, she may be more involved in her own story than in Luke's.

Meanwhile, Van Hansis has given an interview (which does have some minor spoilers about New Year's Eve and Noah's ex Maddie's return) to Michael Fairman. Van puts my fears about Brian being the show's latest psycho further to rest:

MICHAEL:

Is it “ATWT’s” intent to show Brian’s confusion over his sexual identity? He is not going to be ‘creepy’ towards Luke, is he?

VAN:

I don’t think that’s where they are going. Of course, there are some uncomfortable aspects of this story, but it’s not going to be about this older lecherous man going after this younger guy. He is not a bad guy and that was not the intention for the character. I think his confusion might be
perceived as this, because he is lying to himself and he is lying to other people. I don’t
think he is being malicious at all.

Van also had this to say, about Prop 8:

MICHAEL:

Luke and Noah’s story is all the more compelling now with the recent passing of “Proposition 8” that bans gay marriages. What are your thoughts on that, since you play a gay character on the show?

VAN:

I think that whatever my job is, as playing a gay character or an accountant, my feelings are the same. It is not right to limit people’s options they have in life. I think it’s incredibly un-American to do something like that. Proposition 8 passing was really kind of a blow to what America should stand for.

You've got to love Van!

It looks like Luke & Noah will have some story coming up, though apparently not anything too heavy for a few months, since an official ATWT spokesperson told the interviewer the following:

“I can tell you that Luke and Noah at the beginning of March are featured heavily and they will continue to have storyline. They will have front and center story and we are committed to telling their story.”

Van's new musical Dance Dance Revolution, discussed here in The Village Voice, is ending its run this Saturday and in honor of that, I wanted to post a picture that I came across of him in costume for the show, in which he plays a character named Wiggles.

Can I just say again how jealous I am of everyone who got to see Van singing and dancing around in those short shorts? In fact, here's another shot to show what I missed. Van is on the right:

The next time Van does something on stage, I'm totally going to New York.

Take the Good With the Bad?

Good news and bad news today on the Obama/LGBT front. The bad news is that Obama will be having Pastor Rick Warren, an ardent supporter of Prop 8, give the invocation at his inauguration. This is troubling, to say the least, especially in light of the issues during the primary campaign in South Carolina.

The good news is that Obama's pick for Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan, backed a proposal for a high school for LGBT & other bullied youths in Chicago as the city's CEO of Public Schools. Having such a man in charge of the Department of Education will be a huge shift over the current Secretary of Education, Margaret Spellings, who was no sooner in office than she was attacking a PBS animated show that depicted lesbian characters, claiming that most parents wouldn't want their children 'exposed to such lifestyles'.

It's disappointing that the same President-elect who would pick officials like Duncan and Nancy Sutley to serve under him would be open to someone like Warren playing a role in his inauguration.

I'm not excusing Obama in any way for his inclusion of Warren, but I will say that if given the option between a President who lets a homophobe speak at his inauguration yet chooses pro-LGBT Government officials or a President who has a gay friendly inauguration but appoints anti-gay officials, I'd certainly choose the former.

Still, there are many who continue to worry about the President-elect's true stance on gay issues, and Warren's inclusion doesn't help the matter any.

Now That's Good Soap!

I have to say, I was pretty impressed with today's Luke & Brian scenes on As The World Turns. It's pretty rare these days to see two characters on this show sit down and actually discuss a problem like adults, but that's exactly what happened today.

It started out looking like it was going to be yet another episode of Luke sniping at Brian and Brian denying that anything had ever happened between them while trying to point out all the ways that Luke is messing up his life.

Luke came home from a winter hike in the woods (taken, apparently, to avoid spending time with his family en masse at cousin Jack's wedding) to find Brian alone downstairs, reading the paper, while Grandmother Lucinda slept upstairs.

The two followed their usual pattern and Luke was about to storm out the door after telling Brian off yet again for denying what happened. Finally, though, Brian owned up to everything. Their discussion was so well done that I'm going to quote key parts rather than try and describe it. For the full effect, of course, you could always watch it here.

Brian: ...Kissing you was wrong. What was worse was making you think that it was all in your head. It wasn't.

Luke: So you admit it. You came on to me.

Brian: I admit I'm attracted to you. Who wouldn't be?

Luke: Well, generally, straight men? So I guess this kind of proves-

Brian: No, I told you, I don't like labels.

Luke: Then you're in denial.

Brian: No, I'm not denying anything. I'm trying to be honest with you.

..........

Luke: So You're saying that you are responsible for what happened between us?

Brian: Yes. But once it happened, I didn't know how to handle it. And so I took the coward's way out. But of course denying the truth just makes it worse. I know I put you in an impossible situation and I know I hurt you. I wish I could make the hurt go away.

Their scenes got even better from there, as the conversation turned to Brian's sexuality and the potential deception of Lucinda, with Brian swearing that he truly does love Luke's Grandmother.

Luke: ...Look, I know what you're going through. But once you come clean, everything kind of gets a little better.

Brian: I know what you want me to say, but that's not who I am.

............................

Brian: ...She's an incredible human being and I love every minute of being married to her.

Luke: Are you... are you having sex with her?

Brian: That's none of your business.

Luke: Well, you made it pretty clear that you wanted to have sex with me. But somehow I'm crossing the line by asking who else you might be having sex with?

Brian: No, Lucinda and I are not having sex. She's not really well enough yet.

Luke: Yet? So you plan to?

Brian: I plan to be a good husband to her. Don't judge me, Luke. You can't know what my feelings are.

Luke: I'm not judging you, Brian. But trust me, I do know. I've been there. You're gay, and you're too scared to admit it.

Brian: .... to me, life is a bit more complicated than trying to find one word to define a whole person.

Luke: Hey, if you want to stay in the closet your whole life, more power to you. Personally, I find it a little suffocating.

Brian: I'm just saying we shouldn't judge each other. You're gay, you're out, you're proud, good for you. That's the way you chose to live your life. I made other choices and they're equally valid.

Luke: But it's not a choice. It's just who you are.

After Brian explained all the ways he feels he & Lucinda are compatible and make each other happy, Luke raised an important objection that also, thankfully, touched upon an issue that has always upset Nuke fans.

Luke: Except in bed.

Brian: Well, relationships aren't all about sex.

Luke: Oh, trust me, I know about that. I already went through one without it. But Brian, don't you think being attracted to the person you're with is a really important part of a relationship?

Brian assured Luke that he is attracted to Lucinda in many ways and urged him to not let what happened between the two of them ruin what he & Lucinda have together. After admitting that he doesn't know what the right thing to do is, Luke agreed to keep Brian's secret rather than hurt Lucinda.

These were some really incredibly well done scenes. Van Hansis started out playing Luke as angry but slowly turned that anger into reluctant compassion once Brian started opening up. Laurence Lau, meanwhile, truly impressed me as Brian for the first time. His portrayal of this tightly controlled man as his facade began to crack just a bit, emotions coming to the surface, was excellent.

For the first time, I also have real hope that they're not going to make Brian into yet another psycho of the month character who does something to Luke to keep his secret quiet. Today, I felt that Brian was a character with real potential onscreen, rather than just in my ideas about how the show should go.

It was fantastic to see Brian put an end to the denial and to see Luke's perception of Brian shift from that of a villain to just a rather sad man, a picture perhaps of what Luke himself could have become if he'd stayed in the closet.

Again, there is a generational story that could be told here if the show was really willing to invest in it. Luke is a modern gay man, someone who came out in high school. Brian is a man who grew up in a time period not all that long ago where being gay was still classified as a mental illness. There was no Will & Grace, no Queer as Folk, no Gay Straight alliances in schools, nothing much to help Brian see being gay from anything but the official perspective.

I really hope the show explores this issue more and continues Brian down a path towards coming out. I'm not sure where today's episode leaves Brian & Luke. They agreed at the end that they'd cleared the air and were good with each other, so maybe we'll see a friendship begin to develop.

Whatever happens next, I find myself actually interested in it, rather than just bracing myself for the worst. I've been expecting Brian to go psycho on Luke at any minute, since the writers of this show seem to have little concept of creating any other sort of story. One of many examples from the past couple of years would be Noah's father, Colonel Mayer, who could have been written as homophobic and provided realistic, ongoing drama for Luke & Noah, but was instead written as homophobic and psychotic, trying to kill Luke to keep Noah from being gay.

I appreciate that homophobic characters aren't written as heroes, but it's irresponsible to make them all into total monsters like they did with the Colonel.

They tend to take everything to the extreme on As the World Turns, which is why today's scenes between Luke & Brian were even more impressive.

A Great Read

What I love best about being a lover of books is when you come across something that just completely sweeps you up, a story in which you lose yourself entirely. This is a rarer experience that you'd expect. Most of the time, even when I really enjoy a book, it's not quite on that level. I'd say it probably only happens with two or three books a year.

I had that experience today. There I was at work, shelving in a brief respite between helping customers, when this book on a display table caught my eye. I had the vague sense that I'd seen it several times without really noticing it, had probably even shelved it without giving it a second glance, so I'm not sure why exactly it caught my eye just then.

The title was the first thing that grabbed me- The Uncommon Reader. My first thought was that it was a new release of Virginia Woolf's The Common Reader, until I looked closer. Then I noticed that it was by the playwright Alan Bennett, the man who, among many other plays, wrote The History Boys, a favorite of mine.

Once I picked it up and read the description, I knew that I had to read it. Basically, Queen Elizabeth II ends up following her barking corgis to a mobile library truck that makes a stop near the kitchen entrance at Windsor Castle once a week for the staff. Simply to be polite, Her Majesty checks out a book.

From that point on, the Queen, who has never been a pleasure reader, becomes a true book addict, devouring books non-stop until it begins to change her life and upsets everyone from her palace servants to the Prime Minister.

It's a novella, only 120 pages long, and I devoured it tonight after work. I laughed out loud several times and completely loved this story. Bennett infuses it with so much humor and with a love of books that I could easily relate to. I only wish it had been a full length novel since I was nowhere near ready for it to end when it did!

I don't want to give too much away, especially since it's not a very long book, but I'd recommend it for any other book addicts out there and for anyone who likes to laugh, especially at the absurdities of protocol and public officials.

A Shoe or Two

I had a long day at work today, so I'm going to keep it super short tonight.

If you hadn't heard yet, President Bush had two shoes thrown at him by an Iraqi reporter during a press conference today in Iraq. I'm linking to the video of the attempted shoe-ing because I just find it so fitting that one of the happy, grateful, liberated Iraqis Bush did so much for should mark his last Presidential visit to the country this way.

One has to admit that if nothing else, Bush has excellent reflexes.

TV & Film Talk

I'm not going to blog about The Mayor of Castro Street tonight. I was supposed to have the day off today, but things didn't quite work out that way. Hopefully I'll have time at some point over the next few days to write about it.

Just a few quick things tonight. First, fans of Pushing Daisies have started a campaign to save the show by getting it moved to another network. These fan campaigns are not always successful, of course, but sometimes they do work.

Take, for instance, the Kiss Campaign and accompanying media blitz enacted by Nuke fans that lead to the end of the months long dry spell between kisses for Luke & Noah on As the World Turns.

Shows moving between networks isn't unheard of, either. It has happened in both daytime and primetime, most memorably in recent times when Buffy The Vampire Slayer jumped from The WB after five seasons to run for two more years on UPN. For the most current example, there is the sitcom Scrubs which will be moving to ABC this January after seven seasons on NBC.

Moves like this are the exception, of course, not the rule. Still, we can always hope some other network will take a risk on the show and fans showing their support certainly helps.

Of course, Bryan Fuller has already returned to Heroes, starting with this season's 19th episode, so saving Daisies might not even be an option, at least not with him involved, unless he could do double duty on both shows.

I do have to say that I'm looking forward to his return on Heroes, especially after I checked out his exclusive interview with Entertainment Weekly. I think he's just what the show needs.

Second, I wanted to confess that I watched a really cheesy movie last night about an artist that I don't even like. Why did I sit through an hour and forty five minutes of saccharine Hallmark Channel-esque nonsense? Two words: Jared. Padalecki.

I'm talking, of course, about Christmas Cottage, the film 'inspired by' the life of artist Thomas Kinkade. As an artist, Kinkade reminds me of our Christian Fiction section at work. The same ladies I see browsing there for books that present a safe, idealized version of the world (usually without any troublesome minorities of any kind, let alone of the LGBT sort, around to muddy the waters) probably love his paintings.

Okay, to be fair, my own Grandmother, who is an open minded, intelligent woman, names him as her favorite artist. So, I know I really shouldn't make sweeping generalizations about fans of his work. It's just not my cup of tea.

At any rate, if you'd told me a couple of years ago that I'd see a movie about Kinkade, that in fact I'd move it to the top of Netflix queue and wait impatiently for its arrival, I would have had one response: which hottie is starring in it?

Jared Padalecki has to be one of the hottest guys alive. My God that man is beautiful! Plus, he looked really adorable in his little scarf and hat combo:


I already knew, from Supernatural, that he knocks any emotional scene out of the park, but this mediocre movie definitely gave him a chance to shine in that regard. There are a couple of scenes where Jared gets a chance either to cry or to be on the verge of tears, and he totally blew me away. I just wanted to grab him and hug him.

Jared really rose above a script that should have been filmed for a cable channel at best (as it was, it was released directly to DVD). Peter O'Toole hammed it up in his part as a dying artist trying to paint one last picture, while Marcia Gay Harden had one decent scene opposite her character's ex husband (Desperate Housewives' Richard Burgi) but was otherwise bland as Kinkade's mother. Aaron Ashmore was cute as the younger brother, but had absolutely nothing to do, and the cast was otherwise filled out by familiar faces from old TV shows. So, if you're anxious to see Bull from Night Court, Mrs. Garrett from The Facts of Life and Lou Grant from The Mary Tyler Moore Show get a chance to do their thing, it may be worth checking out.

As for me, Jared made it worthwhile, but I really do hope he can pick a better film next time. I mean, after the remake of Friday the 13th, which he's also the lead in. Yet another movie I'll have to see that I otherwise wouldn't have! Thanks a lot, Padalecki! Maybe you'll at least show some skin in that one?

Book Blog Updates

I just wanted to note that my all time favorite lit blogger, Sandra of Book World, updated her blog today. Sandra bid farewell to the blogging world last April but has made sporadic posts since then, to my delight. Her writing, especially about her visits to the London Library (which this new update touches upon a bit), has occupied some of my most enjoyable hours online in the last few years.

I was crushed when she decided to stop blogging and focus her energies on her writing, but happily she has years worth of archives that can still be enjoyed, along with her occasional updates.

Another of my favorite lit blogs, Tales From the Reading Room, had a really enjoyable update today musing on comfort reading and the differences between literature and popular fiction and reading in various genres. I must confess that I'm not familiar with the authors mentioned, but then that's the great thing about book blogs! You're always discovering something you might not have heard of otherwise.

Speaking of blogging about books, I've been meaning to write about The Mayor of Castro Street ever since I finished it and I think I should be able to do that tomorrow. It's already two books ago for me, but it made quite an impression. I only wish I could see Milk sometime soon! Sadly, it's not playing anywhere near me yet.

Time Will Tell

Truthdig has a new article by E.J. Dionne about the much reported feelings of despair on the left that Obama isn't appointing a progressive cabinet. Dionne ties these reported feelings to similar worries back in 1960 and points out that Obama's cabinet, as announced so far, is already to the left of the one Kennedy picked, if only because of the cultural and political differences between 1960 and 2008.

Two key Senators were interviewed:

Sen. Bernie Sanders, the Vermont independent who proudly describes himself as a democratic socialist, has as much of a claim as anyone to speak for the left. He thinks those who see Obama as drifting right are overlooking the importance of the president-elect’s past as a community organizer and also his “sense of history.”

“I believe he understands that he is coming into office at a time when the country faces more problems than at any time since 1933,” Sanders told me. “The American people are prepared to support strong action.”

Sanders acknowledges “concerns” that key Obama appointees supported financial deregulation in the past. He called them “some of the people responsible for getting us into where we are right now.”

But Democrats, Sanders says, realize the burden they bear with full control of the government’s elected branches: “If they don’t begin to really deliver for the middle class in this country, they’ve got nobody to blame but themselves.” Obama’s pledge on Thursday to push hard for health care reform suggests that he shares Sanders’ view.

Sen. Sherrod Brown, another hero to economic populists, argues that even Obama’s appointees among the middle-of-the-road veterans of Bill Clinton’s administration “have all moved from where they were” because economic circumstances have changed so much since the early 1990s.

“I think they pay much more attention to middle-class needs right now—the shrinking middle class and the gap between rich and poor,” the Ohio Democrat said. “I think they understand their mistakes on deregulation.” Like Sanders, Brown stresses Obama’s past as an organizer. “I think his sentiments are progressive,” Brown says.

I think only those who truly felt that Obama was a very liberal candidate are seriously disappointed so far. To anyone watching the debates and the campaign unfold, it was obvious that the only true liberal running for the Democratic nomination was Kucinich. The rest were centrists. To be surprised that we've now got a centrist President-elect, you'd have to have been paying little attention for the last few years.

I think Obama will be a hell of a lot better on most issues that Bush & co. have been, but for the most part, we're just going to have to wait and see what he does in office. To get panicked about his administration before it has even started just seems silly.

Brian Gets Frisky, Luke Gets Tough, Noah Still Sucks

Luke spent most of today's episode of As the World Turns in a bar, but in spite of that he's now been completely sober for two episodes in a row. Noah, meanwhile, is continuing to build on his own streak as Oakdale's crappiest boyfriend.

Today found the guys hanging out at Yo's, the local watering hole, for the bachelor party of Luke's cousin Jack. Brian was there as well, having been invited along by Luke's dad Holden. As soon as the evening's entertainment arrived, in the form a stripper, Brian began overcompensating in a major way, tossing back scotch and hooting and hollering at the exotic dancer like a horny teenager. It was painful to watch.

Luke, meanwhile, tried to patch things up with Noah yet again. Noah first tired to bolt after Luke admitted that he'd like to drink because being sober is forcing him to examine what a mess his life is and drinking would at least be a temporary escape. What a nice guy Noah is. His boyfriend with a drinking problem is finally sober but trying to open up to him about how hard it is for him, and Noah responds with "I can't listen to this."

To be fair, Luke once again threw Noah's own time in the closet back in his face, asking him if he defends Brian all the time because it reminds him of the 'good old days' when he was pretending to be straight.

In spite of all this, Luke asked Noah yet again to think about giving him another chance, but Noah said that he couldn't and then practically ran out the door.

If you can't tell, I really am unhappy with the way Noah is being written. Luke stood by him through his sham marriage to Ameera and in the aftermath of his father's death, when he was pushing Luke away and tried to join the military. Noah, however, has showed Luke zero support since this crisis started.

Originally, Noah said that before they could be together, Luke needed to deal with his unresolved issues with Kevin that lead to him stealing the election. But Kevin hasn't been mentioned in weeks. Is he still Noah's reason for not being with Luke? If not, what is? The drinking? The issue with Brian? Most of all, how does Noah justify basically looking the other way while Luke risked his life with his destructive drinking? He didn't tell anyone and didn't try to get Luke any help at all.

It's all really ridiculous. I don't believe for a second that Noah, as he was written before this, would have acted this way. It just doesn't make sense. They're obviously grasping at any reason to keep them apart, which is par for the course with a soap, but they could at least come up with something that made sense story wise and was in character.

Anyway, while Luke managed to stay sober Brian was another story. He pounded back a few too many scotches and then asked Luke to take him home. Luke reluctantly agreed and once they were back at the house he got Brian some water instead of the drink Grandpa really wanted. When Brian spilled the water all over his shirt, Luke started to clean it up for him and Brian grabbed his hand and looked rather intensely into Luke's eyes.

Luke tried to put on the breaks, saying "Brian, you don't want to do this." Brian's response was "Yes. Yes I do," as he moved in for a kiss, only to stopped short by Holden & Lily returning home at just the right moment.

Later that night, Brian came downstairs for another drink and Luke was waiting for him, leaving him speechless with the following warning:

"I don't know what your story is. Whatever you're hiding is your issue, not mine. But you married my Grandmother and I will not watch her be taken for a fool. Consider this a warning, Brian. If you ever come on to me again, I will tell her everything."

I enjoy seeing Luke being strong and in control of himself, especially after the last month or so. I'd love to see it carry over to his relationship with Noah, too, instead of having Luke constantly beg for a guy who, as he's written at the moment, totally isn't worthy of him.

As for Brian, I'm hoping they'll surprise me and not go the route I increasingly think they're going to go, which is Brian shutting Luke up by trying to kill him or locking him up somewhere. Daytime has already had one married character who killed people to cover up the fact that he was gay (this was on One Life to Live a couple of years ago) and I'm hoping that As the World Turns isn't going to do anything similar. It would be so much more interesting to see Brian having to come to terms with his sexuality and his attraction to Luke. As I've noted before, we haven't really had a character his age come out before in daytime, it could make for a good story.

Obama's Fist LGBT Appointment; My Double Standard on Kennedy

Sources are saying that President-elect Obama will name his administration's first LGBT official with the selection of Nancy Sutley, the openly gay Deputy Mayor of Los Angeles for Energy & the Environment, to lead the White House Council on Environmental Quality.

While this is not as huge as naming an openly gay Cabinet member (though there are still a few of those positions open which could go to LGBT individuals) it is still a pretty big step. It's also pretty amazing that we're going to have a President who actually cares about the Environment. The news of her new position pleases California's League of Conservation Voters and gives hope that, with the environmental team Obama has assembled, we'll actually make progress towards cleaning up the planet. What a nice change from the continual downward spiral on environmental issues we've been in for the last several years!

Meanwhile, Marie Cocco makes some really good points in a piece on the excitement over Caroline Kennedy potentially filling Hillary Clinton's Senate seat. As I've noted before, I actually really like the idea of Caroline becoming New York's new Senator, largely because of my admiration for her. But Cocco rightly points out that Kennedy's family connections and good works alone shouldn't qualify her for a seat in the Senate.

The fact remains, though, that Senate appointments often go to people who've never held elected office before- Ted Kafuman, the new Senator from Delaware, for instance, or Jean Carnahan of Missouri who was appointed in her husband's place when he died just before winning the election. If we want to change this, we'd have to end the appointments of Senators to vacant seats and just hold immediate special elections instead, like they do in the House.

No matter who Governor Patterson appoints, they won't have to be elected by the people of New York until 2010, and possibly not even then if they decided not to run. I honestly think Caroline Kennedy would make a hell of a Senator. And if if turned out that she didn't, the people would have their say in two years, like they will on whomever the Governor chooses.

I'm completely biased, though, and freely admit that I was disgusted by Ted Kafuman's appointment. I felt it should have gone to someone who'd held elective office and wasn't just a friend of Joe Biden. This situation is a bit different, given all the good works that Caroline has done, but I can still see that I'm totally embracing a double standard on this.

But, what can I say? Nothing is ever black and white in life. While Kaufman's appointment is blatantly that of a seat warmer for Beau Biden's run in 2010, Kennedy's would be that of a woman who could become a true liberal leader in the Senate for decades to come.

For Sale: One Senate Seat

I'm sure you've probably heard by now that Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich has been arrested and charged with corruption for, among other things, trying to sell the Senate seat that Barack Obama recently resigned. The Governor has allegedly been trying to get the best deal for himself from those interested in the seat while using the threat of appointing himself to it should a better offer not be made.

The truly awful part of this tale is that, under the law, Blagojevich is still going to have to choose the new Senator, unless he resigns immediately as Governor, which is unlikely.

Senator Dick Durbin, the other Senator from Illinois, has called for a special election to fill the seat in light of this turn of events. This would certainly make more sense than allowing Blagojevich to appoint someone who would remain tainted for the next two years by association with this mess and likely lose the seat in the 2010 election because of it.

This certainly isn't a promising start for the new Administration and Congress, having this mess to clean up.

ATWT Bores, B&S Improves

Luke was back on As The World Turns today, but overall it was a pretty dull episode. Luke sought out Brian's ex-wife to find out why they'd divorced and she told him it was none of his business, even after Luke explained about Lucinda and strongly hinted at his own interactions with Brian. She later called Brian to tell him all about Luke's questions.

Meanwhile, Lucinda made it clear to her new husband that she expects them to have a full sex life and he put her off by promising that they will as soon as she's up for it health wise. Lucinda seems to be starting to suspect that something isn't quite right.

After failing to get answers from the former Mrs. Wheatley, Luke went to see Noah at Java, since Noah is apparently the only one he can talk to about this, no matter how little support Noah shows him. Brian barged in in the middle of their conversation and pulled the whole "Who they hell do you think you are!" outraged trip on Luke, denied being gay once again, and told Luke to think about whose life exactly he might be ruining the next time he 'outs' him to somebody.

Luke later told Noah that Brian is probably the reason his Grandmother is recovering so well from her cancer recurrence and he doesn't want to hurt her, but that he just can't let her live a lie.

On a positive note, Luke was sober for the entire episode.

I'm starting to think that this whole thing with Brian is going to turn out to be little more than another excuse to keep Luke & Noah from being together. Since it started, Noah has barely been on and has not been written as a very good boyfriend when he is on.

Of course, it could be worse. They could be as unwatchable as the rest of this show. As the World Turns has a very strong cast overall, probably one of the strongest on daytime, and they're wasted on some of the worst writing in a medium that specializes in bad writing these days.

When a soap is well written- as One Life to Live has been for the past year or so, for instance- it can be pure magic. There's nothing else like it on television. But because the networks and producers seem to insist on recycling the same tired Head Writers from soap to soap long after their pool of ideas has dried up, getting good soap on the air is very rare indeed.

Primetime TV has never been better than it is now at hiring writers who can work magic with continuing stories, which were once mostly the domain of the soaps. I wish daytime would wake up and find some fresh writing talent with new ideas before it's too late, but quite honestly I wouldn't bet on that happening.

Speaking of improved writing, I've been pretty hard on Brothers & Sisters this season and it has deserved it. Last night's episode, though, was fantastic. Suddenly, so much of that magic that was present in the first two seasons was there onscreen again. It was funny, there was some very good character driven drama, Scotty & Kevin had some excellent scenes that really established them as a married couple, and it set up the story for future episodes. Best of all, Rob Lowe's character was barely in the episode!

I'm hoping that when the show returns in January this episode will prove to be a turning point, rather than a fluke.

Below, borrowed from Superherofan, is a picture of my favorite moment in the episode, when Kevin & Scotty comforted each other in Kevin's hospital bed. This is a strong, loving gay couple that is every bit an equal part of a larger family unit. It's very impressive.