Reason 29888 Why Amazon.com Sucks

Yet another reason to avoid using Amazon.com! If you didn't hear about it, they re-classified many LGBT titles as 'Adult', which stripped them of their sales ranking. They then tried to backtrack and blame it all on a computer glitch.

AfterElton has a blog post about it all.

If you're going to buy books online, think about using Powells.com or another source, one that isn't run by reactionaries and doesn't donate an inordinate amount of money to right wing candidates and causes.

Diablo Talks Lambert

Oscar winning Screenwriter Diablo Cody (Juno) wrote a piece for Entertainment Weekly about her love of American Idol and I thought I'd share what she had to say about Adam Lambert since, as you all know by now, I totally love the guy.

While Adam wasn't Diablo's favorite Idol of the season (that was apparently Alex Wagner-Trugman, who didn't make it out of the semi-finals), she clearly thinks he's the most deserving to win:

"Of course, every season has its Good One as well. This year, both the judges and the fans are smitten with Adam Lambert, a soft-spoken freckled kid disguised as a shrieking goth balladeer. The praise heaped upon Adam is not unwarranted; the dude can totally sing. Also, he possesses that rare Clarksonesque combination of technical perfection and onstage humility. He might actually be that elusive white whale of Idol lore: the flameproof contestant. Even those ''shocking'' photos that surfaced of Adam sucking face with a male friend haven't derailed the Lambert love train. Could someone deserving actually win this show? Think about it, America. Yes, we can!"

I love it when people I admire praise Adam. Lately, I've been admiring Diablo Cody even more than I did after first seeing Juno, because she created a little show called The United States of Tara. I thought the first season was fantastic. Toni Collette is beyond talented, of course, and I can't imagine anyone else even attempting to play Tara and her varied alters. The show could have been a mess in the hands of another actress, but Collette makes it all work.

There isn't a character on the show that I don't like, but Tara's gay teen son Marshall, played by a really talented young actor named Keir Gilchrist, is definitely a stand out. Gilchrist brings a lot to the role which, along with the writing, makes Marshall the most fully fleshed out, interesting gay teen on television and maybe even the most interesting gay character, period.

So, I bascially tink Diablo walks on water at the moment and I love that she likes Adam in her own sarcastic way.

Cheyenne Talks Adam

AfterElton had a live chat with out Broadway star Cheyenne Jackson the other day that I totally missed out on. Why do I never find out about these things in time?

At any rate, the chat transcript is a fun read and Jackson seems like a really awesome guy. I also loved that, when someone asked what he thought about Adam Lambert, he had this to say:

"adam lambert is the shiz. he is a star and i think he is unbelievably talented. don't really dig anybody else. that cute kid is kind of good, and the gravvely voiced dude with the glasses is good too."

How cool is that? It would be fun to see Adam & Cheyenne work together at some point, on stage or TV or an album or just generally at all.

Playman Daddy

Nuke and the Z Twins (sounds like a bad garage band, doesn't it?) were back on As the World Turns today. As you probably know, I've kind of been on the fence about the twins, both liking them and being annoyed by them all at the same time.

Today, though, I realized that they're at least making the story interesting and fun for the first time in a long while. Luke & Noah always have their sweet and romantic moments amid the various badly written dramas they're in, but I can't remember the last time there was a light, funny touch to their story.

I'm enjoying it a lot, even while I still have my reservations about how they're being written and where things are going. I wish this show were in the hands of a head writer who would introduce the twins, let us get to know them and care about them a bit, see their relationships with Luke & Noah developing, and then show us that they're up to something. Telling a story is an art form, but it's one that head writer Jean Passante clearly knows nothing about.

So, instead, we'll have the usual rush to cram the twins down our throats and reveal everything quickly, as I'm sure will happen in the days ahead. I've learned with this writing team, though, that you've got to just sit back and enjoy what little good comes your way amidst all the dreck. For now, I'm enjoying how different and amusing the twins are from everything else on the show.

With that said, let's get to today's action. The show began with Damian strolling into Old Town to discover his own face everywhere he looked. I suspect that this probably would be pleasing to him in most cases, but today it so happened that his head had been photo shopped onto the body of a cover model for a gay magazine called PlayMan. I especially had to laugh when I saw that one of the article tag lines on the cover said 'Sex Pigs'!

Needless to say, Papa Grimaldi was not pleased. He ripped down one of the covers and headed straight for Lily's place.

Luke & Noah were at Java sharing a kiss when Zac & Zoe came in. Noah did not take kindly to Zac calling him lover boy, but Zoe explained that she & Z both 'do the nickname thing'. The twins promptly showed the guys the posters of Damian that they'd just finished putting up all over town. Noah was horrified that they'd embarrass someone that way, but Luke was clearly amused.

At Lily's, Damian went off on Lily for raising his son to do something like this, but Lily insisted that it wasn't Luke's style at all. She got Luke on the phone and asked him to come to the house. I loved how casually Luke explained to Noah that there was 'drama at my house', as if it were an everyday occurrence. Which, of course, it is. I always kind of want characters on soaps to be a bit more self aware about all the stuff they deal with. Like, "Your husband just came back from the dead? Yeah, that happened to me a few years ago. Let me get you the number of my support group" or "Damn, that's the third plane crash I've been in. I'd better start taking Amtrak."

I digress. Luke & Noah headed to the Snyder residence, where Luke immediately claimed responsibility for the posters and said that they were his way of getting his message across to Damian that the doesn't want him around. Damian asked if Luke couldn't just show some respect for his father and Luke pointed out that A) He doesn't respect Damian and B) He doesn't consider him his father.

While Lily couldn't get Luke to apologize to Damian for the posters, he & Noah did agree to go take them all down. Once they were gone, Damian vowed again to Lily that he was going to win his son's respect and love.

Once they were alone, Noah asked Luke why he'd lied about the posters and Luke explained that it was a chance to get his point across to Damian, that he loathes him. Noah wondered why Luke had to be so extreme about his feelings towards his bio dad, pointing out that Lily, at least, could tolerate Damian. Luke said that was because she'd once loved him and that if he and Noah broke up, even if Noah had betrayed him (uh, oh!), Noah would still get to Luke.

I really liked the next part of the scene, where Luke confessed to Noah something that he said he could only tell him: that he has to remind himself every day of what Damian did to him so that he doesn't let him in again and get hurt. It's easy to forget, with all that's happened since, how hurtful Damian's betrayal truly was. Luke was a newly out teen dealing with a mother who was not okay with his sexuality, and along comes his biological father, proclaiming that he's completely accepting. All the while, he's scheming to send Luke away to be reprogrammed. Seriously, how does someone get past that?

I think all of those feelings were present on Luke's face, thanks entirely to the talent of Van Hansis, the day he first saw Damian again at the hospital. It's still great to actually hear Luke articulate it, though, and to know that he feels he can only open up that way to Noah.

Noah understood what Luke was feeling and turned the conversation to his issues with the Z Twins. He warned Luke that underneath their playful surface he thought there was something dark. Luke thought they were completely harmless but Noah said he wanted to have nothing more to do with them.

The twins, meanwhile, were also hanging about Old Town and soon spotted Damian. Zac gave a wolf whistle and called out "Hey Playman!" which totally cracked me up. The sight of these two taunting Damian Grimaldi is somehow just completely hysterical.

Damian gave them his best menacing attitude and warned them that while they think they know him, they obviously don't. If they did, they'd know better than to mess with him. After he walked off, Zac & Zoe joked about being scared, but I kind of think they were a bit shaken. Or at least they should have been.

The twins headed back to Java to tell Luke & Noah of their bio dad encounter and Noah immediately got in their faces about how Damian was a human being, and what gave them the right to humiliate him? When the twins suggested that Noah should lighten up like Luke, he didn't take that well, either, declaring that he doesn't lighten up about things that matter to him. The twins apologized, saying they didn't want to come between their two new best friends.

I was kind of confused by the next scene. Noah had been angry with the twins, not Luke, and yet when we saw them again he & Luke weren't speaking for some reason and Zac & Zoe were literally pushing them together and chanting "Kiss and make up." Which was actually pretty cute and all, but I feel like there was a scene left out somewhere. At any rate, Luke & Noah did kiss and make up and the twins swore 'by the mark of Z' not to play any more pranks unless they were authorized.

As they left, Luke said to Noah "See, they're not so bad." Famous last words?

Oh, while all of this was going on, Lily discovered that the Foundation computers had crashed and that the back up discs had been stolen from her office. She immediately headed to Damian's room at the hotel and broke in to look for them (which is probably not technically a crime, given that she's a co-owner of the place), only to have him catch her in the act.

He insisted that he wasn't the one out to destroy Luke's foundation but swore that he was going to find out who was.

Soaps, with their high drama, always run the risk of being too depressing. To do a soap well, you've got to mix light hearted stories in with all the betrayal, crime, and death, scenes where viewers can laugh. Just as a soap should never ignore romance, they should never forget to add some humor. Right now, Zac & Zoe are bringing that much needed touch to As the World Turns. I'm sure that will change any moment, of course, but for now they're a breath of fresh air.

I just hope they don't turn out to be the latest members of Passante's Psycho of the Month club. I'd really hate that.

More Lambert Love

I didn't get a chance to write about it yesterday, but Adam Lambert was beyond amazing last night on American Idol. The theme was songs from the year the contestants were born, which for Adam was 1982. He chose to sing the Tears for Fears song Mad World, but he did the Gary Jules version which is probably most familiar to fans of the movie Donnie Darko.

If you've been following my blog at all, you know that I completely love Adam and have been very impressed with everything he's done so far on the show. I can say without hesitation, though, that his performance of Mad World is my favorite of all his performances. I've bought all of the studio versions of his songs from the show on iTunes, but Mad World has been on repeat for the past half an hour and I think I could listen to it all night.

Adam's voice is just so beautiful on this song. I love his voice all the time, of course, but on this song it nearly moves me to tears. I also think the lyrics of the song speak volumes to anyone who ever felt like they were an outsider or that they had to hide who they were.

The performance itself was inspired, too. Adam, dressed in white with a gray jacket & scarf, was seated on a chair, lit only by a blue neon light. This more subdued style matched the song so perfectly.

It was a brilliant song choice. Adam's performance actually lead to Simon Cowell getting on his feet and giving Adam a standing ovation, which I think is unprecedented.

Not surprisingly, Adam easily made it into the Top 7 tonight. You know, when the show ends or Adam is voted off, whichever comes first, I don't know how I'm going to adjust to not getting my weekly Adam Lambert fix!

Along with the whole 'songs from the year they were born' theme came a little intro to each performance that featured baby pictures and stories about the contestants as kids. I have to say, Adam's parents seem incredibly awesome. Adam's mom was saying how he loved books and music when he was a kid and his dad smiled and added "Sports, not so much."

Adam himself explained that he was into playing dress up, not soccer, and that he always wanted to be a performer. I love that Adam has clearly always been himself and never felt the need to go through life pretending to be something he's not, even to be on a show like American Idol.

I can't wait to see what Adam does next week.

Z Twins Strike Again

Today was a Nuke day on As the World Turns, and the Z Twins continued to confuse, annoy, and intrigue me.

The show began with Noah joining Luke at Al's, where he was busy trying to transfer some Foundation funds on his laptop. When everything seemed to freeze up suddenly, Luke called the bank and discovered that someone was trying to hack into the accounts. Luke naturally blamed Damian, convinced that he was trying to get the Grimaldi money back rather than have it spent on Gay Rights issues.

Luke alerted his mother, who agreed to talk to Damian, while Noah continued to think Luke was being unfair to Damian by blaming him for all the bad stuff that was happening.

That's about the time that the Z Twins blew into the diner, having spotted Luke's police protection waiting outside. Zac once again practically sat in Noah's lap and greeted him with "Hey Monster!" Zoe explained that Monster was Zac's term of endearment whenever he was into someone, and Luke joked "As in, he's got a monster crush on you."

I was surprised that Luke seemed so easy going about Zac's blatant attraction to Noah. On the one hand, I guess it speaks to his confidence in their relationship, but on the other hand, this is someone who freaked out whenever he saw Noah talking with his ex girlfriend Maddie just a couple of months ago, so I'm not sure it makes sense that he's so casual about Zac. Then again, his jealousy towards Maddie happened before he and Noah made love for the first time, so maybe that's where the difference lies. Well, that or bad writing, which is always a safer guess on this show.

At any rate, the twins quickly offered their help, with Zoe declaring that they're all about serving the needs of the foundation. (Zac to Noah: "And any other needs you might have.") Luke filled these two virtual strangers in on the hacking and then left them with Noah while he went to make sure that Lily was all right confronting Damian on her own.

When Noah noticed a strange user name on the account that wasn't Lily or Luke's, he pointed it out to Zac as their one clue to finding out who the hacker was. Zac immediately took control of the laptop, telling Noah to leave it all to him. Moments later, he'd crashed it, losing the mysterious user name in a way that was a bit too convenient.

After Zoe & Zac got into a tiff about which of them is or isn't good with computers, Zoe took off in a huff. Zac assured Noah that she'd be over it in three seconds, that he and his twin are both impulsive people who act on whatever they feel. "Like this," Zac said as he grabbed Noah's face and kissed him.

Oddly enough, we never actually saw Noah say anything to Zac about this kiss. After Noah pulled away, he looked at Zac in shock. Zac just quipped the WORST LINE EVER: "Was it as good for you as it was for Z?" Oh, boy.

In spite of everything, I find myself liking Zac, but dialogue like that makes it difficult, to say the least.

When we next saw Zac & Noah, Zac was asking what the problem was: Had Noah never been kissed before? Zac said he'd have to talk to 'that boyfriend of yours' since he was falling down on the job. That's when Luke returned, having just discovered his mother with her hands all over his shirtless biological father and thrown a fit worthy of a four year old who's denied a new toy. Lily had explained that she was just changing Damian's bandage so he wouldn't bleed to death, but Luke didn't seem to care.

Zac & Zoe, who'd returned right after Luke did, took off together, leaving Noah to tell Luke that Zac had kissed him. Luke wasn't pleased, of course, and when Noah assured him that it was no big deal he reminded his boyfriend that Noah had punched the last guy he found kissing Luke.

Noah assured Luke that he had nothing to worry about, that Zac had received no encouragement from him whatsoever.

Luke filled Noah in on the Damian and Lily situation and remained convinced that Damian wanted to get the Foundation's money back and was trying to distract Lily so he could do it.

Meanwhile, the twins were in the hotel bar having some drinks when they overheard a hotel employee refer to Damian as 'Mr. Grimaldi'. Realizing that this was Luke's 'evil bio dad' that they'd heard so much about, the two confronted him in true Z Twin style:

Zoe: Um, excuse us. Are you Luke Snyder's dad?

Damian: Yes, Luciano is my son.

Zac: You're a real monster. And not the good kind, you're a bad monster.

At which point Zoe stuck out her tongue at Damian and the two ran off giggling. Damian, needless to say, was left perplexed by this encounter.

I, meanwhile, was left to doubt my earlier assumption that the twins had been hired by Damian. Maybe this show will actually manage to surprise me?

As I said, I'm confused, annoyed, and intrigued by the twins. Their cutesy little kid ways and the corny dialogue are annoying, but at the same time, I really liked how direct Zac was with Noah. If they could manage to show that there is more going on with Zac than he's showing on the surface (which wouldn't be too difficult to do), I think I'd actually really like him. Right now, though, he & Zoe are less characters than walking, talking plot twists.

I'm also curious about the fact that we never heard Noah say a single word to Zac after the kiss. I'm not sure if we're supposed to infer that it troubled him more than he later let on to Luke, or if he was just shutting Zac out completely.

Time will tell, I guess.

A Great Day for Marriage Equality

I'm sure everyone has seen the great news by now: Vermont's legislature overrode the Governor's veto, making Same Sex Marriage legal in that state. They're now the fourth current state in the U.S. that allows gay marriage, and the first state where it was legalized by the Legislature and not the Courts!

It wasn't the only good news today, though, on the Marriage Equality front. Washington D.C.'s City Council voted unanimously to recognize gay marriages performed in other states as valid in the District.

Meanwhile, in Iowa, the Senate Majority Leader, Democrat Mike Gronstal, shot down an attempt by the Minority Leader to enlist him in an effort to change the state's constitution to get around the court's ruling last week.

Gronstal gave an awesome speech in response:

"One of my daughters was in the workplace one day, and her particular workplace at that moment in time, there were a whole bunch of conservative, older men. And those guys were talking about gay marriage. They were talking about discussions going on across the country. And my daughter Kate, after listening for about 20 minutes, said to them: 'You guys don't understand. You've already lost. My generation doesn't care.' I think I learned something from my daughter that day, when she said that. And Ive talked with other people about it and that's what I see, Senator McKinley. I see a bunch of people that merely want to profess their love for each other, and want state law to recognize that. Is that so wrong? I don't think that's so wrong. As a matter of fact, last Friday night, I hugged my wife. You know I've been married for 37 years. I hugged my wife. I felt like our love was just a little more meaningful last Friday night because thousands of other Iowa citizens could hug each other and have the state recognize their love for each other. No, Senator McKinley, I will not co-sponsor a leadership bill with you."

We could use more public officials like Senator Gronstal, people who put what's right and what's fair ahead of political considerations.

Melrose Redux

Once upon a time, there was a show called Melrose Place. It started out as a pretty bland spin off of the teen drama Beverly Hills 90210, but then a little character called Amanda Woodward came along. She was played by eternal Special Guest Star Heather Locklear, and any connection to the parent show was left in the dust as it became a full fledged campy adult drama.

The younger me never cared much for Beverly Hills 90210 but I was addicted to Melrose Place, getting my weekly fix of over the top prime time drama and, yes, lusting after the guys.

They even had a gay character, but if I'd based any ideas about being gay off of poor Matt, I would have thought all gay men were celibate. The most exciting Matt's love life ever got was a slow motion kiss that the camera panned away from before any lips actually touched (much like Luke & Noah in the Mistletoe-gate era).

But, that didn't matter to me as much at the time. I was just tantalized by Amanda, Kimberly, and Sydney and all their antics. Besides, I was always more interested in Jake & Billy when it came to the guys. Grant Show and Andrew Shue were the stuff that fantasies were made of back in those days!

Anyway, Melrose Place ended its run back in 1999 after seven action filled seasons and I honestly haven't given it much thought in the years since, except for an occasional rush of nostalgia when I see one of the actors or actresses pop up somewhere else.

Now, though, after the recent revival of the 90210 franchise, Melrose Place is getting a similar update. This initially intrigued me, but when I heard that Heather Locklear wasn't going to be reprising the role of Amanda Woodward, I decided I'd pass. I mean, why bother watching a bunch of new characters I probably wouldn't care about?

Today, though, I read that two of the cast members from the original series have signed on: Thomas Calabro will be back as the sleazy Dr. Michael Mancini and, best of all, Laura Leighton is returning as Sydney Andrews!

Don't ask me how that's possible, since Sydney was killed off at the end of the original show's fifth season! I kind of don't care, though, because I totally loved Sydney. If they can offer a somewhat plausible explanation, I'll buy it. After all, the original series wasn't huge on realism. I'll never forget how Kimberly blew up the entire apartment complex and everyone survived but one minor character! Not only that, they had the place rebuilt three seconds later.

That was okay, though, because it was part of the over the top charm of the show.

So, needless to say, I'll be giving the updated Melrose Place a chance after all. If Michael & Sydney turn out to have little to do but stand around in the background while the new cast gets all the stories I'll tune out quickly, but I'm hoping that won't be the case. They'd be foolish not to utilize two of the most hilarious, scheming backstabbers who made the old show the hit it was.

They'd also be foolish not to make up for the treatment of Matt by adding in a new gay character with an actual love life. I'll keep my fingers crossed for that.

More Same Sex Marriage News

The great news: The Vermont House & Senate both passed a new bill allowing same sex marriage in that state.

The bad news: The Republican Governor of Vermont, Jim Douglas, promptly vetoed it, as he'd promised in advance to do. This sort of thing calls to mind the Southern Governors who fought tooth and nail to preserve segregation fifty years ago. Douglas will look almost as bad in retrospect as Orval Faubus and his ilk.

There's still hope, though, as the Congress will vote tomorrow on overriding the Governor's veto and making gay marriage legal in the fourth of our fifty states.

You probably know that Vermont took the lead in allowing Civil Unions in this country back in 2000, when the state Congress passed a bill that former Governor Howard Dean signed into law. Hopefully, the state will soon join Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Iowa in leading the way once again. If they do, and if the California Supreme Court overturns Prop 8 as well, that would mean that a full 10% of the states in this country would have legalized Same Sex Marriage!

Speaking of Iowa, their Supreme Court, which ruled in favor of legalizing gay marriage last week, has actually been way ahead of the curve on many social issues over the past one hundred and sixty years, as Historian Linda Kerber has pointed out:

• In 1839, 26 years before the ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment, the Iowa Supreme Court refused to recognize a contract that enslaved a man.

• In 1851, the Iowa Legislature removed legal constraints on interracial marriage; the U.S. Supreme Court would not rule that anti-miscegenation laws are a denial of equal protection until 1967.

• In 1868, the Iowa Supreme Court ruled that segregated schools are a denial of equal protection of the laws.

• In 1873, nearly a century before the U.S. Supreme Court made a similar ruling in 1964, the Iowa Supreme Court ruled that discrimination in access to public accommodations is a denial of equal protection of the laws. That case, brought by Emma Coger, who was thrown off the first-class dining table on a steamboat crossing from Keokuk to Quincy, Ill., deserves to be much better known.

• And in 1949, the Iowa Supreme Court again insisted that discrimination in access to public accommodation is a denial of equal protection of the laws in response to a sit-in at a downtown Des Moines lunch counter that had refused to serve black customers.

Who knew? Go Iowa!

Gay Marriage in Iowa!

If you haven't seen the news, Iowa's Supreme Court legalized gay marriage in that state today! This makes it the third current state that allows gay marriage and the first state to do so that isn't on the East or West coast.

LGBT Iowans can start getting marriage licenses on April 24th. How exciting is that? Step by step, equality is being won across the country. It isn't happening overnight, and there will no doubt be more setbacks before we've got universal marriage equality throughout the entire nation, but we're on our way!

It will one day seem shocking and downright odd to Americans that LGBT people were once not allowed to marry, just at it seems that way now in regard to mixed race marriages. It's frustrating that the bigots and the extremists can't see that they're on the wrong side of history now and save us all the trouble. Then again, it's the fight for equality that makes these victories that much more meaningful.

Too Close for Comfort

Today's As the World Turns marked the much anticipated debut of twins Zac & Zoe Finn, two brand new characters who will be shaking things up for Luke & Noah.

The first part of the show was pretty much more of the same: Holden pestering Margo to arrest Damian (there's no evidence); Damian approaching Lily to plead his case; and Noah suggesting yet again that maybe Luke should give Damian a chance.

About that last point, I did like that Noah was completely up front with Luke about Damian asking him to convince Luke that he was sincere and that Noah had turned him down. It showed not only how solid their love is, but also that Noah's feelings on this are all his own. It's also good that they can argue about this without it affecting their relationship.

I'll shorthand the Holden/Lily/Damian stuff, because it wasn't all that new or interesting. Basically, Holden thought Damian was behind everything that was happening, Damian warned that by focusing on him they were putting Luke in danger because the real bad guys were still out there, and Lily was more or less caught in the middle, wringing her hands.

Back at Java, Luke shot down the idea of giving Damian the benefit of the doubt and the guys turned the conversation to the ad that Luke had placed on 'Greg's List' seeking volunteers for the Foundation.

That's when a potentially ill wind blew the Finn Twins into Luke & Noah's lives. I'm still not sure what exactly I feel about the two of them. They're a little annoying and creepy (more on that in a moment) and I don't think I like where this story is headed. In spite of that, though, I found myself actually liking the twins. They seem pretty different from all the other characters on the show and it's kind of a nice change. There is a lot of potential there and I especially liked how upfront Zac seemed about his sexuality.

But, I'm getting ahead of myself. The twins showed up at Java to inform Luke & Noah that they were the answer to all their prayers, more or less, as far as volunteers go. They were very pushy, seating themselves at Luke & Noah's table without being asked, and Zoe took every opportunity to touch Luke while Zac practically devoured Noah with his eyes.

Knowing ahead of time that they were twins, I was more than a little creeped out by how... um... all over each other they were! At one point, they practically rubbed noses and it looked like they were about to start making out! My first thought was that the actors were playing it all wrong, but then it escalated and it became obvious that it had to be intentional. When Luke asked how long they'd been together, they laughed and told him they were twins and were just "super affectionate." I'm not sure where the show is going with this.

They were also just generally rather annoying, finishing each other's sentences constantly. I get that the show is trying to demonstrate how connected they are, but it was extreme overkill. If they could tone things down a bit, though, with the sentence finishing and the incestuous vibe, I think I could be interested in these characters.

Zac & Zoe brought some ideas to the table for the foundation: a blog where gay and straight people could share their stories and see how similar they really are, and a dance where everyone is required to dance with people of both genders, regardless of their sexual orientation. Not exactly setting the world on fire, there, but they were at least enthusiastic.

They were also a bit mysterious about their origins, claiming to have been 'everywhere'.

I have to admit, I was surprised to see Zac's interest in Noah. I had assumed that he would be interested in Luke, though I'm not sure why I thought that. Here's a little bit of their exchange, from right after they met the guys:

Zoe: You want to bring attention to what you're doing-

Zac: -And we're very good at attracting attention.

Luke: Yeah, I can see that.

Zoe: It's a social skill that's often undervalued.

Zac: (Looking at Noah): Though you probably get your fair share of attention on your own.

Zoe: Z!

Zac: I'm simply pointing out the obvious.

Luke: Well, something that's not so obvious, Z, is that he's taken. (Luke takes Noah's hand.)

Zac: In some ways, we're all taken (looks creepily at his sister). And yet, there's a part of everyone that will always be free.

Noah: Yeah, that's, uh, deep.

I loved Noah's response right after the twins left: "And then that happened." That just about summed it up perfectly!

When Luke had to head back to his parents house to discuss the police protection that Margo had offered, the guys parted with a sweet kiss and "I love you"s. I'll never get tired of that! It's so awesome, I swear I want to cheer every time.

Luke rejected the idea of being under police protection, since he felt like it would be sending the message that to be out and proud, you had to have a cop over your shoulder keeping you safe.

Back at Java, Noah was closing up for the night when Damian stumbled in and collapsed on the floor, bleeding all over the place and announcing he'd been stabbed. I'm totally going to start stealing Noah's line, because it sums up about 99% of the crappy plot twists in Oakdale: And then that happened.

Noah called an ambulance and then Luke, and Damian claimed that he'd seen Luke leaving Java and had followed him to keep an eye on him, only to be jumped from behind and stabbed in the back. Holden, of course, thought that Damian set this up, too, but Damian warned Lily again that Luke's in danger.

Noah, meanwhile, was quite shaken up by the experience and upset at the idea that it could have been Luke who was stabbed. He and Holden managed to talk Luke into accepting the police protection after all.

The episode ended with Zac & Zoe running into Luke & Noah again at Al's Diner. After saying how 'hot' it was that Luke had to have police protection, they once again invited themselves to sit down, with Zac nearly in Noah's lap and Zoe looking at Luke like he was on the menu, and announced that they were 'sticking with' Luke & Noah.

Having watched soaps for all of my life, I think that the direction this story is headed in is clear. My guess is that Damian has hired the twins to break up Luke & Noah. Note Zac's interest in Noah, while the female half of the pair is all over the son that Damian wants so badly to be straight. I'd love it if I was wrong about this, but even if I'm right there is still room for something more interesting to come from it.

What if Zac, while trying to earn his paycheck by seducing Noah, falls in love with Luke? The more traditional soap story would be that he'd fall in love with the person he was paid to seduce, but having him fall for Luke instead would add an extra twist and put him at odds with Damian.

Of course, I'd much prefer the way I originally thought this story would go (and I guess it still could go that way), which is that whatever develops between Zac and Noah (or Zac & Luke) would be natural, not something Damian had arranged. I'd love an honest to God love triangle where you could feel why the character in the middle was torn between loving both of the others.

At any rate, I'm holding out hope for the story, even though the twins haven't exactly turned out to be what I expected!

Out In Daytime: 2 and Counting

I noted not that long ago that the only out actor currently working in daytime is One Life to Live's Scott Evans. Evans plays Oliver Fish, a recurring character who we've been seeing more often in the last couple of months. Scott first gained attention as an out gay man when his brother, film star Chris Evans, talked about his sexuality in a recent interview.

The Young and the Restless has gone a step further than OLTL and hired an out actress to play a leading role, something that I believe is a first for Daytime. I'm talking about Clementine Ford (the real life daughter of actress Cybill Shepherd, by the way), who has joined the show as Mac Browning, a leading character with a lot of history and family connections on the show.

I think it's fairly obvious that there are many LGBT actors working in daytime, and many more who've worked in the medium over the years (a few of whom have come out after the fact, like former Y&R heartthrob Thom Bierdz), but for the most part being in the closet is very much a part of life for LGBT soap stars, whether they like it or not.

Back in 1994 Keith Pruitt, an actor who had been on Guiding Light and As the World Turns and was on the soap Loving at the time, was a victim of a hate crime, being beaten along with his partner for holding hands on the street. Instead of keeping quiet about an attack which highlighted his sexuality, as many in the business would have preferred, Pruitt openly discussed the case and testified against his attackers, sending them to prison.

His openness more or less cost him a career in the Soap business, though he went on to become a successful composer before dying tragically late last year after suffering injuries in a house fire.

With the all too recent history of Pruitt in mind, having both Scott and Clementine working as Out actors in daytime is a pretty big deal. We may finally be seeing the beginning of change in the industry.

I'll be back a bit later to write about today's Nuke scenes on As the World Turns.

Farewell, Guiding Light

Well, if you didn't see the news, it's official: CBS has cancelled Guiding Light. I wrote about my feelings on this the other night, before anything had been confirmed, but I wanted to say a bit more tonight.

I never really followed Guiding Light, though there were a couple of times in the past decade that I tuned in for awhile, usually for no more than a month or so at a time. Still, even though it wasn't my soap (I still consider my soap to be Days of Our Lives, which I barely watch at the moment, because it's the soap I grew up watching, the only one I know all the intricate plot histories and familial relations for without even having to stop and think about it) or even one of the soaps I've adopted in recent years (As the World Turns and One Life to Live, which I'll never know as well as I know Days, no matter how many years I watch or how much of the history I try and brush up on), I feel for the viewers who've loved it over the years.

I don't think people who've never watched can ever truly get what it's like for fans when soaps are cancelled. Non-soap people are used to all the shows they watch having an expiration date, but the very essence of a soap opera is that they're always there. Five days a week, twelve months a year, from the time you're in your cradle until you're watching in the nursing home common room.

That's how it used to work, anyway. It never occurred to me, growing up, that there would ever come a time when Days of Our Lives wasn't on the air and I'm sure it didn't for those fans who grew up with Guiding Light, either.

Another thing about soaps is that, more than with any other type of show, the quality fluctuates. In other genres, once something starts going bad you can pretty much depend on it being off the air before it ever has a chance to improve. Soaps, though, are different. Sometimes, they get so bad that you stop watching for long periods, and yet you never doubt that the pendulum will swing back, maybe with a new writing staff or a new Executive Producer at the helm, and you'll be hooked again and most of the old characters will still be there.

Times are changing, though. Many reasons are cited for why soap ratings have plummeted over the past fifteen years. I personally blame network interference, poor writing quality and awful casting decisions more than anything else, but there are probably countless factors at work.

Whatever the reason, Guiding Light is just the latest victim in a long line, following Generations, Santa Barbara, Loving, Another World, Sunset Beach, Port Charles, and Passions, just to name the shows that have folded since the early 90's.

There is talk from Proctor & Gamble, the company which produces both Guiding Light and As the World Turns, about finding a way for the show to continue elsewhere. It would be amazing if that could happen, though I've heard this said about most of the soaps I just mentioned above and it rarely happens. Passions was an exception, running for about a year on DirecTV after NBC pulled the plug on it.

Still, if any show could somehow make a jump to a new medium, like airing exclusively online, it would be rather poetic if it was the one show that had been around long enough to start on radio and later make the leap to television.

Whatever happens, this is a sad day for all soaps and soap fans. The show will run on CBS until September, which if nothing else will at least give the writers time to wrap up the current stories.

Oakdale Idol

Today was both a Luke & Noah day on As the World Turns and an American Idol performance night. It was also an incredibly busy day for me, so I'm going to deal with both in one blog.

The only thing that really needs to be said about Idol is that Adam Lambert was once again amazing. He took a rather cheesy 70's song, Play That Funky Music, and made it his own, giving a really great performance.

I was especially looking forward to tonight to see if he was going to keep the more clean cut look he was sporting last week. Honestly, as much as I liked it, I was hoping he would revert back to his own style and stay true to himself in that sense.

He seems to have found a compromise between the two looks, though, and it really works for him. His voice remains pure Adam, of course, and that's why he's so amazing.

I also have to admit that I've developed a little crush on Kris Allen as well. He could someone not, though, when he's completely adorable? I think he's also a decent singer who has impressed me a lot more than some of the other contestants, especially a few who have been overly praised.

Moving on to today's Luke & Noah scenes. Luke & Noah headed to WOAK after Luke got a phone call from Kim Hughes saying that a wealthy man had come forward to offer to fund PSAs about Housing Discrimination. On the way, Luke shared with Noah Holden's theory that Damian may have been involved with Luke's 'accident', hiring someone to hit him just so he could save the day and try and win Luke back.

At the police station, Holden was relating the same theory to Margo Hughes, who wondered if perhaps Damian didn't have another possible motive: scaring Luke out of using Grimaldi money for Gay Rights causes. Still, Margo told the Snyders there was nothing that she could do officially without evidence and warned Holden against taking the law into his own hands. She also advised again that they all keep a low profile for the time being.

Not surprisingly, the mystery donor that Luke & Noah met at the television station was Damian himself and Luke refused to accept his help. Once they were back at Java, Noah wondered yet again if perhaps Damian was really trying to change, but Luke reminded Noah that he didn't know Damian and what he was capable of. He asked Noah to think about how he'd feel if his own father showed up after all he'd done, saying the same things Damian was saying.

Later, Damian showed up and Holden & Lily's, spying on them through the window as they kissed until Lily spotted her peeping tom of an ex. Damian was there to try and convince Lily to plead his case with Luke about the PSAs. Lily called Luke and asked her to meet him at the TV station and after hanging up she informed Damian that the PSAs were a great idea, but they'd do them without his money.

While Luke & Lily were at the station, filming the first of the PSAs which Lily had announced that she was personally funding, Damian returned to the Snyder house and looked all lurk-y and suspicious as he placed his hand on the doorknob. Later, Holden & Lily returned to find their living room trashed and mud tracked all over the floor. The clueless maid (they referred to her as a maid more than once, but I thought she was little Ethan's nanny? Hell, next week she'll probably be the chauffeur, why worry about details on this show?) who'd been just upstairs and yet had somehow heard nothing while the house was trashed reported that she'd seen a man matching Damian's description in the garden.

Meanwhile, Damian stopped by Java, tracking in a lot of mud on his shoes, to tell Luke that he'd got the message and was leaving town. He also told Noah it was nice to have met him and that he regretted that he wouldn't have the chance to know him better.

Damian was checking out of his hotel when Margo showed up and took him down to the station for questioning. In true Oakdale P.D. fashion, the questioning took place in the lobby of the police station, with Holden, Lily, Luke & Noah all present to assist top cop Margo in her job.

Damian denied having broken into the house and reluctantly gave his expensive Italian shoes to Margo so she could see if they matched the prints or not. Margo told Damian not to leave town without her permission and Holden then ominously warned Detective Hughes that if she couldn't protect his family, he'd do whatever it took to do so himself.

On his way back to Java after parting with Luke, Noah ran into his boyfriend's Bio Dad who urged him to give him a chance and help him show Luke he'd changed. Noah, though clearly more willing that anyone else to believe Damian might really be sincere, refused to help.

Overall, it was a typical poorly written episode that moved way too fast. I hope this isn't as good as Damian's return is going to get! I'm looking forward to Thursday, though, when the twins debut.

A Sneak Peek and Dire Soap News

We Love the Soaps has a sneak peek up of new As the World Turns characters Zac & Zoe, the twins who will be interacting with Luke & Noah. Rumor has had it for a long while that Zac will be a gay or bisexual character who will come between Luke & Noah.

I avoid spoilers, so I didn't even watch the sneak peek (though it's very tempting!), but the twins will be debuting on this Thursday's episode. Between Damian's return and the potential for Daytime's first all gay love triangle, things could definitely be heating up.

Meanwhile, sources are saying that Guiding Light, a soap which has been on the air since 1937 (it first aired on the radio and then moved to television in 1952) will likely be cancelled by September. GL has been the lowest rated soap for quite some time and cancellation rumors have become frequent, but this time it sounds like it could be the real thing.

It's a shame to think that a show that has been on since before some of my grandparents were born could be gone soon, but the sad truth is that all soaps will be headed in that direction if they don't start making the right sort of changes. Much of what these shows are doing to try and save themselves just makes things worse.

All it would take would be good writing for a multi-generational cast. Instead, we get the same sort of stories over and over again, each one less well written than the last, and shows keep ditching long running cast members who are over 40 in exchange for a bunch of young, inexperienced actors with pretty faces. This is their misguided attempt to appeal to the youth market, but what they don't realize is that their much coveted demographic could be just as interested in a compelling story about older characters. Look at the ongoing popularity of The Golden Girls in reruns! I know a few people who weren't even alive when the show was on the air who absolutely love it and I watched it all the time when I was growing up.

Yet these fools seem to think that all anyone wants from soaps is a bunch of hot young things 'acting' out increasingly awful stories. If that were true, Passions would not only still be on the air, it would be a ratings powerhouse!

Daytime should be about groundbreaking stories and well written drama, and it should be about growing up following familiar characters year after year, characters of all ages, races, and sexual orientations. I've always loved that I can turn on Days of Our Lives and still see characters I watched before I even started elementary school (though there are getting to be fewer and fewer of them now).

These shows have just lost their way and it sounds like Guiding Light will be the latest, but not likely the last, victim of just how out of touch the people in charge of soaps have become.

Sadly, if the show does get the ax, budding LGBT couple Olivia & Natalia would be lost along with it.

GLAAD Award for Nuke; Another Gay Character?

As The World Turns won a GLAAD media award this week for their Luke & Noah storyline. The only other nominee, of course, was All My Children for their Bianca & Reese story. Since the awards have less to do with the plot of the show than with raising LGBT awareness in the medium, I'd have to say that the show was deserving of this win. I do wish there were more competition driving the show to tell better stories, of course.

That may actually be the case next year, though, and I'm not just talking about Guiding Light's Olivia & Natalia. Soap reporter Nelson Branco (who, honestly, isn't always correct in his scoops) has revealed in his latest Suds Report that a character on the number one rated daytime soap, The Young and the Restless, will be coming out of the closet very soon!

Y&R is one of the soaps that have never even attempted a gay story before, so if this proves to be true it would be a step forward. I don't think we'd be seeing this happen if it wasn't for how popular Luke & Noah have proved to be with fans and how much attention their pairing has brought to ATWT.

Of course, Y&R could follow the more 'traditional' route, most recently depicted with General Hospital's long since vanished Lucas, by just writing a coming out story and then either dropping the character afterward or never giving them a love life. With Nuke, Rianca, and Otalia as recent examples, though, I hope they'd realize that telling a gay story these days means telling a love story.

Only time will tell.

Luke Has Two Hot Daddies

Please bear with me if this isn't up to my usual efforts. It has just been a really rough day.

We picked up right where we left off yesterday on As The World Turns, with Damian in Luke's hospital room. Luke pulled his hand away and asked what Damian was doing there and Damian told 'Luciano' that he cared about him. Luke reminded him that his name is Luke Snyder, and that Luciano Grimaldi (the name on Luke's birth certificate) doesn't exist.

Damian told Luke that he'd like to make peace with him, that he's not proud of the way he handled the 'situation' the last time he was in town. Luke informed Damian that the 'situation' hadn't changed and that he's still gay.

Damian asked who Noah, the guy Luke had asked for, was, and Luke curtly replied that Noah was his boyfriend. Damian wondered if it was serious and if Noah made his son happy, but Luke wasn't buying the sincerity behind the questions. Damian assured Luke that he hated himself for how he'd acted when his son came out, but pleaded with Luke to understand that the way he was raised made it difficult for him to understand Luke's choice.

At which point, Luke pointed out that being gay wasn't a choice, that it was the way he was born. Damian replied that he'd love to get to know the man Luke has become, to get to know his son again, but Luke told him that it wasn't going to happen.

I have to say that Van Hansis was really incredible in these scenes. A lot of actors would probably have made this a one note performance all about Luke's anger towards Damian, but Van brought a lot more than that. You could really feel that Luke was sad, scared, and angry all at once. In spite of everything, there was even a touch of longing there, deep down, for acceptance and love from Damian. Human emotions are so complicated, we can feel twenty different conflicting things at once, and Van clearly gets that and can convey it in his performance. That's part of what makes him such an incredible actor.

Around that time, the walking, talking exposition showed up. By that I mean Holden, Lily, and Noah who, having just come from the police station together, still found it necessary to recap amongst themselves everything that was going on with Luke's hit and run in question and answer form, as if they'd just run into each other for the first time all night. They were busy with this when they suddenly heard Luke shouting at someone to get out of his room.

They all ran in, no doubt expecting to find that the hit and run driver had returned to finish the job. In fact, I think Holden and Lily would have actually preferred that to finding Damian in their son's room.

Luke's parents immediately tossed Damian out into the hall and Noah was left to express his amazement that he'd actually just seen Luke's infamous bio dad in the flesh. Noah thought that there was still a connection between Luke & Damian, like it or not, but Luke felt that Damian would never really accept him for who he is.

Out in the hall, Lily and Holden made it clear that Damian was not welcome, even after they realized that he was the one who'd brought Luke to the hospital. Damian claimed that he just wanted a chance to rectify his mistakes and start fresh, that he loved Luke. Holden reminded Damian that he'd tried to 'fix' Luke and that wasn't love, it was possession.

After Holden went to sign Luke's discharge papers (wow, that was fast! Luke suffered paralysis from falling down a mild slope awhile back, but plow him down with a car at high speed and he's out of the hospital a couple of hours later with a few scrapes on his face!), Damian tried to plead his case to Lily, but she raked him over the coals for having played on her emotions after Luke came out and for encouraging her to push him to be straight.

Luke was all ready to head home, except for not being able to find his watch, the one that Noah had given him for Christmas. Lily asked how he was doing after seeing Damian so unexpectedly and Luke assured his parents that he wasn't going to let Damian get to him this time.

Noah, ever the loving boyfriend, told Luke that he was going to head to Java and get someone to cover his shift and then would be with Luke as soon as possible. They had a really sweet moment which included mutual "I love yous" and then a nice kiss, with Damian lurking unseen in the background, watching. The look on his face was definitely inscrutable. Of course, even if he truly has come to accept Luke's sexuality (doubtful), it's probably still not easy to see him kissing a guy for the first time.

Later, Noah was hurrying to finish up at Java so he could be with Luke when Damian walked in. Awkward! Damian introduced himself and gave Noah Luke's watch back, saying that a nurse in the E.R. had given it to him. Noah was surprised to find out that Damian had been the one who took Luke to the hospital.

Noah mentioned that he'd given the watch to Luke and Damian said that he'd read the inscription and knew that it must mean a great deal to Luke. Since he knew he wouldn't be welcome at Holden & Lily's and that Noah and Luke were 'friends', he thought Noah could return it for him.

Noah quickly reminded Damian that he and Luke are more than friends. Damian noted that Luke had told him they were very happy together and then shook Noah's hand and said it was nice to meet him. Hmmm. Clearly, Damian knows that the way to his son's heart is through his boyfriend. Especially when the boyfriend has unresolved Daddy issues of his own.

Noah gave Luke back the watch and revealed that Damian had been the one to save him. Noah wondered if maybe Grimaldi wasn't all that bad after all. Luke reminded Noah about his own father and said that the Colonel and Damian would have made great drinking buddies. More to the point, he told Noah that Damian would fake whatever he had to in order to get what he wanted from someone.

Meanwhile, Lily set up a meeting with Damian and told him that Luke was still incredibly hurt by his actions and that if he really loved Luke as much as he claimed to, he'd leave town.

Damian tried to plead his case again, asking her to believe in him and give him a chance to show that he'd changed. He got downright angry when Lily pointed out that he'd given up the right to call Luke his son a long time ago, telling her that Luciano is his flesh and blood and nothing will ever change that.

Holden showed up around that time and he and Lily both more or less ordered Damian to get on a flight back to Malta that night. After they left, Damian muttered rather menacingly to himself that he wasn't going anywhere until he got what he wanted.

I think this will be interesting. Damian is an intriguing character in that he does really love his son, but not as much as he loves himself. He's shown in the past that he's not above using Luke as a means for personal gain.

I also really doubt that his macho Italian pride has truly cooled to the point where he's accepted Luke being gay. I think it would actually be great if we got to see that happen onscreen, over time, rather than have him just return as an accepting father.

Either way, I'm feeling really good about this story at the moment. Well, as good as I can about any story in the hands of these writers. Plus, Damian has that whole sexy Italian thing going on, which never hurts! All of which begs the question: Which of Luke's fathers is the hottest? We have Holden to the left and Damian to the right. Tough choice! I think I'd go with Holden if I absolutely had to pick just one, though.

Idol

I know it's probably getting old reading my raves about Adam Lambert each week, but once again he was incredible! He sang such a beautiful version of Tracks of My Tears, one that had the entire audience, lead by Smokey Robinson himself, giving him a standing ovation. The judges loved him, the audience loved him, and I pretty much want to have his children, if that were at all biologically possible.

It was perfect. I was really glad that Adam chose to do a slower song this week and show his range as a singer. His voice is just so amazing.

He also opted this week to go in a different direction from his usual glam rocker appearance and went for something a bit more classic (picture from Adam-Lambert.com): I like it. I like it a lot! I think the clean cut look really suits him. Then again, I also love his more glam look, black nail polish and all, so I hope we haven't seen the last of that.

I had to laugh when Randy Jackson was praising Adam's look and talking about how he could 'straighten out' and Adam got this funny little smile on his face and you just knew he was amused by Randy's choice of words.

Anyway, he was fantastic and I can't wait until he puts out his first CD and goes on tour. I have no plans to see the American Idol tour they all go on, but I'm totally going to the first Adam Lambert concert that comes my way!

Rally? Really?

Today was another Luke & Noah day on As the World Turns (and so is tomorrow! If they're not careful, a casual viewer might discover there are gay characters on this show!) and the guys were the main focus for a change.

The show started out with Luke picking up Noah from work. Noah thought they were heading out to go shopping for the apartment but Luke had other plans. He'd put together an instant Gay Rights Rally for that very afternoon, hoping to capitalize on the momentum from the television appearance.

Meanwhile, Lily was showing the threatening note to Margo Hughes, who advised her to make sure they all kept a low profile until the cops figured out if the note sender was dangerous. Which, since this is Oakdale, would mean never showing their faces in public again.

Holden returned home from a business trip in time to hear Margo's warning about the note and Lily had just finished filling him in when Luke & Noah showed up to tell them about the Rally and ask Lily to speak.

Lily agreed right away, but Holden thought the whole thing was a bad idea. Noah agreed with Luke's father, but told them all that he knew there was no talking Luke out of something when he'd set his mind to it. Luke promised to have someone checking bags at the door to make sure no one smuggled in any weapons and left it up to his parents whether to attend or not.

After the guys left, Lily told Holden that she had to speak at the Rally because she's still making it up to Luke for her behavior when he came out to them, including nearly letting Damian send him to a Scared Straight camp (though, of course, Lily didn't know about that until the last second, and it was finding that out which finally opened her eyes to how she'd been acting. Not that this show really cares too much about what happened yesterday, let alone two years ago).

Over at Metro, the local nightclub, Luke & Noah were raving about how many people had showed up for the rally even though it was thrown together at the last minute. Of course, the show only sprang for seven or eight extras, so unless Oakdale has a total population of like 80 people, no one could really consider this a big turnout.

Luke got up to address the crowd about the discrimination he and his boyfriend faced and how this rally wasn't about them, but about the fact that LGBT people are still facing this kind of discrimination every day and how they're going to fight for their rights and make a difference.

Leaving everything else aside, it is very nice to hear this sort of direct stance on gay rights on a daytime soap opera, considering how conservative the medium still is overall. So kudos to the show for that.

Luke spotted his parents walking in and introduced Lily to the crowd. As soon as she got up to speak, people started shouting out questions about the TV appearance. I guess all nearly ten of them showed up just to see Lily. She is pretty fabulous.

Someone asked about negative reactions and Luke & Lily told them about the coward who left the note at their door. Luke informed the crowd that they weren't going to let that stop them and that he'd been researching how earlier gay movements handled that sort of thing.

I had to laugh when he told everyone he'd left his research in the car and that he'd be right back. Who stops their own rally to run out to the car and get research? What, is he planning on reading it all to the crowd? This is the worst Gay Rights Rally ever!

Holden offered to get the papers for him, but Luke said he'd be fine (uh oh!) and thanked Holden for coming. Luke grabbed the info and was on his way back in when a car came out of nowhere and ran him down at high speed. I have to say, they did a really good job on the actual hit and run. I've seen other people on this show get run down before and it always looks so cheesy. This time it was believable.

The next thing you know, some mysterious person is strolling up to Luke's unconscious form and picking him up in their arms and walking off with him. You know, because moving accident victims is exactly what they tell you to do. It won't hurt them at all, don't bother with waiting for an ambulance, just toss them right over your shoulder and jog to the hospital.

Back inside Metro, Holden mentioned that Luke was taking a long time getting those papers and Noah joked about what a mess Luke's car is. Holden decided to go out and give his son a hand, but of course all he found were scattered papers and a little puddle of blood.

Noah & Lily came outside, too, and Lily started freaking out when she saw blood on Holden's hand. While Holden called the cops to alert them to what had happened, the mysterious stranger was putting Lily's phone number on Luke's chest as he lay in a hospital bed.

Lily got the call that Luke had been dropped off in the E.R. and seemed to be the victim of a hit and run, and the gang all rushed to his bedside. I really liked that Noah was sitting at his side, holding his hand and urging him to wake up and talking about their apartment. It was a nice little moment. If they didn't feel the need to tell a story at warp speed, they could have drawn this out and given us a bit more of that.

Instead, Luke opened his eyes right on cue and wanted to go back to the rally. Margo showed up around that point to tell him that he needed to lay low until they figured things out, but Luke said that would be letting the writers... um, I mean, bad guys... win.

Noah promised to keep the momentum of the movement going and gave Luke a really sweet kiss goodbye when Margo took him and Luke's parents down to the station to answer some questions about the whole thing. I thought they only took suspects in to the station? Then again, this is a show where the cops let countless people wander in and out of the interrogation room at will, so who knows?

Luke was resting with his eyes closed when the Mystery Man came in and took his hand. Luke smiled and said "You just can't get enough of me, can you Noah?" before opening his eyes and seeing his biological father, Damian, standing there.

Which, of course, would have shocked only people who know nothing about soaps. Even if you don't follow casting news, the fact that Damian has been mentioned constantly lately would have alerted you that he was about to return to town.

I'm really looking forward to this. There is so much drama to be mined between Luke & Damian, and Noah & Damian, for that matter. I can't wait for the two of them to meet. Best of all, it should keep Luke & Noah onscreen more often than they typically are.

All right, I'm off to watch Adam Lambert sing on American Idol! It's Motown week and I think Adam is going to be awesome.

Here's The Story, of a Lovely Gay Guy...

Luke & Noah were back on As The World Turns today. The show started off with Luke & Noah discussing the discriminating landlord with Lily and talking over their plans to try and put together a class action law suit against him and other such landlords.

In an effort to get other people who've been discriminated against to come forward, Lily suggested that they make an appeal on television, since she just happens to own the local station herself. I love how she seems to forget that she owns the station until she needs to make a plea for a kidney or battle discrimination and then she's all Media Mogul, throwing her weight around.

Luke & Lily headed for WOAK and talked to Oakdale Now producer Kim Hughes about doing a segment on the Foundation's efforts. Kim loved the idea and wanted to make it an even more personal story about how Lily had overcome her own negative reaction about Luke coming out to become an activist working at his side.

It just so happened, of course, that Kim needed a replacement for a segment going live in ten minutes time, so Luke & Lily had no sooner walked in the door than they were on the air talking about discrimination, the foundation, and Lily's own evolution into the supportive mom she is today.

Noah watched proudly from the behind the camera and as soon as Luke & Lily were off the air, the phones were lit up with calls. Kim informed them that most of them were people calling to report their own discrimination stories or offer to help, and that one disapproving mother had even reported that she'd been moved to call her estranged gay son after hearing Lily's story.

Apparently Oakdale Now is the landlord, Mr. Reese's, favorite show in the world. He doesn't even Tivo it for later, he watches it live! How else can you explain the fact that he was at the station moments after the cameras have stopped rolling, telling Luke & Noah that the apartment was theirs if they wanted it, that he doesn't want all the trouble of a lawsuit?

The guys agreed to move in if he changed his discriminatory ways and all lived happily ever after. Seriously, this show wraps things up faster than an episode of The Brady Bunch and with just as much believability.

Ah, but you see, the discrimination story was just a minor plot point on the road to the real story, so why waste time making it worthwhile? Wrap it in a bow and move on!

No sooner were Luke, Lily, and Noah back home celebrating than there was a knock on the door. All three of them acted like someone knocking on the door at that moment was incredibly odd, like they knew that everyone else was out of town that day, so who could it be?! Such is the show's subtle way of letting us know that this knock was going to be something surprising or just downright ominous.

Lily opened the door to find nothing but an unmarked, sealed box. So, we're going for ominous, then, which isn't surprising since Noah seemed to make a point of asking Kim about the negative calls that Luke & Lily's appearance on the show garnered.

Lily & Noah were concerned about the box, but Luke just ripped into it like it was the last present under the Christmas tree, joking all the while about it being a bomb. Instead, it was just a handwritten note that someone took the time to deliver wrapped up in an otherwise empty box. Um, okay. I love it when hate filled bigots are polite like that! So much classier than a brick through the window with a note attached by a rubber band!

The message on the note: Stop defending perverts and sinners, or you'll live to regret it.

Lily and Noah wanted to go to the police while Luke felt they were just overreacting. In soap terms, that means that Luke is totally doomed, and the previews for tomorrow back that up. Why did I think the show would actually take the time to tell a story about discrimination in a thoughtful way? Yes, Luke's foundation is going forward with their work, but now that Luke & Noah's own problem is resolved, it will likely only be mentioned in passing from here on.

Still, I'd take this stuff over wretched murder mysteries or Iraqi brides any day.