Replicas

One of the few celebrities I've ever been told I look like is Gary Numan. I don't really see it now... or then.

Although to be fair, for large stretches of his career, it's hard to know exactly what Gary Numan looked like.

I must say that I have I have always admired his commitment to whatever look he wears.

Plus, it may be breaking the 10th Commandment, but I covet this jacket:

Oh, by the way, I just thought of Gary Numan for the the first time is years tonight because I just saw his amazing collaboration with Nine Inch Nails in the remake of his biggest hit "Cars". Okay, it happened four years ago, but it's hard to keep up with the music the young kids are listening to these days.

PS to 2009 Trent Reznor: Call me, maybe?

Everythig I Know About Lexington & Concord Sung In 3 Minutes

Whether or not the attacker(s) intended it, there is clearly symbolic significance to the Boston Marathon bombing happening on Patriots Day; however, I could not tell you what that significance might be. Despite having lived in Boston for several years, I never really got into the whole Patriots Day thing. Perhaps it's because I know so little about the Revolutionary War. In fact, pretty much everything I know about it I learned from Schoolhouse Rock.

As great as the math and grammar segments of Schoolhouse Rock were, the American history ones are rather lacking. This is really just a bunch of names and phrases associated with the start of the American Revolutionary War rather randomly thrown out there instead of any sort of lesson. To be fair, history is much more complex than multiplication tables or grammatical rules, but wouldn't telling some sort of story have worked better. So really, it's not my fault that I'm woefully ignorant about our countries fight for independence; television failed to educate me properly.

"He was on his way home from Candletop..."

 
Forty years ago today, "The Night The Lights Went Out In Georgia" by Vicki Lawrence was the #1 single in the U.S.A.



I do love a country song with an insane story. A few other points...

1. In the 70's, Vicki Lawrence was a big star.

2. The big mystery of the song is what Andy's last name is. In the video above it's "Wollo" but looking at various lyrics websites it could be Woloe (close), Wo-Lo (a hyphenate seems highly unlikely in Georgia in early 70's--and one of two Asian names seems almost impossible), or "Warlord" (which would be a bit much).

3. Since the song is in colloquial dialogue it's perfectly acceptable that the lyric is: "That's the night that they hung an innocent man," instead of "That's the night that they hanged an innocent man," which would be more grammatically correct. Here's my rule of thumb to remember which to use: All inanimate objects are hung; when talking about people, unlucky men are hanged but lucky men are hung.

Welcome Home, Boys

40 years ago, on March 29th, 1973, the last American combat troops left Vietnam.

The American flag is furled at a ceremony marking official deactivation of the
Military Assistance Command-Vietnam (MACV) in Saigon,
after more than 11 years in South Vietnam.

Watching the troops come home is the first news I remember watching on TV. In my memory--which is admittedly a bit hazy here--it's just my mother and I watching (was it during the day so Dad was at work and the other kids were at school?) and Mom is crying tears that are a mix of joy, regret, relief, sorrow and vindication. Of course, at age five, I didn't understand the complexities of the Vietnam War, but I knew it was bad and that we were happy to see the troops come home.

It's no coincidence that "Tie A Yellow Ribbon Round The Old Oak Tree" by Dawn featuring Tony Orlando (not Tony Orlando & Dawn as is commonly thought) was the best selling single of 1973.

Et Tu, Donnie?

So, some of the Osmond family have coordinated with the National Organization for Marriage [sic] and are hosting a big anti-gay shindig.

This is all planned to put pressure on the Supreme Court as they are hearing two landmark cases on Marriage Equality. Of course, the Osmonds are Mormons, so I would expect them to be marching in LGBT Pride parades. However, even the Church of Latter Day Saints is evolving on the issue. As Good As You points out:

As you might know, Marie Osmond has a lesbian daughter. But I guess "My gay niece doesn't deserve equal rights" wasn't as catchy of a subtitle.

Also, anyone who wore this on stage:

...or did this on national television:

...should not be judging the gays. Let's face it, they make The Village People look butch.

PS: In the 70's, Flip Wilson had a variety show. I would so watch the shit out of that today if it were on instead of the Real Housewives of Anywhere.

UPDATE: Not all Osmonds think a like. Marie Osmond took a stand for her lesbian daughter and Marriage Equality.

Hooray for Women's Lib!

Is it wrong that watching the wonderful PBS documentary about feminism MAKERS: Women Who Make America made me think of Wonder Woman?

Is it wrong that Wonder Woman made me think of Lyle Wagonner's spread in Playgirl?

Well, if loving Wonder Woman and Lyle Wagonner is wrong, I don't wanna be right.

"I'd like to sing a song of great social and political import."

The first great album in my life was Pearl by Janis Joplin & The Full Tilt Boogie Band. It was one of my earliest exposures to amazing rock music, and the record was played very often in our house while I was growing up. I still love it a lot and listen to it often. Janis Joplin had a magical talent: she could express devastating heartbreak and profound strength at the same time. The older I get, the more I appreciate her.

 

Life Of Reilly

In the 70s, there was Charles Nelson Reilly on morning television:

There was Charles Nelson Reilly in the afternoon:

There was Charles Nelson Reilly at night:

If all that weren't enough, there was Charles Nelson Reilly during the commercial breaks:

It's no surprise that I turned out gay after watching Charles on television all day. It's a wonder that anyone emerged from the 70s as straight.

Danced To Her Gypsy Music

Here's a little antidote to the Valentine's Day romance fest. Cher's "Dark Lady" is really the 70's version of "Frankie & Johnnny". I would like to point out that this "music video" appeared on The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour--which means it was on during primetime on CBS. It's hard to believe now what 1970's television was like. I'm not saying this isn't entertaining (because, well, obviously I find it fabulous). It's just amazing to me that this was one of three choices Americans had for televison viewing whe it aired. Anyway... Enjoy!

Congratulations (& An Apology) To Jim Nabors

The Big Gay News of the Day: Jim Nabors married his partner of 38 years, Stan Cadwallader!

Hawaii News Now - KGMB and KHNL

First, I owe Nabors an apology for Tweet and Facbook post implying he had, perhaps, passed his sell-by date. I'm sorry for the snark.

In my defense, even Nabors said, "I'm 82 for God's sake, and I'd better not wait any longer." The last news I remember hearing about Nabors was that he was seriously ill. I think it was when he broke his 20 year streak of singing at the Indy 500 due to illness although how I would have heard that is a mystery since I pay absolutely no attention to stupid NASCAR. I may have heard about Nabor's heart surgery last spring, but I don't think so. However, I absolutely did not make the rank amateur mistake of conflating Gomer Pyle with Goober Pyle and getting confusing the actors when George Lindsey sadly died in December.

A rare scene of the Pyle cousins together. If you don't know which is Gomer (Jim Nabors) and which is Goober (George Lindsey) stop reading my blog--we have nothing in common.

Also, I was completely sincere in giving props to Jim Nabors for snagging a firefighter--because you know I love me a hot firefighter. While FDNY gets all the attention thanks to its iconic calendar, Nabors has me thinking I need to cast a wider net and include Hawaii in my hunt for a fireman husband.

Pic from the delightful but possibly NSFW Tumblr Best of Bromance.

The news did make me wonder, did the fact that Jim Nabors is gay really come as, to use Gomer's catch phrase, a...

Jim Nabors clearly always had a little sugar in his tank which is part of what made his portrayal of Gomer Pyle so sweet as evidenced in this delightful scene

My Groovy Education

Learning to read in the Seventies was weird and kind of creepy.

Like, really weird and sometimes creepily inappropriate.

It's amazing any of those of us who grew up in that decade can even look at the printed word without having some weird flashback and completely freaking out.

My Childhood Is For Sale On Esty

It's amazing how much of my past can be found on the Internet considering the fact that almost half my life was spent before the Internet went viral. Here was today's reminder that your memories are just a Google away.

A friend was worried about me in the cold snap in Minnesota and suggested I get a lovely knit hat. Here are a couple he found--which I agree are quite fetching.

Their 70's retro look made brought to mind the only knit hat I can honestly say really stands out in my mind. My mother had a winter hat that my siblings and I hated. It was deeply embarrassing to be seen with her when she was wearing it. I thought my friend would appreciate it, but I didn't have a picture. So, I Google "hand knit brown hat with sequins" (yes, my mother wore a hand-knit brown hat with sequins--BIG sequins!) which got me an image that came very close:

Next, I tried "brown knit hat with paillettes". See? Watching every episode of Project Runway paid off, I learned the word "paillette". Admittedly, I had to scroll down, but there it was in all its hideous glory:

Thanks Mom!

When I was ten years old, my mother and I made a date to watch Bette Midler: Ol' Red Hair Is Back together. Somehow, in the middle of Iowa in 1977, she had become a Bette Midler fan. When she saw the commercials for the television special, my mom thought this would be the perfect way to introduce me to The Divine Miss M. I have a distinct memory of sitting in our TV room when this opening number began and laughing with my mother and loving it all.

No good, self-respecting gay is supposed to give any credit to the idea that mothers make their sons gay. However... I mean, really... How unhappy could she have been when I came out?