According to the Washington Post, 5 states are considering banning protests at funerals due to the presence of Phelps and his church at the funerals of soldiers killed in Iraq.

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The two hours of "Yes, Dear" that I try to watch every day has simply been training for this Sunday. While the nation's eyes are focused on this Super Bowl, hellx will be facing a super bowl of his own: eight straight hours of "Yes, Dear".

On another issue, I was pleasantly surprised that the NFL is using the traditional Roman numeral system for Super Bowl XL. As the Super Bowl started approaching one of what I like to call the crazy Roman numerals (L,D, etc.), I assumed that they were just going to stick with I, V, and X and that this Super Bowl was going to be XXXX.

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It's my turn to post some news here on Norlos.

Anyone giving odds on who's next?

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The NY Times Magazine this week features a profile of Wiliam Ivey Long, who has designed costumes for over 50 Broadway productions and is listed by Out Magazine in 2002 as one of the 100 most influential gays. The paragraph that is of interest to norlosers is on the last page amd describes Long fitting Robin Givens:

Givens appeared first in a tiny dress with a plunging neckline, looking like a million bucks. Long, on his knees, reached up and pushed her breasts closer together before starting to pin. He touched her like a collector handling a vintage doll, with a sense of both worship and play.

Of course, I found the entire article interesting because I've entered the world of New York theater. It's a dog eat dog world out there and I'm clawing my way to the top of our neighborhood theater. I started out as a lowly concessionaire, was promoted to raffle ticket sales, and now it looks like I'll be operating a spotlight for the next production and maybe purchasing props. RIght now I'm playing the role of the nice, quiet guy until it's time for me to stage my bloody coup.

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Of the two and a half celebrities we brushed past last night, I saw two, recognized just one and passed blithely by the half. The one I recognized was Jason Schwartzman, who like us was perusing freaky art at the Outsider Art Fair. He loves him some Harvey Darger!

Then off we went to Tom & Jerry Bar for martinis and old fashioneds and, apparently, sat next to this chick:

But I wouldn't know because I looked at her, thought "kinda cute," didn't think "Hilary Swank," and didn't look at her again. Another guy with us broke the news to our group, which was upset that it missed a chance to loudly bag on "Million Dollar Baby."

The half was one of these guys. The guy who recognized Hilary also recognized this cat as he sauntered by and was thrilled to have seen three celebrities in one night. At which point I cried foul. In only the strictest Warholian sense can a reality-show contestant be considered a celebrity. Our companion agreed, calling that last celebrity just a half celebrity and adding, "It's fourteen and a half minutes now, and the clock is ticking."

That's life in the big city, kids.

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Not words you expect to see on the web site of Out Magazine -- though, come to think of it, is Out for lesbians, too? I don't know.

Anyway, putting together the below post led me to the Out web feature Girls We Have Crushes On! I wouldn't put Queen Latifah, Cynthia Nixon or Kelly Clarkson on my list, but overall pretty solid. In case you're wondering and you're too insecure to click the link, the titular chick is Jessica Biel.

Also on Out: Do Gay Men Have License to Grope? Isaac Mizrahi's feeling up of Scarlett Johansson prompts the riveting question.

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As a general rule, any time the U.S. agrees with extremists mullahs and Fidel Castro on something, the U.S. should stop and take a deep breath and ask itself what the hell it's thinking:

Human rights organizations and the co-chairman of the Congressional Human Rights Caucus protested on Thursday a decision by the Bush administration to back a measure introduced by Iran denying two gay rights groups a voice at the United Nations.

In a vote Monday, the United States supported Iran's recommendation to deny consultative status at the United Nations' Economic and Social Council to the Danish National Association for Gays and Lesbians and the International Lesbian and Gay Association, based in Belgium.

Nearly 3,000 nongovernmental organizations have such status, which enables them to distribute documents to meetings of the council.

Among countries with which the United States sided were Cuba, Sudan and Zimbabwe, nations the State Department has cited in annual reports for their harsh treatment of homosexuals.

The White House cites the North American Man-Boy Love Association:

Mark P. Lagon, a deputy assistant secretary of state, said in an interview that the vote did not stem from "being against gay rights groups" but was based on "the controversial history of the International Lesbian and Gay Association — an affiliate of the North American Man/Boy Love Association, was associated with it in the past and openly condoned pedophilia."

Best I can tell, the ILGA and Nambla have had nothing to do with each other for a long time:

NAMBLA has been a member of the International Lesbian and Gay Association for 10 years. We've been continuously active in ILGA longer than any other US organization. NAMBLA delegates to ILGA helped write ILGA's constitution, its official positions on the sexual rights of youth, and its stands against sexual coercion and corporal punishment. We are proud of our contributions in making ILGA a stronger voice for the international gay and lesbian movement and for sexual justice.

In spite of this proud history, four of ILGA's six secretariats, meeting in New York, November 5-7, have request NAMBLA to resign and stated that they will seek its expulsion by the general membership this summer unless it complies. This small administrative body individuals issued press releases on November 7 stating that ILGA "condemns pedophilia" and that NAMBLA's "political aims... are in direct contradiction" to those of ILGA. In particular, the statement cites NAMBLA's opposition to age-of-consent laws as a tool for protecting young people from sexual coercion.

These statements by the secretariats' committee are a craven and dishonest attempt to satisfy demands by the US Mission to the UN.

(Full text)

And that makes me wonder: Would the U.S. have nothing to do with Sinn Fein because of its history with the IRA? (The president has a sort of complicated relationship with Sinn Fein -- he'll talk to it but he won't meet with it, and I'm not sure how I feel about that.)

I'm actually aware of this because, as some of you might recall, Stephenson subscribed for a while to Out Magazine. I still remember a thoughtful piece by Michelangelo Signorile about how -- while the ILGA, GLAAD and other gay and lesbian group find Nambla repugnant -- arguments in favor of ostracizing them sounded disturbingly the like sorts of arguments often used to keep gay groups out of the mainstream.

On a related note, can you believe Nambla has a web site?

On a somewhat related note, what kind of idiot do you have to be to actually sign up as a member of Nambla?

On an even less-related note, meet Nambla the Clown.

It's fair to say that you click on any of the Nambla links at work at your own damn risk.

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In the months since I've moved in with Mr. Guapo and Dr. No, I've been taking a sabbatical "to find myself." Basically, that's consisted of wandering around Park Slope and trying to watch at least two hours worth of "Yes, Dear" a day.

Lately, though, I've developed an itch to actually start doing something and maybe get a source of income and my own place. Well, OK, maybe the violent rages that Dr. No flies into when she comes home and yells, "you've been watching "Yes, Dear" all day? Get a fucking job, loser!" and the spittle and the dishes start to fly had a little something to do with my decision to start looking seriously for a job, but I'd say at least 10% was my own initiative.

The official soundtrack to "hellx's Job Search 2006," so far, has been provided by broadway musicals. "Bye, Bye Birdie", "Gypsy", "Annie Get Your Gun" and "Show Boat" are just some of the recordings thatI've listened to lately.

When I was listening to "Oliver!" the other day, I started to think about the first time that I saw it performed. It was in 1982 or 1983 in Tarkio, MO at a theater in a renovated mule barn. When I imagine what it would be like to attend a performance in the reconstructed Globe theater, the Mule Barn Theatre is what I think of. With its octagonal shape and redolent with the smell of ancient wood, the Mule Barn deeply impressed itself on me as an exotic location that was made even more special by the fact that they had wonderful plays that I absolutely fell in love with.

Imagine my disappointment, then, when I learned today that the Mule Barn burned down in 1989.

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It's that time of year again.

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Afraid to Google the term, as was one Internet cruiser in today's New York Times?

Kathryn Hanson, a former telecommunications engineer who lives in Oakland, Calif., was looking at BBC News online last week when she came across an item about a British politician who had resigned over a reported affair with a "rent boy."

It was the first time Ms. Hanson had seen the term, so, in search of a definition, she typed it into Google. As Ms. Hanson scrolled through the results, she saw that several of the sites were available only to people over 18. She suddenly had a frightening thought. Would Google have to inform the government that she was looking for a rent boy - a young male prostitute?

Ms. Hanson, 45, immediately told her boyfriend what she had done. "I told him I'd Googled 'rent boy,' just in case I got whisked off to some Navy prison in the dead of night," she said.

Ms. Hanson's reaction arose from last week's reports that as part of its effort to uphold an online pornography law, the Justice Department had asked a federal judge to compel Google to turn over records on millions of its users' search queries. Google is resisting the request, but three of its competitors - Yahoo, MSN and America Online - have turned over similar information.

We at Norlos.com are unafraid of what President Bush or any other president may think of our personal proclivities. So for you, here's the definition from Urban Dictionary:

1. rent boy

A man who sells himself for money...or crack. whichever the case may be. Rent boys are often involved with peedy potter. "Tutton, you know your my rent boy." said peanut

Source: Peanut, Jun 10, 2004

Explore further shades of meaning.

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this is the time that find out where i will be for the next 5 or 6 years of my life, beginning residency training and finally finishing the md/phd program which ended up taking 9 years. it is in fact tonight. i apparently will be sent an email first telling me if i match (that is what it is called), and then will have to check on a websight on where i will actually go.
i am not really nervous about not matching, but i am damn curious about where we will be going. i could be any number of states--ny, az, tn, ca, ks, tx, oh--we will see tonight.
on other topics--TSI! is now at 37wks, and it will be a girl. i am thinking earlina okafor lyddane is quite the good name...

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Anyone know how I can get an account for me mum?

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Josh Levin, like many of us, wasn't allowed to see R-rated movies. He probably also wasn't allowed to eat sugary cereal. Darn you, Mom! So he's intrigued by the new market for uncut, unrated versions of already-raunchy movies like "American Pie" and "The Dukes of Hazzard." Exactly how "unrated" are they, ifyouknowwhatImeanandIthinkyoudo?

Not very:

When extra nudity does pop up on DVD, it's not the kind of stuff that was too erotic for the big screen. Rather than introduce new boobs, unrated DVDs typically further the audience's understanding of boobs with which they're already acquainted. The added material is a stray frame here or there that doesn't add much carnal knowledge -- these were boobs that were cut for time or dullness.

Thus, we arrive at the great unrated DVD paradox: The uncensored version is often less raunchy than the cut you see in theaters.

Consumer, consider yourself warned.

Props to Alarm! for pointing out, and for heaping love on Battlestar Galactica

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Today's LJW is reporting a "breaking news" item: a rental house fire at 1322 Massachusetts St. I recall at least three regular Norlos users lived in a house on Mass at some point in their lives, but I never knew the address, just what it looked like from the back alley. Is that The House, or just some other poor schmoe's student rental pad?

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I feel grateful for my landlord, who's always easy to find and generally takes care of things right away. The alternative: Gloria Trembicky. The old girl's making the rounds of the New York blogosphere as the Platonic ideal of the bad landlord. I have no first-hand knowledge of what she's like, but if she inspires the creation of two blogs, that ain't a good sign.

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Mr. Guapo's symptoms have include wackiness all along the gastrointestinal tract and referring to himself in the third person. He blames it on this and a dash of that.

Turn away if you don't want to hear the sports talk. I'm giving Bill Self the benefit of the doubt until the end of next year. Then Mr. Guapo's gonna be one unhappy alumnus -- albeit, an alumnus without an ounce of say.

Others on the blog -- I won't say his name, except to say it rhymes with "Bellx" -- have already formed their opinion. I say it's still far too early. I also think we Jayhawks got a little bit of what we always said we wanted: A team that doesn't do well in the regular season but soars in March. We seem to have nailed down the first half of that combination.

What think you all?

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The annual celebration in honor of charismatic megafauna happens this year on Saturday, Feb. 4. If you are in or near Lawrence, you should attend (big prizes for pin the shadow on the groundhog and fabulous drinks like the perennial favorite Blue Groundhog). If you are not in or near Lawrence, you should consider making yourself here in order to attend. Contact Slug or Plantnerd for details.
By the way, if all goes as planned (although nothing has so far, so there is not a lot of good reason to think it will) this may be one of our last parties in Lawrence. Pending peony-bloom and successful dissertating, we are calling the peony party early and setting it for after the hooding ceremony on May 20.

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Downtown Detroit doesn't quite match its reputation. There's plenty of urban decay, if that's your thing, but it's mixed with funny buildings and relics of earlier periods and unexpected scatterings of interesting art. Like The Fist. Its real name is "Tribute to Joe Louis," by Robert Graham, dedicated to the boxer. Needless to say, it's a source of constant controversy, including a recent defacing by white protesters of violence against cops.

Personally, I love it. It's like the Katyn Memorial in New Jersey -- you see it, and it's unforgettable.

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Does anybody else find this story a little creepy? From the AP:

[Brad] Pitt's publicist, Cindy Guagenti, confirmed to The Associated Press on Wednesday that [Angelina] Jolie is pregnant with Pitt's child. Jolie leaked the news to a charity aid worker while filming the political thriller "The Good Shepherd" in the Dominican Republic on Monday, People magazine reported...

But their new addition will be the glamorous couple's first biological baby, a presumable shoo-in for "Sexiest Offspring Alive."

That would follow in the parents' footsteps. Jolie was named Esquire magazine's "Sexiest Woman Alive" in 2004, while Pitt was named People magazine's "Sexiest Man Alive'' in 1994 and 2000.

Dr. Lawrence Reed, a New York City-based plastic surgeon, said the child's good genes will in all likelihood make his services unnecessary.

"You have a very beautiful mother with great bone structure," said Reed. "You have a very handsome father with excellent bone structure and facial features. The genetic prediction would make this child have a greater chance by far of being what everyone would consider an attractive baby, an attractive person."

Reed said he predicts Brangelina's baby will be "much taller" than Pitt, who stands at 6 feet, and the 5 feet, 7 nches Jolie.

"The eyes will be incredible," he said. "I can't see this ever not working out."

Dr. Stephen Marquardt, who studies human attractiveness and uses math to measure beauty ratios, disagrees, saying gene combinations can produce infinite possibilities, including less attractive results.

Nevertheless, Marquardt said he thinks there's "probably a better chance that you can have pretty kids if you have pretty people."

Let's list the creepitude. Which do you find most disturbing?

• "Sexiest Offspring Alive"?
• Brangelina?
• Someone studies human attractiveness?
• The phrase "I can't see this ever not working out"?

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You might wake up Hellx, who's asleep on the couch.

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I could have sworn Mrs. DoubleOhSoul was one of the subjects in Charlie White's show at the Andrea Rosen Gallery.

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Whitesnake's First Single-CD Retrospective, "The Definitive Collection," and First Live DVD, "Live...in the Still of the Night (Special Collector's Edition)," Feature All of the Band's Radio Rock Staples

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 4, 2006-- With the latest shout-outs in the movie "The 40-Year-Old Virgin" and Bowling For Soup's hit single "1985" ("She was gonna be an actress/She was gonna be a star/She was gonna shake her ass/On the hood of Whitesnake's car"), Whitesnake continues to prove that one of the bands that defined an era remains embedded in today's pop culture.

Now the first single-disc retrospective of the band led by David Coverdale and Whitesnake's first official DVD live set both debut in early 2006. The CD, "The Definitive Collection," produced with the full participation of Coverdale, and the DVD, "Live...In The Still Of The Night (Special Collector's Edition)," recorded in the U.K. in Fall 2004 and including a bonus 10-song CD, will be simultaneously released February 7, 2006 by Hip-O/Geffen/UMe.

"The Definitive Collection" spans nearly every studio album issued by Whitesnake, including its pre-U.S. fame LPs "Snakebite" (1978, with the band's first hit, "Ain't No Love In The Heart Of The City"), "Lovehunter" (1979, with "Walking In The Shadow Of The Blues" and "We Wish You Well"), "Ready An' Willing" (1980, with the title track) and "Come An' Get It" (1981, with "Don't Break My Heart Again"). Also heard are hit tracks from "Slide It In" (1984, double platinum), "Whitesnake" (1987, eight times platinum) and "Slip Of The Tongue" (1989, platinum).

From "Slide It In" are the rockin' blues "Slow An' Easy" and the title track, and the modern slickness of "Love Ain't No Stranger." Whitesnake provided a timeless rock anthem in the #1 "Here I Go Again" and a classic power ballad in the #2 "Is This Love" as well as the majestic "Still Of The Night" and "Give Me All Your Love." "Slip Of The Tongue" spun off the Top 40 pop hits "Fool For Your Loving" and the ballad "The Deeper The Love," plus "Judgment Day" and "Now You're Gone." "Looking For Love" was first heard on 1994's platinum "Greatest Hits" album.

The two-hour-plus DVD "Live...In The Still Of The Night (Special Collector's Edition)" can be heard in either stereo or 5.1 Surround Sound. Along with performances of many of the hits heard on "The Definitive Collection," including "Here I Go Again, "Fool For Your Loving," "Still Of The Night," "Is This Love" and "Give Me All Your Love," the concert features "Crying In The Rain" (1982's "Saints & Sinners"), "Take Me With You" (1978's "Trouble"), "Bad Boys" ("Whitesnake"), "Don't Break My Heart Again" (the 1987 European version of the "Whitesnake" disc) and a medley of "Burn" and "Stormbringer," which Coverdale wrote and sang while in his former band, Deep Purple.

Helmed by celebrated concert director Hamish Hamilton (U2, Madonna, Red Hot Chili Peppers), "Live...In The Still Of The Night (Special Collector's Edition)" also boasts a behind-the-scenes documentary, a photo gallery and a 59-minute bonus CD of 10 of the live performances.

CONTACT: Universal Music Enterprises
Press Contact:
Sujata Murthy, 310-865-7812
Todd Nakamine, 310-865-7797
or
Radio Contact:
Elliot Kendall, 310-865-9852

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Being longtime riders on the charismatic macrofauna bandwagon (link doesn't work for some reason -- damn broken blog!), we Norlosers should be especially interesting in the New York Times story about what makes them so darn cute:

Cute cues are those that indicate extreme youth, vulnerability, harmlessness and need, scientists say, and attending to them closely makes good Darwinian sense. As a species whose youngest members are so pathetically helpless they can't lift their heads to suckle without adult supervision, human beings must be wired to respond quickly and gamely to any and all signs of infantile desire.

The human cuteness detector is set at such a low bar, researchers said, that it sweeps in and deems cute practically anything remotely resembling a human baby or a part thereof, and so ends up including the young of virtually every mammalian species, fuzzy-headed birds like Japanese cranes, woolly bear caterpillars, a bobbing balloon, a big round rock stacked on a smaller rock, a colon, a hyphen and a close parenthesis typed in succession.

Forward-facing eyes also help, apparently. Which pretty much puts me outside this particular group.

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