MOC Blog

Why Perez Hilton Matters

It would be easy, far too easy in fact, to paint Perez Hilton into a corner, without having to dilute adjectives like "shallow," "vapid" and "narcissistic" into the mix. But there he is, bloviating away, an H.L. Mencken of celebrity culture minus humor, insight or even a sense of irony. He's the freakish manifestation of a celebrity-obsessed, Twitter-fied  fan base that lives, eats and breathes gossip. And the more sordid and cruel, the better. And, yet, by harnessing American's weird attraction for-slash-repulsion of the glamorous, indulgent lifestyles of the rich and famous into short, catty bursts of blogging, Perez Hilton has brilliantly married one of America's favorite pastimes - America, as it were - with the speed, efficacy and reach of the Internet. If we are are repulsed by his methods and his manner (while privately imbibing his celebrity "juice"), he need only remind us - in the words of Worst Best Friend Ever, Monica Lewinsky's Linda Tripp - "I'm just like you."

But Messr. Hilton is, if nothing else, wildly successful by any metric. His eponymously-named site ranks a remarkable 428 on Alexa.com and his advertising rates command top dollar. He has gone in a few short years from a celebrity huckster to one of the most sought after names on A-lists from here to Toronto and back again. Not bad for an unremarkable young man from Miami, Florida born Mario Armando Lavandeira, Jr. whose only appreciable skill seems to be making inflammatory comments. Or, at the very least, generating buzz about those comments and that undermine what might have been important reminders of societal bigotry and homophobia in more intellectually capable and less emotionally volatile individuals. When Mr. Hilton asked ex-Miss California, Carrie Prejean, at the U.S.A. Beauty pageant for her views on same-sex marriage, he could have left it alone and watched the young lady - who was asked an honest question and gave an honest answer - drown in the tide of social progress. But, no. He called her a "cunt." When he became involved in an imbroglio with the Black Eyed Peas in Toronto, he resorting to calling will.i.am a "faggot." He defended the use of the word by claiming that in the emotional heat of a confrontation, he wasn't thinking. Okay, fine. But that's not an apology. It's an excuse. (And I in no way condone the violence that was directed at Mr. Hilton by the band's road manager, Polo Molina.)

But as much as we abhor the violence directed at Mr. Hilton, isn't there some small part of us that feels he needs to do something besides traipses around from one hissy fit to another screaming "homophobia" and c-words to make whatever point he's trying to make. We're victims of bigotry! We've got the power! She's my sister! She's my daughter! Oi Vey! Enough with the drama already!

But he matters, believe it or not. We could just write him off as another corpse on the highway of littered dreams - only way more flamboyant - or we could recognize that if he's smart enough to have gotten where he is (and he has gotten remarkbly far), surely he's smart enough to work more constructively for our causes? Surely our movement could make room for a benificent agitator like him even if it he is an attention-starved man-boy? After all, he is one of ours and we surely have some social rule that says no matter how outlandish it gets, as long as it isn't Andrew Cunanan or Jeffrey Dahmer-ish, we need to protect our own? It should be, if it's not. Right now, we don't have a voice to lose. And Perez Hilton, voice and all, might actually do us some good once we wedge that 200-pound, gossip-mongering chip off his shoulder.

The Shock of Ft. Worth Settles In

Are we all Fort Worthians now?

Fridays with UOMOTV: Mystery Meat (Special Sunday Edition)

Listen - Pink Houses

Merry July 4th Everyone.

Theres a black man with a black cat
Living in a black neighborhood
He's got an interstate runnin' through his front yard
You know he thinks that he's got it so good
And there's a woman in the kitchen cleanin' up the evenin' slop
And he looks at her and says, "Hey darlin', I can remember when
you could stop a clock."

CHORUS:
Oh but ain't that America for you and me
Ain't that America somethin' to see baby
Ain't that America home of the free
Little pink houses for you and me

There's a young man in a t-shirt
Listenin' to a rockin' rollin' station
He's got greasy hair, greasy smile
He says, "Lord this must be my destination."
'Cause they told me when I was younger
"Boy you're gonna be president."
But just like everything else those old crazy dreams
Just kinda came and went

CHORUS
Well there's people and more people
What do they know know know
Go to work in some high rise
And vacation down at the Gulf of Mexico
Ooh yeah

And there's winners and there's losers
But they ain't no big deal
'Cause the simple man baby pays for the thrills, the bills,
the pills that kill

CHORUS

Coming Out Stories: Fernando

(Ed. Note: This is part of an ongoing series of young Millenials that have recorded their coming out experiences on YouTube. I will be featuring this as regular post on MOC. In light of the 40th anniversary of the Stonewall Inn Rebellion, I thought it appropriate to feature the voices, faces and lives of the newest generation to grow up gay in America. Know someone who wants to share their story and is under 28? Be sure to send me a tip.)

Your Friday Afternoon Wakeup Call

Quote For The Day

The chief also announced that he would make sure that all police officers receive multicultural training, with particular emphasis on dealing with the gay and lesbian community.

-- That's Ft. Worth Police Chief Jeff Halstead responding to intense criticism after a raid on a Ft. Worth gay bar left one man hospitalized. WTF?? Why do you need "special training?" Are patrons of gay and lesbian bars somehow different from other patrons of other bars during a raid. Puh-leaze! (Source: DallasNews.com.)

Stag Homminem PR: Fresh Meat

Introducing Pete Fill, the latest exotic species to be unearthed from what's left of the wild Brazilian jungles. Pedro Andreas co-stars in this searing indictment of urban crowding, environmental degradation, man's inhumanity to man and religious extremism . Or not.

A Special Message from Austin Wilde: Buy "The Visitor"

It's available right this second. Well, actually, the link he sent me is available and the coming attraction for Tony Demarco's "The Visitor" is available but if you really want to buy this video, well, using the 'Buy' link inside "The Visitor" link? Not so much. Congrats, Austin.

Tre Xavier's Interview with Papi Chulo Shows He's Still in Charge

There's a lot of you and you may or may not know the side of Tre Xavier that I know: Energetic. Smart. Friendly. The way he probably regularly is when he isn't speaking out on racism. But in his interview with Papi Chulo, the man who so passionately defends his position against anyone who comes at him - studio performers or heads - when his integrity is questioned is also an engaging, self-deprecating and very likable guy. But don't take my word for it. Hyperlink!

Chi Chi Larue 2, Cybersocket 0

Congratulations are in order for Chi Chi LaRue in The-Most-Awards-For-The-First-Week-in-July Award where she managed to snag a spot for the entire stable of Channel One Releasing exclusive models including scrumdidlyumptious Johnny Hazzard, Blake  Riley, Jeremy Bilding, Cameron Marshall and Vance Winter. The winners appear on this year's Cybersocket's Top 50 Porn Stars: Who's on Top? If you're not familiar with the ad-supported free monthly, it's actually pretty good at what it does, covering the mostly white gay porn industry in terms so innocuous, you'd feel cheated paying to read it. And today it released it's annual list of the top 50 porn performers. But despite writer Danny Valle's claim that, "very few of the world’s industries are consistently as colorful and exciting as the porn industry," he then goes on to write about 45-or-so of  the whitest men in porn. Colorful, indeed. But I thought about this and I realized that it would be too easy to criticize Messr. Valle. He's merely covering what he sees: a gay porn industry that is still absurdly white. "All-American."And, apparently, getting less gay by the website. See Reese Rideout,* Wolf Hudson* Cody Cummings* Leo Giamani* I just wish it had less orgasm and more analysis. Okay, Mason Wyler is a childish, attention-hungry sex whore. (Or - in Cybersocket-ese "a good ol’ boy from Texas") Okay, so who isn't? But why does Mason feel the need to be "insane" when his simple sexual ooze is enough? We learn that Valle thinks Eddie Diaz will fuck us nicely (damn!) but if you're going to write about him, I don't know, ask him where his relatives are and if they want to do porn? The whole exercise - serious points to Valle, btw, for the human labor that went into it, agreed by me or not - seems flat. Who cares, then, if you're just going to say kind things without examing what puts them on the list? It's just one more person or people with an opinion about porn that can't put it into some kind of context. Why is five percent of the list acknowledged straight men? And what does that say? Why are so few men of color represented? And what does that say? And, come to think of it, what do they have to say? We get so few quotes from the winners! But that's what free monthlies whose ad base is predominantly white do. Reward the "top" of anything with flaunting praise instead of asking us to ask ourselves why they were in the "Top 50" in the first place. (*Cocksucking by or to another man and man-0n-hairy-man-sex aside.)

And Now For Something Completely Different: Penis Envy

And it's everywhere.

  

 

Your Thursday Morning Wakeup Call

New York Blade Shutters

And, with it, an important chronicler of gay and lesbian issues in New York and the nation.

Person of Interest Detained in Murder of Gay Sailor in San Diego

A "person of interest" has been detained by the U.S. Navy here in San Diego in the brutal murder of gay sailor August Provost, the Union-Tribune is reporting. The 29-year-old Houston native's body was found in a Camp Peddleton (Oceanside, CA) guard shack yesterday. A formal investigation is being launched. The young man, who was described as "someone who doesn't stand [around] and argue," had recently indicated to his family that there was a person who was harassing him. The person of interest is currently being held in the Navy brig in Miramar pending a formal investigation.

Breaking: Indian Court Overturns Ban on Homosexual Sex

In a historic and wide-reaching decision, the Indian High Court overturned an 1861 law that bans consensual adult sex between members of the same gender. "The inclusiveness that Indian society traditionally displayed, literally in every aspect of life, is manifest in recognizing a role in society for everyone. Those perceived by the majority as ‘deviants’ or ‘different’ are not on that score excluded or ostracized,” the High Court said. The decision, which only applies to those living in the territory surrounding India's capital, is expected to be challenged forcing the Supreme Court to strike it down or apply the ruling fairly across the country. The law - known simply by its number in the penal code as "377" - is the first step in what many gay rights activists hope will be a sea change in the country's draconian anti-gay laws. (Source: NYTimes.com.)

Coming Out Stories: Jason

(Ed. Note: This is part of an ongoing series of young Millenials that have recorded their coming out experiences on YouTube. I will be featuring this as regular post on MOC. In light of the 40th anniversary of the Stonewall Inn Rebellion, I thought it appropriate to feature the voices, faces and lives of the newest generation to grow up gay in America. Know someone who wants to share their story and is under 28? Be sure to send me a tip.)

Quote For The Day

The District Court's detailed factual findings, as well as its alternate legal holdings, make this case a poor vehicle to contest the underlying issues.

-- Tracy Schmaler, Justice Department Spokesperson, defending the Obama Administration's decision not to contest a ruling in favor of Diane Schroer, a male-to-female transgender whose offer to work at the U.S. Library of Congress was rescinded when knowledge of her gender identity was made known. Ms. Schroer was awarded $491,190 in back pay and damages.

Your Wednesday Morning Wakeup Call

Cody Kyler's Ebullience: A Conversation with MOC

If all the world's ills could be solved with the extract of some untapped resource, you'd be hard-pressed to find one better suited for the task than an extract from Cody Kyler. Bubbly. Young. Cute as hell. Untainted. This Midwestern transplant is the latest porn pup from iconic adult studio Flava Works. But what makes this mass of whirling sexual energy so remarkable is that he's white; a first for a studio synonymous with ethnic fare. And he's also ambitious, playful and, like so many of his Millenial cohorts, unfazed - perplexed even - by the racial barriers he's breaking. If Messr. Kyler is a part of porn history, nobody's told him. Or at least that's the way he came across in our two-hour conversation the other night. But don't take my word for it...

MOC: Cody I want to thank you for taking time from what appears to be a global sex tour to speak with MOC. Welcome.

Cody Kyler:  Well thank you for the opportunity! I’ve been really excited for this interview for a while now.

MOC:  Really? Why?

Cody:  Yeah. Because I’ve known about MOC even before I got into porn, and now I’m actually being interviewed by y’all…pretty exciting on my part!

MOC:  Well, truth be told, me too. I think part of the reason I'm so interested in speaking with you is because you are a part of porn history. You're the first white model to be employed by a major - perhaps the only - viable black porn entity. How does that feel?

Cody:  To be completely honest with you, it feels pretty damn good. Yeah, Flava Works is mainly a black and Latino company, and for me being their poster boy for their new white porn company...it’s pretty amazing I’m not gonna lie. I feel as if I got the opportunity of a lifetime.

MOC:  Their new white porn company?

Is Obama Stonewalling on DADT?

"Retrograde Bigots." Dan Savage tosses out a deserving bitchslap.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Seven Months In, Chi Chi's Retail Effort Nabs StorErotica Nomination

In a press release issued today, Chi Chi LaRue announced that her seven-month-old retail effort - Chi Chi LaRue's - has been rewarded with a Storerotica nomination for "Independent Store of The Year" award. The annual ceremony is sponsored by StorErotica Magazine. Chi Chi gushed, "I'm overjoyed at this news." This marks another high in a career that has not only spanned the many changes in the Gay Porn Industry but flowered as a result of them. 

Shanghai Surprise: No Madonna, But Lots of Gays Just The Same

All I'm going to say is San Diego has about one million people proper. Shanghai, China has 20 million. That's 20 times us. Imagine. Twenty more San Diego Zoos. Twenty more Gaslamp Districts. Twenty more Legolands. And twenty times more gay men and women to pet those cheetahs, dine in those downtown area restaurants and do whatever one does at Legoland besides exit. But the journey's the thing and Aric Chen does a fantastic job of capturing the nascent but vibrant gay scene in Shanghai with his fragrant descriptions of the clubs that dot the "Gay Triangle" and its surrounding environs. Hooray for Aric! (Be sure, too, to check out The Shanghaiist for up-to-the-second coverage of the gay scene there. (Photography by GILLES SABRIE. )  

Age of Consent Laws-O-Rama: It's Younger Than You Think

Have you ever seen a chart showing all of the nations of the world's Age of Consent laws? Not a lot of people have but it's actually a treasure trove of interesting facts! Did you know that in only Malaysia and Sri Lanka heterosexual and lesbian sex is allowed? Only gay sex is illegal! But that's for sure not happening. States here in the good ole U.S. of A. have varying laws, too. Indiana and Arkansas, you are downright scandalous! Most states, though, it's 16 and on up. Oh, and DEFINITELY stay out of Tunisia if you can because not only can you be sent to prison for the nasty business but straights are imprisoned as well until the ripe old age of twenty where only then it's legal to, er, get one's groove on. The humanity. (Source: DrPetra.co.uk.)

Quote For The Day

That's the kind of thing we're looking at -- seeing if there's a more humane way to apply the law until it gets changed.

-- Secretary of Defense Robert Gates on DADT. Finally, movement. (Source: News.Yahoo.Com.)

Obama on Gay Civil Rights

Labor Department Gay Pride Posters Defaced

And Labor Secretary Hilda Solis is pissed!

Quote For The Day II

We seek an America in which no one feels the pain of discrimination based on who you are or who you love, and I know that many in this room don't believe that progress has come fast enough, and I understand that, It's not for me to tell you to be patient anymore than it was for others to counsel patience to African-Americans who were petitioning for equal rights a half century ago. But I say this: We have made progress, and we will make more. And I want you to know that I expect and hope to be judged not by words, not by promises that I made, but by promises that my administration keeps ... We've been in office six months now. I suspect that by the time this administration is over, I think you guys will have pretty good feelings about the Obama administration.

-- President Barack Obama, responding to criticism from the gay community on the progress of his campaign pledges.

Martina Navratilova's "Wife" Seeks "Divorce" in "Marriage"

The quotes, according to Louis Bayard's tale of marital duress on Salon.com, represent Ms. Navratilova shifting standards on the definition of gay marriage; one she seems all to eager to exploit as it suits her purposes.

Whomever from Amazonaboy.com

Ah, youth.