Happy 71st Birthday, Jewel!

The Grande Dame of the Black LGBT community of Los Angeles turns 71 today. Jewel Thais-Williams is the owner and proprietor of Jewel's Catch One, the oldest, biggest and most fabulous Black LGBT night club/disco/meeting space in Los Angeles county.

The video above is a tribute to Jewel from the L.A. Gay and Lesbian Center's An Evening with Women gala event held last Saturday.

Here are the details about today's birthday bash:

Today, Tuesday, May 4^th for her 71^st B-Day Bash

D.J. & Live Performances!!!!

FREE TO THE GENERAL PUBLIC

Bring a can good for the Food Bank

Special Happy Hour: 5- 7:00 p.m.

7:00 p.m. Special Viewing of ‘The Night James Brown Saved Boston’

Party & D.J. immediately following

Hope to see you there!

Hat/tip to Karen Ocamb.

Dixie Carter Is Dead!

Oh no! Dixier Carter, 70, who played the liberal loudmouth Julia Sugarbaker on the classic 1980s sitcom Designing Women has died. Some gay boys are Golden Girls fans or Designing Women fans. I'm a DW fan and Julia was my favorite.

Very sad.

Hat/tip Wonder Man.

Celebrity Friday: Martina Navratilova

Martina Navratilova, probably the greatest player male or female to ever play the game of tennis, announced this week that she has been diagnosed with breast cancer. The prognosis of the 53-year-old living legend is good since she has a noninvasive form of the disease, called ductal carcinoma in situ or DCIS.

Navratilova said she had not intended to go public, but realized that she could do a lot of good letting people know about her condition and the treatment options.

Good luck, Martina!

Celebrity Friday: Dan Choi

Lt. Dan Choi was arrested on Thursday after he chained himself to the White House gate. Pam's House Blend has pictures and Joe.My.God has the deets.

Emmy Awards: MadProfessah's Predictions

The 2008 Emmy Award nominations were announced in July and MadProfessah made his picks public then. This time I'll post who I think should win, in addition who I think will win.

DRAMA SERIES:
"Boston Legal," ABC
"Damages," FX
"Dexter," Showtime
"House," Fox
"Lost," ABC
"Mad Men," AMC
Should Win: Lost
Will Win: Mad Men

COMEDY SERIES:
"Curb Your Enthusiasm," HBO
"Entourage," HBO
"The Office," NBC
"30 Rock," NBC
"Two and a Half Men," CBS
Should Win: The Office
Will Win: 30 Rock

ACTOR, DRAMA SERIES:
Gabriel Byrne, "In Treatment"
Bryan Cranston, "Breaking Bad"
Michael C. Hall, "Dexter"
Jon Hamm, "Mad Men"
Hugh Laurie, "House"
James Spader, "Boston Legal"
Should Win: Hugh Laurie.
Will Win: Hugh Laurie.

ACTRESS, DRAMA SERIES:
Glenn Close, "Damages"
Sally Field, "Brothers and Sisters"
Mariska Hargitay, "Law and Order: Special Victims Unit"
Holly Hunter, "Saving Grace"
Kyra Sedgwick, "The Closer"
Should Win: Glenn Close.
Will Win: Glenn Close.

ACTRESS, COMEDY SERIES:
Christina Applegate, "Samantha Who?"
America Ferrera, "Ugly Betty"
Tina Fey, "30 Rock"
Julia Louis-Dreyfus, "New Adventures of Old Christine"
Mary-Louise Parker, "Weeds"
Should Win: Tina Fey.
Will Win: America Ferrara.

ACTOR, COMEDY SERIES:
Alec Baldwin, "30 Rock"
Steve Carell, "The Office"
Lee Pace, "Pushing Daisies"
Tony Shalhoub, "Monk"
Charlie Sheen, "Two and a Half Men"
Should Win: Steve Carell.
Will Win: Alec Baldwin.

SUPPORTING ACTOR, COMEDY SERIES:
Jon Cryer, "Two and a Half Men"
Kevin Dillon, "Entourage"
Neil Patrick Harris, "How I Met Your Mother"
Jeremy Piven, "Entourage"
Rainn Wilson, "The Office"
Should Win: Rainn Wilson.
Will Win: Rainn Wilson.

SUPPORTING ACTOR, DRAMA SERIES:
Ted Danson, "Damages"
Michael Emerson, "Lost"
Zeljko Ivanek, "Damages"
William Shatner, "Boston Legal"
John Slattery, "Mad Men"
Should Win: Michael Emerson.
Will Win: William Shatner.

SUPPORTING ACTRESS, DRAMA SERIES:
Candice Bergen, "Boston Legal"
Rachel Griffiths, "Brothers and Sisters"
Sandra Oh, "Grey's Anatomy"
Dianne Wiest, "In Treatment"
Chandra Wilson, "Grey's Anatomy"
Should Win: Chandra Wilson.
Will Win: Chandra Wilson.

SUPPORTING ACTRESS, COMEDY SERIES:
Kristin Chenoweth, "Pushing Daisies"
Amy Poehler, "Saturday Night Live"
Jean Smart, "Samantha Who?
Holland Taylor, "Two and a Half Men"
Vanessa Williams, "Ugly Betty"
Should Win: Amy Poehler.
Will Win: Vanessa Williams.

2008 Hugo Award Nominations Announced

The 2008 Hugo Award nominations have been announced. These are the awards for the best works of science fiction released in the last year. The nominees for Best Novel this yare:

NOVEL
Brasyl, Ian McDonald (Gollancz; Pyr)
Halting State, Charles Stross (Ace)
The Last Colony, John Scalzi (Tor)
Rollback, Robert J. Sawyer (Analog Oct 2006 - Jan/Feb 2007; Tor)
The Yiddish Policemen's Union, Michael Chabon (HarperCollins; Fourth Estate)

In adddition, there are also categories for Dramatic Presentations.

DRAMATIC PRESENTATION: LONG FORM
Enchanted (Written by Bill Kelly. Directed by Kevin Lima. Walt Disney Pictures)
The Golden Compass (Written by Chris Weitz, based on the novel by Philip Pullman. Directed by Chris Weitz. New Line Cinema)
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Written by Michael Goldenberg, based on the novel by J.K. Rowling. Directed by David Yates. Warner Bros. Pictures)
Heroes, Season 1 (Created by Tim Kring. NBC Universal Television and Tailwind Productions)
Stardust (Written by Jane Goldman & Matthew Vaughn, based on the novel by Neil Gaiman. Directed by Matthew Vaughn. Paramount Pictures)

DRAMATIC PRESENTATION: SHORT FORM
Battlestar Galactica: "Razor" (Written by Michael Taylor. Directed by Félix Enríquez Alcalá and Wayne Rose. Sci Fi Channel. [televised version, not DVD])
Doctor Who: "Blink" (Written by Stephen Moffat. Directed by Hettie Macdonald. BBC)
Doctor Who: "Human Nature"; "The Family of Blood" (Written by Paul Cornell. Directed by Charles Palmer. BBC)
Star Trek New Voyages: "World Enough and Time" (Written by Michael Reaves & Marc Scott Zicree. Directed by Marc Scott Zicree. Cawley Entertainment Co. and The Magic Time Co.)
Torchwood: "Captain Jack Harkness" (Written by Catherine Tregenna. Directed by Ashley Way. BBC Wales)

Last year, Vernor Vinge won for his novel Rainbows End and Pan's Labyrinth and Doctor Who's "The Girl in the Fireplace" won in the Dramatic Presentation category. I have recently finished reading the 2005 winner (Susanna Clarke's Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell) but I haven't written my review for the 2005 or 2007 winner. The 2006 winner (Robert Charles Wilson's Spin) was absolutely excellent. Amazingly, the fourth year in a row, Charles Stross has a nominated novel, so maybe this time he will win since critics seem to like his work but I have never been able to complete one of his books. John Scalzi is another very popular writer, but The Last Colony is not considered one of his better efforts. I know nothing about Rollback or Brasyl and I'm shocked to see Michael Chabon's work on the list instead of Junot Diaz' Pulitzer-Prize winning The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao. I loved Chabon's first book, The Mysteries of Pittsburgh but I could not even get past 50 pages of his Pulitzer-Prize winning The Adventures of Kavalier and Clay. Maybe this Stross novel is worth all the accolades it has received; it certainly sounds interesting.

In the dramatic presentation categories I would vote for Heroes, Season 1 and Star Trek New Voyages.

REVIEW: Damages

FX's Damages starring Glenn Close and Rose Byrne (Sunshine, 28 Weeks Later) has been a guilty pleasure during the slow television times this summer when favorites such as Lost, 24, Heroes and Gray's Anatomy were off the air. Thank goodness, Nip/Tuck will be returning next week on Tuesday, and apparently will now be set in Los Angeles for Season 6.

The first season of Damages had its finale on Tuesday October 23rd and was a satisfying conclusion to an extremely well-written and acted television show. Although the legal drama can be a cliched stalwart of the television landscape, Damages manages to avoid the pitfalls of other entries in the genre by 1) generally avoiding the sexual escapades of the main characters 2) eschewing courtroom scenes with adversarial over-written exchanges between well-coiffed, too-pretty attorneys and 3) eliminating single episode stories.

Instead, Damages had a story arc which lasted the entire 13-episode season. It involved a complex corporate malfeasance case worth hundreds of millions of dollars against Arthur Frobisher, played with gusto by Ted Danson. The inimitable Glenn Close, who is probably my favorite actor of all time, plays Patty Hewes, a fearsome defense attorney who is representing Frobisher's employees in a civil action to obtain restitution for his looting of the company's assets and the collapse of their retirement accounts. The main protagonist in the story is not Patty Hewes but Ellen Parsons (played by Rose Byrne) who plays a brand new attorney who gets her dream job working for her legal hero while she and her handsome medical school fiance juggle demanding careers, ambition, complicated family members and their relationship.

Unfortunately, FX has already renewed two really atrocious series in Dirt and The Riches and these decisions may be delaying a decision to renew Damages for a second season although the latter is much more critically acclaimed (although as ratings-challenged) as the othertwo shows. The producers had originally announced they had a commitment from Glenn Close for 5 seasons with the show, so I hope FX executives and give us the opportunity of many more years of Damages.

GRADE: A.

Television Is Back!

The Simpsons started its 19th(!) season on Sunday

Heroes started its 2nd season on Monday

Heroes and The Simpsons have returned with new episodes, with Stargate: Atlantis, Numb3rs, E.R., The Office and Grey's Anatomy all starting back later in the week. Mad Professah is happy to be spared from the likes of 4400 (yes, I watched it anyway, but it's like the poor man's version of Heroes, with 1/10th the budget and acting talent, and THAT's saying something!) Once Stargate SG-1 ended and Stargate: Atlantis finished its season I even started watching the new Doctor Who, a favorite of mine from childhood.

New shows that I intend to give a chance are Back To You and Bionic Woman. Returning shows I will possibly start watching are Ugly Betty and Brothers and Sisters. I'm also looking forward to the return of Nip/Tuck in October and Lost in January. I've finally given up on Survivor and a long-time ago stopped watching MTV's The Real World so I will be completely reality television free!

Backlash against '24' building?

Last Monday's Los Angeles Times Calendar section had an article by Scott Collins entitled "Is '24' running out of time?" which detailed the declining ratings and building critical and viewer displeasure for the reigning Emmy-award winning drama.

After peaking in the ratings last year, Fox's thriller "24" has been getting dumped on by seemingly everyone in this, its sixth season. Critics and fans alike are aiming tomatoes at the stage, carping about the soapy and repetitive plotlines that unspool Jack's unlikely familial past, tiresome romantic triangles in the security bureaucracy and endless bickering among Oval Office advisors.

Last week, with a fresh episode designed to lay the groundwork for what the creators promise will be a typically suspenseful finale next month, "24's" ratings in the key young-adult category swooned to their lowest level in more than three years, with a total audience of just 10.4 million, according to figures from Nielsen Media Research.

More than one-third of viewers have bailed since the special four-hour season premiere that aired over two consecutive nights back in January. And if that wasn't enough bad news for the series, last week "24" was one of the prime-time shows that the Federal Communications Commission singled out in urging Congress to curb TV violence.

Bizarrely, the article doesn't seem to state the obvious that the reason for the decline in 24 is the competition: NBC's Heroes airs in the same time slot, Mondays at 9pm.

It's unsurprising really. What show can sustain intense critical and ratings success in its 6th season? ER and The Simpsons come to mind but those are all-time classic shows.