Things you'd be proud to do.

- It's Pride in Atlanta again, and I'm working at the bookstore during the parade and throughout the weekend again. So I'm missing it, even though I've only ever been a marginal attendee at the Park. (Last time I was there for it was, ummm ..., two years ago.) But my friend Steven is new to being out, so the event is important to him. Steven's blogged about Pride for a week now (like I have about my birthday, which was terrific). Even my usual Pride companions Larry and Brad have skipped out on Pride this year to go to Europe, not that I blame them. Actually, if there's one thing I'm really going to miss about Pride this year, it's that I'm not going to get to see my friend Matt perform with the Atlanta Gay Men's Chorus. If you see them perform at all this weekend, cheer for Matt. He's the cute one in the glasses. Oh, and the Names Project's AIDS Memorial Quilt display is scheduled for Saturday afternoon, which I actually could attend. I've not seen quilt panels (the whole thing is too big to display anywhere) in a decade, so that'd be good to see. The Quilt is a beautiful, moving, sad thing to see.


- Is it wrong that I actually think the gimmick of Adam Sandler's CLICK may be worth the price of admission? I'm trying to remember the last time I actually enjoyed seeing Kate Beckinsale in a movie. (Her high-camp performances in PEARL HARBOR and VAN HELSING do not count. They were not intentional. And, don't even mention it, Kacoon, I thought that UNDERWORLD sucked.) It may well have been a decade ago. Beckinsale's like Rachel Weisz without the talent.



- This week I watched MY LEFT FOOT, THE LIGHT IN THE PIAZZA and AUDITION. Seeking a common theme, I discovered that they all featured - to a degree - people with severe mental problems and/or disabilities finding love. Of course, MY LEFT FOOT and THE LIGHT IN THE PIAZZA were sweet tearjerkers. AUDITION, meanwhile, is a sick, sick Japanese horror movie featuring this crazy-ass deranged psycho bitch who giddily lops off men's limbs with piano wire, keeps them alive yet deformed in her apartment and feeds them her own vomit. The last 15 minutes had me screaming at the television set. The course of true love never did run smooth.



- Hey, you know Brandon Routh, the guy who's about to play Superman. Yeah, I used to watch him on MTV's UNDRESSED and ONE LIFE TO LIVE. So, for those of you who develop a crush on him in the next few weeks, I saw him first. I have dibs.
- My friend Steven and I have arranged for a group outing to see THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA in the next couple weeks, and I am in the middle of the Lauren Weisberger novel right now. The trailer for the movie seems to play like a single scene of the film, so you can watch it without feeling as though the movie's being spoiled or that all the best jokes are being given away. And Meryl Streep looks fantastic. So I'm devoting this week's question entirely to her. THIS WEEK'S QUESTION: What's your favorite Meryl Streep performance? Love her or hate her?