Yesterday we dropped our Fall Music Preview ’09: Where Crystal and Emily discuss hotly anticipated releases from La Roux, Tegan & Sara, Basement Jaxx, Jay-Z and more.
The Tuesday Televisionary was all about True Blood Ending Underwhelmingly, Glee Beginning Showmantically, and Hot Girls Outlasting the VMAs.
Check out our Fall Preview 2009 Guide to see what’s happened and what you can look forward to!
The Fall coverage thus far includes: Fall Books, Fall TV, The Fall Excitantcy Matrix and the Biggest Event of Fall — The National Equality March.
Yesterday’s Fix: In which we all unnecessarily obsess with Kate Moennig’s haircut, gender norms, Drew & Ellen, sex toys.
HIGH SCHOOL: I can’t believe this even has to be a headline: Principal Relents, Lets Lesbian Wear Tux for Senior Picture. (@nbc) In unrelated news, there’s a cute photo of Anna Faris in a blazer to the left.
AMERICA’S NEXT TOP: Remember the girl who talked crazy to America’s Next Top Lesbian Kim Stolz? Our dear often hilarious but clearly bonkers Bree Scullark was arrested after an altercation in Starbucks. FYI they don’t sell granola bars there. Also in ANTM news, (not out) lesbian Nik Pace has given birth to a baby boy, is smokin’ hot. Note the article avoids addressing the parentage question. Also, FourFour recaps America’s Next Top Model Cycle 13’s “Mehovers.”
DREW AND ELLEN CUDDLE & TALK AT THE SAME TIME: “I love her madly … You hope that you’ll fall in love with your muse and your hero, and I did fall in love with [Ellen Page],” Drew Barrymore tells reporters.
L WORD: Here we go again. Ilene Chaiken has tweeted: “Still working on The L Word movie, and ramping up on The Real L Word. They’re two completely separate projects.” One of the biggest differences between these two projects is that one is (unfortunately) happening, and the other is not.
LADY TECH: Question: Dear readers of Autostraddle, how do you feel about this website? This is a real question. I’m wondering if the “feminized” approach to technology here is totally offensive or borderline interesting? I’m inclined to go with the former. LET ME READ YOUR PULSE I NEED ANSWERS ABOUT HOW THE INTERNET WORKS.
THE LYNCH CAN DO NO WRONG: “There’s something about [her character on Glee]. I’ve played arrogant people before, but the levels and lengths she goes to, it’s so entertaining and fun. The writers love pushing it. In the first draft, they always go too far. It’s like, ‘I can’t talk about skinning a cat!’ ” Still, sometimes she wishes the first draft bits would stick. “There have been a couple that I was sorry to lose.” – Jane Lynch to People.
DEBT COLLECTORS: Listen to these totally shocking recordings of messages left by abusive debt collectors!
SOUTH OF NOWHERE: Denso Gordon has changed his mind about gay people! Too bad he didn’t figure that out sooner he could’ve participated in that last season of South of Nowhere, that was a real work of art.
GENDER: Bully Blogger on The Unforgivable Trangression of being Caster Semenya.
KANYE + GAGA: The Kanye West/Lady Gaga co-headlining tour may now be in jeopardy after the VMAs. Surely there’s some way she can symbolically incorporate him into her next Biblical thing. (@latimes)
GAGA: Lady Gaga performed an acoustic set practically naked at the after-party for the Marc Jacobs show in NYC. Readers, we could see her nipples — not only was she pantsless, she was topless! (@nymag)
HAVILAND: Haviland Stillwell, the greatest actress to ever live, will be performing at the M Bar with a bunch of other gorgeous people on the 18th of September and you should go if you live in Los Angeles, I feel like you do.
PINK: Quieting rumors that she broke her collarbone, Pink clarified via Twitter: “I separated my shoulder. it kinda feels like 50 angry invisible demon fairies are stabbing me. But the show will go on. It did last night. And I’d say it went pretty well :) thanks Seattle. loudest crowd we have had this tour.” Here’s a photo from that tour:
GOT YOUR DM: You can all breathe a sigh of relief — Samantha Ronson has direct messaged Lindsay and Lindsay is appeased. For now.
COLLEGE & THE FRESHMAN 15: Jezebel examines the age-old Freshman 15 in an era of caloric awareness in university cafetieres and whether this will lead to more eating disorders. (@jezebel) [I agree. I wish I’d never learned those numbers, I can’t get rid of them]
LESBIANS: SheWired talked to Evan Rachel Wood, True Blood‘s Lesbian Vampire and one half of the Wonder Twins.
VOTE GAY: Openly gay candidates from Queens made strides toward public office on Tuesday in the New York City primary elections for city council. (@advocate)
SEX: Susie Bright gives advice for those suffering due to the impact of anti-depressant medications on the libido. (@jezebel)
Auto-Straddler of the Day
Ride the pony…
from Intern Jess:
Bored and wanna read what everyone else is favorite starring on Twitter? Check out favstar.fm.
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from Crystal:
Comedy group Kasper Hausen have created the First Blackberry, a website offering a glimpse into Obama’s PDA. It’s a lot more funny than I’m making it sound.
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from KC Danger: What’s funnier than a Snuggie (which I still refuse to believe is anything more than a blanket with sleeves)? Snuggie lovin’ of course! It’s a little hetero/gender-normative, what with the pink and green at all, but it’s worth the laugh.
Uhm… she said that, right? It was an admission, no? How far must we go in distorting our interpretation of Drew’s words if we are to believe they are NOT together?
I know, I was like, okay, this is getting a little crazy, right? It’s possible that they are just in total friend-love with each other, but I mean, if a guy was saying that about a female co-star and they were holding hands and etc., then I feel like we’d be declaring them “together.” It’s also possible ellen has a girlfriend so in ellen & drew’s mind it’s like totally not an issue. I dunno. BUT THIS IS GETTING OOC!!
Ok, Ellen might have a girlfriend. But how cool would her girlfriend be with all this? Would Ellen reassure like “don’t worry honey, it’s just work”? Ellen’s words towards Drew were not that neutral, as well. If words still have a meaning, that is.
i love my girlfriend but i would totally leave her for drew barrymore.
(jk if you’re reading this)
I looked at that interview as a confirmation (maybe). It seemed like Drew was saying love in a gf way and not in a friend way. It’s the difference between her saying “I fell in love with her” as opposed to “I love her.” I’m not sure if that makes sense but I hope it does.
That’s fine but the look that Ellen gave at Drew at the end of the clip was more like “what the hell??!?”
Is it just me? Oh God, I so would love to see them together…and not only on Marieclaire!
[ we don’t have Yearbooks here in Italy but I swear I would TOTALLY wear a tux…]
i love the way they say ‘premiere’ in Canada!
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ok, i’m one more public declaration of love away from calling it: official couple.
ELLEREW4EVS
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re: Lilo — whew
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um, i actually like GeekSugar & the whole Sugar family. i don’t read it all the time or anything, but when i have, i’ve found it helpful and enjoyably upbeat. like, they’re always in a good mood over there! it’s nice.
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i have a lot to say today! why don’t i just write my own column on Autostraddle or something?! JEEZ!
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f*ckin’ A, riese. that tuxedo story was ridic. i just– what the hell is wrong with people??
Ellerew for some reason reminds me of Evinrude, the dragonfly from The Rescuers. No? Just me?
Do SamRon & Lilo not have text messaging capabilities on their phones? Why do they solely correspond via Twitter? I really need to stop analyzing this. But really, they might as well just go on L Chat and hash it out on there.
Seriously.. earth to Lindsay! People are reading this shit! Just curse/love each other via text message like every other angsty couple in relationship love limbo. Sheesh
ELLEREW!
geek sugar is alright, not as bad as http://www.shinyshiny.tv.
all of the tech sites have the same posts every day so you just have to decide, so i want someone dumbing this down for me on a website that is mostly pink? or can i read about tech/gadgets from a source that is targeting everyone, not just girls. that’s why i rarely read the lady tech sites.
also re: ellen/drew, OMG WTF IS HAPPENINGGG
agreed re: geeksugar (also that particular shade of pink burns my retinas), though I feel like it’s geared more toward tweens/younger teen girls. i wonder if “girl-oriented” sites (because really, does pink = girl-oriented? barf) serve a purpose in helping young tech-liking girls integrate into the larger internet tech world (like a pink gateway), or if they just patronize young girls and further alienate them from the tech world by making it seem like in order for them to have a place, the content needs to be simple and pink. like, a fourteen-year old me would be annoyed by that website. but a different fourteen-year old girl might find it more appealing than a site like gizmodo, for example.
i think you’re both being close-minded. some could argue that Autostraddle’s content is ‘dumbed down’ b/c we’re sarcastic and silly, but we’re actually full of informative and thoughtful pieces — we just happen to appeal to a specific group with our style of writing and graphics. doesn’t make us any less relevant than HuffPo or AE.
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not that i’m a huge supporter of the Sugar sites or similar ones. i just think there’s more than one way to look at websites that seem to target specific groups and they do serve their purpose. besides, there’s nothing wrong with the color pink! whatever. i like your hair. let’s go jeans shopping.
i see what you’re saying, but i was talking more about accessibility, not the intelligence of the readers or the quality of the posts’ content. a site aimed at young girls (or young kids in general) is going to be written differently than a site aimed at adults, and i think that’s important in getting kids in on the conversation. but sites can be accessible without being patronizing. my question is more, do girls need their own web spaces (personally i think yes), and why/what purpose do they serve. not to say that anyone can’t look at any website – i’m just talking about the target audience.
ps love the shoes, love the bag, love everything.
hmmm, i think some girls/women do need their own web spaces b/c some girls/women really like that sort of thing. sites like geeksugar serve to provide just the information their readers want to know — what color does it come in, is it compatible w/ my ____, how much is it, will it fit in my bag, etc. it’s not that these women/girls don’t understand the extra information that other sites would have, i believe it’s that they don’t care. they’re making their purchasing decisions based on a different set of criteria than other people. also, i think if they wanted to know more about a product, they’d just go to another website, you know? it’s not like gizmodo is a secret society. like, the truth is out there, scully.
I guess the question is — does GeekSugar claim to be a tech site that provides infromation about technology for women? Because from what I can see, it’s more about the style & design of technology for women. Which is a perfectly acceptable and interesting aspect of tech to explore, and they do it well. But if they are claiming to be more than that, then they are inferring that the only information about technology that is relevant or interesting to so-called “geeks” with vaginas is the style & design of technology, which is very reductive.
re GeekSugar: It’s fine for what it is. I don’t think it dumbs things down too much. But for tech news, I don’t go there. Also, a long long time ago, I had aspirations of creating a magazine or website that would serve the same function. Except, I had a vision that the content would be edgy and sexy like Stuff or Maxim … but geared towards women. But the timing wasn’t right and thus, it never happened :(
Shinyshiny is awful. “Female friendly approach” = demeaning.
I’m probably biased because I work in marketing, but I think GeekSugar is good at targeting their demo and catering to women with little more than a passing interest in technology.
I wouldn’t go there for an in-depth analysis of the differences between AMD and Intel processors, but that’s not what their goal is. Considering it’s a “tech-light” website I think it’s fine. ShinyShiny on the other hand, tries to be a little more in depth with their reviews, but dumb it down quite a bit- which is why it’s offensive. GeekSugar has more articles like “10 Websites to Instantly Lift Your Mood”, and tech-accessories than anything else – so you can’t, and they don’t, dumb it down.
And lastly, ‘Ellerew’ is the most adorable couple name I’ve ever heard, and I hope they really are a couple for that reason alone.
Geek Sugar is good at targeting its audience, I suppose. I guess I’m just coming from a totally different place. I go to stores like Radio Shack or Best Buy and the employees treat me like I’m an idiot because I’m a girl, but I know more about their products than they do. So it’s hard for me, on a totally personal level, to get behind things that are so specifically girl-targeted in a way that is watered down or coated in pink or glitter, because I don’t personally want to read that. And Gizmodo is funny and sarcastic just like Autostraddle, and I get most of my tech news from them. I think it’s more of a matter of personal preference.
Totally agree on the Best Buy analogy. I work in web development too, which is mostly a man’s field so I see that all the time. (specifically, i’m an online advertising coodinator so i’m [auto]straddling a few different areas)
I think if anyone is interested in technology they’re better off reading a few different of tech sites – like you mentioned it’s all the same news, just coming from different sources. Not unlike regular day to day news, there will always be a slant on it depending on the audience.
yeah totally agree. the staff at those kind of stores say things that are just total bollocks sometimes and then if you even remotely challenge it get all flustered because you are a girl and they can’t handle it.
Urgh the girlification sets my teeth on edge but I sent my sister (16) the link and she liked it although said it wasn’t the pink asmuch as the style, so maybe she’s the target audience? this stuff depresses me. I think people are just different though; when i started being interested in tech kind of stuff i went straight to gizmodo etc without even thinking about it. still, the pink is bloody annoying!
you guys should all try Future Shop. they ignore / condescend to everyone equally.
My sister and I were set to go to the Gaga/Kanye concert. Till the VMAs and then she is like she doesn’t want to support him. So I am basically SOL.. f*cking Kanye…f*ck
I’m in the same boat. Kanye ruins everything.
Was anyone else a little disappointed by the “Lady Gaga Practically Naked” story? I feel like if someone’s going to use that as a headline, they need to back it up with something more than a tasteful 3/4 turn standing shot and then one of her seated at the piano. Just sayin’.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oZ7N3ygYFZ0
does she yell “SOOKEH!” at 4:55?!
I agree, disappointing photos accompanying the title. If you’re weird like me and are bummed that you can’t enlarge the AS photo, here ya go! http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2009/09/15/article-1213595-067347C4000005DC-6_468x703.jpg
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Lady Gaga can sing to me in French wearing that any day of the week. Or just sing to me in general, eh?
Okay… I have no knowledge and/or perfunctory statements about technology or tech sites. However….. EL PAGE + DREW B = WEEEEEE!!!!! Um…. you guys? You guys! Is this really happening? Are my dreams coming true? Has Ellen Page been reading my diary again? Has Drew B. taken a recent course on mind reading? Ok, the tension/love in that interview was wacky and awkward and totally mind-blowing. I mean maybe, MAYBE, it could be interpreted as admiration/respect but one more stunt like that and they might as well have their names tattooed on each other’s asses. I swear to the heavens that if they say they’re a couple and the conservative asshats in the media try to spin it, I will summon Xena warrior princess herself to rip them a new one. Asshole that is. That is all.
The gushing in that Drew & Ellen video made me a little emotional, particularly when Drew talked about falling in love with her muse. AWWW.
But my favourite part was when Marcia Gay Harden described Drew as: “she’s just really hands on. She feels it, she really likes to get right in there…” .. I could picture Ellen standing out of frame, arms folded and going: “Word.”
So, I feel like the coolest person ever right now because I just ran into Katrina/KC Danger. My girlfriend & I were looking for a quiet place to hang out, then suddenly, there she was, boasting about her article on the Philippines. So random. :-)
On a different note, are Ellerew just screwing with us at this point, or what? I mean, seriously, you guys!
did she have pants on
…yes. Does she usually not? :-o
kc danger: “obviously this drink is not for me, my pants are already off.”
interns at american with no pants? damn, i really should spend more time on campus.
This made my day.
HEY i was not ‘boasting!’ i was talking about the magic of search engines and how my article comes up on the first page of a “gay philippines” google search.
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also i like to avoid pants when i can. i think everyone should abide by this standard.
i never wear pants. for real.