Tuesday, May 15, 2007

Page 1 Consider (05/15)

  • 'The Bachelor': Second Serve? Once known on the tennis circuit as the Scud Stud, these days 31-year-old Aussie Mark Philippoussis is better known for making out in parking lots with the likes of Anna Kournikova, Tara Reid and Paris Hilton than for winning matches. So where better for him to go than to a new reality dating show? "Age of Love," which premieres June 18 on NBC, will pit a group of women in their 20s -- the "Kittens" -- against another set of women in their 40s -- the "Cougars" -- in a competition for the former tennis star's affections. (Apparently he doesn't realize it's an "age" thing.) Let's hope Mark is back to his fighting weight. (AOL)

  • Me Talk Pretty Some Day: Have you heard all of the brouhaha surrounding Alex Heard's piece in the New Republic about David Sedaris, in which he puts Amy's hilarious big brother into the same category as James Frey and every other liar? (Jack Shafer over at Slate certainly has.) I knew I did not agree with this assessment one bit, yet I was never able to express why until I found this brilliant explanation about why "memoirs" are different from other nonfiction works. (Oh, did I mention it was written by my big brother?) (Off-Topic)

  • Bend It Like Ballack: The German sex shop chain Beate Uhse must pay German soccer stars Michael Ballack and Oliver Kahn 50,000 euros ($67,380) each for using their names for vibrators without permission, the company said Monday. If it's based on the real deal I can certainly see the appeal in the Ballack model. (Reuters) Incidentally, you won't be seeing either of these products -- or any other sex toys -- in the state of Alabama unless the Supreme Court steps in. (AP)

  • Sad Reality: It just goes to show that there is no greater addiction than fame. More than 15 years after becoming famous notorious, Amy Fisher and Joey Buttafuoco have both discarded their new "lives" -- spouses, young children, you name it -- for yet another shot at the spotlight. (Source)

  • No Jenny Jones: The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday reversed an Appeals Court decision that set aside the death sentence of an Arizona man convicted of killing a gay Phoenix man in 1989. (Source)

  • The Crying Game: Pop-tart Boy George can't keep his nose clean, arrested again this time for "false imprisonment and assault of a male hustler." This sounds plausible, although the hooker -- one Auden Carlsen -- sure sounds like he's enjoying his 15 minutes of fame a little bit too much to me: "It's ironic that his biggest hit was 'Do You Really Want To Hurt Me' because I'm sure he did want to hurt me. I was convinced I was going to die." (Source)

  • Gay Performance: The openly gay coach of the Missouri men's lacrosse team was told his contract will not be renewed after nine seasons but team leaders say Kyle Hawkins was dismissed because of his job performance, not his sexual orientation. (What do queers know about sports anyway?) (AP)

  • Happy 50th, Helvetica! This year marks the 50th anniversary of the typeface Helvetica, which is now seen everywhere from subway signs in New York to logos for BMW and American Airlines. (LAT)

  • Do Not Disturb: The man who invented the Motel 6 concept, William Becker, has checked out. He was 85. (NYT)
  • No comments: