STOP THE PRESSES!

(I just love saying that.) Apparently he was the last to know, but it seems Ricky Martin (pictured) has finally admitted that he is gay. Yeh, I know. Right?

Anyway, you can read the surprise (wink wink) story here.

Oranges and Oranges

Some people are saying that allowing gays and lesbians to serve openly in the military could pose a problem because of the possibility that a gay man could make an unwanted proposition toward a straight man.

How is this different than a straight man making an unwanted proposition toward a straight woman? Oh, wait: the straight man would be on the receiving end, making him think that everyone else would think (and, apparently, care) that he was gay.

So, let's state this argument the way it really is: Straight men don't want openly gay men serving in the military because other people might think the straight guy is gay and wound his fragile ego. Got it.

Let's Give it up for the Earth!

In just about two hours we'll turn off all the electrical things we can for Earth Hour 2010! This is the fourth year of this neat idea -- and our third year to participate -- to show a little love for our planet. So turn off your electrical items and spend a little time with your friends and/or family doing something without using electricty. Our usual diversion? Scrabble by candlelight. It's fun!

You can read more about Earth Hour here.

Books I Am Reading

Am reading this.

Just finished reading this.

I'm Not That Old

I turned 50 last year and thought it was a pretty nifty achievement -- to live half a century. Of course, that's nothing compared to the lifespan of trees, some of which live thousands of years (like the redwoods in the photograph of our trip to Eureka, California in 2005).

You can see a photo gallery of the oldest trees in the world here.

Peter Graves RIP

Peter Graves (1926 - 2010)

A River Runs Through It -- With Water!

Here is something you don't see every day -- or even every year: water actually running in the Salt River, which winds its way around the Phoenix metroplex.

Ever since its source of water was dammed in 1911, water rarely is seen in the Salt River. However, we have had a much higher than usual amount of rain this year (due to the El Nino). The lakes and dams that hold our water supply are full, and so water is being allowed to run freely down the river. It's a rare sight and pretty impressive. (You can see downtown Phoenix to the left of this photograph we took this afternoon.)

Meh.

Is it me, or was the 82nd annual Oscar awards as boring as all get out? I mean, some of the winners were a surprise, but the scripted parts of the show were so meh. It was so talky and drawn out. I normally can put up with a slow-paced or dull Oscar telecast, but this one -- whew!

Getting the Spirit

Set the TiVo (or TiFaux, if you will) for the BEST award program for film. Yes, I am speaking of the Independent Spirit Awards which air before the Oscars every year. We LOVE the Independent Spirit Awards show (although why they are not doing it on the beach in Santa Monica this year, as usual, is a mystery). In most years, we will have seen more films nominated for a Spirit award (pictured) than the Oscar. Why? Independent films are just better, that's why. I'm not a snob, just realistic.

You can read more about the Spirit awards here.

You can read more about this year's show, airing live tonight, here.

Nan Martin RIP

Nan Martin (1927 - 2010)

Robert McCall RIP

My dinner with Robert McCall (1919 - 2010): In 1991, I was covering an event for the newspaper that included dinner with several notables -- Bill Keane (cartoonist of "The Family Circus"), Cindy and John McCain (politician), and Caryll and Jon Kyl (politician). Seated directly to my right was Robert McCall (famed space artist). We had a brief conversation and he made a little space drawing with his autograph (pictured).