My Weekend Crush

Few women arch an eyebrow quite as well as Elizabeth Mitchell. It just sits there, cocked and ready. It waits for your next move. It knows things. No, I’m not kidding, it really knows things. It knows what it’s like to kiss Angelina Jolie. (For the record, it’s “pillowy and fabulous. Honestly, you got lost in her lips. It was almost overwhelming, like a peach.”) It knows what it’s like to kiss Laura Innes. It knows what it’s like to roll around naked with Angelina Jolie. Look, it just knows things that we will never know.

One of the many great things about Elizabeth is that for a beautiful woman she is awfully scrappy. You wouldn’t think it at first with her delicate features and willowy frame. But that girl can scrap. As Juliet on “Lost” and now as FBI agent and alien fighter Erica Evans on “V,” she brings a competent intensity to her portrayals. I think to truly play brainy and tough well, you have to be a little bit of both. And Elizabeth is a lot of both. But what she also has is the ability to convey incredible empathy. Like if she were to look at you with those blue, blue eyes she would know you instantly and completely. And if she were to cock that eyebrow at you, well, if you’re really, really lucky maybe you’d get to know her, too. Happy weekend, all.

Unbreak my heart

File this under: Oh, thank God. Emma Thompson might just unbreak my heart. Of all the names on the Free Polanski petition, her signature hurt the most. There are others who disappointed, of course, by signing onto the celebrity rape apologist parade: Tilda Swinton, Natalie Portman, Penelope Cruz and Kristin Scott Thomas, among them. But Emma, well, her late addition to the ranks was a shock to the system. No, not our Emma.

Our Emma, the fierce fighter of sex trafficking, the advocate against fiddling with your face, the unapologetic smartie, the bawdy wit and the champion of always eating dessert. No, not our Emma.

And now, it seems it really will be no, not our Emma after all. The prodigiously talented Oscar winner has said she will remove her name from the petition. And we have the courageous work of Shakesville reader Caitlin to thank for her change of heart. You see, Caitlin, a student at Exeter University, knew she was going to have the opportunity to meet Emma at a campus event. So she set up a petition online, gathered 400-plus signatures of her own, and then took them to Emma to ask her to reconsider her signature on Roman Polanski petition.

And wouldn’t you know it, but Emma listened. As Caitlin wrote to Shakesville:

Emma did not have much time between meetings, but she gave me all of the time that she had. I asked her why she had signed the petition, and she explained about how well she knows Polanski, how terrible his life has been, and how forgiving the survivor of the rape all those years ago now is. She said she thought the intentions of the judge were unclear, as were the intentions of those who arrested him recently. She told me that a lot of her friends had rung her up asking her to sign the petition, so there had been a certain amount of pressure. She said that she had already been thinking a lot about the petition, as others had expressed their dismay at her signing it.

I handed her our petition and the comments. She read them both through thoroughly, and came back to me. She said, while she supported Polanski as a friend, a crime is a crime. I don't know whether she had realised the extent of Polanski's crime, but she is now fully aware. She will remove her name from the petition – in fact, she said she would call today and sort it out. Even though, she stressed, Polanski has had some truly terrible experiences in his lifetime, experiences that we couldn't even imagine and which should not be taken out of the equation, she agreed that she could not put her name to a petition asking for his release....

She left me with this, to pass on to everyone who has signed the petition/raised awareness of this issue: “Know that I will remove my name because of you, and all of the good work that you have been doing. I have read your petition. I have heard you. And I will listen.”

Never underestimate the power of one person to effect change. We forget this sometimes, amid a crushing sea of injustices. But sometimes all it really takes is one voice to pierce the darkness. Thank you, Caitlin. And thank you, Emma, for listening.

All you need is...

There will be a time, in the not too distant future, when everyone will look back at this pathetic process of asking strangers for permission to be equal and shake their heads. Make no mistake, that is what this state-by-state begging for marriage rights is about – letting others decide if the words the founders wrote really ring true. I know that in the end, fairness and love will prevail. But the passage of Question 1 in Maine yesterday, repealing the rights of gay and lesbian couples in the state to marry, is just another reminder that equality is a process.

Progress is never easy; it’s slow and it’s painful and there are always setbacks. Last night, just like a year ago, I felt that familiar queasiness in the pit of my stomach because voters picked H8 over love. But progress will happen, it always does. Humans evolve, it’s in our DNA. That’s how we made it out of the primordial ooze the first time and how we will climb out again when it comes to gay marriage. Still, just as there will always be progress, there will always be those who try to stop it. They hate without reason, they fear change of all forms. But the small-minded bigots’ days of telling us how we can live are numbered.

The thing is, I believe in the deepest, most optimistic part of my heart that there are more fair-minded people than hateful ones. But, for whatever reason, they don’t all make it to the ballot box when it comes time to stand up and be counted. Those who hate progress, they’ll always make it to the polling places. Extremist will go to any extremes to ensure their views are enforced. But with what looks like a domestic partnership victory in Washington State, the inclusion of GLBT anti-discrimination protection in Kalamazoo and out candidates coming out on top in Chapel Hill and Houston, the tide is slowly turning.

So now we stand at a tipping point in this struggle for equality for all gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people. Will those who believe that marriage is a basic human right finally come together and say enough is enough? Will we have a president who has the courage to say that equality cannot be voted away, but must be given unequivocally to all? Will we finally cut through the fear and loathing that cloaks these discussions and realize, as a people, that love can never be stopped? Yes, yes we will. The only question now is when.

Tank Top Tuesday

I like my women doing everyday things in tank tops. Because the unique charms of the tank are applicable in almost any situation. Like with our friend Alexandra Hedison grabbing a bite to eat. Glad she decided against buttering that toast though, because we all know her penchant for getting carried away with knives. My point, and do have something close to one, is that the tank top is a versatile accessory which is appropriate for any activity.

Zhang ZiyiWhen considering how best to recycle the morning paper.

Alison LohmanWhen quenching one’s thirst after a day of garden work.

Zoe SaldanaWhen moisturizing before bedtime.

Charlize TheronWhen contemplating the theory of relativity.

Jennifer Tilly & Gina GershonWhen plotting how to rip off the mob and have great lesbian sex.

Jessica BielWhen hunting vampires, duh.

Anna FrielWhen stewing over the injustice of canceling “Pushing Daisies.”

Kate BeckinsaleWhen thoughtfully testing the room temperature before guests arrive. Verdict: It’s a little nippy.

Two great things that go great together

If you’ve ever wanted to watch my head explode, then come on over to my house at 9:30 p.m. on November 12. That is the day, The Day, that Padma no-one-eats-a-burger-sexier-than-me Lakshmi will drop by “30 Rock.” Padma and Tina…together…on my TV. Oh, Damn. Never mind waiting until Nov. 12, that splat you just heard was my head exploding in anticipation.

The thing about this coupling is 1) It makes perfect sense and 2) I totally did not expect it. Liz Lemon loves food and we know she likes to settle in for the night with “a meatball sub with extra bread, bottle of NyQuil, TiVo Top Chef.” Also, NBC owns Bravo, so - duh - cross promotion. Yet, for whatever reason, my brain never anticipated this merger of my dream women before. How can this be? Was my subconscious just protecting me from the impending hyperventilation? At this point, I realize I’ve probably lost 95 percent of you who do not share my obsessive devoted Fey-naticism. But, you'll just have to indulge me because, ZOMG, it's Tina and Padma! Now the only question is what to call this meeting of The Hot? Tidma? Padna? Feyshmi?

Padma will appear as herself in the episode titled “The Problem Solvers,” which also introduces guest star Cheyenne Jackson. See, the gay gals get some eye candy and the gay boys get some eye candy. That’s what I can a really gay win-win.

So far, the promos only show Padma with Jack. I swear, Tina better find a way to get her and her bi-curious shoes in the same frame with Padma or my head will explode, but in the bad way. Wait, is there a good way for your head to explode? Wait, am I rambling? Whatever, the point is: Padma + Tina = RIP Ms. Snarker’s head.

p.s. For those who need to warm up before the big event, check out Padma with Nigella Lawson...in robes...in bed from this week’s “Top Chef.” Granted, they need to either push those two beds together or pick one, but still, hello food porn. I swear, if they simultaneously lick stuff off spoons, my poor brain won't even make it until Nov. 12.

p.p.s. Don't even think my mind hasn't gone here already. Because, whoooo-doggie, it has and it has often.

My Weekend Crush

Sometimes, all we have is a dream. Though, often it is that hope against hope that defines our very humanity. The story of Terri White is all about dreams and humanity – the very best of both. Told in a simple yet astounding article in The New York Times this week, it is the kind of story we love to read complete with a hard-earned happy ending. It’s also a reminder that what makes life tough can also makes it worth living.

You see, Terri is a singer and a damn good one at that. For years she flirted with success, but more often than not ended up singing her heart out at piano bars around New York City. But then, times got harder. Last summer the 61-year-old couldn’t make the rent and ended up sleeping in the park. That’s the story we know too well – when talent goes untapped, when life throws its sharpest elbows. (To read a more personal account of Terri’s talent, check out my friend Scribegrrrl’s blog. In fact, just check it out in general. That gal can write.)

But from there, the story is the stuff of Hollywood dream factory. A police officer who recognized her from the piano bars saw her, broken and alone. He made some phone calls. A friend had a place for her to stay. Another friend knew of an opportunity in Florida and still another bought her ticket. Blanche DuBois couldn’t have asked for more kindness.

In Florida she met and fell in love with Donna Barnett, a “stately 62-year-old jewelry designer.” See, snuck the gay thing in on you, didn’t I? And then came the chance to audition for the pre-Broadway presentation of “Finian’s Rainbow,” which led to a role in the Broadway version. And that is where she is today, singing her heart out again but this time to the roar of a packed house. From the mean streets to the Great White Way. Come on, even Disney is jealous.

Life, for all its loud indignities and cruel disappointments, can turn out beautifully when we least expect it. To dream is never foolish; it is, in fact, a basic human necessity.