Rufus Wainwright - 'Want Two'

Rufus Wainwright has just released the second half of his intended double album 'Want' this week ('Want One' was released last year). 'Want Two' is the more baroque, less commercial of the two, and while I like it a whole lot on its own, it really does make a really awesome double album taken with its predecessor. So it's great to have them together at last. Further consolation: 'Want Two' includes a DVD of Rufus performing at the Fillmore in San Francisco.

Andrew Sullivan Letter

Andrew Sullivan, one of my favorite political pundits and my absolutely favorite blogger, was kind enough to publish the letter I sent him yesterday. It more or less sums up my reaction to the election, presuming of course that the talking heads are correct about the turnout and what it meant for the results. Always a lot of interesting feedback on his letters page, from all political stripes.

I'll let that letter be my last word on the election. I don't know how accurate the perception is that Bush's victory can be tied closely to the popularity of the state initiatives to ban gay marriage, but it certainly makes sense based on much of the exit polling. Apparently, Clinton advised Kerry in the final days to show some support for the ballot initiatives, and I'm proud that Kerry chose not to play that card, even if it cost him the election.

Scroll down to "Houston Dispatch" to read my letter:
http://www.andrewsullivan.com/letters.php

And as a head's up, Andrew will be on the season finale of Real Time With Bill Maher on HBO this weekend.

Culture Wars

"Having restored decency to the White House, President Bush now has a mandate to affect policy that will promote a more decent society, through both politics and law. His supporters want that, and have given him a mandate in their popular and electoral votes to see to it. Now is the time to begin our long, national cultural renewal ("The Great Relearning," as novelist Tom Wolfe calls it) — no less in legislation than in federal court appointments. It is, after all, the main reason George W. Bush was reelected."

-William Bennett, The National Review

Good to see Bill Bennett back from his gambling exile to re-appoint himself the nation's "values czar." Two thoughts: 1) I actually agree entirely with his statement, and 2) Is this what the "conservative" party has come to -- "promote a more decent society, through both politics and law"? So apparently, we're all smart enough to know how best to spend our money (tax cuts!) but not how to promote decent society?

I was not in the least surprised by Bush's victory, and I can see how anyone could look at this race and think "I just can't see shaking things up during a war and voting for that Kerry dude." But what's disheartening is that what it came down to (according to the ever-reliable exit polls) was "moral values." Huh? Gay marriage, abortion, um... stem cell research (wait, that's abortion)? These are the most pressing issues? But look at the massive approval of the discriminatory anti-gay measures passed in 11 states. Karl Rove was right all along, and people like Bill Bennett want a culture war. Well, you're gonna get it, Bill. I'm not going to sit around and let you define America for me.

Religious zealotry is our number-one enemy abroad right now. We don't need more of it at home.

Dispatches from the Nerd Cave

With the year in music quickly winding down, the Christmas season gearing up and the trailer for Star Wars Episode III in theaters this week, I figured it was time to run down the latest happenings from the Nerd Cave. Read on, Nerdlinger...

Star Wars Episode III – trailer, poster, etc.

The teaser trailer will be debuting this week online, on television and at theaters. It will most likely be attached to the release of The Incredibles this Friday, but it will also be available on the official site – this Thursday to Star Wars Hyperspace members and to the general population on Nov. 8. It is also supposed to make its television debut on Access Hollywood Thursday evening.

In related news, Lucasfilm released the teaser poster to theaters and for purchase on its website. Not sure what the feedback has been so far, but I like it pretty well (yes, I ordered one – yes, I’m a nerd). The theme here is pretty obvious. I reasonably like the first two prequels (heresy!), but I’m fully on board with most of the complaints about the films. Will Lucas screw up Episode III? Time will tell. The couple of DVD extras on the Trilogy set got me pretty excited about it, but that’s pretty much how I felt about Eps. I & II.

Star Wars: Republic (Dark Horse Comics)

Speaking of which, most Star Wars fans know that there is a huge “expanded universe” well beyond the Star Wars films, ranging in time from 4000 years prior to Episode I to many years after Return Of The Jedi. On a few occasions, the gaps between films have been filled in, most notably by novels. However, I think the current Dark Horse comic book series Star Wars: Republic is one of the best tie-ins I’ve read. It covers the months and years between the end of Episode II to the period leading up to Episode III, i.e. The Clone Wars. The Cartoon Network aired a mini-series of five-minute animated shows also covering The Clone Wars, but I like the artwork and darker tone of the comic series. You get to see Anakin continue to struggle with the Dark Side, and the stories seem to set up a believable transition to his ultimate fall in Episode III. It’s even a little topical, with terrorism, chemical weapons, political power grabs and civil war. You can catch new issues on the last Tuesday of each month (No. 70 was released last week) or pick up the trade paperbacks which compile many of the issues from the series (Volume 5 is due this month).

Knights Of The Old Republic II: The Sith Lords (Xbox, Dec. 6)

And finally, Knights Of The Old Republic II for Xbox has been confirmed for a December release. The first game was the most immersive and lengthy video game I’ve ever played, and I’m pretty excited about this sequel. RPG’s are sort of hard to get into for casual gamers like me, but once you figure it out, you can kiss about 60 hours of your time goodbye. Easily the best Star Wars video game I’ve played.

Buck Rogers in the 25th Century (DVD, Nov. 16)

One of my favorite sci-fi series is finally coming to DVD on Nov. 16. The entire series will be packed into the set. Along with Battlestar Galactica, Buck Rogers was my childhood Star Wars surrogate for a few years. And let’s face it – Wilma Deering and Princess Adala are just ridiculously hot. It was years before I figured out what I loved so much about this show, but it’s willingness to embrace humor and sex make it a nice alternative to the dreary and serious Battlesar Galactica. I’d love to see Buck Rogers make a little cultural comeback – I had some seriously cool action figures and vehicles. And Twi’ki! What’s not to love about him?

Dead Or Alive Ultimate (Xbox)

One of the best fighting games on Xbox gets a kind of overhaul for Xbox Live. The idea is that Tecmo rebuilt DOA2 (DOA3 was an Xbox launch title) with their latest graphics engine, redesigned the environments, gave each character a ridiculous number of unlockable costumes and made it playable online. So in some ways, it feels brand new (check out the environments!) and in others a bit of a rehash (no new characters or moves). But regardless, it seriously rocks, and even some laggy online matches (a prevalent issue) don’t detract too much from the thrill of taking down the champ in it’s unique 8-player, winner-stays matches. You get to the watch the action and commentate while you wait your turn to take on the winner. Plus the fanboys get pretty excited if you’ve taken the trouble to unlock some sexy costumes for the ladies.

Halo 2 (Xbox, Nov. 9)

Seriously, there’s nothing left to say – if you played Halo, ‘nuff said. I will unfortunately be on vacation the week of the big release, but it should be waiting in my mailbox when I get back. Of course by then half of the nerds on the planet will have beaten it 5 times and played it online for 200 hours, but I don’t care. Sure, I’ll lose my job, my wife, my cats. But it’s HALO 2!!!

Shut up and put up!

Time for everyone to quit yakking and start voting! Even if you live in a non-battleground state (like maybe Texas), make your voice heard. If you don't participate, you can't pontificate - God forbid.