08/08/19: Married 11 Years Today!

Although we have been boyfriends since 1991 and living together since 1994, domestic partners since 1999, and civilly united (in Vermont) since 2000, we were only married in California on August 8, 2008 (Roger Federer's 27th birthday!) before Proposition 8 passed and after the California Supreme Court legalized marriage equality in the Golden State with the In Re Marriage Cases decision and upheld my marriage (and 18,000 others!) in Strauss v. Horton.

The above pictures were taken on our latest vacation in Valencia, Spain in July 2019.

Happy anniversary, hubby!

2018 FRENCH OPEN: Men's Final Preview (and Semifinals Review)

Rafael Nadal (ESP) [4] vs. Dominic Thiem (AUT) [7].

Here are my predictions for the men's final at the 2018 French Open. Last year I correctly predicted Rafael Nadal would defeat Stan Wawrinka in the 2017 final. This year I correctly predicted 4 of 4 women's quarterfinals, 2 of 2 women's semifinals, 2 of 2 men's seminfinals and 3 of 4 men's quarterfinals.

MEN'S FINAL PREVIEW

Rafael Nadal (ESP) [1] d. Juan Martin del Potro (ARG) [5] 6-4 6-1 6-2.  Surprisingly, this match was less competitive than the match Nadal played against a different Argentine, the diminutive Diego Schwartzman, in the previous round. Del Potro apparently suffered a hip injury midway through the first set and the ruthless Spaniard took advantage of the diminished mobility to punish and pummel Del Potro into submission.


Dominic Thiem (AUT) [7] d. Marco Cecchinato (ITA) 7-5 7-6(10) 6-1. nThis was a surprisingly competitive match between the #8 player in the world and someone barely into the Top 100. That is a strong statement in support of the play of the Italian, who had an almost magical run here in Paris which was just barely stopped before he could reach the final, but not before he has won several hundred thousamd Euros as an unseeded 2018 Roland Garros finalist.

MEN'S FINAL PREVIEW

Thiem is the only player to have won 2 sets on clay against Nadal in the same match in the last three years. He did it twice (2018 Madrid quarterfinals and 2017 Rome quarterfinal) and is clearly the second best clay court player in the world. However, the distance between the best player and the second best is huge, as Nadal has demonstrated time and time again. Nadal joins his nemesis/frenemy Roger Federer in the record books as the second man to play in 11 major finals on the same surface. (Federer has done it at Wimbledon, of course and is 8-3 with 1 loss to Nadal in 2008 and 2 losses to Novak Djkokovic in 2015 and 2016). Nadal is 11-0 in finals (and semifinals!) at Roland Garros and has only ever lost two matches there: 4th round to Robin Soderling in 2009 and in the quarterfinal of 2015.) It's hard to imagine  a more prohibitive favorite than Nadal. Amazingly, it would mean that for the second year n a row Federer and Nadal would have split the first two majors of the year between them.

MadProfessah's pick: Nadal.

TENNIS TUESDAY: France-Spain, USA-Croatia Davis Cup semis; Djokovic Drops Radek; Dellacqua Retires

DAVIS CUP SEMIFINALS SET: FRANCE VS SPAIN AND CROATIA VS USA
The quarterfinals of the Davis Cup were played this weekend and the results were: Spain (featuring the return of Rafael Nadal) defeated Germany 3-2 with David Ferrer outlasting Philipp Kohlschreiber in a 5-hour marathon match. United Staes blitzed Belgium (with ) 4-0, France beat Italy 3-1 and Croatia beat Kazakhstan 3-1. This set up a blockbuster semifinal between France and Spain in September and an intriguing tie between Craotia and the United States.

DJOKOVIC DROPS STEPANEK AS COACH, MAY BE WORKING WITH VAJDA AGAIN
After announcing a split with Andre Agassi, Novak Djokovic also ended his coaching relationship with Radek Stepanek last week.

KIKI BERTENS AND GARBI MUGURUZA START CLAY SEASON WITH TITLES
Garbine Muguruza won a clay title in Monterrey while Kiki Bertens won the Charleston tournament after having to play her semifinal (a tough 3-set win against Madison Keys) and final (a quick win against Julia Goerges) on Sunday.

HALEP AND NADAL REMAIN ON TOP OF RANKINGS
The rankings are mostly frozen with most players taking a break as the surface change goes into effect and the clay season begins. Simona Halep has nopw spent 22 weeks at #1, more than Viktoria Azarenka or Maria Sharapova. On the men's side, Rafael Nadal stays in the #1 spot.

EYE CANDY: Jonathan Guijarro

Jonathan Guijarro is a hot model from Spain. I found him on Facebook and Instagram (@jonathanguijarro). I suspect this is not the last time you will see him as Eye Candy. Hawt is hawt!

Federer-Nadal XXXIV: Raja and Rafa In Basel Final

For the thirty-fourth time in their careers, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal will meet on the ATP Tour. Nadal, 29, has won 70% (23) of those meetings while Federer, 34, has won only 10. In fact, Nadal has won the last five times they played, including all four matches they played in 2013 (which was the first year that the Swiss great failed to reach a major final and the year Nadal won almost every hard court tournament he entered after returning to the tour after losing early at Wimbledon). Significantly, the two have not played since Federer's game recovered in mid-2014 and he ascended to the World #2 ranking. This year, Nadal is on the comeback trail, since he failed to reach a major final for the first time in his career and his ranking almost fell out of the Top 10.

While the Federer-Nadal rivalry is compelling because they have met in 8 major finals (Rafa leads 6-2) and the two are the current all-time leaders of major singles titles won (Federer 18, Nadal 14). However, the Nadal-Djokovic rivalry is longer (45 matches, with Nadal holding a slim 23-22 edge) and the Federer-Djokovic rivalry is more exciting (42 matches, currently tied at 21-all with Djokovic winning three major finals in the last 18 months against Federer). It's conceivable that the 28-year-old Djokovic could end his career with head-to-head leads over both Federer and Djokovic, although it;s hard to believe he will end with more major titles since he currently has 10.

This is Federer-Nadal's 5th hard court final (currently even at 2-all). Federer is playing in his record 12th final in his hometown tournament, and if he wins on Sunday he will have won the tournament 7 times.

MadProfessah's pick: Federer.

2015 ROME: Finals Are Federer-Djokovic XXXIX and Sharapova-Suarez Navarro

As I predicted yesterday, the men's final of the 2015 Rome Masters, also known as the Internazionali BNL d'Italia (Italian Open) will be contested between Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic. Federer defeated his countryman Stan Wawrinka 6-4 6-2 while Djokovic squeaked by David Ferrer 6-4 6-4. The final is the 39th meeting between these two great champions and Federer has a slight 20-18 head-to-head lead, but Djokovic leads 8-5 in finals while the Swiss has a slight 4-3 edge on clay. Djokovic is not playing his best tennis but has been fighting and scrambling to win 3 consecutive 3-set matches in the tournament. Federer started off scratchy but has looked strong in later rounds; he has never won this particular Masters tournament (or Monte Carlo) and would love to strike it off his bucket list.
MadProfessah's pick: Federer.

On the women's side Carla Suarez Navarro (or CSN) outlasted Simona Halep to reach her second big final of 2015 and has clearly cemented her status as a Top 10 player on the women's tour. CSN has had some very good results in the last few weeks (beating Venus Williams, Agnieska Radwanska, Petra Kvitova, Genie Bouchard and Ana Ivanovic). However, she will face Maria Sharapova who made mincemeat out of Victoria Azarenka earlier in the week and at this point must be considered a clay court powerhouse. However, despite losing four of her last meetings to Halep CSN was able to outlast her. Could Sharapova be next? CSN is down 1-3 in theie head-to-head but none of those matches have been on clay. Still, it's hard to root against the reigning French Open champion. MadProfessah's pick: Sharapova.

2015 MADRID: Murray Stuns Nadal To Win 2nd Consecutive Clay Title, 9-0 Since Getting Married

In one of the most surprising results in a final since last year's Australian Open, Andy Murray defeated 2-time defending champion Rafael Nadal 6-3 6-2 to become the 2015 Mutua Madrid Open champion. It was Murray's 2nd ever clay tournament title (coming less than a week after his first one), the first time he had ever beaten Nadal on clay and only his 6th win in 21 meetings). The loss means that Nadal will fall to #7 in the ATP rankings, the first time the 14-time major champion has been outside the Top 5 in a decade. This could greatly impact his chances to win his 10th French Open title when that tournament starts on May 25th in Paris.

Murray is now undefeated on the ATP Tour (9-0) since getting married to longtime girlfriend Kim Pears on April 11. He won his 10th ATP Masters shield, cemented his hold on the World #3 ranking and improved his ATP tour finals record to 33-16. His win-loss record for the year is now 30-5.

Both 2014 French Open Champs Lose Clay Matches In Europe

The two best players on clay last year, Rafael Nadal and Maria Sharapova, who respectively won the men's and women's 2014 French Open have suffered surprising losses in European red clay tournaments this week.

Sharapova, lost in Stuttgart to Angelique Kerber where she was the defending champion and had a 13-match winning streak. Nadal lost in Barcelona, a tournament he has won 8 times previously. He lost to Fabio Fognini on clay for the second time this year.  (The Italian hottie beat Nadal earlier this year in Brazil.)

Both matches were relatively close, with Nadal losing 6-4, 7-6(6) despite being up a break three(!) times in the second set. Sharapova lost 2-6 7-5 6-1 against Kerber playing inspired defense in front of a partisan crowd of her compatriots.

2015 MIAMI: Serena Wins 66th Title, 8th In Miami, Now On 21-Match Win Streak

As I predicted, World #1 Serena Williams defeated Carla Suarez Navarro to win her record 8th Miami Open title, the 66th of her storied career. The score was 6-2 6-0, but really there was only something like 15-20 minutes of tension because after 5 consecutive holds of serve, Serena broke to go up 4-2 and never looked back, winning the next 8 consecutive games to close out the match and remains officially undefeated in 2015 (18-0) and was won the last 21 she played.  It should be noted that she defaulted her Indian wells semifinals against Simona Halep two weeks ago. Her last official loss on the WTA Tour was 22 matches ago in the round-robin of the Year End Championships in Singapore, when she lost 6-0 6-2 to Halep.

This is the first tournament Serena now won eight times, including the last three years (2015, 2014, 2013, 2008, 2007, 2004, 2003, 2002). Her win also insures that she will extend her reign at #1 to go past 113 weeks and jump past Chris Evert to the #3 position for most consecutive weeks at #1 (Martina Navratilova is at 156 and Steffi Graf is at 186). She is at #4 on the WTA Tour titles list (Martina at 167, Evert at 157, Graf at 110).

CELEBRITY FRIDAY: Rafael Nadal & Girlfriend Xisca Photographed Kissing In Public

Rafael Nadal and his longtime girlfriend Xisca Perello attended a wedding together in Spain. It should be noted that it was not their own wedding. World #1 Novak Djokovic got married to his longtime girlfriend and fiancee Jelena Ristic on Thursday July 10. Andy Murray's girlfriend is KimPears. Roger Federer is married and has 2 sets of twins (5-year-old girls Charlene and Myla and newborn boys Leo and Lenny).

2014 FRENCH OPEN: Men's Final Preview

Novak Djokovic (SRB) [2] vs Rafael Nadal (ESP) [1]

The 2014 French Open men's final will be between Rafael Nadal of Spain and Novak Djokovic of Serbia. Last year I correctly predicted Nadal would beat David Ferrer in the final. This year I correctly predicted Maria Sharapova would beat Simona Halep in the women's final. I also correctly predicted 2 of 2 women's semifinals, 2 of 2 men's semifinals, 2 of 4women's quarterfinals and 2 of 4 men's quarterfinals. After a review of the men's semifinals, here are my predictions for the men's singles championship match at Roland Garros this year.

How Did They Get Here? Men's Semifinals Review
The men's semifinals for the 2014 French Open are set. This year I correctly predicted 2 of 4 women's quarterfinals and correctly predicted 2 of 4 men's quarterfinals. I also have already made predictions for the women's semifinals. Below are my predictions for this year's men's semifinals.

Rafael Nadal (ESP) [1]  d. Andy Murray (GBR) [7] 6-3 6-2 6-1. No one expected Murray to win this match, but I did expect that the Scot would at least be able to make it competitive in moments. However, Nadal started perfectly, breaking early and holding to take a 3-0 lead and basically never looked back from there. He was perfect on breakpoints, winning 6 or 6 and did not face any breakpoints himself. Murray clearly didn't play his best tennis, but Nadal was playing at a level that it probably would not have mattered.

Novak Djokovic (SRB) [2]  d. Ernests Gulbis (LAT) [18] 6-3 6-3 3-6 6-3.  This could have been a dangerous match-up because Gulbis is most definitely a dangerous player so Djokovic did well to escape with just the loss of one set, squeezing out a break in the 8th game of the fourth set to serve out the match and reach his 2nd major final in Paris.

Who Will Win? Men's Final Preview

This final is the 42nd meeting between Nadal and Djokovic (Djokovic-Nadal XLII), a record for the most times any competitors on the ATP tour have ever faced each other in the Open era. Nadal currently leads 22-19 but Djokovic has won their last four meetings, including the very last one which was on clay in the Rome Masters final just a few weeks ago. Djokovic leads Nadal 12-9 in tour finals but Nadal leads 8-3 in grand slam matches. However, Djokovic leads 3-2 in major finals but Nadal won the last final they played, in New York. Since that loss, Djokovic has only lost 3 times, and played 60 matches.

Besides the 2014 French Open championship, which would finish the career slam for Djokovic and bring Nadal his 14th major and record 9th title in Paris, the two are competing for the World #1 ranking. Whoever wins this match will be World #1 on Monday.

Although it is incredibly hard to bet against someone who is 65-1 lifetime at the French Open I just feel that it is time for Djokovic to win and that he knows that he can beat Nadal on clay and that this is the year it will happen. I do believe that Nadal will almost certainly win a 9th (and probably a 10th) title at Roland Garros, but not this year. From looking at the statistics, Djokovic is simply playing better tennis than Nadal this year. Nadal has had more double faults (5) than aces (4) while Djokovic had many more aces (30) than double faults (10) over the first 6 rounds. Additionally, Nadal is at +24 (133 winners to 109 unforced errors) while Djokovic is at +41 (189 winners to 148 unforced errors). It's true that Nadal has only played 19 sets to Djokovic's 20 but I think that is still a measurable edge to Djokovic.

In the end it comes down to who is playing better on the day itself, and last September it was Nadal. However, you never know what can happen. In this year's Australian Open final, Nadal injured himself in the warm-up and ended up losing a major final everyone (including me) thought he would win to Stan Wawrinka. This final, most people expect Nadal to win but there are a significant contingent who are also in Djokovic's camp. Withough doubt, we do expect to see a truly great match, possibly twice as long as today's epic women's match and hopefully up to the quality of last year's semifinal match which most people are calling the best clay court match of all time. Will tomorrow's clash exceed that one? Only time will tell!

Mad Professah's pick: Djokovic in 4 sets.

SHOCK: Nadal Loses 2nd Clay Court Match In 2 Weeks!

Following last week's stunning straight sets loss to David Ferrer in the quarterfinals of the ATP Monte Carlo Masters tournament Rafael Nadal has had an even more shocking loss, this time to Nico Almagro in the quarterfinals of the Barcelona Open after winning the first set and blowing a 3-1 lead in the 3rd to lose for the first time to his countryman. Nadal has only lost 13 clay court matches in total since 2005, so it is remarkable that two of those losses have come in the last two weeks, a month before he tries to win his 9th record French Open in Paris. Almagro was 0-10 lifetime against Nadal and will certainly cherish this 2-6 7-6(5) 6-4 win, especially on Spanish soil. Nadal had won the Barcelona tournament a ridiculous eight times (41-match winning streak). In fact, Nadal had last lost a set in Barcelona in 2008 (to Ferrer).

This makes the upcoming French Open look very interesting indeed. Can Nadal really defend his title again? Or could Stanislas Wawrinka win his second consecutive major of the year, or will Djokovic finally get to complete his career slam?

2014 MONTE CARLO: Ferrer Hands Nadal A Rare Clay Defeat!

David Ferrer scored a stunning upset at the ATP Monte Carlo Masters today when he beat 8-time champion Rafael Nadal in straight sets 7-6(1) 6-4 in the quarterfinals. This was  a surprise because Nadal rarely loses on clay, and defeated Ferrer in the men's final of Roland Garros last year. Nadal had lead their head-to-head 21-5 and had not lost on clay to Ferrer since 2004.

Nadal had won the ATP Monte Carlo Masters an unprecedented 8 consecutive years (2005-2012) but lost in the final to Novak Djokovic last year.

The semifinals will be Roger Federer versus Novak Djokovic and Stanislas Wawrinka versus David Ferrer. Federer leads Djokovic 17-16 in their overall head-to-head but the two are tied 3-all in their clay court matches. My prediction would be a Djokovic-Ferrer final, but I would not be surprised to see a Djokovic-Wawrinka final instead, since I imagine his win over Nadal was very emotional for Ferrer. An All-Swiss final would be my druthers!

SATURDAY POLITICS: There are now 5 Openly Gay U.S. Ambassadors

Wally Brewster has been approved (unanimously) by the United States Senate as the new Ambassador to the Dominican Republic (my dream job, LOL). Brewster previously served as a board member of the Human Rights Campaign, which sent out a notice about Brewster's confirmation:

Prior to this year, three openly gay people had served as U.S. Ambassadors (Jim Hormel, Michael Guest and David Huebner).  Just this year, five openly gay people have been confirmed as Ambassadors (Brewster, along with John Berry in Australia, James Costos in Spain, Rufus Gifford in Denmark, and Daniel Baer as ambassador to the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe). It is a testament to President Obama and the U.S. Senate that the sexual orientation of these ambassadors is irrelevant to their qualifications for their posts.  All Americans should be proud to have these fine public servants representing the interests of the United States.

Of course one might notice that all five LGBT individuals are white gay men, which is not indicative of the diversity of the LGBT community, but is representative of the people who get rewarded with ambassadorships through political appointments!

Hat/tip to Joe.My.God

Senate Confirms Gay Ambassadors to Australia, Spain & Denmark

The U.S. Senate confirmed by voice vote (i.e. unanimously) the presidential nominations of several out gay men to important posts in the Obama administration this week. The most important of these were John Berry as Ambassador to Australia, Rufus Gifford as Ambassador to Denmark and James Costos as Ambassador to Spain. John Baer was also confirmed as Ambassador to the Organization for Security and Co-Operation in Europe (OSCE) and Stuart Delery was approved by Assistant Attorney General in the Department of Justice to run the Civil Rights Division (the same position Thomas Saenz had before he was nominated to be Secretary of Labor).

This is a pretty historic action by the U.S. Senate. The history of what has happened with openly gay nominations that required Senate confirmation is not pretty. 20 years ago when President Clinton noinated Roberta Achtenberg to be Assistant Secretary for Housing and Urban Development Senator Jesse Helms (R-NC), an avowed homophobe and unabashed racist, called her "a damned lesbian" as he spoke in opposition to her nomination. She was eventually approved, but Sen. Helms tied the Senate in knots for days, delaying the vote.

The fact that now multiple openly gay nominations (to arguably more visible and important posts in the Government) are being approved by voice vote is  a testament to how far gay rights have progressed since the Clinton era.

HRC's Chad Griffin agrees:

“It is a testament to President Obama and the U.S. Senate that the sexual orientation of these nominees was irrelevant to their qualifications for their posts, as it should be. All Americans should be proud to have these fine public servants representing the interests of the United States."

Hear, hear!

Hat/tip to Buzzfeed's Chris Geidner.

GRAPHIC: Marriage Equality Throughout Europe

With England's completion of the enactment of same-sex marriage earlier this month, it's instructive to review the geographic distribution of marriage equality throughout the European continent. The above map indicates that Spain, Portugal, France, England, Scotland, Belgium, the Netherlands, Sweden, Iceland, Denmark and Norway are all dark-blue marriage equality states. Additionally, there are many other states in Europe which have other forms of legal recognition for same-sex couples. Of the dark-blue marriage equality states only Iceland and Norway are NOT members of the European Union.

There are ten European countries (in red) which have constitutional bans prohibiting recognition or legalization of same-sex marriage: Belarus, Bulgaria, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Montenegro, Poland, Serbia and Ukraine. Half of these countries (Bulgaria, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland) ARE members of the European Union.

It will be interesting to see how the European Union will resolve the question of marriage equality. I would guess that the EU will have uniform laws recognizing same-sex couples well before the United States does.

Hat/tip to Joe.My.God

FILM REVIEW: Outfest 2013 Boys Shorts

Summer Vacation from Isreal was the stand-out short  film in this year's
collection of Boys Shorts at Oufest, Los Angeles' LGBT Film Festival

Here are my reviews of the Boys Shorts program that I saw this year at Outfest.

Housebroken
Directed By: Wade Gasque.
USA, 2012, 15 min.
While starting anew and searching for an apartment, a hopeless romantic is thrown for a loop when he crashes with a long-term couple. Paul is the first character we see, an apparently gay guy who is moving to Los Angeles for a new opportunity, having recently broken up with his boyfriend. For some reason he is going to be staying at the apartment of an attractive straight couple named Danni and Dean who are friends with his ex-boyfriend. The couple is very friendly and curiously hostile to Paul's ex and one thing leads to another and all three end up in bed together. We start to realize that the title "housebroken" refers both to what happens to Paul and is also a play on the word "housebreaker" (i.e. a third person who complicates or breaks up  a committed relationship). As the story progresses it becomes clear that the straight couple (Danni and Dean) is not the victim in this scenario. In fact, by the end we realize that Danni and Dean make a habit of taking in "strays" of either gender and "housebreak" them (i.e. attempt to train them to fit into their household without making a mess). It's a clever concept and the filmmakers show various iterations of the boy-girl-boy interaction (in bed) which are titillating and amusing. The "B" word (bisexual) is never used and clearly a 15-minute short comedic film is not the forum to articulate a philosophical position on anything, but the assumption of the fluidity of the character's sexual orientation is somewhat jarring (and most definitely) politically incorrect. But very fun (and funny). Grade: A-.

Hazel
Directed By: Tamer Ruggli.
Switzerland, 2012, 9 min.
A boy comes of age under the care of his eccentric mother and a dreadful child-psychiatrist. This is a gorgeously shot short which my film companion described as "creepy." It stars a very pretty, apparently pubescent boy on which the camera focuses in a manner that some could perceive as untowardly attentive and inappropriately sexualized. And that's just the beginning of the creepiness! The film is really about the boy's mother, as narrated from the perspective of her son. He tells the story of being sent to a psychiatrist, apparently to try to disrupt his nascent (homo)sexuality from developing. The main strength of the film is its use of bright colors and it's art direction, the latter of which is very stylized, very faux retro. We discover that the boy's father is gone by the mother's act of erasing his image from family portraits and by the end we see a family portrait in which both the father and the son have been erased, with only the mother remaining. Grade: B.

Scaffolding
Directed By: Juanma Carrillo.
Spain, 2012, 14 min.
Two distant neighbors are brought together by their apartment building’s renovation. This film is one of those examples of a film maker who is trying to be too subtle and is trying to use atmosphere instead of script to tell a story. There are two guys in neighboring apartments who spend time on their adjoining balconies. Because a scaffolding is put up one day (at the beginning of the film) they are forced to commiserate the loss of their view and interact in a way which apparently they do not do in other ways or venues (like on the stairs or in the neighborhood they share). Time elapses and we see the two, usually in some states of various undress, becoming to interact in more intimate ways over time: drinking, playing cards, talking and laughing, all on the balcony. The film is in Spanish and clearly set in one of the large cities in Spain (though I couldn't tell which one). The guys are somewhat attractive, but not attractive enough to make up for the lack of action and the very modest plot. As one would expect, eventually the scaffolding comes down and we see the two talking. One of them is clearly happy about it coming down, and the other is not. The one that is not happy about it says that he liked it when the scaffolding was up because of how it gave them an opportunity to interact that they never had before. After some pauses and uncertainty (he disappears back into his apartment) the other guy says the last line of the film: "Would you like to come in?" However, whether the guys are gay is unclear, and it is left to the audience's imagination to complete the story. I think that was the film maker's job! Grade: C.

Alaska Is A Drag
Directed By: Shaz Bennett.
USA, 2013, 14 min.
While working in a fish cannery in Alaska, a young man dreams of being an international super star. I really wanted to like this film since it has the only black character in any of the six shorts (I guess none of the Fusion Shorts featuring LGBT people of color made the Outfest cut this year!) as well as featuring relatively cute, young (mid 20-something) actors in my three favorite flavors (vanilla, caramel and chocolate). The story is about a flamboyant black guy (Leo) who dreams of becoming a performing diva but whose gender expression and sexuality is threatening to a particularly hot and inexplicably violent Latino guy (Kyle). The setting is a fish cannery in Alaska and there are lots of shots of dead fish being sliced open and martial arts-style kickboxing. (For some reason, the black drag diva-in-waiting is a talented kickboxer.) My film companion thought this aspect was too unrealistic and brought him out of the film's context. I didn't mind it, but what disappointed me was the filmmaker's reluctance to be clear and straightforward with the character's intentions. Ambiguity in a short film is almost never a good thing. For example, a new white guy (who presents as straight) starts working at the cannery and he sees the daily fight between Leo the black queen and Kyle the Latino enforcer. Interestingly, Declan (the new guy) takes the side of Leo in the fight and they go off to a bar together where they drink heavily and talk about their lives and the future diva gets to perform for his new friend. The next day we see Leo and Declan sitting around watching the birds over the see. "We should just run away," says Declan. "How," says Leo, "There's nowhere to run to." Of course, there's another fight between Leo and Kyle and again Declan joins in to help out after Leo gets punched repeatedly and thrown to the ground (after knocking Kyle a few times). "I don't need your help!" Leo says. This doesn't remotely ring true because 1) Declan has revealed that his dad was a boxing coach and he was an amateur boxer and 2) Kyle is about a foot taller than either of them (and has a group of friends, who appear to just watch from the sidelines and not get involved, but if they did their sheer numbers would end the fight decisively in Kyle's favor). The film ends with Declan and Leo going off together into the sunset, with Declan putting his arm around Leo's shoulder. Does this mean that Declan's gay and the two are going to be a couple? Why does the film spend so much time showing violent confrontations between the characters and so little time showing peaceful and/or intimate interactions between these attractive guys? I don't know. Grade: B+.

Summer Vacation
Directed By: Sharon Maymon,Tal Granit.
Israel, 2012, 22 min.
A married man’s family vacation abruptly takes a turn when he bumps into his ex-lover. This is the longest of the shorts in this year's collection and also the most emotionally involving. We see Yuval interacting with his wife (Michaela), his son (Einav) and his daughter (Gaya) on the beach. He is literally buried up to his neck in sand. He is literally and metaphorically stuck in a situation that he can not get out of without help. There's a brief scary moment in which we realize the tide is coming in faster than we think and it looks like Einav could drown in barely a foot of water. Einav and Michaela frantically start digging relatively ineffectively to save Yuval but eventually it is a handsome stranger and his cute young boyfriend who appear and are strong enough to rescue him from a dangerous situation. We then see Yuval and Michaela finishing dinner when Iftach  (the handsome stranger) and the nameless blond guy appear. Yuval seems very uncomfortable and we think he is either embarrassed at the situation he was in or he's homophobic. He does say thank you to Iftach for saving his life. Suddenly Iftach's cellphone rings and his ring tone, which happens to be a beautiful, haunting ballad sung by a male voice. "Oh, that's our song!" Michaela squeals. "Don't answer it!" Iftach complies and Michaela grabs the phone and tries unsuccessfully to convince her husband to dance with her. The song ends and Michaela grabs her husband's phone and asks Iftach for his number so she can call him again in order to hear the song. He complies again and she calls him and the song starts up and Michaela and Iftach start dancing slowly to the music. The young blonde guy (Iftach's date at this vacation spot) notices that the number is not showing on Iftach's phone but there is a name instead. (I presume it's the name Yuval, but since the film is in Hebrew it uses Hebrew letters that I can't read and the subtitles don't spell it out). But the implication is clear, somehow Iftach has had Yuval's number before, and he saved it in his phone. Therefor this is not just a chance meeting. The kid may be cute but he's not dumb and he immediately gets up and says he is going back to their cabin to sleep, giving Yuval and Iftach funny looks (which I interpreted as disapproving) and didn't seem to be noticed by Michaela. Later on we discover that, yes it is true that Iftach and Yuval were lovers a long time ago. It is implied that the two of them may have vacationed at this spot together before, but Yuval's son appears to be close to 13 so a reasonable conclusion is that happened quite a long time ago. Clearly, Iftach is still in love with Yuval (he saved his number) but Yuval's feelings are more complex since he has a wife and two kids. That doesn't stop him from sleeping with his wife one day and his former lover the next! After that things come to a head when Iftach gives Yuval an ultimatum. "Either you tell her or I will." The two are together at an island a decent swim from the beach at the time and Iftach jumps into the water to swim back to shore, presumably to tell Michaela who is sitting on the beach. One of the ironies of Yuval nearly drowning in the beginning is that he is (or was) a champion swimmer and so he catches up with Iftach and holds him underwater, presumably to stop him from telling his wife at all costs. A struggle ensues and the scene cuts to Yuval getting out of the water alone, sitting next to Michaela with bloody scratches on his neck and shoulders. After a short (but quite suspenseful) period of time Iftach shows up, sits down silently on the other side of Michaela. She looks very thoughtfully at her husband and then looks at Iftach and then all three continue looking at the sunset as the mournful ballad from the ringtone starts up and the credits roll. Grade: A.

Ronny and I
Directed By: Guy Shalem
USA, 2013, 20 min.
A young man comes to terms with his sexuality and feelings for his best friend during an impromptu trip. The central conceit of this film is that it was shot on a smart phone. (Another one is that openly gay director Bryan SingerI (X-men, The Usual Suspects) and lesbian celebrity Jane Lynch (Glee).) I'm sure for a significant fraction of the viewing audience, the story of two teenage white boys hanging out and frolicking together, sometimes unclothed together in a hotel room was very compelling, as is the premise of showing what could happen when one comes out to one's male best friend who you're in love with. To me it looked like most of the film was shot by phone, handled by one of the two actors at all times but I wasn't completely convinced at the time. However, apparently the conceit is true and the film was entirely filmed on a smartphone. This gives the film an impressive sense of verisimilitude that makes one think one is watching a day in the life of two guys who love each other. One of them has a non-platonic love for the other, while what Ronny feels is not completely clear. In this context, I appreciate the ambiguity and feel like it works, to an extent. Also it helps that both the actors are relatively cute. The story unfolds in jerky, uneven chunks (similar to the ways in which the film is shot). When Ronny learns that his best friend is gay (and in love with him) he doesn't run away and they continue their road trip along the coast, and even spend the night together, where Ronny even offers to give his friend "everything he wants" (which includes physical, sexual intimacy). That is a very touching scene, although thanks to the use of the phone as the recording device of the moment leaves more to the imagination than it reveals. (This is not a bad thing.) In the end it is we don't know whether Ronny and his friend will be boyfriends or just remain best friends but it is clear that they and the audience have spent an enjoyable time together. Grade: A-.

Obama Names 2 Gay Men As Ambassadors To Spain & Denmark

Rufus Gifford	James Costos

Two important fundraisers to the President's re-election campaign Rufus Gifford and James Costos, were named on Friday by the White House to be Ambassador to Denmark and Spain, respectively.

James Costos, Nominee for Ambassador to Spain, Department of State
James Costos is Vice President of Global Licensing and Retail for Home Box Office (HBO).  Before joining HBO in 2006, he was President and CEO of Eight Cylinders, Inc., an entertainment marketing and licensing agency.  Previously, from 2002 to 2004, he was head of Promotions and Consumer Products at Revolution Studios in California.  He began his career in New York as a fashion and retail executive.  From 2001 to 2002, he was Vice President of Retail for Hermes in New York, and from 1991 to 2001, he was Vice President of Retail Operations for Tod’s in New York.  Mr. Costos currently serves on the Board of Directors of The Humane Society of the United States.  He received a B.A. from the University of Massachusetts.

Rufus Gifford, Nominee for Ambassador to Denmark, Department of State
Rufus Gifford most recently served as Finance Chair of the Presidential Inaugural Committee.  He served as Finance Director for Obama for America from 2011 to 2012, and as Finance Director for the Democratic National Committee from 2009 to 2011.  From 2008 to 2009, he was the California Finance Director for the Presidential Inaugural Committee, after working as a political consultant in California from 2004 to 2008.  From 1998 to 2004, Mr. Gifford was Creative Executive for Davis Entertainment, an independent film company based in Los Angeles.  He is currently a Federal Club Member of the Human Rights Campaign and a Partner in Conservation for the World Wildlife Fund.  He received a B.A. from Brown University.

Both men are openly gay, and the countries to which they are nominated happen to have enacted marriage equality and are considered gay-friendly destinations. Gifford's nomination to Denmark had long been rumored but Costos' nomination was something of a surprise. The two nominations come barely a week after the Obama administration announced it was nominating openly gay Daniel Baer to be Ambassador to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, the fourth out gay person to hold Ambassadorial rank. David Huebner, the current Ambassador to New Zealand is a gay man from Los Angeles.

Former Director of the Office of Personnel Management, John Berry, the former highest ranked openly LGBT member of the Obama administration who was rumored earlier this year to be considered for a Cabinet position, is still expected to be nominated to become Ambassador to Australia, perhaps in the pride month of June!

Hat/tip to TowleRoad

2013 FRENCH OPEN: Men's Semifinals Preview

The men's semifinals are now set at the 2013 French Open. This year, I correctly predicted 3 of 4 women's quarterfinals correctly, 3 of 4 men's quarterfinals correctly and 2 of 2 women's semifinals correctly. Last year I correctly predicted 2 of 2 men's semifinals.

Novak Djokovic (SRB) [1] vs Rafael Nadal (ESP) [3]. This was always viewed as the match that would determine who would win the tournament when the 2013 French Open draw was revealed two weeks ago. But both players had to get through their individual quarters of the draw to reach this stage, which they both did, both dispatching venerable opponents in straight sets in the quarters (Tommy Haas by Nole and Stanislas Wawrinka by Rafa). This is their 35th career meeting, with Nadal currently holding a 19-15 edge, but Djokovic won the last time they played, which was a rare win over the King of Clay in a clay court final, to wrest the Monte Carlo Masters shield from Nadal. It's hard to pick against Nadal here when he has only ever lost 1 match at Roland Garros and won the title a record 7 times. But he is playing someone who has beaten him 3 times in clay court finals and who very nearly beat him last year. One key factor will be the weather. The hotter and drier it is the better it is for Nadal because it helps him to use his excessive topspin on the ball to keep it out of Djokovic's strike zone. It was during heavy wet conditions last year in the 2012 final here that Djokovic reeled off a string of 7 games, something no one had ever done to Nadal. Nadal knows that Djokovic can beat him, and Djokovic knows that Nadal knows. In the end, this match up will most likely come down to mental tooughness, and there I give the slight edge to Nole. Mad Professah's pick: Djokovic.

David Ferrer (ESP) [4] vs Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (FRA) Roger Federer (SUI) [2]. This is an incredibly important match for these two players who have been trying to break the stranglehold at the top of men's tennis held by Nadal, Djokovic, Roger Federer and Andy Murray for the last several years. The good news for Tsonga and Ferrer is with Murray out of the draw they only had to face one of the Fab Four to reach the final. It turned out to be Tsonga's task to face Federer in the quarterfinal round and he rose to the challenge to dispatch the curiously erratic Swiss great in a rare straight set loss at a major. Ferrer has yet to drop a set in the entire tournament, but that will almost certainly end on Friday. Even though Ferrer has a slight 2-1 head-to-head over Tsonga and has won their only meeting on clay, I believe that Tsonga will use the Parisian crowd to give the French public their first homegrown finalist in 25 years. Ferrer has been in 5 major semifinals and lost all of them, while Tsonga has been in four and won one. Ferrer is yet to beat Federer or Nadal while Tsonga has beaten both of them, multiple times. Tsonga is a much better big match player, while Ferrer had an epic collapse in the Miami 2013 final earlier this year against Murray. Even though one would expect Ferrer to win because of his dominance of this surface, I believe Tsonga superior talent will pull him through. Mad Professah's pick: Tsonga.

MADRID 2013: Dimitrov Stuns Djokovic in 3-set Upset!

Grigor Dimitrov, one of only a handful of players to win a set from Rafael Nadal on clay in Monte Carlo in the last decade, and possibly more well-known for his good looks and rumored to be dating Maria Sharapova, actualized his on-court talent with a stunning 7-6(6) 6-7(8) 6-3 win over world #1 Noval Djokovic in the 2nd round of the ATP Madrid Masters. The win was the biggest of the 21-year-old's career and was the longest 3-set match of the year n the ATP tour. It was especially impressive considering that Dimitrov started cramping in the 2nd(!) set but still managed to get an early break in the 3rd set and was able to nurse that 2-0 lead to gut out the win against the best player in the world.

Most observers said that Djokovic was not at his best, but it was still an important psychological win for the World #28, widely expected to become one of the best players in the next generation of players currently under-22 that includes Milos Raonic, Bernard Tomic and Jerzy Jankowicz. Dimitrov has yet to win an ATP Tour title, something Tomic and Raonic have done. Despite winning Monte Carlo over Nadal a few weeks ago, Djokovic has suffered some shock defeats this year, such as against Juan Martin del Potro in Indian Wells and Tommy Haas in Miami.

In other happenings in Madrid, 2012 defending champion Roger Federer won his first match in over 8 weeks when he defeated Radek Stepanek 6-3 6-3. Andy Murray won his 400th career ATP Tour match with a gripping 7-6(11) 7-6(3) win over Florian Mayer.