The Column of Life

The way this feature goes, it may very well be retitled "Tuesday Talent." The initial post had to do with Alec Musser's photo shoot for an undergear catalogue. The opportunity was used to make another pitch to see more of him as an actor and, of course, in the meantime, the praise of many a male actor have been sung in these posts with the fondest of hopes being that someone important would take notice. There were a few other fond hopes as well and too obvious to merit discussion. Column of Life does its best to laud as well as leer and ogle. It may not be its precise raison d'etre , but it's a large part of it. Brian Rodgers, the intelligent fuel behind BGR Design was a source of inspiration in the great work accomplished for Christopher Meloni's official site. His help was enlisted and Column was born. Worshipping at the altar of male beauty is not a very difficult thing to do. It is important to understand that becoming a worthy object of that idolatry is v...

With all the great recipes presented on Saturday dessert was lacking. That deficit is made up today and in the sweetest celebratory way. Ricotta with Warm Peaches Fresh Whole Milk Ricotta, 500 grams Hazelnuts, toasted, crushed 250 grams Honey, one half cup Orange juice, freshly squeezed, one quarter cup Peaches, four fresh, pitted and cut into wedges 1. Shape the ricotta with an ice cream scoop, arranging two scoops on each of four plates. 2. Top with the hazelnuts and one quarter cup of the honey. 3. Warm the remaining honey; add the orange juice and cook until caramelized, c. three minutes. 4. Add the peaches and cook two minutes more. 5. Arrange the peaches around the ricotta scoops. This time of year peaches are at their best. It is, after all, their season, which brings to mind a peach of a person whose birthday is today--the multi-talented and all the way through beautiful person, Ilene Kristen. There is much wished for her as she greets this new day in her existence. She is alwa...

One of the most prolific songwriters of the second half of the twentieth century and definitely one of its more memorable performers. Bob Dylan declared him America's greatest living poet and there's merit to that hyperbolic declaration in that many of Smokey's songs are those that come readily to the lips after being recalled. His music is much more than "My Guy" and "My Girl" although those are two numbers that helped put Motown on the map. Suffice to say that early Motown is also much more than those two songs. There are very few artists that did not waver in their loyalty to Berry Gordy and the label, Robinson is foremost among them. There are very artists within Motown that were not touched by his musical magic. His best work, of course, was with The Miracles, but he also wrote and produced memorable recordings for The Temptations, The Marvelettes, The Jean Terrell led Supremes, Brenda Holloway, and Marvin Gaye. The magic didn't seem to work for...

Once again the culinary treasures of Puglia are looted from the June/July 2003 issue of Italian Cooking and Living with a recipe requiring stuffing and stuffing, as you dear reader well know is a favourite pastime in these parts. Stuffed Squid Squid, one kilo, cleaned and separated into tentacles and bodies; choose squid about 4 to 5 inches long (not including tentacles) for this recipe. Bread Crumbs, one half cup Chopped parsley, two tablespoons Garlic, one clove, minced Extra Virgin Olive Oil, one half cup Sea salt [or kosher salt] Black pepper, freshly ground Oven Pre-heated 350F 1. Finely chop the squid tentacles, and place them in a food processor. 2. Add the bread crumbs, parsley, garlic and olive oil. 3. Process until a smooth filling forms, adding more olive oil if it is too dry. 4. Season with salt and pepper. 5. Spoon the filling into the squid bodies, then close the open end with a toothpick. 6. In a large ovenproof skillet over medium high heat heat about two tablespoons o...

This easy summer pasta recipe is inspired by a traditional dish from Puglia called cajubbi cu' la rucola , usually made with homemade, whole-wheat pasta. Rigatoni with Arugula Rigatoni, 500 grams Arugula, 300 grams or so, fresh, washed and dried Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Two tablespoons Garlic, one clove peeled Tomatoes, 500 grams ripe, seeded, cut into 3/4-inch pieces Peperoncino, crushed red pepper flakes Pecorino cheese (Canestrato Pugliese), freshly grated Sea [or kosher] salt Black Pepper, freshly ground 1.Trim the stems from the arugula. Thinly slice half the leaves, and finely chop the rest. 2.In a large skillet over medium heat, warm the olive oil. Add the garlic clove, and sauté until it softens, about 2 to 3 minutes. Discard the garlic clove. 3.Add the tomatoes and a pinch of red pepper flakes. Season with salt and pepper, and cook 3 to 4 minutes. 4.Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add salt and the pasta, and cook until just under al dente. 5.Drain the pasta, and add ...

Some background : In Italy the word finocchio [fennel] applies to a number of plants belonging to the Ombrellifera family, and more specifically to Foeniculum vulgare . According to De Agostini's La Mia Cucina , the plant grows in the wild as a perennial or biannual, but is annual if grown as a crop. In fennel grown as a crop the bulb is the part used, which is rich in anise oil; in the wild varieties flowers and fronds, which contain a more powerful oil and are necessary for certain dishes, are used instead. In your market you will likely find the bulbs. They range from the size of a tennis ball to that of a soft ball (5-10 cm in diameter), and can be either spherical or taper towards the fronds; though there isn't much of a difference in flavor between the two I find that the spherical ones yield more. In any case, when you select fennel pick bulbs that are firm and blemish free; if they have brownish streaks or the outer layer looks somewhat deflated they are likely old or...

The East Coast fundraiser last May was a great success. Here's the most recent spread from Soaps In Depth with some shots of the good people who made it so. The Abbey of West Hollywood has graciously consented to let us replicate the good experience for AIDS Walk Los Angeles at their very special venue. Much gratitude is due to all who came out to Prohibition in New York and it is hoped that October will be a West Coast reprise! This event is being co-sponsored by POZ and Entertainment AIDS Alliance. Love Out Loud October 18, 2007 5:45 PM to 9:00 PM West Hollywood, CA A fundraiser for AIDS Walk Los Angeles with Ilene Kristen of One Life to Live, Jackie Zeman of General Hospital , Ashley Jones of The Bold and The Beautiful and Jeff Jenest of Playboy and Entertainment AIDS Alliance on the Thursday prior to the The Walk. RSVPs encouraged. $50 donor pledge. The Abbey Food and Bar 692 North Robertson Boulevard Go here for updates and more info RSVP: pozteamwest@pozevent.com

This week’s Gay Thursday takes us to Gay-TV inspired by Michael Jensen at AferElton. The following is his tease over there with CoL comments in brackets: Yesterday I had the opportunity to visit the Brothers & Sisters set where I chatted with Matthew Rhys who plays Kevin Walker, Ron Rifkin who plays Uncle Saul, and the show's executive producer Jon Robin Baitz. Friday's BEST.GAY.WEEK.EVER! will have all the details, but right now I thought I'd share some news Baitz revealed during the set visit. We'd already heard that Kevin's first love interest on the show -- Scotty Wandell played by Luke MacFarlane [There is a new unofficial site for the actor-- visit here --from our own BGR Design] -- would be back for an episode. But for all you Scotty lovers I have good great news -- Scotty will be back for seven episodes and Baitz told me a little more about the character. Here is everything I learned about Luke, plus a few other details. • The show returns Sundays at 10 ...

Wherever one’s position lands in the perennial discussion regarding Matt Crowley’s The Boys in the Band on its quality and/or political correctness, there is usually agreement that there are memorable moments of dialogue not without poignancy. For example the following-- Michael: … Physical beauty is not that goddamned important! Harold: Of course not. How could it be? It’s only in the eye of the beholder. Michael: And it’s only skin deep. Don’t forget that one. Harold: Oh, no, I haven’t forgotten that one at all. It’s only skin deep and it’s transitory too. It’s terribly transitory. I mean, how long does it last - thirty or forty or fifty years at the most - depending on how well you take care of yourself. And not counting, of course, that you might die before it runs out anyway. Yes, it’s too bad about this poor boy’s face. It’s tragic. He’s absolutely cursed! (takes “Cowboy’s” face in his hands) How can his beauty ever compare with my soul? And although I have never seen my soul, I...

Brian Bloom has been the source of many fantasies since his own adolescence and the good people on Datalounge have once again devoted a thread to his desirability. Those who have appreciated his appearance on OZ in tandem with Chris Meloni know what he can do. He came on the scene as Dusty on As the World Turns --there are many treasures within the world of Daytime television. Mr. Bloom matured into an equally desirable man. Inspired by the good posters at the Datalounge Forum, it is important to revitalize one's fantasy life with the fondest of hopes that Brian Bloom who was magnificently de-briefed with the King of De-Briefing, Mr. Meloni--continue to show up on screens and monitors everyhwere.