Dave Cullen: reichen-chip

NOTICE: See you on the weekends

Mon, 26 Sep 2005 18:17:40 GMT

Hey. You might have noticed I'm rarely here during the week these days.

Yes, by design. Trying to keep my focus entirely on my book during the week. Hence the big one-day bursts on Saturdays and Sundays. So look for me then. (Or on Mondays when you get back to trolling the web at the office, while your boss is away. heeheehee.)

OK, better try that bigger:

LOOK FOR ME MOSTLY ON THE WEEKENDS UNTIL THIS BOOK IS DONE!

Occasionally I may stop by in an evening, if I've had a great day and deserve an indulgence, or maybe once in awhile for a quickie. (Like just now. I figured since I was here to let you know this, I could pound out a quick reaction to the Housewives.)

But hopefully you'll see a lot of self-control.

See you Saturday.

The Amazing Race rejects me, but there's still time to apply for Survivor 9

Sun, 11 Jan 2004 23:23:20 GMT

This is not new, but still relevant: CBS announced awhile back that it's casting for Survivor 9, to film this summer, and broadcast in the fall. You've got to Jan 24 to get your application and video in. RealityTVWorld story here. Forms here.

You won't catch me auditioning this time. Lost interest in being a Survivor awhile back. I really wanted to be on the first one, when it was still a great unknown. The next couple would have been cool too, but now, it's kinda gotten down to riffraff. They pulled the All Stars thing just in time. But that will definitely be the sharp-jumping moment for that show. Who would want to be a second-tier Survivor, in the fading twilight of the show?

In other news, it's pretty safe to report now, that my friend Joe and I did not get picked for The Amazing Race 5. Didn't even make the first cut to the semi-finals. It's been safe to say for some time, but I've been kinda busy. But I can finally say that that's why I took the trip to LA this fall: just to meet with Joe to make an audition video. Plus it was a good excuse to get out of Denver, when I was going stir crazy. And coming right after the NYC trip, it solidified my feelings on where I wanted to move. (More on that later.)

But yeah. Went all the way to LA, just to make a tape to send in. I imagine 99% of the population would see that as either retarded and/or pathetic, but it's just a gauge of how badly I wanted an adventure like that. But this Drive Around the World thing might do it instead.

And I kinda think that will be the last reality show I'll ever audition for. But never say never.

Our weekend with Chip

Mon, 20 Oct 2003 04:49:55 GMT

Heeheehee. Now that I've got your attention (the Chip & Reichen addicts among you), I must inform you that the title of this post is a gross exageration.

I did spend the weekend at a party with him, but so did 250 other guests, and my contact was pretty modest. But addicts are addicts, so here goes:

First off, he's stunningly handsome in person. Is it the camera not doing justice to him, or the cross of having to stand beside Reichen all the time? Both, probably. He looked great in jeans, matinee-idol in his tux.

Here's the painful part about writing the above paragraph: Having met him, I feel like an ass comparing his looks to his husband's, or especially his ex-husband's.

moremoremore -- the rest of this entry here

Just what I needed

Mon, 20 Oct 2003 04:09:01 GMT

This weekend, how to explain? I can't figure out how I'm going to express it without sounding like some rube who just rolled in off the turnip truck. So I guess I'll just risk it:

I know just one insanely rich person, and not that well, but several of my friends are close friends so I got invited along to a three-day birthday bash in Aspen.

Man. I felt like a weekend stowaway in the life of Malcom Forbes:

An "Eco Challenge" in the afternoon, shuttled back to change into tuxes, champaign and Godiva choclates on the gondola ride up to the top of Aspen mountain, drinks and hors d' oeuvre over sunset, with a dreamy white lace tent that looked like heaven to retreat to when it got chilly, back down the gondolas for a fabulous galla dinner in a stunning tent at the base of the mountain with five-figure ice sculptures and 250 eight-inch-high individual birthday cakes where everything on the dish and including the dish and utensils were edible, then another quick change to dancing clothes for a wild dance party one tent over, with a lighted dancefloor running video footage from the past 24 hours of celebration under your feet. More room parties until dawn. That was one day. It ran from Friday evening through Sunday afternoon.

I don't hang out with rich people, I don't go to oppulent parties, have never considered owning a tux and nearly refused the invitation because I could barely affored to rent one. But I rationalized that it was about all I would have to pay for for the weekend, and who knows what it might be in store.

I had no idea. It really is fun to be rich.

I'm not ready to sell my soul to get there, but man, it's a blast to play in their playground a few days.

Especially when it was a rich gay playground. About 95 percent of the attendees were gay men. Many of them stunningly beautiful, most of them highly successful. I had a couple long talks with former abassador James Hormell, and several shorter ones with Chip Arndt. (Yes, of Chip & Reichen. I sucessfully buried my lead for many regular readers. More about Chip in another post.)

Our host reserved the entire five-star hotel at the base of Aspen mountain, so the whole place was one big private party the entire weekend, and a bit like landing on fire island in the heart of Aspen. And to my utter amazement, the cliquishness you would normally find among a gathering of hot, successful gayboys was shifted way down to low gear. It was the friendliest, warmest atmosphere I've ever encountered in an event like that.

That was the nicest part. Often the bigger, the hotter, the gayer the event, the more I feel like an outsider. This really left me feeling good about myself, and about other gayboys. Nice to see we can be good to each other from time to time.

And the Eco Challenge was wonderfully designed, because nearly every event provided outs for different skill levels: you could slallom downhill on skateboards in the grass, requiring real skateboarding skill, or choose something silly like wheelbarrow races where a person seated in the barrow frantically directed a blindfolded pusher through an obstacle course. I chose the latter and had a lot of fun.

I also weanied out initially on our first event, the rock-climbing wall, choosing the ultra-easy wall, since I had never done it and was terribly hungover from Friday's all-night dance. But then I saw how easy it was, traded spots and did the moderate wall, terrified I would fall halfway up, humiliate myself and let the team down. But then I looked up, saw I was just a few handgrips away, and it had actually been pretty easy. It had been twenty years since I repelled, so it was scary as shit letting go at the top to float down, but incredibly cool once I was suspended.

I had so much adrenaline racing through my body, wiped out my hangover and had me fantasizing about taking the hard wall. And then the refs explained that since two teammates had fallen from the hard wall, (secured in harnesses, of course), we could still keep our perfect score if two more successfully scaled that wall in addition to the medium or easy. So I harnessed up again and got behind three more confident teammates. The first two fell, the third, our little spiderman who has been climbing for years, raced up it like an escalator, and then I gave it my shot.

I nearly slipped on the first hold, but recovered, zipped up quite a ways and then got stuck with two holds to go. I couldn't come close to reaching the next hold. I moved my hands around, my legs around, but it was hopeless. I must have done it wrong, ended up in the wrong spot, but there was no going back, because my hands and legs were starting to shake, I was losing my confidence and my grip--a few seconds more and I would be off the wall completely.

The only chance I could see was shoving off hard letting go with both hands and one foot at the same time and lunging for this distant handhold way up there with my left hand, and then grabbing a slightly-higher one with my right. No chance of succeeding, but better to fly off grasping, so I leapt for it, braced for the rope to catch me and instead I caught the handhold an managed to hold on. The right hold was easy from there, and I leapt again to slap the qualifying carpet-strip, hurled back and this time spread my arms and enjoyed the smooth sail down.

The team was cheering wildly as litterally descended down amongst them, and I don't recall ever feeling like an athletic hero like that in my entire life. It was just one little event, and four other teammates made it to the hard-top first, and all ten people successully climbed the easy and medium walls, and it's not like we ended with a great time, but still: for that brief little moment, I was actually the hero of a sporting event.

It felt pretty good.

That was the nice thing about the whole afternoon, though. When you did well, that was great, when you screwed up, no big deal. At least on my team. We just had fun, and nobody seemed to feel like a fuckup. For a big group of gayboys, that's a really big deal.

The best thing about the whole trip was that I it was such a transportive experience. It was so beautiful there--the Aspens are still changing (past peak, but still beautiful), our room looked right on to the mountains, everything was happy and uplifting, and most importantly different.

Escape is definitely the word. I've always been into the experiential vactions, not the pampering kind, but this was the best of both. I was walking down the hill Saturday talking to the host--because by luck of the draw, he was on my Eco team--and mentioned that I had completely forgotten about all my problems back home. That's when I first realized that I had. I was so happy to notice.

And I got back here and they were not so big after all.

I just really, really needed that. Could not have been better timed.

Reichen & Chip Advocate issue out

Sat, 11 Oct 2003 19:39:39 GMT

Both of these courtesy of Joe Blitman:

Very big photo spread on our boys. I have not seen a hardcopy, but it's already being auctioned on ebay (odd, when you can just buy it yourself--perhaps not in Topeka?) And they've got page after page of it scanned in.

Slurp it up, then read on:

I hope you enjoy this trenchant commentary from Joe as much as I did:

I just picked up the Reichenchip copy of the Advocate tonight, and my, there was a whole lotta de-forestation done on those boys for the cover shot.

Chip's chest pelt looks to have been about 90% trimmed and plucked, and there's nary a branch or twig on his back (must have been one of those summertime flash forest fires). and they artfully raised his part of the flag to cover his early love handles.

Reichen has been shaved clean right down to his dick - he seems to have no pubes left at all - hmmm, sounds itchy to me.   He looks very "young" and very "restless".

I'm glad they're getting to live out yet another fantasy - near naked cover boys.

And the hits just keep coming, don't they?

Yup. First the TV-star fantasy, now the pornstar fantasy, without all the baggage of actually doing the porn.

Update: Based on one comment, it appears that the tone intended by both Joe and me may not have been clear to some. I took it for granted that regular readers realized I adored those boys, and Joe likes them both as well.

I think we both found it fascinating to watch how their moment in the sun was evolving, how they were riding this particular train, where it was taking them. I thought the cover photo was a lot of fun, and they sure seemed to intend it that way, so he treated it in that same spirit and I really enjoyed what he did with it.

CBS confirms fifth Amazing Race is on

Thu, 02 Oct 2003 06:29:24 GMT

Another item from while I was away. This one a day old, from the Hollywood Reporter (I'll include all the paragraphs on The Amazing Race):

CBS' 'Race,' 'Brother' set for Season 5

CBS has picked up fifth installments of the reality series "Big Brother" and "The Amazing Race."

. . . The Julie Chen-hosted "Big Brother" is set to return in summer 2004, while "The Amazing Race," which won an Emmy this month for best reality/competition program, has received a 13-episode order for midseason or summer.

"I think qualitatively, both shows are absolutely at their peak," said Ghen Maynard, head of CBS' alternative programming department. "I think what we've really done well at CBS and what our whole goal has always been with shows like 'Amazing Race,' 'Big Brother' and 'Survivor' is to create long-lasting franchises that have appeal for the long term."

. . . "Amazing Race" has already started casting for its fifth edition, which will feature two-person teams trotting the globe for a $1 million prize.

. . . "We're incredibly thrilled that we got picked up again," said "Amazing Race" executive producer Bertram van Munster. "The fifth race is laid out and ready to go, and it is shaping up to be an extreme globe-trotting event."

He declined to reveal any details about the "drastic changes" he said the producers are making to keep the series fresh, but promised that the show's regular viewers "are going to be in for a big surprise."

Van Munster is executive producing "Amazing Race" with Jerry Bruckheimer and Jonathan Littman for Bruckheimer Films, Earthview and Touchstone TV.

NBC has also picked up more episodes of the shitty Restaurant for midseason, though it can't decide whether they'll continue with Rocco or try a new restaurant. Dump Rocco! He's an ass!

Chip & Reichen announce divorce

Thu, 02 Oct 2003 06:15:55 GMT

Yes, they have definitely broken up. Completely. Sorry this came out while I was in LA and unable to update, or I would have had it up sooner. (Much thanks to Michael from All About RC for the early heads up.)

The website All About RC has posted a message directly from our heroes, Chip & Reichen, announcing they have completely called it quits. An excerpt:

We recently gave an interview to the Advocate, which will appear on shelves 14 October 03. In that interview, we have officially announced that we are no longer pursuing our relationship and marriage and that we have decided to separate from each other. Further details are given in The Advocate interview. Without going into the intimate details of why we have decided to separate, please know that we have come to this decision, over a great deal of time, very seriously, to heart, and with great and on-going discussion, analysis, and thoughtfulness. It is the best decision for both of our physical and mental well-being, peace of mind, and happiness.

Well, that's just plain sad, sad, sad. But it happens. The only thing worse than a bad marriage is two people staying in a dead marriage just to say they did and destroying both lives in the process. Probably healthier for both of them. I wish them well.

(But the faint silver lining is, they're both available. Go get 'em boys! You're just going to come back with rebound burns, but don't let that stop you.)

TV Guide says Amazing Race 5 greenlighted

Wed, 24 Sep 2003 05:03:30 GMT

From TV Guide:

The surprise Emmy win for The Amazing Race Sunday night couldn't have come at a better time for the show's executive producer Jerry Bruckheimer.

While Bruckheimer had begun preparations for a fifth installment of the globe-hopping competition, there had been no official renewal notification from CBS. Going into the weekend, the show's fate was very much up in the air.

But after the awards Sunday night, with the Emmy in hand for Outstanding Reality/Competition Program, Bruckheimer was telling associates that CBS had finally given him the greenlight for another season of The Amazing Race in 2004.

Yeaaaa! Can't wait. Could it ever top Chip & Reichen? Probably not, but I've enjoyed all four races a great deal. Applications are now being taken. You have until October 8. Don't say you missed your chance.

Reminder: Reichen on Frasier Premiere TONIGHT

Tue, 23 Sep 2003 18:29:46 GMT

Chip & Reichen fans: Don't forget, Reichen appears on the Frasier Premiere, and that's coming up in about 7 hours or less (depending on your coast).

He has just one line, and I believe it's the first (definitely in the opening scene), and hopefully you know by now that nearly all the nets and local stations now start their shows a minute or two early (some local newscasts are starting as early as five minutes early). So make sure you instruct your VCR or Tivo (tell me you're not still using a VCR--are you also loading tape reels onto your PC for memory?) to start two minutes early or you'll miss him.

And I believe his character will be listed in the credits as "The impossibly handsome man."

(Another note: the show is being adverstised by NBC as a one-hour special, but Tivo has it as two half hours, so be sure to grab both if you don't have a season pass.)

(And thanks to Ben for the reminder to me.)

Update:

I hope you didn't plan your evening around it. Pretty anticlimactic to me. (Same for the rest of you?) Don't know what I was expecting out of one line. Can't say it was delivered all that well even. But I'm sure he was nervous. (It was not so much the line itself as the sultriness or some kind of animal magnetism he was supposed to exude. He wasn't bad, just not great.) Or maybe it was just the standard expectations thing. I always expect too much.

New Survivor page

Fri, 19 Sep 2003 09:53:08 GMT

I've set up a separate Survivor Pearl Islands page within the blog here.

Here's the table of contents, to give you an idea what you'll find there for now (expanding as the season progresses):

Contents:

Summary: Best posts and recent posts
Episode by episode: my posts, your open comment threads, links to CBS recaps and Fans of Reality TV thread for the episode, etc.
CBS official links.
Links to best fan sites.

I'll add a link to the page in the lefthand sidebar soon.

Just when you thought I'd finally shut up on Chip & Reichen . . .

Thu, 18 Sep 2003 18:46:32 GMT

I'll never shut up on Chip & Reichen!

Yet another interview with the boys here, at the All About RC site you'll really enjoy if you're into them. This interview covers some different ground than the others, and it sags here and there, but some in-depth stuff on logistics, and other interesting stuf I had not seen.

Especially after watching the Reality of Reality series on Bravo (actually I'm only half done) and being reminded how much editors sometimes manipulate events, it's always refreshing to read about the honest--mostly honest--shows. Chip responding to how they were edited:

I think we were portrayed correctly about 90 percent of the way. I think they did an amazing job and that really is everyone's character in general. There were a couple of times I think we were portrayed a little out of character. They might edit something. I was screaming at the cab driver in Korea saying speak English. That doesn’t mean that I expected him to speak English. I mean I've traveled the whole world and not everybody speaks our language. But at that particular moment we paid double the money to get a cab driver that spoke English; that was what our concierge said. It made me look like an ugly American, which was too bad, but I did say it. And when I was in Australia driving a dune buggy, they showed me as a bad driver because they wanted to pick that I ran over Reichen's foot and that I spun the car out. But they're here to tell a story. I think I was sometimes picked as a little over-aggressive and not smiling and having no personality, but pretty much I was serious the whole time.

Ninety percent isn't bad. And nice to hear his side of the cabbie thing, which he was so roundly trashed for on the web. I figured as much, and I totally buy his explanation.

(And compare 90% to a horror show like Big Brother. I watched the second season, heavily watching the web broadcast, along with a big contingent of Salon Table Talkers who were watching round the clock and posting. What a scam! That show was 50/50 reality and fiction. Just despicable. And the one big problem I have with Reality of Reality so far is that they got duped. They let the BB producers on several times saying how they have to be honest, because they've got a web audience watching their back. Truth is, they just disregard that, writing off all the people who know the truth, and then using the scam to convince people they must be honest. Those people are going straight to hell. So you have to wonder about all these shows. Generally, the classier the project, the more you can trust them. Survivor castoffs have not always, but generally been supportive about how people were portrayed.)

This from Chip really made me sad:

We’ve received a lot of feedback. The gay community is a very tight-knit community especially in the United States. A lot of people have their opinions and I think some people liked us. I think a lot of people liked Reichen because he has a wonderful demeanor and just a kind face. I think it’s a 50/50 split on me being really tenacious and people think that’s awful and other people look at me and think well, if that what helps you win; that aggressive nature.

We’ve also gotten a lot of nice feedback from kids, and that’s what Reichen and I really want. We’re there to really try to be role models for kids. When I was a kid my role model was Joe Montana, and growing up I didn’t have any role models that were gay because I didn’t come out of the closet until I was 24. And all we’re saying is that we’d like to put a role model out there that can help those kids feel comfortable that there are people out there like them, too.

Makes me feel a bit guilty about focusing on Reichen so much--and what a diplomatic way of saying "Reichen got a pass because he was so hot." Chip's really cute, too: with anybody else, he would have been the focus of fawning--which has to put a big strain on Chip's ego and therefore the relationship. It would sure make me feel like crap.

I'm so dissappointed and embarrassed for Chip (embarrased for the public). Fifty percent dissing him? That's ridiculous. He was a great guy. Hopefully I pointed out enough times in all my drooling over Reichen that I liked them both as people as well, but outside of looks, Chip was my favorite (of the pair: Jon was eventually my favorite on the show--and apparently he was theirs as well.)

Finally comprehending how they're heroes

Sat, 23 Aug 2003 19:43:13 GMT

I get it, finally. I get why they're heroes. For nearly three months now, I've been referring to Chip & Reichen as "our gayboy heroes," but I was never completely clear why. People keep challenging me on it: They're game show contestants who said who they are--what's so heroic about that? I knew that was a feeble response, but I was pretty bad at articulating my own rationale. "Because I sense it" was unconvincing. I knew why the role they were playing was monumental, I wrote about that in early July. But were they really more than lucky performers?

It just took one solid interview to reveal it. Thanks Bruce Steele, thanks The Advocate.

Of course I dove right for the personal stuff last night, because I'd been writing about the cultural impact for months, and I wanted to know more about these guys as humans. But what a liberating image they have of the power of their own personal liberty:

Reichen: . . . When we were getting cast on the show, we made no secret to CBS that we wanted to be portrayed as married, and they said, “Well, are you legally married?” And we said, “No, we got married in California, but it’s not legally recognized by our state, but we consider ourselves married, [as do] our family, friends—and 200 of them were there [at the ceremony]—and under God, and CBS really took that to heart. They were skeptical and said, “Well, I don’t know. We’d love to help you, but we’ll bring it up to the executives,” and when the executives approved it at CBS, I mean, everybody was thrilled when the decision came out—even the people that made the decision. It was such a fun and wonderful thing that happened, and we were just thrilled that they were going to put “married” under our names. That’s how we considered ourselves.

. . . You can get married anywhere you want. Just set up a ceremony and do it under God and wear your rings and tell everyone that you’re married. . . You know, it’s kind of saying, “Yeah, you know what? If the state isn’t going to recognize the rights that people want to have, then the people will go ahead and recognize that for the state. . .

Exactly. That's where we need to go on this marriage route. I really feel we've put the cart before the horse a bit on going to the courts demanding recognition. I applaud the men and women who stepped forward to demand that equality, but I'm a little troubled by the great throngs still hiding back in the shadows. So many gays have found the courage to come out individually the past 30 years, but it's surprising how few have come out as husband and husband. (Or wife and wife.)

We might win a few judges over in the courts, but that's a dangerous game without first winning over the reps in the legislature, and especially the voters sending them there. And more importantly the society. In the end, the laws are far less important than the attitudes of the people who create them. I don't want to be allowed to keep a job or get married in this society, I want to be embraced by this world I live in. We're not going to do that in the courts, we're going to do that at the altar--or wherever we can find someone willing to conduct our ceremonies. And we're going to do it on that great modern transmitter of our culture, TV.

The primary step is very simple: not legalize marriage, get married. (Oh, to find the freaking husband so I could put my wedding ring where my mouth is.)

What an experience, listening to these two guys talk. Reichen and Chip are not waiting around for someone else to tell them what's right or wrong, what they can or can't do. That sounds so mundane, but come on: most of us go right along with most everything our culture dictates about righteousness. As soon as things get uncomfortable, we adhere to all their major boundaries, or at best we run off and quietly get married and trot out the euphemisms and cover stories for all but our closest friends and family.

All that crap about who can and can't get married, that's all imaginary. That's other people defining your world for you, defining what your relationship to another man can or cannot be. That's all noise. And nearly everyone accedes to the noise, accepts it as the reality they live within. Chip & Reichen brushed it aside. "If you feel like you’re married, then you’re married," Reichen said. Exactly. You decide. They did.

It's interesting, the thesis of that terrified Focus on the Family op-ed this week was that if you repeat something long enough, people will come to believe it. From there they concluded that Chip & Reichen and CBS posed a mortal danger by convincing Americans of this Big Gay Lie through repetition. They're right about the power of repetition: but which lie has been perpetrated, and who has been convinced? What they never pause to consider, is that 99 percent of all gays have been convinced of the lie that they can not get married.

First and foremost, Chip & Reichen are heroes because they saw through the lie that most of the world buys into, and refused to let anyone else define their relationship for them. A lot of men and women have taken that step, but you'd be surprised how few, actually. The vast majority of gay couples still top out at getting a place together and calling each other "partner." (Partner. I despise that word. Are you in business together or married to each other?) They don't conduct a ceremony, wear the rings, or use the language. They don't claim it.

Chip & Reichen joined that first minority of gays a year and a half ago when they had their wedding. To my mind, every gay man and woman who defies the lie that has been brainwashed into them and openly proclaims their marriage is a hero.

But the unique steps Chip & Reichen took were landing in a position to broadcast their statement to 7 million people a week instead of 200, and then risking it. It was interesting to hear that CBS challenged them so vigorously. What I don't think came across was how easy it would have been to submit.

Consider their situation: you're a finalist (or semifinalist) for a reality show. The fame bug has just bitten. There's no stopping those images: picturing yourself a stAAAAAAAA. But your chances are still remote. Most of the finalists are going to be rejected. Everyone has an idea about what the producers are looking for, and everyone is working to embody it. Check out Reichen's advice to people applying for the next Race:

Walk in there, and all you want to keep saying is, “We’re gonna win,” because that’s what they want to see. They want to see people who, over everything else, just want to win because they know that’s gonna make for good TV.

People in the selection process know this. Everyone is trying to get on the show, no one is picking this moment to be a rebel. No one wants to appear too demanding. I have been stunned at my own reactions when I've been offered assignments--or especially when I've been tempted with the possibility of an assignment--at magazines I desperately wanted to work for. Vanity Fair got interested in a piece early this year, and I was ready to do anything to get in there. I would have knelt down in front of Graydon Carter and performed anything he required, that preposterous haircut of his be damned.

Then I think back on my first attempt to get on the first Survivor. It was seven months before the show aired, and most people had never heard of it, no one knew if this reality television thing was going to splash big or bomb, but I desperately wanted to get on that island, and I would have agreed to anything. That's what I thought when I applied. I had no idea. I made the first cut, and the elation ended when the contract arrived. They did want me to agree to anything. Use of my name, my likeness and virtual control of my life for three years. No chance whatsoever to write about it (for three years), which of course was a primary instinct for me.

I wasn't mesmerized by the money or the television exposure initially, that came later. I was desperate for the experience, and then of course, what I do with experience is write about it. Nope, gotta sign that right away. That one felt particularly emasculating, but fine, I'll take it, just get me onto that island. Then the contract got to injury, disease, and death. That scared the shit out of me. It went on about 20 pages and got quite graphic about the real possibility that I could be maimed for life, exposed to tropical diseases without cure or even killed. Pretty sobering stuff. Twenty-five people had been selected from my region for an interview with producers at the Denver CBS affiliate's studio. I wondered how many would accept all the demands--not to mention scheduling a comprehensive physical at our expense (which cost me over 200 bucks) and jumping through a bunch of other hoops in about two weeks' time. Twenty five.

And you should have seen that group in the green room. I thought I knew aggressive and hyperactive people--this crowd was bouncing off the walls. And everyone was buzzing about what the producers wanted and how to be sure to present it.

That was before anyone really knew what was at stake. I can only imagine the process years later. Most people in Chip & Reichen's position would have buckled at anything the producers asked for: Married, partners, whatever. We just want to be on the show.

And most of us would rationalize that the platform is more important: compromise where you have to to get there, then you can tell the world anything you want. Sometimes that works. If your group has never gotten a platform, and compromise seems the only way to get an opening, it may be a pragmatic approach. But Chip & Reichen pushed for more, and the producers pushed back; and then our boys pushed harder, and for the first time ever someone with a monumental platform like CBS handed it over.

And that's why those two boys are the biggest heroes in my life at this moment.

Another post-Race interview just posted

Sat, 23 Aug 2003 04:28:06 GMT

Once the damn bursts . . .

FansOfRealityTV has also posted an interview with our heroes, also conducted today. And the answer to the burning question there is:

There are a lot of rumors floating around, so let's put them to rest. Are you still together?
Reichen: Since Chip and I have been on the show, we've been under a great deal of stress, and one of the big stresses has been keeping this whole thing a secret. It was so hard, and I think that we have so much relief now that everyone knows the outcome. Keeping it secret that you just won a million dollars is very difficult, and just not being able to communicate and talk about it with others has been really tough. But because of that and some other unresolved issues, yeah, Chip and I have had some relationship problems since we got back from the race. Chip and I have agreed to work on those problems. But I can't really give you a black and white answer on whether Chip and I have broken up, because it's not like that. It's a relationship, and we're working on things. But right now, Chip and I love each other very much, and it's always been about making sure that the other person is happy. And when the other person isn't happy, it's either time to bail out or try to fix the problem, and that's what we're trying to do right now, we're trying to work it out. And that's the most honest answer I can give you.

Great stuff in this interview, too. (It's also nice to have such an intelligent, articulate couple win. Nice to hear from people who can convey what they were going through.) I really love this next passage, because so much of what I read on message boards acts treat the contestants' (all the contestants') reactions as if it were taking place on a barcolounger. Great context here:

Reichen, when Chip accidentally ran over your foot, did it cause any injury?

Reichen: No, my foot sunk down in the sand, and I got pissed off - I just needed someone to yell at, I was so stressed out and dehydrated from that last task, I just ended up snapping at Chip.

Chip: You have to remember, we had just arrived in Australia from Korea, and the weather had really changed. We were in the middle of summer, and we did not have enough water. We were on the beach...Reichen: We were really dehydrated. We had to stop, and we got water from some medic place on the way.

Interesting/disturbing exchange on the editing:

Chip, what happened with the dune buggy in Australia, and how long did it take to get a replacement vehicle?

Chip: This is a good example of how they can make it look like something else. Within a day and a half, I had some problems with vehicles, so they said "oh, we'll make Chip look like an inept driver!" In the beginning, I was NOT running over tires and stuff, they came to me later and told me they'd put that in there. I was actually kicking ass, I just rounded that corner and the guy was saying "you took that too fast", and I just broke an axle. I was really bummed, because I was actually catching up to David and Jeff, and obviously when that happened, we just fell behind. But if you notice after that, they didn't really show me doing anything except finishing.

Check this out! I knew they were having a ball with Jon and Kelly, and all the gay jokes were just friendly razzing. Shew! I'm so glad Jon is not an asshole. I didn't think so:

Reichen: . . . And on that 26 hour train ride, I don't think the viewing audience realized this, but we really bonded with Kelly and Jon, and started up a really awesome friendship. Ever since that train ride, we were having so much fun with each other. My only problem with the editing was that they didn't show how much fun we all had together. They wanted to show more of a rivalry between the two of us, with the gay jokes and everything, but really the gay jokes were flying so often and so funny, we had such a fun time. We were always telling Jon he was gay, and he was always jokingly picking on us for being gay. We had so much fun with it, such an amazing time. But Kelly and Jon were the best.

Wow, this is news. They didn't audition, Reichen was recruited:

. . . Two minutes after I walked into the restaurant, I'm in my AFA jersey and cap, and this guy walks up to me and says "you're exactly what I'm looking for. I'm a casting agent for The Amazing Race, and would you PLEASE come in to CBS and interview for it?" I said yeah, and he said "do you have a father, brother, friend that can do it with you?" I told him I had a husband, and he said "oh my god, this is great!" I called Chip, he flew back into town, and we went in the next day to start interviewing, and before I knew it, we were getting our vaccinations for a race around the world.

FINALLY! Chip & Reichen ADDRESS THE DIVORCE RUMOR

Sat, 23 Aug 2003 03:38:43 GMT

The Advocate just posted its interview Chip & Reichen interview, conducted this morning by Bruce Steele. It's a really great piece, best thing on them I've seen by far. And long, too--the whole thing runs 4,500 words. (That would fill about 5-6 full pages in a magazine, with pictures).

First, the passage we have all been dying to hear:

Q: So do you consider yourselves a couple now?
A: (apparently Reichen): It’s just been an ongoing thing for us. And so we can’t really give you any concrete answer of, you know, “Are you separated? Are you through?” The answer is no. “Are you together?” The answer is, “No, not all the time.” We’re still working things through. It’s been a tough time. . .

So both sides of the rumors were kinda true. So glad to finally know. It's sad that they're struggling, but I've been there. Hard enough just admitting to your friends when you're off and on (with) the same person. I'd hate to do it in the national press. More from Reichen after more probing on the same topic:

And you know, there’ve been so many rumors flying around—it’s so hard to divulge this, I have to be honest—yeah, we’ve had a lot of problems. I hate telling the public that after fighting for our title of “married” and everything else. But we’re in a relationship like anyone else, you know? We love each other very much, and we want each other to be happy, and whatever’s gonna make that happen is what Chip and I are going to do. It’s no different from how we’ve always been with each other. We just want each other to be happy.

Chip: Relationships evolve and, as Reichen just said, to reiterate, um, people work on things and they want to—and we love each other. And that’s the critical thing. And we go from there.

Later:

. . . what advice do you give gay couples who are going to travel together for extended periods?
Reichen: Don’t let Chip drive.

That was pretty funny. Reichen will appear in the opening scene of the season premiere of Frasier. He has one line. Sept. 23. Don't miss it. In the credits, the part is called “the impossibly handsome man.” Nice. And does he ever have the acting bug. Or is it the fame bug?: "I have an acting coach now, I’m signing with an agent this week, and I’m trying to get on a soap opera." (In the other interview (next post), he gushes about soaps being his goal. Somebody needs to tell him he can do better.)

And this is interesting: Instinct had no idea Reichen was even on the Race when they put him on their cover. The race ended on Valentine's day, and they didn't just have to keep their win secret, they had to hide the fact that they had even been on the race until June. That would have killed me to hold onto. I was just picturing my head exploding from that--man, picture Chip's head.

There has been a lot of discussion here about whether everybody figured out the boys were gay. Reichen's response: "Some said they did, and some said they had no idea. "

Wow, this is really heartening to hear about Millie and Chuck:

Reichen: . . . But you know, afterward when we were done, off-camera they came up to us, and they said, “We just think you’re so courageous for coming out, and we just want you to know that we would never judge you.”

(Heartening. Seems like I am suddenly using that word constantly lately. Am I writing too much?)

There's more on Kelly and Jon in the other interview, but I have to post Reichen's response here, too (Reichen sure dominates both interviews), because I'm a big fan of Jon and Kelly as you know, and I think they were judged harshly by most of the viewers (because of the editors):

Reichen: You saw a fraction of the funny jokes going back and forth, and one of the regrets I think I have from the editing was that it didn’t show this amazing, really funny friendship that we had developed with Kelly and Jon. I mean, the gay jokes were flying every five seconds—if you could have really seen how it was, I think it would have been so fun and humorous for the viewing public. But they [the producers] were trying to make out like we had a rivalry, which really wasn’t the case. It was so fun shooting these jokes back and forth. We were constantly telling Jon how pretty he was and how gay he was and reminding him how gay he was and, you know, he would come back with the gay jokes. We had so much fun. It really wasn’t a rivalry at all. It was great.

Chip: It was a flirtation.

Reichen: It really was a flirtation.

I'm continuing to add to this post as I digest the interview. There's so much there. (And here's an odd thing: Bruce, the interviewer, referred to "the hinterlands." Has he been reading this blog?

About those divorce rumors

Fri, 22 Aug 2003 21:56:01 GMT

This just posted from our good, reliable and well-connected friend Joe Blitman:

I just chatted with some entertainment journalist friends of mine here in LA. They interviewed Reichen and Chip last week, who presented themselves as very much together, and even discussed their desire/plan to go to Vermont soon to get legally married...er...I mean legitimately civil unionized.

Maybe the rings are out for resizing or cleaning (or given their new-found tvwealth - maybe they're adding some gems to the bands)?

Still second-hand info, and maybe those journos were mistaken or hoodwinked. No way to know for sure till we hear it from Chip & Reichen themselves. But I've seen enough hearsay posted about their breakup, I thought it was worth posting some conflicting reports. (Though you would think that if the rumors were false, they would just end them. But maybe CBS has advised them to keep the mystery going. Who knows.)

'Race' ratings close to 'Friends' last night

Fri, 22 Aug 2003 21:43:04 GMT

Mediaweek just posted on the overnight ratings (metered markets from the big cities only; full national numbers come later today). The Race came in with a 6.7 rating / 12 share. That easily beat Scrubs in the second half hour--6.1/10--but lost to Friends in the first: 7.1/12.

While The Race nearly matched Friends overall, it surely lost to them bigger head to head than those numbers show, and also beat Scrubs head to head more convincingly. Two reasons: 1) Many devoted Friends fans watch then switch, so its competition always does better in the second half hour; 2) The Race (like other reality shows with an elimination each round) always builds audience through the hour, especially on the night of the finale.

It's a safe bet that more people saw Chip & Reichen cross the finish line than saw Friends last night, but head to head, Friends beat it back.

Here's what they have to say about The Race returning:

For those asking if The Amazing Race will be back, if Emmy does indeed come calling next month that's all the more reason to believe maybe it's not over yet.

What constitutes support for the gay community?

Fri, 22 Aug 2003 20:25:56 GMT

OK, I'm on the phone line waiting to talk to Chip & Reichen on the Michelangelo Signorile radio show (guest-hosted today by John). The boys are late for the interview, which was supposed to start eight minutes ago.

The show's producers don't know the answer either, but of course have heard the same rumors. They said they'll bring it up if a caller doesn't, and I'm waiting on the line to bring it up.

Here are the instructions again to listen on the web: go to this site, then click the big box near the top with a pic of an orange speaker and the phrase "Listen to OUTQ Live on Sirius." And here's the number if you want to call yourself: 866-305-6887.

Update: NO GO. Chip and Reichen got hung up in an interview with CBS and just cancelled. And the boys on this show are pissed and badmouthing them for it. They did put me on the air briefly to disuss that--their anger and being stood up--and can understand their annoyance, but I think they're missing the big picture. That's the nature of entertainment, and they knew these guys were going to be on a whirlwind press junket today, and CBS is running the show and something went over and they got nixed. Happens.

But that means we are still waiting to hear if they're still together. Nice to hear they're getting a lot of interviews. Surely one of them will bring it up.

Update 2: What constitutes support for the gay community

I'm continuing to listen to this radio show, and they're starting to bug me. Nearly all the callers are supporting Chip & Reichen, but the host and sidekick can only see their own point of view. They're ripping into the guys for having a character defect for allowing their media handlers do what media handlers do in a press vortex: make executive decisions when they suddenly find themselves over committed. More importantly, they keep focusing on "supporting the gay community"--Chip & Reichen are blowing off the one big gay radio show, the people that supported them . . .

Hey, I would love Chip & Reichen to talk directly to us, and I'm sure they'll still look for the opportunity to do that. But as a community I think gays are way too provinchal way too much. We rarely get our message out beyond ourselves. The thing that depressed me last night about the news coverage was that only the tiny little niche gay press was covering their victory. These guys are exactly what we need right now: strong, powerful, positive images of who we are and what we can be. And they have news value for the moment in the mainstream world, beyond our gay borders. There is nothing better they can do for the gay community right now than to reach beyond it, and get that message and that image out there to the wider world.

That's their job right now, let them do it. They have already reached the gay world; websites and chatrooms and they gay press have exploded with coverage. Finally they have a news peg to get broader coverage in the mainstream press reaching the millions of straight people we need as gay allies. I say get out there and get to them. We can wait. Patience can be a virtue guys.

Meanwhile, how sad to once again see high-profile gayguys immediately turn and rip on other high-profile gayguys. Gay people really have a long way to got.

Nabokov for the week: Guest blogger, Tim O'Brien

Fri, 22 Aug 2003 19:32:39 GMT

I am so behind on providing your weekly dose of Nabokov. So sorry. And something must be up in St. Petersburg, because another guest author has had to step in again today to perk your day up with lovely dispatches from a foreign land. In honor of Reichen's victory, we take you to a military scene today, the opening paragraph of the extraordinary book, The Things They Carried. It will be my pleasure to transcribe it:

First Lieutenant Jimmy Cross carried letters from a girl named Martha, a junior at Mount Sebastian College in New Jersey. They were not love letters, but Lieutenant Cross was hoping, so he kept them folded in plastic at the bottom of his rucksack. In the late afternoon, after a day's march, he would dig his foxhole, wash his hands under a canteen, unwrap the letters, hold them with the tips of his fingers, and spend the last hour of light pretending. He would imagine romantic camping trips into the White mountains in New Hampshire. He would sometimes taste the envelope flaps, knowing her tongue had been there. More than anything, he wanted Martha to love him as he loved her, but the letters were mostly chatty, elusive on the matter of love. She was a virgin, he was almost sure. She was an English major at Mount Sebastian, and she wrote beautifully about her professors and roommates and midterm exams, about her respect for Chaucer and her great affection for Virginia Woolf. She often quoted lines of poetry; she never mentioned the war, except to say, Jimmy, take care of yourself. The letters weighed 10 ounces. They were signed Love, Martha, but Lieutenant Cross understood that Love was only a way of signing and did not mean what he sometimes pretended it meant. At dusk, he would carefully return the letters to his rucksack. Slowly, a bit distracted, he would get up and move among his men, checking the perimeter, then at full dark he would return to his hole and watch the night and wonder if Martha was a virgin.

Something, isn't he (Tim O'Brien). Nice way into a Vietnam horror show. I'm usually one for plunging right in, but Southeast Asia is a place readers might be hesitant to join him--what a perfect way to draw us across that ocean. My favorite moment was him tasting the envelope flaps, knowing her tongue had been there. What a tiny exquisite touch.

The next paragraph plunges you much more vividly into the battlefield itself, but always in terms of the things they carried. What an incredible way to illustrate what was really important to each of these people: Weight was everything when you were humping miles every day, and the non-essentials that you dragged along just because you needed them--because for you, they were essential--revealed everything about your character.

An extraordinary piece of work.

All in our own little worlds . . .

Fri, 22 Aug 2003 18:47:36 GMT

My apologies to those of you living outside the world of Chip & Reichen. I will post on other topics very soon. Still caught up in the wonder of our amazing gayboy heroes. (Including Howard Dean launching his Sleepless Summer Tour today, and an interesting Columbine development this morning.)

I hope you enjoy this exchange with my Salon editor as much as I did (and I'm very careful with private correspondence, but there's nothing here she would mind you hearing). She was a huge Survivor fan (at least in the beginning), so I thought she might be watching the race all summer, so I sent a message with this subject line, after the show finished playing in SF: "They won! They won! They won! They won!"

Her response (in part):

No, I wasn't watching, but I'm glad they won! . . . I thought your email was about the Giants -- Barry Bonds just hit a home run in the 10th to win the game, the 2nd time he did the exact same thing in 3 days! We're all in our own little worlds . . .

She's so wonderful. Always gets everything right. (And those final elipses were hers, by the way.) I got a dissmissive response from my gruff lawyer, the prosecutor: "I have not seen the show but one would hope that gayland has more significant accomplishments to brag about." Some people are just no fun at all. I know most of the world could not care less. If I go out tonight, most of the club kids on the dance floor will return a blank look when I mention the names of our boys. Reichen? Does he live around here? But who cares. In the world according to Dru (my family's name for me), this is National Chip & Reichen day.

Now about that Columbine and presidential campaign. Soon, very soon. It's a freaking holiday here.

Reichen signs on to Don't Ask, Don't Tell documentary

Fri, 22 Aug 2003 18:12:30 GMT

I just got a press release from SLDN a minute ago:

Reichen Lehmkuhl of “Reichen & Chip,” the grand prize winners in the sizzling summer series The Amazing Race, has agreed to appear in a documentary film investigating the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy. The film, set to start production this fall, will span the ten-year history of the policy and follow the building political momentum to overturn it. Servicemembers Legal Defense Network (SLDN) will be supporting the project throughout its production. . .

“The Pentagon is firing three people every day simply because of their sexual orientation,” Lehmkuhl said. “If the same thing were happening in corporate America, most citizens would be rightfully outraged. The fact that our nation’s largest employer discriminates against gay Americans under the sanction of federal law is equally appalling.” . . .

For more information, call John Bowab at Morelight Productions, LLC; 310-659-7455.

And don't forget to sign their Lift The Ban petition.

Interviews with Chip & Reichen today

Fri, 22 Aug 2003 18:08:45 GMT

Here are the ones I know of so far:

Radio--accessible live by web--today, approximately 3:14PM EST, scheduled for 20 minutes and they recommend you log in a few minutes early. "John" is guest-hosting the daily Michelangelo Signorile radio show. The whole show runs from 1-4, and he will also interview a representative from Human Rights about the gay journalist and human rights advocate who was just a few days ago jailed for 5 years in Uzbekistan simply because he's gay. The instructions to listen by web are go to this site, then click the big box near the top with a pic of an orange speaker and the phrase "Listen to OUTQ Live on Sirius."

TV Guide. You can't listen to this one, but you can pass on questions to Ethan Alter, who will be interviewing them (plus Jon and Kelly) this weekend. TV Guide's Michael Ausiello has offered to forward them on via the email link at the bottom of this page.

I will post more as I get them. Send any info on.

UPDATE:

1 p.m. MDT (Friday): The Advocate has a story posted now. And it ends by stating: "An exclusive interview with Reichen and Chip will be posted Friday evening on Advocate.com."

Amazing TWITS!

Fri, 22 Aug 2003 17:44:54 GMT

My apologies. They really are that stoopid on the Early Show. Or that shallow. The burning question dogging the winners for months--are they or are they not still together--and the freaking Early Show twits (and if you've seen this show, they are such twits) never bother to address. Amazing.

The boys body language did not look good, though. Very nice to each other, but almost no touching. But that might just be them. Reichen did reach over and kiss Chip as they broke away to the host once. That was great, even if it was in the background. I'm searching the web elsewhere, and will update this post when I find out. (A summary of the Early Show interviews from their site here.)

Several more interviews with them coming today, and you can listen to at least one on the web, send questions to two of them. I'll have all that info here in a few minutes.

If you have any info on the alleged breakup, please email me or post in the comments thread just below. But please link to some credible source. I don't want to report more rumors. Thanks a bunch.

Open Comment Thread on Chip and Reichen

Fri, 22 Aug 2003 07:02:55 GMT

Since I just added a dozen Chip & Reichen entries, I imagine it's hard to know where to congregate with comments. And since the comments aren't numbered anymore, all the harder to find where others are.

So I'm going to suggest you make all your C&R comments in this post for awhile, how does that sound? I'll copy in several from previous posts to start things off.

(Reuters is the first online with a winners pic. See a blowup here.)

Amazing Race ratings

Fri, 22 Aug 2003 07:02:27 GMT

Reports have been circulating for awhile that The Amazing Race is on the brink of cancellation, which seemed odd to me because ratings were never that good for the first three seasons, and this one seemed to be doing slightly better. Maybe CBS had been hoping all along for a pickup. (The very first race debuted in the horrible aftermath immediately after Sept 11, when no one was interested in fake reality on TV. Never did get the launch did get the launch it deserved.)

Ratings have been pretty good, not spectacular the past few several weeks. It's been in the top 20-25, though it's mostly competing against reruns and other reality shows. But reality TV is also very cheap to produce. Last week was an aberration because of the blackout, but it came close to the Friends audience, and the week before it won its time slot in the half hour after Friends (competing against Scrubs).

To read some reports yourself, go here, and check out the MediaWeek entries. You'll find more here, but more clutter to cull through.

Update:

(In other gay-ratings news, gay.com posted a piece today on Queer Eye breaking new ratings records for Bravo this week. The network most people couldn't locate on their dial a few weeks ago jumped ahead of CBS and Fox (and of course UPN and WB) that hour Tuesday night, making Bravo the number three network in the country for one hour. One discouraging note, it's also dragging up the ratings of that Boy Repels Boy abomination, which could not have done more to trash public perception of us if it was produced by Focus on the Family.)

News reports on Chip & Reichen

Fri, 22 Aug 2003 06:07:01 GMT

11:15 p.m. MDT: First story onto the web from a site google considers a news site: 365Gay.com. Congratulations guys. Thanks for getting it up so fast. Best passage:

CBS, in all of its promotion material refers to them as married, a term that infuriated the Christian right. Focus on the Family called it an "aberration". FOC and other conservative groups with all of their attacks not only increased CBS' ratings, but also put human faces on the same-sex marriage issue.

I think I'll keep adding news links to this post as they become available. Where are you AP? You better be working on a good story.

12:15 a.m. MDT:UK.gay.com just posted a very short piece, with some rather odd info (that the boys were introduced as "jocks.") Nothing yet on the American site.

1:15 a.m. MDT: The Calgary Sun just posted a cutesy, awkward but well-intentioned piece.

10 a.m. MDT (Friday): Two paragraph blurb from Gay Financial Network.

One long paragraph posted sometime this morning on TV Guide's daily entertainment news roundup (at least it read the roundup).

That appears to be it. I guess there's not going to be any real mainstream coverage. Apparently there have been too many reality shows for AP to run a story on the winners anymore. Or maybe just for higher-rated shows. Bummer. But we don't love them any less.

1 p.m. MDT (Friday): The Advocate has a story posted now. And it ends by stating: "An exclusive interview with Reichen and Chip will be posted Friday evening on Advocate.com."

2 p.m. MDT (Friday): CBS's Chicago affiliate, WBBM, has posted the Early Show recap (written in the style of a news story) on its site as if it were a regular news story, with an LA dateline. I imagine it has been sent out to all the affiliates and many more will be posting it. That's a good way to get the word out.

Now this would have really pissed me off. If you were unlucky enough to be stranded in Lansing, Michigan, the station cut away for severe weather reports in the closing minutes of the show. Yikes. That's understandable, but of course the bastards couldn't be bothered to delay their lucrative 11 (10?) p.m. news by those few minutes. Imagine watching all season, biting your nails for the hour, and then . . . nothing. I was on the verge of a heart attack at that point, and I would have smashed my set with a sledgehammer if that happened. TV stations tend to show such utter contempt for their audiences. So the station has a small posting on its site promising a replay Saturday night. And get this, they're actually like the winner is still a mystery: "The race-around-the-world competition is down to three teams from the original group of 12: Kelly and Jon . . ." It's nice, actually, that they're not spoiling it for anyone who wants to sit through the thing again, but highly comical as well.

4 p.m. MDT: Just posted two minutes ago Gay.com/PlanetOut. I'm reading it now, more in a minute. Some interesting new tidbits:

The couple said they plan to use their money and newfound fame to help enlighten people about the gay community and continue being positive role models.
"We had a party last night with people literally coming up to us and saying, 'After I watched you guys win, I called my mom and I told her I was gay. It was the most emotional moment of my life, and I just want to thank you so much for giving me the ability to relate to somebody that I'm proud of, and I see as a role model,'" Lehmkuhl told the Gay.com/PlanetOut.com Network in New York on Friday. "That made us cry."

But they oddly don't address the divorce rumors, even after talking to them today. Hmmmm. Annoying. (And what else to conclude except that they must be broken up, or why not address it immediately. I hope I'm not an ass for participating in this rumorfest, but I held my tongue for three months until I assumed the answer was imminent and there was no harm in discussing for a few hours.)

Saturday:

One long paragraph in the Ft. Worth Star Telgram today, which includes this apparently idiotic line, "The winners, who were openly disliked by the other competitors, according to tvguide.com."

The San Diego Union Trib has a short piece headlined "Couple's 'Amazing Race' victory fitting in banner year for gays," which includes this nugget:

Most likely, many people cheered Thursday when Kelly and Jon missed a Tokyo-to-Honolulu flight Reichen and Chip were able to get on. After all, Kelly was hardly the paragon of charm during the weeks-long trek, upbraiding Jon for some of his judgment calls, and derisively calling Reichen and Chip "Chip and Dale."

I'm not kidding about the Chip and Dale. That's exactly how it appears. How can people be so clueless?

That's all so far. Pretty weak.