It's Time I Came Out

Okay. Here it is. Something you don't know about me. I'm a Gleek. That's right, a Geek for "Glee." I know, high school dramedy, but it has great characters, and AWESOME song/dance scenes in it. So, for today, I am taking a little break from my usual political focus. A body can't live by politics alone, after all. So, I want to share just a little bit about one of my favorite not-so-guilty pleasures. That would be "Glee."

For instance, there's this character named Kurt (Chris Colfer). He is gay, and came out to his dad after his dad caught him videotaping himself and two cheerleaders doing Beyonce's, "Single Ladies" (and honestly, I think his moves were sharper, but that's just me). In a later episode, Kurt wants to audition for the lead song - except it is usually done by a girl. His dad, a widower and the owner of an auto repair shop, went to bat for his son to be able to compete for the lead. The other diva in the Glee Club is Rachel (Lea Michele), whom everyone assumed would have the lead, and who has aspirations for making it to the Big Time. The Glee Club director agreed, and this was their "Diva-Off":



"Kurt" can hit that high note. He intentionally threw the competition, much to his father's consternation. Why did he do it? Right before the tryouts, his father received yet another crank call about his son, call his son a "faggot." Kurt told him that he saw the look of pain and hurt on his father's face after the call. He told his dad he knew who he was, and was happy with who he was. But he threw the audition because his dad didn't need to have a son singing the female lead in their town on top of it. (If you want to hear the studio version from "Glee" of this gorgeous song, "Defying Gravity" from the musical, "Wicked," click HERE.)

Oh,and that story has a basis in reality:

“When I was in high school, every year we would have a talent show,” explains Colfer. “Every year I would beg the teachers to let me sing “Defying Gravity” from [the musical] Wicked. And every year they turned me down because I’m a boy and it was ‘a girl’s song.’” Sound familiar? If you watched Wednesday’s show, it probably does. After Chris shared his story with Glee creator Ryan Murphy, the tale was incorporated into the story for the episode.

Colfer was able to finally sing that song in his grandmother's church (she's a minister) when he was 15. I could listen to him sing it all day long. Beautiful.

Add to that one of my all time fave actresses, Jane Lynch, as the coach of the Cheerios, the school cheerleaders. You may have seen Lynch in "Best in Show," or "40 Virgins," possibly "The L Word," or "Julie and Julia," to name a very few. Her character is acerbic in her wit, and downright mean sometimes, especially to Will Schuster, the director of the Glee Club, whom she hates (though even the coach has some soft spots). She will do whatever, whenever, however she needs to keep her Cheerios on top. Oh, boy. It makes for some definite hilarity, and aggravation, especially for Mr. Shue.

This upcoming episode is an homage to Madonna and her music. The coach, Sue Sylvester, is using Madonna as a way to get her girls to be empowered. As a result, there is the following video, a remake of the classic Madonna video, "Vogue," with Jane Lynch doing all of the singing (and changing the lyrics here and there):



C'mon, how freakin' awesome WAS that?!?! If you are now hooked like I am, you can catch the show at 9:00 pm (8:00 pm CT) on Tuesday nights. And you can watch full episodes here.

So there's that. Since they are in town this weekend, and it's a beautiful day, we are going to go see a show by the Blue Angels in Charleston:



Their leader, Commander Greg McWherter, is a graduate of the Citadel, where he was also a soccer standout. This is his first time back to Charleston since he graduated 18 years ago (he is a Navy pilot, and has been stationed elsewhere). Our aquarium is letting people come hang out at their place to watch the Blue Angels fly over the Charleston Harbor.

Cool, huh? Awe-inspiring is more like it.

Anyway, I hope you are having a good Sunday, too. Take a break, have some fun, do something you enjoy. Live life.