Jay Leno interviews actor Ryan Phillippe, whose first professional role was a gay teen on the soap opera "One Life to Live:"

LENO: Can you give me like -- say that camera is your gay lover -- number two --

PHILLIPPE: Wait a second. Wait a second.

LENO: Can you give me your gayest look? Say that -- say that camera is Billy Bob -- Billy Bob has just ridden in shirtless from Wyoming. (The audience hoots at the idea of a masculine guy like Phillippe giving a "gay look.")

PHILLIPPE: Wow. That is so something I don't want to do. Are you just going to embarrass me tonight, or --

LENO: No, I got more stuff. This is the least of it.

From the New YorkTimes: "Librarians? Aren’t they supposed to be bespectacled women with a love of classic books and a perpetual annoyance with talkative patrons — the ultimate humorless shushers? Not any more. With so much of the job involving technology and with a focus now on finding and sharing information beyond just what is available in books, a new type of librarian is emerging — the kind that, according to the Web site Librarian Avengers, is “looking to put the ‘hep cat’ in cataloguing.” The best part of the article? This description of Jeff Buckley, a reference librarian at a law firm, "who had a tattoo of the logo from the Federal Depository Library Program peeking out of his black T-shirt sleeve." Wow, that's hip alright.

Mary Blair, one of Walt Disney’s favorite conceptual artists, possessed a unique style that influenced the look and feel of many Disney projects during her career span from 1942 to 1970. One her most amazing design achievements was the 1964 New York World’s Fair attraction “it’s a small world," which was later imported to Disneyland (and all of the other Magic Kingdoms around the globe) where it’s been welcoming guests for more than 40 years. The classic attraction at Disneyland is now out of commission for ten months so that the boat flumes can be replaced with a deeper trough better able to handle todays heavier park guests. Unfortunately, my former employer Walt Disney Imagineering is taking advantage of the downtime by looking for spots throughout the attraction to place a selection of "classic" Disney characters to enliven the proceedings. Now guests will be treated to a grinning "Stitch" figure in Hawaii, a statue of "Belle" in the Paris scene, and a "Peter Pan" flying over London. In the most troublesome revision, the beautiful New Guinea rainforest scene, which features some of Mary Blair’s most whimsical character creations (a crocodile with an umbrella, colorful birds hatching from eggs and drummer children with Tiki masks) will be replaced with a new "Hooray for U.S.A" sequence. Feh. This attraction was always about giving Americans a view of the world around them and recognizing the common humanity that all of the citizens of the Earth share...not a tribute to nationalism and the Disney studio's stable of animated characters. Mary's family has rightfully spoken out that the addition of Disney characters and an "Up With America" sequence is "a gross desecration of the ride's original theme." Good for them.

We spent the weekend relaxing at the Four Seasons Aviara, a lovely resort in Carlsbad, just north of San Diego. Not sure if it's the proximity to Legoland (the entrance is only a mile or two away), but there were VERY young children EVERYWHERE. Upon entrance to the reception area, children were running and screaming so loudly that I did not hear the desk clerk ask me if I was ready to check in. Screaming kids were also very prevalent at the swimming pool area - so much so that there is a restricted "16 years and older" pool and spa area for adults nearby (pictured above), but the children didn't stay out of there, either. The whirlpool spa in said "quiet zone" was overrun with 5 to 8 year olds on two different days, and I even saw a young father dipping his diapered infant into that spa! I did enjoy the drinks served poolside, though. I ordered a Capirinhia that, instead of lime and mint, contained big chunks of watermelon and tasted like soda water. At first I thought it was pretty gross, but at $7.50 a pop, I did not want to waste it, so I slowly drank it as we lounged. I guess it was worth the money, because when I finished it I could no longer feel my legs. The spa treatments we had were very nice - the peppermint scrub helped restore the feeling back to my legs, and later we went to a flower field and reveled in the glory of the blossoms. Oh yeah, the hotel had giant chocolate Easter eggs in the lobby that the screaming brats were tearing at like wild animals.

This makes me uneasy: Last October, Barack Obama refused to dump virulently anti-gay gospel singer Donnie McClurkin (not to mention all of the other homophobes) from his “gospel concert tour" in South Carolina. When the gay community asked why he would support such a hate-monger, Senator Obama issued a statement (actually, it was buried deep within his campaign Web site) that affirmed his "belief that gays and lesbians are our brothers and sisters and should be provided the respect, dignity, and rights of all other citizens" - but he refused to rebuke McClurkin. Yesterday, the senator used the exact same, ineffectual strategy in an attempt to distance himself from the inflammatory, racist, and anti-American sermons of his church pastor, "spiritual mentor" and "role model" who "helps keep his priorities straight and his moral compass calibrated": Jeremiah A. Wright, Jr. Sigh. Senator Obama's dodging and weaving to please the more hateful elements of our society is disturbing to me...Feh.

To me, there was always something (homo)sexual about Big Jim, a line of hyper-macho action figures produced by Mattel from 1972 through 1986. Inspired by G.I. Joe, Jim was smaller (closer to 10 inches tall compared to Joe's 12) and each figure included a push button in his back that made the character execute a karate chop. His arms were made of a soft plastic/vinyl material and contained a mechanism that simulated a bulging biceps when the arm was bent. Jim was less military-oriented than G.I. Joe, having more of a secret agent flair, and he had a variety of outfits and situations at his disposal including sports, space exploration, martial arts, hunting, and even "unusual" choices such as fishing and photography. Don't even get me started on his pals, a virtual gay fantasy who's who: Big Jeff (the blonde surfer dude), Big Jack (the husky black buddy), and Big Josh, the burly, bearded lumberjack. You just know all sorts of shenanigans went on in the Sports Camper.

After receiving rave reviews for its successful debut in 2007, the True Colors Tour is hitting the road again this summer in support of the newly created True Colors Fund of Stonewall Community Foundation. Cyndi Lauper, The B-52s, Rosie O'Donnell and host Carson Kressley will be joined by Wanda Sykes, Tegan and Sara, Regina Spektor, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, Joan Armatrading, Indigo Girls, Nona Hendryx, Deborah Cox and The Cliks. It was so damn much fun last year, I cannot wait for the LA date on June 28! Update: Now I see that Andy Bell of Erasure will be a special guest here in LA! Woo!

Whenever I get back home from traveling abroad, there's one taste that I absolutely crave: Extra Crunchy Jif. Even though it's now made by J. M. Smucker (and I swear it tastes different than it when it was made by Procter & Gamble), it's the one food I truly desire after being on a diet of unusual foreign dishes. Americans eat 170 million pounds of Jif in a year...enough to make 2 billion peanut butter sandwiches.

Well, now that I have had a few days to recover and reflect on our Middle East odyssey, here is a recap:

The trip is not easily summarized: It was fun, exhausting, irritating and interesting all at once. There were positives and negatives, but in my opinion it was definitely not the five-star experience we were expecting from tour operator Abercrombie & Kent.

It's the little details make the difference, and in our case A & K did not deliver. Some examples: after being greeted in the Cairo Airport, Philip and I were left standing in a dirt parking lot for more than 25 minutes without any explanation about what was going on; our (eventual) driver and escort to the Conrad Cairo did not say a word to us on the 40-minute ride to hotel; the A & K escort didn't give us the welcome packet and itinerary that other guests received (kind of necessary since there was an early wake-up call the next morning); our names were incorrect on the hotel check-in (he had done it for us) and we received the wrong luggage; our room was located next to the noisy service elevator for the club level lounge and when we went down to ask the escort to help us change rooms, he was nowhere to be found (their service committment is to stay at the hotel and make sure you are satisfied with your accommodations and have obtained your luggage); we were not allowed to order a cocktail at the welcome party reception for the group - beer or house white only (on a high-end expensive tour!); all of the group meals in Egypt were mediocre - tough meat, set menu with usually no choices; and many of the tour buses that we traveled on were unacceptably worn and dirty (really, it doesn't take much to wipe off windows!). Additionally, the Conrad Cairo is not in the greatest of neighborhoods - you really can't walk around much, the neighborhood was low-income and not tourist-friendly. We traveled with budget-level tour operator Globus in Europe many years ago, and the A & K service was definitely no better.

The A & K itinerary for the two-week trip was unrealistic...we were regularly asked to awake at dawn and would sightsee all day without rest (and on at least one occassion without any food), then we would be deposited at our hotel with a few minutes to wash up before dinner. Here is the breakdown of one single day: We were up at 4:00 am (with no breakfast) to head to the Cairo airport; took two seperate (very full and filthy non-chartered) flights to our destination of Abu Simbel; toured extensively, then took another (non-chartered) flight to Aswan; toured more, then were deposited at our Nile cruise boat for lunch (at 3:45 pm) - only to be told that we had 10 minutes to eat before the bus left for more touring; toured for another few hours; were deposited back at the boat at 7:00 pm; ate dinner at 7:30 pm, during which we were told that we had to be up at dawn the next morning for another bus tour. To my mind it was more like being in boot camp than on vacation.

The Sun Boat IV cruise on the Nile was lovely - only wish we could have enjoyed it more! We only had a hour or so to sit on deck before being whisked off on another tour. They offer a nice afternoon tea, but we were never on board to enjoy it. There was entertainment at night after dinner, but after a 14-hour day and with an early wake-up call, you're so exhausted you cannot stay awake to enjoy that either. Food was hit-or-miss on the boat, not consistently good.

Our Egyptologist was knowledgeable, but she spent most of her time playing "mother" to all of the complainers in the group (and I know it's hard to believe, but I never said a word), so she really did not spend as much time as she should have explaining Egypt and the incredible sites we were seeing.

Which brings me to the positive aspect of our trip: the sights were AMAZING! It was mind-blowing to climb inside the Great Pyramid, see the Temple of Karnak and ride camels through the desert! Lots of dust and heat though - even in February it was getting uncomfortably warm in the south part of Egypt.

Jordan was a bit better - Amman is a clean city, the hotel was much nicer (Four Seasons Amman) and the guide better at crowd control and information dissemination. But the bus we were on for the (4 hour each way) ride to Petra was filthy dirty - grimy seats, light fixtures with broken faceplates, dirty floors and windows. The food we were served on the group meals in Jordan was of really good quality...I loved the national dish of lamb stewed in yogurt and served over rice and chicken. Petra was incredible - a wonderous monument to a forgotten civilization carved right into the red mountains on the edge of the Jordanian desert. We saw the place where Mr. Jesus was baptized at the River Jordan and stood on the mountaintop where Mr. Moses looked out and saw the Promised Land. Supposedly. All in all, a trip that we won't soon forget!

OK, when did it become acceptable to put your feet WAY up on the bulkead WALLS of an airplane? Observed on our recent flights to and from the Middle East:

We're back, exhausted after a grueling two-week itinerary in the Middle East. The 28 hours of transit time between Amman and our front door in Los Angeles was brutal, and the fact that I have been battling an upper respiratory infection for at least five days did not help my demeanor as an airline passenger.

We had a great time on the trip, but I keep have to keep learning the lesson that group travel is not for me. Seems like so much time is wasted with the logistics of moving 23 people from Point A to Point B, and the bureaucracy of it all clouds my enjoyment of the sights and sounds of the destination. Despite being on a so-called "high-end luxury tour," many, MANY hours were spent listening to the whining of various tour members about their luggage, how they didn't like this or that food, what was going to happen next, etc. Often, the same question would be asked and answered four or five times in a row - then it would get asked yet again. Sigh. Next time, private guides and a private car, so all the dumb questions will be ours alone to ask.

Also, I blew out 2 of the 22 zippers in the ScotteVest before the first week of the trip was over. Feh.

About 250 pics posted in my "Travels" section.