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YOUR l.A8'l' T .w_ Ii i” www.GayAdventureTrave|.coi , Jgvfur ,‘_ _ M Af‘ 1-800-825-9766 Culture Vulture: Manifest Destiny 0 both of the hippie doctors I go to (my acupuncturist and my chiropractor) arc vocal proponents of the idea of “manifestation“ — that we can call things into being by thinking about them. For instance. if I really want to move into a new house. the most important thing I can do is imagine myself in that house making break- fast and doing yard work: ifl act as if I've already gotten what I want. then I will get it. Frankly. I'm not so sure about this. After all. "mani- festing" the house might help me get it. it's true. but the material help I could count on from my rich par- ents shouldn't be ignored. Similarly. the idea that someone can think her- self out of poverty seems to ignore the realities of unequal opportunity. That being said. it can‘t hun to imagine yourself getting what you want. right? One of my favorite things about the end of the year is those lists you always find in the entertainment section of the paper that contain the ten best and ten worst things of whatever cate- gory for the year. So I was thinking that I'd do a little preemptive ten- besting. You know — manifest them. So here goes: Imagine yourself eleven months in the future. You 've had a good year — avoided the things yoit didn’t want. and received those you did. You're sitting down in a com- fortable chair to read the December issue of Out in the Mountains (whose readership has tripled over the course of the year.’ ). .. It's hard to narrow my list of the best things of this tumultuous year down to five. but I'll do my best. - 5) The Feminist Pop Idol: Maybe the least expected event this year was the feminist co- op started by pop stars Lindsay Lohan. Ashlee Simpson and Avril Lavigne. After Lohan’s highly pub- licized nervous breakdown follow- ing her split with That 70's Show star Wilmer Valderamma. she emerged from the hospital with newfound political consciousness. In a now-infamous TRL appearance in March. she showed up with no makeup on, told Carson Daly he was “irrelevant except maybe as, like, a mannequin for designers" and launched into a screeching cover of John Lennon '5 “Oh Yoko." Surprisingly. Lohan's shift gained followers rather than alienat- ing them. and she and the other aforementioned pop icons have fired their managers and formed a co—op. and now donate over half their profits to pro-choice and glob- al justice nonprofits. Their collec- tive manifesta. Revolution is the New Black is de rigeur at the high school where I work. even nine months after Lohan's breakdown. 4) The Oscars Sweep: In an upset of the last five years of the best actress Oscar going to women who are "nonnally" pretty. but have uglied themselves up in term of class or gender in blatant Oscar ploys (Julia Roberts as Erin Brockovitch. Hilary Swank as Brandon Teena and C harli7e Theron as Ailccn Wuornos). the only likely contenders for Best Actress this year are women who have never fit into the traditional Hollywood mold. I like to call it “Year of the Fat Old Ladies." Tyne Daly. for instance. is generating massive Oscar buzz for her ponrayal of Bella Abzug in Jane Campionsbitipie of the boundary- testing politician and women's rights advocate. Similarly, Imelda Staunton is hoping to follow last year's Oscar win with another for her role in Mike Leigh‘s Notesfrom East London. An Academy insider. when questioned about perennial favorite Nicole Kidman's absence from consideration this year. responded. “that girl really needs it sandwich." 3) Nancy Zerg’s Jeopardy Reign: After ousting Kcn Jennings last December. Zcrg has gone on to beat his record, winning over $3 million. In a press confer- ence after she surpassed Jennings‘ $2 million mark, Zerg said that she plans to use her winnings to found a nonprofit that will help struggling progressive grassroots organi/ations find real estate \\l1t.'l'L‘ they can base operations. 2) The New Queer Cinema: I-‘oreicr. it seems. there liayc been only two kinds of queer films — the tragic tale of the queer manyr or the romantic comedy. Don't get tne wrong. these are great genres. and thcrc’s definitely some- thing that fcels affinning in sccing same-gcndcr couples find happi- ness. But I hadn't realized how lim- itcd this offering was until this year saw an explosion of queer-themed movies in previously untouched genres like the action movie (Sylvester Stallone in Queen City). sports movie (Queen Latifah and Holly Hunter in the LPGA tour movie Bogey) and what seems to be a new genre. the “buddy-with-bcne- fits" movie (I'm thinking of the Josh Hannett / Tom Cruise vehicle Two for the Road). I) The Ascendancy of Independent Media and Breakdown of Fox News: After Bill O'Rcilly's public breakdown in March when he punched Howard Dean in the face and then began weeping inconsolably. the bloom has faded from this corporate giant. The network attempted to l'cVll£lll‘lc itself with new graphics and count- downs. but when they declared a new level of terror alcn (mauve). it finally pushed them to the level of sell’-parody. and their ratings have been steadily slipping all year. even in stalwan red states like Alzibaina. As a result. people are turning more and more to independent media out- lcts like local (non-Gannctt) papers and considering the source of their news information a bit more carc- fully. There you have it — now. if only my fantasy would manifest. our world would be so-o-o much better off! V /lllllt‘ Moon’ lives‘ in WlIlt)t).t'l(l and [)l(lIl.S' to .i'/twirl 2005 irttilii/i'.\tiIti: her own /)t'I‘.\‘t)Il(Il I‘(‘\’t)lltIltJIt.