Who Is That: Jill Sobule

Name: Jill Sobule
Occupation: Singer/Songwriter
Genre: Alternative
Born: January 16, 1965

"She's gonna sing! You're gonna listen!"

There are not enough adjectives to accurately describe Jill Sobule: Talented, intelligent, witty, educated, pretty, ambitious, quirky, opinionated, personable, relatable, vulnerable, hilarious, empowered. Her outstanding career and staggering output as a singer/songwriter spanning the last two decades has blurred the boundaries of musical genre and has made successful forays into film, television, and live theater.

Sobule is definitely a force to be reckoned with.

She began playing guitar in junior high and went on to release her first album entitled Things Here Are Different for MCA in 1990. The fates of success, however, would not smile on her until several years after the release of this album, when Atlantic Records released her MTV staple and national Top 20 hit, "I Kissed A Girl", which was featured on her self-titled album, Jill Sobule.

"That song was a double-edged sword for me," said Sobule. "It was perceived as a novelty hit, but on the other hand it was the first song with an overtly gay topic to be aired on Top 40 radio. I am quite proud of that." The album also yielded another hit song, "Supermodel", included in the Clueless soundtrack.

Since then, she has made four more critically acclaimed albums, Happy Town, Pink Pearl, Underdog Victorious, and 2009's California Years, which Jill released on her own record label, Pinko Records, after collecting over $85,000 from fans who funded the project.

Sobule is a prolific collaborator, writing and performing both with other musicians and with artists from non-musical disciplines, including blogger Ariana Huffington, television producer Sue Rose, and comedienne Julia Sweeney.

She has also served as songwriter/composer for the hit Nickelodeon network show "Unfabulous" during that show's three-season run. She composed the music for the off-Broadway show Prozak and the Platypus and co-starred in the Eric Schaeffer film Mind the Gap.

Sobule toured twice with the late Warren Zevon, whose penchant for sardonic storytelling she shares. She, like Zevon, despite a deep well of great works, is best known for a single fluke hit (Zevon's being "Werewolves of London", a personal favorite of mine).

And speaking of personal favorites, if you haven't already, I recommend listening to the following Sobule gems: "Resistance Song", "Margaret", "A Good Life", "San Francisco", "Houdini's Box", "Mexican Wrestler", and "Manhattan in January". These songs are, of course, only a small sample of the vast talent and originality that this amazing woman brings to this world on a regular basis.

I sincerely hope this self-proclaimed "hopeful cynic" continues to grace us with her unique brand of magic and all around awesomeness.

I also hope she continues sharing photos of her neighbors' gay cat. That delights me.

Below is some fun footage of Jill singing the wonderfully tongue-in-cheek song "Manhattan in January". The song was written in a matter of days in response to Al Gore's depiction of the current and potential state of global climate disaster.

R.I.P. David Carradine

Television icon and film star David Carradine brought a lot of joy and fascination to people the world over, starting with his star-making cult classic TV show "Kung Fu" and more recently with his intriguing performance as Bill in Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill films, of which I am a big fan.

As I'm sure everyone is already aware, he was found hanged in his hotel suite in Bangkok, Thailand. He was 72 years old.

Carradine successfully carried on a legacy started by his father, legendary film star John Carradine. David was well loved not just by his many fans, but also by his family, friends, and colleagues.

His friend and Kill Bill costar Michael Madsen said, "David was one of the first actors I ever worked with when I started my career and the closest person to a brother that I ever had in my life. It is shocking to me that he is no longer with us. I had been thinking about calling him for the last several days, and advise anybody who has been thinking about reaching out to a loved one to do so."

Carradine's niece, actress Martha Plimpton, writes, "My Uncle David was a brilliantly talented, fiercely intelligent and generous man. He was the nexus of our family in so many ways, and drew us together over the years and kept us connected. I adored him as a child, and as an adult I admired and respected him."

To read updates as to Carradine's cause of death, check out msnbc.com. The latest suspicion (at the time of this post) is accidental death due to auto-erotic asphyxiation.

Regardless of how or why David Carradine died, he leaves behind many fond memories, a strong message of perseverance, and an obvious love for his life and everyone in it.

To quote David directly, "You can't quit; even coming in dead last has honor."

We'll miss him.

A Gay Moment: Christian Bale and Sam Worthington

This Gay Moment is brought to you by the film Terminator Salvation.

Christian: We've been fighting a long time. We are out numbered by machines. Working around the clock,without quit...

Sam: Okay, relax. I'll suck your cock.

Christian: Cheers, thanks a lot. **zip**

Michael Urie Should Ask Me Out: Reason One

A while back, a few friends of mine told me that I resemble actor Michael Urie who is best known for his role as Marc St. James on ABC's hit series "Ugly Betty".

Being the apparent narcissistic bitch that I am (even though I personally think our resemblances are minimal), I have since become rather keen on Michael based on his UB performances and a few of his interviews I've seen. I think he's intelligent, witty, talented, and, obviously, way cute.

I have come to the conclusion that Michael Urie should ask me out, and thus begin my semi-regular posts as to why.

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Reason #1: He's dorkaliciously cute. I like that. Who wouldn't like that? And people say we're similar which means I am also dorkalicioulsy cute. Again... Who wouldn't like that?

We should go on a dorkalicious date Michael. Think about it.