So, as I mentioned in the L Word recap this week, today is my last day as an AfterEllen.com staffer. (I just have a new job; there's no big drama here.) I'll miss this place! To commemorate the day (yes, I'm commemorating myself — so?), here are some goodbye scenes and songs that say farewell better than I ever could.

The Way We Were, final scene

It's the laughter we'll remember. And the greatness of Barbra.

Casablanca, "We'll always have Paris"

We'll always have AfterEllen.com. Somehow that doesn't have the same ring to it.

The Carol Burnett Show, "I'm So Glad We Had This Time Together" … continue reading

I keep coming across lists I can't really improve on, so I'm just going to list them. In a list. Of lists. (A few of these are via Pop Candy, which is always a good source for lists and, well, just about everything else.)

1. 10 Star Wars toys that unintentionally look like other celebrities

When I was a kid, I often complained that my Princess Leia action figure just wasn't made right — it kept toppling over. And it annoyed me that her gun was so flimsy and useless, especially compared to Chewbacca's giant over-the-arm weapon. But at least the '70s toy version of Leia didn't look like Christian Bale:

And then there's Mon Mothma and Laura Bush:

The list includes other frighteningly spot-on comparisons, like Han Solo/Josh Brolin and Yak Face/Robert De Niro.

2. 13 movies worth preserving

EW.com readers recently named the films they'd like to add to the National Film Registry. I agree with Raising Arizona and The Women — and with the reader who submitted the latter and said, "I can't believe it's not already there." … continue reading

Election Day in 1992 was possibly my favorite political day ever. I voted in the morning, watched election returns all evening and celebrated in the streets of West Hollywood until late that night. California made history that day by electing two women to the Senate, and I had the satisfaction of having been part of the process. Two years later, lots of folks with politics different from mine had the satisfaction of shifting things in a different direction. (I was less happy about that.) What we had in common, however, was a belief that voting was important.

This Tuesday, February 5, is Super Tuesday — a big voting day in the United States. Despite the early primaries and caucuses, Tuesday is the official start of the presidential primary season. The 23 Democratic primaries and caucuses and 21 Republican primaries and caucuses will likely determine both parties' candidates. The right to vote is cool and important — arguably the single most important element of civic responsibility and participation. And I'm not the only one who thinks so. Logo (AfterEllen.com's parent company) launched VisibleVote08.com in anticipation of this year's U.S. presidential election. And lots of celebrities are always yammering about the importance of voting or the candidate they want you to vote for. Let's take a look at how some celebrity women have gotten into the act.

Celebrity Endorsements

The most obvious way celebrities participate in the political process is by endorsing specific candidates. Oprah is arguably the highest profile endorser of a candidate in the 2008 race.

She endorsed Barack Obama last spring, and pundits are questioning whether she can apply the “Oprah Effect” to political candidates.

Susan Sarandon is a perennial activist who is dismissed by many (not by me) as a wacko liberal and humorless soapbox orator. (I believe this makes her an honorary lesbian!)

She tolerates this wearily, and argues that if she has to deal with the burdens of celebrity, she might as well also try to use it to do some good. And she acknowledges that even her kids laugh at her activism:

“When we have friends over, the kids always bet on how long it will take before we turn to politics. We always forget, and then they say, 'That was fast — only one minute and two seconds.'”

And, of course, there's Barbara Streisand, whom I love even though I think she takes herself too seriously. … continue reading

Admittedly, I've been kind of cynical about love songs since a girlfriend gave me a Tuck & Patti cassette (yes, cassette) and said she wanted "You Take My Breath Away" to be "our song."

I was newly out and a novice in all things lesbian (well, most things lesbian), so I put aside my qualms about choosing a song in such a non-organic manner, thinking that perhaps this was The Sapphic Way. But Tuck & Patti's version of "My Romance" completely swept me off my feet, so I suggested we adopt it instead. GF acted affronted at the suggestion and said she really loved her choice. Well, OK. After we broke up, I learned that she gave that recording to each of her girlfriends and "My Romance" had already been allotted to a previous GF. That's the story of, the glory of, love.

That said, Entertainment Weekly's list of the top 25 love songs doesn't do much to inspire me. I mean, the No. 1 song, the Beach Boys' "God Only Knows" is the theme song to the No. 1 show about polygamy, Big Love.

Elvis Presley's "Can't Help Falling in Love" (No. 2) is better, although, at the risk of incurring all sorts of wrath, I like UB40's version better. But the first song on EW's list that I can really get down with is Aretha Franklin's "You Make Me Feel," which ranks fourth. … continue reading

A couple of days ago, I finished the project that's kept me working around the clock for weeks — and I celebrated by getting some sleep, and by checking the theater news I've been neglecting since the end of the stagehands strike. I was thrilled to discover that some of my Broadway and movie musical favorites were just inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.

On the diva front, we have Barbra Streisand's “The Way We Were.”

Movie theme songs don't get much better than this, and divas don't get much better than Barbra. You know you want to watch her belt the song back in the day, so here you go: … continue reading

The nominations for the 50th annual Grammy Awards were announced yesterday. As you've probably heard, the leaders of the pack are Kanye West (eight nominations) and Amy Winehouse (six nominations). Rihanna was nominated for four awards, as was Feist.

But I don't care about the numbers. I'm focusing on Best New Artist and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance. Both of those categories pit two of my favorites of 2007 (and probably of a lifetime) against each other: Winehouse and Feist.

I really don't know who to root for. In fact, I have never felt more conflicted in my life (well, I guess I should say I have never felt more conflicted about something that ultimately means so little to me). … continue reading

I'm not sure why, but even though I enjoy watching classic movies on television, I don't like renting them. Something about catching them when they air makes them cooler. So I keep tabs on Turner Classic Movies' schedule, just in case it's Topper movie day or spy movie day or Barbra day.

During the month of November, TCM is turning over its evening programming to celebrities, from Whoopi to The Donald to Cybill — even Kermit the Frog gets a turn. And not only do they choose the films, but they also join host Robert Osborne to explain why.

Tonight (Nov. 5), Rose McGowan is guest programmer.

McGowan grew up in a Children of God commune in Italy, where her father led a chapter of the cultish organization. In her interview with Osborne, she explains that even as a small child, she could recognize false prophets within the group. One of McGowan's choices is Night of the Hunter, the 1955 film with Robert Mitchum, Shelley Winters and Lillian Gish. Mitchum plays a homicidal preacher who stalks two children — a brother and sister — because $10,000 is stuffed inside the little girl's doll. McGowan thinks the movie reflects the fact that children can see more of the truth than we think. This film definitely would fit on Ace's list of non-horror movies that haunt me. … continue reading

This week saw the release of the Bob Dylan biopic I'm Not There at the Venice Film Festival. For months now, it's received media attention and a healthy dose of skepticism (even around here). You may remember why — it's the one where Cate Blanchett morphs from this:

to this:

Blanchett's among several actors playing Dylan, but so far, her portayal is generating the most buzz (and Oscar speculation). Director Todd Haynes explains his unconventional casting as a "radical device" to emphasize "how extraordinary and eccentric" Dylan appeared to his contemporaries. (Personally, I don't find it that much of a stretch — I saw Dylan a few years back, and I am telling you, anyone could have been up on that stage under that enormous cowboy hat, mumbling the words to his songs.) … continue reading

If it were your job to choose Glenn Close, Meryl Streep or Barbra Streisand to star in your movie, you might be the luckiest person on earth.

But you would also be faced with an obscenely difficult decision. According to London's Daily Telegraph, Andrew Lloyd Webber is considering each of these award-winning actresses for the role of Norma Desmond in the movie of his musical of the movie Sunset Blvd. (Trying to describe that makes me think of Julie Andrews in the movie Victor/Victoria: "I'm a woman, pretending to be a man, pretending to be a woman.")

The role will be a challenge for any of the three. Norma Desmond is utterly and completely owned by the original star, Gloria Swanson.

The original movie is so iconic and heavily quoted, it can almost seem like a parody of itself. The musical remake — especially as conceived by Andrew Lloyd Webber — may not be great. But whoever is cast gets to deliver the line,"All right, Mr. DeMille, I'm ready for my close-up."

So let's play casting director for a moment and consider each option: … continue reading

Yesterday in Paris, President Nicolas Sarkozy gave Barbra Streisand a medal. The medal of the Legion of Honor is a general (but elite) "merit" medal, technically reserved for French citizens but often bestowed on deserving foreigners. This is the first time Sarkozy has awarded a Legion of Honor medal, and this week's concert was also Streisand's first performance in France. Sarkozy's wife, Cecilia, attended the show.

It would be easy to snark about this, mostly because the award seems to have no clear criteria and because past recipients include the likes of Jerry Lewis. But, as only she can, Streisand gave it more meaning than it might otherwise have had:

"I am deeply honored to be joining the playwrights, heads of state, artists and leaders who have accepted this honor before me," Streisand, 65, said in a statement. "I leave with a sense of inspiration and responsibility as an artist to always reflect the truth and as a citizen to try and create a world of justice, compassion, equality and peace — one with a little more music and a little more joy."

Yes, it's rather grand language, but wouldn't it be nice if other artists felt that kind of responsibility? Maybe then news anchors wouldn't have to refuse to report the news. … continue reading

Today is Barbra Streisand's 65th birthday. That's right: Sixty-five years ago today, perfection was born.

May she never really retire!