Movie Dearest: Year One

Today marks the first anniversary of the launching of this very blog, Movie Dearest - A Celebration of Film for Gay and Gay-Friendly Movie Fans.

It has been quite the eventful year for Movie Dearest, from the joys of our favorite new movies (Hairspray, Enchanted, et al), TV series (Ugly Betty, Lost) and Broadway shows (Xanadu, Legally Blonde) to the sorrows of those we have lost (rest in peace, Heathcliff Andrew Ledger).

Over the past twelve months, we have together counted down to the Oscars, the American Film Institute's 10 Top 10 and the latest Johnny Depp movie, written and read over 1,500 posts (this one is actually the 1,575th, to be exact) and welcomed over 147,000 visitors. As a matter of fact, just yesterday we had 700 people pay us a call, plus we have made over 1,200 friends on the "Official Movie Dearest MySpace Page".

Special thanks must go out to our very own Men on Film, Chris Carpenter and Neil Cohen, for bringing their talents to these pages, as well as the behind-the-scenes support of Big Edie and Scotty the Intern. And, of course, a very heartfelt thank you to all of you, the readers of Movie Dearest, especially those who have been here from the beginning and endured all the growing pains such an enterprise naturally goes through.

In closing, here's to another year of movies so dear!

-- Kirby

Happy 4th of July!

Wishing all my American readers a safe and happy Independence Day holiday this weekend!

Memo from Movie Dearest: Come On Over to My Space

Image created by MySpace friend "Captain Celluloid 3000"

Sigh ... good help is sooo hard to find. After a certain pictorial fiasco, Scotty the Movie Dearest Intern has been working his tight little tushie off to make amends to Mommie. Head on over to the "Official Movie Dearest MySpace Page" to see his handiwork; it really is impressive that he was able to spiff it up so nicely, what with all the wire hanger wounds and all ...

Seriously though, be sure to check out my page for all the latest Movie Dearest goodies. For example, you can watch all the latest Videodrone clips, vote in the current MD Poll and listen to the MySpace exclusive Movie Dearest Greatest Hits, a playlist of my favorite movie songs.

And, of course, don't forget to join in on the fun by becoming a friend. By doing so, you'll receive updates on all my comings and goings, including a new weekly recap of the latest posts right here at Movie Dearest!

Memo from Movie Dearest: 100,000 and Counting

In the wee small hours of this morning, Movie Dearest welcomed its 100,000 visitor. It sure is nice to know that we have so many fans ... and at just over nine months old!

I want to thank all of you who have become regular readers, and hope that any new ones stick around as well. An exciting summer movie season is almost upon us, and with our very own "men on film" on the beat, we'll be sure to have all it all covered. In the meantime, I will be bringing you my own Toon Talk summer movie preview to you in the next day or so, as well as special summer movie-themed editions of our popular profile series', Cinematic Crushes, Women We Love and Out in Film, all throughout the coming months.

Until then, here's to another 100,000!

Introducing: Our Own Men on Film

I am thrilled to announce the addition of two new contributors to these here parts, both of whom will be bringing you their views and reviews of all the latest and greatest on film and DVD right here at Movie Dearest:

• Reverend's Reviews by Chris Carpenter: Chris currently writes about film and spirituality for the Orange County and Long Beach Blade. Prior to that, he served as film and theatre critic for The Catholic Sun in Phoenix, Arizona for nine years. Chris is an ordained Catholic priest and author of the book Father’s Flicks.
• Reel Thoughts by Neil Cohen: Neil has been the film and stage critic for Phoenix's Echo Magazine for the past fourteen years. Previously, he and a certain someone (yours truly) contributed to the late lamented Phoenix Resource magazine. In his spare time, he is an extremely talented actor, playwright and Shiba Inu owner.

Both Chris and Neil have been dear friends of mine for many a moon, and I am very excited and proud to share their wit and wisdom with you all.