Is there something in the water? It feels like pregnancy is everywhere and a baby bump has become the new must-have accessory. It used to be those tiny dogs that fit effortlessly into handbags, but now baby bumps are "it." Maybe it’s because Ashlee Simpson, Jennifer Garner and Minnie Driver are all on the cusp of giving birth, or because recent mom Jamie Lynn Spears (17-year-old sister of Britney) has been on every cover of every magazine in the checkout line since last September.

Pregnancy has even been a topic in our presidential election. In case you’ve missed it, Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin’s daughter is 17 and pregnant. The news of this has brought to the table a debate on the glamorization of pregnancy in Hollywood.

I admit, I’ve never had to walk into a pharmacy for a pregnancy kit (mainly because I’m, you know, totally gay), so the idea of being pregnant was never a real fear of mine. I can say with certitude, however, that I have seen movies about pregnant women and (regardless of the biological impossibility that I could ever unintentionally or intentionally get pregnant by my girlfriend) none of them made me hanker for a baby belly or think that what I really wanted in my closet was a pair of maternity jeans all because the movie Juno was so darnn funny.

Whether the character had an unplanned pregnancy or was aching to become “with child,” I looked at the recent boom of pregnancy-themed films like Juno with the more optimistic attitude that Hollywood isn’t glamorizing the characters’ pregnancy but empowering the characters that are pregnant. Women in these movies take charge of what is happening in their lives, and along the way we have a few laughs while they do so. … continue reading

It recently occurred to me that summer is almost over and I haven't once watched Wet Hot American Summer. Once I gave myself the official summer's end deadline of September to rent and watch the comedy gem, I started wondering what Janeane Garofalo is up to these days.

She's definitely keeping busy. Last week, she participated in a staged reading of The Hills alongside Rachael Harris in Los Angeles. Garofalo played Lauren, and apparently did a flawless interpretation. (Harris played the evil Heidi.) The Los Angeles Times article about the show mentioned the actors might perform the reading once more in October, so if you're in Hollywood, it sounds like a must-see.

Besides moonlighting as a reality star, she's returning to her stand-up roots to perform all three nights of Seattle's famous Bumbershoot this weekend. (What did you West Coasters do to deserve all this good fortune?) … continue reading