Jason Colavito

@jasoncolavito

Author, researcher. Pop culture, science, & history. Bylines in Esquire, The New Republic, CNN, Slate, etc. My new book, "Jimmy," about James Dean out now!

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Jason Colavito@jasoncolavito· Jun 30

As Pride month comes to a close, I'll put in a plug for my book "Jimmy: The Secret Life of James Dean," a compelling reassessment of the iconic American actor and the secret same-sex relationships that defined his life and art. Print and audio available. www.jasoncolavito.com/jimmy-the-se...

The cover of "Jimmy" on a field of rainbow-colored clouds with an endorsement from Film Stage magazine reading "A fine, juicy reassessment."

Jason Colavito@jasoncolavito· Jun 28

It's especially galling because they give credit to the author who claimed Cesar Romero was gay, with a plug for his book no less!

Cesar Romero, best known for his roles in the Cisco kid movies and as the Joker in the Batman TV series, is believed to have been gay. While he never publicly came out, writer Samuel Garza Bernstein, author of Cesar Romero: The Joker is Wild, claims Cesar's friendships with famous women like Joan Crawford and Carole Lombard were mistaken as romances in the press, when in reality Cesar was privately openly gay.

Jason Colavito@jasoncolavito· Jun 28

I guess it is good that my work is now just accepted as fact, and while Buzzfeed did link to my Esquire piece, it would have been nice for them to acknowledge that this interpretation of "Rebel without a Cause" is mine. www.buzzfeed.com/jennaguillau...

James Dean was the It boy of Hollywood before his early death, and his sexuality was the subject of speculation even then. When asked by a reporter if he was gay, he said, "I’m not a homosexual, but I’m not going through life with one hand tied behind my back." In Rebel Without a Cause, he leaned into the story's queer subtext in his performance, and advised his co-star Sal Mineo to do the same.

Jason Colavito@jasoncolavito· Jun 25

They had a whole line in different vegetable flavors!

Jason Colavito@jasoncolavito· Jun 21

I was genuinely shocked to see that the old cherry tree in my front yard produced cherries for the first time I can remember.

A photograph of a branch of a cherry tree in my front yard showing three bright red cherries nestled among the leaves.

Jason Colavito@jasoncolavito· Jun 15

The back of the card says that the shred of a letter belongs to "the subject on the front of the card."

The back of the card claiming to have a shred of a letter from Aristotle, with postmark. The text says is has an "authentic" relic "attributed to the subject on the front of this card."

Jason Colavito@jasoncolavito· Jun 15

A Chinese company is selling what it claims to be shreds of historic letters written by celebrities. I, however, doubt it.

A Chinese-produced collectable card featuring an "Authentic History Relic." The cut square of a handwritten letter is preposterously attributed to Aristotle, complete with postmark.

Jason Colavito@jasoncolavito· Jun 14

This week Sky in the UK aired an English version of a French documentary about James Dean that first aired in December. I was shocked by how similar its themes were to my 2024 book "Jimmy," right down to Sky using almost the same wording I used in my conclusion.

Title card for "James Dean: The Emotional Man" featuring the title in red beside a colorized photo of Dean from the Torn Sweater series of photos.

Poster for "James Dean: Le Nouvel Homme," the French version of the documentary, featuring the title in red atop a photo of Dean dressed as a bullfighter and waving a large cape behind him.

Jason Colavito@jasoncolavito· Jun 8

Look at this absolute unit of a moth that decided to spend the day snoozing on my back door.

A very large, brown-colored moth clings to the screen on my back door.

Jason Colavito@jasoncolavito· Jun 4

You might want to proofread your AI training ad.

Text from an AI training advertisement reading "Al isn't the enemy." The writer did not realize that they wrote "Al" instead of AI."

Jason Colavito@jasoncolavito· Jun 3

Cherry Pineapple Bologna.

Jason Colavito@jasoncolavito· May 29

Del Monte "Corn Pattycake," a pizza on which is dumped an entire can of corn.

An advertisement for Del Monte canned corn featuring instructions for making a Corn Pattycake, a pizza with tomato sauce, American and parmesan cheese, and salami, atop which is dumped in the center an entire can of corn.

Jason Colavito@jasoncolavito· May 25

I'm not yelling! But I did write a book about the horror genre a long time ago, so it's not just casual dislike--I have done my research!

The cover of Jason Colavito's book "Knowing Fear: Science, Knowledge and the Development of the Horror Genre" (McFarland, 2008).

Jason Colavito@jasoncolavito· May 25

"SPAM Fiesta Peach Cups": Canned peaches stuffed with SPAM, oats, and ketchup.

A vintage advertisement for SPAM with a recipe for SPAM Fiesta Peach cups. The image shows the final product, canned peach halves stuffed with SPAM, oats, and ketchup.

Jason Colavito@jasoncolavito· May 5

Who wore it better?

Lucy Westenra from the 1992 film "Bram Stoker's Dracula."

Jason Colavito@jasoncolavito· May 2

"There's bright flavor to savor in Miracle Whip!" Raspberry gelatin rings filled with pineapple, walnuts, and marshmallows mixed with Miracle Whip and then topped with more Miracle Whip and served with lettuce.

A vintage Miracle Whip ad reading "There's bright flavor to savor in Miracle Whip!" It shows a picture of, and recipe for, raspberry gelatin rings filled with pineapple, walnuts, and marshmallows mixed with Miracle Whip and then topped with more Miracle Whip and served with lettuce.

Jason Colavito@jasoncolavito· Apr 30

Sadly, the actual story doesn't have much to do with sex cults at all. The headline was such a tease!

A page from the June 1956 "Adventure" magazine featuring the article "Inside the World's Greatest Harems," which briefly mentions a midwestern cult accused of running a harem.

Jason Colavito@jasoncolavito· Apr 26

"Is that Kraft Macaroni & Cheese in that quiche?" A Kraft ad from 1983.

A magazine advertisement for Kratt Macaroni and Cheese depicting a slice of quiche run through with Kraft Mac & Cheese. Noodles form the outer edge and are cut in cross section across the bottom layer. A recipe appears beneath the headline "Is that Kraft Macaroni and Cheese in that quiche?"

Jason Colavito@jasoncolavito· Apr 24

In reading al-Maqrizi's Al-Khitat (2.11), on the legends of Alexandria, I discovered an overlooked passage reporting a medieval account of discovering what sounds like the bones of megafauna mistaken for those of an ‘Ādite, a race of giants in the Qur'an.

“In the work titled History of Kings, al‑Shaʿbī reports [that] al‑Aqlīshī states that he saw their images and their tombs in Bashqird. ‘Among other things,’ he adds, ‘I saw a tooth belonging to one of them; it measured four spans in length and two spans in width. I also held in my hands in Bashqird half the root of another tooth, which had been extracted for me from the lower jaw (of a skeleton); it was one span wide and weighed 200 mithqāls (850 grams or 1.9 pounds); I weighed it myself, and it remains in my home in Bashqird to this day. The arm of one of these skeletons was twenty-eight cubits long, and each of its ribs—more than three spans wide—resembled a slab of marble. They exhumed for me half of a wrist, which was so heavy that I could not budge it with a single hand and had to use both hands to lift it. I can affirm that I saw in the city of Balghār, in the year 530, a descendant of the ’Ādites, a man whose stature exceeded five cubits (about 2.2 meters or 7 feet); he was called Danqa. This man could tuck a horse under his arm as easily as an ordinary man would carry a child; And, should war break out in the land, he would go into battle armed with an oak tree that he had uprooted and carried in his hand like a staff; every time he struck an elephant with it, the beast would fall dead. He was kind and humble, and whenever he met me, he would greet me, invite me to his home, and treat me with great generosity. I barely reached his waist. He had a sister who was as tall as he was, and whom I saw on many occasions. The Qadi of Balghār, Ya‘qub ibn Na‘man, recounted that this ‘Ādite woman had killed her husband, whose name was Adam and who was one of the strongest men in Balghār. By crushing him against her chest, she broke his ribs, and he died instantly. There was only one bathhouse in all of Balghār with doors wide enough to allow them entry.”

Jason Colavito@jasoncolavito· Apr 12

Fun fact: Evil-Lyn was originally going to be named "Sultra" and was intended to be a sexy vamp modeled on Sophia Loren before cooler heads prevailed and realized you couldn't have a seductress in a toy line aimed at 6-year-olds. See the original concept drawing below.

Original concept drawings for Evil-Lin showing the character mostly as she would later appear but with a head sculpted after Sophia Loren and the character name "Sultra."

Jason Colavito@jasoncolavito· Mar 31

If you are interested in following the breadcrumbs to the origins of medieval literature's mythic first pharaoh "Phanophis," I've written up an account of my investigation and its surprising results. www.jasoncolavito.com/blog/who-was...

A 19th century illustration of the partially buried entrance to an Egyptian tomb at Giza, used as an illustration of ancient Egypt to evoke a sense of antiquity and mystery.

Jason Colavito@jasoncolavito· Mar 24

This week, I discovered the overlooked medieval text that solved the riddle behind Alfonso X's bizarre history of Ancient Egypt in the "General Estoria." Now I have written up an analysis of what we know and what it proves. www.jasoncolavito.com/blog/ibn-abd...

A nineteenth-century engraving of the ruins of an Egyptian temple and three men in traditional Arab-Egyptian clothing reclining amidst the ruins.

Jason Colavito@jasoncolavito· Mar 21

After watching Louis Theroux's "Inside the Manosphere," it's weird how personable and engaging the manosphere influencers seem right up until they lurch into wild misogyny, homophobia, and antisemitism. It seems like some influencer should be able to offer the support without the hate.

A promotional image featuring a muscular male arm placing Louis Theroux in a headlock with the title "Inside the Manoshpere" beside him.

Jason Colavito@jasoncolavito· Mar 19

Spitting image of Therm the Lobster from "Garfield and Friends."

A cartoon lobster with large round eyes and a smile from the decades-old cartoon series "Garfield and Friends."

Jason Colavito@jasoncolavito· Mar 19

Laurel and Hardy were dead in 1972 when "The New Scooby-Doo Movies" cast them as guest stars. No one would have called this their "new" TV show, and we all recognize cartoons are not the actual people they caricature. Making a cartoon photorealistic does not change this fact.

Cartoons of Laurel and Hardy in a 1972 episode of "The New Scooby-Doo Movies."

Jason Colavito@jasoncolavito· Mar 10

If you grew up watching "Garfield and Friends," or have a kid who discovered it on streaming (I'm both), you know that the fish in question is, indeed, "Walter."

A screen shot of Garfield on the game show "Name That Fish" examining a board giving the names of several fish.

Jason Colavito@jasoncolavito· Mar 5

Frozen orange juice pie, made from orange juice concentrate thawed, diluted, and refrozen.

A Gold Medal Flour advertisement featuring a recipe for Frozen Orange Juice Pie with a slice of the same depicted. It looks like a lemon merengue pie, but the filling is deep orange in color.

Jason Colavito@jasoncolavito· Mar 4

Peppers stuffed with canned Chef Boyardee.

A vintage advertisement for Chef Boyardee featuring "simple and sensational dinner recipes." The photo shows for green peppers stuffed with a can of Chef Boyardee beefaroni and topped with a thin strip of processed mozzarella cheese.

Jason Colavito@jasoncolavito· Mar 1

"Sardines and scalloped potatoes--a good combination."

A vintage cookbook photograph in black and white of an oval shaped plate of whole sardines mixed in with crumbled scalloped potatoes. Little bits of potato cling to the fish, which are spread across the top of the potatoes, looking both messy and unattractive.

Jason Colavito@jasoncolavito· Feb 26

In an interview with Glenn Beck, Lue Elizondo claimed the Vatican showed him an ancient document recording a UFO encounter. It turns out, it was a well-known Classical text ufologists have misused and misunderstood for seven decades. www.jasoncolavito.com/blog/lue-eli...