I Should Be Laughing

PR: All-Stars: Ice, Ice Baby

2012-01-27T15:00:00.001-05:00

Okay, the designtestants had six hours to design, create, sew, style, and shove the model down the runway in an outfit inspired by gelato. I'm gonna try to do this in less than six hours myself.
Let's rip.....

RAMI
Kiwi
First and foremost: O.M.G. Rami in a muscle shirt. Luckily I DVR'd the show because I had to keep backing up to hear what was said because I got lost in his guns and pecs--sidenote: Carlos presented me with a handmade birthday card this morning with a picture of Rami on it. Yum!
Different fabrics in the shades of Kiwi, over a wrap skirt--and homage to guest judge Diane von Furstenberg, or a suck-up, or just done because they had six freaking hours.
Mila called his taste questionable, and dubbed the outfit garish. Mila. look in a mirror for garish; severe hair, blood red lips?
I liked his dress. I wasn't so fond of the polka dot fabric below the belt--it looked like an afterthought--but I loved the polka dot back
Very Kiwi. And safe.

JERELL
Fruits of the Forest
WTF Fruits of the Forest? And why does Jerell again go schizo on the top and bottom detail.
He also gets extra snarky with all the other designers, without failing to realize that he has yet to win a challenge, and, is rarely, if ever, in the top. Less snark, more design, Jer.
His dress, like Kenley's, is the same one he makes every week. The top doesn't match the bottom, and he likes the bling.
But he did get all giggle when DVF gave him the thumbs up, but I think the thumb meant, Yay! Another of the same dress.
And another pass. But with fewer designers each week, his lack of creativity may not keep him around.

AUSTIN
Vanilla Madagascar
He's shaken off last week's matador look, and traded it in for the very gay version of a West Side Story Jet. Note to Austin: if you wanna wear a tank top, get a body like Rami. But I digress.
He thinks vanilla Madagascar means going all white wedding with some tribal bling on it, because, you know, Madagascar, tribal, rhinestones. Yeah....I don't get it either.
And Austin gives in to the Goddess of Time and begins a hot relationship with a glue gun. And, I'm thinking he ran out of glue because he sewed his model into the dress. I hear she's still wearing it.
His dress is pretty. Tribal Glam, I'm guessing. But it's too safe.
Still, he pats himself on the pat with a "beautiful, elegant dresses are my signature."
But it won't get you to the tents.

KENLEY
Passion Fruit
She sticks to what she knows: one dress, A-line, flirty skirt, in pink tones.
What is it with these All Stars and their one-note designs?
Mila calls Kenley's dress too, simple and it doesn't say 'passion fruit' but, then, Mila's a bitch. so, there's that. And Kenley is happy as a 1940s clam when the dress fits her model, because it means she's good at knowing her model's measurements, and she's good at making the same dress week after week.
Her dress is young--like always--flirty--like always--and pink--like always. The only thing missing is a butt-load of tulle beneath the skirt.
She calls it "hip....fresh...vibrant". I call it "been there."
The judges call it safe.

ANTHONY
Green Tea
Once more, we're going to get a structured, origami dress in some version of a neon color.
It's deja vu all over again.
But then he tells us that he has to get very creative, given the time, and still keep to his aesthetic of style and elegance. So, he makes a Kenley skirt instead of his tight pencil skirt, for which he's thinks he's known.
"Wow, she looks like a dream realized," Anthony swoons on the catwalk. Then he notes that DVF gives a wink to the designer when she likes their work, and watches as DVF brings a barf bag up to her mouth following his dress.
Angela says it's too conceptual--melting ice cream--and messy, while DVF, wiping spittle from her chin, loves the concept, but not the dress. Georgina says the back panels ruin the dress--has she seen the front?--and supermodel Miranda Kerr says simplicity would have been better. Isaac didn't say much, other than "I don't like it."
Anthony finishes 4th,

KARA
Chocolate with Cayenne
She gets bogged down with a story of tasting the flavors and ending with a hot cayenne finish, and picks her fabrics like that. Beige and white, with a bit of chocolate and red.
Ruffles. Badly sewn ruffles. Worn too high on the body, badly sewn ruffles.
She dubs it chic and sophisticated. I think she was looking at someone else's dress when she said that, yet she thinks she has it nailed.
Cue ominous drumming.
The dress makes the model look like a ruffled pregnant woman, and the colors don't say much, except, Bleeech! Kara says the "movement great, the colors are gorgeous, and Isaac and Diane are reacting." I think they're breaking out in hives.
On the runway she tells a great story, but no one buys that the story has anything to do with the dress. Georgina calls the story passionate, the dress....not. Unless it's passion because the model looks like she had a good schtupping and is now six months pregnant. Isaac mutters that as soon as someone mentions the word pregnant, it's over. Miranda Kerr simply said, 'Ruffles?' DVF called it cute, but not flattering.
Kara goes 5th.

APRIL
Blueberry
purple, which is like black, only not. Jerell thinks she needs to be more versatile, and I think, Pot? Kettle? Mirror?
She says it'll be kind like Violet in Willy Wonka, I say it'll be like a girl named Violet has a full body bruise.
When asked by Joanna Coles how she's faring, April says she'll stick to what she knows. JC wonders if that'll Wow the judges and April points out her brilliant use of color as opposed to her normal black. Someone shake April, please.
Her dress doesn't fit the model, and she needs to add fabric to the back, which means she can't add fabric to the hem, which is short in the front, and near pornographic in the back. But, she liked the silhouette.
April? Dear? No one buys a silhouette, they buy a dress that fits.
Georgina likes the two purples, but thinks April took on too much as the corset is a mess, and the belt and earrings don't work. Isaac said it had a big impact, and good length, until the model turned around. DVF called it "Halloween Spider." I think she was channeling Kors. Angela doesn't think April translates her ideas to reality very well.
April is Auf'd.

MILA
Milk and Sour Cherry
She's happy with her selection because she loves red and white, and wants to prove to all of us that she does more than design in black. Trouble is, she tells us this while wearing black; and she shows us this while designing her outfit while wearing grey and white. Yeah, she's all about color.
She also wants to prove she can go softer in her design, so she picks two sheer fabrics, and then doubles them up so they aren't see-thru.
Anthony dubbed her dress a "colorblocked Christmas ornament disaster." Word.
And her dress does have color, though seeing the red beneath the sheer white looks like flesh to me, and that's never good. But then she styles this flowy, soft dress with a wide black belt and heavy black wedges, and kills it.
Isaac sees the gelato in the dress, and I wonder if he means the gelato the model ate at lunch since the dress is so sheer. Angela likes it, and loves the layering. Georgina likes that it has a summery feel too, while DVF says it looks rushed. Miranda called it easy to wear.
Well, if that isn't a compliment. I mean, sweatpants are easy to wear.
Still, someone--and by someone I mean the producers--wanted Milka to stay so she goes into 3rd Place.

MONDO
Cantaloupe
Mondo strays from his mix of patterns, and structured pieces and goes all loosey goosey flowy caftan, in a literal interpretation of cantaloupe, including the rind.
Mondo gets the Cute Moment Award for realizing that he didn't buy enough fabric and saying, Shucks. The last time I heard someone say Shucks, it was a cartoon dog. Too cute.
His design is very unexpected, and Anthony says, "It's a caftan. I designed one in college." And then he continues to work on his Origami project.
But Mondo's dress is different, and fun. My only complaint was that I wish it had been sexier, more lower cut, in the front. It seemed like an awful lot of fabric, for someone who said he didn't have enough. DVF called it great--what woman doesn't love a caftan. Miranda loved the back, and would have probably worn it that way. Georgina said it was fabulous, and shouldn't have worked--the mix of fabrics--but it did. Angela was a'scurred of the orange, but liked how the belt made it figure flattering. Isaac also wanted a deep V in the front--what is it with us gays and wanted to see deeper v-necks on the womens?
Still, Mondo missed it by that much.

MICHAEL
Grapefruit
Michael was all agape this entire episode. The idea of Dian von Furstenberg sent his upper lip to his eyebrows and his lower lip to his chin, while his eyes bug out like, well, Bugs Bunny when a hot girl bunny hops by.
And Michael says he has a lock on this because he can create a dress in 45 minutes, and he's been sewing since he was ten and he never glues the dress together. Austin.
Jerell, snark queen, says Michael's look is so easy "a chimpanzee can do it." Um, Jerell, honey, at least Michael made it to.the.tents. on his season. Word.
His dress is a draped, oversized, flowy, pinky, fleshy concoction. He calls it liquid gelato as it strolls the runway.
And its pretty, though it doesn't pack a Wow. But it does have the sexiness missing from Mondo's piece. Isaac loves it, but not the color; he feels it's missing the tartness of a grapefruit. DVF loves it, and tells Michale to call her after the show, and his chin literally hit the floor. No, seriously. it was on the floor. Georgina agrees about the color and says something in a language I don't understand, Satin-faced Georgette. Is that some sort of gay slur about Michael and his gaping maw?
Fabric? Oh. Never mind.
Michael gets another win; two in a row.

So........let's see.
Michael makes it to the tents. Mondo makes it to the tents. Rami makes it to the tents. At least that's how it seems the producers want it. See, let's face it, with all these judges, this is a producer-judged show. Why else would they keep Kara and her lackluster dresses over April, who may be a little too Gothic one-note but at least her designs have flair.
Oh, yeah, Kara, with all her running and shrieking is better TV than April who is more sullen.
Ratings people. Ratings.
And I'll be all aflutter if it isn't a Michael-Mondo-Rami tent show.

I Didn't Say It........

2012-01-27T12:00:00.002-05:00

Neil Patrick Harris, on falling in love with David Burtka:
"I remember being in my mid-twenties, lying in bed thinking, I’ve never taken a shower with anyone before; I’ve never had any kind of long-term relationship. I remember thinking that the rest of my life would be solo. I wasn’t weepy when I thought that--it was just a realization that I had gone this long being self-sufficient."

I know exactly what he's talking about.
i was single for quite a while before Carlos and i thought that was just how it would be; and I was feeling okay with that.
You just never know what's waiting out there for you, around a corner or across the country.

"Pastor" Ken Hutcherson, on Washington Governor Christine Gregoire:
"She might as well change her name to John Wilkes Booth because what she’s doing now is trying to put a bullet in the head of one of the greatest traditions that has ever existed and has built our society, and that is marriage between one man and one woman."

Wow.
Kenny, you sure can over-reach. Makes me wonder how, as a Black man, you felt when Blacks and Whites couldn't marry, and then marriage was redefined to make that union legal.
Did you spit and fire and brimstone then, or is it just because this is Civil Rights for gay folks that has your granny panties in a bunch?

Jim Bob Duggar, on transgender Girl Scouts:
"Our family loves Girl Scout cookies and I don't think allowing a boy in the Girl Scouts is a good thing...If they're wanting to create a new scout program where girls and boys would join together, that might be an option. But whether somebody declares they're a boy or girl and can join either one -- it isn't even logical and it goes against the core principles the group was founded on."

Let's just make anyone who doesn't fit the mold of what society deems normal live in their own separate world, eh, Jim Bob?
But, what then might you do if society says a man and woman who have nineteen children, and counting, is different?

Hudson Taylor, on LGBT athletic coaches coming out:

"If college athletics is ever to be free of the obstacles keeping coaches closeted, we must first acknowledge the presence of LGBT coaches among college teams. Currently, the college athletic community devotes little time and few resources to identifying this population and assessing the challenges they face."

And wouldn't it be much easier for gay players to come out of the coaches came out. And easier for the coaches if gay players came out.
It's just easier. No lying or hiding or shame.

Michael Fassbender, on his habit of being nude on screen:
“From the start of my career, I’ve been naked. My first job was a commercial for SAS airlines. In the spot, I wake up in a pink room next to a beautiful blonde girl and get out of bed naked. From that point forward, it’s been in all of my contracts: He must be naked in this film.”

And this is a problem because.......?
I mean, it's true; the man good play nude golf and not need a club.
Just sayin'.

Tricia Erickson, speaking on the Voice Of Christian America radio show about Mormons:
"The political machinery of the priesthood of the Mormon Church is named the Kingdom of God and/or the Government of God, and the goal of the Mormon Church, through the Mormon Kingdom of God, is to bring the United States government, this is true, under the rule of the priesthood, the Mormon priesthood. Mormons believe that they are the only true church, all other religions are false, and their main objective is to be ready when the time comes for the millennial reign by having their leaders ready to rule or already in key places of authority and power. Their ultimate goal is better serve their agenda by being able to rule and govern before the millennium actually takes place and the Mormon Church and its corporate empire, assets and resources will be the chief element in the millennial overthrow of the United States government."

I love when people who call themselves Christians denigrate other religions, and then cry fowl when someone does the same to theirs.
Judge not, Erica.....you moronic tool.

Kate Kendell, head of the National Center for Lesbian Rights, speaking to Karen "Missus Frothy Mix" Santorum:
"Karen, we need to talk. And by that, I mean that I need to talk and you need to listen. You love your husband--I get that. You love your faith--fine by me. But when you pretend that hate is love, that lies are truth, and that victims are oppressors, you have become insane. Your husband believes that LGBT people cannot be trusted to serve in the military, raise children, form stable relationships or be fully respected under the law. According to you, Rick may love us, but honey, his love is killing us, and we want nothing to do with this abusive relationship. Our community has endured expulsion from family, mass firings, daily epithets, assaults, harassment, humiliation, death, and suicides. We know that if your husband becomes president of our country our long suffering will only deepen and magnify. [snip] You and Rick are the haters. My community is the victim, and anyone paying attention knows the truth."

Thanks Kate for making it very clear when religious folks trot out the 'Love the sinner, hate the sin' rhetoric, they actually mean, Hate the sin, hate the sinner.'
So, effing-Christlike.

Dan Savage, on Newt and The Open Marriage:

Calista never wavered from the path of deceit and betrayal. Newt Gingrich was making an implicit promise to socially conservative voters: He did not ask his most recent ex-wife for an open marriage, and he will not ask any of his future ex-wives for an open marriage."

It was kind of sadly sick and twisted that Newt stated emphatically that he never asked for an open marriage while he was fucking the help, er, aide.
This just means that he wanted to fuck the help, and keep the wife, until she got sick, and then he divorced her and married the help.

Chris Christie, on Newt The Cheater:
"We all know the record. He was run out of the speakership of his own party, he was fined $300,000 for ethics violations. This is a guy who’s had a very difficult political career at times and has been an embarrassment to the party. The fact of the matter is I don’t need to regale the country with that entire list again except to say this. I’m not saying he will do it again in the future, but sometimes past is prologue."

Newt can atone for his marital sins, and pronounce himself forgiven. Good for him, he buys it. I don't. Once a lying hypocrite, always a lying hypocrite.
But he can never explain away his political past, and, well, history does repeat.

Cynthia Nixon, on choosing to be gay:
“I gave a speech recently, an empowerment speech to a gay audience, and it included the line ‘I’ve been straight and I’ve been gay, and gay is better.’ And they tried to get me to change it, because they said it implies that homosexuality can be a choice. And for me, it is a choice. I understand that for many people it’s not, but for me it’s a choice, and you don’t get to define my gayness for me. A certain section of our community is very concerned that it not be seen as a choice, because if it’s a choice, then we could opt out. I say it doesn’t matter if we flew here or we swam here, it matters that we are here and we are one group and let us stop trying to make a litmus test for who is considered gay and who is not. As you can tell, I am very annoyed about this issue. Why can’t it be a choice? Why is that any less legitimate? It seems we’re just ceding this point to bigots who are demanding it, and I don’t think that they should define the terms of the debate. I also feel like people think I was walking around in a cloud and didn’t realize I was gay, which I find really offensive. I find it offensive to me, but I also find it offensive to all the men I’ve been out with.”

Let me set you queer, Cyn.
A woman who was attracted to men and had sexual relations with men, and then finds herself attracted to women and having sexual relations with women, is, in fact, gay. And, narrowed down, bisexual.
I know you said you don't like the word bisexual, but you are. There's a 'B' in LGBT for a reason. And you do a great disservice to those of us who know being gay is not a choice, when you say you chose it. You were born bisexual, you didn't choose bisexual, but, beaing bisexual, you can choose which sex to whom you are attracted; I, as a gay man, cannot.

Mittsy Romney, on Newt:

“Speaker Gingrich has also been a leader,. He was a leader for four years as speaker of the House. And at the end of four years, it was proven that he was a failed leader and he had to resign in disgrace. I don’t know whether you knew that, he actually resigned after four years, in disgrace. He was investigated over an ethics panel and had to make a payment associated with that and then his fellow Republicans, 88 percent of his Republicans voted to reprimand Speaker Gingrich. He has not had a record of successful leadership.”

Which makes him only a hair bit worse as a GOP candidate for president than the flip-flopping out of touch, dog abuser, that you are, Mittsy.
But thanks for sharing.

Martin O'Malley, on his Maryland marriage equality bill:

"We have done our very best in the drafting of this bill to make very, very, very explicit the protections of religious liberty as well as the protection of rights equally under the law, and it’s my hope that that will not only allow more support in the House of Delegates but, as importantly, I hope it will allow more people throughout our state to be able to support this bill,. One does not have to be an advocate for same-sex marriage in order to support equal rights under the law.”

It's equality.
It's law.
It does not, and should not, affect churches.
Separation of church and state, people. The church can't tell the government what to do--or they shouldn't--and the government cannot do the same to churches.
Can't have it any other way.

Today's Birthdays

2012-01-27T09:00:00.042-05:00

Alan Cumming; actor, director, author, out gay man

Keith Olbermann; journalist

Mikhail Baryshnikov; ballet dancer

Troy Donahue; actor, out gay man

Bobby Bland; musician

Donna Reed; actress

Jerome Kern; Broadway composer

Lewis Carroll; author

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart; composer

Bob; blogger, snark expert, out gay man.
Such illustrious company in which I find myself.

Random Musings

2012-01-26T18:00:00.006-05:00

Newt Gingrich crushed Mitt Romney in South Carolina because, well, we likes our bigots. In his pandering,m er, acceptance speech, he explained how:

"It's not that I'm a good debater. It's that I articulate the deepest-felt values of the American people."

...and...
Black people are poor because they deserve it.,
Poor people should be janitors.
Gays can't marry but I can fuck whomever I want and then ask for forgiveness; at least once the request for open marriage is denied.

Turned on the TV one morning this week and was stunned.
Since when is Oprah's husband Gayle a host of The CBS Morning Show?
Seriously, CBS, how far can you fall?
First Julie "Big Brother" Chen calls herself a journalist, and now this?

Teabagging wingnut Rand Paul was stopped from boarding a flight at the Nashville airport this week after he triggered an alarm and then refused a TSA pat-down, setting off a mini-firestorm over a pet issue for the Tea Partying wacknut.
But that's not the story Rand Paul is telling. he says he was taken to a cubicle and told to "stay there." The TSA say he was told he could not proceed to the gate but was never detained.
Then Rand said that he was told by TSA officials that the screeners randomly select people and sound the alarm. The TSA says this is not the case. Rand says he was told this but, you know, he can't say who told him.
Sounds like Rand Paul is using his experience for his own personal agenda, and that of his daddy, GOP not-gonna-be-presidential candidate, Ron Paul, who seized on the kerfuffle, issuing a statement that touted his own budget proposal, which eliminates the TSA.
Because it stopped his little boy? Oh you Pauls, twice as crazy as your average Republicans.

Mariela Castro, Cuba’s first daughter, says island lawmakers will consider legalizing same-sex civil unions this year.
In Cuba!??! The outspoken daughter of President Raul Castro is a prominent gay rights activist, and says a preliminary proposal to modify the country’s Family Code is undergoing legal study and is on the legislative schedule for 2012.
In Cuba!! The LGBT community suffered persecution during the early years of the Castro regime, but attitudes have now changed. Once-banned gay pride parades are now annual events, while the government has led anti-homophobia campaigns and even begun paying for sex change operations.
In Cuba.

Newt Gingrich did not lobby for Freddie Mac.
Foot stomp. Head snap. Grimace. Pout.
But, what he did do, was hire legislative experts to study the regulations and advise him of what he could and couldn't do in order to legally avoid registering as a lobbyist.
He backdoored the policy like it was Callista on a Saturday night.
And, his non-lobbying earned him a $1.6 million dollar payday, which he said, at first, was for his expertise as an historian. Then he said he advised; then he said he not-lobbied.
I think Newt wanted an open marriage with Freddie Mac.

That's our Nikki.
First, she panders to the Tea Party in order to get elected. Then she says she'll be the most transparent governor South Carolina has ever had, and proceeds to lie and cover up earnings, taxes paid, and even going so far as to hide government emails from the press.
But, what cracks me up most about her transparency, is when this Teabagging Cutie announced that she would be endorsing the most un-Tea Party candidate of all, Mittsy Romney. The 'Baggers were a'fuming.
But then Mittsy doesn't get the win here in the SC, and what does Transparent Nikki do next? She avoids Mittsy like the plague, even staying far away from his campaign headquarters on election night.
So, so transparent. That's our Nikki.

Up in Jersey, Senate President Steve Sweeney, Senate Majority Leader Loretta Weinberg, and Senator Raymond Lesniak, are furious about Governor Chris Christie's call yesterday for a voter referendum on marriage equality.
Putting it simply, a la Loretta Weinberg: "We do not put civil rights questions on the ballot."
And Steve Sweeney, responding to a reporter who questioned "going through the exercise" of passing marriage equality which the governor threatens a veto, said: "The point of going through a fight for civil rights, are you kidding me? I'm offended by that...If the governor wants to stifle and silence his colleagues that's one thing. But he is not going to silence or stifle us...It's offensive for anyone to think 'why bother' if the governor doesn't want to do it. Well, guess what? He's wrong on this one."
Word.
Oh, and Christie is also fat. I mean, really fat. I mean step-away-from-the-donuts-Oprah-before-the-red wagon fat.

And lastly....
Normally I would create a special Letters!! We Get Letters!! post when I get a response like this but, well, you'll soon understand.
Back in July 2008, I wrote a post about Hawaii's then-Governor Linda Lingle who vetoed a measure that would have given same-sex and unwed heterosexual couples the same protections under the law as married couples. See, Lingle is against same-sex marriage and is one of those one-man/one-woman folks who have been married more than once themselves.
I wasn't especially rude to Ms. Lingle in my post, though I did dub her an asshat, but Anonymous still took issue with my post, and in his or her most eloquent way, responded thus:
Anonymous has left a new comment on your post Linda Lingle Is An Asshat:

You dick sucking ass hole leave out Gov out of your suck ass world, it cock sucker like you that should not be talk to anyone take your ass fuck dick and put it in your mouth.

Three things strike me about Anonymous.
#1] He or she is a very slow reader, because they are nearly three years behind in reading ISBL; or, the person who reads to them is extraordinarily slow, while.....
#B] Spelling is not a practice anonymous follows, and neither is punctuation, and.....
#3] They're a little into the gay sex thing, I mean, they focus on the gay sex in their entire response.
Wait, Anon? Are you Rick Santorum?

Just For Giggles: The Swingrich's

2012-01-26T16:00:00.000-05:00

Wow

2012-01-26T14:00:00.000-05:00

That's all.....carry on.

New Hampshire Wants To Legalize Hate

2012-01-26T12:00:00.002-05:00

I may have to go up to New Hampshire, grab the legislature by their overalls and shake some sense into them.
See, a new bill has come before the Legislature that would allow people to refuse services to the LGBT community for religious or conscience reasons by putting an exemption in state marriage law. The proposed text says no person, including a business owner or employee, should be required to provide services, accommodations, advantages, facilities, goods or privileges for wedding services in "violation of the person's conscience or religious faith." The bill also would protect against lawsuits arising from refusal to provide those services.
Representative Frank Sapareto, a Republican of course, says, "We are concerned about clergy having to provide ceremonies against their belief."
Oh. It's just for clergymen. Well, then that's another.....what? Opponents say clergy already are protected under the law? They say that this bill would open the door for individuals, businesses--even government officials--to discriminate not only against gay couples, but those who are of different faiths?
Well, then, that's a dumbass of a different color.
New Hampshire? Seriously? You are going to pass a law to allow discrimination?
If this bullshiz passes in new Hampshire, a gas station could refuse to allow you to buy gas because you're gay, or Jewish, or, heck, just different. Flower shops could say no to The Gays. Town clerks or a judges could refuse to marry a gay couple, just because they disagree even though it's their job to do so.
Sapareto has drawn personal criticism because of the bill and actually complains that people are calling him a bigot: "They're completely intolerant."
They're intolerant? Pot. Kettle. Shut the fuck up.

source

Minnesota "Christians" Lobby For The Right To Bully LGBTQ Students

2012-01-26T09:00:00.000-05:00

A slew of conservative Christian parents have demanded that schools in the Anoka-Hennepin School District--where there has been a slew of teen suicides--stop mentioning homosexuality and, in fact, have demanded that teachers teach about the “ex-homosexual” movement and “gay-related immune deficiency.”
Oh, yeah, this is happening in Michele Bachmann's congressional district. Just sayin'.
One district member even called Dan Savage’s It Gets Better campaign " vulgar" and accused Savage--who, with his partner have an adopted son--of teaching children about “three-ways.” Seriously, a campaign that seeks to remind LGBTQ youth that life can get better, that suicide is never an option, to stay strong and stand tall, is vulgar.
That's the Anoka-Hennepin School District, where suicide is on the rise. But the "Christians" don't care because it's gay kids doing the dying.
All this started because some students--six to be exact--sued the district over its “neutrality policy” which says that LGBT issues are not to be discussed in the district’s schools. Those students say that 'neutrailty' makes for a hostile school environment; the district announced last month that they are considering scrapping the policy and replacing it with one that deals with “controversial topics”.

Well, the Parents Action League [PAL], a group of conservative "Christians" who missed the memo that God is love, want the policy to remain. And two such "Christians," Brian Lindquist and Mike Skaalerud presented a PAL resolution, along with a list of demands that include incorporating "ex-gay" therapy into the school resources. see, you can't mention 'gay' but you can brainwash kids into believing there's such a thing as "ex-gay."
In addition, they'd like:

A new division within the student support services and a special section on the District 11 website devoted to faith, moral conviction, ex-homosexuals and ex-transgenders.
That District 11 administrators and staff work closely with pro-family and ex-homosexual and ex-transgender organizations to provide ongoing training to school counselors, school nurses, social workers, school psychologists, prevention specialists, student learning advocates and a number of secondary principals and principals.
Provide professional development opportunities in which philosophical, pedagogical, and political assumptions of GLBT advocacy are critically examined.
Provide webinars, seminars for all staff on over-coming sexual disorders
Provide the history of Gay Related Immune Deficiency or GRID--the initial name given to AIDS when it was still only a cluster of gay men though it hasn’t been used since 1984--and acquired immune deficiencies and the medical consequences of homosexual acts.
That all health classes that address homosexuality be required to provide up-to-date information from the CDC on sexually transmitted diseases and HIV among the groups the CDC designates as men who have sex with men.

Barb Anderson, a PAL spokesbigot, is also a researcher for the Minnesota Family Council has accused LGBT advocacy groups of being responsible for bullying and suicides in the district.
She actually blames LGBT advocacy groups for the rash of LGBT suicides in the district. And then, at the meeting this week, she also accused the LGBT community of indoctrinating students.
Babs "Delusional Asshat" Anderson: “On Dec. 25th, on the front page of the Star Tribune, the pro-homosexual media once again held up the St. Paul school district as an example of how the districts should deal with GLBT issues. In St. Paul, the fear of the gay agenda coming into the schools is now a thing of the past. Well, that’s exactly right. There’s no reason to fear it coming in because its so entrenched in their schools that parents have given up all hope of getting it out.”
She then said that the “gay agenda”--and seriously, any bigots out there reading this, tell me exactly what the 'gay agenda' is--was trying to force Christians into the closet, by quoting Steve Warren--whom she described wrongly as a leader in ACT-UP--claiming that his “gay manifesto” was the rallying cry for the community. She failed to mention that the Warren’s article,written under the pseudonym Michael Swift, was satire.
This is what these so-called "Christians" do.
They say the LGBT is out to indoctrinate kids into homosexuality. Well, if we could actually do that, and since gay folks have been around since the beginning of time, wouldn't everyone on the planet have been indoctrinated by now?
They use words like GRID to make HIV/AIDS a gay disease, thereby making young straight men and women susceptible to the virus because they're taught they cannot get it because they're straight.
They use satire, written by us, against us.
So very "Christian".
Here's the deal, Babs, and all you other mind-fucking-ly dumb bigots in the Anoka-Hennepin School District. We, and by we I mean the LGBT community don't give a rats behind about your so-called "Christianity." Some of us are Christians. You can be a Christian. You can preach that homosexuality is wrong--it's called Free Speech. You can say what you want and believe what you want.
But you cannot torture someone who does not fit into your limited worldview. You cannot tell us, daily, that we are gonna die, that God hates us. You cannot push us, shove us, hit us,or put your hands on us, in the name of God.
Because that, Babs, will surely piss her off.

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Architecture Wednesday: Split Personality

2012-01-25T18:00:00.001-05:00

So, I was trolling the interwebz looking for something to post, something that tickles my architectural boner, if you will, and I stumbled upon this interesting home.
Modern. Clean lines. Minimal. Yes, we have a winner.
And then as I perused the pictures of the backyard, and the pool area, and bits and pieces of the house, they finally revealed the facade of this beauty, which I will save for the end of this post. But, let's just say, this house, which I dub The Sybil, is really quite remarkable.
This project was done for a couple and their children, and included alterations to the front and a new, separate studio to the rear of the site. It was designed so that the spaces are adaptable to the changing needs of a family over time. The studio space can become an office, if need be; the entertainment room in the basement could become a home gym or playroom.
And there's a central courtyard with a pool and access to the rear parking areas. The garden has also been carefully crafted to create its own secret garden, complete with designer cubby house.
Plus, and this is the wave of the future, the house sits atop a 25,000 liter underground rain water harvesting tank. There are double glazed windows throughout, highly insulated walls floors and roof, and all of the wood used in the addition are locally resourced, sustainable, plantation timber cladding.
The addition appears to have been carved from a solid block, chiseled away to draw light into the home. Deep reveals form the windows to the upper floor to protect the gaze from the surrounding residences. An interior lightwell and water feature extend the garden space into the living spaces.
There is an overwhelming sense of seclusion in both the house and garden that creates a type of space that is the family’s own, a retreat from busy lives and the surrounding urban chaos.

And now for the street facade, and why I call this house The Sybil.

Thank you Mood

Just For Giggles: This Explains Everything

2012-01-25T15:00:00.001-05:00

Funny Link

Oh Mittsy! You're Just Like Me!!

2012-01-25T12:00:00.004-05:00

Let's make this perfectly queer: I don't begrudge Mitt Romney, or anyone for that matter, being a millionaire or a billionaire or even a kajillionaire. But, what pisses me off about Mittsy is his constant "I'm just like you" attitude.
It ain't workin', Mittsy. Especially now that your tax returns have been released and we can all see just how unlike us you are:

Mitt Romney earned $21.7 million in 2010....just like me.
Mitt Romney earned $20.9 million in 2011.....just like me.
Mitt Romney paid a lower tax rate [13.9%...less than the 15% he originally claimed] than many middle-class Americans....just like me.
Mitt Romney's tax rate was also well below what other wealthy people pay, which is 25%...just like me.
Mitt Romney makes more in a day [more than $33,000 in a day] than the average American makes in a year, and becomes a 1 percenter every week...just like me.
Mitt Romney paid almost nothing [0.1%] in payroll taxes because the tax is only assessed on earned wages; most working Americans pay 7.65 percent....just like me.
Mitt Romney has accounts in the Cayman Islands, Switzerland, and Luxembourg, countries notorious for tax dodging....just like me. [Aides said he closed his Swiss account in 2010 because it might have been “politically embarrassing.”]
Mitt Romney's [and Newt's] tax plans would slash Romney’s taxes to less than half what he pays now....just like me.

Now, let me say again, I don't begrudge Romney being a millionaire. I do, however, take issue with his lies that he's "just like me" and that he was also "unemployed" last year. I also take issue with the fact that if Mittsy Romney, or Newt Gingrich, get elected in November, they'll be looking out for their own.
But hey, that's just like me.

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BRB: I'm Headed To The DMV

2012-01-25T09:00:00.000-05:00

What's this? In Indiana? The state's first specialty license plate that benefits LGBT causes is now available for purchase.
Oh, but it is. Bureau of Motor Vehicles [BMV] spokesman Graig Lubsen said the Indiana Youth Group plate has been available since last month; the plate bears a logo with hands in rainbow colors reaching up.Twenty-five dollars from the sale of each $40 plate goes to the group serving LGBTQ youth. The Indiana Youth Group operates an activity center, helps develop Gay Straight Alliances in high schools and assists communities in forming youth services; the group serves some 1,400 youths and young adults ages 12 to 21.
Youth Group director Mary Byrne says every nickel raised by the sale of these specialty plates "will go directly for services to these young people."
Indiana is only the second state in the nation with a specialty plate benefiting gay youths. Maryland was the first.
But it took a lawsuit to have the plate made available.
The Youth Group sued the state in 2010 after the BMV turned down its request for a specialty plate in 2008 and 2009, alleging the BMV used arbitrary and unconstitutional standards in deciding whether to approve plates for nonprofit groups. Both sides later reached an agreement and the lawsuit was dismissed. The Youth Group applied again and the plate was approved.
Makes me wanna pack up my bags and move to, of all places, Indiana, except........

Down here in South Carolina, we can now purchase an SC Equality license plate.Now, the license plate doesn't have a rainbow flag, or rainbow colors, or pink triangles, or RuPaul, on it, but it's an LGBT supportive plate.
It was created as a way of allowing residents of South Carolina to publicly display their support of community, culture and policy that encourages and advocates for equal treatment for all South Carolinians, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity.
And the license plates comes in 2012, which is the tenth anniversary of the founding of SC Equality. In effing South Carolina.
After hanging my head that a serial adulterer and racist wingnut won the GOP Primary, hearing this news allowed me to hold my head up again.
Way to go, SC! Way to go!

Indiana
South Carolina

"Doctor" Keith Ablow Goosesteps For Newt

2012-01-24T18:00:00.001-05:00

As many of you know, I have a low tolerance for stupid people. But, every so often, along comes a stupid person, so deluded by their own lack of brain activity, that they almost become comical.
Like, say, "Doctor" Keith Ablow.
Just yesterday, I posted the "Dr.'s" theory about Americans drinking so much. It was kinda funny all the things he blames, being that not one of them is a right-wing thing, or a Christian thing, or a FauxNews thing. Now we have "Doctor" Ablow talking about all things Newt, and, of course, seeing that they pay his bills, doing it for FauxNews.
Ablow was tasked with analyzing Newt Gingrich’s infidelity issues and he arrived at some pretty amazing [read: high-larious] conclusions. Now, the be fair, and balanced, I must say that "Doctor" Ablow believes Newt's fidelity, or lack thereof, doesn’t dictate how he’ll be as a President, but it's his other "theories" that tickle my funny bone."Dr." Ablow writes,

1) Three women have met Mr. Gingrich and been so moved by his emotional energy and intellect that they decided they wanted to spend the rest of their lives with him.

Really? These women wanted to be with Newt The Sex God because of his “emotional energy and intellect”? Not, maybe, because he was their superior and they might be a hint, all right an ALLEGED hint, of sexual harassment at the most, but an inappropriate relationship at least. And, of course, "Dr." Ablow's theory rests of the shaky foundation that Newt has great emotional energy and intellect.

2) Two of these women felt this way even though Mr. Gingrich was already married.

3) One of them felt this way even though Mr. Gingrich was already married for the second time, was not exactly her equal in the looks department and had a wife (Marianne) who wanted to make his life without her as painful as possible.

Conclusion: When three women want to sign on for life with a man who is now running for president, I worry more about whether we’ll be clamoring for a third Gingrich term, not whether we’ll want to let him go after one.

So, two of these women, including Marianne and the robotic Calista, began an inappropriate affair with a marriage man--and keep in mind, Calista portrays herself as a devout Catholic, though probably not while she flat on her back in the arms of a married Newt--and "Dr." Ablow apparently seriously believes that because they found Newt so utterly captivating and desirable that it means the American people are gonna find him just as delightful.
At least until we find out he's fucking around on us.
I mean, old habits and all.
See what i mean, though? Stupid people, like "Doctor" Ablow are sometimes so stupid, and so delusional, and so willing to sell themselves to a news channel--and that makes me giggle because it's Fox--that it actually becomes funny.
And then sad.
Then funny again, because, seriously, President "Newt".
Ain't gonna happen.
For more of "Doctor" Ablow's Theories That Blow, go HERE.

Just For Giggles

2012-01-24T15:00:00.000-05:00

O'Malley Pushes For Equality Again

2012-01-24T12:00:00.002-05:00

You gotta give him credit for perseverance.
Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley hosted a breakfast this morning with gay activists and members of the religious community to discuss his bill granting marriage equality to all Marylanders. O'Malley is expected to introduce his marriage equality bill this evening.
His task at this meeting is to ensure religious leaders that they will never be forced to perform a same-sex marriage if they choose not to do so: "If there’s a difference [this year] it will probably be in regard to the respect for religious freedom and making that a little clearer in this bill."
That's how it should be. We argue that marriage is a civil union of two people, not a religious union, so we cannot, should not, will not force any church to participate in a same-sex wedding if they choose to stay out of it. If a gay couple wants to have a religious service, then seek out a church that is willing to perform that ceremony, don't force it on anyone.
Separation of church and state, y'all.
O'Malley's bill passed the Senate last year--and is expected to do so again--but it stalled in the House falling short of the 71 votes needed for passage.
Let's hope that in the past year, those people who chose not to support equality have realized the error of their ways.
Go Maryland!

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Big Pro-LGBT Business

2012-01-24T09:00:00.000-05:00

Out there in Washington, where marriage equality inches closer to reality, a letter, signed by Microsoft, Vulcan, NIKE, RealNetworks, Group Health Cooperative, and Concur was sent to legislative leaders stating their support for marriage equality.

"We write you today to show the support of our respective companies for SB 6239 and HB 2516 recognizing marriage equality for same-sex couples."

It was back in 2005 that Microsoft started a bit of a kerfuffle in Washington when the company stated that it was "neutral" on LGBT-rights legislation. After much criticism, though, Microsoft changed its position and endorsed LGBT-rights bills, including domestic partnerships for same-sex couples. But it was only a week or so ago that Microsoft said it was reviewing the marriage equality bill and had not yet decided to take a position.
Now, they have:

"Microsoft is joining other Northwest employers Concur, Group Health Cooperative, Nike, RealNetworks and Vulcan Inc. in support of Washington State legislation recognizing marriage equality for same-sex couples. This position builds on our history of supporting corporate and public policies that promote inclusion and equality.Microsoft's greatest asset is a talented workforce as diverse as our customers. As other states recognize marriage equality, Washington's employers are at a disadvantage if we cannot offer a similar, equitable and inclusive environment to our talented employees, our top recruits and their families. This legislation would put Washington employers on equal footing with employers in the six other states that already recognize the committed relationships of same-sex couples. Passing the bill would be good for our business and for the state's economy."

How can you, as a business, expect o move ahead, expect to be able to hire the best employees, expect to at the forefront of business, when you denigrate one group by, either denying them rights, or staying neutral?
You can't.
Thanks for the support, Microsoft, Vulcan, NIKE, RealNetworks, Group Health Cooperative, and Concur.

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"Doctor" Keith Ablow Goosesteps For FauxNews

2012-01-23T18:00:00.000-05:00

"Dr." Keith Ablow, goosestepping asshatted psychiatrist to FauxNews has a new mission on his hands. He wants to stop America from drinking, and he wants to tell us why Americans drink.

In a piece "Dr" Ablow wrote for FauxNews, he states that "one in every six Americans downs eight mixed drinks within a few hours, four times a month. Twenty-eight percent of young people between the ages of 18 and 24 binge-drink five times a month, putting away seven drinks in one sitting. And 13 percent of those between the ages of 45 and 65 binge drink five times a month, too."

Okay, that's not good. I'm mean, anyone with half a brain, and by half a brain I mean people like "Dr." Keith Ablow, know that binge-drinking is a bad, bad thing. And, while I can somewhat compliment "Dr." Ablow for his interest in stopping some Americans from drinking themselves to death, let's take a look at whom the "Dr." blames for our increased intoxication.

He believes "Americans are on a flight from reality." We're a'scurred for the economy, so we drink. We're afraid of Muslims so we have a shot of whiskey, or ten. And. then he pulls out that old chestnut: Americans are drinking themselves to death because, oh lawdy lawdy lawdy, help me, gay folks wanna get married.

But then he also tosses in immigration, and health care--though he is staunchly anti-Obamacare--as other reasons for our over-imbibing in the liquored beverages, saying, "[W]e as a nation are drinking, drugging, gambling, smoking, Facebooking, YouTubing, Marijuaning, Kardashianing, Adderalling, Bono-ing (as in thinking of Chaz’s sad flight from reality as good), Prozacking, Twittering, and Sexting ourselves into oblivion."

Note how "Dr." Keith Ablow blames the alcoholism of America on everything but FauxNews, and the GOP and Christians. Um, ya think it's because he's paid by FauxNews?

Perhaps. I mean, the Kardashians and Chaz Bono? Really? But Rick Santorum equating gay sex with bestiality isn't an issue. Michele Bachmann saying gay people are of Satan doesn't raise his dander. Newt Gingrich marrying THREE times and fucking around on two of those marriages--though I suspect we'll learn one day that he screwed around on the robotic Calista, too--doesn't bother him in the least.

What a sanctimonious fuck, blaming everything but Republican agenda and the Christians and Rupert Murdoch for people over-drinking.

Of course, at the end, "Dr." Ablow offers up his remedy for our National Alcoholism: God. Yes, indeed, take God into your life, become a good Christan and the urge to drink yourself blind because Chaz Bonbo is transgendered, or Kim Kardashian is a famewhore, or because someone defriended you on Facebook, will go away.

That's how the good "Dr." sees it, or at least how FauxNews pays the the good "Dr." to see it.

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Just For Giggles: Newt Logic

2012-01-23T15:00:00.000-05:00

Another One: Phillip Parker

2012-01-23T12:00:00.000-05:00

Phillip Parker was just fourteen when he'd decided enough was enough. He took his own life rather than endure another moment of being bullied.
Gena Parker, Phillip's mother:

"He was fun, he was energetic, he was happy."

And, to many of his friends, Phillip was known as the boy who told everyone they're beautiful, though maybe he didn't quite believe that for himself.
Ruby Harris, Phillip's grandmother:

"He kept telling me he had a rock on his chest. He just wanted to take the rock off where he could breathe."

Phillip's family reported their concerns over his being the target of bullies to officials at Gordonsville High School on multiple occasions, but the bullying just got worse.Phillip Parker, Phillip's father:

"That's my son. I love him. I miss him."

An official with Smith County Schools said they are planning how to handle a crisis situation with students Monday. It's a shame they couldn't handle a bullying situation, for then there would be no need for crisis counseling for Phillip's fellow students.
Some folks say that these are hard posts to read, and I can tell you that they are hard posts to write. But if we don't put their names out there, we don't shine a light on the issue that children are bullying children; to death.
This needs to stop. The schools need to step up. The districts need to step up. Parents need to demand that the schools their children attend keep those children safe.
I'm sick of seeing 'Another One....' on my blog, but these young men and women, gay and straight, are not going to die in vain.

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Outstanding Guest Comment Of The Week: It's Froggy Again!

2012-01-23T09:00:00.026-05:00

Yes, time does fly, because we are once again announcing the nominees and the winner of the coveted....coveted?....ISBL Outstanding Guest Comment of the Week.
And heeeeeeere that are:

It seems as though scarcely a week goes by and we have yet another young person who decides that suicide is their only option to relive themselves from the pain of a lifetime of bullying. That's why we have Another One: Eric James Borges:
Kyle Leach said...
Bob, that is the saddest part for me; all of that love, passion, creativity, and potential erased and for no good reason at all. He just felt alone and didn't feel he could go on. i don't even want to say what I think of his so called parents.

We get good news on the LGBT front quite often these days, but there are still hot spots of bigotry and intolerance in America. One such place is Tennessee: More Phobic Every Day:
Rainbow said...
I officially have a new "stompin a mudhole in" target!! First I need to google and find out exactly how one goes about "stompin a mudhole" and exactly what type of shoes are appropriate for such a thing...I'm guessing slingbacks are out. Also, exactly how much stompin does it take to "stomp him dry"? I have a mani/pedi scheduled for 2pm...just sayin!

Of course I spoke to soon when talking about LGBT suicides, once this week was bad enough, and then there was Another One: Jeff Fehr:
Theaterdog said...
As much as I hate seeing that title "another one" I thank you for keeping the faces we are losing in your blog. It is the same as David Mixner showing the faces of fallen soldiers on his blog.
Am I alone in this, but should we stop using the word "bully" and call this practice what it is, assault.
I was bullied back in the 60s, what is happening to these kids has got to be something I can not imagine.
thank you

I've often said it doesn't matter when or how one comes out, but that everyone must come out. It's awfully hard to denigrate us, when we're open and out and everywhere, so this week was a good week as Todd Glass Comes Out:
www.DiatribesAndOvations.com said...
Welcome out, Todd. There truly is power in numbers. I encourage everyone that's in the closet to be honest about who they are.

The march toward marriage equality is on, people. Washington stepped up, then New Jersey followed suit, and now Illinois Gears Up For The Fight:
Ron said...
Same sex marriages will be Federal law in my lifetime. It is just a matter of time. These troglodytes are just wasting our time opposing what is inevitable.

I'm not a fan of government censorship, as I can censor myself, and censor things from myself quite nicely, thank you. So, on Wednesday, ISBL went dark in the face of SOPA and PIPA and reminded readers that You Could Be Seeing This:
Princess said...
Is this the transcript of the last Republican debate? It clearly explains everything...

I tend to squeal somewhat gleefully when a self-entitled politician says something off the cuff and reveals far more about themselves then they ever intended. This week it was Little Mittsy Romney who got got in the Open Mouth, Insert Very Expensive Shoe kerfuffle....again:
Mitch Block said...
I sure hope all these gaffs are used and used well during the actual presidential election (since I expect he'll be the GOP candidate). It would be wonderful to see all this bite him very seriously in the ass.

Going dark caused a delay in one of my favorites features here at ISBL, so this week we had Architecture Wednesday Thursday: To Downsize, Or Not To Downsize:
twunty mcslore said...
I'm speechless. My mind keeps telling me that it's impossible that all that space is inside that tiny exterior. I'm a little freaked out. Hold me.

Moronic politicians, moronic politician's wives, hot guys, Meryl Streep and movie stars with half a brain, all spurred on my Random Musings:

tamayn said...
There is nothing better than following the GOP debate tweets Dan Savage puts out. Then again my feed never disappoints. I don't know why I didn't get into it sooner.

Man oh man, people were talking this week. Some said fun stuff, some said hateful stuff, some were just douchenozzles. But I won't take the blame because I Didn't Say It...., y'all did...mostly about Ethan Sabo:

Miss Ginger Grant said...
Ethan Sabo: you fucking piece of shit: if you don't want to see me in my bootie shorts, don't come to the gay pride parade. You don't belong their anyway! I'll make a deal with you- if you don't come to my gay pride parade and make fun of my bootie shorts, I won't come to you church and taunt you when you lie to Jeebus about how you love mankind and want peace on earth!

R.J. said...
Ethan Sabo puts the con in HomoCon. His rant makes him sound just like a sick, nasty gay basher.

Wonder Man said...
Ethan Sabo needs to have a seat

Y'all know I'm a whore for the PR, but every so often--well, more often than not--they jump the shark in their challenges. Like when they ask the designers to create a dress for a puppet and then everyone acts like the puppet is a real person. PR: All-Stars: Porcine Prêt-à-Porter, seriously?:

Tiger Chanter said...
I was disappointed that we didn't see the "muppet-sized" version on Miss Piggy at the end! :(

Miss Ginger Grant said...
Project Runway All "Stars" is a misnomer- Joanna Coles, Schmeidi, and whoever-the-fuck-that-other- bitch-is are decidedly NOT stars!
Bring back Mrs. Seal, Korange, and the receptionist from Mode- the PR franchise is sinking faster than an Italian ocean liner!

Once again I scoured the web for a feel-good story to start the weekend, and after a week of the stories of Marines urinating on corpses, I was glad this one was also about military men, and women. Those who do the right thing, like Good News Friday: Vets Stand Tall Against Hate:

Beth said...
THAT is a good story. Thank you. I needed that.

Each week I am astounded by the antics of people we call 'celebrities' and the kerfuffles in which they often find themselves...boy-toys, outrageous spending habits, jealous husbands, spats between divas, and ginormous egos. It's just like life, except, I Ain't One To Gossip, But....:

David said...
Gwyneth Paltrow's success is based on her mom and dad. She's a twit, and nowhere near as talented as a box of hair. I dream one day of kicking her in her lady parts.

But the Outstanding Guest Comment of the Week the OGCOTW, if you will, was posted almost the instant I posted the winners for last week. It was a comment that stuck with me all week long, partially because it was posted on Another One: Eric James Borges and partially because of the fact that I thank the goddess every day for the parents I have:

froggy said...
I don't think his *parents* deserve that title. They were given the gift of a child and they destroyed it.

Still gives me chills just reading it.
Thanks Froggy, and thanks to everyone who stops by for a little rant and chat during the week.

Sunday Funnies: Extra! Extra!

2012-01-22T14:30:00.003-05:00

I just came across this one and it's too good not to share!

Sunday Funnies

2012-01-22T08:00:00.000-05:00

I Ain't One To Gossip, But.....

2012-01-21T09:00:00.001-05:00

I blame it on Gwyneth.
Chris Martin has always been a bit touchy where his wife, the supremely perfect in her own head, Gwyneth Paltrow is concerned. But he gets positively twitchy when the subject of Brad Pitt comes up, which I imagine it does, being Pitt was one of Paltrow's old flames.
In fact, in 2008, Chris said, about Pitt, in a Rolling Stone interview, saying, “You’ve got to be hungry… If your wife went out with Brad Pitt, you’d want to prove yourself, you know what I mean?”
Um, no, but you go ahead.
Later that same year, Chris punched an interviewer--and called him a c*nt--for mentioning Gwyneth’s engagement to Brad, so for the past few years, Chris avoids the subject altogether.
Until the bauble appeared. It seems that Mister Gwyneth Paltrow’s eyes popped when he spotted an obviously pricey diamond bracelet on the wrist of the Missus. He asked her about it, and Gwyneth, being dumb as a box of rocks, or loving the drama, told him the jewels were a gift from Brad during their engagement.....15 years ago.
Chris blew his stackand there was the promise of donating the bauble to charity. Still, it begs the question, why would she wear an expensive piece of jewelry given to her by an old flame in front of her very jealous-of-the-former-fiance husband? Well, it all goes back to dumb as a box of rocks, or loving the drama. That's Gwynnie.

Haven't heard too much of Miley Pothead Cyrus lately, so, naturally, she used the Paris Hilton method of getting some press.
She began showing up anywhere and everywhere looking much thinner than she had just a month back.
Drugs? Drink? Bulimia?
See, Miley looked less bulky, and the boobs were smaller and she seemed so tiny. All of it ALLEGEDLY due to a chef, nutritionist, and personal trainer who helped Miley shed 15 pounds for the incredibly low price of $50,000.
Uh, huh. She apparently still has a fat head.
According to a pal--and by pal, I mean her media savvy daddy--Miley used those experts to help her shed some weed fat before a Hawaiian getaway with boyfriend Liam Hemsworth: “Miley probably spent $50,000 to lose 15 pounds in a few weeks. She didn’t care what it cost as long as she looked good!”
I'm thinking if she'd spent 50k less on weed, and lost the munchies, she probably would have lost the weight just as easily and quickly, and saved herself $100,000.
But that's just me.

Oh JLo, ¿como se dice 'midlife crisis'?
First she dumps her husband, and then goes all Britney and hooks up with a backup dancer, and then pays said dancing boy 10k a week just to be her boy. But now Lopez has seen to it that Casper the Horny Backup Dancer was offered a job--without description--at American Idol. Supposedly, JLo wants to keep him busy while Mama's workin'.
An insider--and by insider I mean Miss Ryan Seacrest--says, “Casper has some title but no one knows what he’s supposed to be doing.”
But JLo is so desperate to keep her toy, she’s even hired her attorneys to clear him of charges stemming from recklessly drag-racing a friend down an LA freeway last winter, and Ryan adds: “She doesn’t mind paying thousands of dollars if it means he’ll stick around.”
Stick around and take care of Mama's needs. I'm guessing.

The story that won't die is the one about Elton, his husband, and Madonna.
We all know that Elton John lost the Golden Globe for “Best Song” to Madonna, and was visibly livid at the idea. But he didn't seem as enraged as his husband, David Furnish, who was all over Facebook, and Twitter, and anyone with a microphone who came his way, saying, “Did Madonna get the Golden Globe because she attended the awards and agreed be a presenter? The award should have gone to Mary J. Blige or Elton. I like Madonna’s music, but not her movies. She should stick to what she is good at.”
This came after his Facebook blast: “Madonna. Best song???? F**k off!!! Madonna winning Best Original Song truly shows how these awards have nothing to do with merit. Her acceptance speech was embarrassing in its narcissism…”
Yeah, it was ugly. Two queens and a dude gettin' into it always is, and yet Madonna stayed classy about the whole thing, saying she only hoped that she and Elton weren’t fighting, again. But now, David has settled, and he's apologizing, sort of.
On Facebook--seriously?--he said: “Wow! What a tempest in a teapot. My comments regarding the Golden Globes have been blown way out of proportion. My passion for our film ‘Gnomeo & Juliet’ and belief in Elton’s song really got my emotional juices going. But I must say for the record that I do believe Madonna is a great artist, and that Elton and I wish her all the best for next week’s premiere of the film ‘W.E.’”
His comments, taken verbatim from his own posts were taken out of context? Oh, honey, no, no. And why the sudden switch to polite politics? Well, some say that maybe David's unbridled fury at the GG loss would hurt Elton's chances of getting the Oscar nod, so Mister John muzzled Mister John.
Queens fighting is fun.

Overkill much.
There was ALLEGEDLY a magazine in the works solely dedicated to all things Kardashian. It seemed like a false story, and a really stupid idea, but now comes news that there really was a Kardashian magazine being prepped to hit the stands until Kris "For the love of god learn to keep your mouth shut" Jenner mucked it up.
Rumor has it--I love that Adele song, but I digress--that Jenner botched the deal with parent company American Media International by demanding that all stories in AMI tabloids about the Kash Kow and her ilk be in a positive vein. The magazine folks told Kris that there was no way they were going censor any stories about the Kardashians, and she blew a gasket, a vein in her head, and the deal.
Can you imagine that she actually thinks there is anything remotely positive to write about her entire money-grubbing brood, their ALLEGEDLY cross-dressing father, and their adulterous mother?
Too, too funny.

Just For Giggles: Serial Adulterer

2012-01-20T21:00:00.000-05:00

Good News Friday: Vets Stand Tall Against Hate

2012-01-20T18:00:00.004-05:00

Okay, so there's this Iraqi restaurant called Babylon in Lowell, Massachusetts, and one day last week, apparently because it's an Iraqi restaurant, a man threw a twenty-pound rock through the window. The owners, naturally, feared that hate was the motivating factor behind the attack and thought about closing up shop and moving away before someone got hurt.
Lowell police have identified the man who threw the stone--he eventually confessed--but believe his motive wasn't hate: "Unless this gentleman is lying to us--and I don't believe that he is--he didn't even know this restaurant was affiliated with people from Iraq," said Lowell police Superintendent Kenneth Lavallee.
So, the police don't think it's a Hate Crime, and yet they offer no other explanation. But a group of local citizens are taking a stand, for the restaurant. A group of veterans, many from the Iraq war.
One such skeptical veteran is Patrick Scanlon, a Vietnam veteran and coordinator of Veterans for Peace. Scanlon organized the show of support for the Babylon restaurant, and was joined for lunch...and dinner....by Iraq war veterans like former Army Sgt. Rachel McNeill and Chris Borden. Also sitting down in protest of hate, was a ninety-six-year-old veteran, Paul Brailsford, a former captain in the Merchant Marines who served in World War II. The veterans held flags and signs in front of the restaurant as they took turns sitting down inside to eat meals.
Twice. See, they had so many veterans come out in support of Babylon, that they filled the restaurant twice over.
Babylon owner Leyla Al-Zubaidi and her father Ahmed Al-Zubaidi said their family was terrified the vandalism was fueled by hate, but the show of support from veterans and the community has changed their minds.
Ahmed Al-Zubaidi: "This solidarity gives us the courage to stand. There is no more fear in my heart because there are such nice people behind us."
There has been some negative press this week about the American military--based on the actions of a few Marines--but these men truly represent the United States, standing up, standing tall, making all of us proud, and safe, to be Americans.
It's a good Friday.

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2012-01-20T15:00:00.000-05:00

PR: All-Stars: Porcine Prêt-à-Porter

2012-01-20T12:00:00.002-05:00

I was a little put off by the challenge this week. That whole, design a flamboyant cocktail dress for a, um, well, pig. To be fair, the pig in question, was the fabulous Miss Piggy of Muppet fame, but the whole show was played a little too cartoonish for me; all the designers oohing and aahing over the pig seemed contrived.
The challenge, however, seemed, interesting, if one remembers the word flamboyant.
Let's rip:

ANTHONY
First hearing about the challenge, Anthony once again channeled his inner Black Diva, and said, "They are pulling out the talent from our toenails, honey, I'm going to design a dress for a Muppet."
He also channeled his inner Gretchen when, while watching Michael work, called his creation amateurish. i wonder if Anthony thinks that by acting like Gretchen, he'll win like Gretchen.
Oh, honey, no. No.
Anthony wanted to play up the sex appeal quotient, while maintaining the ideal that a lady is always a lady, even when she's a, um, pig. But then, as his dress hit the runway, I thought, What woman wants to wear sheers, and shiny, and a feathered bust Not a feathered bustier, mind you, feathered breasts.
For a pig, no less.
Pass.

KARA
She was the Drama tonight. She started Glove Gate with Mondo...who politely said, Take the damn gloves." And then she entered Shoe Gate with Austin, who was less forgiving. But, hey, Kara's kids love Muppets and Miss Piggy is a, gulp, "21st century fashionista" so all bets are off, and all drama is on.
Her dress hit the runway and she said, "I'm happy." That's not a lot of conviction for a designer. Her dress was too tight for Miss Piggy, and too shiny, and too cut-out. It was, again, perfect for a human model, but less so for swine.
Kara was lucky that there were other, more hideous things strutting the catwalk, but I do think her days are numbered.
Pass.

MONDO
He decided to go 60s retro, too, like Mila, but he chose color and shine and print and life, over drab and prison garb-esque.
Still, he worried that his design was overworked, and perhaps a bit too much. But, it's for Miss Piggy; is there such a thing as too much?
I liked Mondo's dress. It didn't give me that Wow, but I liked the detail of the tiny triangles and the buttons. I didn't like the styling. The hair was a little too Joan Crawford Battles The Board of PepsiCo and that just threw me off. All I could hear was "Don't fuck with me fellas!" Not good.
And I think it missed the flamboyance. Miss Piggy is kinda showgirl, and this was a little understated showgirl.
This wasn't his challenge.
But he got a Pass.

JERELL
Jerell got the invisible edit this week. I mean, he even got snubbed by April!
Perhaps he was invisible because his clothes are not hitting the mark. I mean, we all know he's creative though he needs to push the edit button from time to time, but his clothes this season seem dysfunctional and disjointed.
Last week he sent down a dress with a beautiful top, but weird bottom, and he did the same this week. The top half of the dress, sexy, sultry, didn't mesh with the bottom half, shockingly pink and flouncy.
I mean, it was good enough to get him a Pass, but I'm thinking Jerell isn't long for the show. His look was a hot mess, and hot messes don't win. At. The. Tents.

APRIL
Such a sad sack. While she has more oomph than Mila, that really isn't saying much. She doesn't smile much, doesn't seem to talk much; she even snubbed Jerell, but then, he's kinda working my nerves too, so I'll give her a pass on that.
I won't give her a pass on saying Miss Piggy has "that va-va-voom" and then designing one of her patented Gothic black dresses with weird colors, or hems, or cuffs.
After April dogged Kenley for creating the same dress week after week, April went back to her roots with purple and black and sheer and these kooky tentacle things sprouting from the shoulders.
This wasn't flamboyant.
It didn't say cocktail party as much as it said I need a drink so I can erase the image of this mess from my head.
Even she noted it was a Tim Burton dress, but she wasn't designing for Edward Scissorhands Two, she was creating for a Muppet.
Somehow, however, it passed.

AUSTIN
He was thrilled to be designing a "flamboyant cocktail frock for the legendary beauty, Miss Piggy" because he and the Muppet have so much in common. They both refer to themselves as 'moi'.
M'kay. That's a stretch. But then, while looking at Austin, in his every changing costumes--he changed clothes more than Cher on her last Farewell Tour--I realized that he does look like a Muppet. He has Muppet eyes, and I think a man puts his hand up Austin's bum to make him talk.
Joanna Coles is worried about Austin's design, because he wants to do a giant, structured bow at the back that sort of wraps around the pig belly; she thinks it's too gift wrappy. And, in the end, that idea is scrapped for two small bow seemingly stapled onto the model's waist. It doesn't scream gift wrap as much as it screams WTF are these things on my hips.
I think, had Austin put Miss Piggy into his own Speedy Gonzalez As A Matador look that he wore on the runway, the results might have been different. But Austin, who said his "aesthetic is achieved" sent down this overwrought, crinkled, twisted mess.
Georgina noted that every wrinkle showed, and that the choice of gray and pink seemed just plain sad. Eric made mention of the fat-inducing hip bows, while Angela thought it pretty, though the construction was off and the colors weren't good--Note to Angela: then what did you like about it? Miss Piggy feared the bows would inhibit Hula Hooping--always a concern for pigs--but liked the shininess of the dress.
Austin scraped by, finishing Fourth.

MILA
Still a bitch.
First, she doesn't like the challenge because she doesn't do Muppets, or something like that. There is no joy in Mila, at any challenge, and there seems to be mostly pained expressions in this one.
Plus, she harps constantly because Kara and Kenley like each other and help each other, and, dammit, this is a competition, not a make friends show.
She went 60's mod, color-blocking.....what? Oh, I fell asleep for a moment because it's like a recurring nightmare with Mila.
Color-blocking and complaining, and uttering, "I want to win!"
Austin had it right when he called her look severe...and he was talking about her hair and make-up. Her dress, for me, was odd and sad, and had no life. Mila said, and she'll get props for the Most Outlandish Line Of The Season: "I think it's a dress I could see on a lot of Hollywood A-listers on the red carpet."
Maybe. Perhaps. the red carpet at the Holiday Inn where they spend they declining days.
Angela noted the dress had no flamboyance--a key component of the challenge. Georgina wished there had been some color, while guest judge Eric Daman liked the stripe-y, jailhouse arms. Miss Piggy liked the retro vibe, but noted that the dress didn't scream pig.
Mila missed being Auf'd by that much.
Fifth place.

GORDANA
Her kids love the Muppets. I know this because she uttered it a hundred times. And she went pink, too, because, as only Gordana can say, "Why not wearing pink if she's pink?"
Pink is good; pink nightie, not so much. Joanna Coles warned her about the nightgown effect, but Gordana said someone about "stretching hems pretty" and paid Joanna no mind.
Gordana likened her dress to being chic and girly and flirty, as in 'she looks chic getting out of bed, she looks girly padding into the bathroom, she looks flirty scrambling some eggs.'
None of which say cocktail party. Or flamboyant. Or staying on the show.
Angela said the dress had no sophistication...ouch...while Georgina thought it pretty, but the fit unflattering. It's for a pig, pigs are curvy, show some pig curves.
Miss Piggy said, "It's not moi. It just sat there."
Until it was time to pack it's needles and go.
Bye Gordana. We miss you. We miss Moose and Squirrel.

KENLEY
"I love her! She's awesome! She reminds me of me!"
Typical Kenley, bring it all back to herself.
And then she creates yet another big skirt, over tulle, in a retro style, that she creates all the time. She's One Note Kenley. And the one note is ego: "This challenge is perfect for me! I will probably win."
Not so fast. The top seemed like it would wardrobe malfunction, and the scrubby on her head was like a giant pink brain tumor, growing larger as the model walked the runway. Still Kenley thought it the perfect party dress....like for a Tupperware Party....cleaning up after a Tupperware Party.
Georgina loved the color--pink giraffe is so in this year--but felt the top looked shaky and stuck on. Eric agreed, liking the shape, hating the construction. Miss Piggy mostly liked the hat....for doing dishes.
But still, it was fun and flamboyant and Piggy-ish, so Kenley finishes Third.

RAMI
Rami again plays nicely with others. No snark about this dress or that designer. His only complaint is the challenge, and the time constraints. And, maybe, the fact that he didn't win.
Rami wants to create a "happy dress" and goes dotty with the fabric. Michael dubs Rami's dress safe, and even Rami worries that it might be too simple. But, when it hit the runway, it was the Wow dress. The polka dots, and the feathery hat were fun and flirty and sexy; perfect for a pig, I, um, guess.
And Rami agreed with me, saying "She stands out....vibrant, flirty."
Angela said it might be a difficult dress for the average woman to pull off, but then Miss Piggy rightfully noted that she is far from average. She then called the dress garish, outlandish, ridiculous...."I love it!" It was like a candy store, and we all know what they say about a pig in a candy store. Or, a kid in a poke?
I forget. Georgina loved that Rami went for it, and stayed true to the fun, flirty, flamboyant aspects of the task. She liked that the dress gave a wink to the crowd, and was fun. Eric Daman--who looks like the lost gay Wahlberg brother--said the dress was fun, and perfectly hog couture.
The gays are good with a quip. But the judges weren't good with voting. Rami's dress hit all the marks. More fun than Michael's, more flirty, too. Better made than Kenley's.
Thus was another case of the wrong person winning.
Rami was robbed, but happily, graciously, took Second.

MICHAEL
I'm a little over Michael and his overly dramatic line readings, coupled with the bulging eyes and the gaping mouth. It's too much, as in, "I'm sooooo excited to meet her. She's a fashion dream client."
Wow.
But he does make a mean dress, and makes some mean snark at Gordana, whose dress, he says, you can buy off the rack at any number of stores. And then he mutters that this challenge would be the last of Austin Scarlett; I think Michael wished for an Austin Scarlet mustache that he could twirl while uttering that line.
His dress was loopy, like his performance on the show. it seemed like a nice cocktail dress, for a human, but missed out on the fun and flirty part of the challenge. The fabric was rich, and the bow down the front seemed better suited to his dress than Austin's bows, but it didn't read pig to me. Michael, of course, thought otherwise, saying, while holding his hand over his mouth and staring wide-eyed at the model: "What a dress! Soooo beautiful."
Georgina thought it looked more sophisticated than the others, but that the styling was off. A pig, in leather gloves? Angela wasn't fond of the black for Miss Piggy, who did love that it looked like a present.
So, let's see: too sophisticated, styling off, wrong color. Michael gets the win.
Huh?

I Didn't Say It........

2012-01-20T09:00:00.014-05:00

Rosie O'Donnell, on the virulently anti-gay GOP:
"We’re a backward nation in many ways. That’s one of the ways most evident nowadays especially with the election--to think you can turn on the presidential debate and you can have people actually say they think being gay is wrong is shocking in 2012. It’s shocking to me. I remember being at home and announced we were engaged and being in Chicago and getting overwhelming support from everyone and watching [the Perry anti-gay] ad saying I don’t believe you people have the same rights as other people in this country. That’s not what America was founded on. It was hurtful and shocking. In the wake of teen suicides and gay bullying, I don’t understand why politicians or anybody thinks they can get away with that.”

The fact is, they can't get away with it. Support for marriage equality is on the rise. DADT is dead, and DOMA will soon follow. The GOP and goosestepping, jackbooted asshats like Perry and Santorum, are merely pandering to the vocal fringes.
They'll soon learn how out of touch they are, and will come pandering back this direction.

Andrew Sullivan, on Obama's critics:
"Under Obama, support for marriage equality and marijuana legalization has crested to record levels. Under Obama, a crucial state, New York, made marriage equality for gays an irreversible fact of American life. Gays now openly serve in the military, and the Defense of Marriage Act is dying in the courts, undefended by the Obama Justice Department. Vast government money has been poured into noncarbon energy investments, via the stimulus. Fuel-emission standards have been drastically increased. Torture was ended. Two moderately liberal women replaced men on the Supreme Court. Oh, yes, and the liberal holy grail that eluded Johnson and Carter and Clinton, nearly universal health care, has been set into law. Politifact recently noted that of 508 specific promises, a third had been fulfilled and only two have not had some action taken on them. To have done all this while simultaneously battling an economic hurricane makes Obama about as honest a follow-through artist as anyone can expect from a politician."

Word.
Repeat every time someone says he's done nothing.

Ethan Sabo, a 22 year-old self-described homocon, on "those" gays:
“Here’s my main thing with gays. You want people to accept you, you want people to give you rights, and you want people to be nice to you. And yet when I go out in public, you guys are the most sickest, nastiest people I’ve ever seen. You make sure you flaunt your gayness in front of everybody. I’ve never met a gay person on the right that goes to a gay pride parade, gets naked, or puts little bootie shorts on and walks around. Never seen that. You wonder why people hate you, you wonder why people don’t like you, you wonder why people spit on you and beat the living crap out of you all. You wonder why? That’s why."

Wow.
Self-loathing much?
Um, Ethan, you mindless fuck. Not every gay man is like you described, on the left or on the right. We are all kinds of people, with all kinds of experiences, morals, values,. ethics, and for one of our own to label us as such, and to infer that if we get beaten or spit upon it's somehow our own fault, is reprehensible.
Mindless, little, self-loathing fuck.

Bill Maher, on Rick "Frothy Mix" Santorum's fixation on gay sex:
"This guy thinks about gay sex more than any gay man in America. There's a guy down in West Hollywood working down at Dorothy's and Dildos who does not think about gay sex as much as Rick Santorum."

Seriously.
I mean, I'm a big flaming queen and I don't think about gay sex all the time, or talk about it all the time.
Methinks maybe Frothy wants an experience, but I cannot imagine a single homosexual willing to take that on.

Nancy Pelosi, on gay Republican taunting of Barney Frank:
"Oh, but what about them? He chooses a party that supports his values. They've chosen a party that supports their income--a party that denigrates them and treats them with disrespect."

At a New year's Day party, one topic of conversation was the LCR. And not one person, of the gay or straight variety at this gathering, could understand being a gay Republican.
I understand being conservative. I'm far from it, but I understand it. But to wish to team up with a party that basically stomps on you every chance they get makes absolutely no sense to me.

Mitt Romney, playing the Don't Hate Me Cuz I'm Rich card:
"You know, I think it’s about envy. I think it’s about class warfare. When you have a president encouraging the idea of dividing America based on the 99 percent versus one percent — and those people who have been most successful will be in the one percent — you have opened up a whole new wave of approach in this country which is entirely inconsistent with the concept of one nation under God. The American people, I believe in the final analysis, will reject it."

Here's my take: I don't begrudge Mittsy for being rich. What I begrudge is his John McCain-esque sense of entitlement about the White House, in that he thinks because he's run so often for office he somehow deserves it.
I resent his statements about being unemployed like a lot of Americans when he's worth $250 million. I resent him acting as though $375,000 in speaker's fees is "not much" when it takes a lot of people ten to twenty years, YEARS, to make that much.
I resent that his wealth has made him so out of touch.
And such a dick.

Suze Orman, on marriage equality and the GOP:
“Obviously, it is no secret that I’m gay. So it is very difficult for me to look at any Republican nominee and go, ‘that’s who I want in office.. My social issue affects my financial issue. And the reason why it affects my financial issue is that if I die, Kathy [Travis]--my partner--is going to lose 50 percent of what I have because we can’t be married."

Again. This is what I mean about the LCR.
They cannot have the best interests of the LGBT community in mind when they turn to the GOP.
They just can't.

Pat Buchannan, on why MSNBC fired him:
“Look, for a long period of time the hard left, militant gay rights groups, militant — they call themselves civil rights groups, but I’m not sure they’re concerned about civil rights — people of color, Van Jones, these folks and others have been out to get Pat Buchanan off T.V., deny him speeches, get his column canceled.”

I love how he gets fired because he's a racist, homophobic pigfucking douchenozzle, and then he gets all racist and homophobic and pigfucking and douchenozzle-y trying to explain how he isn't a racist homophobic pigfucking douchenozzle.
Bye Pat. Pigfucker.

Dan Savage, on the LGBT community and the GOP:
"America is waking up to the fact that we're not bogeymen, and we're not coming to do any harm, and that we're your daughters and sons and neighbors, sometimes your parents, your co-workers, friends, colleagues. The Republican party, in this desperate [nod] to its dying evangelical base, is just ramping up the homophobia, and they're doing themselves real long-term damage. What's interesting is that, you look at who's been doing the most hate speech: Bachmann? She's out. Herman Cain? He's out. Perry? He's all but out. Santorum? He's running fourth, he's trailing even in conservative South Carolina. It's not winning them the election anymore. It's not 1992; Pat Buchanan can't get up and give a 'gay rights never, family values forever' speech at the Republican National Convention anymore. Times have changed."

As usual, I agree with Dan.
The times are changing. People are beginning to see that marriage equality doesn't hurt anyone' that DADT was a hug mistake. That DOMA is discriminatory.
The tide is shifting people. Can you feel it?

Mike Reynolds, Oklahoma state lawmaker, on reinstating DADT for members of the National Guard:
"It doesn’t say if you are gay you can't join the military, if you are gay you can’t be in the military, what it says is don’t go out there and promote it. It was a policy that was in place for 16 years and nobody except a couple of radical activists found any harm in the policy and as a pay off for those radical activists for helping him become elected, President Barack Obama chose to reverse the policy.”

Nobody except a couple of radical activists found any harm in people being fired for being gay?
Oh, Mike, you're Sally Kern in a cheap suit.
Oklahom-ophobic asshats, both of you.

George Clooney, on marriage equality:
“It is astonishing that gay and lesbian Americans are still treated as second-class citizens. I am confident that, very soon, the laws of this nation will reflect the basic truth that gay and lesbian people--like all human beings--are born equal in dignity and rights......I think the world is changing and it's becoming less and less of an issue and I think it shouldn't be long now," Clooney said. "I think younger people are looking at this like, 'Who cares?' I do believe it's generational, much like the civil rights movement. Young people started taking to the streets and things changed. This really is the final leg of the civil rights movement."

This is what I'm most looking forward to, is the day when all of these folks fought against equality, realize they are on the losing side, and switch teams to act as though they always supported LGBT rights.
We have a long memory, bigots.

Bill Keller, televangelist AKA Christian used car salesman, on Mitt Romney and Mormons:
"Romney and Mormons will quote from the Bible to further their deception of being a Christian, but don't believe the Bible is the inspired, inerrant Word of God as Christians. Instead, they view the Bible as a flawed and incomplete book, using the writings of Mormon founder Joseph Smith, the Book of Mormon, the Pearl of Great Price, the Doctrines and Covenants, as their theological authority. Romney and Mormons also view Biblical Christians as inferior to those in their 'church.' Romney also believes in Smith's 'White Horse Prophecy' that states the nation will be in chaos, a Mormon will become President, and under the guise of saving the union set aside the US Constitution and enact a Mormon theocracy. These fantastical beliefs are why Romney and Mormons are no more a Christian than a Muslim is!"

Wow, one fell swoop and he denigrates Mormons and Muslims, all in the name of Jesus and God.
They would be so proud.

David Furnish, Elton's husband, still complaining about Madonna's Golden Globe win:
“I think it was a fluke . . . When this happens you have to question the integrity of the awards. Did Madonna get the Golden Globe because she attended the awards and agreed be a presenter? Can you sing Madonna’s song? Can you hum it? It’s a song nobody has heard, from a film few have seen. The award should have gone to Mary J. Blige or Elton. I like Madonna’s music, but not her movies. She should stick to what she is good at.”

Wow, is there anything worse than a queen with a grudge?
Let it go, David.
Build a big gay bridge and get over it.

Scott Lively, on the Southern Poverty Law Center calling his Abiding Truth Ministries a hate group:
"My prayer, as one who really does hate irrational prejudice, is that the Lord by His sovereign power will remove this dangerous, hate-spreading organization from our nation and cause its leaders and members to repent for their wickedness. I want to make clear that I am asking God himself to destroy their organization."

Does anyone else find it ironic that a man who fronts a group that has been designated as a hate group and tries to persuade the public that it's not a hate group, asks God to destroy something?
Oh, Scott, you are a hate group. You are.

Brian Brown, on 2012 being a "make or break year for marriage":
"Already this year, major new pushes to legalize same-sex marriage have erupted in Washington State and New Jersey. And with just days left before the South Carolina primary, we are at a critical moment in the race for the GOP nomination for president. NOM is committed to making sure voters have a marriage champion who will stand as a clear alternative to President Obama this November. Remember, we are fighting to stop a small group of zealots from discarding 3,000 years of human history and redefining our country's biblical traditions on sex and marriage as the equivalent of bigotry. If we lose, the result will be the absolute destruction of marriage in America...in your state, in my state, in all 50 states!"

Keep goosestepping Brian Brownshirt.
Like the Nazis, you are on the wrong side of history.

Random Musings

2012-01-19T18:00:00.036-05:00

Rick Perry says Obama disdains the military because he wants to pursue criminal charges against the soldiers who urinated on dead Taliban members.
Yes, Rick, we all know how "American" it is to piss on dead bodies.
Asshat.
UPDATE: Just two days before our....drum roll....FIRST IN THE SOUTH....primary, Miss Ricky Perry has dropped out of the race.
Now, he can take his self-loathing homophobia, and his bigoted asshatted rants back to Texas, where, one hopes, the people will be so embarrassed by him that they keep him from every running for office in that state again.

Tuesday night is Must Drool TV.
White Collar is back.Matt Bomer.
He is so suave and debonair and hot, and, well, quietly gay in real life with a husband and two kids.
Plus, he'll be playing a male stripper in an upcoming movie. I'm hoping he'll go Full Bomer.
Justified is back, too.Timothy Olyphant.
He is just plain sex. Tight, tight Levis and a Stetson.
Tuesdays are Yummy Days.
And getting hotter, too.

Who knew?
Karen Santorum, AKA Missus Frothy Mix, is as rabidly anti-choice as her husband, and yet, that wasn't always the case.It seems that during her 20s, Missus Frothy lived...in sin....with Tom Allen, a Pittsburgh obstetrician and abortion provider, 40 years her senior. And, adding odd on top of odd, Dr. Allen has known Missus Frothy, born Karen Garver, her entire life: he delivered her in 1960.
Of course, after ending her relationship with Allen, she married Frothy and became a born again bigot who smiles when she says she hates the gays.
Who knew?

Progressive activists have submitted nearly twice as many signatures as required to force Wisconsin's anti-gay, Republican wingnut, Governor Scott Walker into a recall election. They needed 500,000, they collected more than a million.Re.......call.Petitioners also submitted about 300,000 more signatures than were needed to trigger a recall election against Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch. An over-abundance of signatures was also collected to spur a recall of four Republican state senators, including Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald.Um, buh-bye.

Mark Wahlberg says he would have stopped the 9/11 terrorists on Flight 93: "If I was on that plane with my kids, it wouldn’t have went down like it did. There would have been a lot of blood in that first-class cabin and then me saying, 'OK, we’re going to land somewhere safely, don’t worry.'"
Wow, while pumping up his own ego, he downplays and denigrates the men and women on board that flight who gave up their lives so the terrorists couldn't use the plane as yet another 9/11 weapon.
Nice going Marky.
Sidenote: Wahlberg has since apologized for being a douche.

I'm a huge Meryl Streep fan.Carlos is a huge Margaret Thatcher fan.Naturally, we had to see The Iron Lady. And it did not disappoint. While the film had been criticized for playing up Thatcher's Alzheimer's, I thought it really helped tell her story. And Streep, as expected, was fabulous.Still, on the ride home, I created my own movie mash-up in my head; The Iron Lady and Mommie Dearest.Two scenes came to mind: one, in which the Berlin Wall was about to tumble, and Maggie T went off to Germany, took one look at it and said, "Tear down that bitch of a Berlin Wall, and put democracy where democracy ought to be!"And the other, when Maggie T was being told the party was putting up someone to run against her: "Don't fuck with me, fellas! This isn't my first time at the rodeo!"That might have made for a really good film. Perhaps a DVD extra??
Or, maybe a new film? The Iron Mommie?

This came out a bit late for tomorrow's I Didn't Say It, but it's word putting up.
Ladies and gentleladies, I give you the remarkable Dan Savage on Newt and his quest for an 'open marriage': "Technically you're not asking your wife for an open marriage if you've already been fucking another woman for six years. You're presenting her with an ultimatum. That doesn't make you a proponent of open marriage, Newt, it makes you a CPOS [cheating piece of sh*t]. But Newt's got a new campaign slogan: 'Screw as I say, not as I screw.'"

Architecture Wednesday Thursday: To Downsize, Or Not To Downsize

2012-01-19T15:00:00.000-05:00

Every so often I tell Carlos that i miss Miami--I do because, while absence makes the heart grow fonder, it also makes one forget the snarling traffic and the crazy weather.
But there are also times when i miss our house in Miami. It wasn't a large house, and didn't even have a large yard. Our Smallville home, by comparison, is roughly twice the size with a yard more than twenty-times the size. Now, that doesn't mean out Smallville yard is ginormous, it just means the Miami yard was minuscule.
And smaller houses and yards are easy to care for, easier to clean and maintain.
But, um, this might be taking downsizing to an extreme.
The Japanese-based Architecture firm Mizuishi Atelier Architects have designed a small house with a total area of 313 sq.ft. That's roughly a quarter of the size of our Miami home with an even smaller yard. But this home is amazingly open, feels very spacious and id flooded with light. This could work...except it's in Japan and, well, there's that whole I don't speak Japanese thing.
Maybe they could box it up and mail it to me?

source

Just For Giggles

2012-01-19T12:00:00.000-05:00

Blatantly stolen from Mac at Yummy of the Day

Open Mouth, Insert Very Expensive Shoe

2012-01-19T09:00:00.000-05:00

I'm thinking of asking Mitt Romney if really expensive shoes taste better than, well, say, PayLess shoes. I mean, he would know, right, having spent so much time putting his foot in his mouth.
Down here in South Carolina, where we cheer racism and boo Mexico, Mitt has finally announced that his tax rate is roughly about, oh, give or take, right around there, in the neighborhood of, hem, haw, 15%. Which is less than most middle class Americans.
Worth $250 million and he pays less in taxes than a single worker who, say they earn about $35,350 a year, pays 25% in taxes; families that earn less than $100,000 per year pay more than that.
Oh Mittsy, out of touch much.
But, after taking his foot from his mouth, Mittsy puts it right back in, and says his only "real" income last year--besides the millions he made from investments--came from monies he earned from speaking engagements, and it wasn't really that much.It was, in fact, $374,327.
Here's Mittsy: "[My tax rate is] probably closer to the 15 percent rate than anything. For the past 10 years, my income comes overwhelmingly from investments made in the past, rather than ordinary income or earned annual income. I got a little bit of income from my book, but I gave that all away. Then, I get speakers fees from time to time, but not very much."
And remember, this nearly 400k in speakers fees was earned while he was campaigning for president and "jokingly" said that he was also unemployed.
Mittsy is the 1%. He will fight for the 1%.
Don't let his smarminess fool you.

source

You Could Be Seeing This

2012-01-18T08:00:00.001-05:00

Go HERE and sign the petition to stop SOPA and PIPA.....

Don't let the government censor the Internet.

Illinois Gears Up For The Fight

2012-01-17T18:00:00.000-05:00

They have civil unions, but now they are taking the next step.
A group of Illinois legislators have begun meeting with local LGBT groups to strategize on making marriage equality a reality in Illinois.

State representatives Greg Harris, Deb Mell, Ann Williams, Kelly Cassidy, Sara Feigenholtz and Senator Heather Steans are in talks with Illinois organizations about introducing a bill that would allow same-sex partners to marry in Illinois.

Now, according to Harris, the bill will not likely be introduced until at least 2013, and he admits that the fight will be difficult, especially as anti-gay political candidates work to bolster support for upcoming presidential elections: "I do not delude myself into thinking this will be an easy process. But we need to take the first step."

You take one step. And then take it again. And again.

One reason for the wait until 2013, is that this November, the entire general assembly will be up for election. Maybe they can sweep out those who fight equality, and vote in those who understand that discrimination is un-American.

Keep fighting Illinois.

source

Todd Glass Comes Out

2012-01-17T15:00:00.000-05:00

Comedian Todd Glass has come out as a gay man on an episode of WTF with Marc Maron.
After a relatively short introduction, Maron tells his listeners that Glass wanted to say something important and that he “decided that this was the place to do it.” But Glass, perhaps feeling a little apprehensive, joked that he was just there to promote his own podcast, leading Maron to say, “I thought you were gay.”
Todd Glass:

“I have a very hard time saying that. And don’t get this wrong. I don’t want anyone to be ashamed of who they are—especially younger people. I always hated using that term and that’s partly why I’ve always been sympathetic to people who don’t [want to be labeled certain things]. I hate that word. But I like it better than the other word—homosexual....I’m saying what a lot of people already knew.”

One of the main reasons Glass, who says he’s been in a relationship for 15 years, cites as to why he decided to come out is the sense of guilt he’s been feeling, having read so many news stories about LGBT youths committing suicide over their sexuality:

“I cannot listen to stories about kids killing themselves any longer and not [think] ‘when are you going to have a little blood on your shirt for not being honest about who you are?’”

Welcome out, Todd.And please as accept as your Coming Out gift, a copy of the Gay Agenda, and the obligatory Coming Out Toaster Oven.
And, maybe, your coming out will stop one kid from forgetting that it gets better.
Welcome out.

source

Another One: Jeff Fehr

2012-01-17T12:00:00.000-05:00

Just after the clock struck twelve on New Year's Day, Jeffrey Fehr hanged himself in the front entrance to his family's home. He was 18 years old.
As happens, Jeffrey's parents have been wondering why, and how, since that day. Their son was openly gay, and though he had recently ended a relationship, they think it was the years of bullying and taunts and teasing and harassment that caused their son to end his life.
Steve Fehr, Jeff's father: "We will second-guess ourselves forever. But we do know that for years and years, people knocked him down for being different. It damaged him. It wore on him. He could never fully believe how wonderful he was, and how many people loved him."
Jeff wasn't like his brothers. He wasn't interested in boy things like sports; Jeff hung around with the girls and climbed the jungle gym at school. And he didn't have a lot of friends, perhaps because he was different. His brother, Tyler, remembers, "He would come home from school and cry. He would say he felt alone, that he wasn't accepted for the things he liked."
It was in the sixth grade that people first started calling him "fag."
Patti Fehr, Jeff's mother: "It broke my heart that he was abused that way." But the Fehrs tried to help Jeff, tried to rebuild his confidence. They sent him to counseling, and they encouraged him to pursue his interests, including art, theater and dance. They hoped high school would be a place for Jeffrey Fehr to shine.
It wasn't. Steve Fehr: "He would literally hang his head when I dropped him off. It was just awful for him." One day as Jeff walked through the cafeteria, one student knocked his lunch tray out of his hand and other students stood by laughing. Someone painted a gay slur on their driveway. It never seemed to end. And, well, this part pisses me off. Granite Bay High principal Michael McGuire admits that he knew some of what Jeffery endured at school, but felt that none of it "rose to the level where school discipline was involved."
Knocking someones lunch from their hands and then laughing about it apparently requires no discipline.
Still, Jeff soldiered on. He came out to his parents, who "told him that it was OK, that we loved him unconditionally." He seemed to handle the bullying better, once he'd come out. He joined the high school cheerleading team--which had previously been an all girl squad--and finally found a community that adored him.
Carly Flajole, Jeff's friend: "Jeff loved everyone with everything he had. He always wanted everyone to get along, without drama. He was a leader."
Bri Larson, who coached Jeff for four years: "Jeff was special. He was like a son to me."
Still, no matter how popular he became, or how welcomed he felt, the taunts continued. I mean, he was a guy, right, and a cheerleader. His friends remembered the ugly words shouted at Jeff during games, and the adults who said they wouldn't let their sons do something as "girly" as cheering. Yes, sometimes, it's the adults who bully.
And it weighed heavy on Jeff's mind. After graduation, he started college, but was unsure about his future. He never complained about bullying again, but he made few new friends.
Still, he seemed to be fine. He had a nice Christmas with his family, and then, a few days later, he drove to Los Angeles to see a boy he'd met. He called his parents while he was gone, and said everything was fine.
Steve and Patti Fehr were in Palm Desert that next weekend, when Jeff called. He said his relationship had ended, but "we are going to be good friends." Patti Fehr: "He wasn't happy, but he was accepting."
And he was heading back to Granite Bay.
His parents asked him to pick up the family dog from the kennel, and make plans with friends, but he did neither of those things. He was alone on New Year's Eve.
Patti Fehr called to wish him a Happy New Year. He didn't answer. The next morning she texted him; no response. For the next hour, the Fehrs called and texted; his brother checked Jeff's Facebook page; it said, "New Years is stupid."
Patti Fehr called Shayla. Could she and her mom swing by the house to check on Jeff? They did, and they found him hanging from a rope near the front door.
Steve Fehr: "We have so many questions that will never have answers. But I do know that something was taken away from Jeff because of all those years he was bullied. He carried around that pain. A bully might say something and forget about it in 10 seconds. But people like Jeff never forget those words."
And another one is gone. Another one who might have done so much, and been so much, and seen so much, is gone.

source

Tennessee: More Phobic Every Day

2012-01-17T09:00:00.000-05:00

"Dick" Floyd

Tennessee seems to want to become The fill in the blank Phobic State.
Homophobic lawmakers don't want the word gay, er, homosexual used in school, and now one such asshatted, wingnutted, backwoods thinking, cousin marrying, toothless, possum hunting, illiterate, AKA Richard Floyd--a Republican, no surprise-- has tried to introduce the Bathroom Harassment Act, which seeks to fine transgender people $50 for using bathrooms and dressing rooms.
Richard Floyd said, and, indeed, this is a direct quote: "I believe if I was standing at a dressing room and my wife or one of my daughters was in the dressing room and a man tried to go in there — I don’t care if he thinks he’s a woman and tries on clothes with them in there — I’d just try to stomp a mudhole in him and then stomp him dry. Don’t ask me to adjust to their perverted way of thinking and put my family at risk. We cannot continue to let these people dominate how society acts and reacts. Now if somebody thinks he’s a woman and he’s a man and wants to try on women’s clothes, let him take them into the men’s bathroom or dressing room."
Welcome to Tennessee. Goosestep like the GOP or get yer ass whupped.
Floyd has also said, because you can't keep a bigot with the IQ of a bar of soap from speaking, that his bill doesn't “penalize anybody” and that he could “care less” what transgender advocacy groups think.
This begs that age old question, Tennessee? What the fuck?
Tennessee has been proposing, and passing, some of the most homophobic and transphobic bills in the country. Tennessee passed HB600, which strips local jurisdictions of LGBT anti-discrimination provisions because, well, they're just fags and stuff. Tennessee also wants the License To Bully Law, which allows good Christians to behave like animals to gay kids because God Hates Fags.....in Tennessee. And, of course, the always popular, Don't Say Gay bill, because if you say it, you might be one.
But still, this Bathroom Harassment business. What's the purpose?
I mean, the bill seems poised to simply make transgendered people into predators, who prowl bathrooms looking for unsuspecting heterosexuals upon whom to pounce. Cuz, you know, that's what transgendered people do. Prowl and pounce. They don't work and pay taxes and behave like human beings, like, say, Richard "I May Start Calling You Dick" Floyd.

via The HuffPo and Think Progress LGBT

Another One: Eric James Borges

2012-01-16T13:00:00.000-05:00

Eric James Borges, a 19-year-old gay filmmaker. who recorded his won “It Gets Better” video, committed suicide this week.
Known as EricJames to friends, he was a volunteer at the Trevor Project, an organization devoted to preventing LGBT teen suicides. Trevor Project spokeswoman, Laura McGuinnis, said, “He was a volunteer teaching suicide prevention, so he knew what counseling was available to him. Unfortunately suicide is so complicated, so rooted in mental illness, that it is difficult to know why he made that decision. It is very, very sad.”
He seemed like the last kid who would commit suicide, doesn't he? He worked with the Trevor Project, he made his own 'It Gets Better' video. He knew all about LGBT suicides.
But EricJames came froma family of "extremist" Christians, who called him "disgusting"and then kicked him out of their home last October.
For being gay.
His own parents, at one time, tried to perform an exorcism on him to make him straight, and therefore acceptable to their "lifestyle". EricJames also endured emotional and physical abuse at school which caused him to drop out of high school. But, in his video, he said, it had gotten better for him: “You will love, be loved, and I love you...You are not alone.”
EricJames also created a short film called “Invisible Creatures,” in which he shows both gay and straight couples expressing their affection in similar ways because, let's understand one thing, love is love, no matter what gender the couple.
This was a young man who might have helped other LGBT youth to fight the urge to give up, to keep going, to know that it gets better,. but, in the end, probably for one brief moment, EricJames forgot all that, and decided it wouldn't get better.
We'll never know what he might have done as a filmmaker.
We'll never know what he might have done to help LGBT youth.
We'll. Never. Know.

via Queer Landia and The Washington Post