Bobservations

The other day Carlos said the most terrifying thing to me:

“I was reading one of my Science Alert emails and—”

It’s at that point that I panic and start thinking if there’s enough time for me to unbraid one of the braided kitchen rugs and fashion it into a noose and kill myself before the Science Alert continues, but alas, I am wrong.

“They’re saying now that Splenda had an adverse effect on DNA, so you shouldn’t use it.”

“I don’t use Splenda. We have raw sugar or agave in the hou—”

“Well, it’s also in soda.”

“I don’t drink soda.”

“You shouldn’t because it’s bad for you—”

“I don’t.”

“It’s bad for you.”

And now I think I need a Macrame Alert email on noose making.

This week’s Tuxedo is from March 2020, and the new toy I bought him and then instantly felt kinda guilty:

“Tell Me ….  am I a bad parent because I gave my cat a leopard pillow?

To be fair, he only used it to rest his head; he didn’t try murdering one of his own species.

This is model and social media influencer Daniel Rumfelt and he’s offering cakes. Who is up for it?

I know the MAGATS will just love this, until they read all the way through. Oh I kid, I mean until they have someone read it for them.

It seems America’s top-selling beer is no longer Bud Light after MAGAts saw transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney’s Instagram post showing off a customized Bud Light can and they assumed Bud Light makes you trans or something.

But, while they may celebrate the toppling of Bud Light, America’s new best-selling beer is from … Mexico. It’s Modelo Especial, the Mexican lager brewed near Mexico City by Constellation Brands.

Now they will have to find a way to boycott Modelo because, you know, immigrants.

I was watching The Tonys this past Sunday because, well, gay, and laughed when actor Denée Benton came for Ron DeSantis. Benton was saluting the 2023 recipient of the excellence in theater education award, Jason Zembuch Young of South Plantation High School in Plantation, Florida, and she said:

“I’m certain that the current grand wizard—I’m sorry, excuse me, governor of my home state of Florida …”

And the crowd roared.

Of Note: This past week a group of Nazis has been stationed outside Disney World flying their Swastika flags and DeSantis for President flags.

MAGAts tine heads are exploding again this week because Cracker Barrel has come out for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging:

“We have a responsibility to live up to our mission of Pleasing People each day, ensuring that every member of our team and every guest feels at home, feels cared for like family, and feels like they belong … Our teams work hard to create a culture of hospitality that’s welcoming, respectful and inclusive to everyone who walks through our doors ... Discrimination, overt or through unconscious bias, has no place at Cracker Barrel Old Country Store.”

That’s right, while Target caves to anti-LGBTQ+ hate, Cracker Fucking Barrel has stepped up for our community.

Also during The Tony’s, Michael Arden won for directing the revival of Parade and during his speech he reclaimed a gay slur when he said:

“Growing up, I was called the f-word more times than I could remember and all I can say now is I’m a faggot with a Tony!”

And the crowd roared again, even though CBS bleeped the word during the broadcast.

Plus: Broadway stars Alex Newell,  left, and J Harrison Ghee, right, have made LGBTQ+ history as the first openly non-binary Tony Award winners. Newell won for Featured Actor in a Musical for their role as Lulu in “Shucked,” while Ghee won Leading Actor in a Musical for their role as Jerry/Daphne in the revival of “Some Like It Hot.”

The Tony’s; so fabulously gay!

Jonathan Stuart Bailey is an English actor, singer and out gay man, who will be co-starring with My-Husband-In-My-Head, Matt Bomer, in Showtime’s Fellow Travelers where they play lovers. But this really isn’t about that, it’s: Would You Hit It?

Bobservations

First, a little back story … whenever, and wherever, we go out to eat, and the bill arrives. Carlos looks at it and makes this high-pitched squealed that is part baby Harp seal and part Howler Monkey, and asks:

“Why so much?”

As if he has no idea how much anything costs.

Cut to the other morning, over breakfast, and he’s recounting a dream he’d had.

“I dreamt I went to see Dr. Rojas, and she made me wear a pair of contacts. And when I put them in, I had no more Retinitis Pigmentosa. I could see everything and read everything. And then she told me the cost was $60.00. I asked her is that was a one-time charge or a recurring fee.”

“Wait. What? Your doctor basically fixes your eyes and you’re questioning a sixty-dollar fee? Sheesh, even in your dreams you’re cheap.”

Goddess love him, though I didn’t get to ask if he made that Howler Monkey Harp Seal cry in his dream.

Okay, so either he has the biggest ego—and belly—known to man, or he’s just plain stupid.

Well, in the case 0f _____ it’s actually both.

Last week, while commemorating D-Day, world leaders signed a proclamation marking the 75th anniversary of the invasion.  And while everyone else, every other world leader there that day, signed the proclamation at the bottom, the Fat Bastard scrawled his KKK-looking signature at the top of the document.

I guess he thought D-Day was DumbassDonald-Day.

The Washington State Supreme Court has just handed down a unanimous ruling against Barronelle Stutzman, the owner of Arlene's flowers, who refused to make flower arrangements for a longtime customer because he was marrying a man. The State Supreme Court ruling means that "Stutzman's refusal to provide flowers to the same-sex couple constituted discrimination against sexual orientation."

Last year the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear Stutzman's case, but did not rule out reviewing it in the future. Take a seat, Barronelle, once again you’ve been judged a bigot.

At last Sunday’s Tony Awards, actress-singer Ali Stroker by being the first person in a wheelchair to take home the Tony for best performance by an actress in a featured role in a musical for her role as Ado Annie in the revival of Rodgers & Hammerstein's "Oklahoma!"

During her acceptance speech, Stroker took the time to recognize any kid at home with a disability who dreams of being an actor:

"This award is for every kid who is watching tonight who has a disability, who has a limitation or a challenge, who has been waiting to see themselves represented in this arena ... You are."

Brava!

In its first ever statement on gender identity, the Vatican rejected the idea that transgender people can change their gender identity in a document titled “Male and Female He Created Them.”

Yes, a bunch of old men in flowing gowns and crowns are telling our trans brothers and sisters about gender and gender identity. And yet these same priests are virtually silent when it comes to their child-raping brethren, so pardon me if I don’t believe a goddamned word that slithers from their mouths.

Now, for something completely different, model Adrien France, who is actually French, and from  Pontault-Combault, France.

Tall, gorgeous, and packing. That’s enough to make a bishop rip off his robes!

Just sayin’.

Random Musings

Last Sunday, after learning of the shooting at Pulse in Orlando, I was, needless to say, at a loss. I kinda stumbled through the day, doing this and that without really thinking.

After dinner, Carlos and I settled in to watch TV and, my Gaydar pinged to remind me that the Tony Awards we’re on … I am a huge show queen.

And I needed that show that night; not just because of the things said about Orlando by host James Cordon, or by winners like Lin-Manuel Miranda and Frank Langella, but because the show is about differences. Most of the acting awards went to people of color; a lot of the nominees are openly gay; it was the anti-Oscars and seeing that kind of diversity and love and acceptance and applause really made a difference at the end of that day.

Speaking of the Tonys …

As the show began I was calling out the names of actors I recognized from the audience.

Megan Hilty, who was in Wicked. Neil Patrick Harris … bald, for a role. Oprah? WTF? Audra McDonald!

Bob: Angela Lansbury!

Carlos: Isn’t she dead.

Bob: Yes, but they wheel her corpse in for every show because she’s freaking Angela Lansbury!

Bless his heart.

Another upside — and yes, something positive can come from it — from the Orlando shooting came out of Utah this week when the state’s Republican Lt. Governor, Spencer Cox, addressed the shooting … and apologized:

“I grew up in a small town and went to a small rural high school. There were some kids in my class that were different. Sometimes I wasn’t kind to them. I didn’t know it at the time, but I know now that they were gay. I will forever regret not treating them with the kindness, dignity and respect — the love — that they deserved. For that, I sincerely and humbly apologize.”

You can say ‘It’s about time,’ or ‘Why did it take a mass murder for you to apologize.’

I say, Thank you, for coming to your senses.

The Democrats are not playing … this week, in Congress, Republican Goose-stepping Speaker of the House Paul Ryan called for a moment of silence for victims of the Orlando massacre something happened …

House Democrats weren’t having it, and began shouting at Ryan, "Where's the bill?" and "No leadership." Democrats were angry that Ryan had not let the body consider bills intended to curb gun violence because Paul Ryan is in the pocket of the NRA.

South Carolina Congressman, and Democrat, Jim Clyburn expressed to Speaker Ryan that he was concerned that several bills drafted after the Charleston Church shooting were not being considered, but before Clyburn could finish, Paul Ryan ruled his question out of order and directed the House to move to the next vote because … NRA … big check … goose-stepping Republican. 

And that’s why the Democrats, lead by Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut, hijacked Congress with their filibuster. After fifteen hours, the Blue Party succeeded in forcing a vote from the GOP.

I see Paul Ryan losing his post in November and I for one will cheer.

UPDATE

Apparently this wasn’t his first time being lenient with rapists.

Remember Judge Aaron Persky who sentenced Brock Turner to six months for raping an unconscious girl? Well, that’s nothing new for Persky; he’s has made questionable rulings that favored a group of athletes accused of rape in the past.

The rulings came during a civil case from 2011 when a group of baseball players were accused of gang raping an unconscious woman at a party; they were caught in the act by other young men at the party.

Sound familiar? One of Persky's allowed the defendants’ lawyers to show the victim dressed in revealing clothing in Facebook pictures taken six months after the assault because, well, victim shaming is Persky’s “thang.”

And because of this second, or first, questionable ruling, calls for Persky to resign are growing louder; even members of the US took to the House floor to call for his removal. But the current Santa Clara County District Attorney, Jeff Rosen, does not want the judge removed despite disagreeing with his sentencing ruling.

“While I strongly disagree with the sentence that Judge Persky issued in the Brock Turner case, I do not believe he should be removed from his judgeship.”

Really? How many more rape victims were be put on trial in a Persky courtroom? And how many more rapists will get a slap on the wrist from him? 

Back to the Tonys and a trio of hot winners, all from Hamilton:

Daveed Diggs, top left, won for the dual roles as both the Marquis de Lafayette and Thomas Jefferson.

Lin-Manuel Miranda, right, won Tony awards for Best original Score and Best Book of a Musical; he was also nominated for playing Alexander Hamilton in the show but lost to …

Leslie Odom Hr.; bottom left, who won for the role of Aaron Burr in Hamilton.

Hamil-hotties, I say.

So, convicted gay basher Kathryn Knott was sentenced to five to 10 months in jail last February, and begged the judge to let her out so she could film a Public Service announcement about, what, the evils of gay bashing?

The judge said ‘No;’ so now convicted gay basher Kathryn Knott is pleading with Judge Roxanne Covington to grant her request for early parole because she’s been good for a couple of months.

I’m not a judge — which is lucky for convicted gay basher Kathryn Knott — because if I were the judge in this case this is what I’d say:

“If you ask me one more time to get out of jail early, I’m’a double your sentence. Get back to the rock pile, bitch.”

Knott’s minimum release date based is July 8th but I hope the judge makes her stay longer.

I don’t shop at Walmart; I loathe Walmart for a number of reasons.

But …Walmart has just fired a Marietta, Georgia store employee who, using the account @IWillTryLater, Tweeted out that the shooting at an Orlando LGBT nightclub that left 50 dead was “someone doing community service”:

The Tweet went viral, as did requests from other Twitterers demanding Walmart do something.

And they did; they fired the man, who has since deleted his original tweets and replaced his cover photo with one showing himself in a Walmart vest making an obscene gesture.

Some asshats never learn.

Just a few things I've seen around the interwebz in the wake of Orlando ... some make me feel better, some make me angry, and the last one was one of the first laughs I've had this week ...

Some Thoughts On Tony

Loyal ISBL readers know that I am a proud Awards Show Whore®. I watch them all, from Emmy to Tony to Oscar and Grammy; hell, I even watch the Daytime Emmys. If the television industry wants me to watch, put the word "awards" the title and I'll be glued to my set.

The Scandal Awards. 

The Modern Family Awards. 

The Project Runway: Awards.

The FoxNews Awards....okay, so it doesn't work all the time. Still, I'll be there.

And last night was the gayest awards show of all, The Tony Awards; and I don’t call it gay just because it’s Broadway, but because it’s one of the few, maybe the only, awards show where the winners who just happen to be gay actually kiss their partners/spouses/lovers on the way up to the stage and then thank them in a lovely speech.

So, let’s rip …. with random thoughts ...

Hugh Jackman and his Huge Ackman, Seriously, is there anything this man cannot do? His hopping opening had me tired before he even got into the building and then he sings and dances and taps and, yeah, raps, and tells jokes, and, well, is just beautiful to look at, though I could do without the beard. No shade on the gay rumors, I meant the actual facial hair. I like my Hugh clean shaven.

Patti LaBelle and Gladys Knight showed all those younger divas how it’s done, and done right.

Les Miserables was up for Best Revival; I didn’t know it had ever gone away …

James Monroe Iglehart brought the house down in a  number from Aladdin — right before he won a Tony for the role — but I was kinda busy looking at Adam Jacobs’, as Aladdin, abs.

Clint Eastwood. Why? Broadway and Eastwood? Plus, man did he seem old and disoriented.

Fran Drescher? Seriously. Oh, she was on Broadway, signing, no less, this Spring in Cinderella. No, she’s the evil stepmother.

Jonathan Groff — cute and gay — steps out to introduce Idina Menzel singing a song from her Tony-nominated role in If/Then and does the perfect impression of Travolta at the Oscars with “the wickedly talented” Idina Menzel; yes, he got the name right.

Sting — a favorite of mine ... a friend and I once saw him in concert seven times in eight days at six different venues — was on to present a song from his upcoming musical he wrote, The Last Ship. I.Love.Sting. I did not like this song. I mean, if you want me to come see this thing, don’t give sad and drab musical numbers, give me something to excite me.

Like … say … Alan Cumming reprising his role as the Emcee in the remounting of the revival of the original musical Cabaret. I remember when he first appeared on Broadway in that role back in 1998 and it seemed kind of risqué and shocking. Times have changed and now it seems, well, still sexy, but kind of quaint.

I have a wee crush on Mister Cumming because he's openly gay, a happily married man and has the most delicious Scottish accent ... and I am a sucker for a man with an accent.

The scene they chose to use from Rocky: The Musical might have been better if it featured an actual song? Just sayin’. But ... a New Hottie Alert goes out to Andy Karl, who stars in Rocky; The Musical. He's like a younger, more smoldering Dylan McDermott.

Kenneth Branagh, unlike Hugh Jackman, was hotter with his beard, and again, facial hair, people.

Patricia Clarkson presented with Bradley Cooper and Alessandro Nivola, and I kept thinking I’d like to be the meat in the sandwich … minus Clarkson, though.

Now, i have nothing against Miss Clarkson, in fact, she's one of my favorite actresses — see Far from Home  — but, c'mon, she is kinda the odd, er, man out in that threesome, you know.

RuPaul came out in male drag to introduce NPH performing from Hedwig and the Angry Inch. I don’t think it was lost on anyone who’s been paying attention to TrannyGate that he used the word transgender last night. That said, NPH was fantastic as Hedwig; tour de force performance. Fun and edgy; and the kiss he laid on his husband, David Burtka, was hot. Plus, later on NPH won as best Actor in a Musical, so it was tres gay!

My Hot Gay Alert Alarm sounded when Matt Bomer and Zachary Quinto appeared together looking all cute and sexy and gay.

It was almost like a dream I once had where Matt, Zach and I … we … um … yeah .. I think it best if I just leave it at that, and then hope I get that dream again.

Audra McDonald — one of my all-time favorite singers and actresses — won a history making sixth Tony Award for her portrayal of one of mu other favorite singers, Billie Holiday, in Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grill. 

She is truly an amazingly talented singer and actress.

And Jennifer Hudson sang a song from an upcoming musical Finding Neverland. I don’t know if JHud is going to be in it, but someone needs to get that girl in a Broadway musical and fast. That is a show-stopping voice if there ever was one and Broadway could use her.

And there you have it, the high points, at least in my shallow Broadway-loving, show-tune-singing, Huge-Ackman-craving mind. It was very gay, and very gay, and fabulous and fun and entertaining. Hugh was fantastic; not as wild and crazy and madcap as NPH, but, man, singing, dancing, joking, and looking hot? He's the total package with a total package. As Ethel Merman might have sung, had she seen him:

♪ ♫ Who could ask for anything more! ♪ ♫

Best Musical "A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder"

Best Revival of a Musical "Hedwig and the Angry Inch"

Leading Actor in a Musical Neil Patrick Harris, "Hedwig and the Angry Inch"

Leading Actress in a Musical Jesse Mueller, "Beautiful -- The Carole King Musical"

Best Featured Actress in a Musical Lena Hall, "Hedwig and the Angry Inch"

Best Featured Actor in a Musical James M. Iglehart, "Aladdin"

Best Direction of a Musical Darko Tresnjak, "A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder"

Best Play "All the Way"

Best Revival of a Play "A Raisin in the Sun"

Leading Actress in a Play Audra McDonald, "Lady Day at Emerson's Bar & Grill"

Leading Actor in a Play Bryan Cranston, "All the Way"

Best Featured Actor in a Play Mark Rylance, "Twelfth Night"

Best Featured Actress in a Play Sophie Okonedo, "A Raisin in the Sun"

Best Direction of a Play Kenny Leon, "A Raisin in the Sun"