Architecture Wednesday: Tribeca Loft

This recently renovated 3,735 square foot, full-floor loft—currently the home of Today Show host Savannah Guthrie—features four bedrooms, three-and-a-half bathrooms, glass-walled dining room, chef’s kitchen and breakfast, a home office and ten-foot ceilings.

The elevator opens directly into the foyer which leads to a great room with 50 feet of linear frontage of south-facing windows, is ideal for entertaining as the room is divided into three separate areas, one with a custom marble and white oak bar; other features in the great room include a wall of custom oak millwork, concrete ceilings and a stunning steel and glass wall with doors that lead to a large formal dining room with an antiqued mirror and cerused oak backdrop.

Off the dining room is the chef’s kitchen with custom floor-to-ceiling cabinetry, a honed black Saint Laurent marble center island and a full suite of Gaggenau appliances including a wine refrigerator, a vented range hood and a casual dining area with additional cabinet storage.

The primary suite boasts a fireplace and massive, dressing room with more custom oak millwork and a wall of antiqued mirror closets; just beyond is a five-piece bathroom with Carrera marble and bluestone finishes, a deep soaking tub beneath a flatscreen television, separate shower, double vanity with storage. Off the primary suite is the home office with built-in desk and a Murphy bed behind custom millwork panels, giving this room the ability to also function as an additional guest bedroom. The second and third bedrooms share a Jack-and-Jill bathroom clad with a double vanity, while the fourth bedroom has an en suite bathroom of its own.

Other high-end upgrades and features include hand painted wall murals, Austrian white oak flooring, collectible light fixtures, and luxurious drapery throughout; there’s a proper laundry room with abundant extra storage, a high-tech AV system with in-wall and in-ceiling speakers and a private 62 square foot storage unit.

I shouldn’t quibble, because this is lovely and spacious and chic, but one one think that for 7 million, even in New York City, you could get a little outdoor space, btu there’s not even a wee Juliet balcony in the whole place.

Huh, I guess I can quibble.

Click to emBIGGERate …

 Dwell

Meme Dump

This Bitch: JessicaTillmann

Down there in Florida, where insanity runs rampant and Hate is the law, Seminole County Public Schools is offering to reprint the 2023 Lyman High School yearbook in order to remove two pages of LGBTQ+ content because some parents, well, to be fair, one hate-filled parent, is upset about it.

Jessica Tillmannn, chapter chair of the Seminole County Moms for Liberty—meaning Liberty for her group of bigots and homophobes, but not for everyone—says she’s concerned about the definitions in the yearbook because she thinks they are teaching children about sex outside the state-approved standards that parents can choose to opt their children out of:

“They shouldn’t have any sexual definitions in a yearbook. This is a yearbook that goes to every student as young as 14.”

I got news for you Jessica, fourteen-year-olds know about LGBTQ+ people, and probably even have friends who are gay and bisexual and trans and genderfluid, so your homophobia is kind of ridiculous, misplaced and a little too late.

But what really has Jessica’s Spanx twisted? It’s the fact that the LGBTQ+ section in the yearbook includes photos of member of the student’s Gay-Straight Alliance, definitions of LGBTQ+ terms, a passage on the evolution of pronouns and a profile of a student who advocates for the LGBTQ+ community.

How terrifying.

And what kind of terms do they explain? How about genderfluid, defined as “a gender identity that changes with time and/or a given situation. This is opposed to a fixed gender identity.” The yearbook also defines aromantic as “someone who experiences little to no romantic attraction. Many aromantics still feel sexual attraction.”

Danielle Pomeranz, Lyman High School’s faculty yearbook adviser, disagrees with the district’s offer to scrub LGBTQ+ content since the book features all aspects of the school’s diverse student body, including Latinos in Action, Black History Month and even the Dungeons & Dragons Club and defended the LGBTQ+ section:

“They are definitions. They are not teaching anything about sex at all. … Nobody is teaching anybody about sex acts. It is ridiculous.”

And while the principal approved the yearbook’s content it is under scrutiny because the Florida Department of Education got involved when Jessica Tillmann had her Hissy Hate Fit and decided only her opinion counts; wrong, again, Jessica.

If fact, Jessica Tillmann is so thrilled it be a bigot and homophobe that she is also requesting that Danielle Pomeranz  and the school be fired. Sadly, Danielle Pomeranz resigned from her job a couple of weeks ago in part because of Florida’s political climate and a lack of support from Seminole County’s school leadership, so there’s one less teacher to care about all students in Florida.

Still, I have a suggestion for Jessica Tillmann: shut the fuck up. If you don’t like LGBTQ+ content in a  yearbook, get yourself a pair of scissors and cut the pages out of the book, but why believe your opinion should rule over all opinions?

On the upside, as of now, no one had requested a reprinted yearbook, not even Jessica Tillmann.

I guess she wanted her Fifteen Minutes of fame as a bigot and homophobe, and I hope she sits all alone in her hate rots there.

As for the LGBTQ+ community, we need to speak up, loudly, and condemn this kind of hate. Staying silent is not an option; use your voice, use your vote. What happens to one of us, happens to us all.

Orlando Sentinel

The Funny Papers

Lalo Alcaraz, Adam Zyglis, Mike Luckovich, Dave Whamond, Ann Telnaes, Michael de Adder, Liam Simonelli, Nick Anderson, Jack Ohamn, MacLeod

Snarky Thoughts

It was just a few years back that Dwayne Johnson, er, The Rock, foot-stomped, head-snapped, and hissed that he would never EVER return to the Fast and Furious franchise and yet he made a cameo at the end of this last epic, and then announced that he’ll star in a standalone movie as his character Luke Hobbs. Johnson also said that he and Vin Diesel have smooched and become BFFs again so that they can preserve and protect all these films that are really just the same film in different spots on the globe.

My Thought: Dwayne’s last movie Black Adam was such a bomb he went crawling back to the last thing he did that made money and pressed his lips to Diesel’s ass and cashed that check.

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Scientology rapist Danny Masterson was found guilty of rape this week. The jury found him guilty on two counts of rape but were deadlocked on the third. Masterson could have faced more than 40 years in prison for all three charges, but the attorneys say it is unclear how much time he will spend bending over for the soap on “just two” counts.

My Thought: Just two counts of rape? I guess that means you get to rape at least twice to get a light sentence but should think again about that third assault?

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If it’s June and you’re as Thirsty as Kate Hudson then it’s that time of year again to bare the tits and ass on Instagram. And so Goldie’s spawn spent Memorial Day Weekend lounging by the pool with her kids—topless—and posted:

“Suns out, buns (and huns) out #summerready.”

My Thought: Somewhere Madonna and Halle Berry are stripping off their bikini tops and bottoms for a pool day photo because The Thirst is real.

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Like his pal Robert DeNiro, eighty-three-year-old Al Pacino is set to become a dad for the fourth time after it was revealed that his 29-year-old girlfriend, Noor Alfallah, is eight months pregnant. If all goes as planned Al will be over 100 years old when the kid graduates from high school.

My Thought: Will they do a Weekend at Bernie’s thing and prop the corpse up in a chair, or just make things easy and roll a coffin down the aisle?

PS Al’s oldest child is four years older than his current Baby Mama.

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Clearly she has a type. Fifty-one-year-old Erika Jayne was spotted on what appeared to be a Las Vegas date with recently arrested seventy-one-year-old lawyer Jim Wilkes II amid her divorce from eighty-three-year-old disgraced former attorney Tom Girardi.

My Thought: She likes ‘em legal, decades older, and in trouble with the law. She really is a Pretty Mess.

PS Wilkes wants y’all to know he and Erika aren’t dating because he still lives with his wife and they aren’t dating so don’t say that!

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I Didn't Say It

Rachelle Lefevre, Twilight star, taking on her local Target store for moving a Pride display to the back the store amid backlash from anti-LGBTQ+ asshats and then taking on the bigots who came for her:

“I came in here two days ago, and my seven-year-old, who’s nonbinary, saw [the display] and said: ‘Look, mom, it’s Pride, look! They’re going to celebrate me!’ And because some people complained and threw some stuff to the ground or I don’t know what happened, they have moved their Pride section to the back of the store. [And] don’t anyone come back at me with ‘It was a security issue’ because this is a billion-dollar company—if they really care, they can hire extra security. Instead they chose to send the message that LGBTQ+ people aren’t worth protecting or fighting for … We could do so much better, we’re not supposed to negotiate with terrorists. [And] to those of you who wrote hurtful, disgusting [things]—you know what you wrote, you know who you are—… I punched back in a post… and about 90 seconds later I deleted it because something dawned on me. I know how much pain you have to be in to hate that hard, so instead of hating back, I just choose to know how much pain you’re in. Whatever it is that you are numbing with hating other people, I want to say that when you can find the courage to face that pain, and you get rid of the anger, I hope there are people there who embrace you, I hope there are people there who can love you and hold space for you. And when you are ready to show up as your authentic self, the way God made you, full of love, I will be here to say ‘Hi, it’s nice to meet you.’”

Lefevre didn’t specify the location of the store she visited, but she currently lives in Nashville; Target locations in Southern states, including South Carolina, Arkansas, and Georgia, have all reportedly relocated their Pride displays to the back of the stores and removed Pride apparel from mannequins to reduce their visibility.

They’ve literally put us back in a closet.

Fuck that.

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Sarah Huckabee Sanders, GOP governor of Arkansas, says she’s on a mission to protect children from “the radical left woke mob” and is begging people to move to Arkansas from Blue states:

“I think the best thing that conservatives can do, that are living in blue states, is move to Arkansas. It’s really simple. That’s the best pathway forward, then you don’t have to worry about those things because we’re going to make sure that the kids are protected and that they’re in good learning environments.”

Huckleberry signed bills allowing children to work; she signed bills banning trans people from using the bathroom that aligns with their gender identity; she is for Don’t Say Gay; she is for the ending of teaching about racism and slavery.

Huckleberry is against anything put forward by a Democrat, unless it’s financial aid from the government when God sends tornadoes to Arkansas because their governor is a hate-filled bigot, then she’s first in line with her hand out.

PS Right now Arkansas ranks as the 47th Best State to live in out of 50 states. Does anyone really wanna take a step down?

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Wanda Sykes, out comedian, explaining it to the GOP:

“Until a drag queen walks into a school and beats eight kids to death with a copy of ‘To Kill A Mockingbird,’ I think you’re focusing on the wrong shit.”

Word.

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Ron Johnson, Wisconsin’s GOP asshat senator, on global warming being a good thing:

“So, in terms of excess deaths, a warming globe is actually beneficial. In my own state, your study shows that we’d have a reduction in mortality of somewhere between 54 and 56 people per, I guess it’s a hundred thousand. Why wouldn’t we take comfort in that?” 

He suggested global warming wouldn’t be bad for the US because it’s not as hot here as it is in Africa.

I only hope it gets hot under that tinfoil  hat and cooks his brain even more.

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President Joe Biden, issuing a proclamation for Pride Month:

“In June 1969, a courageous group of Americans rose up to protest the violence and marginalization they faced in what became known as the Stonewall Uprising. Police had raided the Stonewall Inn—a gay bar located in New York City—and for the next six days they clashed with LGBTQI+ protestors, who bravely stood their ground. Their courage sparked a civil rights movement for the liberation of the LGBTQI+ community and changed our Nation forever.

 During Pride Month, we honor a movement that has grown stronger, more vibrant, and more inclusive with every passing year. Pride is a celebration of generations of LGBTQI+ people, who have fought bravely to live openly and authentically. And it is a reminder that we still have generational work to do to ensure that everyone enjoys the full promise of equity, dignity, protection, and freedom.

Today, our Nation faces another inflection point. In 2023 alone, State and local legislatures have already introduced over 600 hateful laws targeting the LGBTQI+ community. Books about LGBTQI+ people are being banned from libraries. Transgender youth in over a dozen States have had their medically necessary health care banned. Homophobic and transphobic vitriol spewed online has spilled over into real life, as armed hate groups intimidate people at Pride marches and drag performances, and threaten doctors’ offices and children’s hospitals that offer care to the LGBTQI+ community. Our hearts are heavy with grief for the loved ones we have lost to anti-LGBTQI+ violence. 

Despite these attacks, the LGBTQI+ community remains resilient. LGBTQI+ Americans are defiantly and unapologetically proud. Youth leaders are organizing walkouts at high schools and colleges across the country to protest discriminatory laws. LGBTQI+ young people and their parents are demonstrating unimaginable courage by testifying in State capitals in defense of their basic rights.

They are not alone: My entire Administration stands proudly with the LGBTQI+ community in the enduring struggle for freedom, justice, and equality. And we are making strides. On my first day in office, I signed a historic Executive Order charging the entire Federal Government with protecting LGBTQI+ people from discrimination—from health care to housing, education, employment, banking, and the criminal justice system. Last December, surrounded by dozens of couples who have fought for marriage equality in the courts for decades, I had the great honor of signing into law the landmark Respect for Marriage Act. This bipartisan law protects the rights of same-sex and interracial couples—like caring for one’s sick partner and receiving spousal benefits. Deciding who to marry is one of life’s most profound decisions, so we etched a simple truth into law:  Love is love.

Meanwhile, I have taken unprecedented steps to support LGBTQI+ youth. During Pride Month last year, I signed an Executive Order charging Federal agencies with combating the dangerous and discredited practice of so-called “conversion therapy.”  I also directed agencies to help end the crisis of homelessness among LGBTQI+ youth and adults and to address discrimination that LGBTQI+ kids face in foster care. The Department of Justice is combating laws that target transgender children, and the Departments of Education and Health and Human Services have proposed new rules to protect LGBTQI+ Americans from discrimination in health care, at school, and in sports. I also established the White House Task Force to Address Online Harassment and Abuse to develop concrete actions to prevent and respond to online harassment and abuse, which disproportionately target LGBTQI+ people. Additionally, my Administration made it easier for LGBTQI+ youth to access vital mental health support. Now, by calling the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline and dialing the number 3, LGBTQI+ youth can speak to counselors who have been specifically trained to support them. 

This country is stronger and more just when America’s leaders reflect the full diversity of our Nation, so I have appointed a historic number of highly qualified openly LGBTQI+ judges and public servants at all levels of the Federal Government. Our Armed Forces are most capable when all patriots can serve their country, so I protected the right of transgender people to once again serve openly in the military. 

But there is more to do, like passing the bipartisan Equality Act, which would strengthen civil rights protections for LGBTQI+ people and families across America. We must also address the disproportionate levels of homelessness, poverty, and unemployment in the LGBTQI+ community and end the crisis of violence against transgender women and girls of color. We must support LGBTQI+ activists around the globe who are standing up for basic human rights and LGBTQI+ survivors of gender-based violence. And we must end the HIV/AIDS epidemic once and for all. Our collective freedoms are inextricably linked:  when one group’s dignity and equality are threatened, we all suffer. This month and every month, let us celebrate the pride that powers the movement for LGBTQI+ rights and commit to doing our part to help realize the promise of America, for all Americans.”

Thanks Joe.

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Bobservations

Every so often Carlos likes a little hot chocolate late at night, and I will have some as well because it knocks me out when I go to bed. But I may have found a new sleep aid: science. See, there are times, as we’re chatting before going to sleep that Carlos will talk molecules and DNA and science, and the other night I said to him:

“This is better than the chocolate, because it puts me right to sleep with no sugar or calories.”

Now there are three sleep aids in our house: hot chocolate, science and bad jokes.

This weeks’ Tuxedo is from December 2009, when he decided to sit in the guest room and gaze out the window.

A lot of you commented on how regal Rosita looked in some of her photos the other day, and when I checked this blog post people had also commented on Tuxedo’s regal-ness.

He was a good poser, and she is a good poser.

Remember Christian Cooper? He was the Black man birdwatching in Central Park when a Central Park Karen—Amy Cooper, obviously no relation—called 911 to say he was threatening her.

Well, Amy Cooper lost her job, but this week while Christian Cooper got a new one … as host of National Geographic's new show "Extraordinary Birder".

Karma.

PS Christian is a hottie.

A friend of mine just started working at an, ahem, “adult” store. After his first few hours on the job, his boss said he needed to leave and asked my friend if he could manage the store and he agreed. A few minutes later white woman comes in:

"How much for the white dildo?"

"$35."

"How much for the black one?"

"$35 for the black one, $35 for the white one."

"I think I'll take the black one. I've never had a black one before."

She pays him, and off she goes. A while later a Black woman comes in:

"How much for the black dildo?

"$35."

"How much for the white one?"

"$35 for the white one, $35 for the black one."

"Hmmm...I think I'll take the white one. I've never had a white one before..."

She pays him, and off she goes. About an hour later a young blonde woman comes in and asks:

"How much are your dildos?"

"$35 for the white, $35 for the black."

"Hmmmmm....how much is that plaid one on the shelf?"

"That's a very special dildo...it'll cost you $165."

"I'll take the plaid one, I've never had a plaid one before...." 

She pays him, and off she goes. Then the boss returns he asks my friend how everything went and my friend says:

"I think I did good, I sold one white dildo, one black dildo, and I sold your thermos for $165!"

Could’a happened.

After The North Face, an outdoor clothing, footwear, and equipment chain, released its new Pride month collection, which included a video featuring drag queen Pattie Gonia, a bunch of snowflakes MAGAts got their grannie panties in a  twist and complained on social media and threatened a boycott; The North Face isn’t here for that and responded with:

“The North Face has always believed the outdoors should be a welcoming, equitable and safe place for all. Creating community and belonging in the outdoors is a core part of our values and is needed now more than ever. We stand with those who support our vision for a more inclusive outdoor industry.”

The North Face noted that their Summer of Pride series is now in its second year and has helped “individuals from all backgrounds” experience the outdoors.

Because the outdoors is for everyone.

PS Target? This is how it's done.

I do pick on Carlos but I love the man madly and I love when, given his eyesight issues, he finds something new.

This week the Foundation Fighting Blindness sent him a books on tape reader and all he needs to do is check their website, order up to three books at a time and they are sent to the house, After he listens to them, he puts them back in the box and mails them back, all at no cost.

Carlos loves to read, loves knowledge, and that was one of the things he’s missed dearly in the last few years so my joy at his being able to “read” again is only exceeded by his joy.

Need another reason not to vote for Ron DeSantisFascist? Try this …

There was a mass shooting on Memorial Day in Florida that left nine people, including children, wounded, yet DeSantis, campaigning in Iowa, failed to utter a word about it. He has not said a word on his Twitter accounts, has not posted a statement on his government website, and it does not appear he has spoken to reporters about it.

His campaign is more important than dead Floridians.

PS Ron DeSantis signed a permit-less carry bill in April that removes requirements for background checks, instruction, training &oversight.

PPS The shooter was not, I repeat not, a drag queen, which DeFacsist thinks is the greatest threat to the US.

Charly Poirier was born in Paris and is a fashion model and a social media influencer, though the big question is: Would You Hit It?