The Patti Weekend

Well, after two three-day weekends in a row, I ought to get back to work, but first: What.A.Fabulous.Weekend.

It was a gorgeous and sunny and pleasant drive to Atlanta. Very little drama. I didn't have to shriek once and try to take the wheel from Carlos, so it was all good. 

After living all those years in Miami, inches away from a major metropolitan area, and now living in Smallville, roughly a century or so from city life, I always get a slight rush when Atlanta appears out of the window. Traffic and horns honking and crazy drivers. Love.It.

And loved the hotel. We've stayed at the Artmore two times now, and it's always such a pleasant stay, Very chic and friendly and fun. An old apartment building turned into a boutique hotel. Plus, it's a short walk to symphony hall for the main event.

Patti.Freakin'.LuPone.

But first, there was some tequila and beer and ceviche, which is always a good thing. We served ceviche at Cinco de Never and a few of the guests gave me the "Is that raw?" look, and it took some convincing to tell them that the salmon, and the shrimp, are 'cooked' in citrus juices. But they all tried it and loved it. This ceviche I had was ahi and shrimp, and as anyone who knows me knows, if there's ahi on a menu, I'm having it. Dee-lish. With some lime and a wee hint of mint, it tasted so good alongside a Reposado Margarita on the rocks with a beer chaser.

Then it was back to the hotel for a little cat nap and shower, and then off to see her.

What an amazing show. Row B, Seats 5 and 6. I swear, if Patti LuPone was a girl who spit, we were sitting close enough so she could spit on me. And that would have been okay. Carlos and I settled in our seats, and then, coming through the aisle to take the seats next to me, was an obviously gay man and his "date"; a woman in her forties, I'm guessing. They began to talk, and I began to eavesdrop. He's a big show queen, comes to see all the Broadway shows and divas as they visit Atlanta. He's a subscriber so he always gets a good seat. He's never been married, and judging by the bad dye job on his head, he's in his 50s or 60s. Note to him: if the hair is black and the eyebrows are grey, it's a dead giveaway. But I digress. They continued to talk, and giggle, and then snuggle. He slipped his hand into hers and with his other hand began caressing her knee.

Portia di Rossi DeGeneres! Is he straight?

Crazy. But he held her hand all through the show, though he did squeal like a schoolgirl when Patti began to sing 'Don't Cry For Me Argentina'.

Carlos, on the other hand, found himself seated next to an older woman in a purple fedora. Lucky! And she was a character. Her name was Harriet and she's a big theater buff, and a little bit daft. In a good way. She introduced herself to us a couple of times, and asked Carlos his name twice, but she was a pistol. At one point, when someone was coming through our aisle, her daughter, seated next to her, said, "Walk your back, Mom" and Harriet looked at me and Carlos and said, "Is someone shooting?" Pistol.

But the real pistol was Patti LuPone. I thought she'd be amazing. She was amazing. I thought she's be funny. She was hysterical. i thought she'd be a diva. She wasn't.

After seeing, or hearing, that tape of Patti going all Diva on the theater-goer who brought a camera into 'Gypsy,' I laughed when, while singing "Just The Way You Look Tonight" Miss LuPone pulled out a camera and began taking pictures of the audience. She worked the stage, asking people to huddle together, and she even snapped a picture of Harriet, Carlos and me. Then she snapped a picture of herself as she hit that last note.

The show was called Coulda, Woulda, Shoulda, and featured songs from musicals that Patti LuPone thought she could have been in, should have been in, was in, and will be in. At one point, she said she'd always wanted to be Marry Martin, or Cathy Rigby, or Sandy Duncan, and play 'Peter Pan,' but Broadway wanted her to be Ethel Merman. Then she sang 'Neverland' beautifully and proved she coulda been in that one. As the song ended, she said, "They didn't ask me to be in that one, they asked me to be in this one..." and stood center stage and raised her arms above her head. As the orchestra played the overture from "Evita,' a little long overture, Patti got a laugh when she turned one hand and glanced at her watch. Then she belted out 'Don't Cry For Me....'. Magic.

It was such a wonderful show. So funny, the tales of her life and her experiences in show business. and that voice. Chills. Big, ballsy. brassy Broadway belter. Such a wonderful night.

The downside? A woman behind us who seemed to think she was sitting in her living room and Patti was performing just for her. She kept talking to Patti like they were old friends. "I remember that, too" "I was there that night!" "We'd vote for you!" I gave the side-eyed-gay-sneer. Did.Not.Faze.Her.

Still. If you ever get the chance.....blibbety blah blay bue......go see La LuPone.

The next day we drove down to Piedmont Park and ate breakfast at the Flying Biscuit, and then headed up to the Atlanta Botanical Gardens. Back in Miami, we used to visit a place called Fairchild Tropical Gardens. Very tropical, of course, and peaceful. This place was just like that, with lovely trails and different gardens and waterfalls, and flowers and statuary and orchids. We wound our way through there for hours, spending a beautiful afternoon.

Such a lovely, peaceful day, after such a Diva-fied night.

Tequila. Patti LuPone. Ceviche. Showtunes, Orchids. Carlos. My kind of weekend.

How was yours?

Happy Memorial Day

The Daily Patti: 'How Dare You!'

Tonight's the night!
Now, it's not like I would want anyone to intrude upon the LuPone experience, and goddess knows I'd be terrifd of the wrath of LuPone, but wouldn't it be kinda fun if something like this happened?

Outstanding Guest Comment Of The Week: Miss Ginger Grant

This week the competition was stiff......stiff...he he.....and the finalist were narrowed down to three.
Second runner-up is Allan, who commented on my inability to take one single picture at our Cinco de Never Festival:

Allan S has left a new comment on your post "I Didn't Get Raptured As Much As I Got Sangria'd":

honey, next time you go sip, click, sip, click. After a few drinks you will be making art. 


Stop in and say hi to Allan at The Adventures Of An Extroverted Wallflower, a "nuyorican-queer-b-boy-nerd."


And first runner-up, who, in the event that the winner cannot fulfill the obligations that come with this award, which means they have to read it, will take over the crown, is Stephen, who is as much a fan of Wisconsin politicians as I:

Stephen has left a new comment on your post "Wisconsin Doesn't Like the Gays":

I will take Bigoted Assholes for $1000, Alec. 


Why don't you take a moment, and head on over and visit Stephen at Post Apocalyptic Bohemian and read the "random musing of a mid-20th century gay man."


But the winner of this week's coveted....coveted? Seriously?.....ISBL Outstanding Guest Comment of The Week is.....Miss Ginger Grant!
"Miss Ginger Grant is a philanthropist, performer, and icon in the Houston, Texas community. And yes, she is a drag queen!"
But she is also an icon of the blogosphere!

Miss Ginger Grant has left a new comment on your post ""I Can See Mexico From My House"":

At least if we consolidate all the asshats into one state, perhaps they actually COULD successfully secede from the union and no one would miss them. I volunteer to help Rick Perry pack his shit! 


Visit Miss Ginger at:
The FABULOUS Blog of Miss Ginger Grant! AKA The Royal Blog of Queen Ginger Grant!
Countdown To Ball XLI
The Low Salt Cajun Queen

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

What do you do if you used to be on TV and now you hawk sentimental jewelry on HSN? Well, you could drag your ass to every news outlet to report some gossip about people you don't know.

It seems former B-list actress, now D-list huckster, Jane Seymour, has decided to open her yap and add her two pence about the Arnold Schwarzenegger love child with the maid.
She says she knows there are more children out there who have Terminator DNA, and she used this used to get herself on CNN, where she said: "I was not even remotely surprised. The moment I heard it, that there was an announcement of their separation -- he was obviously jumping the gun before everyone else told the world of the news."
And then she dropped a bimboshell, which is kind of like a bombshell, only from a moron:  "From what I gather, I think there will be lots of information coming people's way. I heard about two more [out of wedlock kids] somebody else knows about. I even met someone who knows him well."
See? She knows someone who knows someone who knows him well, probably because they parked Arnie's car in Beverly Hills once.
Hey, Dr. Quinn? Heal thyself, and then STFU.

Rumor has it that newly selected 'X-Factor' judge Cheryl Cole has ALLEGEDLY been asked to dump her "boyfriend" of one year, the ALLEGEDLY light-in-the-ballet-slippers 'Dancing with the Stars' pro Derek Hough, so that so she can create a better image for herself.

Apparently a London newspaper, The Mirror, is saying that Fox executives are trying to make Cole the sex symbol of the show and bluntly asked her to break it off with Hough.
A source--and by source, I mean Derek Hough's ALLEGED ex-boyfriend--says: "Derek may be dreaming of worldwide stardom but he's seen as a small-time dancer on a TV show... and pretty uncool. TV executives are thinking that if she's going to win over Hollywood, she'd be better off doing it as a sassy and single girl-about-town."

Um, who says sassy single girl about town besides someone visiting from 1963?

But then the source backtracks, and says the execs want Cole to maybe date a different guy in Hollywood, like maybe one who isn't constantly battling the does-he-or-doesn't-he-like-the-mens rumor.
Cole is said to be devastated by the request to lose the Hough, especially since Derek held her hand while she went through a messy divorce last year and held her hair while she vomited during a bout with malaria.
Let's see, he holds your hand while you divorce and holds your hair while you puke?
Oh, honey, he's a mo. ALLEGEDLY.
UPDATE: Cole has been "let go" from 'X Factor' and will be replaced by Pussycat Dolls lead singer Nicole Scherzinger.
Now she won't have to give up her gay.


Hell hath no fury like a Kennedy woman with a cheating husband.

Isn't that the old saying? See, Maria Shriver seems to be living up to that adage.
When the story broke about their separation, it was sad enough. Twenty-five years of marriage down the tubes. But then new details began to emerge, about things like schtupping the maid, and fathering children and maybe misappropriating states funds a s governor to pay off your baby maid mama.
And who is doing all this leaking of news? Well, some folks--and by some folks, I mean TMZ, and they would know--say it's Maria Shriver who is airing the dirty laundry.
According to TMZ, a "hysterical" Maria wanted to hold a press conference after learning the truth about the true paternity of Mildred Patty Baena's son, but was convinced to just leak the story to a pair of media outlets. 

And then, just as suddenly, negative stories about Mildred began appearing in the press, and people are speculating that that kind of bad press is the kind used by PR people and media insiders. People who usually work for high-powered public officials.
One such media insider--and it may be Jane Seymour--says: "Arnold and his people have long been known to fight hard to make sure they got rid of any negative stories about him. No one is more aggressive than Arnold's team, which explains why he has been able to hide this story for over a decade."
And a A-list publicist--and by A-list publicist, I mean, mailroom clerk at CAA--says: "Anyone that thinks these stories are just popping up by themselves is naive. This is obviously an attempt to distract attention from the man who caused all this and direct it to Maria, who has done nothing wrong. Just because it's worked for him in the past, it's not going to work this time."
Who do you think is the leak? Arnold? Maria? Deep Throat?
Or me?


Does anyone seriously think that going on a TV show to find a spouse is a good thing, and that it actually works?
:::cricket::::

It's not working this time...either. It seems that Emily Maynard, who won the hand of Brad Womack, after knowing him for a few weeks while he dated twenty-five other girls, made out with about a dozen of those, probably schtupped a few, and the settled on her, has given him back the engagement ring.
It all began when Maynard was spotted running errands in Charlotte, N.C., without the rock that ABC bought for Brad Womack to present to her on 'The Bachelor' finale.
Oh, but she didn't give the ring back to Brad, she returned it to the network.
Aaaah, love. Or at least made-up-for-ratings TV love.
Sources--and by sources I mean every news agency that Maynard and Womack have on speed dial in their efforts to become famous for sixteen minutes--claim that the couple's long-distance relationship was just too hard to continue, and that Maynard ALLEGEDLY initiated the breakup after visiting Womack in Texas.
Hmmm, she lives in North Carolina and he lives in Texas. Yeah, that would have worked.
The lesson to learn? The Bachelor, and The Bachelorette, are sham shows and no one ever gets married and lives happily ever after. Except for that first girl.


Someone is a bitch.

And it's either Zach Galifianakis or January Jones.
It seems that during an interview, Jones called Galifianakis the funniest man she'd ever met, and he ALLEGEDLY called to thank her for the compliment.
But then the bitchitude started.

It seems that at some recent star-studded Hollywood event, like the People's Choice Awards, or the opening of a new Piggly Wiggly, Jones called Galifianakis over to her table, and then things went sour.

Let's have Zach tell the story: "I sit at her table and talk for 10 minutes, and she goes, 'I think it's time for you to leave now. So I say, 'January, you are an actress in a show and everybody's going to forget about you in a few years, so f-cking be nice,' and I got up and left."
Ooooh, suh-nap!
i don't know who this Galifianakis fella is, but he just might be my new hero.
Plus, he knows how to rock the red one-piece, and that's hard to do.

I guess it pays to be a wacktress of some infamy. At least if you're Lindsay Lohan.

It seems the jewel thief and prescription drug abuser was actually spared serving her four-month sentence at the Lynwood Jail this week, and was instead ordered confined to her own home for the next four months.
Really? Jewel thieves can stay at home as long as they wear the monitoring anklet?
"She is now confined to the interior premises of her home at all times," LA Sheriff's spokesman, Steve Whitmore.
Wow. The horror! Forced to stay in her Venice Beach home. I wanna be a drug addict, DUI'er, jewel thief and kidnapper, so I can get the Venice Beach jail.
And there are reports that Lohan could spend as little as two weeks on house arrest if she displays good behavior. Good behavior? In her own home? What does that mean? She has to clean up after she eats? She needs to share the rmeote? She has to be nice? Okay, that last one might be hard.
And, of course, she will still have to complete her 480 ordered hours of community service at a downtown LA women's shelter and the county morgue.
The morgue? Maybe she can look for her career while she's there.

Just For Giggles

If the elections were held today, who would win the GOP nomination?

None.
I giggle 'cuz it's true.

The Daily Patti: 'Don't Cry For Me Argentina!'

And, last, but most certainly not least, the song that most people think of when they think of La LuPone. And tomorrow, she'll be singing just[?] for me!

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

Peter Fonda, on how the president is "a fucking traitor" for his handling of the BP oil spill:

"I’m training my grandchildren to use long-range rifles. For what purpose? Well, I’m not going to say the words 'Barack Obama’, but....it’s more of a thought process than an actuality, but we are heading for a major conflict between the haves and the have nots. I came here many years ago with a biker movie and we stopped a war. Now, it’s about starting the world. I prefer to not to use the words, 'let’s stop something’. I prefer to say, 'let’s start something, let’s start the world’."

Wow.
Um, yeah, that whole linking of arming grandchildren to shoot and president Obama, sounds a little threatening, dontcha think, Pete?
I agree that the gulf between the rich and everyone else is goring ever wider, but arming anyone is not the solution.
Put the teabags away and take a nap, Pete.


Michelle Obama, slyly, maybe, mentioning to gay families in speech to graduates at West Point:

"I ask you to remember that family has always been a centerpiece of our American story. No matter how you’ve grown up, no matter how you define family, all of you have someone in your life who believed in you and pushed you."

No matter how you define family.
Two parents, mommie and daddy.
One parent, mommie or daddy.
Two parents, mommie and mom, or daddy and dad.
It shouldn't make a difference how your family looks, all that matters is that they love you and nurture you and help you through life.
You go, Michelle.

Linda Harvey, of the Southern Poverty Law Center-certified hate group, Mission America, claiming that GLSEN [Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network] advocates for....wait for it....pedophilia:

"GLSEN poses as a 'gay rights' and 'anti-bullying' group for youth, going to bat for them on issues like discrimination. But GLSEN is actually a threat to children, unless parents don’t care about their kids being drawn into early deviant sexual activity, or learning to approve of sinful, God-defying behaviors without the parents' knowledge. To put it bluntly, when you think GLSEN, think 'children and bodily fluids.' Yes, it’s that bad. Behind GLSEN’s window-dressing rhetoric about safe schools, bigotry, 'homophobia', oppression, and concerns about harassment, lies the reality: advocacy of actual homosexual sex, sometimes implicit, sometimes very explicit, even for young kids. And sometimes it’s with adults."

So this 'education network' which seeks to help all kids understand what it means to be gay, and to grow up accepting and tolerant and understanding of people with different orientations and gender identities, is actually a front for pedophiles?
Linda, you need to get a large spoon and dig your head out of your ass.
You cannot advocate sex. Sex is; homosexual or heterosexual. It is. Unless you think that other groups advocate for heterosexual sex?
And GLSEN has nothing to do with pedophilia.
Seriously, get that spoon and start digging.

Charles Barkley, on gay players in the NBA:

“First of all, every player has played with gay guys. It bothers me when I hear these reporters and jocks get on TV and say: ‘Oh, no guy can come out in a team sport. These guys would go crazy.’ First of all, quit telling me what I think. I’d rather have a gay guy who can play than a straight guy who can’t play.”

Nice to hear another POV from a professional athlete.
Nicer than Kobe Bryant and Joakim Noah, with their faggot comments.
It shouldn't matter anywhere, at work, at play, what your sexual orientation might be. It should only matter that you can do the job, or play the game.

Veteran NYC sports radio announcer Jared Max, coming out on his radio show:

"Are we ready to have our sports information delivered by someone who is gay? We're going to find out. Because for the last 16 years I've been living a free life among all my close friends and family. But I've been living behind what is a gargantuan size secret in the sports world. I am gay. Yeah, Jared Max, the sports guy with one of the most familiar voices in New York sports isn't quite like the majority."

Welcome out, Jared, welcome out.
And you are simply showing the world, as has Don Lemons and Rick Welts and Will Sheridan and Scott Norton--who've all come out in recent weeks--that we are all kinds of people, doing all kinds of jobs, and our sexual orientation should make no difference at all.
Naturally, you'll be receiving the complimentary toaster oven and copy of the Gay Agenda.


Director Lars von Trier, who has been banned by Cannes, for his Hitler remarks:

"I really wanted to be a Jew and then I found out that I was really a Nazi because my family was German....Which also gave me some pleasure...What can I say? I understand Hitler...I think I understand the man, he’s not what you would call a good guy. But I understand much about him. And I sympathize with him a little bit. I’m not for the Second World War. I'm not against Jews. I’m very much for Jews. No not too much, because the Israelis, a pain in the ass...Okay, I'm a Nazi."

This is a prime example of someone who doesn't think before he speaks.
I got nothin' else on this one.
It's too disturbing......
Naturally, shortly after this vomitous statement, Von Trier apologized: “If I have hurt someone this morning by the words I said at the press conference, I sincerely apologize. I am not antisemitic or racially prejudiced in any way, nor am I a nazi.”
M'kay.

Maggie Gallagher, on The Gay Agenda:

"Surrendering on the legal definition of 'civil marriage' is not a prelude to winning any of those other deeper battles. It is a prelude to an ever deeper surrender to the main idea now being propagated: if you believe in the message of Genesis, as repeated by Jesus—that marriage from the beginning has been the union of male and female, husbands and wives called to give themselves to each other and to their children—then you are a bad person. You are like a racist. You should be ashamed and shamed in public. You should, ideally, lose your job."

Here's another thing, Mags, Jesus is love. I don't think he'd want you all, standing up and denigrating an entire group of people in his name.
Sure, you can toss around specific Bible passages that you say bolster your claims, but there are just as many passages that don't.
If you boil it down to it's purest form, God is love.
And what you're doing is not.
See, you can dislike me for being gay, and think your Bible damns me to hell for it, but you cannot use your misunderstanding of the word of God to legislate against me. That is no very Christ-like, is it?

Actor Armie Hammer, on the "weird hype" surrounding his man-on-man kiss with Leonardo DiCaprio in Clint Eastwood's J Edgar Hoover movie:

"It’s the same kind of thing as if you walk onto a set and they hand you a machine gun and [say], 'Shoot this like you know what you’re doing' — you can’t grab that thing and go, 'uh…' — you kind of have to go, 'Okay, I know what I’m doing,' and you’ve just got to go for it. It wasn’t that weird — I have never kissed a guy — it’s not something I’m going to do in my private life, but at the end of it I was, like, man, there is a lot of weird hype."

It is kind of odd, because when an actor plays a murderer or a rapist or pedophile or adulterer, the press never seems to assume they are like that in real life.
But play gay, and everyone assumes you're gay.
And kiss a guy on film and there's this almost juvenile nervous giggle that permeates every interview, like you're expected to say that the kiss turned you gay. Or loudly profess your heterosexuality.
That said, the idea of seeing Armie Hammer kissin' a guy has got me a bit riled up, so to speak.

Light Posting Ahead

Carlos and I are off for a weekend in Atlanta, so, except for a few preplanned funny, gossipy, catty, cartoony posts, I won't be around this weekend. But I will say Hello to Patti LuPone for ya'll, though.
See ya next week, and play nice!

Tuxedo Thursday

"Oh, I give up!"

The Daily Patti: 'A Little Priest'

Patti and George Hearn, in a performance from Sweeney Todd.

Our Newest "American Idol"

Here's your winner......

Oops. That's not him, this is him.......

Po-TAY-to. Po-TAH-to.

Be Gone Oprah

I don't know why I did it, but I watched the last three Oprah Shows. Perhaps it was out of fear that this was all some colossal joke and she wasn't leaving after all, i don't know. But there I was, watching a DVRd Oprah Finale.

Thank god for the DVR so I could fast forward through the awkward parts; and by awkward, I mean Tom Cruise, who always looks so ill-at-ease whenever he's being Tom Cruise and not some mortal-man-saving-the-planet.

Awkward.

And Steadman. Oprah even pulled Steadman out of the crate where she keeps him and he gave a speech; a great big rambling incoherent speech which proved he doesn't really know Oprah at all. The only one who truly knows Oprah is Gayle, and why she chose a fuchsia sausage casing as a dress is beyond me.

But Oprah was Oprah, always commenting on everything that was going on rather than sitting back and enjoying the salute. And repeating everything three or four times. i swear, if you could go back and re-edit all the tapes of the last 25 years and cut out every single time she repeats herself, you probably have about seven years of shows.

And, naturally, whenever she cried, which was often, she gave a look to one of the cameras so we could all feel her emotion.See, Oprah know her audience doesn't really feel anything until she tells them how to feel.

Then there was the last episode, where Oprah paced about the stage and talked about Oprah and the Oprah Show. Talk about awkward. She even said something about her father's single sperm making it to her mother's egg during that one time they had sex under the tree and the result being.......Oprah.

Awkward.

And, except for one brief moment where she reminded us that the Oprah Show wasn't always about doing better, being better, looking better, spiritual mumbo jumbo, but that it was one of those tacky tabloid shows where DNA tests were mentioned and adulterous husbands were outed, Oprah painted herself as our savior.

Thanks O, but no thanks.

But I think what galled me most was her incessant thanking of 'us' for letting her come into our lives and teach us. It made me think that, as my guests left the Cinco de Never party, I should have said, "Thank you for letting me do all of this for you."

As I've always said, the Oprah Show is about Oprah, and nothing else. And now millions of women, and a few men, I'm guessing, will be sitting in front of their TVs every afternoon wondering what they're gonna do with their days and their lives.

Now, before all you Oprah-nuts come out of the woodwork and rage at me because you have nothing to do now that she's gone, let me say this simply; Yes, Oprah did good things. She helped people in need. She told us it was okay to read, although some of us, like me, were reading long before Oprah say it was one of her Favorite Things. She gave money to worthy causes and built a school in Africa--though I wondered why she didn't want to build a "leadership academy' in, say, Chicago. See, Oprah was always about trying to do better and be better, but seemed to be missing the mark herself.

As someone much wiser than me [Hi Froggy] once said--and I'm paraphrasing: For someone who spends so much time telling people happy, she doesn't seem very happy.

Architecture Wednesday: The Legend Of Shell House

It looks a little like the ship from Lost In Space crash landed in an otherwordly forest on another planet, the way it seems to hover above the ground, stark white against the surrounding greenery.

This is Shell Villa, designed and built  by ARTechnic, and, though ti seems like such a contrast between earth and home, Shell Villa "deforms, wraps and curves to its environment in remarkable ways."

The house curves around a central tree which stands in the interior courtyard area. While this curious form makes for an interesting visual object it also informs how people move in, through and around it--in arcing, organic and naturalistic paths left by the voids inside and out.

The interior of the home is as organic as the exterior, flowing and curving as the shell would suggest from the outside and with furniture, furnishings and fixtures that also conform to the ebbs and flows of the building’s shape.

In some places, rectilinear design objects are set against the ever-present curves but they are still tucked within the overall rounded theme. The rounded shell itself provides protection from the elements for each interior space. Each space flows into the next, with the common elements of white--for the shell and some furniture--and wood--for virtually everything else--tying the experience together. Likewise, natural ventilation carries throughout the whole house.

The shift from day to night in the structure is a remarkable one, as the ribbon of the building edge becomes a kind of border between the light glowing within and the ever-darkening surrounding skies and forest around.

The net result at night is a sense of comfort and enclosure – a connection to the elemnents through a copious use of glass mitigated by a thick, wrapping exterior shell. All in all, the results are somehow a blend of ultramodern and completely contextual.

via dornob

The Daily Patti: 'Everything's Coming Up Roses'

Just three more days.........
La LuPone in her Tony Award winning performance as Mama Rose.

Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton Symbolically Vetoes Anti-Marriage Equality Bill

This morning, in what is seen as it truly is, a symbolic act, Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton vetoed the state Legislature's constitutional amendment defining marriage as only a union between one man and one woman. Now, constitutional amendments do not require a governor's signature, so Dayton's veto has no real power, but he simply wanted to make his strong condemnation of the discriminatory legislation known:

"I do not have the power to prevent this divisive and destructive constitutional amendment from appearing on the ballot, in November 2012, the Legislature sent it to me in the form of a bill. Thus, symbolic as it my be, I am exercising my legal responsibility to either sign or veto it...The path of social progress, of human compassion and understanding, would be tragically reversed by this amendment. Minnesotans are better than this. I urge Minnesotans to reject this amendment."

Bravo, Governor Dayton, bravo.
His letter follows:

source

"I Can See Mexico From My House"

It's all very hush hush, so secretive, but rumor has it that Sarah Palin has grown tired of being the helicopter-hunting-moose-easting-dumbass from Alaska and is planning a move to Arizona.
Arizona. Like that state needs another reason for the rest of the country to snicker at them behind their back. McCain. Brewer. Palin. It's the trifecta of moronic, dimwitted, bigoted, tyrannical politicians.
But chatter has it, though her lawyers declined comment, that a recent Arizona real estate transaction could see Mama Grizzly Bore relocating to Scottsdale. It seems that a $1.7 million cash deal closed on an 8,000-square-foot house in northern Scottsdale right about the same time political gossip-mongers began chattering that The Bore was looking at the upscale Phoenix suburb as a potential base for a 2012 presidential run.
I laugh because she still seems to think that she'll ever be president of anything.
But there are also rumors that The Bore might not try for the White House, but rather run for the seat of retiring Arizona Senator, Jon Kyl. Wow, Palin, Brewer and McCain, all in Arizona. It might be time to build that fence they keep talking about, only build it around the state to keep those wingnuts in.


source

The Royal Toilet Seat Has Been Sold

Oops! I meant The Hat.

Princess Beatrice’s hat…you know…the one she wore for the Royal Wedding has been sold on eBay for over $130,000.

Seriously? Someone wanted that thing? The new owner of the Philip Treacy creation wishes to remain anonymous. At least until she, or he, steps out in that thing.

And money spent on the monstrosity will go to a good cause, so maybe that’s what spurred on the buyer. All of the money raised will be donated to UNICEF UK and Children in Crisis through Princess Beatrice’s Little Bee Initiative campaign.

In selling the hat for charity, Princess Beatrice said: ”I’ve been amazed by the amount of attention the hat has attracted. It’s a wonderful opportunity to raise as much money as possible for two fantastic charities. I hope whoever wins the auction has as much fun with the hat as I have.”

The Daily Patti: 'Happy Days Are Here Again/Get Happy' with Audra McDonald

Now, I know this is technically the Week Of The Patti, but one of my favorite Patti performances is when she duets on the classic Garland/Streisand classic with the brazilliant Audra McDonald.
I wonder if Audra might sneak in and perform this with Patti on Saturday night.....
Hey, a gay can dream!

Tennesotasconizonatah...or the WeHateGays States

Ten-ne-so-ta-scon-iz-o-na-tah: 
[ten-nuh-sew-tah-scon-iz-oh-nah-tah]
–noun
1. a mash-up of several state names--Tennessee, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Arizona, and Utah, for starters; states that have been in the news recently for being anti-gay and anti-immigrant, or anti-anything that isn't straight and white
2. The WeHateGays states. 

Painted on the house of a gay Tennessee couple.

Today, we'll focus on the Tennessee in Tennesotasconizonatah, because they have really gone full barrel in the Anti-Gay Legislative Sweepstakes of late.

See, it seems that the Tennessee state Senate has approved, by a vote of 20-10, a law that would forbid Tennessee public school teachers and students in grades kindergarten through eight from discussing the fact that some people are gay. Now, there is good news: the bill isn't likely to be taken up by the House before lawmakers adjourn this spring, but the sponsor, Stacey 'Homophobic Asshat" Campfield, says he wants to push it forward in 2012 when the General Assembly comes back for the second year of the session.

Don't Say Gay. It's bad. Why, apparently, the Tennessee Senate thinks just saying the word 'gay' will make people gay. Or make them tolerant, which is awful, you know.

Opponents of the Don't Say Gay, Goddammit Bill believe it unfairly targets the children of gay parents, or even children who identify as gay themselves, by keeping them separate and unmentioned in class.

Supporters say it is intended to give teachers clear guidance for dealing with younger children on a potentially explosive topic. See, it Tennessee, being gay is a potentially explosive topic.

Don't Say Gay, lest you turn one of the children into a raging fag.
Don't Say Gay, lest the heads of the homophobes explode.

Oh, Tennesotasconizonatah, look what you're doing. But wait, there's more.

Tennesotasconizonatah Governor, Bill Haslam, signed a new bill yesterday that overturns the city of Nashville's nondiscrimination ordinance.

It seems that Nashville isn't like the rest of Tennesotasconizonatah. They understand blatant homophobia and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, and wanted to protect their citizens from being, oh, say, fired, or evicted or even beaten simply for being themselves.

But then the lawmakers of Tennesotasconizonatah got in on the act and decided they would simply overturn the ordinance, and the governor goosestepped along. An ordinance to ban discrimination.

Apparently that's a bad things in places like Tennesotasconizonatah.

Tennessee Senate OKs bill to ban teaching of homosexuality


Governor Overturns Nondiscrimination Ordinance

Wisconsin Doesn't Like the Gays

Up there in Wisconsin, which is slowly turning into Wisconsizona, wingnut Governor Scott Walker believes a new law that gives gay couples hospital visitation rights violates the state constitution. He has asked a judge to allow the state to stop defending it.

A law that allows people to visit their loved ones in the hospital is unconstitutional? Oh, not 'people,' but gay people.


Back in 2009, when Democrats controlled the Legislature, they changed the law so that same-sex couples could sign up for domestic partnership registries with county clerks to secure some--not all--of the rights afforded married couples.

Like being able to visit your partner in the hospital, like you'd visit any family member. But Scott Walker doesn't think gay couples are a family. he thinks, along with the homophobic, bigoted, Wisconsin Family Action, that the registries violate a 2006 amendment to the state constitution that bans gay marriage and any arrangement that is substantially similar.

See, gay folks and gay families and gay couples don't deserve to be treated equally in Wisconsizona. At least while Scott Walker is governor, which, hopefully, won't be more than one term.

source

Just For Giggles

You know you're gonna try it.......

The Daily Patti: 'I Dreamed a Dream'

Patti, in her own inimitable style, recalling her time spent in London doing Les Miserable.
Five days...tick...tock......

Beating The 'National Coming Out Day' Rush

National Coming Out Day isn't until October, but it seems like some folks are really jumping the gun. I mean, in the past couple of weeks we've had the Out Comings of Phoenix Suns CEO Rick Welts, CNN newsman Don Lemons, and athlete-turned-musician Will Sheridan. It's rainin' gays!

And now we have a new name to add to the list. Professional bowler, Scott Norton has announced that he is a gay man, and, of course, will be receiving the obligatory Welcome To The Franchise toaster oven and copy of The Gay Agenda.

Scott Norton: "It is extremely important for me to come out to show other gay athletes, both current and future, that it is important to come out to show that we are just like everyone else. Being gay doesn’t define who I am as a person or as a professional athlete. I'm also a professional bowler, lawyer, caring, compassionate, strong, and many other things."

We are all things. Athlete, singer, newsman, designer, businessman....bowler? Yes, we are bowlers, too. We're like the American Express card, we're everywhere you want to be.

Welcome Out, Scott.
 
source

A Lesson Not Learned

You'd think after Kobe Bryant was fined $100,000 for calling someone a 'faggot' that NBA players would learn to watch their mouths. Yeah, not so much.

It seems that during last night's broadcast of the Miami Heat/Chicago Bulls Eastern Conference Finals game, Bulls center Joakim Noah, pissy because he'd gotten benched, turned to a fan and seemed to shout, "Fuck you, faggot."

Get your checkbook ready, asshat.

Of course, people are saying this is different because Noah wasn't talking to, or about, an official, like Kobe had dine. Apparently, in the NBA, it's perfectly acceptable to call a fan a 'fucking faggot,' but don't do it to a ref. And the NBA "declined immediate comment."

After the game, Joakim Noah acknowledged "saying 'something'" to a fan: "I got caught up. I don't mean no disrespect to anybody."

Guess what, you overpaid moron? It is disrespectful. And guess what else, you homophobe? You did mean it, because you said it so easily and fluidly, like it's something you say all the time.

Sign the check, baby, for 100K.

source