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I love a house with a gorgeous view; one where you can stand outside and see the ocean or lake or forest, or even a great cityscape. But I really love a house that is a good view and Cielomar is that kind of house. Where you can stand outside and the house is the view.
Cielomar—a combination of two Spanish words meaning Heaven and sea—is on the Papagayo Peninsula in the Guanacaste Province of Costa Rica, where the sun and the temperature practically beg you to spend time outside each day.
From the approach the house seems simple; interesting, but simple. The house is made up of one long, straight corridor and built off from there is a unique curving structure. While the front seems quite shy, and private, the back of the home is covered in glass, to bring the views into the home.
Walk through the front door and there are two curving hallways going off to you left and right, but it’s the path in front that takes your breath away; I call it ‘the plank’ and you walk it through the house to above the edge of the pool deck and that view.
The infinity pool, the sun deck, the open areas, the plank, from which you can dive into the pool; the living room, without walls, the dining area tucked under the plank; a chef’s kitchen, a gorgeous bathroom.
Everywhere you look, a view.
                 
Click to emBIGGERate ..
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Wednesday, February 28, 2018
Architecture Wednesday: Cielomar
Georgia Is Still Anti-LGBTQ ...and Anti-Child
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I’ve always maintained that even with the strides the LGBTQ community has made in recent years … equality! … that those on the right, er, wrong, would continue to find ways to make us less than.
And this week, the Georgia Senate Judiciary Committee passed a bill that would allow adoption agencies to refuse to place children with same-sex couples based on their religious beliefs.
Cuz, you know, God wants children with straight couples or with no one at all. I think that’s a commandment … ? But, in addition to denying same-sex couples full rights to adoption, the bill also would prohibit the Georgia Department of Human Services from taking “adverse action” against those so-called religious agencies who practice hate and intolerance.
The bill, like most Hate Bills, has one of those names that make it sound all sweetness and light—Keep Faith in Adoption and Foster Care Act—and was introduced, because, of course, by a Republican state Senator, William Ligon.
The best part of being a homophobic fuck is the extreme lack of logic in Ligon’s argument for the bill; he claims his bill allows for more adoption instead of less.
Yes, denying people the right to adopt paves the way for more children to be adopted …
This is what we still deal with in this country: hatred and homophobia and intolerance and ignorance and downright stupidity. And, yeah, children suffer too, all in the name of some asshat’s religious beliefs.
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Tuesday, February 27, 2018
Monday, February 26, 2018
#BoycottNRA Is Working
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As more and more people come to realize—and by that, I mean they’re waking up—the National Rifle Association [NRA] is a terrorist group, more and more companies are choosing to end their relationships with the group.
The brands—insurance companies, hotel groups, airlines and rental car agencies—are, one by one, announced their decisions to cease any partnership with Wayne LaPierre and his band of terrorists, in response to the hashtag #BoycottNRA because many activists are using social media to shame these companies.
The NRA website claims that it “pays to be a member” and that you can get back hundreds of dollars more than you pay in dues from benefits given to the group by various businesses, like home and auto insurance drug discounts and, something called the Official Wine Club of the NRA … because booze and guns is never a bad thing.
This past weekend both Delta and United Airlines joined a growing list of companies that have distanced themselves from the NRA by announcing they would no longer offer discounts to members:
“Delta is reaching out to the NRA to let them know we will be ending their contract for discounted rates through our group travel program. We will be requesting that the NRA remove our information from their website.”
And …
“United is notifying the NRA that we will no longer offer a discounted rate to their annual meeting and we are asking that the NRA remove our information from their website.”
This boycott began with the First National Bank of Omaha last Thursday when they announced on that they "will not renew its contract with the National Rifle Association to issue the NRA Visa Card." The bank said "customer feedback" spurred it to review its relationship.
Boycotts, or the threat of boycotts, work, y’all.
And the very next day Symantec, the cybersecurity company, announced it has also ended its NRA discount program., and on the heels of Symantec’s Tweet, insurance giant MetLife also Tweeted:
“We value all our customers but have decided to end our discount program with the NRA."
And then came the rental car companies, whenEnterprise Holdings, which owns and operates Alamo, Enterprise and National, announced that each brand would sever its NRA member discount program; Hertz also followed suit, and ended their affiliation with the NRA.
And it goes on … Wyndham Worldwide stopped offering NRA discounts in the aftermath of the Sandy Hook shooting in 2012, but last week they announced that their hotel brands—including Travelodge, Howard Johnson, Ramada and Days Inn—will no longer be “affiliated with the NRA."
To be fair, many on social media have maintained their support for the NRA, which says it has some five million members, but my favorite Tweet I read was from someone who announced that while the 5 million NRA lapdogs can continue to support the group, there are nearly 300 million others who will boycott.
Looks like the numbers are on our side, causing even Wayne LaPierre, who is not a Second Amendment advocate but a shill for gun manufacturers, let’s be clear, spoke at the Conservative Political Action Conference [CPAC] and released a statement from the NRA:
“The more than five million law-abiding members of the National Rifle Association have enjoyed discounts and cost-saving programs from many American corporations that have partnered with the NRA to expand member benefits. Since the tragedy in Parkland, Florida, a number of companies have decided to sever their relationship with the NRA, in an effort to punish our members who are doctors, farmers, law enforcement officers, fire fighters, nurses, shop owners and school teachers that live in every American community. We are men and women who represent every American ethnic group, every one of the world’s religions and every form of political commitment.”
First off, they aren’t punishing anyone; as a business they are simply deciding to end a discount program, as is their right.
“The law-abiding members of the NRA had nothing at all to do with the failure of that school’s security preparedness, the failure of America’s mental health system, the failure of the National Instant Check System or the cruel failures of both federal and local law enforcement.”
This isn’t about people, responsible people, owning guns, this is about how easy it is in this country for anyone to buy guns, to amass an arsenal, with no one watching. And no one is saying that NRA members—at least most of them—aren’t law-abiding citizens, so it’s funny that the NRA is using that term; and then, to blame anyone and everyone, except gun sellers and manufacturers and the NRA, for the shooting in Florida, is disgusting; you simply want to keep giving anyone and everyone the ability to buy guns, guns, and more guns in this country.
And, Wayne, you piece of filth, you are not fighting for anyone’s rights’ you are fighting to keep filling your bank account with the coins thrown at you by people who make guns, and assault weapons and bump-stocks and the only way you’ll continue to make money is by seeing to it that gun manufacturers can still sell murder weapons.
“Despite that, some corporations have decided to punish NRA membership in a shameful display of political and civic cowardice. In time, these brands will be replaced by others who recognize that patriotism and determined commitment to Constitutional freedoms are characteristics of a marketplace they very much want to serve. Let it be absolutely clear. The loss of a discount will neither scare nor distract one single NRA member from our mission to stand and defend the individual freedoms that have always made America the greatest nation in the world.”
Let me be clear, Wayne; boycotts work, and when another hotel group or rental car company or insurance group steps up to take the place of those companies that have ended their relationship with you, we … We The People … will boycott them, too, and shame them, into ending their alliance with your terrorist organization.
The students of Parkland have your number, and we all have it now, too. There are some 70% of Americans who want sensible gun control, and your puny little five million won’t help; and your payoffs to GOP politicians won’t help either because we will vote them out, and vote into office people who don’t wish to see Americans murdered at school or church or a mall or a concert just so Wayne LaPierre can make money.
Now, fuck off.
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Sunday, February 25, 2018
Saturday, February 24, 2018
It's Snarkurday!
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I love a proud mom of a gay son, who just wants her boy to be happy.
I’m looking at you, Sally Field, who is trying to hook her gay son Sam Griesman up with Olympic darling … and America’s Sweetheart … Adam Rippon.
It seems that Sam and Sally were watching the Olympics and texting about Adam and how cute he is, and like every mom who wants her son to be happy, Sally decided to hook Sam up with Adam via social media.
After Sam posted the conversation with his mother, Sally tagged Adam on it and told Sam to …
“Find a way [to meet Adam].”
And now Adam has responded:
“Sally! She bold.”
And then he posted a message for Sam:
“Sam, your mom – I admire her. And I’m sure one day we’re going to meet! So, thanks, mom.”
And I’m sure Sally will make that meeting happen … and she will be there!
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For years Jamie Foxx and his BFF Tom Cruise’s ex, Katie Holmes, have been
Recently, Foxx played in the NBC All-Star Celebrity Game and was interviewed by ESPN beforehand. He seemed in good spirits, but then interviewer Michael Smith asked about Katie, and the photos that surfaced of Foxx and Holmes playing basketball together on Valentine’s Day:
“I know you’ve prepared and I saw pictures. Did you and Katie Holmes play basketball for Valentine’s Day? Like some real Love & Basketball?”
Foxx instantly got his panties in a snit and had his assistant remove him from the interview as he refused to answer the question.
Note to self: don’t ask Jamie about Katie. Like that would ever happen because I could care less about the two of them, handholding or not.
Still, it was fun to see Jamie Foxx get all pissy.
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Speaking of love … no matter how many of you want it to happen, I don’t think Brad and Jen are gonna get back together.
Dry your eyes. According to sources—and it’s not La Jolie—Brad has not reached out to ex-wife Jennifer Aniston since her split from “bouncy jogger” Justin Theroux. But, Brad did say he was “sad” about the split: “Brad is of course sad to hear the news about Jen’s divorce. He only wishes the best for her. However, Brad hasn’t reached out to Jen, and has no plans to do so at this point.”
Again, dry your eyes, plus, there’s this …?
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Were Jen and Justin even really married?
Aniston and Theroux had a wedding at their Bel-Air manse in 2015, but TMZ says that they checked the marriage records in L.A. County and didn’t find a marriage license for them. TMZ says they went as far back as 2010.
Was it a wedding, or just a really expensive commitment ceremony?
Now, the now-unhappy couple could have gotten a marriage license in any of the 57 other counties in California, but several people close to Aniston say there have long been rumors that there was no legal marriage.
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Tribeca residents better be nice because Taylor Swift is buying up blocks of real estate in the area and, if they’re mean, they might be the target of an entire album of stupid pop songs about mean people.
Swifty just purchased a $9.75 million apartment at 155 Franklin St. where she already owns an 8,000-square-foot penthouse duplex; last fall she bought a three-story townhouse next door, at 153 Franklin, for $18 million.
And already the neighbors are annoyed:
“We don’t need celebrities here that will draw the focus [of] the paparazzi or extra fan attention. [There’s already a] small swarm of teenage girls lurking and swooning outside [Swift’s home regularly].”
And clearly, that neighbor isn’t the only one irked at the Swift Invasion; days after Swifty purchased the townhouse, someone posted a flier that said—“Taylor Swift Can Go F–k Herself”—to a Tribeca lamppost.
And brokers don’t like her either, it seems, because the firm of Douglas Elliman is suing her for unpaid commissions of $1.6 million related to the townhouse sale.
Wow; if this keeps up there will be several Swift albums about mean neighbors and bad realtors.
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On the other side of the coin, the side being the one where the star can no longer avoid real state purchases, we find one Lisa Marie Presley. Despite being the sole heir to the Kingdom of The King, Lisa Marie claims to be in debt to the tune of $16 million.
In her ongoing divorce from her third, or fourth, husband, Michael Lockwood, Lisa Marie claims she owes over $16 million, with more than $10 million of that coming from unpaid taxes between 2012 and 2015. Lisa Marie is also trying to unload her home in England ever since she defaulted on that mortgage—another $6 million. The rest of her money woes are tied up in credit card debt and unpaid attorney bills.
Lisa Marie’s financial woes came to light last year when she accused her managers of decimating her $300 million fortune. Now, she is ALLEGEDLY living rent-free with her daughter, Riley Keough, while her twin daughters are staying with Grandma Priscilla.
Lisa Marie sold off 85% of Elvis Presley Enterprises in 2004 for $100 million, but the estate still brings in $20 million each year. If she’s not careful, Lisa Marie’s next home might be In The Ghetto or Jailhouse Rock or Love Me With Legal Tender.
Just a thought … why doesn’t Lisa Marie write those nasty neighbor songs for Swifty since Swifty is loaded; the Lisa Marie can pay off her debts and Swifty might actually put out a tune that doesn’t sound like something a cat coughed up on the rug.
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Talk about your odd couplings …
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Queen Elizabeth II was front row … the f**king front row … at London Fashion Week and she was seated right next to Anna “Nuclear” Wintour!
The Queen surprised many who thought she knew nothing about fashion, and many in the crowd were certain Anna would bitchslap Her Royal Highness for those hats.
But the Queen of England and the Queen of Fashion played nice, and even smiled and chatted with one another, though I assume that QEII wasn’t exactly sure who Wintour was and why she didn’t take off those damned glasses.
I mean, the Queen had plenty of room in her bag to hold them if that’s what was worrying Anna.
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Friday, February 23, 2018
PR All-St★rs 6 Ep 7: Eyes On The Stars, Heads In Uranus
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This week the designtestants go on a field trip to the Hudson River Museum where they meet Alyssa in the planetarium. She tries to link fashion and space before telling the designtestants that this week’s challenge is an avant-garde look inspired by space and planets and stars and black holes … oh my. They’ll have a huge budget on $350 and two entire days to complete their looks.
Anthony lifts his arms and sighs:
“I knew you’d hear my cry, Father.”
But first the designtestants will watch a special PR Planetarium Show™ before they can dash off to Mood.
So, let’s rip ….
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THE SAFES
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EDMOND He was giving me Judy Jetson but could have pushed it further.
HELEN I hate this; the model looks thick and dumpy and the hair was an idiotic choice.
KEN It’s a mushroom … now, maybe it’s a truffle to some, but it’s still a mushroom.
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TOPS AND BOTTOMS
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FABIO
He was inspired by Neptune, which is cold and dark and windy, so he decides to give his girl a coat … of fringe. I wasn’t getting it, until I saw that he was going to quilt the fringe and have some pieces hang loose. I still didn’t like it, but now I got it.
Anne Fulenwider also doesn’t get and worries the judges won’t get it either … or at least not see the quilting detail. But Fabio sticks to his idea because the idea, and the fringe is all he’s got. He does stumble when making sleeves, and so decides to scrap those in favor of some braided fringe detail.
Again. I don’t get it.
WHAT HE SAID
Thank god you can see that quilting.
WHAT I SAID
I’m getting less interplanetary and more Mod Native American from this look.
WHAT THE JUDGES SAID
The Beautiful Georgina Chapman™ loves that it’s a different perspective and loves the ease of the look and the fringe, but feels the top is unresolved. Damn those sleeves! Isaac Mizrahi—and this is why I love him—says “It doesn’t work, except it great, except it’s hideous and I can look at it.” Guest Judge, Modern Family’s Jesse Tyler Ferguson says to Isaac, “I don’t think it’s the ugliest thing on the runway at all,” and said he loves the movement of the fringe. Fellow Guest Judge RuPaul likes it, but wishes the length was better—shorter or longer—and the sleeves had some length …if there were, in fact, sleeves.
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ANTHONY
Anthony, who reminds everyone that he does gowns, is gonna switch it up this week and do pants! Oh :::gasp::: no! But he’s inspired by the rings of the Milky Way and wants to mimic that in a pant, along with some crystals and some paint.
Anne is not feeling the paint so much and not feeling the crystals at all; she warns him to watch the sparkle, which Anthony finds funny after viewing all the Marie Claire covers on the walls, each one with some kind of bling on the model. He will not be taking Anne’s advice this week and so he crystals and paints and adds a circular hand painted piece to the bodice. Um … okay?
WHAT HE SAID
I am quite proud of this look …and the way the pants are moving.
WHAT I SAID
I like the pants, but that round thing on the front scream paint-splattered pizza box to me.
WHAT THE JUDGES SAID
Alyssa says it keeps on giving from every single angle, while The Beautiful Georgina Chapman™ says it’s fun, and that she loves the exaggerated peplum on the pants. Isaac Mizrahi also loves the avant-garde pants, and the breast-less breastplate, while Jesse Tyler Ferguson calls the round box “Spin Art.” RuPaul simple wants to “take a chance with pants” and loves that Anthony gave them hips and back.
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MERLINE
If ever oh ever there was a week for Merline, this is it; her clothes have long been called Star Trek and Star Wars, so this is her week to really shine, eh? Or, is it her week to make the same dress and same architectural shapes she makes every week.
She is orbit-inspired dress and wants her “shapes to do the talking” but all they’re saying is, “We’ve already done this.”
And even Anne tells her that this challenge is the time for her to really reach and push herself, and she needs that because the dress she’s looking at is something everyone has seen before.
WHAT SHE SAID
She looks strong … it’s the whole package.
WHAT I SAID
It’s the same shapes, the same architecture, the same oddly shaped hem, only this time in white instead of blue or gray.
WHAT THE JUDGES SAID
Isaac Mizrahi says it’s divine in white and could see a whole collection in varying colors. But The Beautiful Georgina Chapman™ worries that she’s getting the same dress every week and again warns Merline to expand. Jesse Tyler Ferguson loved that you could see the seaming in the white fabric and RuPaul said the model looked “like a Bond villain.”
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JOSHUA
At the planetarium, Joshua sees Pluto and loves the idea of the hard surfaces and the nitrogen ice; he opts to make hot glue ice and hardcore chaps because …. Oh, who the hell knows? But he whines about the gluing and his arm workout and I’m worried his eyebrow pencil will melt and run down his face from the heat and exertion.
Anne is also worried, especially when he tells her he’s also going to make “editorial bondage gear.” Anne sniffs condescendingly and says it’s been done before, and Joshua sniffs slightly more condescendingly and says, “The wheel’s been done, I’m merely adding a spoke.”
I think Anne wants to poke him in the eye with that spoke and I don’t really blame her. He refuses to listen and then finds his fabric palette to be less than complimentary to what I will call, for now, dripping glue pieces.
WHAT HE SAID
This is a true look.
WHAT I SAID
It looks like someone had a bukkake party in the workroom. Cum again?
WHAT THE JUDGES SAID
The Beautiful Georgina Chapman™ loves the idea of the glue stick but hates the fabrics and doesn’t know if the look needed all the other bits and pieces. She asks Joshua to explain his thoughts behind the look, and he gets pissy, and replies, “That’s it baby. That’s what you’re gonna get.” RuPaul calls it “next level gay s—” and thinks it’s outrageous and crazy and so wrong it’s right. Isaac says the colors are something out of a 1970s motel room that you will not stay in. RuPaul calls it “space queen porno” and Jesse Tyler Ferguson says, “It’s the end of the scene, too.” Alyssa asks why he chose the colors, Joshua sniffs, “It’s literal to the plant.” Alyssa then says they want to see what Joshua is capable of, but not necessarily all in one look, to which he pisses, “This isn’t all I can do … this is what I have today, so either you want to see more—” Alyssa cuts him off, “Let’s move on.” But Isaac gets the laugh word, and laugh, when he says, “It’s one of the ugliest things I’ve seen, so maybe it should win.”
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KIMBERLY
She claims to be inspired by a neutron star and how it collapses but she cannot explain it to anyone, even herself. She liked the gold and the orange and the black and there was something about collapsing and …
Anne looks at it and all she can see is the collapse … perhaps of Kimberly’s time on the PR.
WHAT SHE SAID
I like the crystals [but] wish I had more leather.
WHAT I SAID
It looks like a costume from the sequel to ‘Universal Soldier,’ called ‘Universal Hooker.’
WHAT THE JUDGES SAID
Everyone laughs because even Kimberly cannot explain how her dress resembles a neutron star. Isaac likes some of it but doesn’t think it’s avant-garde. The Beautiful Georgina Chapman™ calls it confused and claustrophobic and said it needed to be stronger. Jesse Tyler Ferguson asked if he could buy the top to use as a Christmas Tree skirt and RuPaul said it was reminiscent of a Quentin Tarantino villainess. Isaac then decided that the more he looked at it, the more he liked it, and The Beautiful Georgina Chapman™ said that was just because he was “cross” with Joshua.
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STANLEY
Stanley wanted to bring a solar eclipse to the runway … too bad he couldn’t have brought it before Joshua’s walked … but also wanted to do separates and simplicity.
Anne liked the separates but worried that the look was too simple to be avant-garde. He tells her to wait and see … and then he creates a kind of horror movie murderer mask, you know, if the murderer had a fashion sense, and I was worried that he was pinning all his avant-garde hopes on a chic face-mask.
WHAT HE SAID
She looks incredible … like a solar eclipse.
WHAT I SAID
It looks so simple. I like it but is it avant-garde.
WHAT THE JUDGES SAID
Alyssa called it dreamy, and everyone agreed. The Beautiful Georgina Chapman™ thinks the proportions are “wonderful” and she says the bow “gives her everything.” She was also surprised that, even though the model’s waist was lost, the look still had a beautiful shape. Isaac Mizrahi loved it because avant-garde doesn’t have to be exaggerated, and this look was simple and witty and lighthearted. Jesse Tyler Ferguson thought it too wearable to be avant-garde and said it was something Gwen Stefani would wear to brunch. RuPaul loved the matte fabric saying it didn’t need bling to make a statement.
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Stanley, for knowing how to do avant-garde fashion simply and with a face-mask, no less, wins the week, while Kimberly will have to explain why her star has collapsed.
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God, I wanted Joshua to go for being so pissy and full of himself. Here’s the real deal, sweetie, if you were a truly great designer you wouldn’t be giving the PR a second chance because you wouldn’t need it. You are a shock monkey and that’s your trick and it’s old. You hate the critiques because they’re wrong? They aren’t; that look was a hot slimy sperm gown over some ugly chaps. I hope next week is your last.
Now, onto some great lines, and all, once again, from Anthony: as Helen kvetches about the challenge, Anthony says:
“Don’t lose your mind, Helen. Lose this contest, Helen, but don’t lose your mind.”
And then he sips his tea. Then, when Kimberly announces that the designtestants hold a moment of silence for Char, he says:
“Damn, did she die or get eliminated?”
Kimberly reminds him it was just elimination and he adds:
“If they get my ass up out of here, y’all better have a whole damn remembrance.”
Later, watching the looks leave for the runway he says:
“I see Kimberly’s look and her model is ass out, but then I look across the room and see Josh’s look, then I see Helen’s look, and I think to myself, ‘Battle of the streetwalkers.'”
Snap. But my favorite Anthony-ism was when he studied his look and said:
“Oooooh, you like it Stan?”
And Stanley said:
“I think a little Soul Train cartoon is coming through.”
And as Anthony gives him the Death Star, Stanley reminds him he was just joking, to which Anthony says:
“No, ‘cause the went through you so fast, but after the runway tomorrow, I need to holler at you in the ladies’ room.”
I imagine it would be to congratulate Stanley on his win?
Now, The Tents: Fabio, Ken, Anthony, Stanley … or a combination thereof. Helen? I can’t. Joshua? I won’t. Edmond? I so want to, but it doesn’t look like it’s in the cards.
Lastly, this is for the producers; I like Alyssa Milano, I do. I follow her on Twitter and she’s politically savvy and active and smart and funny. But, BUT, if we could have co-hosts for the show every week and those co-hosts could be Jesse Tyler Ferguson and RuPaul, it would be a smash …especially in combination with Isaac Mizrahi, whom I adore, and The Beautiful Georgina Chapman™.
Just sayin’.
What did YOU think?
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