Thursday, January 31, 2019

Bobservations

We went out to brunch over the weekend with our good friends David and Neal to celebrate both my birthday and their 4th wedding anniversary; four doesn’t sound long, but it’s only the amount of time their relationship has been legally and rightfully recognized. It was actually their 35th anniversary.

So there.

On Sunday, Carlos and I were running some errands and we stopped at Tractor Supply to get cat litter. As we checked out, the cashier asked if we’d found everything we wanted, and I said:
“We did. It’s my birthday and he’s buying me cat litter.”
Later in the day, when Tia Gloria called form Mexico to sing me ♪ ♫ Happy Birthday ♫ ♪ over the phone, she asked how we were spending the day, I told her Carlos had gotten me cat litter for my birthday.

She asked to speak to him. And when I spoke with my father and told him of the gift … he asked to speak with Carlos, too.

Those were all good birthday presents!

As was the day spent with Carlos and the Chocolate Orange Cake he made for me.
There’s a sucker born every minute … at least that’s what the folks at Farfetch, an online luxury fashion platform that sells products from over 700 boutiques, thinks because they are offering a Hanes Beefy-T with a small Prada logo sewn onto it for the low, low price of $410.

Seriously.
Senator Joni Ernst filed for divorce, claiming her husband assaulted her years ago, though she never reported the assault to the police.

Last fall, Senator Joni Ernst dismissed Dr. Christine Blasey Ford’s testimony against Brett Kavanaugh because her story was  “uncorroborated.”

Let that sink in.
After years of unofficial ’Gay Days’ at Disney theme parks, Disneyland Paris has announced its first ever LGBTQ Pride event called Magical Pride. The park will welcome guests to “discover the enchantment of Disney with the Sparkle of Pride!”

Here’s hoping it spreads to the rest of the Disney empire.

Sidenote: years back Carlos and I were at Disneyworld in Orlando, and as we were leaving the park, and holding hands, two women walked around us and ahead, also holding hands. From behind us someone shouted:
“What is this? Gay Day?”
And one of the women shouted back:
“Every day is Gay Day.”
Yup.
Rent: Live it was not.

The actor playing Roger, Brennin Hunt, broke his foot near the end of Saturday’s rehearsal, so producers decided to show us a recording of that performance. The show was only truly live for the last few minutes, including a finale with members of the original Broadway cast—Idina Menzel, Anthony Rapp, Daphne Rubin-Vega, and Taye Diggs—singing “Seasons of Love”.

And so it’s no surprise that Rent Not Live  was the least watched and lowest rated of the trend to date, in part perhaps due to a cast who was saving their best, and fullest, energy for the live performance and not a taped rehearsal.
This week _____ announced that he wanted to allow students who wish to study the Bible to be able to do so in schools, all schools, and his Evangelical Hypocritical Fake Faith Racist base cheered.

They cheered a man who cheated on his first wife with his second wife, then cheated on his second wife with his third wife, then cheated on his third wife with a porn actress and nude model while the wife was pregnant with his fifth child from three different women.

Right?
Lawyers for Kentucky’s Republican Governor Matt Bevin say that former Rowan Kounty Klerk Kim Davis must pay the $225,000 in legal fees owed to the gay couples who sued her for refusing to issue marriage licenses because of her ALLEGED Christian-based opposition to same-sex marriage.

Nice; except it shows the hypocrisy of Bevin. See, while Bevin has called Davis “an inspiration … to the children of America,” after a district judge ruled that the couples suing for marriage licenses clearly prevailed and that the state of Kentucky must pay their fees and costs, Bevin and his lawyers want the bill handed to Davis, and say she acted alone in denying the marriage licenses.

Hypocrisy. GOP.
Russia has embarrassed _____ … again!

This week the Kremlin leaked news that  Putin met with _____ and his nude model wife, Melanie, at the G-20 Summit in Buenos Aires last fall.  The embarrassment is _____ meeting with his boss and handler, Putin, but that not one single US official was present … no collusion, nothing to see, witch hunt … no government officials, no translators, no one from the State Department. It is unprecedented to have held the meeting without a U.S. witness, especially someone to record the details of what happened.

But that was only the first embarrassment; the second embarrassment came via TASS, Russia’s official state media news outlet of the Kremlin who, when asked about _____’s lack of even an interpreter, said:
"It’s none of our business whether _____ had an interpreter; Putin’s interpreter is always by his side — we have stability and order in that regard.”
We don’t because Putin owns _____ , his beck-and-call girl, and when Putin calls, _____ obeys.
New Funny Irreverent Show Alert … The Other Two tells the story of siblings Cary and Brooke whose lives are upended when their 13-year-old brother, Chase, becomes a Justin Bieber-esque type overnight sensation.

It’s very funny, and the humor is quite ballsy, and then there’s the relationship between Cary, played by Drew Tarver, left, who is gay, and his roommate, played by Andy Riddings, right, who is not, and how they just like to make out every so often.

Plus, they’re cute, so yeah, there’s that.

But it’s the funny that gets me. Okay, and the cute guys making out.



Wednesday, January 30, 2019

Architecture Wednesday: Yorkville Residence

This home sits on the peak of a hill in California taking in the gorgeous views through the home’s numerous glass walls. But I kinda like sitting outside the house, looking at it. The angled roof; the colorful walls; the terraced gardens; the pools; the walkways. I love it all.

The living room, dining room, and kitchen share one rather large space, with rather large windows to the world beyond. The design and furnishings are simple, because, again, it’s what’s outside that matters.

The house is about 2700 square feet and was designed by the Alan Nicholson Design Studio for a retired couple.

If this is retirement, can I go now?


Click to emBIGGERate.


F****t. N****r. MAGA. It's All Hate.


Empire star Jussie Smollett was attacked in Chicago yesterday because he’s a gay, black man.

Sorry; it’s true.

Shortly after arriving in the city around 2AM, Smollett got a bite to eat at a Subway. As he walked down the street two unknown offenders approached him. One shouted something along the lines of …
“Aren’t you that f****t from TV?”
And then something like …
“N****r.”
And finally …
“This is MAGA country.”
They attacked him; they hit him in the face and then poured some substance—it is assumed to be bleach—all over him. At some point one of the assailants tied a rope around Smollett’s neck.

In America, in 2019.

The offenders fled the scene and Smollett made his way to the hospital where he is said to be in good condition.

I’ll say this again …

If two people attacked Jussie Smollett and beat him up and took his wallet, that’s hateful.

But when two people shout the words “f****t” and “n****r” and then beat Jussie Smollett up and douse him with bleach and tie a noose around his neck, that’s HATE.

Hateful, however, is when many of our politicians, mostly Republicans, don’t believe that sexual orientation should be included in Hate Crimes protections. But be clear, Jussie Smollett was viciously attacked because he’s black and gay.

That’s hate.

In America.

In 2019.

In MAGA country, where the Red Hat is the new White Hood.

Be clear.

Monday, January 28, 2019

Once Again, DL Hughley Proves Himself An Attention Seeking Ass

It was just a few weeks back that ALLEGED comedian DL Hughley came to the defense of Kevin Hart over the latter’s ALLEGED joke about beating his son if he thought he might be gay. Hughley tried to spin it that humor is always funny but didn’t seem to get that child abuse and gay bashing aren’t a joke.

Well, Hughley is still at it … being an ignorant dick, I mean  … because this week he went after actor Terry Crews, whom you may remember, was physically groped by another man at a party in Hollywood a couple of years ago. Hughley, who wasn’t at the party, and therefore has no firsthand knowledge of what happened, suggested that maybe Terry Crews wanted to be sexually assaulted by William Morris agent Adam Venit, or simply wasn’t man enough to fight back:
“I think it’s hard for me to think that a dude with all those muscles can’t tell an agent to not touch his ass. I don’t understand. I think that now everybody’s so into this notion that, ‘It happened to me too.’ Hey, motherf**ker, God gave you muscles so you could say no and mean it.”
Blame the victim; I imagine DL Hughley might also blame women who are assaulted because, you know, they dressed a certain way or went to a bar alone … or …

Well, Terry Crews wasn’t having DL’s bull shiz:
“You told the world ‘God Gave Me Muscles So I Could Say No…’ Are you implying I ‘wanted’ to be sexually assaulted? I’m listening, sir…”
And DL, ever the asshat who says shiz and then backs it up with more ignorance or nothing at all simply replied:
You saw the video.”
Crews replied:
“Sir you said I should have pushed him back, or restrained him and I DID ALL THOSE THINGS … but you act like I didn’t. Were you there?”
DL, who thinks beating a child because they might be gay is funny, then suggested that Terry Crews should have slapped “the sh*t outa him” because, in DL”s tiny mind, violence is the answer. But, luckily, Terry Crews isn’t some kind if moronic Neanderthal who thinks fists are the way to solve a problem, though Crews did wonder:
“So sir…If you truly feel that is a correct way to deal with toxic behavior … Should I slap the sh*t out of you?”
And then Hughley posted to Instagram:
“It’s always people that know you the least that judge you the most.”
Clearly DL doesn’t see his own ignorant judgement of Terry Crews in this situation at all because, in the end, DL Hughley is just an Ann Coulter kinda wannabe, saying stupid, ignorant, know-nothing shiz  simply for the attention.
And for his part, Terry Crews took the high road:
“I have looked up to you my whole career as one of the funniest most talented people I’ve ever seen. I remember when I saw you warming up the crowd at FRESH PRINCE OF BEL AIR and I thought ‘this man is a genius.’ But now you are an example of when comedy turns to sarcasm and cynicism. And you find it extremely easy to get jokes at someone else expense. You mock my success, but all I ever did was support you. You @50cent @unclerush @tariqnasheed have decided my sexual assault was hilarious, whereas there are a whole generation of black women and men who don’t think it’s funny. ABUSERS PROTECT ABUSERS but they MOCK SURVIVORS as well. When you see me, keep it moving.”
DL did not respond.

Go figure; he’d been served; he’d been outed as a man who thinks child abuse is funny, who thinks gay bashing is a laugh, who thinks a man, especially a man with muscles, can’t be sexually assaulted.

DL Hughley is an ass.

By All Means Let's Build A Wall

In the same week that _____ caved on his efforts to keep the government shut down until he could get a wall built, the same week Republicans and White House lapdogs took to news outlets to once again spread the lie of a national crisis at the border, the same week we were being told about M13 kidnapping women, and duct taping their mouths and murdering them, we had three white men in America go on three separate shooting rampages.

Last Wednesday, Zephen Xaver barricaded himself in a SunTrust Bank in Florida before killing five people, He then called the police himself to announce that he’d murdered those strangers; Xaver  eventually surrendered to the SWAT team.

Josh Xaver, the murderer’s father said:
"I'm heartbroken for my son. I'm heartbroken for the victims. He wasn't raised to be like this. He's always been a good kid. He's had his troubles, but he has never hurt anyone ever before."
I think he meant ‘yet’.

The next day, Jordan Witmer murdered two people, and injured another, at P.J. Harrigan's bar about two miles from Penn State.

Witmer then fled the scene, crashed his car nearby and shot his way into a home, where he murdered his fourth victim, 83-year-old George McCormick, as the victim's wife locked herself in the bathroom and dialed 911.

Witmer had served in the military and was looking to enter a career in law enforcement, and had a permit to carry a weapon, even into a bar.

In Louisiana, Dakota Theriot lost a place to stay a couple of weeks ago, and Summer Ernest, allowed him to stay in her father’s home.

On Saturday Theriot shot and killed his friend and her family, then drove to his parents' trailer in a neighboring county and killed them. He was arrested more than 1,000 miles to the northeast, in rural Virginia, on Sunday morning.

Theriot had been arrested for minor drug possession but had no history of violent crimes[ investigators also have not said what type of weapon Theriot used or how he obtained it.

But he did.

We have a president who paints brown-skinned people as drug dealers, rapist, murderers and terrorist, and yet in one week we have seen three examples of white men, of homegrown terrorism, of gun deaths, and yet _____ refuses to speak on that.

So, by all means, let’s build a wall. It might make it easier for white men to murder Americans if they have no way of escaping the own country.

Saturday, January 26, 2019

I Ain't One To Gossip But ...


Remember Chris Hansen from To Catch A Predator? I’m guessing his new show is Catch a Check Bouncer because that’s what Hansen was arrested for in Connecticut this week.

Hansen ALLEGEDLY bounced $13,000 worth of checks to a company called Promotional Sales Limited for branded items like mugs, t-shirts and vinyl decals. And then to top that off, he was evicted from his NYC apartment for owing some $4,000 in back rent.

But hey, go bounce a check for a t-shirt, dude. Oh, and to make matters worse, Hansen’s soon to be ex-wife, Mary Joan, wants alimony and a “fair division of property and debts.” 

Oh honey, the man cannot buy a coffee mug without bouncing a check and you think there’s alimony? No … no.
And speaking of someone who wants the coins, ex-CBS head, and sexual predator, Les Moonves is demanding his $120 million payout from CBS, even though the network has already said “Dee-nied.”

CBS reached its decision after a three-month investigation into how Moonves behaved while at the network, and they uncovered all sorts of pervy shiz … like ALLEGATIONS of Moonves forcing oral sex on aspiring actresses and maybe cancelling Cybill when Cybill Shepherd refused to sleep with him.

Even worse, Julie Chen Moonves is now totally relying on CBS and Big Brother to pay the bills at Chez Moonves … until she evicts Les from the house.
I guess it pays to be the asshat son of a famous person, because Lionel Richie’s son, Miles Brockman Richie, is a free man aafter ALLEGEDLY claiming he was in possession of a bomb—which he threatened to detonate—and then punching a security guard at London’s Heathrow Airport because he was denied entry to a flight.

Richie was given a “caution” for “communicating false information, battery, and causing a bomb hoax” after authorities discovered he was lying about the explosives. In England, receiving a “caution” means the person involved accepts responsibility for their actions and is allowed to go on their way without being arrested or charged.

Seriously? Lock that asshatted, terrorist up.
I love me some Leslie Jones. I love her loud mouth and her irreverent sense of humor. But today, Leslie, honey, take a seat.

This week Jason Reitman  he was rebooting Ghostbusters, the movie his father, Ivan Reitman, directed in the 1980s. Jason says his reboot will forgive [forget] the all-female Ghostbusters that came out a minute ago, and be an actual sequel to his dad’s movie. And that sent Jones over … the … edge …
So insulting. Like fuck us. We dint count. It’s like something _____ would do. ‘Gonna redo ghostbusteeeeers, better with men, will be huge. Those women ain’t ghostbusteeeeers’ ugh so annoying. Such a dick move. And I don’t give fuck I’m saying something!!”
And I’ll say something …Leslie? Did you see the all-female remake? It sucked. It wasn’t funny. It was bad. You should be thrilled for this sequel because it’ll make people forget your version.

Love you.
Chris Brown. He’s been in Paris recently, attending fashion shows—which begs the question: why do designers need Chris Brown at their shows? But, ALLEGEDLY, he was doing something else.

See, Brown and some members of his entourage were arrested for assault and suspicion of rape after a 24-year-old woman claims Brown assaulted her in a hotel suite in Paris earlier this month.

Brown, like he did when he beat up Rihanna—which doesn't necessarily mean that he's a rapist—has yet to comment on the ALLEGATIONS but, I believe Chris Brown is the guy that beats up his girlfriend and leaves her by the side of the road. I believe he’s the guy abuses, stalks and harasses his ex-girlfriend to the point where she doesn’t feel safe being alone with him. I believe he’s the guy who meets a girl in a bar and invites her to his hotel room and rapes her.

It’s called escalating.
I’m a cynic. Sue me.  But this Bryan Singer mess, and Rami Malek’s ”Who? What?” attitude? Not.Buying.It.

Bryan Singer directed more than half of Bohemian Rhapsody before leaving the film under a storm of controversy that he had missed days and days of work, that other people had to step in to complete the film, and that Singer and Malek clashed on the set and that Singer even “threw an object” at Rami. And this all happened around the time that Singer was sued again for raping another teenage boy. Sidenote: four more accusers have come forward this past week saying Singer fondled them or raped them when they were teenagers working on one of his films.

But here’s my thing …the stories of Singer and underage boys have been around for years, long before Bohemian Rhapsody was a thought, and before anyone even knew Rami Malek. And yet Malek is now saying he’d never ever heard the stories about Singers ALLEGEDLY infamous Boy Pool Parties?

Sorry, Rami, but if I could hear the story here in Smallville, surely you heard the story in Hollywood, especially after you announced you’d be working with Singer.

Just sayin’.
We all know Lady Gaga is thirsty for Oscar because then she can carry it around as a prop in case she runs into Madonna and can shove it in Madge’s face, so does anyone … anyone … actually believe Gaga when she said this about the Oscar nomination for A Star is Born:
“I didn’t know anything about it.”
Yes, Lady Gaga who has been campaigning for an Oscar for months now, says she actually slept through the nominations and didn’t wake up until three hours later.

You woke up three hours after your nomination was announced and no one … no one … called you to share the news?

Sure, Lady, sure.