Bobservations

Carlos and I rarely fight. Oh, we have disagreements and discussions, but they hardly ever escalate into some sort of yelling kinda thing; we generally agree on most things, and those that we don’t, well, in the end, he does it my way. I kid; we just compromise. But … after his recent hernia surgery, I  made it clear he wasn’t to lift anything, and that included dogs and cats; he even slept in the guest room, door closed, to keep the cats from jumping on him.

We had his follow-up appointment with the surgeon last week, who was pleased with Carlos’ progress and happy he had very little pain. He gave the ‘OK’ for Carlos to resume playing the trumpet but cautioned him against lifting anything over twenty pounds for the next month or so.

And that’s the rub … we did the groceries and he tried to carry the bags. I reminded him that I would be carrying the bags, and once we got home, he could put things away. We went to CostCo and, again, he tried lifting a box filled with groceries and again I reminded him that I would be carry the boxes and once we got home, he could put things away. We also bought dog food—a fifty-pound bag because it was the only one they had—and AGAIN he tried to lift the bag and yada yada yada … We left the bag in the car because it was too big for the Pet Food Cupboard™, but on Sunday, I heard him in the garage, in the car, opening the back, and then coming inside.

He is NOT carrying that dog food, I thought. And then I heard the bag open and heard the contents being emptied into another container for storage and I went mad. But I held it in. I calmly did my thing. I went into the kitchen to fix dinner and when he came in, I got mad all over again, and  to cover my anger I threw a spoon into the sink from across the room.

“Is something wrong?” He said oh … so … sweetly.

5 … 4… 3 … 2 … 1

"QUIT FUCKING LIFTING THINGS! THE DOCTOR TOLD YOU NOT TO LIFT ANYTHING, AND I’VE TOLD YOU TO LET ME DO IT AND YOU WON’T LISTEN. STOP PICKING STUFF UP!!”

“But I feel—”

“NO ONE CARES HOW YOU FEEL! YOU’RE NOT A DOCTOR! I DON’T WANT YOU TO HAVE TO UNDERGO SURGERY AGAIN JUST BECAUSE YOU THINK YOU’RE SMARTER THAMN A DOCTOR. YOU’RE NOT.

“STOP.LIFTING.THINGS.”

Then I asked if he wanted chopped scallions on his soup, because once the rage was released, I was in a good mood.

Carlos, on the other hand, hasn’t lifted another thing.

A Straight Pride group held their event in Dallas over the weekend and … three people showed up.

So, either there are only three straight people in Dallas, or the people of Dallas see a ridiculous stunt when it advertises on Facebook. Which was where the anti-LGBTQ Straight Pride group Protecting Our Next Generations [PONG] promised to discuss abortion [hint: it’s murder], marriage values [hint: Adam and Eve not Adam and Steve or Madam and Eve] and genders [hint: there are just two].

PS Two of the men that showed up were from Boston and the third was a Proud Boy from Hateville, USA, so not a single person living in Dallas stopped by.

Go figure.

Speaking of dumb homophobes, a _____ supporter in Minneapolis left an ignorant comment about a  gay bar after _____ held a rally in that city last month, and her ignorance went viral.

The gay bar in question, the Saloon nightclub, protested BLOTUS by flying the giant _____ baby balloon from its rooftop and this irritated _____ supporters so much that one, Pamela Ogletree, took to Twitter to proclaim that Saloon would no longer be getting her business.

A commenter asked: “Were you a frequent visitor??”

And one finally told her: “Cuz it’s a gay bar, Pamela.”

And suddenly a meme was born; one person turned the phrase, “It’s a gay bar, Pamela,” into a rainbow-colored enamel pin—it’s available for $10 with 50% of proceeds going to Out Front Minnesota, the state’s leading LGBTQ organization. T-shirts were made; signs posted; Tweets sent out.

“It’s a gay bar, Pamela” is the new “That’s so dumb.”

Pamela Ogletree has not responded to media requests seeking to understand how long she’d patronized the Saloon before it “lost her business.”

Deplorables are dumb.

Last Summer _____ said he would be pursuing gun control measures after a series of shootings in El Paso and Dayton. This fall he quietly dropped the plan because he was told it would hurt his election chances.

Earlier this Fall, he said he would meet with representatives of the vaping industry to try and stem the deaths from vaping. Now he’s shelved those plans, too, because, again,it would hurt his election chances.

Plainly: _____ wants guns and vaping to continue no matter how many are injured or killed because his winning reelection is more important than human life,

That’s all.

Last week, Lil Nas X became the first out gay musician, and rapper, to take home a Country Music Association Award when he and collaborator Billy Ray Cyrus won the “Musical Event of the Year” trophy for the remix of “Old Town Road,” which spent an unprecedented 20 weeks at # 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. They beat out the duo of Brooks & Dunn, the duo of Garth Brooks and Blake Shelton, and the group of Maren Morris and the Brothers Osborne.

Although Lil Nas X is the first gay musician to win a CMA for his own song, it isn’t the first time the show has handed out an award to an LGBTQ+ person. Brandy Clark and Shane McAnally both won for co-writing Kacey Musgraves’ LGBTQ+ anthem “Follow Your Arrow” in 2014. 

Still ….

Jon Bon Jovi is hot; younger and older; hot and hot. And compassionate.

Bon Jovi dedicated his newest song “Unbroken” to honor veterans suffering Post Traumatic Stress Disorder [PTSD]), but he also, through his JBJ Soul Foundation, donated $500,000 to help build the Walter Reed facility in Washington DC for the homeless veterans.

The new facility expects 300 residents and offers a small gym, a courtyard, and a computer room. Residents can use the lounge as a meeting place among the occupants or when their family somes for a visit.

In another effort to help support veterans suffering from PTSD, all the proceeds from Bon Jovi’s song “Unbroken” will be donated to the Patriotic Service Dog Foundation, where veterans and first responders get to be paired with service dogs.

Jon Bon Jovi also owns and runs two Soul Kitchen restaurants in New Jersey where people in need can get a meal, and pay only what they can afford.

Hot, and compassionate.

Less hot, and less compassionate, and entirely full of crap, Dave Cathy’s Christian-owned Chick-fil-A has promised to stop giving to anti-LGBTQ charities, a vow it has made at least once before, and broken.

Don’t hold your breath, and don’t eat their crap chicken.

And finally, Isaac Churchill.

I don’t know much about him except that he’s a dreamy model with luscious hair …and lips, and really doesn’t mind taking his clothes off.

Oh, and I believe he lives in Milan. Dreamy.

Bobservations

Carlos’ hernia surgery is scheduled for November 5th. Last week he said he wanted to call the surgeon:

“Why?”

“It’s not bothering me anymore so maybe I don’t need the surgery.”

“Honey, you still have the hernia and the surgery is still necessary.”

“But it’s not—”

This week he said he wanted to call the surgeon again:

“Why?”

“It’s really bothering me now.”

November 5th cannot get here soon enough!

He was looking into new cell phones this week, and I muttered something about wanting a laptop. He said:

“We can talk about that, but I’d like to do the phones first.”

I said:

“How come when I want something it’s ‘Let’s talk about that later,’ but when you want something you get it right away?”

In his howler monkey voice, he shrieked:

“What am I getting?”

I smile sweetly and said:

“You get to have surgery.”

Luckily, I wrestled the frying pan from his hands before he could use it.

Bigot, homophobe, and woman-hater Karen Pence, AKA Mother, says she loves the way _____ treats young women according to The New York Times’ White House correspondent Katie Rogers:

“Tonight, in Minnesota, a state the campaign really wants to win, [Karen Pence] is on stage praising POTUS. She says she likes how he treats young women and sees the respect he has for his daughters. ‘As a mom, I was all in’ after seeing how he interacted with her daughter, Charlotte.”

Yup, she self-avowed Christian is ‘all in’ with a man who has been married three times, cheated on all three of his wives and said this:

“I moved on her, and I failed. I'll admit it. I did try and fuck her. She was married. And I moved on her very heavily. In fact, I took her out furniture shopping. She wanted to get some furniture. I said, ‘I'll show you where they have some nice furniture.’ I took her out furniture—I moved on her like a bitch. But I couldn't get there. And she was married. Then all of a sudden, I see her, she's now got the big phony tits and everything. She's totally changed her look… You know I'm automatically attracted to beautiful—I just start kissing them. It's like a magnet. Just kiss. I don't even wait. And when you're a star, they let you do it. You can do anything. Grab 'em by the pussy. You can do anything.”

Karen Pence thinks that this is a man who treats women well.

Delta Airlines flies from Salt Lake City to Houston every day, but one recent trip was completely different: this time Delta took 120 girls between 12 to 18 to NASA's Johnson Space Center for International Girls in Aviation Day, an event designed to encourage more women to enter the male-dominated field.

Even better, these 120 girls, who came from area STEM schools, flew on a  with an all-female pilot and flight crew, ramp agents and gate agents on the ground, and women in the control tower giving pilots instructions.

Girl power in action.

Twitter user Mercurial Era celebrated their grandmother Winnie’s birthday on the social media site with a clip of their 100-year-old grandmother holding up a Make America Great Again hat and saying:

“All I want for my birthday is for someone to impeach this sucker.”

Let’s give Grandma Winnie the best gift ever!

See the clip HERE.

Last week Kellogg put Raisin Bran, Corn Flakes, Rice Krispies, Frosted Flakes, Froot Loops and Frosted Mini Wheats “all together” on one box to make a statement about LGBTQ inclusivity. The company also made a $50,000 donation to GLAAD to support its annual anti-bullying Spirit Day, saying:

“We all belong together. So for the first time in history, our famous mascots and cereals are offered exclusively together in the same box for All Together Cereal. It’s a symbol of acceptance no matter how you look, where you’re from or who you love. We believe that all people deserve an environment where they can be their best selves. That’s why Kellogg’s has joined forces as an official partner of GLAAD to celebrate Spirit Day, the largest most visible anti-bullying campaign in the world where millions wear purple to stand up against bullying, and to support a more accepting world for LGBTQ youth. Kellogg is donating $50,000 to GLAAD to support their anti-bullying and LGBTQ advocacy work. Each limited-edition box of All Together Cereal includes individual boxes: Raisin Bran, Corn Flakes, Rice Krispies, Frosted Flakes, Froot Loops and Frosted Mini Wheats.”

And bigots and homophobes everywhere went nuts, telling Twitter they would no longer eat a Kellogg cereal.

Kellogg, a billion-dollar corporation, basically went, “Oh well …”

Across the pond, over to the UK, a shopping center where England’s first Chick-fil-A opened a few days ago has announced this week that the anti-LGBTQ chicken franchise’s lease would not be renewed because of backlash from the LGBTQ; said the shopping center in a statement:

“We always look to introduce new concepts for our customers, however, we have decided on this occasion that the right thing to do is to only allow Chick-Fil-A to trade with us for the initial six-month pilot period, and not to extend the lease any further.”

It’s all because, even though Chick-fil-A pledged to stop giving to anti-LGBTQ groups, a new report shows the company actually increased its Hate Donations.

Oh, so sorry, Chick-fil-Hate, but you gotta shutter that shop because Hate don’t pay in the UK.

Cyrus Amini is a French model of Spanish-Iranian descent and yet he’s giving me young Colin Farrell vibes and whenever I get a Colin Farrell vibe I … where was I? Oh, Cyrus. He’s a good poser, too; I’d like that second photo as a statue for the yard at Casa Bob y Carlos.

He rocks a suit, and a swimsuit, doesn’t he?

Briefly speaking, I’m back at those vibes …

Oh, Baby Jeebus, the man simply smolders.

Swoon.

Bobservations ... A Series of F-bombs

No Carlos tales today.

His father passed away last Friday night; it wasn’t unexpected, but still. Carlos had the chance to speak with him, forgive him for his lack of understanding at having a gay son; forgive him. Carlos’ mother, now staying with family on the outskirts of Mexico City seems to be faring well; she doesn’t want a funeral; his father was cremated, and the ashes will be quietly interred in a local church.

On the heels of that call, my own father phoned to ask if I could come out to Oregon while he has ankle replacement surgery. Of course, I said yes; it’s family, it’s what you do. But I’ll be gone about five weeks, because he’ll need to be off his foot that long. Carlos and I discussed it—he’ll be home alone because he’s applied for disability and needs to be available as his case progresses. I hate being away that long, but again … family.

You do what you can when you can. And luckily, we can.

John Kelly, having helped establish the _____ administration’s hard-line immigration policies—which he then blamed on Jeff Sessions—like family separation and holding migrant children in private detention facilities, has taken a  seat with the company that operates one of the largest such operations.

Yes, now he’s making money off his racist policies.

Fuck.Him.

Republican, because, of course, Arizona Congresswoman Debbie Lesko showed her anti-trans stripes last week when she put forth an amendment that would rename the Equality Act as the Forfeiting Women’s Rights Act because it includes transgender people.

Fuck.Her.

Out there to California, Cal Poly’s Academic Senate has voted to remove a Chick-fil-A restaurant from its campus in San Luis Obispo, the chain’s only location in the county. The resolution was proposed in light of recent news that the fast food chain’s charity arm, the Chick-fil-A Foundation, continues to give money to anti-LGBTQ organizations and Cal Poly wants no part of hate.

Bravo Cal Poly.

Fuck.Chick-fil-Hate.

Yesterday, Alabama’s female Governor, Kay Ivey signed a near-total abortion ban, putting in place one of the nation’s most restrictive laws on the procedure and all but guaranteeing legal challenges.

Women who are pregnant as a result of rape cannot get an abortion. Girls who find themselves pregnant through incest, cannot get an abortion. A doctor who performs an abortion can be jailed for ninety-nine years.

While this white female governor signed the bill into law it was written and passed by white GOP men. Vote them all out of office. All.Of.Them.

Fuck.Alabama. Fuck.Ivey.

“God Bless the USA.” It’s not a horrible song, but it’s a song that’s been co-opted by rightwingnuts as a kind of Love It or Leave It moment. Republicans play this song at their fundraisers to show how American they are, and this week one of the contestants on The Voice sang it. And judge Kelly Clarkson said she felt like you can’t critique the song or else you’re going to hell, and told the contestant it wasn’t his best performance. Her fellow judge, John Legend, also said it wasn’t the contestant’s best vocal.

And so, the Faux Patriots crawled form their primal ooze and took to Twitter to say that Kelly and John “hate America” and aren’t “patriots” and “I'm sorry that you and John hate America so much” and will, as Kelly said, “go to hell.”

But Kelly and john never said a word about the song, they only talked about the vocals; even better, Kelly and John didn’t respond to the haters.

Fuck.Faux patriots.

Oh lord, after all the F-bombs, I need this …

Born and raised in Syria, Ahmad Kontar fled the war-torn country for Paris, where in 2016 he was spotted on the street and signed to Elite models.

Those eyes; that face; the abs.

Fuc … oh, yeah, let’s not F-bomb Ahmad. Let’s just relish in him.

Just sayin’.

Bobservations

As I said earlier in the week, last Friday Carlos and I had an appointment with the tax accountant to get our taxes done. Carlos said the appointment was at 9AM … and you know where this is going.

I took the morning off—well, I took the whole day because …—and we had breakfast, took showers, got our papers ready. At 8:45 I yell…

‘LET’S GO!!!’

Carlos comes down the hall and grabs his things and off we go. The accountant’s office is here in town so it’s a quick drive, and when we pull up, I notice the ‘Open’ sign is off.

“I guess she doesn’t open until 9?”

“I think so, but our appointment is at 9:30.”

“9:30? You told me 9AM!”

“I’m pretty sure I told you 9:30.”

Here we go into that usual argument where I remind Carlos that I have a better memory and don’t forget dates and times and such. Finally, I say:

“Why, if I knew the appointment was at 9:30, would I hurry you out of the house at 8:45?”

“I figured you wanted to spend some quality time with me. A little romantic moment—”

“In the parking lot of a tax accountant at 8:45AM? You need to work on your game.”

Worse yet was he suggested we go to the gas station on the corner for coffee while we wait.

Gas.Station.Coffee? I could never!

The Elton John biopic Rocketman starring Taron Egerton, Richard Madden, and Jamie Bell is getting a lot of buzz, but the word I’m worried about is that Paramount is pressuring filmmakers to cut a very gay, very nude sex scene from the film so it will get a PG-13 rating.

Seriously? A film about Elton John and you’re gonna cut a nude same-sex love scene? And a nude love scene between Taron Egerton and Richard Madden?

I.Will.Not.Have.It.

Earlier this week we talked Chick-fil-A and their continuing anti-LGBTQ donations. Well, at least one place is taking a stand.

The San Antonio City Council, on a 6-4 vote, removed a planned Chick-fil-A location from an airport concession agreement after a councilman flagged the company’s anti-LGBTQ activity.

Good. Bye.

Proving he’s one of the biggest idiots in the GOP, Kentucky Governor, and anti-vaxxer, Matt Bevin decided to prove he’s also unfit to be a parent when he revealed that he forced all nine of his children to purposely contract chickenpox.

“Every single one of my kids had the chickenpox … They got [it] on purpose because we found a neighbor that had it and I went and made sure every one of my kids was exposed to it, and they got it. They had it as children. They were miserable for a few days, and they all turned out fine.”

Medical experts were quick to point out how stupid this is because purposely exposing children to chickenpox can lead to pneumonia, cause secondary skin infections, encephalitis, and death.

But, hey, Bevins saved a few coins on vaccinations so what’s the issue, right?

How to Get Away with Murder actor Jack Falahee recently showed off a new tattoo on Instagram. Lotsa people wondered what it meant, including Falahee’s mother, who asked the significance, leading him to reply:

“[It’s] how many people I’ve murdered.”

His mother responded:

“Oh [How to Get Away with Murder]?”

“No, just in general.”

Falahee has the same warped sense of humor that I have, and I love it.

And he's kinda hot.

This week Betsy Devos, Secretary of Education said:

“Make no mistake: we are focused every day on raising expectations and improving outcomes for infants and toddlers, children and youth with disabilities, and are committed to confronting and addressing anything that stands in the way of their success.”

Then she cut $17.6 million in federal funding for the Special Olympics.

Fuck Betsy Devos.

Apparently one does not kiss the Pope’s ring any more, though his ass may be another story.

But I digress … during a recent mass at Holy House of Loreto in Italy, Pope Frankie Says Relax specifically asked the public not to kiss his ring and no one listened, so he whipped his rung hand away from all who came close and bent down to kiss it.

He didn’t let anyone taste it, not even the tip, and gave no reason why.

I have a few, go figure … first up is 27-year-old Hasan Piker is both hot and political, being a part of the YouTube channel, The Young Turks. Hasan was born and raised in Istanbul, Turkey and graduated from Rutgers with a B.A. in political science and communication.

I, personally, would find it hard to concentrate on what he’s saying … cuz I’m shallow like that.

Also, Beau Mirchoff, from Now Apocalypse, is back because ...OMG ... and we also have Devon Long, who plays Otto on the show. It looks like gay Otto and straight Ford, might have a little sump’n-sump’n going on but even if they don’t the scene where Ford, in a wee speedo, applied sunscreen to Otto, also in a wee speedo, was pretty steamy.

Just saying.