Why Is It ...

... that people need to know that, while I might be annoying, at least MY lock screen isn’t a selfie.

… that when I was younger and my parents told me not to come home late, I always came home early … the next morning.

… that I miss the old days back in 1955 when I didn’t exist.

… that the fact that I have more clothes to sleep in than I do to go out in says a lot about who I am as a person.

… that I want to join the cicadas this summer and just scream for six weeks straight.

… that when a social media post includes “I bet none of my friends will share this” you can rest assured I won’t.

… that when I know my social media page is being watched I post things on purpose, just to ruffle your feathers.

… that sometimes the best place to be is nowhere to be found.

… that no one  or nothing has had a bigger glow up in the last ten years than cauliflower. It went from being nasty ashy broccoli to being the Mystique of vegetables, always coming at you with a new shape. You want rice? Mashed potatoes? Pasta? Cheese? Pizza? Low cost housing? A man? Make it from cauliflower.

Freedom Day ... But The March Goes On

This particular National holiday’s origin story began in 1865, in Galveston, Texas, which was at that time the western-most area of the Union, when Union soldiers arrived to tell the enslaved people of their emancipation on June 19, 1865.

Now, those enslaved people had technically already been freed two-and-a-half years earlier when President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, but slaveholders in Texas kept the information to themselves, extending the period of violent exploitation of enslaved African Americans for two more years.

But in 1865 the news spread: freedom. And the following year, in 1866, a celebration was had in Texas on that same date, June 19^th … Juneteenth … to finally recognize freedom from slavery in the United States.

Of course, here we are in 2023, one-hundred-fifty-eight years later, and we know African-Americans still aren’t entirely free; think of George Floyd and Trayvon Martin and Tamir Rice and Eric Garner and Breonna Taylor and Michael Brown and Freddie Gray and on and on we could go …

We still have much work to do to free all Americans, of every race and color and gender and sexual orientation.

We need to free People of Color from the abuses of police and the criminal justice system and some in our own government that work to deny them the right to vote.

We need to free Women from having the government control their bodies.

We need to free Educators to teach American history, all of it, even the ugly parts.

We need to free Parents to be able to raise their own children as they see fit; to let their children read the books of their choosing; to let the parents make healthcare choices for their own children.

We need to free our Trans Brothers and Sisters to live their lives as they identify; to be fully themselves.

We need to free the LGBTQ+ population from continued harassment and violence by rightwing agitators and politicians trying to turn the clock back to the closet.

We are, none of us, free, until we are all free, and there is still work to be done.

Meme Dump

Well Hello ....

I'm still in Oregon. My father has an appointment with the orthopedic surgeon tomorrow and if surgery is necessary. I should be here for at least another week and will be in and out as time allows. I will take a few minutes this AM to check out my blogs and see what y'all are up to.

Stay safe.

PS Carlos' mother had her surgery on her shoulder Friday and came through quite successfully. One down, one to go!

Bobservations

Carlos and I were back at the eye doctor last week because his prescription wasn’t quite right. As we arrived, the same woman that always checks us in greeted us, and told Carlos to sign in. I walked around the counter with him to show him the sigh-in sheet, and the woman and I were discussing the weather.

On the way home, I said to Carlos:

“The woman at the front desk is a lesbian.”

“Why? Because she has pink hair?”

"No, because she said her wife told her to drive carefully this morning because it was raining.”

Uh huh.

It’s not that he’s egotistical, it’s just that no story is as good as a Tuxedo story …or so he tells me.

A group of MAGAts and Proud Boys and Nazis took to the streets of DC last weekend to protest the non-existent voter fraud claim put forward by their Grand Orange Dragon.

Dubbed the Million MAGA March, the crowd, in fact, barely topped twenty thousand, proving they can’t count people and they can’t count votes.

Security has been heightened all across France in the wake of terror attacks, and so the Trillade Primary School in Avignon has been closing and locking the gates at 8:30 in the morning. The gates re-open at 10:00 AM, but some parents don’t have time for that, so they, well, they … they … they hurl their children over the locked gates.

And it has become such a problem that the school had to remind the parents that their children are actual human beings and not sacks of rubbish thrown to the curb on pick-up day.

Seriously.

If he only knew, he might be nicer about this mess.

It seems that _____‘s defeat will make it easier for Democrats to get his tax returns, and some prominent lawmakers plan to keep the heat on the incoming Biden administration and House leaders to deliver. Once Biden controls the Treasury Department, his administration could simply hand over the long-sought records to Congress.

But … Biden is casting himself as a moderate uniter, and releasing _____’s returns looks a little vindictive and we have bigger fish to fry … COVID-19?Rememberthat?

Plus, the state of New York will go after _____.

If you didn’t love Dolly Parton before—and why the hell didn’t you—you gotta love her now.

Dolly trended on social media earlier this week when it was revealed that she donated $1 million to help Moderna develop the coronavirus vaccine it said this week was 94.5% effective. Parton’s contribution to Vanderbilt University Medical Center was made in honor of her longtime friend, Dr. Naji Abumrad, who is a professor of surgery.

And that’s just one more reason to love her ..though you don’t really need another reason.

I don’t watch The Bachelor or The Bachelorette because I’m not really into televised prostitution but … I do watch Good Morning America and they have recaps of the show so that’s where I heard this.

This “season” on The Bachelorette, there was a woman being whored out to 26 or so men. But very early on she fell in love with one guy, and he with her, so they left the show. So, what do producers do? They bring in a new girl to whore out to the remaining bachelors, because women are interchangeable like that.

Like I said, televised prostitution, whether it’s the bachelor or the bachelorette.

Giuseppe Giofrè. Yum.

He’s a twenty-seven-year-old whippersnapper, singer, model, and hip-hop dancer from Gioia Tauro, Italy, and he's totally adorable.

He’s also a hot piece of meat,

That’s all.

Michael Neri Shuts Down Homophobic Mom Who Pulled Her Kids From His Class

Michael Neri is a drama teacher who runs the runs Talking Props Theatre School, a performing arts school for children ages 8 to 13, in Kidderminster, England. But here was no drama in his response to a mother who pulled her two children from his school after learning that Neri is :::gasp::: a homosexual!

The unnamed mother texted Neri:

“Hi Michael.

Following our chat this week, I have decided that ____ and ____ will not be attending class on Monday.

You have a strong reputation for performing arts which encouraged me to sign my children up for classes. I have recently learned of your lifestyle and as a Christian I cannot allow my children to be influenced by unconventional ideas. It is our belief that a man should marry a woman. I look forward to receiving my deposit which can be posted to me via checque.

Regards _____”

And Michael Neri responded:

“Hi _____,

I would be lying if I said I wasn't disappointed to hear this. I pride my students on the love and respect they have for others and their passion for equality. You would only be infringing upon our family.

As far as I’m aware, my sexuality doesn’t affect my ability to teach, just like it wouldn’t affect a doctor’s ability to treat one of your children should they become unwell. I’m sure your children’s health would come first, should they need emergency treatment, or would you need to check their doctor’s lifestyle prior to their life-saving operation?

I wish you luck in finding an appropriate stage school that meets your needs, however from my experience I find that theatre without gays is like cooking without spices (just my opinion).

I hear StageCoach are enrolling but their teachers have been known to wear mixed fabrics  which I’m sure you are aware is forbidden in the bible (Leviticus 19:19).

Please feel free to come see our Musical ‘Happy Days’, confetti will be used in the finale but please rest assured that this is not an attempt to corrupt your Christian lifestyle.

We just love glitter.

Unfortunately, deposits are non-refundable but don’t worry, your deposit has been donated to Stonewall, an LGBT charity.

Regards, Michael”

I just hope they donated in the bigot’s name … and put confetti in the envelope.

Good

Random Musings

This weekend is supposed to be very cold in Smallville, and there is a chance of snow.

Brrrrr but ... we’ll in Miami for a week so ... yeah, take that, snow storm ... even though, truth be told, I love a Smallville snow.

At any rate, we’re gone, and while I have some preplanned things for y’all for the next week, I won’t be back, blogging or commenting—I’m going off the grid, so to speak—until late next week.

Be nice, y’all, and #Resist!

Earlier this week I posted about gospel singer Kim Burrell’s hate-filled rant, masked a sermon of some sort—see post HERE.

Burrell was set to appear on Ellen this week to sing her song from the film, Hidden Figures, but Ellen isn’t having it, or Burrell:

“For those asking, Kim Burrell will not be appearing on my show.”

Thanks Ellen!

This is our New Year’s Day meal ... it’s said that one should eat Black-eyed peas on New Year’s Day because they bring luck, but I am never one to follow tradition, superstition except ...

I made a Black-eyed Pea soup, with Andouille Sausage and Kale, and then some homemade Sausage and Onion Cornbread.

It may not bring us luck but it filled our bellies!

Donald ____ took to Instagram—I guess his Twitter account was exhausted—to post a meme saying his “administration will follow two simple rules: Buy American and Hire American!"

And then, well, hypocrisy ... because Donald _____ just won approval to hire 64 foreign workers for his Mar-a-Lago property through the government’s H-2B visa program. And not only is _____ hiring foreign workers while telling y’all that his stance is “hire American” he is also paying those foreign workers less money than he’d pay American workers.

So, remember that; he is telling you what the country should do and then he does the exact opposite because it’s best for his bank account.

Oh, and let’s not forget that his clothing line, and that of his daughter, and possible First lady ... ick ... Ivanka, is still being manufactured outside this country although he says he’ll bring back jobs to America.

I cannot understand how those fools who voted for him can still be foolish enough to think that he’ll do what’s best for America when all he wants to do is what’s best for him and that family of his ... oh wait ... fools.

Could this be true? Is Will & Grace coming back to TV?

Leslie Jordan, who played Karen Walker’s frenemy Beverley Leslie—"Well well well, if it isn’t Karen Walker. I thought I smelled gin and regret"—seemingly confirmed last week that the show is returning to NBC for 10 episodes:

“It’s back. NBC has ordered it. They have ordered 10. It will be for next season, and they’ll add the guest cast. I will get a phone call ... I’m not a regular.”

Last September, the main cast sparked revival rumors after they appeared in a 10-minute episode encouraging viewers to vote. A month later, it was rumored that Eric McCormack, Debra Messing, Megan Mullally and Sean Hayes were all in talks to reprise their characters for an abbreviated season.

But maybe Beverly spoke to soon ... Debra Messing has walked back Leslie Jordan’s confirmation of a revival, Tweeting an answer to a fan’s tweet about the new seasons saying:

“Sadly Leslie was wrong. Nothing beyond talks.” 

Get it together ... I’d like some W&G again.

2017’s First Cat Fight .... "Morning Joe" host Joe Scarborough took to Twitter to blast a former CBS reporter for suggesting Joe “partied” with President-elect _____ on New Year's Eve.

His target was Sopan Deb, who posted a screenshot from a New York Times report noting that Scarborough and his co--host Mika Brzezinski were at _____'s party; then Joe shrieked:

“Partied? You’re very good at pushing fake news. You should write for CNN. Apparently making up facts is fine if you’re writing about us.”

Scarborough then criticized Deb, and then called him “a hack” for suggesting he partied with Trump, but, and here’s the gist of the story, Scarborough was at Mar-a-Lago, though he says he was there before the party to set up an interview with _____.

"Nothing that Mika and I did in setting up this meeting was any different than what all good reporters and news hosts try to do daily. I hope we get the interview."

Deb eventually responded to Scarborough, but wondered, as I did, what the difference between partying with _____ and “attending” the party might be.

So, Joe was there, but before the party which still begs the question: why go all the way to Mar-a-Lago on New Year’s Eve to request an interview, Joe? That could’a been done by phone or email on any other day.

Oh, and there is a photo of Scarborough working the red carpet at the party.

Uh huh. sure Joe.

Carlos’ father is not too keen on the whole gay son thing, and especially not on the whole gay son married to another man thing, and he hadn’t spoken to Carlos in decades. But this year, in April, on Carlos’ birthday, after Carlos’ mother wished him well, his father, Carlos Sr., got on the phone to say Happy Birthday.

I suggested that maybe Carlos Sr. is getting old now and wants to remedy all the bad feelings between father and son—Carlos Sr., has also mended fences with his sister, our beloved Tia Gloria—and Carlos just shrugged.

Well, over the weekend Carlos called his parents in Mexico City to wish them a Happy New Year; he spoke to his mother briefly and then hung up. A few minutes later our phone rang and it was Carlos Sr. wishing Carlos a Happy New Year.

Carlos was very pleased—though he tried to hide it—and then he said, “Of course he didn’t ask about you at all.”

I said, “Look, it’s taken him thirty years to speak to you again, I can wait.”

Still, it does my heart good to know that they’re talking.

We watched the movie Race over the long holiday; the story of Jesse Owens’ performance at the 1936 Berlin Olympics amid the rise of Nazi Germany.

Naturally, since Owens was a black man, Hitler was none too pleased that Owens was the star of the games and even refused to meet the athlete or stay in the stands after Owens had won his four gold medals.

Still the film had some hotties ... clockwise from the top ... notably Stephen James as Jesse, and Jason Sudeikis—who I find very attractive in a snarky smirky way—as Jesse’s coach, Larry Snyder. Sharmier Anderson played Jesse’s chief rival for the spot on the US Track team, Euface peacock, and David Kross was Carl ‘Luz’ Long, a German athlete who befriended Jesse and even, egads, shook his hand and hugged him on the field after a victory.

That alone made life quite difficult for Long after the games. And much was made of Adolf Hitler’s refusal to meet Jesse and yet nearly nothing was said about the fact that, after the games, our own president, FDR, did not invite this four-time gold medal winner to the White House.

Interesting story; fairly good film; hot guys. Win.Win.

This will be our President ...

Donald _____ took to Twitter to kvetch about North Korea:

“North Korea just stated that it is in the final stages of developing a nuclear weapon capable of reaching parts of the U.S. It won't happen!”

Okay, childish because that’s so not presidential, but then he took to Twitter to bash China:

“China has been taking out massive amounts of money & wealth from the U.S. in totally one-sided trade, but won't help with North Korea. Nice!”

But then his real issue came out, the thing that really pisses him on, and it isn’t nukes and it isn’t China, it’s photography:

“@CNN just released a book called "Unprecedented" which explores the 2016 race & victory. Hope it does well but used worst cover photo of me!”

Yup, that our future president. Not North Korea ... not china ... but an ugly picture of his fugly mug.

After acting to gut the Office of Congressional Ethics [OCE] this week—see post HERE—House Republicans scrapped their plans after _____ stepped in ... ALLEGEDLY ... and it looked like maybe the OCE would stay.

Don’t count on it ... while the House GOP withdrew their planned changes, they say they will “study” changes to the office and make them before the August deadline.

So, while I gave them a slow clap this week for doing the right thing, as usual, I have also taken it with a grain of salt, because you cannot trust the GOP as far as you can throw them.

And, while the GOP is suggesting they stopped because of _____, that’s a lie; _____ didn't object to gutting the ethics office, he just wants to do it later ... once someone tells him what “ethics” means.

Just sayin’.

Jared Louis Valezquez, a gay porn star who goes by the name Tyce Jax—seriously? Tyce?—is on probation for beating, choking and pulling a knife on his partner Bobby Hamill; Valezquez has been arrested on domestic violence charges five times before.

Valezquez is said to have become enraged after ... wait for it ... it’s rich ...,. wait for it ... finding Hamill watching porn on an iPad.

Yup, the porn star was furious that his boyfriend was watching porn.

Now, unless it was straight porn ... ewwww .... I’ve.Heard.Everything.

Random Musings

After spending time with my Dad recently, I realized that, while some children take after one parent or the other, I am literally both my parents rolled into one.

My dad loves to say about my Mom’s cooking style that she prepared enough food for an army but the army never showed up; Mom used to make a lot of food ... leftovers were popular ‘round our house.

And I’m like that ... I’ll make soup or my famous Enchilasagna for Carlos and me and there’s enough to feed the neighborhood ... or to freeze and have for dinner well into the next year.

And as for Dad? Growing up he was the Light Monitor; he would make sure that we turned off any and all unnecessary lights throughout the house ... sometimes while we were still in the room.

And I do that ... I came home from work the other day and, in the kitchen Carlos had turned on the light over the stove, the light over the sink, the lights over the island, the lights over the kitchen table, and the lights in the ceiling; fourteen lights in all. He had also turned on the light in the sunroom, the lights over the wet bar, two lamps in the living room, the hall lights, the bedroom lights, all the lights in the bathroom and the light in the closet where he stood removing his shoes.

I suddenly became my Dad ... poor Carlos. But at least we had leftovers for dinner ... by candlelight.

Mike Huckabee is saying that Donald _____ could be the greatest president ever.

Mike.Huckabee. A man who ran for president how many times and couldn’t even get out of the gates?

Yeah, I’ll take him seriously.

At the end of last month I posted a story about Tom Doyle, whose longtime partner, Bill Cornwell, had died and left Tom the Greenwich Village home they shared for fifty-three years ... see post HERE. But some of Bill’s greedier relatives took the home away from Tom saying the two men had never married and lived as roommates in a one-bedroom apartment for all those decades and so that meant Tom shouldn’t get the house; they should and they should be able to sell.

Now a New York judge has blocked the property’s sale by the dead man’s relatives and ordered them to show cause why Tom Doyle, as their uncle’s “surviving spouse,” should not be declared the “sole heir.”

Please; try to make it clear how two men, who had planned to get married when same-sex marriage became legal in New York but never did, and who lived together for over half a century, were not a couple and so Tom Doyle should be kicked out.

Oh, yeah, you can’t. Greedy Motherfuckers.

From the WTF File:

This week Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson was named People magazine’s Sexiest Man Alive.

Seriously? He looks like an eraser.

From the Sit Down You Had Your Chance File ... more than half of the 112 anti-Trump protesters arrested in Portland, Oregon recently didn’t vote in the election.

Yes, they didn’t vote and when they didn’t like the outcome they took to the streets.

Sorry asshats, you don’t vote, you don’t get a say, cuz, you know, had you taken the time to cats your ballot, maybe the results would have gone the other way.

Sit.Down.

Um, People? If you were looking for Sexy Mens for your little magazine and could only come up with The Rock, might I suggest you take a look at ...

David Ajala, a sexy Brit with gorgeous eyes on USA’s Falling Water or ...

Deniz Akdenz, who plays Aladdin on Once Upon A Time where most of the fairy tale men are hothothot or ...

Juan Diego Botto, who plays a sexy Latino hit man on Good Behavior.

There’s some sexy men for you.

It must be Sweeps Month because shameless huckster “Dr.” Phil went to New Mexico and found actress Shelly Duvall, rumored to be suffering from mental illness, and brought her to LA to use her as a ratings get for his show.

Pig.

Again from the WTF File ... rumors are swirling that President-elect _____ is thinking of appointing South Carolina Governor, and virulent anti_____er Nikki Haley as Secretary of State.

I thought Rudy Giuliani was a horrid choice, but is _____ really thinking of putting someone in there who has almost no foreign policy experience?

I mean, why not me?

In North Carolina future ex-governor Pat McCrory is trailing his rival, Democratic Attorney General Roy Cooper, by about 5,000 votes.

But McCrory won’t go gently and is now filing election protests in 11 more counties.

McCrory, a Republican, is claiming voter fraud instead of just realizing he lost.

Go home, Pat, where you can pick and choose who uses the bathrooms.

An email scandal? Oh Hillary not again! How could you ... what? It’s not Hillary but future Vice President Mike Pence?

Yes, the Pence administration is fighting to conceal the contents of an email sent to Pence by a political ally while he was governor of Indiana. The email is being sought by a Democratic labor lawyer who says he wants to expose waste in the Republican administration.

But this isn’t the first time Mike Pence has sought to hide things from the public; after leaving Congress, where he served twelve years without passing so much as one bill of his own, Pence took the unprecedented step of sealing all of his records during his time in the House.

And keeping them sealed until 2022 or his death, whichever comes later.

Yup, Mike Pence is trying to hide secrets of his own, y’all. Go figure.