Douchebag of the Month Club

Beau Breedlove, the May component of the scandalous May-December relationship with out-gay mayor of Portland Oregon, Sam Adams has done an "erotic photo session" and will be the cover story of the May issue of the gay men's magazine, Unzipped, an adult publication that features full frontal nudity and stories that focus on gay sex, erotica and porn films and their stars.

Classy.

I thought Breedlove was supposed to be the innocent victim of all this? The poor, young, naive gay youth corrupted by a nasty, predatory, much older gay "child" molester and pathological liar...shouldn't Breedlove be sobbing somewhere, tearfully confessing to a love gone tragically wrong? Or am I being too harsh? Maybe exposing your wing-wang for cash because you're a media celebrity as a result of a sex scandal is an accepted form of therapy and a vital ingredient in the recipe for self-improvement! I mean, Breedlove's female equivalents have done the same, or similar, for the last 40 years; why should gay men be exempt from cashing in on their notoriety? Fair is fair, after all.

And, on a personal note, I'm hoping Mr Breedlove has been working out; I don't think he's unattractive or unhealthy but while he might be young and trim, he is not exactly buff...in personal snap shots of Breedlove posing in a brief Speedo swimsuit taken at a beach that have been leaked to the media, he didn't exactly display the stereotypical toned and well muscled physique of your average American Gay Twink/Pin up Model...and while it doesn't bother ME in the slightest, and I consider such attention to the importance of physical perfection to be abhorrant, I also know how vicious many Geighs can be about such perceived physical imperfections like badly receding hairlines or flabby body shapes.

Or, character imperfections, for that matter...



O.K., O.K....I know I'm coming off a little harsh, and like I'm some bitchy, old, prim, puritanical prude and I'm trying too hard to be arch and "funny" but this little twerp is pissing me off with his hypocrisy. Initially, Breedlove did take the high road when the scandal broke and said all the right things in a prudent manner, and generally acted like a "gentleman" and a grown-up. But, gradually, he kept on talking and commenting and adding more and more to the story and he quickly exited off the high road and merged onto the Highway of Trash Celebrity. It became obvious that Breedlove realized he liked the attention and the possible perks of being a media whore. Yes, I understand he's young and the young tend to be foolish and callow, but Breedlove is starting to roll around in the filth of his shallowness. And what's going to happen when the celebrity is gone? The media circus of any scandal is always ready to move on to the next big thing in the next big town...and let's be honest...a minor gay sex scandal involving the mayor of a minor American city is going to quickly get overshadowed by something newer and bigger and juicier. Our boy Beau is getting some attention and a little money for his fame NOW, but it's not going to last much longer and the money he's getting is minor. And when the end seems to be in sight, is he going to be able to withdraw from his celebrity heroin habit or will he crave more? Is an exclusive deal with Michael Lucas or Chi Chi LaRue or Titan Studios for Breedlove's porn film debut very far off? It wouldn't surprise me but it would also sadden me that this kid feels compelled to make foolish choices to extend his 15 minutes of trashy, unearned fame.

The photo is credited to Zach Sire and I found it HERE.

Did the President sneak this into the stimulus package?

From Politico: Obama plots huge railroad expansion

$8 Billion is a drop in the bucket, but it's a good start and makes it clear that Obama is in favor of high speed rail. Bush approved $1.5 billion last fall to expand rail, but that was funding designed to last through 2013. Obama wants at least a billion dollars MORE to be funded EVERY year. That's very good news, but only if they manage to spend that money wisely.

And, since the Right is convinced we're becoming a Socialist state, we might as well embrace it and have a practical, efficiently run, environmentally friendly mass transit, inter city/state, rail transportation system like Europe's....

Makes Patrick Dempsey look like dog poo...

The real Dr McDreamy is Dr Frank Spinelli the author of The Advocate Guide to Gay Men's Health and Wellness. Does former Slogger, Mr Poe know about this Silver Foxed DILF?

I would never go to this guy as my doctor...I would stammer and blush the entire time he was examining me. My own GP is cute, and gay for that matter and I already feel awkward enough around him, (primarily because he's so ridiculously young). Going to the doctor is supposed to make you feel BETTER, not lower your self-esteem...

Be a Good Neighbor and Give Generously to the Dutchmen Fund.

I was asked by a good friend to post this story over a month ago and I never got around to it and feel quite guilty. For those of you unaware, the Dutchmen is a very historic place not only for the Seattle music community, but for anyone who's a fan of rock music and grunge in particular. Nirvana, Tad, Mudhoney; they all recorded there. Here's the gist of the story:

On the morning of Thursday January 8, historic rehearsal studios the Dutchman and Calleye recording studios were destroyed by a tragic fire. Gary Mula, founder and proprietor of this Seattle music landmark, was away when the blaze erupted and fortunately was not injured. He is however terribly shaken and unsure of his future.

The Dutchman Fund has been organized in response to this catastrophe. The intent of the fund is to provide an opportunity for Gary's friends and colleagues to assist him in a time of dire need. This website has been set-up as a channel to receive donations (which are payable directly to Gary via PayPal) and to promote upcoming benefits. It is also intended to serve as a resource to communicate developing news on the event and its aftermath, as well as serve as community forum to remember and celebrate the Dutchman and Calleye.

UPDATE: January 23, 2009
The Seattle Fire Department has determined that the cause of the fire was accidental and has handed control of the building back to the owner's insurance company who are in the process of conducting their own investigation. At present Gary has limited, escorted access to the studio. He was able to determine that Jules-studio cat extraordinaire-unfortunately did not make it out of the building. He was a fantastic cat who will be greatly missed. As for Gary's personal belongings, a few items have been salvaged, but all of his instruments and studio gear have been totally destroyed. On the brighter side, his data archives and most of his hard discs miraculously survived the fire and a great deal of data has been recovered. His main recording drive however, did not survive and we're hoping to raise funds to recover the data. There's a lot of wonderful music on this drive and it would be tragic if it is lost forever. If anyone out there specializes in data recovery and would be willing to donate their services, please contact us immediately.

Here's the link to the website.

I'll beat Slog to the punch on Dick Day and post this:

TV Time

1)I forgot that The Amazing Race started a new series last night and I missed it.

Damn it.

2)Since getting a digital converter box for the tv, I've noticed that ocassionally the sound will be very slightly out of sync with the picture. I watched a few minutes of Good Morning, America this morning and it happened and it looked like Diane Sawyer had wandered into a Japanese monster movie from the 60's...it was a little off putting.

3)I put on a dvd of one of the seasons of Strangers With Candy late last night. That show is fucking brilliant, acutely politically incorrect, (Jerri calls her brother faggot constantly, which makes me wince until I remind myself that Amy Sedaris is beyond reproach), twistedly perverse and always manages to stay on target with its agenda, (great satiric comedy with a not so subtle message).

Also, it's amazingly filthy. How can you not love a show where the heroine professes to love both the "pole and the hole" and delights in telling prospective dates that she's "moist as a snack cake, down there"...

I love the Stranger and I hate it.

The Stranger is an immensely entertaining publication that I enjoy reading that can ocassionally produce some strong journalism. Slog can be a fascinating, frustrating, lively public forum of ideas, information, humor, stupidity and infantile dribble, (and I fully acknowledge that I contribute to both intellectual discussion and childish snarking and quipping...). But the Stranger and its staff are cursed by the fact that they're neither fish nor fowl. They want to be the popular, funny, snarky, witty, cool kids with the satire and the cursing and the mocking and the hip, "ain't we cool" street cred. They also seem to want to be serious journalists that report serious news and get treated with dignity and respect by their readers, the community and most importantly, their peers while serving as a valuable resource for the community. But is it possible to put out a publication that wants to be both "The Onion" and "The New York Times" simultaneously? That seems to be their goal, but they frequently and alternately succeed and fail at each endeavor. And the staff has a tendency to pout if they don't feel they're appreciated enough as journalists or humorists. And, I think a lot of people have the attitude that this schizophrenia is ok or normal or justified because after all, it's only a dumb alt weekly run by a bunch of stupid hippy/snarky/druggy/faggy kids, but the fact is, the Stranger is run/owned by men and women in their mid-forties and up, and only a handful of staffers are actually twentysomething kids. I think The Stranger is a great example of what the New Journalism COULD be, but I'm also thinking that if they want to really become leaders of the New Journalism movement and realize their potential, they're going to have to pick a direction and stick to it...in other words, decide to be the witty, funny journal of entertainment and satire with an arts focus, (like The Onion's AV Club) or be a legitimate news organization that publishes factual, well-written and even witty reportage, (like, well, no one actually does that).

Oh and Dick Free Day is a pretty "funny" idea from a website where all but about two or three of it's writers frequently ARE dicks (I don't always love what they write but Jen Graves and Paul Constant are very seldom dickish or inspire it), or write things that very frequently and very intentionally incite dick like responses, (ECB and Savage).

I'm a bit bitter,

after 5 days of being raked over the coals during Stancl/Frizzelle/StrangerGate. Apparently I'm a monster for suggesting that people accused of criminal acts are supposed to be presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law, and for suggesting that gay people and gay teenagers and gay teenagers involved in a sex crimel MIGHT not always get fair and just treatment from society, the law, the media and public opinion. I must be wrong because gay people are always justly treated in our society, and the police and the court system never have an agenda, and the media is always fair and impartial, and innocent people never go to jail, and the punishment always, always, always fits the crime....right? And even though I've made it quite clear I'm not saying that Stancl is innocent, or that it's ok to rape, or molest anyone, or that it's ok to blackmail people or call in bomb threats or that I'm in favor of child pornography, I've been accused of all those things because either I haven't made myself clear enough, or because people refuse to see any other viewpoint than the one they've already formed, or because people are just a bit stupid and awful or more likely, a combination of all of the above.

The roller coaster ride of human sexuality...

I thanked Chris in the Couv for pointing out the fact on Slog, that the nature of gay teens and how they react to their sexual natures is an important component to the Stancl case. He was referring mainly to Stancl and his sexuality, but I think the nature of the victim's sexualities could well be a major component of this case as well.It's not something people want to think about and I'm NOT, in any way suggesting that victims in sex crime cases "ask for it" or if they enjoy it, it didn't really happen, or any of that bullshit but I am going to go out on a limb here and say that in some cases and some situations, what appears to be the truth, may not be the truth and when a case involves gay issues, it can be even more complicated especially when it involves young adults.

I think part of the problem is, no one has bothered to really think about, HOW this happened; what was the process from start to finish and what seems logical and likely. Think about it: Stancl poses as a cute teen girl on Facebook (we'll call her Lucy)and makes tons of friends and starts flirting with the boys and emailing them and lures them in and at some point asks for naked pictures, and GETS quite a few, then apparently introduces a theme of "her" having a gay male friend and then the possibility of some sort of sex event involving all the parties involved. Well, obviously the majority of the boys who've been flirting with "Her" are going to drop out of this conversation, in disgust, and they do, but not all the boys appear to be that disgusted...

At least 7 of the boys don't back away, they keep going even though the element of homosexuality has been introduced. Does this mean they are gay? No, but it does mean that there might be some curiousity there, however small or otherwise why would they proceed? And, why would a blackmail threat from Lucy at this point mean anything? More than likely, "Lucy" has sent the boys a naughty picture of her, and since nothing "gay" has taken place "she" really can't hold THAT over their heads as a form of blackmail can she? So, we don't know exactly how Lucy/Stancl worded things but at some point, they have to agree to meet in person; we don't know how this came about but it had to be somewhat gradual because at some point Stancl had to make the reveal, "oh, there is no Lucy the Slut; I made her up!" This would seem to give the boys an out; "Fuck you man, I'm out of here!" but it doesn't seem to happen. And we don't know exactly what happens next, but somehow Stancl is able to convince them to do something sexual. We don't know how long it took or how harrassing it was, or how intimidating or how abusive, or not abusive it was, but it happens...and according to some of the reports, at least some of the encounters take place in the school bathroom, which seems a bit odd.. But how difficult was it? Why did the boys give in? Why didn't they go to teachers or parents or cops? Was Stancl, a peer who was their age or two or three or four years older, (and in at least one case, Stancl was apparently younger) have enough authority and power to control them? In most other similar situations, it's usually a much older authority figure OUT of their peer group that is able to manipulate and control their victims...how did Stancl pull this off?

Now I know this goes against prevailing wisdom. I think the majority prefer to think of this as a pornographic melodrama: an evil pedophilic villain twirling his moustache, luring young boys into the bathroom and blackmailing them into blowjobs, but it can't be that simple can it? These events didn't happen over night; there had to be some sort of gradual reveal. They apparently occurred over a series of months, if not years. Also, I'm not trying to excuse what happened, but it doesn't seem like it could be quite as cut and dried as it might appear. And I'm not impugning these boys or their reputation but there is some strong evidence that there had to be some degree of same sex interest on their part. It would seem to be it's either that or they were very emotionally immature for their age and easy to manipulate. Again, we don't know.

But I know what some of you are going to say; Stancl forced them and threatened them!
Perhaps, but since when do teenagers respect or bow to the will of other teenagers? Physically, smaller, weaker kids are always scared of the bigger, stronger and meaner but we haven't had any evidence of this. And threats of blackmail can't be ignored, but even the majority of frightened, immature, not very rationale thinking kids are going to be smart enough to say to a peer threatening to expose their naked pictures to the world, "uh, yeah, Tony and if you do everyone's going to know you're a big fag plus you're passing around naked images of minors which is against the law and you'll go to jail..."

But now it's come to light that one of the kids, did eventually go the police/his parents, though it seems unclear if this was BEFORE or AFTER the accusations against Stancl who was discovered after he made his moronic bomb threat against the school. Did the kid come forward because he felt he had to, to expose the crime committed against him, or did the kid come forward because he was scared of being labeled a fag? It's happened many, many, many times before. Young guy, (or not so young, for that matter) has gay sex for the first time and either his parents or his friends or some authority figures find out, OR, he has second thoughts about the whole incident and wants to come "clean" to relieve his conscience...Yeah, that happens a lot. I don't think most heterosexuals realize how traumatic the coming out process is for the majority of gay men and women. We've been programmed since birth about the evils of same-sex love; even modern kids who've been raised in liberal homes have issues with this. We're surrounded by images and words that tell us either our sexuality is bad, or at the very least MANY people think it is bad. So, the first time we have a same-sex is very emotional. It can be a joyous experience and an erotic experience but it can also be very troubling when you've realized that you've become a sexual outlaw. I don't know if this happened with one, or two or all of those 7 kids who had sex with Anthony Stancl, but I certainly think it's a possibility. And regardless if Stancl was a monster who abused his peers, or just a twisted little shit playing mind games, or a misunderstood gay teen using creative ways to get laid, he at the very least should have on his conscience that he might have fucked up these 7 guys, regardless of their sexuality, and complicated their lives and damaged the process of young humans coming to terms with their own sexual identities.

New Topic: I had a great meal last night at Senor Moose

in Ballard, (I had the Chicken Livers again) but there was one glitch...I did find a small piece of rubber in my entree. I think it might have been part of a rubber spatula that was in the process of decomposition. I didn't complain because the meal was fine and I like the place and I didn't want to cause a scene but it was a bit off putting...

Wow, when Frizzelle wimps out, he really wimps out...

Was he pressured? Or just a puss? 'Cause dude, you could have apologized for the tone of your original post, or the dumbass "Schaudenfreude" comment that straight jocks might deserve it, but you could have defended your original stance that this guy might be getting a bum rap because of his sexuality. I was under the impression you were concerned with the sexual politics of this guy being unfairly tried and convicted due to a bias against him because of his sexuality or for at least raising the point that such injustices do occur all the time in America when it comes to issues of sexuality, but maybe I was wrong to believe that...

It's very, very tiresome when people either,

don't GET what you're trying to say or refuse to LISTEN what you're trying to say.

Let me clarify:

Anthony Stancl has allegedly done some bad things. At best, he needs therapy. At worst, he needs punishment. Personally, he seems pretty douchy.

Anthony Stancl is also being unfairly judged because of his sexuality, his age and the age and sexualities of his alleged victims.

The definition of a pedophile is sexual attraction to a pre-pubescent child.

People attracted to post pubescent teenagers are not pedophiles. And, teenagers sexually attracted to other teenagers are not guilty of anything except of being human and desirous of contact with their own peers. Sort of like a 42 year old wanting to date a 36 year old, or a 27 year old getting married to a 32 year old. Why should it be thought odd that a 17 or 18 or 19 or even 20 or 21 year old would be attracted to someone who was 2 or three or four or five years younger than them just because those individuals hadn't turned the magic age of consent?

Turning 18 doesn't magically make you an "Adult".

Most people accused of most crimes ARE probably guilty to one degree or another of the crimes of which they've been charged.

Quite a few people accused of crimes are not treated fairly because of various mitigating factors: their age, race, religion, gender, sexuality, socio-economic status, etc.

Victims of crimes deserve our sympathy for what they've endured. But not all victims tell the complete truth and not all victims are blameless. Just because you are a victim of a crime doesn't make you free of any culpability for that crime.

American Society hates ambiguity. We like things cut and dried without any gray areas.

Despite great strides, society doesn't like, trust or respect people who are non heterosexually inclined. For that matter, society doesn't care much for anyone who is "different" or outside what is perceived as normal.

Sexuality makes people nervous.

The sexuality of teenagers makes people very, very nervous.

We like labels.

We like excuses.

We like not having to take responsibility of our actions.

The law isn't always just.

The majority isn't always right.

"Good" and "Bad" are ambiguous labels that mean very little. A truly horrible person isn't all bad, (Hitler was an anti-smoker, a vegetarian and an animal lover) and a truly great, "good" person isn't perfect or free of imperfection, (Gandhi slept, not fucked, with young girls).

Being judgemental is easy. Being impartial is impossible.

Sexual politics is the hottest button you can push.

and, finally:

Resistance is Futile....The Borg

Lost was brilliant last night!

I just have to say that any episode that can feature the Smoke Monster, the first sign of it's Lair, the first sighting of The Temple, appearances by Christian Shephard, Ms Hawking, and Team Teen Rousseau, an arm dismemberment, close-ups of a crazy looking Lady Vengeance channeling Sun, a petulant Ben and a fantastic Time Flu deathbed scene by hot ginge Charlotte, is A-OK in my book...It was the best episode of the season so far, in my opinion and I'm really looking forward to next week's episode, titled 316.

Also, we bought a digital converter box at Target with our government issued $40 coupon, (we had to pay $5 to make up the difference)and went all digital last night and the difference in picture quality is pretty amazing...the pictures were clear and crisp and the only weakish signals were for Q13 and with a little adjustment of our cheap-ass rabbit ears, it came in fine. And now we get 28 channels but wonder why Seattle needs so many Spanish language options; are there really that many Spanish speaking people in Puget Sound? And, if so, where ARE they?

Flame Wars are exhausting...

I've been involved in a huge flamefest over on Slog for the last 24 hours. Christopher Frizzelle posted a piece about the 18 year old Wisconsin boy who blackmailed 7 of his male classmates into having sex with him. Christopher pointed out that all the hyperbole may not fit the crime, (the post is titled, "What He Did Was Wrong, Yes-But...") and he was immediately bombarded with a slew of crazy hatred basically insinuating that Frizzelle was supporting a pedophile and insensitive to those poor children/victims, blah, blah, blah. I had to defend Christopher against that dumbass, judgemental, holier than thou shit, and I got the mud slung at me...(in a nutshell, Frizzelle and I being stupid faggots of course wouldn't know any better since if we aren't actually pedophiles, by being gay we're the next best/worst thing). At first it was fun having a good old fashioned discussion/shouting match about something you feel impassioned about, ie, the stupidity of people in general but of course you're never going to change anybody's narrow, rigid little mind so in the long run you just exhaust yourself and end up wasting most of your day. I suppose, as an obligation of one's civic duty, it's good to take part in public discourse, even if it seldom, if ever, changes anyone's mind. But, my blood is still boiling and I'm bad about not having the final word so I'm going to have to force myself to quit responding and continuing to feed the flames of that thread. Plus, I'm going out for a pleasant meal tonite with a good friend and I need to release the anger so I can enjoy my margaritas...

(NOTE on a Redaction from this entry: Frizzelle was irritated that I implied I was quoting from what he wrote me, so I've removed it and apologized to him for publicly stating that he had personally replied to a commment I had made on Slog.) But I am keeping quotes from the reply I sent him:

Obviously, Sex Hysteria and Phobias, New Age/Post Modern Puritanism, the hypocrisy of Old Media and American Society's infatuation with the Blame Game, ("Hey, I'm a fuck up because I was abused/have attention deficit/I'm gay/I'm a woman/I'm a minority/I'm a white man of priviledge/my parents spoiled or ignored me/it's because of the Liberal Media, or the Jews, or the Conservatives or the Liberals or the Coloreds or the Fags or the Arabs") are some of my favorite topics...

and this:

and regarding your (Christopher's)critics on that thread:

(1)just remember that all people are kind of stupid, in a variety of degrees, about one thing or another and the majority of people are very stupid about a great many things.

(2)and that very, very few "heterosexualists" and a surprisingly large number of same-sexualists don't really understand the politics of sexuality, hetero, homo or otherwise because sexuality scares the crap out of most people, their own as well as others. Also, very, very few people are able to be honest about their own sexual instincts and desires.

(3)Refer again to #1

and the final thing I've posted on the thread:

Finally, All I'm gonna say is that I think that all of you who are having a fucking conniption because Christopher, myself and other people expressed our opinion that this kid may or may not be getting railroaded because of idiotic perceptions of sexuality need to step back and remind yourselves that you're guilty of assuming that this kid is guilty of the crimes of which he has been charged before any trial or any release of information about the particular circumstances of what happened, as well as assuming you know the state of mind of the victims, (and like I said before, since this case involves minors, we may never know the particulars).You weren't there, we don't have any facts or information and I don't care if you or your sister or your grandpa were the victim of any kind of sexual attack or offense; the tragic experience you or a loved one had doesn't make you an expert on the experiences of ALL victims of sex crimes. People need to stop being so idiotically judgemental and realize that NOTHING in the world should be looked at in black/white or either/or terms.

Tonite on Lost: This Place is Death

Here's the official ABC synopsis and guest cast list for tonite's episode:

Synopsis
Locke shoulders the burden of ending the island's increasingly violent movements through time; Ben is stymied in his efforts to reunite the Oceanic 6 and bring them back to the island.

Guest List
Guest starring are Rebecca Mader as Charlotte Lewis, John Terry as Christian Shephard, Fionnula Flanagan as Eloise Hawking, William Blanchett as Aaron, June Kyoko Lu as Mrs. Paik, Melissa Farman as young Frenchwoman, Guillaume Dabinpons as Frenchman #1, Marc Menard as Frenchman #2, Bruno Bruni as Frenchman #3 and Jaymie Kim as Ji Yeon.

Note the presence of Sun's mom and daughter and add to that the fact that at last week's cliffhanger, Sun was getting ready to go all Lady Vengeance on Ben's ass at the marina, is leading some to speculate that this could be a Sun-centric episode. From coming attractions, we do know that Ben tells her that Jin is alive. And from photos released, we do know that we see more of Jin interacting with Team Teen Rousseau circa 1988 back on Topsy Turvy Island...

Also, ABC promos from the show are making it sound like someone dies tonite...of course, on Lost, that doesn't really mean anything; a large chunk of the cast is dead and still continue to appear on the show in some form or the other. My vote is for feisty, British ginge scientist Charlotte...her violent attacks of Time Travel Flu have left her battled and bloodied...other clues include the fact that the actress, Rebecca Mader, is still listed as a guest star this season while her fellow Freighter folk Miles and Faraday were upgraded to fulltime cast members...and Mader spent at least part of last fall/early winter off making the new George Clooney movie, Men Who Stare At Goats. But, if she does croak, there's still a good chance we haven't seen the last of Charlotte. There's evidence that the producers might have put out a casting call for a child Charlotte for flashback scenes. Previous casting calls this season have been for younger versions of Sayid, Miles, Faraday and even two different ages for Ms Hawking, so it wouldn't be that large of a surprise to see a tiny Charlotte in a scene explaining why she seems to have had previous experience on the Island.

And, things to look out for next week: more Ms (Old/Original) Hawking, a new, previously unseen relative of Jack's shows up, and a guest cast list that includes several South Asian actors which leads to the conclusion that we might be seeing some interaction with Ajira Airlines which might explain why Ajira Airlines water bottles were in the canoe that the Losties found on the beach last week and used to travel to the other side of the Island, only to be attacked by some mysterious folk in the other canoe...

Oh, and in two weeks, the adventures of Jeremy Bentham which includes a visit to Walt...
And, where the fuck are Rose and Bernard?!?!?!? Apparently, they are still alive...actor Sam Anderson recently did an interview where he talks about filming he did recently, including scenes with Juliet, which made me happy because I was getting worried that SHE might be the one dying tonite...

This will make you cry.

The koala moved gingerly on scorched paws, crossing the blackened landscape as the fire patrol passed. Clearly in pain, the animal stopped when it saw firefighter David Tree following behind. 'It was amazing, he turned around, sat on his bum and sort of looked at me with (a look) like, put me out of my misery,' Tree told The Associated Press on Tuesday. 'I yelled out for a bottle of water. I unscrewed the bottle, tipped it up on his lips and he just took it naturally. He kept reaching for the bottle, almost like a baby.' The team called animal welfare officers as it resumed its patrols on Sunday, the day after deadly firestorms swept southern Victoria state. 'I love nature, and I've handled koalas before. They're not the friendliest things, but I wanted to help him,' Tree said."

I got this from Towleroad and I'm assuming they got it from the AP.

If you want to make a donation to aid the victims, both human and animal, of the horrifying Australian wildfires, go to The Australian Red Cross site.

If you're a misanthrope and don't care to help people but want to help the koalas and their burned out kin, give money to the Wildlife Victoria organization.

Here's a less stressful picture of another koala seeking aid from the heat. And here's a link to more koala pix:

Best Film of the Year

Go and see it, immediately.

Here's an interview with the director, Ari Folman.

http://www.mcnblogs.com/thehotblog/archives/2008/12/dp30_ari_folman.html

Waltz with Bashir is nominated for Best Foreign Film but not Best Animated Feature...they chose to go with Bolt, Kung Fu Panda and Wall-E, and it was deemed ineligble for Best Documentary Feature because it hadn't screened in both L.A. and NY before the deadline. Lame.

Art I Like

I haven't posted any thing in this category for a long time and I'm feeling arty today so here are a couple pieces by artist Linnea Strid. I found them at Juxtapoz and you can check out more of Strid's work there, (http://www.juxtapoz.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=5360&Itemid=59) or at her website: (http://www.linneastrid.se/index.html)which is in Swedish but art websites are pretty self-explanatory.

I like her stuff because it tells a story, or at least it offers a small vignette from a much larger narrative. Is the birthday guy alone because he seems a bit weird, or has his loneliness contributed to his seemingly odd lifestyle? Why does the boy have blood on his hands? Was he a witness, or a good samaritan trying to help a victim, or did he have something sinister to do with the incident that caused the blood to be spilt? I don't know the answer to any of these questions but I like thinking about what led up to the moments depicted in the paintings. And, I always think it's a good idea for an artist to create work that leaves you wanting just a bit more...like any good book or movie or piece of music.

As for Bush and Hitler, I just think it's funny in a dry Scandinavian sense of humor way, like some of Bergman's movies, or at least, moments in some of his movies.

Which reminds me, I'm past due for my semi-annual viewing of Fanny & Alexander...I usually try to watch it around Christmas, but I never got around to it. I'm way overdue.

Maybe I'm just in a rotten mood,

but, it seems like the comments and the commentators on Slog have gotten very douchy lately. It's like all those dumbass, provincial, conservative, Fox News watching, whitebread junior high school kids suddenly took over. I don't enjoy watching Slog turn into 98% of the other big blogs out there with dumb comments from dumb people. I want it to be full of dumbass comments from relatively smart people, like it was before.

Another sign of getting old:

missing the good ole days...

To improve my mood, here are two completely gratuitous photos of Jon Hamm, who started his guest star turn on 30 Rock last night, and was absolutely adorable...And, I'm putting all my faith in Tina Fey that she'll write at least one scene requiring Mr Hamm to wear a Speedo.

Things that make you go, HUH?

Crappy Subway and not quite as crappy Kelloggs have announced they're booting Michael Phelps from endorsement deals because he was caught smoking pot from a big ole bong at a college party last fall.

Dumb.

Wow, it's such a shock that a 23 year old college student smoked some pot...what next: are we going to find out that he likes to drink beer and eat pussy?

What's funny about this is, I guess that means they'll replace Phelps's image on the Corn Flakes box and replace it with the original mascot.

In other words, they're taking off the photo of the pothead and replacing it with a picture of a big ole cock.

Crazy.

(I don't eat Kellogg's cereal, so I can't boycott them, but I'm boycotting Subway which I do occassionally eat, only because it's one of the few restaurants close to where I work...also, they suck in general, so it's not much of a hardship...)

Tonite on Lost: The Little Prince

Synopsis
Kate discovers that someone knows the secret of Aaron's true parental lineage. Meanwhile, the dramatic shifts through time are placing the lives of the remaining island survivors in extreme peril.

Guest List
Guest starring are Susan Duerden as Carole Littleton, Tom Irwin as Dan Norton, William Blanchett as Aaron, Emerson Brooks as Tony, Stephanie Niznik as Dr. Evelyn Ariza, Melissa Farman as young Frenchwoman, Guillaume Dabinpons as Frenchman #1, Marc Menard as Frenchman #2, Bruno Bruni as Frenchman #3 and Ane Tranetzki as bellman.

from http://spoilerslost.blogspot.com/

hmmm....so many French people on tonite's show....interesting. AND, Claire's mom.

Is Aaron the Little Prince, do you think?

IS this a reference to the children's book and horrid movie?

Will we see Claire tonite, in some form?

Has Matthew Fox grown back his chest hair?

Will Richard Alpert explain why he seems ageless or why he wears mascara?

Hopefully, these and many other questions will be answered on tonite's episode of Lost.

Sportacus!

He makes me feel funny...

down there...


Didjaknow, Actor Magnus Scheving who created the show "Lazytown" and plays Sportacus is Icelandic? And, the show is produced in Iceland?

and he is married with children and a grandchild!?!?!?!?

and he's only 44?

and, he was an Aerobics Gymnastics champion winning the European title in 1994 and 1995 for Men's Individual Champion?

Well, you do now.

Stange(ways) but True...

A guy in a bigass Oldsmobile pulled up along side my car yesterday, rolled down the window, and bellowed to me, "Hey, dude; just thought you should know, one of your brake lights is out!" I stammered my thanks and the dude went on his way...this story doesn't seem that remarkable, or, for that matter, very interesting but I haven't mentioned the fact that the Good Samaritan in question had huge mutton chops, a pompadour and black aviator sunglasses...in short, it was an Elvis Fan/Impersonator apparently out for a leisurely drive on a gloriously beautiful winter afternoon. Well, that or perhaps it actually was The King...

So, once again: Thanks, Anonymous Elvis Man! You might have saved my life! Or at the very least, a traffic ticket!

(Note: how meta would it be to dress up like Elvis for Halloween and call yourself an Elvis Impersonator Impersonator?)

Irritating....

My weekend was sort of a bust...got very little accomplished, someone I consider a friend really pissed me off, and I pulled a muscle in my back and I'm in considerable discomfort this morning. I've messed up my back before; it tends to go out every two or three years in varying degrees of unpleasantness. This time, using a 1 to 10 scale, it's only about a 4 but I'm paranoid it's going to ratchet up to a 9 which is what happened to me the last time my back went out, three years ago. That's how I lost my job at the effin' Seattle Times...my back went out and I missed a couple days and they canned me because I had missed too much work and was still in my probationary period. (and those two days were the only days I had missed, and to My Worst Enemy, it wasn't for any other reasons; in fact, I had gotten a commendation from my boss a couple weeks before my back went out...)

Soooo, I'm now debating on whether or not I should go the doctor to see if we can do anything to prevent my back from getting worse; hopefully a steroid shot, and a bottle of muscle relaxants...

Time Thief

Facebook is a time thief and I want back the 7 hours I've been on it today.

But, in my defense, I got sucked into looking for old friends and family members and it quickly became an emotional roller coaster. The funniest thing I found was a profile for someone I ended on bad terms with...he had no friends which isn't that surprising since it's difficult to make connections when your boyfriend is/was a male prostitute, but still, it made me howl with delight... More alarmingly, I found way too many people I went to school with, that have grandchildren. Also, most of the men are older, fatter and gayer than when I last saw them. (Yes, GAYER, not grayer; I went to high school/college from 1978 to 1985...the theater/English Lit crowd I hung out with was full of the gay, but it wasn't an era or place (Nebraska) prone to existing outside the closet door, myself included...)

Scariest thing I found was a private profile and picture of the GIRL I had a crush on all the way through grade school...(It was a brain thing; she was the only other literate person in my class). The poor thing is hideously, monstrously unattractive in a "I'm not quite sure of her gender" sort of way...and though it didn't say on her profile, (I couldn't access it unless we were friends), I believe she's had a pretty rough life. When I was still in my hometown gossip loop, I was aware that she had married young and had kids but I think there were mental health issues and perhaps suicide attempts on her part and it sounds like her life hasn't improved much. Seeing her massive, androgynous face staring out from a shitty Sears Photo Studio portait was incredibly depressing...

On a lighter note, I discovered a profile for a much younger male cousin of mine who I haven't seen in 10 years and was never very close to. My brother and I were already pretty much convinced he was a fellow traveler in the Friends of Dorothy fanclub; the kid played the organ at an early age and learned how to mince before he learned how to walk...(also, it runs in the family; out of 8 grandkids, 4 of them are queer, that we know of). My suspicions were confirmed when I found his profile and saw his profile photo. My cuz is curled up with a rather hunky, somewhat older black man in a pose that suggests mutual buggery rather than wholesome male bonding...It's probably best that our mutual grandfather, a man who had to be gradually weened down to using "darkie" to refer to our African-American brethren as opposed to starker, earthier terms, is long since gone from this mortal coil.

Kitchen Bitchin'

As I type this, there are a multitude of people in our workspace kitchen preparing their lunches. Several of them are busily preparing healthful salads; chopping a variety of fresh, heart-healthy produce just as they do several timea a week. Yet, most of the people I see in our workspace kitchen preparing these supposedly low-calorie, whole food meals are incredibly fat...which leads me to wonder, is it all for show? In other words, are they making a big deal of their healthy lifestyle in public, ie, at work, but in their private lives, at home, are gorging out on Frito Pies, Lil' Debby snack cakes and gallons of Fanta? Or, is their rotundity due to a lack of exercise despite their seemingly smart eating habits? Are they happy looking like hippopotamuses as long as they make a pretense of eating right? And why can't they do all their produce chopping, mincing and serrating at home instead of taking up all the counterspace with their food prep, not to mention hogging all the space in the refrigerators with enough roughage to keep Whole Foods stocked for a week?

Who are they trying to kid?

On a similar theme, people should not be allowed to heat up bacon based meals in public kitchens unless they bring enough bacon for everyone to enjoy. The smell of bacon is maddening, especially to those of us with hideously bad cholesterol who shouldn't be eating it. If I ran an office, I would ban bacon based products, (along with malodorous, usually burnt, microwave popcorn), from the work place kitchen out of consideration for those of us who aren't allowed to indulge in this savory delight.

And, to my kosher friends who've never eaten pork, is the smell of well-cooked bacon a mouth watering olfactory delight, or an exercise in sheer torture, or just a benign odor of unknown quality?

Inquiring minds do want to know...

Jughead is the title of tonite's Lost episode...

and it doesn't refer to The Archie's character...Here's some spoilers for you, courtesy of the fine folks at http://spoilerslost.blogspot.com:

- One of the best episodes if you like mythology episodes
- Widmore is paying the medical bills for someone
- Jughead as we suspected is a b_ _ _
- Faraday and Widmore have a surprising connection
- We find out how and why Widmore knows about the Island
- No O6 in this episode
- Someone tells Charlotte they love her

Also, there will be Latin, a baby, and a younger version of a character we've already met...and we find out more about the soldiers that attacked the castaways last week. Even though this season's individual episodes aren't quite as character specific or centric, to use a Lost fan term, it would be relatively safe to say that this episode is somewhat Desmond-centric, so if you're a fan of the 'brutha' spouting Scot with the tan chest and flowing locks, you're in for a treat...

Oh, and next week's episode, The Little Prince, features Claire's mom, more nosebleeds and time traveling to an era featuring a bunch of French people on the Island, including a fiery young French woman...I wonder who she could be?

Finally, there's a rumor that there was a casting call for a 25 year old Aaron to feature in a scene set in 2030 to interact with an adult Ji-Yeon...but, the producers have been known to issue fake casting calls or to use fake character names and scripts to confuse spoiler hunting fans, so take it with a grain of Dharma salt. (There's also some interesting fan speculation that Aaron and Ji-Yeon are the Adam and Eve bodies found in the cave in Season One...discuss at will!)

We should all be GLAAD for our Dina...

Seattle's own beloved Dina Martina, (aka Grady West) has been nominated for a GLAAD Award for her one woman show, "Dina Martina: Off The Charts!" under the category, Outstanding New York Theatre: Off-Off Broadway. The New York winners will be announced March 28th at the Marriot Marquis.

A toast to Dina!

Here she is pictured with "goodfriend", Joyce DeWitt...

To learn more about the fantastic Ms Martina go here: http://www.dinamartina.com/index.html

Or visit your local library...

Slumdogs of Beverly Hills

The many varied reactions to Slumdog Millionaire are so odd...it doesn't warrant the raves it's getting, esp about it's clever plot (good brother, bad brother, girl who comes between them was an old standard when D W Griffith was making flickers...)but some of the brickbats are bizarre. The "heinous torture" of children was brief and mostly off camera, and Dickensian in the sense that it felt like it came out of an old story book and didn't have any basis in the reality of real slumdogs in Mumbai. The actors are adorable and the soundtrack is great, but other than that and the flashback story structure of how the uneducated boy was able to answer the gameshow questions, there's not much else to recommend about this movie...it's sweet and crowd pleasing and probably going to win the Oscar and in 20 years time people will be asking, "why did that movie win so many awards?" just like we do now about 80% of the movies that have won the Oscar in the past...(ahem, Gandhi/Dances with Wolves/Braveheart/Forrest Gump/Crash)

But, I hope the cast gets work out of this, esp. the adorable Dev Patel as the oldest incarnation of our hero and Anil Kapoor as the swarmy host of Millionaire. Patel is already a rising young actor in his native UK, starring in the hit tv series Skins, and Kapoor is a major star in India, but it would be nice for them to get some Hollywood work...and paychecks.

I'd rather be like this hot Pussy...

instead of slogging away at work but I have bills to pay...many, many, many bills of all hues, religions, nationalities and sexual orientations... And for my Eight Readers out there, here is an employment update for you. I do continue to have a job with the same employer I've had for many, many months, (despite the fact that the high profile company I do contract work for, recently announced they are laying off people for the first time ever, cough, cough...) and though my projects keep ending, I continue to get assigned to new ones, which leads me to believe that there's a continued hope that I shant have to live in a cardboard box in Pioneer Square for the forseeable future, which to quote Martha Stewart, is a good thing.

So a toast to me, for not sucking!

Milk and Pho

What I did yesterday...Finally saw Milk after two previous attempts cancelled by snow/shitty weather. Of course it started snowing a couple hours before I was due to go to the Egyptian but it was decided that in order to break the bizarre Strangeways Snow/Milk Curse that I had to go regardless of how dreadful the weather was...and, oddly enough, about 10 minutes after exiting the theatre last night, the snow stopped. So, officially, Winter is now over.

Later, with different friends, I went to Than Bros and had the #12 which has almost everything in it except the tripe. (I draw the line at tripe because it seems trite and has too many fecal connotations...)We chose Than Bros because it was cold and pho is excellent when it's cold, but primarily because it's ultra cheap and of the three people dining, one of us is unemployed and going to Gene Juarez School of Beauty, the other is on unemployment and me, who is not very gainfully employed. Of course, the unemployed student insisted on paying which means I will have to retaliate by buying her a Tofurkey and leaving it on her door step.

oh, and Milk was very moving and even though he personally annoys the shit out of me, Sean Penn did an amazing job as Harvey Milk and the rest of the cast was excellent though I'm not sure if Josh Brolin really deserves that many acting accolades for his Dan White portrayal; he was good but the part seemed a little small to warrant all the love he's getting. And Diego Luna as one of Milk's lovers was very annoying, which wasn't the actors fault, but the nature of the character as written. And Luna is a very attractive man but bewigged and berobed in the worst of 70's attire had him resembling a Chia Pet that was gangbanged in a Value Village.

The real star of the show is James Franco playing Milk's great love Scott Smith. The reasons for Mr Franco's stardom are readily apparent: his award worthy, pillowy, "please kiss me for the rest of my life" lips, his dreamy, sly, and slightly buzzed eyes, and most importantly, my firm belief that he is a tiger in the sack, capable of hours of prolonged Tantric pleasure for both himself and his partner(s) in rapture. If he's not, I'll eat his hat...

or basket...

or something...

Delusional? Uninformed? Liars?

Lately, I've noticed ads on both Craigslist and Manhunt that contain pictures of men's asses and the claim that they have "bubble butts". Based solely on the provided evidence, many of these claims must be ruled fraudulent. Whether these people are intentionally lying or unintentionally self-deluded or possibly just sadly uninformed about the true nature of a bubble butt, (its perfect geometric curve and saucy, jutting nature), would be cause for further study.

I think Mario Lopez is gross, but he does possess a pretty amazing ass which is ironic considering that he IS a bit of an ass...

All he needed was a white cat on his lap to complete the transformation...

Which dormant volcano will the Evil One install his hidden lair?

Khaaaaaaaaaaaan!

has died. A toast to the very sexy Ricardo Montalban: 1920-2009

The photo is from the LA Times and it's from 1950 and Montalban is training for the movie, "Right Cross".

I'm thrilled that he won, but doesn't it already feel like,

he's been president for the last 10 years?

Am I already Obama'ed out?

I do know that I'm already tired of all the damn Clintonites in the new administration...that's the best they could come up with? With all the layoffs in this country, you think they could have found some fresh new meat...

Not being able to work at work is making me feel...

I'm having connectivity problems at work so I'm sitting here, bored out of my little snot filled mind trying to make it to 4.45pm. (The snot alludes to the fact that I'm battling the THIRD, fucking cold of the season...I'm so sick of phlegm, mucus and any non-sexually transmittted secretions, that I could scream...)

January is the worst month. Cold, grey, bleak and everyone is broke after the holidays. Also, us poor people have to put up with hearing from richer friends about their impending trips to sunny, tropical locations....I hate them and I secretly wish that they are attacked by nasty little monkeys or killer bees or rude flight attendants.

It's horrid outside, I'm in a foul mood and sick of everything...

...so hopefully this completely gratuitous shot of Jon Hamm, the sexiest man on tv, (sorry, Matthew Fox; you shouldn't have shaved your chest) will warm the cockles of our pants.

I'm not saying anything else, because it would be a steady stream of rancid bile, a non-stop bitchfest concerning the weather, unshoveled sidewalks, irritating hipsters and annoying yuppies, Metro, the holiday season, financial woes, job insecurity, mental anguish, artistic bankruptcy and a monologue devoted to my negative body image and lack of sexual potency and desirability.

And if that fucking Celtic Women "special" runs one more goddamned time on PBS, I may run amuck at Seattle Center and burn down KCTS and string George Ray from a light pole...is it really necessary or financially prudent to run the same horrid program every night of your fucking pledge drive?

Is it the New Year yet?

It's a cliche, but I think this picture sums up how we all feel,

physically and emotionally...

Part of that is due to the state of mass transit in Seattle during a weather crisis; Metro tends to fall apart. My first bus yesterday smelled like: 1)a week old dirty diaper or, 2)just starting to rot egg salad. At my first transfer point there was a deranged man repeating in a loop, "I hope my apartment building doesn't burn down; it would be like the Towering Inferno!" and "I don't know how to make an igloo!". On my way home, the #8 that should have shown up at Denny & Dexter at 5:21pm failed to do so. When a bus finally came at 5:47, it was packed tighter than a Tokyo subway car full of Salarymen, which at least made the bus warm and cozy.

Today, I'm wearing the following amount of layers:
Torso/Core: 5
Butt/Naughty Bits: 3
Legs: 2
Feet: 3
Hands/Face: 0

As per yesterdays post, I would prefer wearing nothing, on a beach drinking a pina colada.

And with that horrifying image, I leave you, for now...

Ideally....

...for me, at least, the outside temperture should be warm enough that you are comfortable being outside naked for at least an hour, withhout fear of frostbite or third degree burns...

The weather today makes me most unhappy. If you stood outside in the nude, you'd be dead in 10 minutes, either the victim of frostbite or ravenous, rape minded Capitol Hill type bears...if you looked like this young man.

photo from http://scenicboys.typepad.com/

My Bad.

Sorry for the lack of posts. Things have changed for me at work and I'm working on new projects that require me to actually do some work and not spend hours goofing on the Internet. The original project I was hired for, has ended, and sadly, many of my friends and co-workers have been laid off, (though some of them are thrilled with the prospect of going on unemployment). The stuff I'm doing now, should carry me over to at least mid-January with a chance that it could go even longer, so I'm hopeful, even though part of me would love a little time off...

And, here's a gratuitous picture of a cute kitty, my friends Kurt and Stephanie's beloved Carlito.

Reading between the lines...

A friend sent me this:

THOSE BORN 1920-1980

First, we survived being born to mothers who smoked and/or drank while they were pregnant.

They took aspirin, ate blue cheese dressing, tuna from a can, and didn't get tested for diabetes.

Then after that trauma, we were put to sleep on our tummies in baby cribs covered with bright colored lead-based paints.

We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, doors or cabinets and when we rode our bikes, we had no helmets, not to mention, the risks we took hitchhiking.

As infants &children, we would ride in cars with no car seats, booster seats, seat belts or air bags.

Riding in the back of a pick up on a warm day was always a special treat.

We drank water from the garden hose and NOT from a bottle.

We shared one soft drink with four friends, from one bottle and NO ONE actually died from this.

We ate cupcakes, white bread and real butter and drank Kool-aid made with sugar, but we weren't overweight because,
WE WERE ALWAYS OUTSIDE PLAYING!

We would leave home in the morning and play all day, as long as we were back when the streetlights came on.

No one was able to reach us all day.And we were OK.

We would spend hours building our go-carts out of scraps and then ride down the hill, only to find out we forgot the brakes After running into the bushes a few times, we learned to solve the problem.

We did not have Playstations, Nintendo's, X-boxes, no video games at all, no 150 channels on cable, no video movies or DVD's, no surround-sound or CD's, no cell phones, no personal computer! s, no Internet or chat rooms......
WE HAD FRIENDS and we went outside and found them!

We fell out of trees, got cut, broke bones and teeth and there were no lawsuits from these accidents.

We ate worms and mud pies made from dirt, and the worms did not live in us forever.

We were given BB guns for our 10th birthdays, made up games with sticks and tennis balls and, although we were told it would happen, we did not poke out very many eyes.

We rode bikes or walked to a friend's house and knocked on the door or rang the bell, or just walked in and talked to them!

Little League had tryouts and not everyone made the team. Those who didn't had to learn to deal with disappointment.

Imagine that!!

The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke the law was unheard of.

They actually sided with the law!

These generations have produced some of the best risk-takers, problem solvers and inventors ever!

The past 50 years have been an explosion of innovation and new ideas.

We had freedom, failure, success and responsibility, and we learned HOW TO DEAL WITH IT ALL!

If YOU are one of them CONGRATULATIONS!

You might want to share this with others who have had the luck to grow up as kids, before the lawyers and the government regulated so much of our lives for our own good .

While you are at it, forward it to your kids so they will know how brave (and lucky) their parents were.

Kind of makes you want to run through the house with scissors, doesn't it?!

I loathe shit like this...What's really being said in a nostalgic piece of crap like this is, "Remember the Good Ole Days, when Women knew their Place and Stayed Home in the Kitchen, and the Darkies knew to stay at the Back of the Bus, and Faggots only lived in a couple Big Cities and worked as Hairdressers or Florists, and White Heterosexual Men could safely and confidently Rule The World without any Interference? Do ya? WELL, DO YA!?!?!?!?!?"

But, I will say, I do miss the Good Ole Days when I would hitchhike to Grade School with that kindly ole bachelor who lived down the street...However, I hated Go-Carts and only Retarded children would actually eat a worm or a mud pie or a Clark Bar.

I also remember, as a kid, being bored out of my mind because there wasn't anything interesting to do, just like kids do now, and would have given my left nut for Nintendo or a DVD player.

Oh, and, I still have my BB Gun...it's in the closet of my ultra-fab apartment on Capitol Hill but I never take it out for fear that my more mean-spirited neighbors would want to borrow it to shoot the pesky squirrels that live in the eaves above their apartment. I only used my bb gun to shoot beer bottles, in the house, when my parents weren't home...It was hella fun.

boom

Press notes for boom state, "A marine biologist calculates that the end of the world is near and posts an online personals ad, hoping to find a girl that will help him ensure the survival of the species. But when push comes to shove, saving life on earth on the first date proves to be a bit of a challenge."

I'm going to see this on the 30th at Seattle Rep primarily for the divine actor pictured, Nick Garrison who plays the GAY marine biologist. Chelsey Rives also stars as the girl he meets along with Gretchen Krich. I haven't heard of any reviews yet, but I have high hopes...Mr Garrison is one of our best local actors.

For tickets and more info, (tickets are priced $29-$45) phone (206) 443-2222, toll free at (877) 900-9285 or online at seattlerep.org.

Photo by Chris Bennion.

Stitches

Update to my below post on Travis Young's horrific injury at The Skylark on Halloween night. To catch those of you up too lazy to scroll down to the previous post, Young, the singer for We Wrote The Book On Connectors, (a band name that is entirely too long), went crowd surfing during his set and despite his diminutive frame, the inebriated hipster audience was unable to adequately support his body weight and he fell on broken glass and slashed open his thigh. (Strangeways is still recovering from the sight of blood gushing from Young's leg in a scene that recalled Sam Peckinpaw at his best...) I'm happy to report that Young made it to the emergency room in time and didn't join Kurt, Jimi, and Janis in the Rock Star Enclave in the Sky, but he did receive 28 stitches, or so I hear...

The best of luck to him on a full recovery and hopefully, a valuable lesson learned, (don't expect drunken, aging hipsters in smelly Red Light costumes to catch you, if you should fall...)

It was a good weekend...

1)Went out to dinner with friends on Saturday and ate at Senor Moose in Ballard, which is a brilliant Mexican restaurant on Leary across from the Olympic gym, then had drinks at Hattie's Hat. The food at Moose is not your typical burritos/tacos/enchilada fare; I had a dish with chicken livers, bacon and jalopenos that was out of this world...(yeah, and probably not the best thing to eat cholesterol-wise, but damn, it was good...)
2)I had some burning down the house sex and it had been awhile since that had happened...there's nothing better than sex with someone you have excellent sexual chemistry with...
3)And, most importantly, I finally got my McRib I've been fantasizing about ever since they started running the commercials a couple weeks ago. It was delicious, but I have to admit that it wasn't as great as I remembered it...maybe, they're using a different kind of "meat" or maybe I just have more sophisticated tastes now...

I loved her last week, and...

...I love her more even now.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/thedishrag/2008/11/wanda-sykes-wif.html

Burn.

I'm gay and happy to be gay and I want to be treated with respect and have the same rights as any other citizen. Yes, I'm appalled by the anti-gay legislation that passed on Election Day. Yes, I'm angry at the people and organizations trying to deny me my basic rights. Yes, I want to see positive change in my lifetime.

What I don't like is a lot of the rhetoric coming from the lgbt community. I don't like the blame game and the finger pointing: "Blame the Blacks!" Blame the Mexicans!" "Blame the Mormons!" And, I really dislike the ongoing blacklisting and witchhunting. The names of people who contributed to the Yes On Prop 8 campaign are being published and the lgbt community is going after those people and hounding them. A restaurant manager. A theatre manager. Average citizens being threatened with the loss of their jobs and their businesses, which they don't own, facing boycotts because these people contributed money to a political campaign, despite the fact that the businesses themselves might be pro gay rights and employ lgbt employees. It doesn't make much sense and it's very frightening and I'm afraid that if it keeps up, someone is going to end up dead, either a victim of violence or by their own hands. Is that what we really want? And while I may not LIKE these people, and to be accurate, actively dislike them for supporting legislation that persecutes me, I don't wish them dead, or homeless, or unemployed. Blacklists and witchhunts, regardless of the reasons why they are being done, or the perceived justification that it's for a good and just cause, are just bullshit. For me, it's the equivalent of saying it's ok to use a machine gun to massacre a Mormon Sunday school class because the ends justify the means and gosh darn it, they deserve it because they are oppressing me! And, I don't think it noble and just to use a tool most famously used by the McCarthyites to wipe out THEIR perceived enemies and promote their own agenda with the justification that's it's ok because we're "The Good Guys" and they're "The Bad Guys". Just because our side IS the good and just side doesn't make it morally right to destoy other people's lives because they oppose us, in order to reach our objective. "The Bad Guys" thought they were right when they went after Alger Hiss or the Hollywood 10. (And, if people were supporting denying us our jobs, or evicting us, or putting us in a prison camp, then that's another kettle of fish. The right to get married is of the greatest importance, but, for me, it's not the same as the right to be employed or to have a home, or to be allowed to live...)

I don't have any problem with people expressing their disapproval at other peoples actions; if you don't like the fact that Suzi the Waitress gave money to a cause that oppresses you, then don't sit in Suzi's section at her restaurant, or, better yet, open up a dialogue with her and find out WHY she acted the way she did...maybe she'll change her mind, but, if she doesn't, that's her own fucking business. She can give money to whoever she wants and support whatever cause she likes because that's her right, the same as it's your right to support whatever cause you might choose to support. It's freedom, stupid.

Yes, I hate the Mormon church and yes, I like seeing them sweat a little, and I do think their generous financial support certainly helped Prop 8 win and no, I don't think non-profit churches have any fucking business getting involved in politics and spending their non-taxed money on government issues and political causes. If they want to pull that shit, then they can pay taxes. But, I also have to point out a couple things: the No on Prop 8 people ran a bad, lameass campaign. It wasn't well organized or well-funded and the commercials were for the most part, terrible and ineffective if not detrimental to the cause. Nobody wants to admit that the ball was dropped when it came to the campaign, but then it's not fun to point fingers at yourself...

Secondly, where were the fags and dykes BEFORE the election? There's shitloads of outrage NOW, after the fact, with tons of demonstrations and protests and rallies but hardly a peep BEFORE the election. Maybe a big, loud, peaceful march of a few hundred thousand fags and their supporters in every major city in California might have got the point across to the rest of California that our voices are many and strong and united and it was time for THEM to take notice of our presence in their lives and respect us with dignity and equality. And it wouldn't hurt to let the Sweaty Masses know that unless they wanted to live in a world without cute hairdos, tastefully designed clothes, vibrantly decorated homes and wittily written/directed/designed/produced/acted entertainment diversions, they'd better pony up and Do The Right Thing...

All the protests going on now, seem like they are a week late and a few million dollars short...It's great that we are making our voices heard, but we needed a bit of this hoopla a month ago.

Bloody Fun

I've been meaning to post this for days, but I've been busy at work and too lazy at home...I went to The Skylark in West Seattle/Delridge on Halloween to check out some friends that were playing there that night, (the details of which are down below in my Halloween post). Basically, what they booked was a bunch of different bands to do short sets of covers from famous bands. The results, weren't very surprising; most of the sets were of the wedding band variety or steep descents into Karaoke-ville. They were entertaining, but there wasn't much effort from any of the musicians to put their own stamp on the songs. Only the girls from Danielli/H is for Hellgate/The Hungry Pines bothered to funk up some classic Nirvana songs and make them more contemporary and modern; they did a great job, (and obviously I'm biased since I'm very good friends with Danielli, but still, these girls rocked it out...).

But the biggest crowd pleasers were the dudes from "We Wrote The Book On Connectors" who went to town covering The Beastie Boys, complete with multiple costume changes, robots, backup dancers, props and a lot of general mayhem...the audience went nuts and people began crowd surfing, which may or may not have been partially pre-aranged, and towards the end of their last song, co-lead singer Travis Young decided to join in the fun and leapt from the stage and onto the crowd. Only problem, the crowd was insanely drunk and despite Young's diminutive stature, no one was apparently able to support him and he fell and landed on someone's glass or beer bottle, thereby inflicting a long and deep gash into his thigh. Young quickly leapt back up on stage, finished the song and began removing the pants to his costume to get a better look at his injury. I was standing with my friend Kerri behind the stage area and we were fortunate enough to be close enough to the stage to witness a foot long gush of blood shoot out of Young's leg after he took his pants off. Kerri and I simultaneously looked at each other in horror and said, "That's fucking bad...that dude needs to get to the ER immediately". Meanwhile the band is tearing down their equipment and props and someone hands Kerri some costumes to take downstairs to the musician's holding area and eventually Young gets off stage with his guitar and limps downstairs. No one in the band seems that alarmed at their bandmate's injury, so I made a point to tell the bass player, (or maybe it was another guitarist) that they need to get their buddy to the hospital as soon as possible but he just kinda shrugged and mumbled at me as he walked by. Fortunately, Kerri was downstairs when Young showed up and Young's girlfriend as well, and Kerri was able to play grown up and convince them to go to the ER and to apply some pressure to the wound to staunch the bleeding. It also helped that Young and his girlfriend realized that a huge gash in your leg and blood soaked clothes are not a good sign of long term physical being, so they quickly left for the hospital. I'm not exactly in the loop when it comes to long music news and gossip, so I didn't hear how it had all turned out, but I finally found out on Monday that they made it in time and he was ok, so that's good.

It was a fun and exciting evening, but I have to say that The Skylark needs to get their act together. The place was packed and it had to be over their occupancy limits; if there had been a fire or an earthquake or anything that would have caused a stamped to the exits, a lot of people would have been killed. And, they also didn't appear to have any security, just a woman at the door checking I.D. As a result, the crowd got way too rowdy and The Skylark is NOT the ideal location for crowd surfing; people were throwing stuff around and spraying each other with beer and at times, it seemed like it was verging on the edge of getting past the point of no return. The bar staff seemed overwhelmed and a little freaked out and no one seemed to be in charge. Hopefully, the management will have the sense to hire some security for big events like Halloween and New Years. I think they were just lucky this time that something really awful didn't happen.

The picture of Travis Young is from the We Wrote The Book on Connectors website: http://www.wewrotethebookonconnectors.com/bio.htm

Auntie Mame is Hung...and so am I.

Due to the celebritory consumption of vodka Gimlets last night, Strangeways finds himself feeling achy and tired...also, generally happy over the various outcomes but annoyed with California and other states idiotic anti-gay initiatives.

Also, why the fuck is Ted Stevens doing so well? Are Alaskans that stupid?

Oh.

Yeah.