BLEH DAH BOING

Sorry... don't have much to say right now, but still felt like posting something.

Oh, and I read in the LA Times that Andrew Lloyd Weber announced the launch of a sequel to Phantom of The Opera, set in... (wait for it) Coney Island. Talk about bad ideas.

SAY WHAAAAT???

The news is abuzz with a horrible story: The Tennessee Republican Party Chairman, a candidate for RNC Chairman, sent out a "Holiday CD" featuring a song called Barack The Magic Negro. This is a video of the song



I have a few thoughts, after hearing this song:

1. Out-of-touch antics like this are why you lost the election, Republicans.
2. Racism is racism. There's no defending it (see article here)
3. As angry as I am about the whole Inauguration debacle, I'm not OK with garbage like this

Only in America!

ALL HAIL...

black-tress, Berbacia Clemons!

Yes, after a long absence as a commentator and contributor to Madge Weinstein's Yeast Radio Podcast (site here), the colorful (in more ways than one) and flamboyant Berbacia made a triumphant return to the podosphere in episodes #880 and #887,

If you've never heard Yeast Radio, it's kind of hard to explain. The first time I heard it, I though, What the hell? Is this a joke? Is this for real? It only took a couple of episodes for me to fall in love with bloated, visionary host of the show and the bizarre cast of characters that join her, week after week.

And what's amazing is that the show is (dangerously) smart, (apologetically) political, but still managed to make me laugh. I'm happy to see Berbacia return!

DIVAS, UH... LIVE?

The boys from the PNS Explosion Podcast - for reasons passing understanding - took a snippet of a VH1 Divas Live Concert and offered their own, unique commentary on one of the group numbers... with hilarious results.

By no stretch of the imagination is this clip safe to watch at work, or around small children. Enjoy!

GOD BLESS AMERICA

The United States (or at least the current administration) has decided NOT to sign the United Nations Resolution decriminalizing homosexuality.

*sigh*

MUSIC MILES

One of the few (and only) decent singles from Madonna's last album was "Miles Away," now her newest single. I love the original, but was a tad let down by the remixes. (You can sample them here.) I usually like remixes from Jacques Lu Cont (remixing here, under the name Thin White Duke), but it's the Vicious Remix I liked the best.

For some strange reason, iTunes doesn't feature this single (at least, not yet).

(STILL) NOT MY PRESIDENT

OK, in the interest of full disclosure, I did NOT vote for Obama. (I didn't vote for McCain, either. And yes, I voted.)

I'm outraged by Obama's decision to allow Rick Warren give the invocation at his inauguration. Could you pick a more homophobic, backwards man to give the invocation? Sure - they're out there. But why pick one at all? There are plenty of popular, Christian pastors out there that could have given the invocation... why pick this one?

I guess we know where Obama's loyalties are, and who his friends are...

I thought I would get a break from the slogan I've had for the past eight years: "He's not my president!" But I guess not.

DEAR JOHN WITHERSPOON

John Witherspoon is the voice of Grandpa on The Boondocks.

DECEMBER SPAM

Here are real-life subject lines from email in my Yahoo! Spam folder:

Asian cutie with bare wet feet
Wet feet, in this weather? She's asking for a cold!

Horse movie galleries
What, like "Black Beauty?"

Well-hung farmer gives his slutty employee a deep-dicking
Well, extra points for proper hyphenation!

The farm is a place of great passion as the hot slots can attest
Geeze, I guess so, since I get so many email about the farm!

Panda research – your opinion matters!
Now, is this research by pandas, for pandas, or about pandas?

Educated blonde satisfying two horny cocks
Just the cocks are satisfied? Well then, the blonde isn't that educated!

I want to be your whore, Zippersparks
Yeah, and I want to be the victim of your spam scheme!

Sexy plaid skirt tease
The Grammar Police want to know what makes the skirt so sexy

Zippersparks lets have a cup of tea
OK, if you pay

Summer Chubby taking shower
What, pray tell, is a Summer Chubby? It's obviously something, as it is capitalized.

WELL, IT'S ABOUT TIME

It took an Iraqi to give Bush the respect he deserves:



The American public should have given him the boot, four years ago, but I guess we'll have to settle for a pair of shoes...

YOU'RE NOT HELPING

Let me start by saying how much I dislike McDonald's food. It is downright awful. I'd rather starve than eat it. And I usually don't care too much for their commercials, either. But when I saw these new McNuggets commercials, I gagged... harder than normal.

Finally, McDonald's made a commercial as bad as their food.

THIS IS POST NUMBER

Thank you to all my readers, friends and family (both meanings of that word) for the love and inspiration to continue expressing myself in this new medium.

And here's to 700 more!

IF ONLY...

Breaking news: a child's remains have been found near Caylee Anthony's home. They think this may be it. I'm praying it is true, but I feel bad about the reasons behind my prayers.

You see, as much as I want peace for this little girl's family, and justice for her killer(s), I'm really praying that this is the break in the case that will finally shut Nancy Grace up.

Or at least get her to move on to the next (white) person that goes missing.

SHALLOW SEXUAL BOAST

I love British humor, and thus, am a huge fan of the BBC. One show that always makes me giggle is That Mitchell & Webb Look. The show is unique, in that although it is a skit show, it features mostly the same skits from week to week, and in many cases, the plot from one builds to the next. Oh, and unlike some skit-based shows (I'm looking at you, Mad TV), this one is actually funny.

This skit is funny, in that dry, droll sort of British way. Enjoy!

GOD BLESS JOHN STEWART

I watched The Daily Show last night, and Governor Mike Huckabee was the guest. The talk eventually turned to gay marriage... and John Stewart went to town.

Stewart was respectful, polite and (as usual) funny. Huckabee made the argument that homosexuality, as a lifestyle, was a "choice." Stewart conceded the point, asking Huckabee to define the point at which he "chose to be straight."

Huckabee, in the book he was hawking on the show, said that the pro-choice movement was the "most shameful" social movements in our history. Stewart responded by saying the anti-gay marriage was a close second.

When Hucakbee said that if gay marriage was a right, gays made a poor case for their right to be included. Stewart responded by saying it was pathetic that gays had to even make a case that they deserved equal rights.

God, I love that John Stewart,

CRUSH OF THE MONTH: December

Every year, the Beverly Center in Los Angeles selects a greased-up beau hunk to serve as the mall's Santa, known as Hunky Santa. He tells people to exercise, and lay off the cookies.

Hunky Santa is this month's Crush of The Month.

For the more (safe for work) photos of previous Hunky Santas, click here.
For Hunky Santa's official web site, click here.
To read the LA Times article about Hunky Santa, click here.

TALES FROM THE TOITEY, Vol 2

According to a report published in The Los Angeles Times a while back, sewer systems all over the world are full of drugs. No, people aren't flushing drugs down the toitey. The presence of illicit drugs is because pf all the drug users peeing and pooing.

Yes, someone actually went around testing municipal waste systems for specific drug content! (Doesn't that sound like a fun job?) Some of the findings from this "environmental" study:

• Meth levels are higher in Las Vegas than Omaha or Oklahoma City
• Los Angeles has more cocaine in its sewage than most major European cities
• Heroin use is higher in London than other major European cities - other standouts included cities in Italy and Switzerland (London won by about 100 grams per 1000 people)
• Marijuana users outnumber ecstasy and meth users in Milan and Lugano
• Milan uses twice as much cocaine as its last government report on drug abuse and arrests suggested
• In Los Angeles County, Palmdale and Lancaster had the highest level of cocaine in their systems - Long Beach and Valencia had the lowest

SAD, SAD NEWS

According to Boston.com (article here), ABC is not renewing (read, canceling) Eli Stone and Pushing Daisies. These are two of my favorite shows... I'm so sad.

Both programs show an extraordinary attention to proper character development and well-developed story arcs. Both shows were a visual treat, with great attention paid to music and color. Both shows were fresh and unique, something that seems to be lacking, across all networks.

Both of these wonderful programs are being left out to dry, while insipid shows like The Bachelor, somehow manage to keep coming back.

Attempts to save both shows have already sprung up. You can do your part at one of these sites:

Save Pushing Daisies (fan forum site here)
Save Pushing Daisies (fan blog here)
Save Eli Stone (petition now closed)
Save Eli Stone (fan forum site here)

ILL-TYPE SOUNDS

I've been rockin' an old Mixmag Promo CD, Instant Party, mixed by Krafty Kuts. It's a blend of supa ol'skookl jams and 90s electro, and it rocks hard, and takes no prisoners. I've listened to every day this week, and some days, it was the only CD I listened to both to and from campus.

Just remember - it ain't ol'skool if you still livin' it.

A SMALL VICTORY...

The Los Angeles Times announced today, Bill O'Reilly will no longer host and produce his radio program.

This is a first, small victory for humanity.

HOORAY FOR JANUARY TV!

I love me some idiot box. I don't always have time for it, what with school and all (and I just have a VCR and the cheap Time Warner Cable). But three of my favorite shows are all coming back with new episodes next month:

Battlestar Galactica
After several years, and a wonderful saga, this visionary sci-remake will come to a close.


nip/tuck
Not always the best show, acting-wise, but always entertaining and fresh.

Damages
Although very few people watched this amazing drama, FX had the wisdom to bring it back for a second season, to tie up some great story lines and loose ends.

GREETINGS & SALUTATIONS

I regularly cruise the blogosphere, trolling for new, fun and fabulous things to read and see. And every so often someone new stops by my little corner of the web... and then, sticks around.

And if I'm really lucky, they leave comments on my various, wacky posts.

I'm happy to welcome two such fellow bloggers to my word: Scooter and Mac. Both guys have fun blogs, too. You can check out Scootersville (here) for more fun, wacky blogging, or Yummy of the Day (here), which is... well, yummy, but not really OK for work or readers with small kids.

Welcome, guys... nice to have you here!

PROP 8! THE MUSICAL

Thanks to my old gal pal, Debi (Facebook here) for posting this. I love the all-star cast.

RANDOM DINGO MOMENT!

One of the funnier moments from Frisky Dingo: Death Rabbits!

TALES FROM THE TOITEY, Vol 1

WARNING: The following story is not for the faint of heart, squeamish or those of you @ssholes who voted yes on Prop 8. The rest of you dirty birdies, scuzz monkeys and other freaks, may proceed. And I say the word freak, knowing that I am one, dammit!

This is a true story.

I'm aware this junk goes on. I'm not stupid, and I'm by no means a prude.

But the other day, I was on campus, and heard the call of nature. I ducked into the nearest bathroom. As I was walking in, another, uh, gentleman entered at the same time. I politely held the door, and, while avoiding an outright smile, made eye contact to to let him know he should enter the bathroom before me.

He smiled, walked in and proceeded to the first (and only) urinal. Damn these small bathrooms....

Then, it happened. He made whatever preparations he was going to make for the business at hand, and then turned back at me and smiled. And it wasn't a polite, Thanks for holding the door open for me, smile. It was that kind of smile.

Again, just to clarify: I've been cruised before. Hell, I've even blatantly cruised before. But not in a bathroom, where the deuce is loose. I mean, c'mon. The smell of poo and the sounds of bowels releasing in dirty water isn't a much of a turn on. But there he was, maroon briefs, jeans down around the floor (OK, I peeked).

I waited until the stall was free, went in, did my biz and left.

The sad part was, he was a pretty good looking guy: nice body, decent face - I'm not sure about the maroon butt huggers, but the bottom line is that he didn't need to be cruising a public bathroom. I don't know, maybe it was the "thrill" of a public place for him. I get that. There's an elevator at UCLA a pal and I rocked once... that was hot. But that was different.

Or at least, that's what I tell myself. Who knows...

MMM... TASTES LIKE THE 90s

I love that both Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera have albums/singles out at the same time... just like the old days, a double serving of yummy in my tummy pop music.

I have noticed, however, how similar Womanizer and Keeps Gettin' Better sound - they both have that 6/8, swing sort of feel.

I don't care, though, I still love it!

THE WIT & WISDOM OF DESIGNING WOMEN

God help me, I love me some Bernice!

SILLY RABBITS

Thanks to Scooter (blog here) for this funny gif.

ALL HAIL FAIL BLOG

If you've never been to Fail Blog (site here), you have to go. It's hard to explain, but here's a sample of a recent post that had me giggling for a few minutes:

OH SEND A MAN...

I spent a better part of last week on the couch, watching TV. I caught part of the 1999 remake of The Thomas Crown Affair, with Pierce Brosnan and the delicious Renee Russo (IMDB for the film here).

The final sequence features a performance of Sinnerman (Wiki page here) by the incomparable Nina Simone. The song is a "traditional" spiritual (show me a non-traditional spiritual, and I'll remove the quote marks), but Simone puts her one-of-a-kind stamp on it.

Here is the song, as it appears in the movie (check out the cameo from Sex & The City's The Turtle):



I've had this song in my head the past few mornings - it's been overcast - Simone's haunting, gorgeous vocals just seem to fit my mood, and the weather.

PATRIOTIC CURVEBALL

Well, I didn't think she'd take the job, but here we are... and I didn't think she'd take the job, not just because it's been 150 years since someone serving as Sec. of State moved on to president. (Although, it used to happen a lot more often back then.)

It just struck me as a move backwards from Senator, and an odd move, considering the way Obama dogged her foreign policy experience just six months ago.

But all bets are off when it comes to patriotism, and when you're called to serve, you're called to serve.

She's still my girl!

TODAY

Today is World AIDS Day, sometimes called A Day Without Art. It has been nearly two decades since we began marking this day as a day to reflect the profound impact AIDS has had on our world.

I have a number of friends living with HIV/AIDS, so today has a sad cloud over it. I wish we didn't have to keep having these days. I wish there wasn't an annual walk-a-thon here, in Los Angeles. I wish there was a cure.

Until then...

MUSIC TRACKER

If you're a Nip/Tuck fan, like I am, then you're pretty jazzed about the start of Season 6 this January. (Actually, January is shaping up to be an incredible month for TV, so I'm glad I'll have some time off. But more on that later.)

If you've seen N/T's new promos, you're also wondering who performs the song in the spot. And it is "Flashing Lights," from "Graduation," by colossal douche, ego-maniac Kanye West.

BLACK FRIDAY, INDEED

Ah, the spirit of the season will lift you up:

A man, wielding a knife, lunged at fellow party-goers in Sacramento, CA, only to be beat back by a woman with a two-foot candy cane decoration.

Two men at Palm Desert, CA Toys'R'Us store shot each other to death after an argument broke out.

And finally (my personal favorite): a Wal Mart employee was trampled to death after people rushed the store looking for doorbusters!

Jesus is the reason for the season!

UM... YEAH, OK

I was browsing the major headlines on Yahoo! news and decided to read an article about the current spacewalk of the crew of Endeavour. It was reading like your typical, dry science article should, and then...

the article switches gears and rambles on and on (for the rest of the piece) about urine.

No, I'm not kidding. You can read it for yourself, here.

WHAT'S GOING ON HERE?

I check for software updates for my Mac on a pretty regular basis. And when there's an update, I'm quick to install it. I've been with Apple since the 1980s, and my love for their products and software only grows stronger as time passes. But since the last download - updates for Safari and iTunes - I've had some problems.

Safari is now randomly crashing in the middle of routine, low-tech actions, but there is a bigger problem: I'm looking in to adding Bluetooth peripherals, but in order to research this, I had to log in to the Network Preferences Pane in System Preferences. The minute I clicked on the Network icon, I got a pop-up window displaying the following message:


Normally, when you get an error message like this, you either click, "OK" or "Cancel" and move on. But this time, when I clicked on "OK" the window disappeared, only to pop up immediately. This occurred every I clicked on the button, in a sort of endless, maddening loop. I had to force-quit System Preferences, and set to fixing the problem.

Not so easy, as it turns out. The interwebs were a-buzz with discussion board and forums on this very topic, and while very few of them offered real, workable solutions, I felt a little better knowing this wasn't an isolated problem. After about half an hour online, reading up on the problem, I ran MacScan (to check for malware, etc.), ran OnyX (a tricked-out utilities app) and even rebooted.

Finally, I found the answer: in the Security pane, I clicked on the button that reads, "require password to unlock each secure system preference." This one, little button stopped the problem dead in its tracks. Even when its going haywire, a Mac is still an intuitive, incredible product.

HEAVENLY MESSAGE

GAME ON! Round 2

California's highest court announced yesterday it will hear multiple legal challenges to Prop 8.

Now... this is gonna get interesting.

LATE TO THE GAME

OK, I'm back.

Yes, I know Donnie already blogged about this... and yes, I know there's a much funnier Australian version, but I just had to add my two cents about Kath & Kim, one of the few (if only) bright spots on NBC's new fall line up.

I like the show. It isn't perfect, but I like it well enough.

Every so often it drifts into caricature as opposed to character work, but nothing else on NBC worth watching (save the obvious, 30 Rock), I just thought I'd throw out my support for this show.

P.S. And I love that they use Scissor Sisters as the theme. What happened to them, anyway?

ALMOST...

I'm almost ready to start blogging again.

My heart can't break any further, and I can't get any angrier.

I've almost figured out what to do next.


Until then, thank you for your support and patience.

STILL... NO... WORDS...

I've been walking around all morning, in a kind of cloud... disbelief, anger and grief wash over me. (We also lost a family member yesterday, so you can imagine how extra-emotional I am right now.)

I keep wondering... how?

How could a state that was the first to send two women to the senate do this?

How could the same voters who put the first black man in the White House return this verdict?

People keep saying to hold out hope - that the absentee ballots haven't been counted yet, and Prop 8 passed with a narrow margin. But how can I find hope in a world where this could even happen in the first place?

YEAH, BUT...

there's a great deal of celebrating going on in America right now...

Celebrating that took place after California's electoral votes put Obama over the 270 mark and won him the election...

But with all the cheering and yelling, nobody noticed...

PROP 8 PASSED.

I guess we're ready for a black president, but gays have to sit at the back of the bus.

ELECTION DAY QUANDARY

I went to the polls this morning (insert stripper joke here). I went in around 8:30 am (PST). While the joint was certainly jumping, there wasn't a line. In fact, I walked in, signed in and voted, all pretty quickly.

Watching the news (lunchtime here on the west coast), there were stories about people waiting for hours to vote all over the country.

But here in California — one of the most populous states in the unions, with a whopping 55 electoral votes at stake today — seems to be whirring away like clockwork...

but it is early.

FINAL TALLY

According to local news reports, the fight over California Ballot Initiative 8 is the most expensive campaign of its kind ever waged.

The final tally, for both sides? Over $73 million.

I DID MY PART

YET ANOTHER REASON...

CNN - like many cable news networks - broadcast a report on voter fraud and irregularities. According to their data, one state leads the way with the lowest number of reported cases of fraud, irregularities and voter machine malfunctions: California.

Yet another great reason to live in the Golden State.

A LITTLE OFF TARGET

I was wandering the aisles of my local Target - in the beauty/skin-care area - and I came across a shocking sight: Kiehls. If you are not familiar with Kiehls, it is a super high-end line of skin products favored by the rich and famous. They don't advertise, and they used to only be available in the Kiehls Store, and high-end boutiques, like Fred Siegel.

Back when I lived in the Melrose District of Weho/Hollywood, a friend turned me on to Kiehls (at Fred Siegel, and a pretty outrageous price), and I've been a fan ever since. "You only get one skin in your lifetime, so what's wrong with splurging to take care of it?," he asked me. OK, so the human skin regenerates, over time, you really get multiple chances to take care of it, but I understood his point.

The sad part of this story is that selection Target featured were some of the less-popular, odd products nobody wants in the Kiehls Store.

VIVA LA 'TOP CHEF' PROMO

If you're anything like me (and I hope you are), you've seen the new Top Chef promos and wondered, "who sings that song?" It sounds like a gayer (and cooler) Good Charlotte track... but who is it?

The band's name is Cobra Starship, and the track is called, "City Is At War," from the album Viva La Cobra. I have to admit, I kinda like the track. (OK, I bought it, but it isn't in heavy rotation at the moment.)

I'm kinda/sorta looking forward to the new season of Top Chef, and in truth, the majority of my excitement comes from this song and the promo that features it. After the whole Hung-Dale fiasco a couple of seasons ago, I'm less enthusiastic about this show. But it is still way better than any of the stupid "reality cooking" shows on Food Network.

SAY WHAT?

"America is the only country in the business of making bombs that can destroy the world, and TV shows that make it seem like a good idea." -Bill Maher

WE WANT THE FUNK

I had the misfortune of seeing the film PCU when it originally came out, many years ago. It wasn't a great film, and the soundtrack was nothing special. But a special EP was released by a group who had a cameo in the film - George Clinton & Parliament Funkadelic. It contains updated versions of a couple of their classics, and a great cover of Prince's "Erotic City," more than worth checking out. I was lucky enough to pick up a copy, when it came out, and I've been listening to it this weekend, enjoying a nice slice of funk.

THUS ENDS...

October sweeps! I know, I know... on TV they do November sweeps, but I thought I'd put a counter on my blog, and monitor some of the statistics of this site.

Now, I know I don't have the big readership some blogs do (I'm looking at you, Donnie), but my numbers are way up, over the last time I did this. The ticker almost hit 1500 for the month. But what really blew me away was the 8 comments, from various readers.

I'd like to take a moment out to thank everyone who reads this blog - and especially those who leave comments, no matter how lame (I'm looking at a certain ginger blogger, now).

More to come!

WILL EVERYBODY PLEASE WATCH NOW?

One of my favorite TV shows, 30 Rock, returns tonight. Despite winning a slew of Emmy awards, high-marks from almost every reviewer in the business, the show has low ratings.

Hopefully, the success of the show's star and creator on SNL recently will translate into bigger ratings... but I doubt it. The show is too smart, too slick for a a large chunk of the TV viewing audience.

But if you're here, reading this blog, you're smart/cool enough to get this show, so you should watch.

You'll thank me later, I swear.

THE TIDE CONTINUES TO TURN

According to the Los Angeles Times, Apple Inc. donated $100,000 to the No On 8 campaign in California. "We strongly believe that a person's fundamental rights — including the right to marry — should not be affected by their sexual orientation," the company said in a statement, Friday.

The Cupertino-based tech giant joined Google, Qualcomm and Pacific Gas & Electric when it came out publicly (no pun intended) against the California Ballot Initiative.

I knew there was a reason I like Apple so much...

THE TIDE IS TURNING

A recent poll shows California Prop 8 on shaky ground: 52% oppose, with 44% in favor (Public Policy Institute of California, VCS).

Now, I'm not going to get my hopes up - all those people have to go to the polls in two weeks for us to pull this off.

But this is the first poll I've seen in about a month where it looks like we might pull this off.

FLAMES EVERYWHERE

This photo, by Matt Schreiber (via The Ventura County Star) was taken in the western most part of Ventura County, at the site of a new fire. The last fire was to the east, and now its coming from the west.

If if isn't one thing, it's another.