Congratulations go to New Jersey which saw a Marriage equality bill pass with votes from Democrats and Republicans. Sadly though, Governor Chris Christie has declared that he will veto the bill. The veto is based on his personal beliefs and are against what the polls say the majority of New Jersey residents want.
While glitter-bombing was been popular for a while now, the traditional pie-in-the-face is still a favorite for many. The problem with Christie though is that he seems to have enjoyed a few too many times in his life.
Is that a cheap shot? It sure is, but so is denying the will of the people because of some personal agenda. Let him eat pie.
Image via Chris Christie Eats ...
Occupy Wall Street is planning to disrupt the Calvin Klein Collection show tomorrow because, um, well that part isn't quite solid. They claim to "to raise awareness of the 1% Structures behind the Fashion Industry through a direct action of art, cosmetics & an #OccupyWallStreet fashion show". Gawker's Adrian Chen tried to make some sense of their plans and got this from a OWS organizer: "As occupiers, we don't really understand that world the way the people in the fashion industry do. We know there are people in the fashion world who are going through the same problems we are. A lot of our friends in fashion don't have health insurance, they're working in weird situations." Um, what?
So if you're an editor or fashion person or model or hair/makeup stylist going to or working in the 2 p.m. show tomorrow (and the 3 p.m. show for the retail folks) give yourself a little extra time as a group that is basically trying to chase down news cameras and has forgotten their own message will be there to do "something" which will be more of a pain in the ass than getting across a message about income inequality or corporate malfeasance.
I'm a polical news junkie and sure this isn't a political site, but having read the polical sites (becuase it's freezing out and the gym can wait, right?) Anyway, the story that I don't see out there is this:
Evangelical leaders, the talking heads that you constantly hear lambasting "the homosexual lifestyle" united in calling for the election of Rick Santorum. The James Dobson's and the Gary Bauer's of the world for years now have continually slammed gay people in a never-ending campaign that is financed in an effort by horrible people like the Koch Brothers to influence people to vote against their best interests by use hate, fear and division. Their access to and influence of their audience has made them rich and given their extreme voices throughout mainstream media.
South Carolina was a rebuke to their leadership of their supposed flock. The "Leadership" endorsed Santorum. Voters identifying as "Evangelical Christians" reported a majority voting for Newt Gringrich. Second amongst them was Romney. The endorsed Santorum barely pulled one-fifth of their votes.
Assuming the Koch brothers and others have been funding these blathering blowhards based on influence and not confluence and further assuming that as businessmen they expect a return on investment, this mighty rebuke should mean less funding for the "leaders". Assuming news operations take note of their lack of leadership and note that their "Q Factor" is now a negative to their audiences, we should see a decrease in coverage. South Carolina is the turning point were the misleading hateful voices that have been vilifying gay people for years now will begin to be muted. The end of the Religious Right is now. Good riddance.
I know he's Donatella's countryman, but...his face is/was always BEAT!
No...not beat:
BEAT!! --
Image via
Last night, Fire Island evinced its name.
For those taking it especially hard, Sip n Twirl owner/proprietor Pj McAteer (whose establishment was reportedly completely destroyed) puts it in perspective:
Update: Photos of the wreckage here.
We're just trying to fit in with all of the other folks making the national alert system thing today. The alert is probably sounding on the television or the radio or some other type of media that you no longer use, especially while you are at work at two in the afternoon. Maybe there will be overhead sirens or something too that you won't hear because you're catching up on your podcasts on the iPhone. (What they ought to do is send a mass text message to, you know, everybody, right?)
Having been through terrorist attacks, hurricanes, tornados, blizzards, and earthquakes, we've gotten a little jaded. It weems the primary instinct now is to "go home and have friends over and smoke weed and drink booze and watch movies" during these 'emergencies'. There's little trust that local, state or national government will make capable decisions as the workers are underpaid and the politicians are just out to make a buck.
So enjoy today's emergency broadcast, if you happen to catch it, and use it as a moment to reflect on the world where you live. If you don't find it up to snuff, then congratulations, you've found the real emergency! The world is a mess, and we've got to work together to fix it.
"It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown" defines what it is to be American today. The idealistic dreamer Linus Van Pelt sits in the "most sincere" pumpkin patch ever grown with his skeptical, but convince-able companion Sally Brown waiting for the appearance of The Great Pumpkin. Everyman Charlie Brown goes from door to door, working for treats only to express after each doorstep the same lament: "I got a rock". Meanwhile it seems that the rest of the gang seems to be collecting treats and enjoying parties.
The Occupy Wall Street movement is similar. Filled with Linuses and Sallies, the expectation is great change, and while they not receive the visit from The Great Pumpkin, they are getting the result of discussions started about the unbalanced playbook that governs our economic lives. The Charlie Browns are looking into their bags of treats and recognizing the rock they've received and talking about it. For the first time in a long time we're talking honestly about wealth disparity and the erosion of the middle class.
Sally becomes discouraged after Snoopy arrives and is mistaken for The Great Pumpkin and leaves Linus to join the Halloween Party. Early the next morning skeptical sister Lucy brings Linus home to bed. While disbelieving of her brother's dreams, she does still care for him. (In the original comic strips, she in time also built her own pumpkin patch, so the skeptic is converted!) Speaking with Charlie Brown the next day, Linus restates his conviction that the Great Pumpkin will come some day.
What will happen with the Occupy movement? Some may become discouraged and drift off like Sally, and in time weather might bring the idealistic Linuses inside. But even the skeptical Lucy's of the world have taken notice. It's only the most hardened and cynical (and bankrolled) that have not been moved by the Occupy Wall Street movement. They tend to skew the conversation toward income redistribution, but it's not about that. It's about creating a level economic playing field. Most Americans have figured that out.
After "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown" began to air, viewers would regularly send in candy to the studios of Charles Schulz addressed "Just for Charlie Brown". They felt for Charlie and thought he deserved more than "a rock". They understood the plight of Charlie Brown and the dreams of Linus Van Pelt. We all do.
It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown airs tonight on ABC. Occupy Wall Street is happening 24/7.
Here's one you may not have been expecting: Sean Lennon visited Occupy Wall Street and sang Material Girl to the crowd giving the song a whole new meaning.Meanwhile, where is Madonna? You would think she could take a moment to stop by the protesters. And maybe pimp her new Macy's clothing line called, ahem, Material Girl.
September 16th, 2011: "Bloomberg Warns of Riots If Economy Doesn't Improve" - New York Magazine
Maybe not. He did say riots.
Photo via
So wrong, yet...it nearly perfectly expresses my perspective (To be clear, NOT my perspective on rioters or anything to do with riots, Britain, youths...but rather my philosophy of life in general.)?
Via (NSFW)
Apparently, this was too:
The "advert" shown in the screen shot was up as late as last night (when I was drafting the post about sperm whale penis), but has mysteriously disappeared today, made private on Youtube. My suspicion is it was deemed too volatile in the context of the riots occurring in London as the video - incredibly well shot and smart, I might add - included taggers tagging buildings, sidewalk muggers running from police and other imagery/action that might have been seen as further inciting, encouraging or simply appealing to the rioters.
Tonight, it is nowhere to be seen on the Channel 4 "Street Summer" page.
I sympathize with much of your grievances, disgruntled London youth...that said, your methods - while attention-grabbing and impossible to ignore - are misguided, to say the least.
Make peace with the authorities quickly, as egregious as their actions and selves may be, or seem to be...and work for change differently/less blindly violently, I urge you.
In writing, it's called "raising the stakes". Plots, characters, motives are made more interesting when attached to something more solid. By far a legally-sanctioned marriage has a higher risk for all parties involved than its pale step-sister "civil unions". Suddenly there will be "gay divorce" and "gay alimony" and all of the rest.
Who will be the most interesting to watch will be the gold-diggers. These are the guys that charm their way out to the Hamptons and South Beach and other resort areas for the summer. They'll have a choice now whether to accept the invitations and charms of many or whether to keep their eyes on the bigger prize of an actual marriage.
What this means is that some wealthy gay gentlemen are going to be having some rather fantastic sex, but will have to learn to keep their guard up just as well. They can learn from their straight counterparts with their many high-profile divorces.
In fact, many straight stories will soon be reflected in a gay mirror. Can you not be intrigued in the coming vulgarities? Who will be our gay Hugh Hefner, our gay Donald Trump, or our gay Anna Nicole Smith?
With legal marraige and its protections, there will be a whole new level to the stories around us. Here comes a whole new generation of gay pimps and players, friends.
Well, not right here at FYF, but if you would like to follow the progress or lack of progress in the marriage equality bill winding its way to a vote in Albany, consider following the Albany Times Union's coverage in their Capitol Confidential blog. Their coverage is fair and quickly updated. It's so much more than what you'll read on the majority of the gay blogs with a keen understanding of all the politics that are in play. Here's a link to all of their stories that mention the issue.
Will they or won't they? The New York Senate has a new marriage equality bill from Governor Cuomo. Every Democrat (except for bestiality-porn lover Ruben Diaz, Sr.) and two Republicans have committed to the passage of the bill with only one more vote needed for guaranteed passage. Will they or won't they before the Senate adjourns on June 20? Let's hope yes, so we can have the option to never get married.
Does Senator Ruben Diaz, Senior have his Rubenito chubbing up while watching Boogie Down Bronx Boyz? A study presented recently on Psychology Today (although the study is from 1996) suggests that the answer is yes. The study presented men with videos of straight, lesbian, and gay porn. The men were surveyed beforehand as to their attitudes toward gays in general. The most homophobic of the men were the only ones experiencing "heightened penis arousal" when exposed to gay porn. Remember when you next see Diaz giving one of his hateful speeches that he's probably thinking of hot gay sex and probably has a chub.
