"Bank of America showed their appreciation to Los Angeles customers yesterday by inviting Dodger Center Fielder Matt Kemp to make surprise appearances and hand out tickets at banking centers on May 26, 2011 in Los Angeles, California."
That DOES take the sting off your curmudgeonly and fraudalent lending practices and exorbitant fee schedules, THANK you!
Whatever. He foO-Oine!!
We're getting a reputation with all these Undergear posts, but there's something simultaneously titillating (er...dicknotizing?) and repugnant about the brand's presentation that creates a whole (not hole) that's fascinating for a wide variety of reasons.
Some thoughts while watching this video:
Photo of Undergear model Christopher Fawcett that gives quite a bit more..."information", via (I am not - in any way - a fan, but just happened to run across this picture yesterday. [demur, demur])
Paypal co-founder Peter Thiel knows a thing or three about bubbles, having been on the "winning" side of two of the biggest bubbles in recent memory: the dot com bubble and the housing market bubble. To him -
“'A true bubble is when something is overvalued and intensely believed,” he says.”
What aspect of American life is exhibiting these traits now? Higher Education. Read the rest of the article, particularly the larger point he makes about elitism, Darwinism and exclusivity in the context of higher education, here and try not to feel like he's making a lot of sense.
Even "the Gray Lady" is coming for student loan debt. In an article entitled, "Burden of College Loans on Graduates Grows" (WAA-waa!), she gives the example of the President of the United States, Barack Obama, who - with his wife Michelle - would not have been able to pay off their student loans without proceeds from his best-selling bookS.
Both via NYMag (here and here).
Also, we've harrumphed about this before (Student Loan Hell) as well as posted about changes needed to be made in Education in general.
Image via
Speaking of the continued denigration of journalistic standards, what would Alanis have to say about this?
Something about their Gawker-dubbed ultra-homoerotic interview (and maybe those suits??) at The Daily here.
Oh yay! This is just the first in a three-part video series!
Certainly, visitors carrying the Holy Book into foreign countries in the past can be accused of wreaking havoc on a scale in keeping with any catastrophe the FDA might be hoping to avoid in restricting the above?
Just a thought presented to hopefully raise a question in the reader's mind along these lines: What makes Biblical beliefs more or less valid than the beliefs held by the person carrying the above "religious paraphernalia"? Also, what does it say about our culture that one belief system is seen as more "logical" and less superstitious than the other?
Photo of contents of man's baggage confiscated by U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials upon his arrival in the U.S. at Washington-Dulles Airport.
As he mentioned in Tuesday's weather report, Scheisser's one of Rod's favorite underwear makers. Hanro's another and, though Rod didn't get to finish this post about it this morning, they're having a sample sale today. The sale's on Fifth Ave. between 34th & 35th and goes until 6pm, so you've still got time to get there if you're so inclined. Everything about their looks/website (that intro is pointless!? AND it's Flash5? Wrong 5, lame-o.) turns me off -- they don't even look attractive on their own MODEL (and everyone who is anyone in fashion/mangerie/to homosex knows its how your undies look - and you in them! - that matters! Am I right, 2xist, Timoteo, Baskit, C-IN2, Ginch Gonch, Justus Boyz and any other label sold at Universal Girl?) -- but he says they're great, so...get in!
The Kinsey Sicks take on the touchy subject of TSA security via Rocky Horror. I'm with them; as long as the TSA agent is hot, I'm down with whatever. (My actual opinion is similar to that of Duane (who sorta looks like a TSA agent). Flying isn't a right; it's a privilege. If you're going to board a multi-ton, easily-weaponized transport contraption, you can expect some safety rules to be implemented.)
(Sir? Can we see you go through the scanner?)
But that's the least of our problems.
In a New York Mag article on the subject, author John Heilemann makes a good point:
"But if we’re lucky—and it’s a very big if, I’ll grant you—the entire episode may serve an even greater purpose: to start an adult conversation about the policies we adopt to reduce the risk of terrorist incidents in this country, and the foolishness of believing that any of them will lead to perfect safety."
Most of our countrymen (and probably many of us) continue to live operating under the false assumption that things haven't changed...that we can go on living as we did when we were kids and the threat of terrorism was distant, at worst.
The world has changed and we will never have that assurance of security again (arguably, we didn't even then...but that's neither here nor there at this point.) so it's best we accept that and stop allowing our civil liberties to be trodden upon (and I'm thinking wire taps, being held without just cause, etc. when I say that, as opposed to this body scan/pat-down situation, particularly.) under the guise of increasing security. We've also got to stop being seduced by wannabe leaders who fill our ears with false promises and hopes of security they can't possibly guarantee - even if their methods didn't compromise our freedoms and liberties we - as a nation - have fought so hard to preserve and uphold.
Either you get that standing up for your values inheres sacrifice at times (even death...hopefully in the extreme.) or you don't, and - if you don't - you shouldn't have any problem bending over backward to get scanned or patted down to help bolster your false sense of security.
For the record, I really have no problem with the scans/pat-downs. If they ARE increasing security - even the slightest bit! - I approve wholeheartedly. That said, I have no particular issues either with being exposed via a body scan or being felt up (I'm a gay man, after all?), so my perspective is one of "no harm, no foul" whereas someone else may have a much more adverse reaction to the prospect of either. Also, I am highly doubtful that these procedures are truly increasing our security to any great extent, so...there's that as well.
Via: Pharmacy Technician
Hello! It's Friday! And do you smell that! It's the sweat, grime, gasoline, and left-over hamburger chunks of a week, and a world that plans to put you through the grinder again come next Monday! But kick off your orthopedic sneakers and peel off your hole-riddled socks. It's the weekend--but not before peeking into what's making everyone else's lives much worse than yours this week. Yes, it's CPR time and we're all barely floating anymore! Wheeee!
• At times, I am grateful I am no longer at the mercy of a withered media outlet for my living--late paychecks and lack of professionalism notwithstanding, I'd mostly be concerned about developing Toasted Skin Syndrome from having to work on a laptop at all hours of the day--and not having the health insurance to seek out proper treatment. [The Atlantic]
• But then again, no longer being the mercy of said withered media outlet also means missing out on the small joys of life, like speculating in print who might have been John Lennon's alleged boyfriend. [MSNBC]
Arrested just back in March of this year for solicitation of a woman for sex (mug shot seen here next to a still from his notoriously swoon-enducing video for the song, "Untitled (How Does It Feel?)" **) after two other arrests on charges related to drug/alcohol misuse in the past 3-5 years, D'Angelo has a new track out on Mark Ronson's new album "Record Collection" called "Glass Mountain Trust". A slight qualification, however? Apparently the title results from a mix-up in communication between Ronson and D'Angelo wherein D'Angelo wrote a song with lyrics referencing the misquoted/misunderstood title.
Bad ju-ju? If so, let's hope it changes for the better soon.
Meanwhile, this track (and the rest of the album?) is kind of major?
And in case we haven't celebrated Black male beauty/body enough in this post already, say hello to Mr. Byron Black, upon whom I stumbled in my search for D'Angelo's gruesome(-ish) mugshot.
** - I'm unable to embed the video here, but do view for a refresher course on what d-rugs can do to D'Angelo (and anyone?) as well as for a little fun around 1:11 in the video? (Is that really his d-...??) See comments on the video for help.
Say you were a party promoter and your popular party was coming back after a brief hiatus? As usual, you'd need a flyer that catches some attention and, since you were away for a month, is memorable. Indeed, how to promote your party this Saturday, September 11?
So it's old news that everyone (in the jump-a-trend-and-ride-it-to-death vein of business) and their mother is doing a take-off of 'Jersey Shore'. There's a Russian-American one (Brighton Beach) and - though I didn't know this - one set in a nursing home? Then, there's this one with an Asian-American cast.
Now, much of the appeal of the original was its mix of boobs - both male and female (though, you gotta admit, mostly male!) - booze and...well, boobs (idiots)! Koreatown sticks to the same formula with similarly tacky/trashy-and-proud-of-it Asian-Americans (though slightly skewed more towards the FLASHY end of the spectrum, as opposed to just trashy/tacky)...at least from the looks of the press photos.
Produced by Tyrese (?), the show hasn't been picked up by a network or cable channel yet, so they may be looking for all the press/attention they can get. Still, one thing about the story of the Koreatown show - an aspect that was clearly pitched to the Post and likely sold the piece - confuses me, given that the boys of Jersey Shore were (unsurprisingly) overtly heterosexual and fairly defensive when it came to any question regarding their sexuality. Sure, there was the whole thing with The Situation having been a former dancer with the strip troupe 'All American Male', but particular brand of "erotic entertainment" still invests energy in maintaining that it is primarily for bachelorette parties and lonely/horny women everywhere, as opposed to anything gay. In the Koreatown cast, however, we've got one Peter Le...also known as Peter Fever, a porn star of sorts whose website includes thousands of photos and videos of him in various "erotic" situations. One - in an image NSFW (after the jump) - shows him apparently getting hard while looking at photos of naked men. It's a video and I'm not a member of his website so I can't ascertain the exact situation (ha HA!) or whether it might be pictures of himself he's jacking to, but - regardless - he's gone much further than any self-respecting (is that oxymoronic?) cast member of 'Jersey Shore' would into the gray area of gay-for-pay porn and is seemingly unconcerned about possibly appearing bisexual or even homosexual.
(Any image after the jump is NOT safe for work)
(Everyone's doing a "Hot World Cup Players" thing, and who are we to buck a trend? Best - to us - so far? Best Week Ever's round-up of "...Hot World Cup Players getting Balls to the Face". HuffPo tried to do one, but need to change their prescription...those are the ugliest photos of some of the ugliest players I've seen. My fave - this second - Benny Feilhaber of the USA. Here crooning Jordin Sparks' "No Air" shirtless.)
FRIDAY (Tonight!) -
Ryan Smith and Ron Like Hell's hella fun/cute/easy (I can attest! I was there!) Soffitta70 (I still haven't gotten the full story on the name) is back this Friday and every second Friday from now on. (10pm, Upstairs from Public Assembly)
Another bi-weekly party, Sugardaddy, hosts Unisexi for one night only. (10pm, Rush) Support my "Send Duane to Spain!" campaign June 25th when I'm the guest Sugar for one night only (yes, I'm breaking my retirement. Just like Cher.), along with special guests DJs the Soffitta boys and special mangler (or just special) Jason The Black TeenWolf. He'll be operating a kissing booth or something? Sugarcoated indeed!
Denim Shorts is an invitation to sand your jeans and wear your best clone look (the one on the event page is hard to beat!) to drink cheap beer and hear A. Martini spin rock and roll, glam and punk. (10pm, The Phoenix)
Mr. Mickey and Drew Elliott host Fridays at the Salon with Dangerous Muse and other cute DJs playing cute tunes. How do I know it's cute? Because THAT is just what Mr. Mickey and Drew do. (10pm, Tribeca Grand - Salon)
The weekend continues below...
Is anybody else having a freaky Friday? Mercury passes out of retrograde in three days! Maybe things will be better then? Until then, a cooler filled with water bottles can shut down Times Square, and a truck can close down Hell's Kitchen. The tourrorists have this town in deadlock!
