Bye, Bye, Baby. Bye, Bye!

Yes, I'm sure President Clinton meant well when he signed DADT into law, but in reality, it just made things worse for gays and lesbians who wanted to serve their country. Not to mention the fact that discharging all those servicemen cost the United States millions of dollars [between 363-400 million] and weakened our efforts in trying to stop more terrorist attacks, by discharging Arabic linguists.


I'm glad President Obama had the courage of his convictions to reverse this law and allow gays and lesbians to serve openly and proudly.

The Rise of Another Evil Empire...

It looks like the supervisors at Amazon like to have their employees work on 110 degree heat. Somehow if the workplace was had a union, I don't think this would happen, but I guess this is the 'new normal' for the working class. It makes me wonder when we [the American workers] are going to say 'enough is enough' and stop taking this shit from greedy corporations. I may have to find another online retailer soon...

I love the Foo Fighters!

The Foo Fighters lay the smack-down on those ass-hats from Westboro Baptist Church! I must say I have been a fan of the Foos ever since I first heard 'This is a Call' and they continue to surprise me with each new album they release. But BOY did they make me happy for having massive cajones for stepping up to these idiots and taking them to task for their archaic beliefs.

As Mr. Grohl said, 

"God Bless America! It takes all kinds; I don't care if you're black or white or purple or green, whether you're Pennsylvanian or Transylvanian, Lady gaga or Lady Antebellum. Men loving women and women loving men and men loving men and women loving women -- you all know we like to watch that. But what I'd like to say is, God Bless America, y'all!"

Amen, Dave, amen! Now if only some other musicians would do the same... I'd love to see Beyonce take on Westboro...That would NEVER happen, but a gay guy can dream, can't he? 

Summer is Gone!

Where did the summer go? I remember getting ready for all of the conferences and trade shows I had to attend and then July was here! Now it's September and I can't say what I did with my time...Oh, I know, I worked! I have 22 days of vacation time and I only took a few days off this summer. I need some me time in a big way!

I did manage to get to NOLA this summer, but it was work related. The good news is that I got to hang out with an old friend, eat some delicious food, and get a tattoo! I was also in *ahem* New York City. Needless to say, I had an awful time there. One thing was that I stayed at the lovely Pennsylvania Hotel. That hotel is a $#!t hole! I'm surprised that I didn't get bedbugs from that place! It smelled like a homeless person's socks from the 1920s! It STANK big time! I heard they are going to demolish the building this year. I say better sooner than later.

The other issue I had with NYC was the attitude of it's inhabitants. I'm sorry, but New Yorkers are the rudest people I have encountered in all my life. Walking the sidewalks of NYC isn't an easy feat when there are people walking aimlessly about--especially in Times Square. People, you've seen that ad in Times Square 1,000 times...get over it and move on! When I was younger, I loved NY, but now once I get there, I want to leave in a few hours. Too loud, too rude, too much of everything. Give me Philly any day.

Back to the end of summer. Hopefully I will be able to stream Kevin Smith's new movie, Red State this weekend. I also plan on making a blue berry cheesecake! Yummo! I did manage to get to the gym a lot this summer--and I went in the morning! When fall rolls around, I doubt if I'll be that ambitious.

Summer, it was good seeing you again--you were hot, dry and kinda uneventful. That is until you brought that bitch Irene to the party for a few days. I forgive you for that. See you next year.

There Goes MY Hero!

I remember when I first heard Husker Dü...it was the summer of 1984 and me and my friend Hank purchased Zen Arcade at the Listening Booth in the mall. We went back to Hank's house, put on the LP, and lit a joint. I must say that was one of the most trans-formative moments of my youth...The music that we heard was raw, honest and heartfelt--unlike most of the music that was played on the radio at that time.

In my opinion, Zen Arcade was up there with Duran Duran's Rio The Cure's The Top, Simple Minds' New Gold Dream..., and Prince's Dirty Mind. Though the artists I mentioned are all different, they were willing to make music that didn't sound like anything else before. Husker Dü managed to make music that captured my imagination and compelled me to LISTEN to the lyrics of a song rather than the beat or samples. The songs by Bob Mould were the ones that really caught my ear and my imagination. When I listened to his songs, I felt as if he was singing about me--but I guess that's one of the skills a good songwriter possesses. "Broken Home, Broken Heart" is still one of my all time favorite songs.

When I heard the band dissolved in 1986, I was heartbroken. I didn't think I would hear from Bob Mould again. Flash forward to 1993 and hear a familiar voice on the local alternative radio station...it's none other that Bob Mould fronting his new band, Sugar! I was stoked to hear the loud guitars and fantastic melodies once again--and Mould added a pop music element to the songs as well--Genius! But Sugar only lasted a few years and they broke up in 1995--at the height of their popularity. There are a lot bands that were influenced by Husker Dü such as Nirvana, the Pixies, and REM to name a few. Yes, Bob Mould is one of the godfathers of the modern alternative sound...and he deserves much more recognition.

This week, Mould is releasing his autobiography that chronicles his life journey from before Husker Dü to present day. I'm looking forward to this book because I have always felt as if Bob and I are kindred spirits...though he's more talented than me! I liked how he handled his coming out of the closet and that he's still making great music that still speaks to me.

Thank you Bob, for staying true to your vision and kicking out the jams! You are my hero!

Phonte and Nicolay in the Hizza!

Foreign Exchange at the World Cafe tonight! Can't wait to see them tear the ish up!

We Can Be Heroes.

The interwebs and the gay blogoshpere are aflutter with the recent announcement from Ken Mehlman that he is gay. This came as no surprise to those in the elite social/political circles in Washington DC. Mehlman who was the campaign manager during Bush version 2's reelection run oversaw some of the most homophobic, anti-gay campaigns--specifically getting 11 states to pass anti-gay and anti gay marriage amendments. He also was a key supporter of everyone's favorite homophobe Mr. Rick Santorum.

In recent interviews Mr. Mehlman claims that he was only one person in the Republican party and he could not change what was going on because he wasn't comfortable with who he was. His exact words, "As I’ve said, one thing I regret a lot is the fact that I wasn’t in the position I am today where I was comfortable with this part of my life, where I was able to be an advocate against that [strategy] and able to be someone who argued against it. I can’t change that – it is something I wish I could and I can only try to be helpful in the future." As a practicing Buddhist, I am all about forgiveness and I hope Mr. Mehlman has a happy, 'comfortable' life living in the posh Chelsea area of NYC. I hope he will make amends for the carnage he unleashed upon millions in the LGBT community.

What concerns me about this whole ordeal is that some gay folks will call Mehlman a 'hero' for coming out so publicly--I am referring to the Log Cabin republicans and 'gay patriots.' Evidently Mehlman gets a free pass from these groups since he's still a Republican. But I digress. In a few years the gay community will all but forget what Mehlman did because he will pull out his Rolodex and get some of his rich friends to fund another insipid HRC event or sponsor a log cabin republican gala. Ta, Da! Hero status achieved! Throw money at any problem or give money to an LGBT organization and all is forgiven. But not so fast--before we give Ken his cape I have a name we should consider: Lawrence King. Do you remember him?

Lawrence was a 15 year old gay boy who was shot twice in the head by one of his fellow class mates. He died two days later after he was taken off life support. The story in itself is tragic as King came from a broken home and was constantly bullied in school for being effeminate and flamboyant. King had the balls to embrace who he was and come to school everyday were he was being beat and taunted by his peers--he was fearless.

Unfortunately King's bravery cost him his life; but for those short 15 years he lived them with honesty and integrity--now that is what I call a HERO. We should remember people like Lawrence King, Charlie Howard, Rebecca Wight, Brandon Teena and Andrew Anthos who died for having the courage to live their life openly and with honor.

So before we start calling Ken Mehlman a hero, let's not forget those who walked the walk and didn't have the luxury to hide behind their political ideology for hear of being 'found out.' As I said before, I wish Ken all the luck in the world, but I believe he has a long way to go before he reaches hero status.

House Cleaning.

Yes, I have been away for a while. Time for me to clean the cob webs off my blog and start taking names and kicking some ass. More to come.

Make it Go Away! Or Why I Don't Like Auto-Tune.

I love music, really I do. I am a child of the 80s and I love the fact that most artists from the 80s were willing to try anything different. Hence, most of the artists from the 80s [Prince, Elvis Costello, Simple Minds, Depeche Mode, The Cure, Pet Shop Boys and early hip-hop] had a distinct sound. While some say most of the 80s music was 'over-produced'--a term I think does a disservice to the era, I will say that many of the artists weren't willing to sound like each other and tried to make a sound that was there own. I believe the artists from this era have not discovered that sense of musical experimentation.

Case in point, the artist [I'm using that term lightly] Ke$ha professes she doesn't use auto-tune. But as I was listening to her sing in the video Blah, Blah, Blah it sound like yes, she does use auto-tune and other studio wizardry to enhance her vocals. But she's not the only one who uses auto-tune; Little Wayne, TI, Miley Cyrus, Madonna, Lady Gaga, Cher, Drake and countless others have used this tool. Now, I don't mind if an artist uses a studio gimmick to create a certain sound, but when several artists start to use the same trick, well, it gets tiresome. Top 40 radio is filled with songs that have artists vocal tracks laced with the infamous studio trick--it's as if all the songs were sung by Alvin and the Chipmunks--and that's not a good thing.

The music industry has taken so many hits in the past decade I guess the big wigs figure if they can make music with a gimmick, people will buy it. Unfortunately,  we now have music that is boring, bland and doesn't challenge the listener. While I blame the record execs for this trickery and wanting to make a quick buck, I also have to call out the 'artists' who are too lazy to challenge their fan-base and themselves to grow and try something new. I don't like auto-tune because it's the easy way out for making a hit record and it has become the fall-back production tool for enhancing vocals.

I'd like to see some like Ke$ha scrap the whole auto-tune trickery and do something brave. Hey, maybe her next CD will be in the same vein as ABC's "Beauty Stab." Somehow I doubt she's willing to take that bold step and grow as an artist and challenge her listeners like Martin Fry did--but I could be wrong. Only time will tell.

In a World Full of "Amazing" Singers, We Really Lost One This Time.

Lena Horne was a class act. When people talk about 'amazing' singers they are usually referring to those who prance around a stage with rhythm track and lots of dubbed vocals. Ms. Horne represented a class of singer that we no longer see--one who has the ability to render any song into something beautiful and otherworldly. Lena you can now sing with your fellow songbirds; Ella, Billie, Dinah, Nina, Blossom, and Minnie. Thanks for your fantastic contribution to American culture! You will be missed. 

Lies the Governor Told Me.

It seems that Gov. Chris Christie has wasted no time in doing what he promised those who voted for him--that is to really screw up the state of New Jersey. Now he's ousting the only black justice and nominating a lawyer with long experience in private practice [meaning a corporatist lawyer]. While I am no fan of John E. Wallace, he was the only black justice on the supreme court of NJ. 


This does not look good for minorities of NJ. I suspect that Christie is trying to reshape the court so that it will side with corporations and his political views rather than handing out justice and protecting those who need it the most. 
Another thing: What happened to 'everyone' sacrificing to fix the skyrocketing deficit? IT seems that those who make over 400K a year will be getting tax cuts, while those who miss the mark will pay dearly. 


To those who voted for him and are feeling the effects of his callous cuts in education and social services, I don't feel sorry for you--You Deserve the Government You Voted For. For those who didn't I hope you can ride out the disasters that are to come for the next few years. 

Watching Reality Shows is No Way to Get Over the Winter Blahs

It's been a while since I did a blog post. I want to thank all of my loyal fans [all three of them] for not throwing in the towel and giving up on me. I must say, this winter was awful and I think all the snow made me want to just hide under the covers and sleep. Not to mention the fact that cold weather makes me lazy.

While I was luxuriating in my home, I took the time to watch some television--to be specific, I watched reality television. I must say that many of these show are a cheap way for TV studios to get money and fill their programming slots. But on a deeper level, a lot of these shows are an exercise in human misery. I think the most disturbing show I watched was Hoarding: Buried Alive. I can tell you that some of these folks who are hoarders are truly tortured souls. I mean it's one thing to be a collector, but it's an entirely different ball of wax when a person has pizza boxes, diapers, scraps of paper and trash piled to the top of the ceilings in their home. There was one woman who was in danger of having her house condemned by the public health authority because she had so much trash in her house it became unsuitable to live there. I think only in America where we have so much stuff that it literally can be dangerous to have 'too much'. Which brings me to my next reality show.

I watched Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution last night and I must say I was horrified at what I saw. The premise is simple; Oliver goes to Huntington, West Virginia to get the people there to change their unhealthy eating habits. The town received the infamous claim as being the most unhealthy town in America. The opening shot shows the children of Huntington eating the school 'breakfast'--which happened to be sugary cereals and pizza.Oliver was gob-smacked at what he saw and things only got worse when it was time for lunch. Let's just say, the way the lunch cooks made mashed potatoes was not appetizing or very nutritious.

This episode primarily dealt with Oliver fighting the school bureaucracy, lunch cooks, and a rather surly radio host who didn't want to eat 'salads' all the time. The irony in all of this was that as I watching Oliver try to get the people in Hamilton to make better food choices, the health care bill passed. So now we have a bill that will ensure all who need health insurance no matter what. While I think this is fantastic and KUDOS to President Obama--I'm worried what this will do for our culture. I mean, here is Oliver telling people that their decision to eat crappy food will make the sick and more than likely shorten their life, but they aren't listening. They want to have pizza for breakfast, fast food for lunch, and eat lots of sugary, fatty foods. To be succinct, in their view, more is better no matter what the consequences.

So now when these people get sick [and they will believe me] they can tap into the free healthcare provided by the government. Which leads me to the question: Should we hold these people accountable for their actions? For the most part they knowingly contributed to their plight and chose to ignore the facts that diets high in meat, fat and processed sugars will eventually kill you. Wouldn't our health care system be more efficient if we taught moderation in our eating habits? Yes, I know I may be a bit simplistic in my approach, but sometimes I think the simplest solutions work best. In this case more in NOT better.

I wish Jamie Oliver the best of luck because he has an uphill battle in changing how the people in Hamilton, WV think about food and how eating crappy processed food can negatively effect their health.

As a side note, I don't want to come off as some blow-hard food snob in the post. I love junk food, but I do not eat it on a daily basis and I also tend to make most of my meals myself. There--I'm off my high horse.

Death of a Genius.

I was saddened to hear that Alexander McQueen died today. While I must say that his clothes were always out of my price range [even when they were drastically discounted] they were nothing short of innovation and pure genius. I saw pictures of his last runway show in the fall of 2009 and they were astounding and surreal. Yes, he was one of those designers that made 'art that you wear', but he was always willing to not play it safe. His design aesthetic reminds me of Issey Miyake and Yohji Yamamoto.

The fashion world has lost a true visionary and I don't think I will ever see someone like McQueen in my lifetime. I hope he is now at peace.

[Shout out: The Emperor's Old Clothes]

An Old High School Trick.

While being 'grilled' at the tea-bagger's convention, Sarah Palin uses a cheat sheet! Her own hand! Talk about old high school antics! This from a woman who teased Obama for using a teleprompter!

[Shout out: Andrew Sullivan]

What the 'Tea Bagger' Party is Really About.

Racism. I'm sorry, I just don't get this 'movement'. I really think it's just a bunch of white people who are afraid of a black president.

[Shout out: the raw story]

Hurry Up February 9!

I have been following the band Massive Attack ever since I heard "Unfinished Sympathy" at a party in 1991. Blue Lines, Achtung Baby and Nevermind were in my CD player for months on end--they provided the soundtrack to my life that year. While Nirvana fell apart and U2 have disappointed me with some of their releases, Massive Attack always seemed to hit the mark for me. Their musical style has a sound all its own and leaves me wanting more;  which is a good thing. 


Next week Massive Attack will release their latest effort entitled Heligoland. Needless to say, I am counting down the days until February 9! So far the reviews have been favorable, but I honestly don't care what the reviewers say. This is one band that produces carefully, thought-out music...in other words ART. They don't have  flashy videos, gimmicks or tons of hype behind them, just talent and the willingness to take chances. 


As a bonus for February 9, Hot Chip and Sade are releasing new CDs as well. I know where I'm going to be spending my money next wee!. If I'm feeling ambitious, I may even write a review of the CDs I purchase. 

Know Your Math!

Just in case you encounter a dimwit who believes that homosexuals molest children, drop this little piece of science on them!

Three Words for Today.

Flat . Screen. Television! 

I may never leave the house now!

Cry Me a River

Now that Coco is off the air [sadness], Jay Leno went on the Oprah show to talk about how he and the NBC execs shafted Conan. No sorry, let me get that straight--he was on Oprah crying how he has been vilified in this debacle. To quote el Leno "It all comes down to numbers in show business."


Really? I wonder if that would have been your sentiment say when you took over from Johnny Carson. Remember, your ratings weren't great? Wouldn't it have been funny if the NBC execs said, "Sorry Jay, but your ratings are in the tank and we gotta let you go. It all comes down to numbers in show business. See ya!" Conan wasn't given a real chance to succeed or fail. Just remember that when you come back to the Tonight Show in March--don't expect your ratings to be back for a while, either...David Letterman has stolen your thunder. 


To quote my friend Mrs. J., "When he first announced Conan would take over 6 years ago or so, he was all, "I wish him the best, I want nothing to do with it." Suddenly it comes time for him to leave and he's like "Waaaah, let me have the 10 o'clock hour!" and screws up Law & Order among other good shows, and that gets terrible ratings, and he's like,"Well I'm not leaving until you give me the Tonight Show back." Now Conan is out on his ass and as far as I am concerned Jay Leno is the biggest asshole in Hollywood (reminder: Mel Gibson is in Hollywood) and he's not even funny. Well said Mrs. J., well said. 

Surprise! Kids Will Turn Out OK If They Are Raised by Gay Parents.

This just in! Kids raised by gay parents are better off than being raised by a single parent.. This is great news especially in light of what's going on in California right now. In the current issue of the Journal of Marriage and Family, it states that, "it's ideal if a child is raised by two parents who are "responsible, committed, stable," but that the gender doesn't cause radical differences. [More here]

However, I must say that being raised by a single parent, my mom did one heck of a job. So, I have to give props to my mom! And to all those kids out there who were raised by a single parent--you have them to thank for your success!