Wanda Sykes On Prop 8

"I'm deeply disappointed, but also very optimistic that we will return to the polls and restore marriage equality for same sex couples."

- Wanda Sykes reacts to the California Supreme Court's Decision to uphold Prop 8

Cynthia Nixon On Prop 8

“Upholding the discriminatory Proposition 8 marks May 26, 2009, as a dark day for the people of California. The idea that gay families like mine should not be included in our country's promise of equal rights for all citizens is deeply un-American. While California has taken a giant step backwards, states like Maine and Iowa (and soon, I hope, New York) are leading with way towards a fairer and better tomorrow.”

-- Cynthia Nixon on the California supreme court's decision to uphold Prop. 8

Mandy Moore On Prop 8

I had the opportunity to interview Mandy Moore for Advocate.com and when I asked her about her thoughts on Prop 8, she revealed that her older brother is gay and got married before Prop 8 took effect. We spoke last week, and since then California has ruled that those married before Prop 8 was enacted would be able to reinstate their legal statuses. Congratulations to Mandy's brother! Too bad for everyone else. :-(

Here's Mandy's full comment on the issue:

The song “Merrimack River” is named after a river in Massachusetts, which recognizes same-sex marriage, and New Hampshire, your home state -- one of the few states that offers full civil rights to same-sex couples. Are you surprised that California voted to deny these rights?

"Yes. Unbelievably surprised. And saddened. Unfortunately, I was still a Florida resident during the election because I grew up in Florida and I still spend a lot of time there. So I didn’t get to vote as a California resident, which is a bummer. Although they had a similar vote on the Florida bill as well. I have to say I’m ... I’m still shocked that California voted against it. And in fact, my older brother and his boyfriend got married right before the election just in case things ended up going the way that they did, and I think my family was all the more disappointed that things went the way that they did with the decision."


Click here to read the full interview on Advocate.com.

Schwarzenegger On Prop 8

California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger appeared on The Tonight Show Tuesday night and talked about Prop. 8 with Jay Leno. Schwarzenegger said the state will support the court’s decision and uphold Prop. 8, but he also indicated it was only a matter of time before it would be overturned.

Click for video at Advocate.com.

Tim Gunn On Prop 8

"I'm sickened and STUNNED. I honestly do not have the adequate words to express my incredulity. Has the world gone mad? How can the supreme court of the State of California rule that it’s perfectly fine to take away people’s rights? I’m STUNNED."

--Project Runway host and fashion guru Tim Gunn on the California supreme court's decision to uphold Proposition 8

Heather Matarazzo on Prop 8

"The highest court in the state of California just legalized discrimination, saying 'it's what the majority wants.' ... How do you think we feel? We're heartbroken but not hopeless. There are no words to describe what it feels like to have my right to marry my fiancée voted on."

-- Actress Heather Matarazzo to Advocate.com on the California supreme court's decision to uphold Prop. 8

Jewel On Gay Marriage, Dancing With The Stars, Sarah Palin, and Lady GaGa

What does Jewel think about gay marriage? Who will save her soul if she is against it??

Click here to find out...

The Panty-Christ

Soooo here I am watching the first episode of The Fashion Show, Bravo's desperate attempt to keep Project Runway viewers from jumping ship and fleeing to The Valerie Bertinelli and Meredith Baxter-Birney Movie Network (aka Lifetime). It stars Isaac Mizrahi (aka Is-Miz) and Kelly Rowland (aka Kelly Rowland).

And--wtf!--one of the super-gay contestants is none other than Andrew Christian, the underwear designer who apparently is known as "the Panty-Christ." (We like his lifeguard inspired undies, but we didn't know he was important enough to have such a demonic monkier.)

Aaaaaaaaaaanyway. Not sure how I feel about the show yet, but one thing is clear: TFS is going to be my new favorite source for absurdly snarkastic quotes. Examples:

• "I love a gray satin harem pant as a must-have piece."
• "I'd need some butter and a miracle to put that on me."
• "It's a breast-centric thing, do you know what I mean? That is all about the breast."
• "The model had to be cut out of it to go to the bathroom. That is shameful." "But she could lie down in it!"

This show might satisfy my need for nonsense once ANTM is over. Woo hoo!

Birthday Suits: George Clooney, Valentino, and MEEEEEE

Today is the best day of the year to be born!

Why? Because it's the day I was born. Duh.




Clooney is 48 today!


Valentino is dead today!


Davey is 31 today! And wearing a Santa hat.

SNMCD

Isabella Rossellini Does Porno!

Animal porno, actually, but she calls it Green Porno.

In case you haven't heard, the eccentric icon has created a series of short, er, "educational" (?) films for the Sundance Channel, in which she acts out always weird and usually disgusting mating habits of animals.

And it's totally addictive!! Below are a few of our favorite episodes...







What exactly is the point? Art, maybe.

The Washington Post asked Rossellini what she has learned about humanity from doing these videos. Rossellini's answer was: "Everyone always asks me this! Why does it need to tell us anything about human beings? Is it not enough that we have these fascinating worlds all around us and don't see them? It has taught me how self-centered we are." Rock on, Izzie!

As you can see, the first season was all insects. The second season, which just came out, is all about sea life. You HAVE to see the angler fish!!!

Go to Green Porno at Sundance Channel.

Village People Vs. Britney Spears: Phone Sex Edition

Thanks to an overheard Facebook conversation between Dangerous Muse cuties Tom Napack and Michael Furey (above), we've discovered the true inspiration for Britney's yet-to-be-released-but-great song, "Phonography": The Village People's "Sex Over the Phone."

Subtle, right?

Lady GaGa: Sold-Out Concerts or Just Sold Out?

In the good old days--that is, back on February 5--Lady GaGa spread her rainbows of joy and happiness over this depressed land of ours. Behold what she told MTV about her tour, which she dubbed the "Fame Ball":

"But to me, the Ball is so important. I want so much to make every depression dollar that everyone spends on my show worth it. And, yeah, I'm paying a lot for it — out of my own pocket. But that's OK. I just don't care about money."

But good things can't be expected to last, can they? The hard-earned depression dollars that I and hundreds of other people from the D.C. area dropped got this out of it:


[That would be a big fat NOTHING.]

Because GaGa decided that she would reward her Washington fans by cutting and running at the first opportunity to showcase her art...on American Idol.

This is what GaGa meant in that MTV interview when she said all her efforts were going into making every single concert "the greatest, most life-changing experience."

So far, only our opinions of Ms. GaGa have changed. Let the backlash begin.

Now, I love Tori Amos. We all know this. I was thinking that Lady GaGa, kooky as she is, might turn out to be on Amos's creative level, if not her intellectual or musical one. But in order for me to pay attention any longer, I need a return on my investment. Having been to over a dozen Tori Amos concerts in under a dozen years, I know that Amos gives both her art and her fans the number one priority in her life when she is on the road. GaGa, less than a year into stardom, has already sacrificed at least one of those things. And people are noticing.

Gay D.C. fans came together about a month ago to form "GaGa Week," a sequence of GaGa-themed parties at clubs and bars around the city beginning last Friday and culminating in tomorrow night's concerts. GaGa Week's Facebook presence announced today that the pop starlet's concerts had been postponed, with the following notice:

Lady Gaga has now officially postponed two sold-out concert dates due to a performance on America’s prized display of musical mass commercialism, American Idol. American Idol, responsible for generating all of your favorite innovative iconic mega stars such as Fantasia, Clay Aiken, David Cook and Taylor Swift, has managed to woo Lady Gaga away from thousands of grassroots fans in New York and Washington, DC.

Tonight's event is still on with a slight change. Gaga Night at Duplex is being re-branded as ANTI-Gaga night and is taking this opportunity to showcase DC's best indie/pop/electro dj to give Gaga the f*ck you.

OK, so maybe GaGa's fans are fickle but, hey, we haven't known her for long and she has proven to be an untrustworthy partner in this whole pop music relationship thing.

GaGa sings about "the fame," but now maybe she'll feel the reality of what comes along with it: responsibility to the people who make you famous.

I hope GaGa will apologize and find some way to make this up to us. Let's say her record company forced her to do American Idol for the exposure. Let's say that, even though Tori Amos would have beheaded said record company executives. I could live with that. But so far, no explanation from Camp GaGa other than "concerts postponed until date to be revlealed later" and "Lady GaGa on American Idol TONIGHT!!!"

We do it for the fame, fame, baby, the fame, fame
Isn't it a shame, shame, baby, a shame, shame

Shame on you, GaGa.

GaGa Dumped Me For Paula And Simon!

Arrrgh!!!

What!

What!

What?!?!!? did I do to karma to get this kind of treatment?!

Just last night I posted about how EXCITED I am for the ONE. GOOD. THING. in the forecast for this entire sucky year: The Lady GaGa concert in two days in D.C.

Well. What does GaGa do but dump my ass for Lobotomy Abdul, Ditto Dawg Jackson and Look-at-Me Simon. Oh, and that new chick.

That's right. Lady GaGa canceled two back-to-back sold-out shows in Washington to sing one dumb single on American Idol. Smart career move? Probably.

But a pretty sucky way to treat fans if you ask me.

Never mind everyone else, D.C.'s gay fans formed a GaGa-oriented subculture and planned parties all over town every night from last Saturday leading up through this Thursday's anticipated concerts. So much for GaGa Week.

OK, so exposure to tens of millions of people is worth more than its price in gold. But keep in mind that most of those people are little kids and Middle American families that are going to be staring at their TVs unwittingly iterating Christina Aguilera's now-famous line about GaGa: "I don't even know if this...GaGa person is a man or a woman." Or in the more direct and less pretentious dialect spoken in American homes: Whut the hayull is that thing?

In next week's issue of New York--still my favorite magazine--GaGa asks: “What am I supposed to do [in L.A.], canoodle with celebrities at a nightclub, with a lemon-drop Midori in my hand? It’s not the same as being in a bar that smells like urine with all your really smart New York friends.”

No, Lady. You're supposed to sing for an unappreciative audience of millions (plus four judges whose collective attitudes add up to: The Focus Group is Never Wrong!) and leave the people who are really inspired by your pretense standing in the cold.

GaGa...Take Me Away!

So, yeah. Let's this to the point: this year so far has been a waking nightmare.

But. But!! There's hope, and it's coming this Thursday in the form of Lady GaGa! Soooo excited! Someone wonderful (and kinda cute, too) bought tix and I'm gonna see my new muse number two (after Tori, of course).

In honor of me putting all my hopes and dreams in one oddball 23 year old (happy birthday, Lady!), here's a pretty awesome video a few of her fans put together. Be sure to watch past the first minute or so...it gets better.



*By the way, a few people have sent me really thoughtful and kind e-mails over the past few weeks, and I really appreciate them. I don't really want to revisit all the bad things that have been going on, but rest assured I saved your messages and will get back to you eventually. It doesn't matter so much whether or not people keep coming back here, but knowing that there are good people in the world who will take a few minutes to send positive thoughts really does matter. Thank you.

Special Olympics Fires Back At Obama

OK, "fires back" is a bit too strong, but S.O.'s Chairman, Timothy Shriver (Yes, Maria Shriver's brother) did issue a statement saying that Prexy O. called him last night to apologize.

Shriver said, “Words hurt and words matter. Words can cause pain and result in stereotypes that are unfair and damaging to people with intellectual disabilities. And using 'Special Olympics' in a negative or derogatory context can be a humiliating put-down to people with special needs."

And he challenged Obama "to take the lead and consider hiring a Special Olympics athlete to work in the White House. In so doing, he could help end misperceptions about the talents and abilities of people with intellectual disabilities, and demonstrate their dignity and value to the world."

Fun fact: Ugly Betty superdiva Vanessa Williams is on the Board of Directors with Special Olympics International, and I once interviewed her about it. She was incredibly well informed, having worked with S.O. for over 15 years.

Special Olympics is much more than just the Special Olympics Games. It's an important international movement that deserves support and attention. Hopefully, Obama's shockingly ill thought out remark will turn into increased public attention toward and support for the organization.

I just made a donation. You should, too.

Abnormally Addicted To Tori

I haven't posted in eons, but if anything's gonna bring me back from the abyss, it's my muse, Tori Amos.

A few new song clips have leaked to the Innernets, but since I want everyone to buy Ms. Amos's genius, I'm not gonna post them. (And also, the YouTube links I had went down.)

But here's a clip of the new song "Mary Jane," performed live at SXSW:



Soooo excited!

Watch Out, Meryl Streep. Here Comes Lohan.

There are no words.

Actually there are:

Glam.

Pink.

Shit.

Bye-Bye, Money. I hardly knew you.

I just got a Social Security statement in the mail, which includes this nifty little fact sheet called "What young workers should know about Social Security and saving." Among such important headlines as "Social Security protects you if you become disabled..." and "Social Security protects your family in the event of death..." and "Social Security is a financial foundation" is another: Will Social Security still be around when I retire? The answer: "Yes."

But two sentences later comes the full disclosure:

"The Social Security Board of Trustees now estimates that based on current law, in 2041, the Trust Funds will be depleted. Because people are living longer and the birth rate is low, the ratio of workers to beneficiaries is falling. Therefore the taxes that are paid by workers will not be enough to pay the full benefit amounts scheduled."

HOWEVER, it goes on to say, "this does not mean that Social Security benefit payments would disappear. Even if modifications to the program are not made, there would still be enough funds in 2041 from taxes paid by workers to pay about $780 for every $1,000 in benefits scheduled."

I would be eligible for retirement ~2045+/-. I don't think most people my age and younger really expect to see their Social Security investments returned to them, but it's pretty shocking to see this in writing from the SSA. Getting back $780 for every $1,000 in benefits is not much better than my retirement losses of late, but the differences are that 1) my 403b investments are optional and 2) they could possibly recover over time. Social Security won't. The way things are currently set up, Social Security deductions are automatically taken from my pay--I have no say in the matter--in order to pay older people 100% of their investments.

Shouldn't I be able to claim older Americans as dependents on my taxes, then?

I'm one of the few people who don't mind paying taxes, but I want the taxes to pay me back in some kind of way. I really hope things will turn around for the country because, the way things have been for several generations now, lawmakers have put into action only short-term plans that pay off for them and possibly their children and leave future generations hanging. This is the same thing Americans have recently criticized China for doing--not thinking about the future. I don't have children, but I do worry about the stability of this country for those who do. And especially for myself, of course, since I am American, after all.

Everything Falls Apart

I have been accused of being negative, gloomy, irrationally upset about things. Can someone offer an explanation for life? I am beyond desperate. Everything is falling apart.


My grandmother died unexpectedly on Wednesday. It was a complete shock. Her doctor cut off the methadone treatment that she had been on for a year and then prescribed seven new medications she had never taken before, and she died less than 24 hours later. My whole family is devastated, but my mother especially because she just lost her mother.

Yesterday, we rushed my mother to the emergency room for unbearable stomach pain. She thought it was irritable bowel syndrome. It turned out that she had had appendicitis and her appendix burst probably about five weeks ago, and now she has an abscess that could have killed her but miraculously did not. She also has some sort of bronchial infection and they've been giving her oxygen. She is a heavy smoker and the doctor just did X-rays and we're waiting for the verdict. The doctor seemed very gloomy about the situation. The way things are going, we are all preparing for the worst and trying to force some sense of optimism.

My mother and father have spent the past four years caring for someone else. They had no break between raising my sister and me and nursing my grandmother. I am 30 years old. I moved back home about three and a half years ago so that I'd have fewer expenses during grad school, and also to help my parents care for my grandmother. When Grandma died, it was very bittersweet, as her loss is painful and devastating, but she was suffering constantly in life and she is better off now.

I was so hopeful that my parents were going to be able to live, finally. For about one day, while mourning my grandmother, I felt hopeful and like there was freedom for us all. And then my mother took this devastating turn.

I don't know what to do. I don't feel like I can live through this. Why is life so unfair? Why can't it ever let up? Why can't anyone in my family EVER be granted the time and resources to be happy, even for just a year? I feel so desperate I can't even express it in words. I have never had a romantic relationship in my entire life. I absolutely hate my job, and I can tell they are losing patience with all my family emergencies. There is no one in the world I am closer to than my mother, and it is killing me to see her have to suffer the loss of her mother and all of these health problems of her own in less than a week. I am so angry at the world. I am so hateful. I do not believe there is any hope. Both of my parents have completely sacrificed thier own happiness and self-preservation since the day my sister was born 31 years ago, and nothing good EVER happens for them. Tomorrow is my father's 61st birthday, and that's the day my parents will get the results of my mom's X-rays. I am so afraid. My family cannot take any more. Why is life like this?