A Pox on Your House

For some reason (maybe because it's Pride Weekend), I was thinking about a story I heard back in the 90s from one of my Wayne State University coworkers.  (I'll refer to her as S.)  S knew of a house for sale by a friend of hers in a popular area of Oakland County and she told another coworker, R, about it.  R, who was renting an apartment at the time, was interested in buying a home in this area and seemed quite interested in this home for sale by S's friend.  But everything changed when R found out that the seller of the home was gay and his partner, with whom he'd lived, died from AIDS while living at the house.  (I don't think he actually died IN the house, but he lived there throughout his final years.)  All of a sudden, R wasn't interested in the house anymore.  All of a sudden, R decided that maybe it wasn't the right time for her to buy a place.  I remember talking with S about R's sudden change of heart and S told me she firmly believed that R didn't want to buy a house that a man with AIDS had lived in.  I guess R figured she'd contract the disease from touching the door knobs or flipping the light switches of the home.  Yes, this was the early 90s and AIDS awareness has come a long way since then, but the ignorance of R astounded me then and still astounds me now more than twenty years later. 

Choir Boy

I saw the play Choir Boy at the Manhattan Theatre Club last night and it was excellent.  It's the story of a group of black teenage boys who all sing in the choir at an all-boys prep school.  The a cappella singing was great and the acting was amazing.  The play dealt with a lot of themes: jealousy, sexual identity, and religion, just to name a few.  I highly recommend it. 

Finally, Some Good News!

SCOTUS struck down a huge part of the Defense of Marriage Act today and I join others in celebrating this decision.  The world is changing and it's time the courts reflected these changes. 

In other good news, Anthony Weiner is leading in the latest polls for NY Mayor, beating Bloomberg Hack Christine Quinn.  Yea!  As someone commented on Gothamist: Quinn Goes Down as Weiner Rises.  The jokes write themselves!!! 

Bob Benson

So Mad Men's season came to an end last night and, much to my delight, the episode was chockfull of Bob Benson.  Bob has quickly turned into a fan favorite.  The actor who plays him is from Farmington Hills, MI, so I like him because he's a Michigander.  But I also like that the show is introducing this uncomfortable, weird, homoerotic thing with Bob and Pete Campbell.  Bob's presence just leaves me with so many questions.  Is Bob really crazy about Pete or is he trying to bring Pete down (and not in a sexual way)?  Does Pete secretly like Bob in a gay way?  Will Bob and Pete ever share the love that dare not speak its name?  What's the deal with Bob and Joan?  Is Manolo really Bob's boyfriend (or ex-boyfriend)?  Did Manolo really toss Pete's mother overboard?  Again, so many questions.  I just hope Bob comes back for the final season.  He's so much more entertaining than son-of-a-whore and marital cheater Don Draper right now.

Male Jeggings

I was walking down Fifth Avenue yesterday near the library and saw a guy wearing (sigh) jeggings.  Ugh.  He looked like a gay hipster (beard, button-down shirt, leather oxfords with no socks), but that's no excuse for this fashion faux pas.  I've complained in the past about man-pris (capri pants for men), but jeggings are even worse.  No man, gay or straight, hipster or bro, should be wearing jeggings.  It's not a good look.  I don't even like to see women wearing them.  I wish I had snapped a picture of the Fifth Avenue jeggings wearer, but I was too horrified and disgusted to even get my iPhone out.  I seriously wish I'd had the balls to ask the guy what possessed him to come out of the house like that.  But he looked confident as he walked down Fifth Avenue.  He didn't look like a man who was unhappy with his fashion choices or with life in general.  I guess it takes a lot of confidence to walk the streets of New York, or any city, wearing male jeggings.

Russell Brand

I wish people (Russell Brand included) would stop trying to make Russell Brand happen.  Really.  Here are a few reasons why this endeavor seems fruitless:

1. Russell Brand is not attractive enough to be a major star (at least not in the United States).  I'm sorry, but let's face it: Russell isn't handsome and he looks like he hasn't bathed in a while.  He needs a good scrub down a bath or shower, a change of clothes, a haircut, and a shave just to try and make himself look presentable.

2.  Russell Brand isn't funny.  Maybe his brand of humor passes for funny in the UK, but it's not really cutting the mustard over here.  Plus, his accent is often hard to understand.  He doesn't have a posh, soothing British accent like, say, Colin Firth so, unfortunately, points must be deducted.

Perhaps Russell should just stick to honing his craft in the UK where he's appreciated instead of trying to make it work over here. 

Jimmy Hoffa...Still Dead

Every few years it seems like the FBI gets a tip and a new search begins for Jimmy Hoffa's remains.  Well, it's that time again!  Based on a tip from some aging ex-con (who is, no surprise here, hawking a book), law enforcement agents are out in Oakland Township digging around for Jimmy yet again.  It's good to see our tax dollars at work digging for the remains of a mobster who disappeared in 1975 and was declared legally dead in 1982.  Why is this happening?  I understand the need for closure in the case and Hoffa's family, I'm sure, would like to know where his remains are, but even his daughter stated that she wasn't confident the latest search would turn up anything.  Hoffa's case is fascinating and I believe the Machus Red Fox restaurant where he was last seen on Telegraph near Maple Road is cursed.  (That place has changed hands so many times over the years.  Has anyone been able to make a successful go of it?  I don't know.  It just seems doomed to me.)  But does the FBI really need to keep this case going every time some old mobster comes up with a new theory? 

In a slightly unrelated note, how to mobsters get their nicknames?  Are they given to them by the mob boss?  Do the guys pick their own names?  Inquiring minds want to know.

Superman is American (or He Should Be)

The new Superman movie made over $100 million this weekend.  Great.  Whatever.  I still can't believe a British dude was hired for the role this time around.  A British Superman faking an American accent?  I don't like the sound of that!  The movie studio couldn't find a dark haired, blue eyed American to play the role?  I refuse to believe the British are doing the jobs Americans can't or won't do.  I saw a movie a while back called Stoker starring Matthew Goode, Nicole Kidman, and Mia Wasikowska.  All of these actors are foreign, yet they all played Americans in the movie.  Were there no Americans available at the time of filming?  I even saw an interview with Matthew Goode where he talked about his worries that he was taking a job from an American actor when he got the role.  Uh, yeah, Matthew.  You should be worried about that. (Side note, I do really like Matthew Goode, so my issues with him playing an American aren't personal and don't reflect on his acting ability.)  But back to Superman.  I know he comes from another planet, but he was reared here in Kansas (right?).  He's the embodiment of the American superhero, yet they put a British dude in the role.  That ain't right!  American superheroes should be American, dammit!

Daddies and Mommies

I read the following article on NY Magazine's site about some gay men's desire to have an older partner (a "daddy") and found it both funny and fascinating:

http://nymag.com/thecut/2013/06/rise-of-the-daddies-a-new-and-sexy-gay-niche.html?test=true

Calling your man "daddy" regardless of gender just feels weird to me.  I feel the same way about calling your woman "momma."  Can't we leave our parents out of our social lives?  I know every call of "daddy" or "mommy" doesn't mean the person doing the calling (or the person accepting the call) has issues with his or her parents, but some do.  ("He loves me the way my real daddy never did!")  Okay, but that's a little creepy.  

On that note, Happy Father's Day, Daddies (and Happy Belated Mother's Day, Mommies).

Woosah

Today was the kind of day when I needed a relaxation technique to get me through the bulk of it, i.e. a nice, soft chant of "woosah" to calm the rough waters of my mind.  Sometimes I wonder how I can make it through the day when there's so much toxicity and stupidity on parade around me.  Why can't people just mind their own business?  Why are some people so inclined so insert themselves into the lives of others?  I'm so tired of dealing with drama at work that has nothing to do with the work itself and everything to do with other people working themselves into a lather over nothing.  This too shall pass, I know, but for now, woosah....

The Tony Awards and Mad Men

I watched the Tony Awards last night (most of them--until Mad Men came on) and thought the show was great.  The opening song with Neil Patrick Harris and various Broadway show actors was just wonderful.  I was so happy to see a good number of black actors win Tonys this year including Detroiter Courtney B. Vance.  The Pippin crew was great (except for the dude playing Pippin, as stated in my previous review of the play) and Patina Miller's Tony was well-deserved.  Cyndi Lauper was awesome.  She looks so good!  I remember the 80s when she was a huge pop star and it's good to see her make a comeback with Kinky Boots.  The final performance with Audra McDonald and Neil doing their rendition of the Alicia Keys/Jay Z song "Empire State of Mind" was the icing on the cake, especially when Audra dropped her mic before she walked off stage.  Ha! 

In other TV news, Mad Men was crazy last night.  Don's back with Sylvia, his affair is discovered by Sally, Peggy has rats, and Pete's being hit on by Bob Benson.  Oy!  The Bob thing made me shake my head.  I can't figure out if this guy is on the level or not, but if he is gay and wants to start something with Pete, of all people, he should turn that dream loose.  Pete is pitiful!  Why would any man or woman want to get with that guy?  What did Peter's mother say about him?  He was a sour little boy and now he's a sour little man.  Ouch!  (I actually felt sorry for him at that point, but I still would advise anyone against getting involved with him.)  Run, Bob!  Run!

Whole Foods

I saw that Whole Foods opened a brand spanking new store in downtown Detroit this week.  Good for them and good for the people of Detroit.  As any Detroiter (or former Detroiter) knows, finding a decent grocery store in the city is a challenge, especially after Farmer Jack closed up shop.  I remember as a child shopping for groceries at the local Fairway Foods on Six Mile and Schaefer.  A friend of mine who lived around Seven Mile and the Southfield Freeway was relegated to Savon Foods.  These stores served our communities, but they weren't exactly the best places to find fresh food. 

It's nice to see a top-shelf grocery store in the city and it's great to hear some good news about Detroit for a change.

David Sanborn & Bob James

I went to see David Sanborn and Bob James perform last night at the Town Hall theater on 43rd Street and the show was great.  I hadn't seen Sanborn in years and I'd never seen Bob James in concert, so watching them both together last night was a treat.  And I was in the first row right in front of the stage! I didn't even realize my ticket was for Row A.  Clearly, I need to pay more attention to my seating when I purchase a ticket.  I posted a blurry picture of Dave that I snapped just as the show was ending. 

Last Name Love

I've been obsessed this week with unique last names.  I feel that someone who has an uncommon last name should seek out those with the same name.  If I had an unusual last name, I'd be all over the Internet trying to track down others with the same last name.  I'd want to know these folks and try to find out if we were somehow related.  But when you have a common last name like I do, that's not even an option.  Alias Smith and Jones don't need to bother trying to track down folks with the same last name because there are too many of them out there. 

When I spoke with some of my coworkers who have uncommon last names about trying to reach out to others who share their names, none of them seemed interested.  They didn't really have a desire to reach out to someone who might be a distant relative.  I just don't get that, but I guess they had their reasons.

The Paperboy

I watched director Lee Daniels' latest movie The Paperboy today.  This movie, that came out last year, was met with scathing reviews and the words "hot mess" are often associated with it.  I agree that it was a hot mess, but it was also messily hot.  Clearly, Daniels was crushing on Zac Efron (who was really the star here) because there were multiple scenes of him shirtless or wearing nothing more than a pair of tighty whities.  Not that I'm complaining.  Zac is a cute boy with a nice body.  (I know he's a 20-something year old man, but I'm old enough to be his mother [had I birthed him as a teenager], so I'm calling him a boy.)

The Paperboy dealt with a lot of issues:  racism, sexuality, love, family, friendship.  The plot centered around a newspaper reporter (played by Matthew McConaughey) who is writing a story about a convicted murderer (played by John Cusack) and the reporter's younger brother (Zac Efron) falls in love with the murderer's girlfriend (Nicole Kidman).  The central plot was interesting, but what really caught my interest was the relationship between Zac and the black housekeeper (played by Macy Gray).  At times it bordered on being a bit too "Mammy and her master's baby-ish" but I thought it was sweet and Zac and Macy had real chemistry when they were on the screen together.  I didn't buy Nicole Kidman and John Cusack playing poor white trailer trash folks either.  I just didn't.  Nothing about either of them said poor and white to me.  I always felt like I was watching Nicole Kidman and John Cusack.  But, I commend them both for stepping out of their comfort zones and playing against type here.

I really don't understand the hate for The Paperboy.  Given all of the Lee Daniels films that I've seen, I'd rank this one as number one above the overrated Precious and the eye-rolling Monster's Ball.  ("Touch me on the inside."  Ugh.  Please.  Did Halle Berry really deserve an Oscar for giving up her ass to Billy Bob Thornton?  I don't think so.  If you're going to go there with an actor, can't he at least be a top-shelf dude?  But I digress.)  Because of the sheer brutality of some of the scenes in The Paperboy and the subject matter, it will never be a popular movie, but it is interesting and I appreciate Lee Daniels for putting it out there, warts and all.