alfred lives here

Best of TV, 2013...

2013-05-19T00:01:00.000-06:00

The 2012-2013 TV season is winding down, and while I have not watched some acclaimed hits like Breaking Bad, I have watched my share of good and bad TV, so here are my picks for what entertained me this season:

Best Comedy: Big Bang Theory -- Howard coming back from space, Amy Farrah-Fowler's bigger role, and the usual geeky humour had me laughing out loud.

Best Drama: Sure it's not Shakespeare, but I wouldn't watch Shakespeare every week... and season two of the revamped super-soap Dallas was suspenseful, sexy and sometimes just funny. Beautiful rich people sleeping around and stabbing each other in the back is fun to watch. And the passing of Larry Hagman brought on unexpected stories and an incredible touching farewell to icon JR Ewing.

Call It A Classic Already: The Good Wife is old news by now, but it remains amazingly smart and entertaining. Sure the season started off wonky with the Kalinda's secret husband storyline going nowhere, but once that was over they brought back the core marital political drama and big name guest stars doing unexpected things, from Michael J Fox to Nathan Lane to Mathew Perry. Every episode is worth watching.

Best Reality Show: New judges Usher and Shakira juiced the already addictive The Voice.... amazing singers, big celeb coaches like Sheryl Crow, and touching personal stories. Plus the whole idea of having coaches who help rather than idiot judges who are mean is just appealing to begin with.

Best Daytime Show: While Katie had its moments, it was Anderson Cooper's second season of daytime that was fast and smart and funny. Between Cooper coming out of the closet last summer, and then the show being cancelled early in its second season and still having the season to make new shows, Cooper seemed loose and relaxed and was just entertaining. Pair him with a sassy cohost with Lisa Rinna or Kathy Griffin and the show soars.

Best Late Night: Hands down, Jimmy Fallon.... and that is why he is getting The Tonight Show next year.

Best New Show: The reimagined Sherlock Holmes in Elementary, with Holmes as an antisocial British addict fresh out of rehab in modern New York, and Lucy Liu as Watson, was way better than I expected from CBS... great actors and interesting story lines.

And they can't all be good, so here are some quick ideas on worst of the season: The New Normal which got better as the season went on but too often chose preachy over funny, soapy Nashville which started off strong but lost steam, Revenge which followed up a great first season with a lousy second one, The View which became so dull even Joy Behar is leaving, and the bizarro coming-out speech from Jodie Foster at The Golden Globes.

What were your favourites this year?

See This Movie: Safety Not Guaranteed...

2013-05-12T21:54:00.000-06:00

"So you think this is normal" says the reporter to the intern... "Just because a guy wants to do something new doesn't mean he's a freak show"... or does it?

One of the great things about video-on-demand is access to movies that we could not otherwise see, that likely never came to our city, such as Safety Not Guaranteed, a 2012 well-reviewed little independent flick that won a screenwriting award at the Sundance Film Festival and that never came here.

This is a smart, funny, sweet and ultimately touching film about love and outcasts.

Safety Not Guaranteed is about a man named Kenneth seeking someone to travel back in time with him. He places an ad in Seattle magazine seeking someone to go along...

As this makes news, self-obsessed reporter Jeff (Jake Johnson from New Girl) gets the assignment and takes two interns along: Arnao, a shy twenty-one year Indian student, and Darius, a bored cynical university student.

Darius is challenged with getting weird guy Kenneth to trust her. Arnao and Jeff follow along to get the story of the crazy time travel guy. We go along for the quirky characters and the laughs.

The characters in Safety Not Guaranteed are stuck in time, just like Kenneth. Jeff tries to be cool but is having difficulty coming to grips with his job and being a grown-up. Arnao hides behind his plain glasses and is frozen, unable to communicate with the world. Darius confesses she’d rather live in another time because “everything cool has been done.”

Safety Not Guaranteed is a surprise, as is its finale. It’s shot digitally and done on a low budget, which form part of its charm. That, along with the film’s smart writing and sharp editing add to the film’s allure. Quirky charm and some laughs along the way don’t hurt either. See it.

Bruce Springsteen & Marriage Equality...

2013-05-09T19:17:00.000-06:00

See This Movie: Seeking A Friend...

2013-05-05T21:29:00.000-06:00

One of my favourite things about all our movie channels and video-on-demand TV options is discovering little seen movies, or catching the big flicks I missed the first time around.

I just discovered last year's little-seen Seeking A Friend For The End Of The World, with Steve Carell and Keira Knightley. While promoted as a comedy, this is more of a wistful drama... and I found it enchanting.

In Seeking..., An asteroid named "Matilda" is on a collision course towards Earth and in three weeks the world will come to an end... so what would you do?

The film's primary characters, Carell's Dodge and Knightley's Penny, are neighbours who didn't know of each other until all hell breaks loose, and through chance, discover that they click.

Dodge's wife runs away and leaves him sad and confused, not knowing why his marriage vows didn't last, and reminiscing about his high school sweetheart. Penny just broke up with her loser boyfriend, and while escaping from the mob they make a pact that she will help him muster up some courage while seeking out his lost love and he will help her find an airplane good enough to send her back to her family.

It's a road trip of sorts, set to an apocalyptic background. There's good music, wacky situations the duo find themselves in, and some time to perform that world-ending soul search, while inevitably falling in love.

There's lots of truths put on the table for discussion, and with no fancy special effects this is a character-driven apocalypse tale... so it's no Armageddon, which is a good thing.

The first half of Seeking... is a comedy and satire, and then it shifts into an emotional drama and really works. It is touching, tender and thought provoking... see it.

Harrison Ford On Gay Marriage...

2013-05-02T09:09:00.000-06:00

Harrison Ford, the actor also known as Han Solo, Indiana Jones, and Mr Calista Flockhart, is out making the rounds promoting his new baseball movie 42, and was asked about marriage quality. Here's what he said:

We’re getting there, we’re getting there, he says in an interview with Metro. You know, you would hope that it would have happened with less resistance. You would have hoped that everyone would get the point at the same time, but life’s not like that.

Things do change quickly at a tipping point, as it builds and it builds and it builds until there’s a moment where the balance of opinion, the weight of experience and the understanding comes to a point where the scales tip in the other direction, he adds.

42 is the story of Jackie Robinson and the struggle for racial acceptance, and Ford was asked if he saw a parallel between that struggle and the current battle for marriage equality:

I think there’s a metaphor you can reach for, according to your own interests and your own understanding and your own issues. But trying to create the best expression of the ideals — the most equal society, the best-regulated society, the best-behaving society — depend on attending to equality and inequity whenever it rears its ugly head. Certainly the marriage issue conveniently falls into that category.

Well said, Mr Ford! Now how about signing up for that new Star Wars sequel already?

White Trash Pizza Party...

2013-04-29T08:08:00.000-06:00

A few weeks ago we had dinner and a lovely evening at the home of our friends, let's call them Jane and Glenn (because those are their names).

As we ate a wonderful indulgent yet mostly healthy meal, veggies and all, we laughed and mocked the crazy trashy foods we had seen advertised... silly over-the-top things like pizza with hot dogs shoved in the crust, and pizza with cream cheese and meatball toppers. Why would people ruin foods with bizarre fatty stupid combinations like that?

These disgusting over the top carb-loaded fat-overkill foods were utterly gross. And we simply had to try them... so the plan for our next evening together was hatched.

So last weekend we had our White Trash Pizza Party (thanks Jane for the moniker). While we didn't go as far as to wear Crocs or play bingo, I think we pulled it off.

After the first crisis was averted (these gourmet delights are no longer offered on the Pizza Hut website), we were able to call customer service and special order them in. For the "crown" pizza we chose both cream cheese and meatball crowns (crust extensions), and decided on spicy chicken toppings. For the hot dog stuffed crust we chose vegetarian toppings (extra irony points).

Four people, no veggies, two large fat-filled pizzas... they were cheesy and bready and tasty and way too much. And we devoured them. Like so many things in life, they were so bad and so good.

While all were tasty --- cream cheese on pizza, who knew? --- we all agreed the hot dog crust (think pig in a blanket) was our favourite, and we were a tad embarrassed by our affection for it. Awesome.

To mitigate the risk of this meal not being bad enough for us, Jane and Glenn brought six Dairy Queen Dilly Bars for dessert... so that's about the Weight Watchers points equivalent of kale, right?

Awesome fun evening... and oh yeah I gotta get on that damn treadmill.

Alfie's Birthday Fundraiser...

2013-04-25T22:39:00.000-06:00

It's no secret that Alfred is the non-human love of my life... and today the little dude is six years old! So while we may have a toy or two for the little furball, it is a tradition on alfred lives here to mark this occasion in a bigger way.

So in honour of the birthday of the world's cutest canine, also known as Alfie, Alfredo, Furball, ADD Alfred, Ewok, Moocho Poocho, Beagle Wannabe, Alfie Poop, Little Dude, The Instigator and Have-Many-Needs Havanese, ... here's the deal... As I know that Alfie is more pampered than your average pooch, we are gonna celebrate his birthday by raising money for the Humane Society. For every comment left on this post today and tomorrow, April 26 and 27, we will donate $1 from Alfie's allowance to the Humane Society..... how much money will Alfie raise this year?

Happy Jelly Bean Day!

2013-04-21T14:20:00.000-06:00

Forget all those other so-called important occasions, forget Christmas or your spouse's birthday... tomorrow April 22 is a holiday of major importance... National Jelly Bean Day!

How do you celebrate? National Jelly Bean Day is a time to enjoy gobs and gobs of jelly beans. While they are especially popular at Easter, jelly beans are popular year round. Cuz they're awesome.

While my extensive research, also known as a five-second Google search, did not discover the origin of National Jelly Bean Day, I would guess Ronald Reagan had something to do with it. That dude loved his jelly beans!

Fun fact: Jelly beans date back to at least the 1860's. Advertisements promoted sending jelly beans to Union troops fighting in the Civil War. The original candy maker is unknown. Once again, I would guess Ronald Reagan. That guy was really old when he was President.

Jelly bean flavours are limited only by the imagination of candy makers. If you've never enjoyed the multitude of flavors in a box of gourmet jelly beans, I suggest you head right out to the store and buy yourself some. And buy a box for me too. My jellybean gumball machine is empty (and yes I really have one of those).

My husband has been known to surprise me with boxes of Jelly Belly's. Tonight would be good timing, honey...

Favourite flavours? I like licorice, green apple, sour cherry and root beer. Oh, okay, all of 'em... what's your favourite flavour?

(a version of this was posted April 22/2011)

New Kid On The Gay Block...

2013-04-17T09:09:00.000-06:00

90s boy band supergroup New Kids On The Block are reunited and touring again, and their one out gay member Jonathan Knight just gave an interesting interview about privacy and the gay celebrity.

I wrote about it on Sprocket Ink, and let it be known I think he pulled a Jodie Foster, and I was not impressed...

Read it by clicking here: Sprocket Ink New Kid

Wanna read, gotta read....

2013-04-14T14:32:00.001-06:00

While yes we still have snow on the ground here (aaargh!), I am sure looking ahead to summer, and to some non-businessy reading.

We head off on vacation in less than two weeks, and will be on multiple airplanes and one very large ship, so will have some downtime, and some unplugged time, to catch up on recreational reading.

I am currently on the most recent Sue Grafton book, I snoozed through Lean In already, and the sequel to The Devil Wears Prada isn't out until June, so I had some tough choices to make.

Here is what I have loaded on my iPad, and yes even one old-fashioned book with real paper pages.... looking for suggestions here, what else should I be reading?

Carol Burnett, Carrie and Me: I adore Carol Burnett, and loved her smart autobiography about her unusual childhood, One More Time. This one is about her daughter Carrie, who died of cancer at age 38. I expect to laugh and cry...

Dave Hugelschaffer, Day Into Night: A local Alberta author I had not heard of until a few weeks ago, this is the first in his mystery series about a forest ranger turned investigator. The author is a firefighter himself, and based on the radio interview I heard, the guy is smart and funny. How had I not heard of him before?

Lance Burson, The Ballad of Helene Troy: A first novel by my Sprocket Ink cohort Lance Burson, I paid my dollars and downloaded it on day one of selling. Lance is a smart sarcastic writer, I cant wait to carve out a few hours to read his book about a wannabe rock and roll star named Helene. Better not suck, Lance....!

Lindy Woodhead, Shopping, Seduction & Mr Selfridge: Granted, the current PBS series is mediocre and certainly no Downton Abbey, but it does have me intrigued about the brash American who created the iconic "Selfridges" London department store and is credited with reinventing retail as we know it.

William Davis, The Wheat Belly Diet: We bought this two months ago and has been sitting untouched on the coffee table. I am still eating bread, and surprisingly have not lost much weight. It is coming on the cruise with us, if only to taunt me as I head towards the dining room. Okay, I actually do intend to read the damn thing and change my entire life.....

So... what are you reading?

Roger Ebert's Life Itself...

2013-04-07T08:33:00.000-06:00

Legendary film critic Roger Ebert lost his long battle with cancer this week, at age 70.

Ebert was the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize, and then become really famous when he was paired with rival Chicago film critic Gene Siskel in 1975 to cohost a movie review show on PBS.

As a geeky movie-loving kid, I grew up watching Sneak Previews and At The Movies and Siskel & Ebert At The Movies and whatever the hell else they called it (hey, they changed that show around a lot); these guys were smart and funny and clashed like egghead siblings. They made the "thumbs up, thumbs down" judging famous.

Ebert was probably the best known film critic ever, period. And he was entertaining... as in his review of Basic Instinct 2, a truly crappy movie which yes I saw, he said "I cannot recommend the movie, but ... why the hell can't I? Just because it's godawful? What kind of reason is that for staying away from a movie? Godawful and boring, that would be a reason!"

I remember staying up late to watch them guest together on Johnny Carson. And falling asleep cuz it was too late for me.

I later discovered Ebert's columns, and then later still his blog and twitter, which were wise and sharp and funny, and increasing political. Smart man.

Ebert was a bachelor until age 50, then married Chaz, a divorced black attorney with kids and dogs and a big loud family. His writing about her was magical... "She fills my horizon, she is the great fact of my life, she has my love, she saved me from the fate of living out my life alone, which is where I seemed to be heading."

Ebert wrote many books, including collections of reviews and the awesome I Hated, Hated, Hated This Movie series. Then in 2011 he published an autobiography called Life Itself, which I listed as my fave book of the year. It is an amazing read, warm and smart and goes beyond just the movies, talking about culture and travel and race and ambition and love and cancer; if you haven't read it yet, do so for sure.

In his last review, published this weekend, for the flick To The Wonder, Ebert wrote a last sentence that could be applied to him as well:
There will be many who find “To the Wonder” elusive and too effervescent. They’ll be dissatisfied by a film that would rather evoke than supply. I understand that, and I think Terrence Malick does, too. But here he has attempted to reach more deeply than that: to reach beneath the surface, and find the soul in need.

Rest In Peace, Mr Ebert...

Lean In... Or Out...

2013-04-05T19:44:00.001-06:00

This week I wrote about the new "women's sort of manifesto" by Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook, one of the world's most powerful women, and wannabe social movement starter. She makes some good points in a likeable quick read, but I'm not sure it's a social movement...

Read my post on Sprocket Ink by clicking here: Lean In

Happy April Foolish Day!

2013-04-01T07:07:00.000-06:00

It's April 1st... happy April Fool's Day!

Sometimes referred to as All Fools' Day, April 1st is widely recognized and celebrated as a day when people play all kinds of jokes and pranks.

Here in Canada, the silliness is supposed to last only until noon, but in other countries it goes on all damn day. I guess for a fake holiday with no rules, you can make it up as you go along.

I've never been a big fan of the April foolishness, as I am not much of a prank lover, and I believe in silliness all year long. But some people really know how to run with this one.

According to The Museum of Hoaxes, here is the number one April Fool's Day hoax of all time:

On April 1, 1957 the British news show Panorama broadcast a three-minute segment about a bumper spaghetti harvest in southern Switzerland. The success of the crop was attributed both to an unusually mild winter and to the "virtual disappearance of the spaghetti weevil."

The audience heard Richard Dimbleby, the show's highly respected anchor, discussing the details of the spaghetti crop as they watched video footage of a Swiss family pulling pasta off spaghetti trees and placing it into baskets. The segment concluded with the assurance that, "For those who love this dish, there's nothing like real, home-grown spaghetti.

"The Swiss Spaghetti Harvest hoax generated an enormous response. Hundreds of people phoned the BBC wanting to know how they could grow their own spaghetti tree. To this query the BBC diplomatically replied, "Place a sprig of spaghetti in a tin of tomato sauce and hope for the best."

What can I say? That April Fool's prank is effing brilliant!

(a version of this post appeared last year)

Marie Osmond On Marriage Equality...

2013-03-30T10:10:00.000-06:00

Entertainer (and famous Mormon) Marie Osmond has long supported her out lesbian daughter, and this week tells Diane Sawyer she believes in marriage equality:

"The God that I believe in is a god of love, not fear. I don't tell my children if you're not good you're going to Hell. I tell my children that God will be there for them when they struggle. That's the God I believe in...I believe in [my lesbian daughter's] civil rights, as a mother. I think my daughter deserves everything that she desires in life. She's a good girl. She's a wonderful child. I don't think God made one color flower. I think he made many."

This week, as marriage equality was debated in the US Supreme Court, several of Marie's fellow Osmond's including her brother Alan hosted a rally "benefitting the protection of marriage between a man and a woman" at the Utah capitol. Screw them... YAY Marie Osmond:

Best Gay Wedding Invite...

2013-03-28T10:10:00.000-06:00

When K and I got married almost three years ago, we had about 50 people for a Sunday brunch and kept it pretty low key (for pictures click here). And our invite was pretty minimalist as well.

With all the advances in marriage equality since then, and the cases currently before the US Supreme Court, the people at happyplace.com have come up with a new take on an invite, and I love it:

Starbucks is so gay...

2013-03-25T13:11:00.000-06:00

I love Starbucks... the coffee smell, the coffee taste, the menu of flavours especially the "blond" blends and my all-time favourite the Christmas blend (which we hoard so I have it all year), the breakfast wraps, even the grumpy/friendly pierced tattooed teens in green aprons who work the till.

One of the many things I love about Starbucks is their community involvement and charity work; more than most other big corporations, they try to do some good while also trying to make stacks of money.

Last week Starbucks earned even more karma points. Here's their CEO Howard Schultz at the company's annual shareholder meeting in Seattle (and by the way, his business book Onward from a couple of years ago is a fantastic read).

Starbucks has long provided benefits for same-sex families and endorsed marriage equality.

At the meeting, shareholder Tom Strobhar, who advocates against same-sex marriage through the Corporate Morality Action Center, said he was unhappy that Schultz has used the company to support gay marriage and claimed it had impacted the stock price.

The reply from Schultz? "It’s a free country. You can sell your shares of Starbucks and buy shares in another company."

The shareholder made his remark after the board was given approval by a vote to make political contributions, with board members saying they wanted flexibility to promote the company’s policy agenda.

The CEO told the shareholder that the company was committed to embracing diversity. It is not an economic decision, he said. The lens in which we are making that decision is through the lens of our people. We employ over 200,000 people in this company, and we want to embrace diversity.

His comments prompted cheers and applause from the gathered stockholders and then the CEO offered the discontented stockholder a way out...

If you feel, respectfully, that you can get a higher return than the 38 percent you got last year, it’s a free country. You can sell your shares of Starbucks and buy shares in another company. Thank you very much.

Wowza, Mr Schultz, I am impressed!

Worst bus ad ever...?

2013-03-23T15:46:00.000-06:00

Sure the idea of putting a "quit smoking" advertisement on a school has merit, especially with a tag line like Smoking Not Our Future... but uh maybe somebody should have done a sanity check before this thing left the garage?

Saying QUIT SCHOOL across the ass of a school bus is not exactly brilliant.

The guy is hot though... not sure what he has to do with school or with smoking, but sure got my attention....

Source

James Franco on gay rumours...

2013-03-21T09:09:00.000-06:00

In addition to being a really good actor and a really bad Oscar host, James Franco is a writer, director, perpetual student, soap star, Gucci model, and a whole bunch of other stuff. Franco is one busy dude. And oh yeah, he's hot...

While he is straight, Franco has played many gay roles including in the Oscar-winning Milk, and has been rumoured to be gay, and these are rumours he has done little to discourage.

In the current issue of Attitude magazine, Franco talks about it:

One of the things that’s very much part of my public image is the question of my sexuality... It’s not something that bothers me in the slightest. It hasn’t gone away and I get asked about it from all sides. It’s partly my doing and partly not my doing.

I think that the people I have known who are performers who haven’t publicly come out didn’t because they’re afraid it’ll hurt their careers. And they’re afraid they won’t be able to play straight roles anymore.

I think I could see a really big name coming out and doing that... I think the time is about right. I’m not an authority on this but if I think about it for a second…if there’s somebody that was well respected and very secure with their career, I could see it happening in a very positive way.

He's right, it can be done, and in a positive way, not in a Jodie Foster type way... so which actor is gonna step out of the closet first?

Sweetest Dad Note Ever....

2013-03-19T10:10:00.000-06:00

This was my favourite thing I found online last week... maybe my one of my favourite things I have found online EVER....

In a note reprinted at FCKH8.com, an awesome father saves his nervous son the trouble of coming out by casually leaving him a note explaining how he knows the score already:

Nate,

I overheard your phone conversation with Mike last night about your plans to come out to me. The only thing I need you to plan is bring home OJ and bread after class.

We are out, like you now.

I’ve known you were gay since you were six—I’ve loved you since you were born

-Dad

PS: Your mother and I think you and Mike make a cute couple

That dad better get the nicest Father’s Day present in the history of the world...

Madonna Honours Anderson Cooper...

2013-03-17T08:31:00.000-06:00

This video clip is from last night's GLAAD awards in New York.

Madonna gave an impassioned speech to the audience about discrimination and tolerance, while dressed as a boy scout.

"When I think about young kids in America who are being bullied and tortured, who are taking their own lives because they feel alone and judged, outcast and misunderstood, I want to sit down and cry rivers of tears," she said.

"I have teenagers of my own now, and the idea of them, or any young person experiencing that kind of pain is unfathomable to me, It's an atrocity to me. I don't accept it."

Journalist and gay icon Anderson Cooper, who came out last year, was given the Vito Russo Award, named after a GLAAD (Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation) founder, which is presented to an openly LGBT media professional who has made a significant difference in promoting equality.

Madonna was her usually ballsy self; I love her line "NOBODY writes my copy"... so true! Who could...?

and here is Cooper's touching acceptance speech...

The Queen & The Gays...

2013-03-16T09:52:00.001-06:00

I write over at the smart and snarky Sprocket Ink every Tuesday.

My post this week was less pop culture focussed than usual, it was about the new declaration of rights that Queen Elizabeth signed which doesn't even mention gay people. I was not impressed.

Click here to read it: Sprocket Ink

Recasting The View...

2013-03-11T11:11:00.000-06:00

News broke last Thursday that Joy Behar was leaving daytime chat show The View after 16 years, thereby leaving Barbara Walters as the sole original cast member left standing.

I love the feisty liberal Behar, a standup comic by trade. She brought a lot to the show, but has looked totally bored the last few years and it is probably time to move on.

Then on Friday, the internet jumped all over Us Weekly reporting that cohost Elisabeth Hasselbeck was being let go from the show after ten years. This is a good thing as "Hasselbot" is a rude, disrespectful, stupid blowhard. And yes she is a conservative, and yes I disagree with her on almost everything, and yes the show needs a conservative, just not this one. She is nonsensical and socially regressive.

And much as I love Whoopi Goldberg, The View hasn't really been any good since Meredith Viera left the show and Barbara Walters lost her mind, all about seven years ago. Upstart rival The Talk is faster, funnier, more interesting and more entertaining.

While The View is cleaning house they should also dump Sherri Shepherd, the actress/comic/moron who makes even former cohost Star Jones look appealing.

So let's assume Walters and Goldberg stay and the other three go... who should they hire? Who would get me to care about The View again?

My fave choices --- Tina Fey and Amy Poehler --- are presumably unavailable or uninterested. So who should join the show?

We need young and not so young, liberal and conservative, and likely a mom and a singleton. So here are five options for the three slots...

Brooke Shields: the actress, model and mom is smart and funny and kind. Ace choice... and a bit of a gimme, as she has been guest hosting lately and according to the internet has already been offered the job and is mulling it over.

Maya Rudolph: The very funny, often pregnant former SNL star is free now that her sitcom Up All Night vanished; she would bring some much-needed edge to the show.

Mindy Kaling: The very funny actor and writer is wasting her potential on The Mindy Project; she is brainy and bookish and charming on every talk show, let's get to see her live every weekday.

Megyn Kelly: Okay I don't know much about her, but as we need someone on the right, what little I have seen of Kelly, who trained as a lawyer and is currently on Fox News, is that she is conservative without being backwards, and smart and opinionated.

Anderson Cooper: yep, he's a guy, let's not discriminate based on gender, View people, and yes it's a long-shot as he already works for CNN and CBS while The View (or The Spew as my husband calls it) is on ABC, but Cooper is smart and geeky and sassy and newsy, and his talk show has been cancelled effective the end of this season. So he has mornings free...

Who would you hire to sit at the table on The View?

Puerto Rico Hates Fags?

2013-03-09T13:17:00.001-07:00

I have seen some weird things in the fine print on receipts, from wonky ads to bad spelling to outrageous return policies, but this was a first for me....

An ATM at a bar in San Juan, Puerto Rico, is printing WE HATE FAGS at the bottom of its receipts. Bar owners say they have nothing to do with the machine as it’s owned and run by a separate company, and they’ve disconnected it.

Puerto Rico currently does not ban discrimination based on sexual orientation, and maintains a ban on gay people adopting children. Not impressed, Puerto Rico people....

Image from New Civil Rights

Ellen's letter to the Supreme Court...

2013-03-03T14:07:00.001-07:00

I love Ellen DeGeneres for her humour, her bravery, and her big heart... though mostly for her Annie-Hall-ish wardrobe.

As the US Supreme Court gets ready to hear a case on California's gay marriage ban, Proposition 8, many businesses such as Apple and Nike, and celebrities including Clint Eastwood, are signing or filing briefs in favour of marriage equality.

Ellen, who is famously gay and famously out and famously married, posted her brief, and as expected it is terrific. Here it is, from her website...

California’s Proposition 8 is headed to the Supreme Court. Hundreds of companies and families as well as Republicans are submitting briefs urging the 9 judges to allow gay people to marry. I thought that was ridiculous. Why would judges want all of that underwear? Then, after a quick talk with some people, I found out what a brief was.

I’ve never filed a brief to the Supreme Court, so I thought I would post mine here. I’m sure someone will tweet it to them.

Portia and I have been married for 4 years and they have been the happiest of my life. And in those 4 years, I don’t think we hurt anyone else’s marriage. I asked all of my neighbors and they say they’re fine.

But even though Portia and I got married in the short period of time when it was legal in California, there are 1,138 federal rights for married couples that we don’t have, including some that protect married people from losing their homes, or their savings or custody of their children.

The truth is, Portia and I aren’t as different from you as you might think. We’re just trying to find happiness in the bodies and minds we were given, like everyone else.

Coming out was one of the hardest things I ever did. I didn’t intend to be on the cover of Time magazine saying, “Yep, I’m gay.” The truth is, I don’t even remember saying that. I mean, I definitely said the “I’m gay” part. It’s the “yep” I don’t remember. I’m not really a “yep” person. “Yes siree Bob” maybe. But not “yep.”

In the words of Benjamin Franklin, “We’re here, we’re queer, get over it.” And there’s another famous quote that says “A society is judged by how it treats its weakest members.” I couldn’t agree with that more. No one’s really sure who said it first, so if anyone asks, tell them I said it.

I hope the Supreme Court will do the right thing, and let everyone enjoy the same rights. It’s going to help keep families together. It’s going to make kids feel better about who they are. And it is time.

*I was just told Benjamin Franklin did not say that first quote. I apologize and see that I have a lot to learn about stuff.

Can Dogs Smile?

2013-03-01T08:08:00.000-07:00

Can Dogs Smile? ....Yes. Yes they can...

... and some fun effects with Alfie photos, courtesy of www.photofunia.com: