There have been a few articles out about him playing gayface and how the portrayal is offensive, but my main reason is that I just don’t care for the utter and often unprovoked ridicule of others as shown in his tv and film projects. Having grown up nerdy, shy, queer, awkward and above all black in the Georgia ‘burbs, I know what it’s like to be made fun of for no reason. About the only thing that makes it clever* these days is that reality show producers and talk show hosts have figured out a way to make millions out of the same process and make the general populace feel better about themselves by being able to laugh at the “freaks”.

But the best thing to me is–even though the Express reviewer managed to point out good and bad points in the film–that the little infographic says: For Fans of: Ali G Indahouse & Borat. In other words, Cohen’s crap is in a class all by itself, but if you like that sort of thing then you’ll love this.**

About the only positive thing I can say about Cohen’s comedy is that he’s able to create characters that are outrageous, yet just believable enough that people are fooled. And as the lawsuits have already started up about this film, it seems like people are far happier to be part of a gag when they’re actually let in on the joke. But then what would be the fun of that?

In light of this recent event, would the above ad campaign–albeit very clever–in metro stations be considered ironic or simply poor timing?*

This isn’t to say I haven’t seen metro riders bumping into one another on the platforms due to mobile devices as well. While I was taking this picture, some douchebag nearly missed me because he was entranced by his Blackberry.

I realize that things are rarely as cut and dry as a summary makes them seem, but wow. I kinda knew something about a gun rider being attached to the bill, but I didn’t realize its intent was–apparently–to nullify DC’s gun legislation. That’s just some crazy talk, man. I realize that the gun lobby is very powerful, but don’t they read the District’s daily headlines?

A conspiracy theorist might rank this one right up there with the same urban area whispers about crack and AIDS, “make it easier for them to kill each other” n’ all.

Ah, I needed that. For someone that lives in DC, I’m not really into politics. I understand how the game is played, but this just seems like such a bonehead maneuver*. Clearly these conservative politicians and lobbyists live in the Limbaugh/O’Reilly-verse. They can say and do anything and if people actually take notice of it and call them on it, they can change the past at the drop of a hat and say that it never happened.

Ah well, happy Hump Day and hey, let’s be careful out there.

Even so, some do make the grade and right now I’m into Phineas and Ferb. As it comes on Disney XD, I really did wonder if I was reverting into immaturity, but then I watched the episode, “Dude, We’re Getting the Band Back Together.” The premise being the boys trying to get their parents’ favorite band to reunite for their anniversary–without their mother knowing. While their attempt to get the lead singer takes place in a music store very reminiscent of a scene from The Blues Brothers, asking the bass player to return is nothing less than fabulous***:

And then I realize… I’m watching a TV show that is extremely appropriate for me.**** Ferb’s facial expressions and rare breaks in his silence slay me.

Since my usual daily animated dose is of The Simpsons, it’s nice to have something else to watch when I get home. And who wouldn’t be interested in a pair of boy genius step-brothers who build fantastical gadgets while their older sister constantly tries to expose their plans to their mother? Oh, and their pet platypus is also a secret agent.

From the Milwaukee, WI Journal Sentinel: State agency’s new logo has an anarchist ring to it. The state’s Government Accountability Board commissioned a new logo that many say bears a striking resemblance to the symbol for anarchy.

Yeah… it kinda does.

[Kevin Kennedy, the board's director] said he first became aware of the similarity when a board employee mentioned it as they reviewed drafts of the design.

“I think there are significant differences” between the designs, Kennedy said.

The design firm didn’t return a call.

The quotes are the best. They didn’t interview just any ol’ Madisonian*, they found a record store owner, a volunteer from a collective that distributes anarchist literature and the owner of a now-closed café that featured the anarchy logo on its sign**:

“I think it’s a strange choice for them. [...] Irony is an overused word, but that’s somewhat ironic in this case,” said [café owner Warwick] Seay, who goes by the name Warlock.

I suspect there’s a journalist drinking game or a scavenger hunt of sorts about finding people with certain names, professions, etc. to get a quote from. I’m betting “Warlock” is worth quite a bit!

This one comes by way of Live It, LOVE It. She mentioned it to us at happy hour this past Friday and until she actually sent me the link to her blog entry, I wasn’t completely convinced it was true.

Turns out… it’s f’realz, yo. That phrase is probably on one of the game cards, come to think of it. Catch My Drift?!? is one in a long line of vocabulary/lexicon type board/card games, but really draws its style of play from Taboo. “[H]elp your teammates guess the lingo … but use caution not to slip up and mention the violation words.” Yeah… sounds pretty familiar.

But if you have any doubt that this game is on & poppin’ or off the heezy, by all means, check out their commercial!

The best is the commentary that followed between LiLu and her sister–who e-mailed it to her:

LiLu: The whole time, I kept waiting for the punchline… and then it was SERIOUS.

Lil Sis: Oh, so serious. My favorite part is that they’re all so white.

LiLu: HAHAHAHAHA. The whiteness is blinding.

Given the small distribution, it seems to be an entrepreneurial venture, so let’s hope it’s able to take off for them before the Hasbro lawyers take notice of it… or their primary audience realizes that Urban Dictionary is free for the browsing. Between that website and watching BET and MTV, I’m sure any owners could make their own expansion packs.

I know that usually the papers and many blogs post photos of this event every year, but I swear it never gets old… never. I’ve previously called Ultimate Fighting Championship “one of the [most] homoerotic sporting events I’ve seen.” I wonder if Yağlı güres would swipe that title away were it broadcast here in the states.

Still, it’s nice to look at, and honestly pretty impressive. I can sometimes barely keep hold of food when I’m slathering it in oil or butter, I certainly can’t imagine being any good at wrasslin’ in it.* And it really is a great shot.

Some of the other ads which have played off of the character’s apparent simple-mindedness, the security of the other guys’ masculinity or his just not “getting” it. This one goes for a plain and simple concept: he sissied out in front of his bros.

Just like nuts & balls, sometimes the simplest jokes are the best. And his recovery is priceless.* And since the weather was recently reported as raining sideways, I’m going to need a good laugh on the way home… sans umbrella.

A co-worker had been creating their own password variations and iterations on the sports theme for a while now but ran into a little problem…

them: I’ve been using various passwords based on those, but now I’m running out of balls.

some snickering followed

me: Well why don’t you switch from balls to nuts?

Yes, we’re just that immature. Yes, we laughed our asses off so hard that we both cried. Don’t pretend you wouldn’t have said the same thing if it happened to you.

It’s been a bit of a long blogless stretch, but there just seemed to be more important things to focus on than throwing out a few hundred words. Sadly, death has been a constant theme this month: Iran protests, the metro tragedy, a friend’s loss, and the number of “celebrity” deaths keeps rising.* I’m not normally a news hound, but I’ve added it into my daily routine.

In any case, I haven’t been up to much on the home front. I did check out Friday night happy hour at The EFN Lounge/Motley Bar and got out for a bit this weekend to people watch over dinner and drinks in Adams Morgan, but for the most part I stayed in and attempted to catch up on the Spring Cleaning that is clearly long overdue.** My flickr and brightkite streams probably made the weekend look only slightly more interesting than it was.

About the only foodie thing I did was to make some Sangria and I remembered that I haven’t posted the recipe I use yet. It’s from America’s Test Kitchen, though I embellish it from time to time. I have heard that pre-mixed sangria mixes are out there and do the job just as well, so YMMV, but this recipe is pretty darn easy:

The Best Sangria***

Ingredients

• 2 large oranges, washed (one orange sliced, the other juiced)
• 1 large lemon, washed and sliced
• ¼ cup sugar
• ¼ cup triple sec
• 1 (750 ml) bottle inexpensive fruity medium-bodied red wine, chilled

Directions

1. Add sliced orange and lemon and sugar to large pitcher; mash gently with wooden spoon until fruit releases some juice, but is not totally crushed, and sugar dissolves, about 1 minute.
2. Stir in orange juice, triple sec, and wine; refrigerate for at least 2–and up to 8–hours.
3. Before serving, add ice and stir briskly to distribute fruit and pulp; serve immediately.

Notes

One large juiced orange produces about ½ cup of juice, if you wanted to substitute that step. I sometimes add in pear-flavored liqueur in addition to the triple sec, and I’ve tasted it at 2, 4, 6 and 8 hours, and it really is best to give it at least 6 before serving. Letting it sit overnight is fine, but if you plan to enjoy it over a few days as I do, fish out the orange and lemon slices after the first day–the peels start to impart a bitterness that is easy to ignore at first, but gets worse over time. I’ve yet to experiment with different fruit add-ins because oranges and lemons are far easier to slice up than sectioning other types of fruit.****