Wanda Sykes Comes Out

Comedian Wanda Sykes came out yesterday while speaking in opposition to Prop 8 at a rally. Here's a little bit of what she had to say:

“You know, I don't really talk about my sexual orientation. I didn't feel like I had to. I was just living my life, not necessarily in the closet, but I was living my life," said Sykes, 44, while speaking at a Las Vegas rally for gay marriage.

“I got pissed off,” she continued. “They pissed me off. I said, 'You know what? Now I gotta get in your face.' And that’s what we all have to do now. They pissed off the wrong group of people. They have galvanized a community...Instead of having gay marriage in California, we’re going to get it across the country.”

Glad to have her add her voice to the fray! Here's more if you want it.

Voyage to the Island of the MILF

I'm leaving on Monday for a two week trip to the city of Davao in the Philippines. My family is going to meet the family & friends of our newest member, my sister-in-law Dyane. Although I grew up overseas and can often startle people with bizarre stories in exotic settings the plain truth is that I have not left the States since 1989, nor have I taken vacations with my family of origin. So right now I'm excited & nervous & totally ready to share the trip with anyone who wants to come along!

Today's fun fact: Davao is on the island of Mindanao and it has been voted one of Asia's Most Livable Cities. I'm really looking forward to seeing the Eagle Sanctuary & lots of other sites. However, the island is home to an Muslim separatist group who have recently back-stabbed by the government and have renewed their armed conflict. The name of this armed insurgent group? The MILF. Insert jokes here < >. And if I am captured or in anyway harmed please feel free to laugh.

Why I Love the Olympics

Answer: Gratuitous moments like these. This is Mark Spitz in 1972, on the cover of Sports Illustrated. This week features the new golden boy, Michael Phelps.

Puritan American Eats Its Own. Again.

If you, like me, are spending this week mourning the political suicide of John Edwards this video is heartbreaking. It was made by Rielle Hunter (aka Lisa Druck, former girlfriend of novelist Jay McInerney and the inspiration for the lead character in Story of My Life - love a good backstory) and has been pulled from most sites. In it he talks about being more authentic, being himself, wanting "people to see who I am." He addresses the Democrat's fear of morality as an issue, claiming that leadership on moral issues include hunger, and poverty.

The idea that the most powerful and magnetic leaders we have are judged by their private sexual behaviour makes no sense to me.

See you in a few years, John. Sorry we care more about who you sleep with than who you help.

Creepy

This whole story is rather fascinating. Wartime leader of genocidal attacks Radovan Karadzic goes underground as a New Age healer - this is the movie Mike Myers should have made instead of the Love Guru.

God Bless the British Press

Really, with a photo like that do I have to write anything? So this girl felt something buzzing in her bra and thought it was her cell phone. Eventually she realizes, hey, if my phone is in my hand, what's that still moving in my, oh god. So she reaches in and pulls out a bat. At work. In a hotel lobby. Double brilliant. Here's the rest cause you know you need more. And yes, that is her in the picture above, camping it up for her 15 seconds of fame.

Home, Happy

Just home from Leather Retreat, had such an amazing, mind-blowing time. One of the biggest surprises was meeting many local people (one who lives within EYESIGHT of my front yard - ridiculous). There were some damn special out-of-town folks that I'm excited to keep up with too. Support for Whole was tremendous; I'll post more about this project this week here and elsewhere. If you are reading this cause you meet me at LR and participated in my happiness please do get in touch. Y'all are sexy!

High Water Mark of American TV Culture

Entertainment Weekly listed "The Facts of Life Goes to Paris" as one of their top 10 entertainment moments in history. I couldn't agree more.

fan site

Candy Design Run Amok

Found this on Slog and it made me laugh. They should totally sell these at the movie theater!
Originally from Joey deVilla.

I Heart Nancy Pearl

Nancy Pearl has been a hero to me.Even before she became the model for the Action Figure Librarian She has written Book Lust and More Book Lust, each lovely paperbacks that recommend books for any mood. Her bio claims "Nancy Pearl has become a rock star among readers and the tastemaker people turn to when deciding what to read next." Exactly everything I want to be when I grow up.

But the reason I was thinking about her today, causing me to gaze fondly at my autographed Deluxe Action Figure and then get on to posting about my fandom, is that she has a great little email newsletter that shows up in my inbox from time to time and reminds me how much I love books. Now mind you, this is not something I forget easily. But in the everyday push & pull, the temptations of magazines and podcasts and newspapers can overwhelm my senses and make me forget the lush joy of falling into a novel. Or the inky-thumbed rush of tearing through a pulpy mystery. Or the braniac delights of satisfying non-fiction. Nancy Pearl's email often sends me in new directions, scurrying for my library card or at least a trip to Goodreads to add to the evergrowing "to read" list. But there's just something about having that list, about having that stack of plastic wrapped library books waiting next to my bed, that tears me away from the temptations of Netflix and Hulu and whatever ephemeral media has captured my eye and lures me back to my first love: text, bound pages, spine, leaves = books. And for that I will always love Nancy Pearl and look forward to her next email.

Baltimore Gets Hot & Heavy

Join me in the drive up 95 to go to the Erotic Arts Festival put together by Load of Fun. It's on July 18th & 19th (Fri & Sat) and will feature over 50 artists and performers, including Annie Sprinkle, the lovely woman kindly offering you a wide assortment of toys in the above photo. She will be screening her film Annie Sprinkle's Amazing World of Orgasm at the festival (yay!).

The Festival will include hands on workshops, performances, film screenings (including the hot & heavy stars of Crashpad), henna & body painting, and something called a Sensorium that I think I'll enjoy. Saturday's events will be MC'ed by the ever-sexy Lee Harrington and will include a play space. So pack your toys (or if you need more stop by Sugar first) and come have fun!

Tickets at Sugar or online here. More info on MySpace too.

Map of Ireland - Read it Now!

I really try not to be pushy about books.  I love them, can't fall asleep without a stack of them threatening to collapse on me, and love to recommend good reads.  Many of my friends take advantage of this proclivity, sometimes at odd hours.  Few visitors to my home leave without having some sort of reading material offered as a parting gift.

Map of Ireland is a spectacular read.  It is haunting and elegant and has stayed with me since finishing it two weeks ago to the point where I might read it again.  Now.  

The story unfolds through the narration of a 16 year old girl from South Boston.  Her community is caught up in the turmoil of busing in 1974.  She's never had close contact with anyone who wasn't white, so when her French teacher turns out to be a woman of African descent from Paris on an exchange program her world is blown open.  Our narrator is also exploring the meaning of her attraction to other girls, dealing with the ways in which this marks her as different herself in her tight-knit community. Don't be put off by the age of the narrator, even those who rabidly avoid "coming of age" stories will find unexpected twists and moments of shock.  Read it already.

To read more or buy it, check this out. Or this. Or this from the lovely Charis Books.

Frogs!

For President's Day I had the joy of accompanying two of my favorite kids to an exhibit at the National Geographic Museum called Frogs! A Chorus of Colors. It was incredibly vibrant and made me all excited to be a field trip geek again. The posion dart frogs were even brighter in person, and the camouflaged Vietnamese mossy frog was actually pretty hard to spot. There's a companion exhibit called Face to Face with Frogs, Photographs by Mark W. Moffett which sports some serious Frogs With Attitude (see above). Frogs! is up until May 11th: indulge your inner geek and go enjoy.

Hot Chocolate City

My new obsession is Lucy. Specifically, the Lucy, a signature hot chocolate beverage at ACKC Cocoa Gallery, the hot new cocoa bar & gallery on 14th St. The Lucy combines blissful dark hot chocolate with chipotle & cinnamon - dreamy. The store also has one of the best selections of interesting chocolates I've ever seen in DC. For those who can't imagine their hot beverages without caffeine, they do have a full espresso bar too. Go see Delando, he'll hook you up.

Lesbian Sketch Comedy

So Logo has been a pretty hit or miss affair, but in YouTube sized bites it can be really darn funny. Case in point:

Pretty Pictures, Tough Story

I'm not feeling eloquent, here's all I got: read it. Stumbled on this graphic novel in the library last night and got wrapped up in it. Here's a proper review to do justice to a haunting story.

Upon further investigation, I'm loving Rutu Modan even more.

Gettin Some at Ben's Chili Bowl

Local crooner J Holiday has a new video out and it's entirely set at Ben's Chili Bowl. If you've lived in DC for more than a minute you've probably washed up at Ben's late at night or maybe played hookie over some chili fries. Anyway, I don't remember anybody behind the counter looking quite THIS good, even in my drinking days, but it's nice to have the U Street landmark shown some love.

Lois on the Loose!

On Christmas Day I was in Los Angeles at the home of a friend from 5th grade in St. Charles, IL. Lara was a picture-perfect Christmas hostess. We arrived to stockings for all of us and a huge stack of gifts that we opened after an amazing meal for 14 sparkling individuals. The first present I opened was a book - and it turned out to be written by one of my fellow dinner guests!
Lois on the Loose is a fantastic, zippy read about one woman's motorcycle journey from Alaska to Argentina. I highly recommend it for any fans of gonzo travel lit, motorcycling or those who harbor job-quitting fantasies. Lois Pryce is a delightful person to meet at a dinner party and even better company on the road. She blogs & shoots as she goes and you can catch a glimpse here. Her next book Red Tape and White Knuckles follows her Trans Africa tour and I can't wait to go along.

Word Gets Around

So of course, like many others, my New Year's resolution is to actually post to this thing! It seemed wise to start off 2008 with a tip o' the hat to the fellows who helped me get excited about marketing using blogs and social networking. James Burgin and Jon Ward were speakers at a marketing seminar I attended in LA. Their presentation was fantastic and for anyone interested in selling anything at all in any forum I highly recommend checking out their site: The Social Branding Center.

Taken from their blog here is their Social Branding Manifesto:

Old-school branding is based on seduction.
Social branding is based on conversation.


Old-school branding sits and waits for the crowds to come.
Social branding steps out and engages with individuals and communities.


Old-school branding avoids offending anyone.
Social branding is assertive, opinionated, and disruptive.


Old-school branding keeps repeating the same message.
Social branding keeps adapting to a changing world.


Old-school branding is driven by appearances.
Social branding is driven by ideas.


Old-school branding needs no social conscience.
Social branding must have a social conscience.


Old-school branding feels like work.
Social branding feels like fun.