By and large, I've been too busy dealing with sane people this past month to indulge in a rant about Kirk Cameron's crazy pants ranting about how the gays are destroying civilization - no, my friend, the other 90% of the population in charge of our country have done that all by themselves, they didn't need teh gayz help to make that happen. Maybe if there were a few more of the gays focusing on being fabulous rather than oh I don't know, VPs shooting their hunting buddies in the face with a rifle or divorcing their wives while they lay in a coma, we might all be better off.
In any event, better bloggers than I have taken him to task and while I could be bitter and wonder aloud why he hasn't been fired from the show he's on, I have to realize, oh no, Kirk Cameron isn't actually employed as an actor (at least not that I'm aware) so what he was doing on Piers Morgan in the first place is the biggest mystery of them all.
But whatever. I digress. If you, like me, want to see the shit kicked out of KC (verbally people, VERBALLY) then take a gander at this video made by other child stars speaking out against Cameron's unbelievably small mind. Truth to tell, this is the most buzz that Kirk Cameron has had in about oh 20 years and he should get down on his knees and... well, let's just stop at saying he should be grateful and leave it at that. This is, after all, a family blog. :)
I dont have the facts to back this up, but Herman Cain is an idiot. OK I take that back, Cain IS an idiot and shows us unrefutable proof in a clip from The Piers Morgan Show (below) that he's stupider than Harold Camping will feel tomorrow morning when he wakes from his bed and finds that nope, you're wrong again (and I think that's three strikes by the way)
Cain is claiming that being gay is a choice and that we don't have 'scientific proof' to show otherwise. Uhmmmmm what about millions of gays, lesbians and transgendered people who know otherwise?
Thankfully, not only does Piers nearly laugh at him to his face, but Dan Savage is on the case demanding that Cain suck his dick to prove that one can 'choose' to be gay (see the above).
What's scariest though is that some part of the USA's population think this guy is an actual viable candidate for the job of President. The upside in this is that he makes people like Mitt Romney look reasonable. That's quite a feat. Congrats, Cain! (Thanks to the Bilerico Project for posting the clip)
As you can tell by blog entires this week, I've been pouring through all my stuff and posting all the things that I've collected all summer that I've been too busy to post before.:)
This is one of the best things I've read all summer long about same sex marriage, penned by Denis Leary (Rescue Me) in the pages of Entertainment Weekly in July):
Leary gives out The Denny, (a made up award) "for Best Comedy to ....The gay marriage debate. Because there isn't one. We have couples who want to legally declare their devotion to each other, raise children in loving households, and are willing to fight for their country? How much more American do you want them to be? Do they need to gain 40 pounds of belly fat and wear black socks with sandalsand buy tickets to see Jimmy Buffett? One day soon you will have a gay family living next door. And their kids will be better dressed, better behaved, and waaaay better dancers than your kids."
While I was in the throes of moving and the Pieces drama was happening, singer Amy Winehouse passed away. It was the weekend that the same sex marriage law was going into effect here in New York and I was in Hudson attending the first same sex wedding. It was hot, I was sweaty and was celebrating this historic event and so, I have to admit, not being much of an Amy Winehouse fan but knowing her history (who didn't?) I didn't think 'wow that was a shock', I was more like "well, that's just sad and tragic".I shrugged and shook my head.
Over the years I've had many friends who have battled one kind of addiction or another. Being in nightlife and associated with the porn industry, well, you don't have to have a great pitching arm to throw a stone very far to find someone whose demons have taken over their lives. There were many cases, back when I lived in LA from 1998 - 2003, when I was never sure if I was talking to The Person or Their Addiction. I have to admit unless someone is totally whacked out, I find myself unable to tell if they're altered. I'm sure that there were many times when I was hosting "Cocktails with the Stars" that I was speaking to The Altered but as long as it didn't make a particular star any more incoherant than sometimes they could be, I guess it didn't really faze me.
There was one time, though, when a big bodybuilder star at the time, who was also a friend of mine, and someone that had just the sweetest heart, went missing about 20 minutes into the show and several of us canvassed Micky's looking for him. Since he lived a few blocks away, I had someone run to his apartment and knock on his door to see if he had gone home for some reason (this was in about 2000 or 2001 and cells just weren't that common).
It wasn't until a little later when I went into the men's room that I found him slumped on the floor of the stall, vomit cascading down his burly chest. He looked up at me, half coherant with the saddest eyes I'd ever seen anyone have. The usual light that was there - playful, friendly, sexy - was gone.
Up until now I had thought that this guy was one of the juciest stars I knew.. but nothing is a bigger turn off than someone taking a vomit nap in a bathroom stall. Since he was a huge motherfucker I had to get a couple guys to help me take him up the back staircase sight unseen from everyone. Protecting him from the public embarassment of his fans knowing what had happened was the least I could do. We laid him out on a dingy couch and got a rag to wipe him up .. and a bucket in case there was any more coming.
Momma was there that night and if you know West Hollywoods most beloved drag queen, you know that she can be kind but also to the point and she taught me a valuable lesson. I had been very angry at him for popping an ecstacy (during an interview, what was wrong with him I thought!) but also very sad. Momma wouldn't have any of it and ordered him, or as she called him "my little drug addict", and gave him a couple slaps in the face. Surprisingly the 'tough love' act brought him around but he would still be baked out of his mind for hours.
I went back downstairs and finished the show telling everyone that he was "not feeling well" and had gone home and would be rebooked in the future. I'm not sure if I ever rebooked him to be honest. It's hard to know just how far to enable someone. I was shocked though, the next day when, instead of calling me to thank me for helping him, he called to ask how he would be getting paid. I told him that he wouldn't be given what had happened. I was floored though, just by how much in denial he was about his problem.
I bring this up because addiction runs rampant in our community and sure, we probably all have cutesy, funny, stories like this to share... but the underlying situation is quite grim and very tragic. When we love ourselves, when we face our addictions, when we get help, it's when we heal. I could probably fill a daily blog for weeks on stories of this or that star or friend that battled addiction. I used to think that I could make a difference in their lives ... but the truth is that they themselves are the only ones who can affect the change.
Here's is what Russell Brand had to say about Winehouse's passing and it's totally on the money (as quoted in the August 5th issue of Entertainment Weekly):
"When you love someone who suffers from the disease of addiction you await the phone call. there will be a phone call. The sincere hope is that the call will be from the addict themselves, thelling you that they've had enough, that they're ready to stop, ready to try somethig new. Of course though, you fear the other call, the sad nocturnal chime from a friend or relative telling you it's too late, she's gone.. We have lost a beautiful and talented woman to this disease."
If you are someone who has a loved one who is going through addiction and don't know how to handle it, I strongly suggest you Google search for an Al Anon or a Nar Anon meeting in your area. You can also go to any AA or CMA meeting as long as it's designated as "open". The meetings are brutal and you have to be brave. But it is a challenge that we all unfortunately have to face at one point or another, one day at a time.
And now, a little tune from Amy because only she can sing it like this. Good night Amy. Rest well.
Just because I love people who are passionate and articulate, I automatically adore Cynthia Crane Story who wrote the following letter to landlord Jane Goldman about reneging on the Pieces deal. I've never met her but this note was forwarded to me today and Ms. Story gave me permission to reprint it here on this blog.
We made it pretty, and now we're being booted out... we might not win this fight, but I'm determined not to go quietly!
***
Dear Jane Goldman,
As the former Chair person of the MULRY ANGLE/WEST 11TH STREET BLOCK ASSOCIATION for almost 30 years, I am horrified by the new Anti-Gay agenda of NIMBY Greenwich Village residents. Eighth Street, once the home of the Bon Soir and other clubs, is the perfect place for PIECES to continue its existence. As a Landlord on West 11th Street for 43 years we never reneged on a lease in preparation and rented to many many gays over the years. We never had cause to regret so doing, nor did we ever regret moving into an area that was brought back from the brink of becoming a slum in the 60’s/70’s, solely by the efforts of the gay community. This is no way to behave in an area once known for its freedom of belief. I will studiously avoid any replacement business installed where PIECES was to move, and I will so encourage all I know. If the Community Board supports a liquor license in that location, there is no reason to deny PIECES the lease. I hope and pray that you will reconsider this hasty, bigoted move against PIECES as a tenant.
You've probably already heard about this but I figure it's worth a re-post - as you may know producer Chuck Lorre writes and posts 'vanity cards' at the end of every episode of Two and A Half Men and Big Bang Theory. A "vanity card" is that full screen image you see at the end of TV shows. Most times they're static, but they can also move (Stephen J. Cannell's imfamous ripping the paper out of his typewriter to name just the most famous)
Lorre's are so popular that he's devoted a part of his website to posting them - mainly because they sometimes get censored by CBS and/or go by so quickly that the average viewer can't read them and isn't interested in them enough to hit the rewind/pause button on their cable.
This past Monday, on VDay, Lorre posted the following vanity card:
CHUCK LORRE PRODUCTIONS, #329
I exercise regularly. I eat moderate amounts of healthy food. I make sure to get plenty of rest. I see my doctor once a year and my dentist twice a year. I floss every night. I've had chest x–rays, cardio stress tests, EKG's and colonoscopies. I see a psychologist and have a variety of hobbies to reduce stress. I don't drink. I don't smoke. I don't do drugs. I don't have crazy, reckless sex with strangers.
If Charlie Sheen outlives me, I'm gonna be really pissed.
Now if I were Mr. Sheen and the guy who depends on me for ratings is expressing such a vote of non confidence, that would send me back directly to the Four Seasons and another suitcase of coke ....But really, a guy who wrings a lot of humor from Sheen's playboy character isn't the first person that I'd look to for sympathy anyway. :)
Sadly, there's all sorts of talk that if the network can't find a way to deal with Sheen's drug and hooker problem that they'll have no choice but to cancel the show.. which would depress me if I were Holland Taylor, Jon Cryer, et al.
it was an incredible night last night at Pieces as One Life to Live star Florencia Lozano and singer Deni Bonet joined me for a fabulous night of fundraising for God's Love We Deliver Was it a great night because I got to kiss both of my guests? (maybe), was it because we raised hundreds of dollars by auctioning off two sets of tickets to Priscilla Queen of the Desert?? (that's a start!) or was it because I had a rip-roaring good time with a bar full of fans, friends, press and supporters of our charity, stars and Will Clark Show regulars? (the answer is: yes).
Favorite quote of the night when asked about her character Tea Delgado and her frenemy relationship with Blair Cramer, Florencia said of herself on the show "I think she's a little gay" which of course elicited rip roaring cheers from the crowd!! As far as rumors about a Roger Howath return as "realTodd" she thought the idea was fantastic but said "I know nothing. I'd spoil it for you if I knew but they don't tell us anything!" And of course everyone in the place just erupted with applause! :)
More in a day or two as soon as my schedule slows down a bit to post pics from the night... but here's my favorite (so far) after taking a quick peek at the pics this morning... enjoy!!
Meanwhile, check in with the We Love Soaps site for their coverage of the night and I'll be back tonight or over the weekend with the full recap and gallery of images! Have a great Thursday everyone!!
"Stop organizing life around the people who DON’T get the joke. Fuck them if they don’t get the joke." - Bill Maher
TV junkies like myself were astounded last night to find out that last night's Countdown was Keith Olbermann's final show. I'll admit that watching Keith rant can be exhausting especially when it's clear that the rant isn't about anything that he would normally feel the need to rant about - it's just there because he's expected to rant about something, anything. But when he was on fire (like during the last Presidential election, no one could compare - except Rachel Maddow of course but then, she's in a class by herself).
Anyway, afterwards, Bill Maher had Rachel and some others on his later night show and they talked about the firing. I'm including the clip below because it's really significant to me Bill Maher's line about Keith discontinuing his "Worst Person in the World" segment. Sure, it was sophmoric and beneath him, it came off at times as petty and small and sure, yes it was harder to take him seriously when he did have something of merit to say when it was buried in chastising Sarah Palin.. again. Can we just all agree that Palin has by far succeeded Dan Quayle as the Dumbest Person on Earth and then just simply never give the woman any more press?
The clip is short and speaks to committing to the thing that you're great for, and not letting the masses squeeze it out of you. And yes, I got all of that from the minute and a half segment. :)
On a lighter note, yesterday was also Jeff Zuckers last day at NBC. Yay.
And on a super lighter note, does this mean that Olbermann is vying to replace Regis on the "Live" show? <snicker>
"Now that I am officially a "Drag Cougar" I resolve to help any hot, young, confused "straight" boy find his way, and if his way happens to be up my skirt well then so be it. I also resolve to keep my bedroom neat, otherwise I might accidentially find myself on an episode of Hoarders. FYI Whoreders are tramps who hog men!"
