World AIDS Day

Hello Lovies,

Please take a moment to remember the staggering number of people lost to this disease.

Do all that you can to ensure that you protect and educate yourself and those you love.

We are one day closer to finding a cure.

Dazz

Happy National Coming Out Day!

 Hello Lovies,

Please lend your support to a relative or friend who is about to take that huge step of coming out to their family and friends! Understand that for them it is an important step in their journey; the ability to live honestly and openly amongst those they love and who love them.

Celebrate this day with Pride, Acceptance, Tolerance and LOVE!

Be the support for your friend, relative or loved one as they take a huge step today and make the decision to own and live their truth.

Let them know how much you love them and how proud you are of them for living their truth.

In light of the recent spate of suicides by Gay teens and young people, please know that if you or someone you know and love is considering suicide, there are places that you or they can go for help.

The Trevor Project is a non-profit organization that operates the only nationwide, 24hr. crisis and suicide prevention helpline for LGBT young people.

The helpline is a a toll-free number (1-866-488-7386) and is a confidential service that provides callers with trained counselors. The Trevor Project also provides guidance and vital resources to parents and educators in order to foster safe, accepting and inclusive environments for all youth, at home and at school.

The Trevor Project's motto is 'Saving Young Lives'.

If you or a loved one need help, please contact them.

Love,

Dazz

Happy 21st Birthday Chris!

Hiya Chris,

Just wanted to wish you a very Happy 21st Birthday. I hope you enjoy your day and all your wishes come true.

Here's some Allan Hyde (he will always be Godric to us, sigh) to get you through the day with a HUGE smile on your face.

Since you're also a Harry Potter lover (Snarry), I know you recognize the Aquiline font I used.

Mischief Managed,

Dazz

History In The Making!

Hello Lovies!

Today, Wednesday August 4th 2010, is the date history was made. Today, Chief U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker overturned California's ban on same-sex marriage, acknowledging that a violation of the constitutional rights of gays and lesbians had occurred. He also ordered that Prop 8 be immediately lifted to allow same sex marriage while the case moves to a higher court.

Click here to read about the decision.

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger released the following statement after the ruling.

“Judge Walker had the great responsibility of deciding whether Proposition 8 violates the Constitution of the United States. He heard in-depth arguments from both sides on fundamental questions of due process, equal protection and freedom from discrimination. There are strong feelings on both sides of this issue, and I am glad that all viewpoints were respected throughout the proceedings. We should also recognize that there will continue to be different points of view in the wake of this decision.

“For the hundreds of thousands of Californians in gay and lesbian households who are managing their day-to-day lives, this decision affirms the full legal protections and safeguards I believe everyone deserves. At the same time, it provides an opportunity for all Californians to consider our history of leading the way to the future, and our growing reputation of treating all people and their relationships with equal respect and dignity.

“Today's decision is by no means California's first milestone, nor our last, on America's road to equality and freedom for all people.”



Well said, Sir. Well said.

Make no mistake, today's decision is a HUGE victory, however, there is still a long fight to go in our quest for same sex marriage rights.

But today, lovies, is a happy day; I am so proud to be a supporter of the LGBT community and proud of what Judge Walker's decision means for my Gay and Lesbian friends and family.

We will be celebrating today's victory while preparing ourselves for the uphill battle to ensure that one day soon, THERE WILL BE EQUALITY FOR GAYS AND LESBIANS UNDER THE CONSTITUTION.

Remember, as you celebrate today's landmark decision:

If you are going to drink, do NOT drive.
If you are going to drive, do NOT drink.

Love,

Dazz

Nostalgia: Ricky Martin

Hello Lovies!

Today is the first installment in the series of Nostalgia posts. What are Nostalgia posts, you ask? They are what happens after you and your friends sit around talking and someone says, "Hey, remember...?" Then all of a sudden you're hurling down memory lane being pummeled with all sorts of good and bad memories as well as thoughts of 'what the fuck was I thinking when I wore that?' (Denim hat with the big ass sunflower on it a la Blossom, I'm looking at you!!! Whoa!).

Anyletstalkhotsexylatinmen, the subject of today's post is Ricky Martin. Let me first say that I am too young to know Menudo (liar) but my first vivid memory of Ricky Martin was when he performed The Cup Of Life at the 1999 Grammy Awards. Holy Fuck! That man was fuckhotsexy!

We were in my living room having our annual Grammy Viewing party and when we heard the horns and the drums started beating, we were like wha...salsa on the Grammys? Then cut to the fuckhotsexy man in his black leather (okay probably pleather) pants swiveling his hips to this sultry beat...HOLA! Seriously, by the time he reached the refrain "Do You Really Want It?" we all answered "Yeah!" If you need a refresher of that performance, I found a relatively clear version on the YT see below.

Isn't he pretty?! Did you see the standing ovation? Okay true confession time, we taped the Grammys that year and as soon as it was over we rewound the tape and watched Ricky's performance over and over again dancing to the song and yelling out "Do You Really Want It? Yeah!" and then counting in English, Spanish and French. #TrueFax. Ah Good Times.

The next day all anyone could talk about was Ricky Martin. How sexy he was, how he moved those hips, how he looked like he was genuinely having such a good time performing and just how totally unexpectedly awesome his performance was. He got a fucking standing ovation!

Who could have known that there were bigger and better things to come from him now that he had successfully crossed over into the 'English-speaking' market? Another confession, I was a member of the BMG CD Club and that right there is how I satisfied my Ricky Martin addiction. I started ordering his shit in Spanish...which I couldn't speak that well then (not much better today, sadly) but I didn't care, because I discovered that apart from being fuckhotsexy, Ricky Martin had an awesome voice...especially in those ballads. Dear God. I think I had one of my very first orgasms to a Ricky Martin song...not going to tell you which one. #TMFIOvershare.

Listen to the longing in his voice...guh. Beautiful.

Listen to the passion in his voice:

That brings us to the zenith of Ricky's career. Three of the best songs ever:

She Bangs (please ignore the feathered side-swept bangs)

Shake Your Bon Bon: Best lyric ever "Up in the Himalayas, Come on I wanna lay ya"

Livin' La Vida Loca: Seriously, you CANNOT listen to this song without swiveling your hips and thinking that you have become an honorary latina shaking your ass all over the place. Sadly, this was me, back in the day. (and right now as I write this post) #Sadface. One of my all time favorite songs.

So, thank you Ricky Martin for introducing me to Latin music. It was because of you that I broadened my musical horizons. That lead to world music appreciation. That lead to Enrique Iglesias (pre-mole removal...yeah I'm bitter about that). It also lead to JLo, and THAT I'm holding against you.

I love Ricky Martin.

Nostalgia; it's a beautiful thing.

Dazz

Happy Birthday: Gale Harold

Hello Lovies!

Happy Birthday to the beautiful, sexy and talented Gale Harold.

Thank you for bringing our favorite unapologetic, blatant, sexy narcissist Brian Kinney to life.

In your honor we are declaring this a Queer As Folk weekend and will be watching the entire series on DVD all weekend long.

Hope you have a great day, Gale.

With love,

Dazz

Happy 4th Of July

Hello Lovies!

Here's hoping that everyone has a great 4th of July.

As always, please behave responsibly:

If you're going to drink, DON'T drive.
If you're going to drive, DON'T drink.

While you're celebrating the independence of our nation, please take a minute to acknowledge the men and women of our armed forces who serve at home and abroad to ensure our continued freedom.

Enjoy your day!

Dazz

Celebrate With Pride

Hello Lovies,

As the end of LGBT Pride month approaches, today is a day of fun, revelry, celebration and Pride.

Enjoy the parades/events and please remember to celebrate responsibly and HAVE FUN!!!

If you're going to drink, DON'T drive.
If you're going to drive, DON'T drink.

Peace and Love,

Dazz

Progress: Unanimous In Iceland

Hello Lovies,

Today, parliament in Iceland passed a law allowing same-sex partners to get married.

The vote was 49 to 0. Unanimous support, people. Unanimous!

Progress, slow but sure. One day EVERYONE will have this right to marry whomever they choose.

I sincerely believe that this will be a reality in my lifetime.

Dazz

It's Snangerous!

Hello Lovies,

It's been a while, but I'm feeling the SS/HG love once again.

Turn to page three hundred and ninety four! GUH!

Le Sigh.

Dazz

Who's Really To Blame For The US Financial Crisis

I bet I shocked you with this post title, huh?!

Yes, I'm going to step away from my typical light-hearted fare to talk about something serious.

For the past few years the US has been in the midst of the biggest financial crisis since the Great Depression. All of the experts have weighed in and the blame game and the pointing of fingers has been going on for the past 3 years.

I'm no financial expert. I'm no political pundit. However, I am an investor and a consumer and therefore believe myself qualified enough to share an educated opinion about what I believe lead us here as a country.

In it's simplest form, this crisis can be blamed on 2 things:

1. Avarice on Wall Street

2. Naiveté on Main Street



Avarice on Wall Street:


In my mind this is pretty self explanatory. Wall Street's primary function is to provide me, as an investor, with lucrative investments so that I can make a shit load of money. That's their 'Raison d'être'. Yes, implicit in that function, they're supposed to ensure that the investments they offer are sound. We trust them to do this for us. We trust them to reassure us that all is well and that our money is safe. However, we forget that this is a THEIR business and they will look out for themselves FIRST!

Bottom line, Wall Street put together some shoddy, shitty bundles of investments (Mortgage Backed Securities) marketed and sold the shit out of them and made a killing by duping (whether that was the initial intent withstanding) their trusting investors.

Naiveté on Main Street:

So Wall Street pushes these new (Super-duper! Get them while they're HOT!) investments to your banks, credit unions, 401Ks etc. and, as is want to happen with such a dastardly trickle-down effect, they end up on the doorsteps of John and Jane Q. Public on Main Street in the form of Mortgages.

We can all argue now that hindsight is 20/20, but right at that moment all John and Jane could see was the opportunity to achieve the 'American Dream'; to own their very own home. So, they naively signed away their lives agreeing to terms they either didn't comprehend, were blithely unaware of, or determined that they could meet the terms of the contract when their mortgage payment tripled after a year.

I remember hearing the rationale put forth by friends/co-workers trying to reassure themselves that they could 'do it'. Both partners would get second jobs. They would save more from right now. They could cut out lattes, HBO, sell the second car and take lunch to work every day. They would invest more on the side. All sound, long term goals and noble to boot. What they did not account for was the fact that when the crisis hit that they would lose the very jobs they had now. Harsh reality soon set in and the dream was lost; evidenced by the foreclosure sign on the lawn of the dream house they really, truly could never, ever afford in the first place.

Sad, but true.

As my grandma used to say:

'If it looks too good to be true, then it probably is.'

Those investments Wall Street was selling us were too good to be true, but that was what lured us as the salivating, greedy, money-hungry investors that we are. The returns were good, so we didn't ask any questions or tread carefully. Wall Street's greed and Investor greed. That's Avarice.

As a consumer, taught that our 'be all, end all' is to own our own home, we jumped at the chance to do it and do it NOW. It all looked so doable, so simple. That should have been our first clue. That's Naiveté.

Thanks for reading.

Dazz, Investor & Consumer.

True Blood & The Samson Hair Effect: Paging Mr. Ball

Dear Alan Ball,

I have been trying to not let this situation with your Eric Northman get to me; but I'm mad as hell and can't take it anymore!! Something has to be done about this tragic situation immediately and only you have the power to ensure that things are fixed pronto!

When I first heard that 'they' were going to be adapting Charlaine Harris' Southern Vampire Mysteries into a TV show, I was leery. Until I heard that you were going to be the one doing the adapting; that you would be the one in charge. Knowing that it was you, I was able to rest easy, confident that you would do the books justice and keep me, as a loyal visitor to Bon Temps, happy with the way you adapted all of the characters.

Right off the bat, I saw similarities and huge differences, but I was willing to take the ride with you and see where your fertile imagination would lead this viewer.

Never in a million years would I have believed that you would make a heinous mistake with my favorite character from the books - Eric Northman. Eric of all people! When we were first introduced to him on the show the first thing out of my mouth was 'what the fuck is up with his hair?' The second thing was 'what the fuck is up with his voice?' I don't remember much after that, except for the part where they hurried out of Fangtasia on some sort of silent hovercraft surfboard??? Think about that, you'll get what I'm saying.

Let's tackle the voice thing first as it is the lesser of the two evils, IMHO. When you read books, you form certain impressions of the characters in your mind, based off of their descriptions by the author. If there is one thing that Charlaine Harris is phenomenally talented at it is her detailed descriptions of her characters. So from reading her descriptions of Eric, I was expecting to see a Viking but dressed in today's clothing - predominantly jeans and T-Shirt (with the occasional black leather thrown in). I figured, how hard was that description to fuck up. Apparently it was very easy to fuck up because damn, you put the most vile wig/hair extensions on a sexy ass Swede with a near David Beckham proportion Kermit the Frog voice. Sweet Baby Jesus, it was like sensory overload for me.

So,the hair. Please fix this. Eric is supposed to be Viking. That means long (at least brushing the shoulder length), lustrous, beautiful, golden tresses. Not a weave that looks like it was worn by a ho on the stroll! Those tacky assed extensions are not gonna cut it sir.

As the series progressed, I could see that there were attempts to fix the hair situation, culminating in the tongue-in-cheek admission by a foil wearing Eric that Pam was giving him highlights. We all yelled Huzzah that you heard and were acting based on all of our rants on the HBO TB message boards!

So, I liked (not loved) the newer shorter slicked back do and was willing to give you a pass on not adhering to canon Eric. I mean FFS, you didn't kill off my fave Lafayette, so who the fuck was I to complain about unpretty hair?

So, I lay content until I saw promos for season 3 and Eric's hair was a very dark blond??? What.The.Fuck? Handle this immediately, the Viking MUST BE GOLDEN BLOND!

This is the Samson Hair Effect at work: the more you fuck with Eric's hair, the more turned off you are going to make your viewers. You do not want us picketing HBO demanding better Hair Quality for Bon Temps' sexy Viking Vampire Sheriff, do you? Seriously though, Eric's strength lies in his hair. Fuck with it and you emasculate him and kill the sexy.

So now let's talk about the voice. When I first heard him speak, I got the David Beckham flashback - you look at the pretty, lick your lips and then he opens his mouth and speaks and totes ruins the fantasy. Then I notice that Eric's voice grew on me and soon it became acceptable. Plus, I realized that during season 2 when he appeared very comfortable in his role as Eric, his vocal register, speech patterns and body language all mellowed out and all was well with my dear Sheriff.

On a final note, please, no more track suits or wife-beaters for Eric. There's something about the proportion of Alex's upper body to his lower half that makes him look slightly...how can I put this diplomatically...'oafish' when he is wearing a wife-beater. Also, no self respecting Viking, no matter how old, would ever wear a fucking track-suit!

I cannot wait to see what you have in store for us for season 3! Let me also add that I am glad that both Eggs and Maryanne are dead; those character story-lines were drawn out waaay to long and we actually cheered when they both met their fates.

I have a few requests for season 3:

More Pam: she's a snarky bitch and EVERYONE loves a snarky bitch!
More Lafayette: EVERYONE could use a little more Lafayette in their lives!
At least one appearance by Gran: Lois Smith is a phenomenal actress; I think she deserves a dream sequence.
More Andy Bellefleur
More Terry Bellefleur
Less Beel and Shuky: Sorry, I meant Bill and Sookie, but it is truly a fucking travesty the way they say each other's names.Cringe.Fucking.Worthy.Pronunciation. Blurgh.

and Finally...MORE ERIC!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Let the Eric/Sookie sparks ignite.

Damn, is it June13th yet?

Ta.

Dazz

LoTR: Aragorn & Legolas

Hello Lovies!

So today me and the GBFs were surfing and chatting and came across some recent pics of Orlando Bloom and we couldn't help but reminisc about how fucking hawt Orly was back in his LoTR heyday. That lead to us going through what seemed like hundreds of vids on YouTube just quivering at the Legolas Pretty. Damn, that man's fine, slightly effeminate, elven features still bring the moists and the boners to this day! TMI? Perhaps, but don't pretend you don't KNOW what I mean.

As we perused the vids, we couldn't help but notice the smoldering all-male Pretty (and Jaw Porn) that is Viggo Mortensen aka Strider aka Aragorn aka King Elessar. No matter what you call him, that man is fuckhot. I am calling this Araporn from now on.

After what may have been several hours perusing the Pretty (solely for research purposes of course) we happened across one video that we all loved! It is strictly Aragorn and Legolas and let me tell you the thing is fucking hot! Seriously, how come I never saw this homoerotic, smoldering, UST, bromantic shit when I was watching these films when they first came out years ago???? Damn, the looks that they were exchanging...GUH and UNF!

*Goes to Amazon.com to order LoTR Trilogy on DVD posthaste!*

Anyineedtochangemypantiesrighthefucknow, here's the vid below, click and enjoy.




Ta,

Dazz

Conan and...TBS? Uh...Ok.

Hello Lovies!

So...Conan and... TBS? What The Fuck? Yah, didn't see that partnership coming.

Anyhoodle...bring it on Conando, I miss you and I'll watch you on that channel that I hardly ever watch but which I will now favorite in anticipation of your show's debut in November.

Does anyone else see the fucked up irony/reverse serendipity that Conan's new 11p.m. show on TBS will be bumping George Lopez's show to midnight?

Somewhere the Chin is having a snicker.

Team Conando, Bitches!

Ta,

Dazz

Enough.Is.Enough.

Dear Media: There are no 'pregnant men'. Cease and desist with the sensationalist and disrespectful headlines!

JFC, this characterization has been driving me crazy since the first transgendered woman (in transition) became pregnant a few years ago and the media adopted the disgusting misnomer 'pregnant man'.

Biologically speaking, it is currently impossible for a man to become pregnant. That is a fact. The individuals who have become famous/infamous over the past few years are WOMEN. Yes, they are considered transgendered as they are transitioning from FTM, however, since they still have female reproductive organs and can become pregnant, they are still biologically considered female.

The term 'pregnant man' is one that was adopted by the MSM merely as a sensationalist ploy for ratings, readership etc., IMHO. Really, the term is disrespectful to transgendered individuals and those deciding/preparing to transition.

I also think that it does the LGBT community a huge disservice when others (outsiders) are allowed to label them inaccurately.

I frequent and comment on a few blogs and today this story was mentioned with the term 'pregnant man' in the post title. Some like me, were offended by the incorrect characterization of the transgendered female who had given birth. There was also a lot of confusion expressed by the commenters (if she identified as a man, why would she want to get pregnant and have a child?) as well as out and out intolerance and disgust (surprise surprise, NOT) at the couple.

The bruhaha made me wonder. The women who are pregnant and are being interviewed for their story, can't they insist on a change in how they are being characterized? They can demand/insist that the term 'pregnant man' is a misnomer and that they don't want to be referred to as such. Take the opportunity to educate the public on your unique circumstance. In effect, label yourself before someone incorrectly or inaccurately labels you.

Something like:

"I was born a woman, however I felt that I identified more as a male and decided to transition from FTM. As part of my transition, I had my breasts removed, began hormone treatments etc. Prior to completing gender reassignment surgery portion of my transition, I decided that I wanted to have a child of my own. Using donated sperm, I became pregnant and gave birth. I will now either go forward with the gender reassignment surgery or not.' To me, this addresses both the choice that they made to transition and to have a child.

Maybe, I am unintentionally oversimplifying this due to my lack of any real knowledge of their unique situations. Maybe these women's hands are tied? Would they rather get their story (of a family, who may not be your 'typical' one, but who are loving and 'normal' like any other family) out to the public and show the world that they have every right to start and raise a family like everyone else? Is that more important than 'getting the terms right'?

My fervent hope is that there will be a universal term death: 'Pregnant Man'.

Dazz