MUSIC: "Telephone" Lady Gaga feat. Beyonce

[Like Lady Antebellum's "Need You Now", I like this song the first time I heard it... very catchy, but also very structured, plus it has a lot of layers. Every time I listen to it, I'm dancing.]

"Telephone"
by Lady Gaga feat. Beyonce
Lyrics:

[Lady Gaga:]
Hello, hello, baby
You called, I can’t hear a thing.
I have got no service
in the club, you see, see
Wha-Wha-What did you say?
Oh, you’re breaking up on me
Sorry, I cannot hear you,
I’m kinda busy.

K-kinda busy
K-kinda busy
Sorry, I cannot hear you, I’m kinda busy.

Just a second,
it’s my favorite song they’re gonna play
And I cannot text you with
a drink in my hand, eh
You shoulda made some plans with me,
you knew that I was free.
And now you won’t stop calling me;
I’m kinda busy.

Stop callin’, stop callin’,
I don’t wanna think anymore!
I left my hand and my heart on the dance floor.
Stop callin’, stop callin’,
I don’t wanna talk anymore!
I left my hand and my heart on the dance floor.

Eh, eh, eh, eh, eh, eh, eh, eh, eh
Stop telephonin’ me!
Eh, eh, eh, eh, eh, eh, eh, eh, eh
I’m busy!
Eh, eh, eh, eh, eh, eh, eh, eh, eh
Stop telephonin’ me!
Eh, eh, eh, eh, eh, eh, eh, eh, eh

Can call all you want,
but there’s no one home,
and you’re not gonna reach my telephone!
Out in the club,
and I’m sippin’ that bub,
and you’re not gonna reach my telephone!

Call when you want,
but there’s no one home,
and you’re not gonna reach my telephone!
Out in the club,
and I’m sippin’ that bub,
and you’re not gonna reach my telephone!

[Beyonce:]
Boy, the way you blowin’ up my phone
won’t make me leave no faster.
Put my coat on faster,
leave my girls no faster.
I shoulda left my phone at home,
’cause this is a disaster!
Callin’ like a collector -
sorry, I cannot answer!

Not that I don’t like you,
I’m just at a party.
And I am sick and tired
of my phone r-ringing.
Sometimes I feel like
I live in Grand Central Station.
Tonight I’m not takin’ no calls,
’cause I’ll be dancin’.

‘Cause I’ll be dancin’
‘Cause I’ll be dancin’
Tonight I’m not takin’ no calls, ’cause I’ll be dancin’!

[x2]
Stop callin’, stop callin’,
I don’t wanna think anymore!
I left my hand and my heart on the dance floor.
Stop callin’, stop callin’,
I don’t wanna talk anymore!
I left my hand and my heart on the dance floor.

Eh, eh, eh, eh, eh, eh, eh, eh, eh
Stop telephonin’ me!
Eh, eh, eh, eh, eh, eh, eh, eh, eh
I’m busy!
Eh, eh, eh, eh, eh, eh, eh, eh, eh
Stop telephonin’ me!
Eh, eh, eh, eh, eh, eh, eh, eh, eh

[x2]
Can call all you want,
but there’s no one home,
you’re not gonna reach my telephone!
‘Cause I’m out in the club,
and I’m sippin’ that bub,
and you’re not gonna reach my telephone!

[x2]
My telephone!
M-m-my telephone!
‘Cause I’m out in the club,
and I’m sippin’ that bub,
and you’re not gonna reach my telephone!

We’re sorry the number you have reached is not in service at this time.
Please check the number, or try your call again


MUSIC: "Bad Romance" by Lady Gaga

"Bad Romance"
by Lady Gaga
On Ellen:
Official Video:

Lyrics:

Oh-oh-oh-oh-oooh-oh-oh-oh-oooh-oh-oh-oh!
Caught in a bad romance
Oh-oh-oh-oh-oooh-oh-oh-oh-oooh-oh-oh-oh!
Caught in a bad romance

Rah-rah-ah-ah-ah-ah!
Roma-roma-mamaa!
Ga-ga-ooh-la-la!
Want your bad romance

Rah-rah-ah-ah-ah-ah!
Roma-roma-mamaa!
Ga-ga-ooh-la-la!
Want your bad romance

I want your ugly
I want your disease
I want your everything
As long as it's free
I want your love
(Love-love-love I want your love)

I want your drama
The touch of your hand
I want your leather-studded kiss in the sand
I want your love
Love-love-love
I want your love
(Love-love-love I want your love)

You know that I want you
And you know that I need you
I want it bad, your bad romance

I want your loving and
I want your revenge
You and me could write a bad romance
(Oh-oh-oh-oh-oooh!)
I want your love and
All your lovers' revenge
You and me could write a bad romance

Oh-oh-oh-oh-oooh-oh-oh-oh-oooh-oh-oh-oh!
Caught in a bad romance
Oh-oh-oh-oh-oooh-oh-oh-oh-oooh-oh-oh-oh!
Caught in a bad romance

Rah-rah-ah-ah-ah-ah!
Roma-roma-mamaa!
Ga-ga-ooh-la-la!
Want your bad romance

I want your horror
I want your design
'Cause you're a criminal
As long as your mine
I want your love
(Love-love-love I want your love-uuhh)

I want your psycho
Your vertigo stick
Want you in my rear window
Baby your sick
I want your love
Love-love-love
I want your love
(Love-love-love I want your love)

You know that I want you
('Cause I'm a freak bitch baby!)
And you know that I need you
I want a bad, bad romance

I want your loving and
I want your revenge
You and me could write a bad romance
(Oh-oh-oh-oh-oooh!)
I want your love and
All your lovers' revenge
You and me could write a bad romance

Oh-oh-oh-oh-oooh-oh-oh-oh-oooh-oh-oh-oh!
Caught in a bad romance
Oh-oh-oh-oh-oooh-oh-oh-oh-oooh-oh-oh-oh!
Caught in a bad romance

Rah-rah-ah-ah-ah-ah!
Roma-roma-mamaa!
Ga-ga-ooh-la-la!
Want your bad romance

Walk, walk fashion baby
Work it
Move that bitch crazy

Walk, walk fashion baby
Work it
Move that bitch crazy

Walk, walk fashion baby
Work it
Move that bitch crazy

Walk, walk passion baby
Work it
I'm a freak bitch, baby

I want your love and
I want your revenge
I want your love
I don't wanna be friends

Je veux ton amour
Et je veux ta revanche
J'adore l'amour
I don't wanna be friends
Oh-oh-oh-oh-oooh!
I don't wanna be friends
(Caught in a bad romance)
I don't wanna be friends
Oh-oh-oh-oh-oooh!
Want your bad romance
(Caught in a bad romance)
Want your bad romance!

I want your loving and
I want your revenge
You and me could write a bad romance
Oh-oh-oh-oh-oooh!
I want your love and
All your lovers' revenge
You and me could write a bad romance

Oh-oh-oh-oh-oooh-oh-oh-oh-oooh-oh-oh-oh!
Want your bad romance
(Caught in a bad romance)
Want your bad romance

Oh-oh-oh-oh-oooh-oh-oh-oh-oooh-oh-oh-oh!
Want your bad romance
(Caught in a bad romance)

Rah-rah-ah-ah-ah-ah!
Roma-roma-mamaa!
Ga-ga-ooh-la-la!
Want your bad romance

VIDEO: "The Spartans" from SNL (Gerard Butler)

"No strategic value... just wanted to get my hands on you."

GAY: "Ben & Jerry's goes Hubby Hubby for Vermont weddings"

As of midnight this morning, same-sex couples are able to get married in Vermont! And to commemorate the occasion, the Vermont-based Ben & Jerry's has renamed their "Chubby Hubby" ice cream to "Hubby Hubby"!

     Official Press Release from Ben & Jerry's

     Ben & Jerry's Hubby Hubby flavor page

(and from SFGate.com)
Ben & Jerry's goes Hubby Hubby for Vermont weddings

"While activists are still hard at work on repealing Prop 8 and marriage equality, wedding bells clanged for same-sex unions for the first time in Vermont today.

Vermont, home to maple syrup and birthplace of that other magic elixir, Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream, ignored the "who will change his name" debate, and just went ahead and did it. The artist (ice cream so good it's art) formerly known as the flavor "Chubby Hubby" has a new married name: "Hubby Hubby," in support of all the newly married couples.

..."

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/scavenger/detail?entry_id=46663#ixzz0PuQzMNLa

Yay!

[eop]

BLOG: Getting Caught Up

Yeah, that's one good thing about having a speech to write: I get caught up on some of the other things I've been procrastinating.

    LINK: Top 10 Red Shirts from Gay Days 2009

Okay, I also just finished the entire 2nd season of Pushing Daisies (in 2 days?).
 

GAY DAYS 2009: Kathy Griffin!

Howdy all,
I saw Kathy perform at Gay Days Orlando a couple years ago, and she was absolutely fabulous. I just didn't expect to see her at the parks again at this year's celebration...

... as one of Cinderella's evil step-sisters...
:)

... I know that it wasn't really Kathy, but you have to admit that there's quite a resemblance. I was showing these pictures to some other gays on the monorail, asking them "Who does this person look like?" and they all "recognized" her immediately then encouraged me to send these in.

So here they are, and it's all out of our love for you.

I'm looking forward to seeing Kathy in Orlando again this August!

Happy Pride!
~Cedric

[yes, I'm catching up with my posts!]

NOFO: "Every argument against marriage equality is horsesh!t "

On his blog, Jake gives his response to many arguments against marriage equality, and oh my goodness, they're amazing.

(link to the Nofo post)

To give you a taste, here are four of the twenty-three (and counting) points... I think that he's still updating:

Gay marriage will destroy the sanctity of straight marriage
Wrong. Britney Spears’ 55-hour just-for-fun marriage destroys the sanctity of straight marriage. Rush Limbaugh’s three temporary marriages destroy the sanctity of straight marriage. John McCain dating and proposing to his second wife while still married to his disfigured first wife destroys the sanctity of marriage.

We can’t redefine marriage
• The concept of “redefining marriage” is a linguistic distraction designed to pull the spotlight away from the underlying hatred behind “traditional marriage” propaganda. Giving gay people equal access to the rights and protections of marriage will not change the definition of marriage. Nothing about gay marriage alters heterosexual marriage. The definition of marriage between heterosexuals will remain exactly the same.
• If we hadn’t redefined marriage in the 1960s, Barack Obama would still be a bastard in the 19 states that wouldn’t allow the interracial marriage of his parents when he was born.
• Ronald Reagan, the divorced patron saint of the modern conservative theocracy, redefined marriage into something temporary and easily revocable in 1969 when as governor of California he signed the Family Law Act, leading the United States into an era of no-fault divorce.
• Other historical “redefinitions” of marriage involve the transition of marriage from a business relationship between families to a property relationship between a man and his wife and then to a relationship based on relative equality between a man and a woman.

Homosexuality is not natural
Wrong. Since it occurs randomly in nature across all species without any identifiable outside influence, homosexuality is completely natural. Religion, on the other hand, is created entirely by the human imagination. Which makes it, by definition, unnatural.

Americans think gay people are gross
Americans think obese people, pregnant teenagers and Newt Gingrich are gross. And they’re allowed to marry as often as they want.

...

Jake's writing is amazing. Here another link to his post:
http://nofo.blogspot.com/2009/06/every-argument-against-marriage.html

DISNEY: Disneyland Musical Marriage Proposal

[As I'm still busy with work, and seriously needing to catch up with posts (the Red Shirt posts will just have to wait... sorry), let me offer you this video which I spotted on Micoofy.com.]

GAY DAYS 2009: Red Shirts - Top 10

***WOO!... It's Top 10 Time!!!***
(it's about time [this entry is Waaay ATF])

... (follow the link below to check out this year's finalists!) ...

Number #10
"OMGaga"
Where: in front of Cinderella's Castle
When: waiting for the 3:00pm parade
Comment: At the Gay Days expo, Cindy and I heard the Britney, Madonna, Beyonce, and Lady Gaga. This simple custom shirt embodied the gay boy. It also remnant of the OMG Shoes shirt from a couple years ago. Simple but effective and culturally relevant.

Number #9
"Dynamic Duo"
Where: Frontierland, between Pecos Bill's and Splash Mountain
When: morning
Comment: This shirt made it in the Top 10 because of the ambiguity of the "Duo" (Batman & Robin, the guy and my sister, or my sister's... girls). Also, the guy was very cheerful and really made the photo work.

Number #8
"Fierce"
Where: in the Castle hub
When: 9:20am, on the way back to the park gates to meet Cori and Marty
Comment: In a culture where we do appreciate the culturally relevant, let us not forget our "heritage". This shirt features the silhouette of the winner of Project Runway Season 4, Christian Soriano, and The catch-word of 2007. I"m glad that there are some of us who respect our "elders".

Number #7
"Ohana '09"
Where: in front of the Emporium on Main Street U.S.A
When: early morning
Comment: These shirts were a nice play on branding and slogan. There was a group of people wearing these shirts,

I think these are from the same people who brought us the "Incredi-bears" last year. They were out in large numbers, organized and happy. Parking's actually $11, but they were dead on with the "Scaring the straight person next to you...".

Number #6
"Miss Thing"
Where: Main Street U.S.A.
When: soon after Rope Drop
Comment: A couple years ago, a couple couples wearing "Thing 1"/"Thing 2" shirts made my honorable mention. Though coordinated, they didn't make my Top 10 because those are Universal Studios shirts... This year, I've gotta give these guys/ladies credit for not only being coordinated but sassy, with their addition of "Miss" to the shirts. It's evidence of how a simple change can make a big difference.

Number #5
"The Other Team"
Where: in line for Big Thunder Mountain
When: 10:50:02 AM
Comment: The lesbians cracked my Top 5! This was my sister's favorite lesbian shirt -- the clean design, the simple slogan, and the fact that the ladies wearing them were quite attractive. I told Cindy that she should create one of those shirts for next year except in baby-blue and have it read "The Other Team: Sorry Girls" Ha!.

Number #4
"May I Suggest The Sausage"
Where: just inside of the MK gates
When: at rope drop
Comment: Last year, I featured quite a number of inappropriate and/or food-related shirts. This one was one of the first red shirts we took a picture of, and it would've been too obvious and anti-climactic had this deemed our #1. It was a funny shirt, but also wearing an inappropriate food-related shirt, I wanted to err on the side of caution and not pose for this picture how my sister suggested. *stern eyes*. :P Bold, non-subtle, this shirt made my #4.

Number #3
"Bear School Musical"
Where: Frontierland
When: also while in line for Big Thunder Mountain
Comment: This shirt was colorful and had high construction value. The synergy of Disney brands was commendable -- the vintage Little John from Robin Hood, Baloo from Jungle Book, a very gay Winnie the Pooh... under the guise of a HSM-ish production. It was the cutest and most-playful of the bear shirts. [if they could've only added a "D"-word to their title, they could've had an incredibly subtle risque reference...]

Number #2
"Homo You Didn't"
Where: in front of Cinderella's Castle
When: 2:50pm-ish
Comment: When I was showing my friend Pom this year's red shirts, this was the one that caught her by surprise and was her instant favorite. Short, sweet, and clever... and you can totally hear a gay saying this. The fact that the letters were blinged out and the extra, subtle bejewelry were very nice touches.

And my pick for the Best Red Shirt of Gay Days 2009...

Number #1
"SMURFS!"
Where: in front of Splash Mountain then later in front of Cinderella's Castle
When: after riding Splash Mountain then later after the 3:00pm parade
Comment: Last year, the winner was a red "F*G" shirt flanked by three baby blue "F*GH*G"s. My sister left a comment that she'd need one blue shirt and a dozen red shirts. I guess that she kinda got her wish...

The moment we saw these guys, we knew that they were going to take the top spot. These shirts -- designed after a series of shirts featuring the bodies of Disney characters -- were very trendy and creative. The execution was incredible -- a lot of attention to detail (e.g. the rainbow lettering for "Earth Smurf", the blue kisses on "I Kissed A Smurf And I Liked It"); also, the back of their shirts provided more opportunity for personalization: "Pop A Smurf", "Donatella", "Not So Innocent".

The guys wearing the shirts also a strong factor because they were all well-groomed, friendly, and enthusiastic. They were also very quick to gather for pictures, like a group of high school cheerleaders.

Here's a list of the Smurf slogan we saw:

- I See Blue People
- I Kissed A Smurf And I Liked It
- Abercrombie & Smurf
- iSmurf
- Smurfer Dude
- Earth Smurf
- Smurf-fil-a
- I'm Bringing Smurfy Back
- Twitter My Smurf
- Have You Been Smurfed Today
- Rent-A-Smurf

And of their back:
- Johan
- Donatella
- Not So Innocent
- TEK
- ScoBo
- Scooter
- Edil
- Pop A Smurf

Great great job!

-----
*** Please leave a comment of what you think of this year's Top 10! :) ***
-----
You may also want to check out these related posts:

2009
    Gay Days 2009 Red Shirts - Preview
    Gay Days 2009 Red Shirts - Honorable Mentions

2008
    Gay Days 2008 Red Shirts - Preview
    Gay Days 2008 Red Shirts - Top 10

2007
    Gay Days 2007 - The Red Shirts

GAY DAYS 2009: Red Shirts - Honorable Mentions

At this year's Gay Days (2009!), I managed a lot of pictures of red shirts with my sister's further encouragement. We each have our favorites, and here are this year's honorable mentions...

Honorable Mentions:

"You + Me = Fail!"
Where: in the Castle hub
When: waiting for the 3:00pm parade

Comment: First of all Happy Birthday Aaron! Anyways, the shirt has one of those “let’s be honest” messages, and I totally subscribe. It’s like wearing a shirt that says, “Will you be my next ex-boyfriend.” This shirt would’ve made the Top 10 had it been executed better or more haphazardly gayer. Still, I seriously dig this shirt.
...
---------------
"He is Gay -->"
Where: at the entrance of Epcot Center
When: a couple monorail rides after the end of the 3:00pm parade

Comment: When I saw this shirt, I thought it was funny. When I saw the guy, I had to have a picture with. Very cute.
---------------
"Media Whore"
Where: in front of Cinderella's Castle
When: during a performance of the Dreams Come True stage show

Comment: I too am a media whore. I love seeing my picture in newspapers, magazines, and monthly nationwide emails (‘08 DLHM!). Anyways, I'll play Fairy Godmother to this princess and grant him some publicity.
---------------
"Gay Days '09 Anaheim"
Where: in line for Peter Pan's Flight
When: 9:10am, 2nd ride of the day

Comment: Yay, love from the West Coast. Well, here’s a shout-out from the East Coast! I actually recognized the wearer from D23's Flower and Fireworks Celebration the weekend before. Pretty awesome.
---------------
"I would Love a Gay Family"
Where: at the Gay Days Expo at the Royal Plaza Hotel
When: Friday, 10:00am-ish

Comment: This is the first animal-worn red shirt to make it onto any of my list; it was worn by a greyhound from a local greyhound rescue center. Hopefully the other dogs will take note and plan accordingly for next year.
---------------
"Want Woman"
Where: hub in front of Cinderella's Castle
When: on the way to meet Cori and Marty at the front of Magic Kingdom

Comment: A couple of lesbians wore this shirt, and it was instantly hilarious. This would've made Top 10 had I taken a picture of the actual shirts (I swiped the above picture from the Internets). I was still warming up to the shamelessness of it all, and we all seemed to be in a hurry.
---------------
"My Pecker Is Stuck"
Where: in the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad queue
When: 11:00am on the dot.

Comment: I do love the inappropriate shirts (check out the SILF from last year), and the guy wearing this shirt wore it boldly. He was also very photo-friendly -- well-groomed, sleeveless-approved, and fashionably accessorized.
---------------
"Get Plowed In Nebraska"
Where: in the Jungle Cruise queue
When: 9:45am, 3rd ride of the day

Comment: Another inappropriate shirt! (so cheeky!) Even though it features one of my friend's rival states, I love it. One of my co-workers didn't understand the shirt, and I decided halfway through my explanation it was better not to corrupt her precious mind.
---------------
"Thank You Disney For Being A Friend"
Where: Big Thunder Mountain Railroad queue
When: about the same as the other BTMR pictures

Comment: Here's a group entry. The front of the shirt reads "Thank you Disney for being a friend" and on the back, there was a different saucy saying from Golden Girls. It was a nice homage to Bea Arthur. A couple quotes are the following:

"Rose, I know this is a long shot, but did you take too much acid in the sixties?" - Dorothy Zbornak
"It's Miami in June. Only cats are wearing fur." - Dorothy Zbornak

The shirt's font was difficult to read, but their timeliness and creativity were still much appreciated.
---------------
"All Smart Bears Are Wearing Red"
Where: in the line to get into the 1:00pm Country Bear Jamboree
When: quarter-til

Comment: The shirt was cute, especially with the "think, think, think!" but the shirt was a bit too subtle -- it took me until I got home to realize that Pooh was wearing red. No worries for Pooh though, you'll see him again in my Top 10 on another Bear entry.
---------------
"Don't Poke The Bear/Cubby"
Where: looking back towards Tomorrowland
When: a little past 2:00pm, after MILF

Comment: Okay, another bear entry. They are a creative bunch who know how to operate an iron, and I do enjoy the homemades. Awww. I spotted this papa bear at the 1:00pm Country Bear Jamboree but had a better shot later on here.
---------------
"The Smart Ride"
Where: Big Thunder Mountain Railroad!
When: 10:58:42am

Comment: No innuendo here. Just a good cause. This shirt was worn by my friend Michael C. (please sponsor!) who is participating in this charity bicycle ride benefiting the Broward House, a community-based organization that provides a full array of quality services to those living with and at risk for HIV and other health issues... something to truly be honorably mentioned.

GAY DAYS 2009: Red Shirts - Preview

I feel that the the red shirts for Gay Days keep getting more and more creative. The bar gets set higher each year -- so much so that I wanted to don a custom shirt for this year's festivities.

I was very happy and fortunate to have my sister Cindy fly down for the weekend. I had a few red shirt options, and originally, my idea was for me to wear a traditional red shirt that would reads "She's my sister" and for her to wear a baby blue shirt that would read "He's my sister". But that idea required too many letters (S's), and instead we ended up wearing the following:

Me --> my Threadless "Piece of Meat" shirt ($5 on sale!!)...

... with a custom slogan on the back:


[The slogan was also an alternative. There was no way that I was going to wear a shirt that read "I like it raw".]

Cindy (who is straight) --> a "You Had Me At Homo" shirt from Gay.com:


She had her picture taken more than me.

[Photo credit goes to my friend David B. Thanks!]

I'm still working on finalizing my Top 10 and selecting the Honorable Mentions. I can't wait!

GAY DAYS 2009: Country Bear Jamboree

Gay Days was this weekend, and it was fabulous. I have a lot of pictures to go through and another few blog entries from it to work on and post.

I was happy with the number of red shirts that I was able to get a picture of this year, though there were a couple that I really wanted but just missed. I already have a idea of which ones will make my Top 10, but there is still a little wiggle room. I'm going to post the Honorable Mentions first, followed by the finalists, but that'll be later this week.

The trip reports will also be a while, but in the meantime, below is a couple-three pictures from the 1:00pm Country Bear Jamboree gathering and a video I took of a whole lot of bears doing the hokey pokey in the lobby as we wait for the doors to the theater to open. Enjoy!

Pictures:

12:30pm Outside of the Country Bear Jamboree
(before the rush)
12:45pm In the Country Bears lobby
1:15pm The spill of bears outside after the show.
(enough for maybe 4 full CBJ performances)

Video:

MUSIC: "Shining Light" by Annie Lennox

This is a new song on the recently released Annie Lennox Collection; it is a cover of "Shining Light" by Ash. The lyrics are uplifting and a perfect choice by Annie Lennox. This new version and it accompanying video enhance this optimistic feeling even more. And I can really see this song getting a lot more exposure come June (if you know what I mean).

Great job Annie!

"Shining Light"
by Annie Lennox
Lyrics:

Roman candles that burn in the night
Yeah, you are a shining light
You lit a torch in the infinite
Yeah, you are a shining light
Yeah, you light up my life

You’ve always been a thorn in their side
But to me you’re a shining light
You arrive and the night is alive
Yeah, you are a shining light
Yeah, you light up my life

We made our connection
A full on chemical reaction
Brought by dark divine intervention
Yeah, you are a shining light
A constellation once seen
Over Royal David’s city
An epiphany you burn so pretty
Yeah, you are a shining light

You are a force, you are a constant source
Yeah, you are a shining light
Incandescent in the darkest night
Yeah, you are shining light
My mortal blood I would sacrifice
For you are a shining light
Sovereign bride of the infinite
Yeah, you are a shining light
Yeah, you light up my life

We made our connection
A full on chemical reaction
Brought by dark divine intervention
Yeah, you are a shining light
A constellation once seen
Over Royal David’s city
An epiphany you burn so pretty
Yeah, you are a shining light

And these are days you often say
There’s nothing that we can’t do
Beneath a canopy of stars
I’d shed blood for you
The North Star in the firmament
You shine the most bright
I’ve seen you draped in an electric veil
Shrouded in celestial light

We made our connection
A full on chemical reaction
Brought by dark divine intervention
Yeah, you are a shining light
A constellation once seen
Over Royal David’s city
An epiphany you burn so pretty
Yeah, you are a shining light
Yeah, you light up my life
Yeah, you are a shining light
Yeah, you light up my life

EVENT: Herb's Winter Solstice Party

My friend Herb hosted a Winter Solstice Party at his house on the 25th. He roasted four ducks for the event. Michael and Randy brought over a homemade potato casserole that had cabbage and a lot of Parmesan cheese, and Ian from FrontRunners brought over a bottle of Toasted Head cabernet sauvingon. I was going to make a honey-glazed carrots dish but didn't plan on the grocery stores closing early on Christmas Eve -- yeah, I ended up bringing a can of [fancy] mixed nuts a la CVS.


The duck was very tender and the potatoes were really good -- the freshly-grated Parmesan had some wonderful kick to it (the three lactose pills I took actually seemed to work). I held off on the wine because I didn't feel like turning red (and sleepy) that afternoon.

It was nice to be in the company of gay men, and Herb has a great set of friends -- happy, funny, and involved. And it is always so tempting for me to just to Orlando. The community there just seems to be more active and organized.


Anyways, at every Herb party, there's a featured activity like the beach-wear fashion show or last year's cookie contest (everyone still remembers and loves Michael's "Crack Cookies" -- they're so addictive). This time, we were decorating gingerbread men that Herb made -- and he made numerous batches beforehand to get the recipe just right -- and it was a fun creative activity. Here's the results:

Michael frosting his gingerbread man
Ian with his lovely creation
Me and my bespectacled bikini-ed man
Michael takes a bite
Herb showing off Randy's gingerbread man
Thank you Herb for another special gathering :)

MOVIE: Milk (and FOOD: Buca di Beppo)

[This entry is ATF.]

I went to go see Milk on its first day of release in Orlando, the 3:15pm showing at the Enzian. There was a showing of the Academy Award-winning documentary "The Times of Harvey Milk" right before, but I couldn't make it because of the race that morning. Anyways, I reserved my ticket online and when I got there, I saw a number of people I knew from OFRW and from around town. The feeling of family/community was definitely there.

It was a packed house and it was nice to be amongst some familiar older gays who knew more about the history. But I don't think that was a big obstacle for someone like me. The movie had an incredible amount of foresight as it was a close parallel to the recent struggles of the horrible CA Proposition 8 and FL Amendment 2. When Anita Bryant first appeared on screen, there were boos from the crowd.

I saw the movie as putting much of the blame of bigotry on the shoulders of the ultra-religious, which I somewhat agree with but also felt uncomfortable about. I do realize though that the death of Harvey Milk wasn't so much about his sexual orientation as it was about jealousy of another person's coming into influence.

As stated, this entry is ATF. With some perspective, I do believe that the movie should warrant a number of Oscar nods (pic, dir, act, sup act, screenplay) but I think that the momentum it needs to win is fading quickly with the release of the wrestler, doubt, and benjamin button just around the corner. I afraid that discrimination towards gays is becoming another issue that the public is going to be complacent with. Hopefully my predictions for the Oscar nominations are correct and we'll have another wave of awareness.


-----
FOOD: Buca di Beppo, Maitland, FL

Anyways, after the movie, I went with David, his brother Frank, and John & Michael ('&' because they're partnered) to Buca di Beppo. I hadn't been to a BdB in many many years, and it was a nice return.


The inside was cozily claustrophobic with Many borderline-inappropriate adornments.
The Pope table
A look at the men's bathroom
It was definitely a family-friendly restaurant, though $20/person for an family order of Spaghetti with Meatballs and a couple chicken dishes would make me consider it not so wallet-friendly.
At least we can count on getting big balls.
Still, it was good company and perhaps next time we can just cook something up at the house.
Hey Cindy, Here's my John & Michael (r,l)
:)