Google Airs "It Gets Better" Commercial During 'Glee'

During the first commercial break of tonight's 'Glee', Google aired the following commercial.  You might want to grab a tissue.



I was fine, until Woody said, "You'll be fine, partner."  Then I lost it.  What a wonderful way of sending a message to a demographic that you know is watching the program.

Thank you Google, for realizing that sometimes there are things worth advertising that are more important than your product.

Walmart Makes Things Right

The title of the post was originally going to be "Walmart.com: "Gay" Is A Four Letter Word".  Before I had the chance to write about it though, Walmart did the right thing.  Let me explain.

Last night, blogger and "It Gets Better" contributor, Mark S. King went on Walmart.com to write a review for the new "It Gets Better" book, which became available yesterday.  The book contains transcripts of some of the most inspirational videos that have been uploaded onto Youtube to date.  It also contains transcripts of the videos from celebrities and politicians that have contributed to the cause, including Barack Obama, Al Franken, and Ellen Degeneres.

When King clicked on the "submit" button to submit his review of the book, which incidentally, he is in, he received the following message:

We're sorry but we encountered the following issue(s):

• We have detected profanity in the Write Your Product Review field. Please remove the profanity and submit it again.

I received the same message when I tried to write a review last night.  Neither review had any curse words in them.  Here is a copy of the review I posted:

"A must have for any young gay or lesbian youth. It's a very inspiring book, that does let you know that things do eventually get better. Based off of Dan Savage's "It Gets Better" video project, this book continues the motivational dialog where the Youtube videos left off."

Notice any profanity?  I didn't.  So out of curiosity, I tried to write a review of the DVD of  'Glee Season 2, Volume 1' .  I mentioned that, without giving too much of the plot away, this season Kurt has to transfer to a new school due to being bullied for being gay.  Again, it wouldn't let me submit the review due to "profanity".  I substituted the word "gay" with "lesbian".  No go.  Then "queer".  Still considered profanity.  Then I tried "homosexual", thinking that maybe Walmart was actually being proactively sensitive toward the LGBT community to prevent people from leaving words like gay or queer as a slur in regards to a product (ie. "That's so gay.").  Guess again.  "Homosexual" was considered "profanity".

Eventually, when I put in the review that Kurt Hummel was being bullied because he was "transgendered", it let me submit the review (I did not submit it, in case you were wondering.).  I was furious.  Walmart already caters to middle America, "family oriented" consumers as is.  Did they need to make things worse?  I mean, take a look at the book selection in their stores.  Outside of 'Twilight' and 'The Da Vinci Code', the only books you'll see on the shelf are either religious in nature, or written by people on Fox News' payroll.  The vast majority of the LGBT community are already boycotting Target, and they really do not like Walmart to begin with.  Do we really need to have a reason to boycott another big box store?

Surprisingly though, within a matter of hours, Walmart stepped up and came through.  They issued a personal apology to Mark King.  It was given personally by spokesman Ravi Jariwala, saying:

"I apologize that this situation has been created. It was a systemic oversight, in which ‘gay’ was on a list of filtered words. Certainly it makes absolute sense for you to include this word in your review. This is a no-brainer for us."

They also issued the following "official" statement regarding the issue:

"Recently it was brought to our attention that Mark King was unable to complete a review of the book “It Gets Better” on Walmart.com. We regret that a filter did not allow his review of the book to post and we quickly worked to resolve this technical issue.

We reached out to Mark directly to discuss the issue and, as an extra measure, we have reviewed the system to ensure that it will allow the use of all appropriate words related to sexual orientation and gender identity."

Oh, and they published his review of the book, as it was originally written:

An incredibly important book., 

03/21/2011

Like many people who grew up gay and afraid, my soul may have survived those years but I have a few scars left behind. It Gets Better gently strokes these wounds — the toughened and the still-tender ones — so that young people today might take heart and make the journey to adulthood a little more safely.

There's no denying the power of this project, and what could easily be the most important book of the year.

You can read my full review at
http://marksking.com/my-fabulous-disease/the-book-with-a-promise-it-gets-better/

Product Attributes:

Value

Meets Expectations

10 of 10 found this review helpful. 

I suggest buying a copy of  'It Gets Better' when you get a chance, and when you do, a suggest buying it from Walmart.

My Reaction To Last Week's "Very Special Bi-Phobic" Episode Of 'Glee'

First of all, I apologize for posting this a little late.  I know that Glee came on Tuesday night, and it's now the following Monday.  I haven't been feeling well all week, and unfortunately, the Tumblr page has suffered.  That being said, moving on.....

When I read the rumor on After Elton that a "bisexual encounter" was going to be featured on an upcoming episode with a male character on 'Glee', I couldn't have been happier.  To think of the possibilities!  "Just imagine what the show could do for the bisexual community", I thought.  

After all, think about how much it has done for gay teens in the last year or so.  'Glee' has brought issues like anti-gay bullying to the forefront.  Gay teens have someone to look up to.  They have a role model.  His name is Kurt Hummel.  He's going through the same issues they are in school.  He feels alone.  He feels misunderstood, and, to make it worse, there's a guy on the football team that won't stop harassing him.

And now, with the second season, Kurt has a role model in Blaine Anderson.  He's doesn't show any signs of insecurity.  He's charismatic, cute, and charming as all hell.  And, as another role model to gay youth on television, is very secure in his sexual orientation.

So, I'm reading this article, and I'm thinking, "Who's it going to be?  Is it going to be Finn?  He's really lightened up in the last few episodes about his homophobia.  Maybe it's Sam.  You know, the rumor was going around at the beginning of the season that he was going to play a gay character.  When he first showed up on the show, the other characters thought he was gay.....so?  Or...best scenario.  You know Karofsky?  The football player that was bullying Kurt earlier this season?  What if he is bisexual?  Wouldn't that be great if he ended up coming out?" (OK...It's a little obvious that I follow the show closely.)

So, about a week later, another article came out on After Elton, stating that the "bisexual encounter" in question would be happening to none other than...Blaine.  FUCK!  I immediately knew that there was no way at all for this to end positively for the bisexual community.  It was much worse than I could have ever thought.

OK. Let's explain the scenario:  Rachel is having a party.  Everyone gets drunk, except Finn and Kurt.  They play "Spin the Bottle".  Rachel spins.  Bottle lands on Blaine.  They kiss.  Kiss becomes extended kiss.  Hint of some type of "spark".

The next day, Rachel works up the courage to call Blaine up and ask him out.  Blaine receives the call while having coffee with Kurt at a coffee shop.  The following conversation ensues:

Whoa..Whoa..WHOA!!  EXCUSE ME?!?!  "It felt good because you were drunk"?  "Bisexual is a term that gay guys in high school use when they wanna hold hands with girls and feel like a normal person for a change"?  My disgust was beyond words.


I must say, that although somewhat weak, it was nice to see some defense from the "accused" bisexual.  Unfortunately, this was the only discussion on the matter from Blaine until the end of the episode.  Kurt and Rachel make, for the lack of a better term, a bet, as to whether Blaine is gay or bi.


At the end of the episode, Rachel sneaks up on Blaine, and kisses him.  His reaction is along the lines of "Yep...I'm Gay."


So, by the end of the episode, the show that has supposedly been monumental in being influential and supportive to the young LGBT community, has taught us what?  It's taught us that 1. Bisexuals are "confused".  2. Bisexuality is a passing phase, and finally,  3. Bisexuality is encouraged, or brought on by alcohol.  And, to make things a hundred times worse, the name of the episode is "Blame It On The Alcohol".


The gay blogs had a fucking field day with this on Wednesday morning.  Of the three that I personally read that had a post regarding the episode, a total of 3 comments between them mentioned bi-phobia.  More than a third of the comments were upset at the way Kurt snapped at his dad after his dad found Blaine in Kurt's bed.  About another third were upset with how gays were portrayed as being "two drinks away from making out with a girl".  "But," as one commenter said, "that's how gay teenagers are these days."  The bi-phobia's so thick you can almost taste it.


My first same sex crush was George Michael.  I saw a music video of his when I was about 9 years old and instantly got butterflies.  At the time, I also had a crush on a red haired girl in my class.  That's confusing.  By the time I was 11, I was regularly attracted to people of both sexes.


In high school, I had my parents and my church convincing my I was straight.  During the day, I had guys at school calling me "faggot", because I didn't fit in to their mold.  As I got older, my gay and lesbian friends kept telling me, "Just come out of the closet already.  You're gay, man."


My point is, life is confusing enough.  We already have too many outside influences trying to shove us in one direction or another.  The last thing we need as bisexuals (especially male bisexuals), is a television show spewing bi-phobic propaganda.  It does nothing but keep bis in the closet, and gives people the assumption that their bi-phobic theories are correct.


From what I've read, starting with next week's episode, Brittany and Santana are supposed to enter into a long term bisexual relationship.  Based upon 'Glee's' previous assumptions that you either have to be "confused" or "drunk" to be bi, it's going to make for an interesting season.  Then again, I guess Brittany could be the confused one, if they can find a way to make Santana an alcoholic.  Wait, didn't I hear somewhere that "all bi girls are sluts"?


That's it.  That's the angle they'll take.

A Preview Of Tonight's "Very Bisexual" 'Glee'

By now, I'm sure many of you have heard that tonight is the big episode where Blaine questions whether he's gay or not.  I'm not really positive as to what makes him doubt his sexuality, but from the preview of tonight's episode, it looks like it involves alcohol and playing spin the bottle with Rachel Berry.  Sorry for the poor video quality:



You would think, as a bi male, I would be thrilled.  Well, I'm not.  And it's for one simple reason:  There is no way this can turn out positive for the gay or the bi community.  Let me explain.

When 'Glee' came onto the scene last season, we were introduced to Kurt Hummel.  Almost instantly, he became a role model and an idol for young gay youth around the world.  Then, in season two, Blaine came into the picture.  Not only did he become a role model for young gay men, but a role model for Kurt Hummel.  He was confident in his sexuality.  He was proud to be a gay man.

For the sake of all of the people that look up to his character for inspiration, you cannot have him doubt his sexuality.  Besides, in real life, this doesn't happen.  Someone that has known since an early age that they were gay does not suddenly have second thoughts that they might be gay one night.  That's not reality.  'Glee is lying to kids, and kids will believe it with all of their hearts.

This is the same reason I didn't like 'The Kids Are Alright'.  The main lesbian couple were together for 20+ years, and Julianne Moore's character suddenly decides she needs to start having an affair with a guy?  That doesn't happen.  I can tell you from my experience in the community, that that is Hollywood and not human sexuality.  But, people will watch that movie, and walk out of the movie theater thinking that that's what lesbians do from time to time.  It's ridiculous.

There is no possible way for tonight's 'Glee' episode to end positively for the gay community.  And, there is no positive way for it to end positively for the bi community either.  By the end of the episode, the writers will likely make it look like his bisexual thinking was just a "phase".  After all, male bisexuals don't exist, or at least, that's what we're made to believe.  We're "confused", or "gay and just don't know it yet".  They're going to play on the "confused" angle, I bet, and then, have everything cleared up nicely and have him gay again within the hour.

American primetime television needs bi male characters.  If 'Glee' was truly interested in having a genuine bi character on the show, they would have made one of the straight guys bi.  Have Sam do a same sex kiss.  He was rumored to be gay when the season started, with his dyed blonde hair and all.  Or better (best) yet, have the bully Karofsky become bisexual.  He has already kissed Kurt.  He would be the perfect candidate.  Don't mess with the guys that are already gay.  When you do, you're playing with fire, and just showing the showing the world that this isn't genuine.  It's nothing but a publicity stunt.

Just When 'Glee' Goes Fat Positive...

...They screw it up.  If you watched Tuesday night's episode of 'Glee', then you got to know Lauren Zizes better.  She kicks ass!  She's confident.  She's on the wrestling team.  She dresses cool, and she doesn't just jump into a relationship with someone.  She expects to be treated like a lady.  She wants to be wooed.

I'm watching the show, and I'm thinking, "This is great.  They're going to do a fat positive thing.  It's going to be awesome to see a positive fat teenage female character on television.  Maybe she'll be able to do what Kurt did for gay kids in America".  She's playing hard to get with Puck.  Puck's crushing hard on this girl.  Then Puck sings Queen's 'Fat Bottomed Girls':



She was insulted.  I know that if I sang that for my wife, she would be on me like white on rice.  At that point, the show, and the Lauren's character went downhill.  Number one, throughout the episode, Puck is continually telling her things like, "I usually don't go for girls like you", or "You're not my type".  The worst backhanded compliment of them all was something along the lines of, "You have to realize that I'm not into you because of what you look like, but because you're a cool person.  Like me."  I found that more of an insult than a compliment.  I think she's cute.

Secondly, and perhaps worst of all, the way they have her character written, she's always being tempted and wooed with food.  One of the jokes last night was she gave Puck his box of chocolates back because they sucked.  The box was empty.  When he asked why, she said "because I had to make sure every one of them sucked".  For fuck's sake, when he asked her out on Valentine's Day, he got down on one knee and proposed with a Ring Pop.  Really?  Food jokes for the fat chick?   I thought this show was better than that.

I've been fat all of my life.  I still am.  Even though I am over 6' 4" tall, I still weigh over 300 lbs.  Over the years, I have been able to accept the fact that I am fat and appreciate my body.  It wasn't until well into adulthood when that happened.  I am 35 now, and there are still times I look in the mirror and think, "My god, man.  Look at yourself.  You're so fat and ugly.  How could anyone ever find you attractive?"  Anyone reading this can tell you, life as a fat kid can be hell.  Personally, I was picked on and beat up more because I was fat, than because of my religion or my sexuality.

Overweight teenagers, especially teenage females, need someone on TV to look up to.  Someone empowered.  Someone confident about herself.  Someone fat positive.  Ryan Murphy, stop making fat jokes. You wouldn't subject Kurt or Blaine to gay jokes.  Don't humiliate Lauren either.  Young women need someone to look up to.  You introduced Kurt Hummel to America as a role model for our generation.  Give us Lauren Zizes.

Walmart "Magazine Censor" Fail

As most of you know, Walmart makes a regular practice of censoring some magazines at their registers, to "protect" younger customers' eyes from viewing more risqué material.  In my experience, Cosmo is most often the victim of the censorship, due to the topics of their articles.  Today, however, I saw the perfect example of how their tactics backfired on them.  Here is a picture of this month's cover of Cosmopolitan magazine:

Nothing really too shocking, right?  Now let's take a look at Walmart's censored, "child safe" version:

Now, until about 1:35 this afternoon, I had never thought of Glee's Lea Michele as "sexy".  Now, thanks to Walmart, I would seriously make out with that Rachel girl from Glee.  Walmart has opened up a whole new world for me.  Thank you, Walmart.

Glee Preview - 'When I Get You Alone'

I posted a blurb about this last night, but the video was pulled from Youtube.  To be sure I have a copy of the video that doesn't get yanked by Fox, I am posting four copies of the same video from four different sources.  All four videos are the same, so you only need to click on a working one.  Regarding the video, it's encouraging to see the rest of the Warblers, gay, straight and otherwise, helping another gay student ask a boy out.  Television needs to show that kind of unity between gay and straight characters.  Gay characters need to have more inclusion with other characters on the show, instead of always being seen as the "outsider".

Preview Of This Sunday's (Yes, I Said Sunday's) Glee

For those of you that are looking for something to watch besides football on Super Bowl Sunday, I've got good news and bad news.  The good news is that Fox is airing a special new episode of Glee Sunday night.  The bad news is that you'll have to wait until after the Super Bowl is over until you can see it.  Glee and the game are on the same network, Fox.  Glee airs immediately after the game.

In this week's episode, Blaine, Kurt and the rest of the Warblers take a shot at Destiny Child's 'Bills, Bills, Bills'.  I never thought I would hear a male lead sing this song, but it is surprisingly good.

I found a clip and had it ready to go of Blaine and the Warblers singing Robin Thicke's 'When I Get You Alone' in of all places, a Gap store.  Blaine is hitting on an employee and the group is backing him up.  It's a scene from the upcoming Valentine's Day episode.  It was pulled within an hour of me viewing it though.  Hopefully, I'll find it again.  If this is the case, though, does this mean that a love connection between Kurt and Blaine isn't in the cards for season 2?  

Brittana Is On!!

Earlier this season on Glee, we caught Brittany and Santana making out in lieu of some male companionship.  Well folks, I'm pleased to say, later this season we will be introduced to television's newest LGBT couple, "Brittana".  According to a Tweet last night from Glee co-creator Brad Falchuk:

Glee has been revolutionary in introducing America to LGBT actors and issues.  They've tackled anti-gay bullying at a time when gay youths needed it most.  It's awesome to see that they're introducing bi/lesbian female character issues to the show to speak to the female fans that they have to.  I couldn't applaud them more.

Thank you Grilled Cheesus!

Chris Colfer Wins Golden Globe For Best Supporting Actor

Chris Colfer For The Trevor Project

Chord Overstreet Not Playing Kurt's Boyfriend On Glee

I had a post back on 9/24 about a possible new gay character on Glee.  Well, it appears that I was wrong.  According to Ryan Murphy, the show's creator, Chord Overstreet will "definitely" not be playing Kurt's boyfriend.  BUT..."the new character (Darren) is certainly an option".

Who's Darren?  Darren is Glee's newest cast member Darren Chriss.  He is an actor-singer-songwriter, who most recently played Matt Dallas' brother on the series Eastwick.  On Glee, he'll be playing Blaine, a gay student from a rival glee club, the Dalton Academy Warblers.

"He sort of becomes Kurt's mentor and then maybe love", hints Ryan. "He had to leave his own school because of bullying...so Kurt really admires and respects him."  Stay tuned.

New Gay Character On Glee?

Vanity Fair recently interviewed Chord Overstreet(yes, that's his real name) for the scoop on his role as Sam on this season of Glee.  Sam is the new kid in school who becomes quarterback of the football team after Finn gets booted.  He's also the new recruit for the school's glee club.

The rumor floating around the web is that Sam is also going to be Kurt's new love interest this season.  If true, they're poised to be TV's most prominent gay characters since Will Truman and Jack MacFarland.  They would also be good role models for young people in the LBGT community.

Here is an excerpt from the interview:

Now, of course, the question everyone wants to know is if the rumors that you will become Kurt’s boyfriend on the show are accurate?

I actually don’t know that yet. We get everything an episode at a time. As of what we’ve shot now, they haven’t revealed anything about my character in a relationship way. But I think we’ll find out soon enough.

What about off the show? Any chemistry between you and Chirs Colfer?

(Laughs.) There’s a chemistry between everybody on the show. It’s weird because they’ve kind of all known each other for a year, there’s a bunch of inside jokes that I don’t get yet. You feel a little on the awkward side about jumping in with a new cast that really know each other. But everyone’s been cool. Chris has been really cool. Dianna (Agron), Corey (Monteith), Mark (Salling), Kevin (McHale). They’ve all been super cool.

So we don’t know what future episodes hold, but what if that is the case? When I spoke to Dianna Agron recently she said that one of the joys of working on the show is opening the scripts and discovering all the crazy stuff that’s about to happen. How would you feel if you opened up a script and found out you’d be playing a gay love interest?

It would just be one of those things where you have to do what the material says. The writers have a different twist for each episode. I signed on to do my job, so I need to do my job the best I can. I don’t know if I necessarily would take my work home with me! But if that was the case, I’m sure it would be fun. I mean, I’ve done a couple scenes with Chris so far, and he’s a talented guy, so I’m sure it would be a fun thing. Acting wise.

There is rumored to be man-on-man kissing. You’d be down with that?

I don’t know if I would be totally down with that outside of work. I’ve never kissed a guy before. But it’s acting. It’s kind of one of those things. Currently you have to kiss a bunch of strange people in the world of film and television.

You have to kiss a bunch of strange people?

Throughout your whole career, there’s a bunch of people you might have to kiss. Say there’s this character opposite you, and you might not be into her—or him, personally. You just gotta’ do it. That’s your job.

And beyond? You’re willing to go full Brokeback?

I have no idea. I’m going to say, no comment. I’m going to dig myself in a hole.

He's totally straight in real life....LOL.  Here's a clip featuring Chord from Tuesday's episode.  He's a pretty good singer.

Glee - Journey Medley

One of my favorite numbers from season 1.  It takes place at the regionals.  Just before they start the number, Rachel tells Finn to break a leg, and Finn responds by telling Rachel he loves her.

Slow News Day

Hasn't been much to talk about today.  I've been keeping my eye on the news and the web, but it's just been a slow news day.  So I've been catching up on Weeds season 5 and the first season of Glee.

If you'd like to talk about Shane killing Pilar, or Finn and Rachel being together now, or if you'd like to sing some Journey with me, just let me know.

I Say A Little Prayer

For those of you that thought that 'Glee' couldn't get any more gay, I present to you, The Full Silkwood:



I love it. Fabulous.