Tosh.0 Inadvertently Teaches Lesson On Sexuality

Earlier this week, Comedy Central's Tosh.0 had a segment titled 'Gay Porn Viagra Boner Challenge'.  The point of the "challenge" was to get all of the male staff in the office to wear revealing sweatpants, have them each take a Viagra, stand along a row for two hours and watch hardcore gay porn.  The first one to get an erection loses.  Watch what happens.(I promise you, you won't see anything gross.)

Tosh.0	Tuesdays 10pm / 9c
Gay Porn Viagra Boner Challenge
tosh.comedycentral.com
Tosh.0 Videos Daniel Tosh Web Redemption

That's right.  Even with Viagra, not one erection.  Like After Elton noted, they unwittingly proved a point:

The whole exercise was completely juvenile. But personally, I didn't think it was at all offensive. In a strange way it helped advance the notion that people aren't turned gay by gay imagery. You either have a same sex attraction — or you don't. And not even Viagra and two hours of extreme gay porn are going to change matters.

Either you're gay or you're not.  Porn can't influence that.  Not even Viagra can influence that.  When I was young, my mother wouldn't let me listen to Elton John or George Michael CDs because she thought that their "homosexual lifestyles" would rub off on me through their music.  Earlier this week, in an Arkansas grocery store, there were shields placed over the Us magazine cover of Elton John and David Furnish posing with their baby boy, because customers complained that they felt that it would influence their children to become gay.

I encourage you to check out a new blog.  It's called Born This Way.  It has reader submitted stories and photos of their earliest gay memory.  You would be surprised to find with some people it's as early as 3 or 4. Whether we're straight, gay, bi or transgendered, it's a part of us.  It would be ridiculous to think of our sexuality as something so superficial to be changed by just watching a video.

Body Positive Blog Post or Confidence Is Sexy As Hell

I read a blog post today from Amber, a 24 year old from Massachusetts:

"I’ve submitted a bunch of times, but never this particular picture (for reasons that I would think would be pretty obvious.)

I posted this picture on another blog and had people reblog it and pick me apart. Talk about how disgusting I looked, how it was awful how I could ever ‘let myself go’ this much and how I couldn’t possibly be happy.

After taking this picture, I looked at it and thought I looked pretty. Yup. I’ve got rolls, and cellulite and stretch marks, and to say my thighs touch is an understatement of astronomical proportions. I’ll be honest. Sometimes I see people post here and talk about losing 10 or 20lbs, and I can’t help but shake my head at how something so small could be so important to so many people out there.

What if I told you that it’s possible to not have a so-called ‘ideal’ figure, and to be happy? Because it’s entirely possible. I’ve had scores of people compliment me on my confidence. Even when I don’t feel confident, I still put it out there, and people tend to look past my weight. It seems hard to believe but it’s true!

The number on the scale is NOT important. The size of your pants is NOT important. Whether you have scars, or stretch marks, or cellulite, or rolls, or pudge, or big teeth, or acne, or a strange nose, anything that you think is a ‘deformity’, it’s NOT important. Wishing you had what someone else had is NOT important. Everyone out there is fighting a tough battle.

The person who you think is perfect most likely has body issues of their own, and at least one thing they’d like to change. The grass is always going to be greener on the other side. People find it much easier to see beauty in others, but never in themselves.

Stop. Look at yourself, and appreciate what you have. Even if you don’t think you have anything, you are alive, you are breathing, and you have the potential to do fantastic things with your life."

She's beautiful.

Record Club - Never Tear Us Apart

I've always been a sucker for a good cover, especially if it's of a song that I was originally fond of.  When INXS' 'Kick' was released in 1987, I listened to two songs repeatedly, 'Need You Tonight/Mediate' and 'Never Tear Us Apart'.  At the time, 'Never Tear Us Apart' was the quintessential modern rock love song.  Twenty four years later, it's still one of my favorite songs to play and to perform.

In early 2010, Beck formed Record Club.  According to his website:

Record Club is an informal meeting of various musicians to record an album in a day.  The album chosen to be interpreted is used as a framework.  Nothing is rehearsed or arranged ahead of time.   A track is put up here once a week.  The songs are rough renditions, often first takes that document what happened over the course of a day as opposed to a polished rendering.  There is no intention to 'add to' the original work or attempt to recreate to power of the original recording.  Only to play music and document what happens.

So far, they have recorded renditions of albums by the Velvet Underground, Yanni and Leonard Cohen.  INXS' 'Kick' was recorded on March 3rd, 2010.  It was arranged and recorded in twelve hours.  'Never Tear Us Apart' stands out as a haunting track with Annie Clark singing vocals, and a moving violin solo instead of the cheesy saxophone solo that was standard in so many 80's songs.  Enjoy.


Record Club: INXS "Never Tear Us Apart" from Beck Hansen on Vimeo.

Remembering The Challenger Disaster

There are very few instances in the last 50 years of American history that we can look back upon, and remember, in detail, exactly where we were when it took place.  My parents remember where they were when JFK was assassinated.  Their parents remember when Pearl Harbor was bombed.  My first memory with that kind of historical significance was on January 28, 1986.  

At 11:38am Eastern time, the Space Shuttle Challenger disintegrated over the Atlantic Ocean, one minute and thirteen seconds after launch.  On board were seven astronauts, including Christa McAuliffe, the first teacher in space.

NASA broadcast the launch live to thousands of schools nationwide.  I saw it live on a big screen television in the school library with my fifth grade class.  I was devastated.  I remember the worst part of all was watching McAullife's parent's in the crowd clapping.  They had no idea what was going on.  They had never seen a shuttle launch before.  I started crying.  They didn't know that they had just watched their daughter die.

Fast forward twenty five years.  The final shuttle mission is scheduled for April, NASA's future is in question, and the 25 year anniversary of the Challenger disaster is lucky to get a paragraph mention on page 3 or 4 of today's paper.  These five men and two women pioneered what we find ordinary today.  Without their sacrifice, there may not have been a possibility of "space tourism", the Hubble telescope, or the International Space Station.  We owe them our gratitude and respect.

For a detailed account of what happened on January 28th, 1986, take a look at the Wikipedia article on the Challenger disaster.  There is some interesting, and shocking, information about what happened to the shuttle and the crew during the accident.

What If Disney Made A Live Version Of Up!

...In the early '60s?  With Spencer Tracy?  Well, a trailer was released by amateur filmmaker Ivan Guerrero on January 24th, that makes you think that they just may have done so.  Take a look:



Calling them "premakes", Ivan edited together pieces of 'Guess Who's Coming To Dinner', The Muppet Movie', 'The Red Balloon', 'Superman', 'The Wizard of Oz', and more than a dozen other films, along with some crafty CGI.  His Youtube page includes "premakes' of 'Raiders of the Lost Ark', 'The Empire Strikes Back', 'Ghostbusters', and my favorite, 'Gone With the Wind With Vampires'.  It's definitely worth taking a few minutes to check it out.

From Rachel Maddow's Facebook Page

Wow...

What Will Happen If Gay Marriage Gets Legalized?

Best Website Ever....this week

Oh, Charlie Sheen.  Where do I start? According to TMZ, earlier this week, he had a "party" for 36 hours straight, with five porn stars, in which he went through a "briefcase" of cocaine.  Today, he's in rehab, and his show, 2 1/2 Men is on "indefinite hiatus".

If you're like me, you want to get right to the point when it comes to your Charlie Sheen news.  Don't tell me about how many porn actresses are locked in the bathroom.  Don't tell me how many pounds of black tar heroin were delivered to his hotel room.  Get to the point.  Is he dead or not?

Introducing ischarliesheendead.com.  Right to the point.  Check it once a day.  You'll know whether to set your TIVO for a new episode of 2 1/2 Men or not.  Done.  

At the moment:  "Packed the Gucci bag.  Rehab."  12 hours ago:  "Almost".  Ha ha.

Incredible Pics Coming Out Of Egypt

In an unprecedented move, shortly after midnight Pacific time, the Egyptian government terminated all internet service, all text messaging, and all Blackberry service nationwide.  Call me naive, but I didn't know that it was even technologically possible to do something like that.  Since then, the vast majority of video coming out of the country has been from news outlets like Al Jazeera and CNN.  Pictures have been scarce.  The ones coming out have been moving and emotional.  Take a look.

Some protests have been violent, but reports are saying that many have been peaceful, and that the military have been siding with the protesters in many locales.

Taken today during a protest in Cairo. (Courtesy Reuters)

Also taken today during an anti-government protest in Cairo. (photographer unknown, via MSNBC)

Protesters praying in Alexandria, Egypt. (Getty Images)  According to witnesses, following the prayers, riot police surrendered to protesters and were given food and water.  No violence broke out.  No one was harmed.  The scene was different in another neighborhood in Cairo where police were photographed attacking a group of peaceful protesters praying on a bridge:

Currently, there are protesters calling for democracy in Tunisa, Egypt and Yemen.  As a fellow blogger said:  "May Allah help Egypt, North Africa, and the Middle East".

'Amin

Must...Save....Ice...Cream

This was the picture on this morning's issue of The Washington Post:

What, coats?  No, no, fuck coats!  But for the love of God man, save the butter pecan!  Believe it or not, the caption read that at the time the picture was taken, he had been running down the block, back and forth, for an hour and twenty minutes carrying one cone after another.  The Baskin Robbins down the street had lost power, and he had volunteered to get a cone for everyone on the floor of his office.

Seriously, it's just a guy with no coat on in 10 degree weather, trying to protect an ice cream cone...from a snowstorm. 

Lady Gaga Releases Lyrics To 'Born This Way'

Ladies and gentlemen, may I present to you the gay anthem of the decade:

BORN THIS WAY
WRITTEN BY: LADY GAGA
PRODUCED BY: LADY GAGA, FERNANDO GARIBAY, DJ WHITE SHADOW
MIXED AND ENGINEERED BY: DAVID RUSSEL



INTRO:
It doesn't matter if you love him, or capital H-I-M
Just put your paws up
'cause you were Born This Way, Baby

VERSE:
MY MAMA TOLD ME WHEN I WAS YOUNG
WE ARE ALL BORN SUPERSTARS

SHE ROLLED MY HAIR AND PUT MY LIPSTICK ON
IN THE GLASS OF HER BOUDOIR

"THERE'S NOTHIN WRONG WITH LOVIN WHO YOU ARE"
SHE SAID, "'CAUSE HE MADE YOU PERFECT, BABE"

"SO HOLD YOUR HEAD UP GIRL AND YOU'LL GO FAR,
LISTEN TO ME WHEN I SAY"


CHORUS:
I'M BEAUTIFUL IN MY WAY
'CAUSE GOD MAKES NO MISTAKES
I'M ON THE RIGHT TRACK BABY
I WAS BORN THIS WAY

DON'T HIDE YOURSELF IN REGRET
JUST LOVE YOURSELF AND YOU'RE SET
I'M ON THE RIGHT TRACK BABY
I WAS BORN THIS WAY

POST-CHORUS:
OOO THERE AIN'T NO OTHER WAY
BABY I WAS BORN THIS WAY
BABY I WAS BORN THIS WAY
OOO THERE AIN'T NO OTHER WAY
BABY I WAS BORN-
I'M ON THE RIGHT TRACK BABY
I WAS BORN THIS WAY

DON'T BE A DRAG -JUST BE A QUEEN
DON'T BE A DRAG -JUST BE A QUEEN
DON'T BE A DRAG -JUST BE A QUEEN
DON'T BE!

VERSE:
GIVE YOURSELF PRUDENCE
AND LOVE YOUR FRIENDS
SUBWAY KID, REJOICE YOUR TRUTH

IN THE RELIGION OF THE INSECURE
I MUST BE MYSELF, RESPECT MY YOUTH

A DIFFERENT LOVER IS NOT A SIN
BELIEVE CAPITAL H-I-M (HEY HEY HEY)
I LOVE MY LIFE I LOVE THIS RECORD AND
MI AMORE VOLE FE YAH (LOVE NEEDS FAITH)

REPEAT CHORUS + POST-CHORUS

BRIDGE:

DON'T BE A DRAG, JUST BE A QUEEN
WHETHER YOU'RE BROKE OR EVERGREEN
YOU'RE BLACK, WHITE, BEIGE, CHOLA DESCENT
YOU'RE LEBANESE, YOU'RE ORIENT
WHETHER LIFE'S DISABILITIES
LEFT YOU OUTCAST, BULLIED, OR TEASED
REJOICE AND LOVE YOURSELF TODAY
'CAUSE BABY YOU WERE BORN THIS WAY

NO MATTER GAY, STRAIGHT, OR BI,
LESBIAN, TRANSGENDERED LIFE
I'M ON THE RIGHT TRACK BABY
I WAS BORN TO SURVIVE
NO MATTER BLACK, WHITE OR BEIGE
CHOLA OR ORIENT MADE
I'M ON THE RIGHT TRACK BABY
I WAS BORN TO BE BRAVE

REPEAT CHORUS


OUTRO/REFRAIN:

I WAS BORN THIS WAY HEY!
I WAS BORN THIS WAY HEY!
I'M ON THE RIGHT TRACK BABY
I WAS BORN THIS WAY HEY!

I WAS BORN THIS WAY HEY!
I WAS BORN THIS WAY HEY!
I'M ON THE RIGHT TRACK BABY
I WAS BORN THIS WAY HEY!

GAYEST...UNDERWEAR...EVER!!!

Courtesy of Etsy seller deardiary, these underwear by far are the gayest, and easily the coolest pieces of clothing I've seen on the website.

Get ready......

I know, right?!  If I had a boyfriend, I would totally be getting a set of these.  Hilarious.  I love 'em.

The United States Of Awesome

In response to the United States of Shame map that came out earlier this week, someone made an United States of Awesome map.  Somewhat interesting.  Some of them are lame.  "Golf holes per capita?"  Hardly anything to be proud of.  I did hear, though, that North Dakota is changing their state motto to: "We may be ugly, but at least we have jobs."

Gripping Image Of Egyptian Protests

Uploaded by an anonymous photographer, the image was uploaded onto the Enduring America blog at approximately 7:05pm GMT on January 25th.  Some of the videos coming out of the country on Youtube in the last two days have been extremely graphic.  My thoughts go out to these people that want nothing more than a voice.

Fun With Bonnie Tyler

When you look back on all of the one hit wonders of the 80s, one stands out in particular as particularly easy to mock 25 years later. 'Total Eclipse of the Heart' was a train wreck the likes of which could never be duplicated. The haunting piano intro.   The unknown male singer that kept saying "turn around".  The Meatloaf-esque lyrics.  The gong.  It was the female Bohemian Rhapsody, only horrid.

And then there was the video.....  Oh my God, the video.  Ninjas, Fonzies, football players, angels, fencers, gymnasts, schoolboys...all in the same night, at the same school.  The plot of Lost actually made more sense in comparison.

Check out this amusing graph that was on Jezebel.com earlier yesterday.  Then, below, is a hilarious take on the original video.  I've seen it a dozen times, and still laugh my ass off.  Honestly, with as much shit as I give this song, I still love it.

Literal Video - Total Eclipse of the Heart - watch more funny videos