Butt Munch of the Month (May) Meme Roth

I'm way late in (LOL) weighing in on this, but I'm going to put in my two cents anyway. I just read an article and watched the video below in which uber skinny Meme Roth - from National Action Against Obesity, suggested - prior to her Idol win - that Jordin Sparks should lose the contest because she is overweight and "the picture of unhealth" Is that a fuckin' word?

I couldn't carry my fat ass over to the computer to post a Butt Munch of the month for May, so here it is. Meme gets it for picking on Jordin, who I think is beautiful. As someone who works for an organization that opposes obesity, she should at least know that you can't determine whether someone is overweight simply by looking at them. The girl is 17, very tall, and her father was a football player. C'mon!

Pendeja!

"No Worries" - Impressions of New Orleans

Let’s see….

Lindsay collapsed – I hope she doesn’t kill herself; while Lindsay deserves the lion’s share of responsibility for her troubles, the press and photogs that make money off her helped to create the monster that she’s become. She's barely 21. It’s unfortunate.

Miss USA fell on her ass and is booed by Mexicans – how fucking appropriate. It’s so symbolic, it’s not even funny;

“Real Time with Bill Maher” is on hiatus; the last show was great: Ben Affleck nearly made up for “Gigli”;











…and I have some photos from New Orleans:

Chubby Checkers Piano – Ruined in Hurricane Katrina

This is the table where the Louisiana Purchase was signed…according to the attendant. I couldn’t find a placard or a note of any sort that reflected this…

The Louisiana State Museum had a really amazing collection that told the story of slavery in this old American city. I was reminded by how lucky I am not to have lived the life of a slave. It was also a reminder of the good…and bad that America is capable of. The folks who refuse to acknowledge that America is not purely a victim in this ongoing battle in Iraq and elsewhere need to take notice.

Slave owner tries to retrieve his slave.
The person he “owned”.
America the free my black ass.

“Slave Auction”

“Slave Collar”
Those bastard slave owners used this collar to hinder fleeing slaves.
There are bells attached to the collar; resourceful slaves packed the bells with mud.

Now on to nicer, shinier things….
I also went to the Mardi Gras Museum, which was literally a church away from the Louisiana State Museum.

A hushed “Work Bitch!” was all I could mutter when I saw this costume.
Before I die, I will where something that will inspire the same feeling in others.
Not a dress…but you get the point.

Catch this headpiece! Another legendary costume.

This poster really articulates the feeling behind Mardi Gras, and all the costumes. People from all walks of life, taking a break from that and losing themselves, even if just for a day, or a week.

More Amazing Costumes
Walking around the Museum, I learned that there are a number of different roles people take on during Mardi Gras. One group of costumers…revelers…etc., are the Mardi Gras Indians. There was a video that showed the black/dark brown folks sewing these elaborate costumes for hours and hours. Their commitment is only matched by the people who create the costumes for Carnival in Rio and the Labor Day Parade in NYC. It made me want to participate.

“Little Baby Indian”

The Buildings!!!
Unfortunately, I didn’t have enough memory to take more pictures, but this was my favorite. The most beautiful buildings and homes I saw looked like this:

and this:

I couldn’t escape this symbol. It was everywhere…and it obviously meant something. If New York is a cultural melting pot, then New Orleans is the gumbo cooked in such a pot. There is an equal mixture of French, Spanish and African culture. A genuine mix…it’s actually quite hard to determine which culture--if any--is the most dominant. That goes for the architecture, the people, and yes…the food. The Fleur-de-lis represents the French influence.

Recognition for HIV Workers Past Due

I'm posting from the 2007 HIV Prevention Leadership Summit, being held this year in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Each year, the CDC pulls together service providers from all over the country--including US territories, to network, get support with challenges and share ideas.

When I arrived at LaGuardia airport in NYC, I was flagged for a secondary search. I was felt up, my bags were searched; the laptop was even swabbed. Once I got past all that, I ran into several individuals I'd worked with in the past, and also took note that the airplane was filled with HIV service providers from the East Coast, all traveling to Nawlins for this conference.

Seeing all these people and being aware of my own experience as a service provider in HIV made me think about, and appreciate the work we do. Consistent infection notwithstanding, the world would be a different place if we did not do this work. That goes for everyone: from the people who fight for funding, to the individuals who do the most challenging front line work at all times of the day and night, providing an educated and nonjudgmental ear to the people who need it most.

If you wanted to be rich, you would not work in the non profit HIV industry. While folks can certainly make a living, most people would tell you that there are things they could do in other sectors that might be easier and allow them to earn more money. Some of us got into this work from the beginning--meaning: this "type of work", this HIV work, is the first and only kind of work we've ever done. I've been doing this for nearly 13 years. I started out as a Peer Educator, and over several years, I find myself managing programs. Others started out doing other work: finance, corporate, IT, etc. This most common story--from either group is that the work is very personal. Whether it's a personal experience, or witnessing the experience of someone they love, many of the people I know who do this AIDS work do so because they feel compelled. I do it because I feel it's important. I do it because I feel capable. I feel like I can make a difference. My natural membership to one of the most infected communities...Black Men who have sex with men, coupled with my work in various capacities and in various arms of HIV work, gives me a unique perspective on HIV, the work, and the people we service.

Regardless of how and why we do this work, it is important work that impacts the world. THE WORLD!! Post 9/11, there is a raised consciousness about the importance of police and firemen. This is legitimate because those people save lives. I would submit that we do the same, and the time for us to get recognition is way past due.

"Heroes" Extended Preview

Are you ready?

Butt Munch of the Month - Rudolph Giuliani

At a Republican dinner in late April, so called "America's Mayor" Rudy Giuliani suggested that only a Republican candidate--himself to be specific--could protect Americans from the efforts of terrorists. In line with the numerous sound bites Carl Rove crafted for Bush' s re-election bid, Rudy says:

"If any Republican is elected president — and I think obviously I would be the best at this — we will remain on offense....I listen a little to the Democrats and if one of them gets elected, we are going on defense," Giuliani continued. "We will wave the white flag on Iraq. We will cut back on the Patriot Act, electronic surveillance, interrogation and we will be back to our pre-Sept. 11 attitude of defense."

He added: "The Democrats do not understand the full nature and scope of the terrorist war against us."

I would never suggest that I'm a foreign policy maven or that I'm some kind of political dynamo. I'm not. I'm a citizen, who like many others post 9/11, feel an increased need to pay more attention to what happens in our government and around the world.

During the recent Republican debate, the former mayor used the fact that he "cleaned up New York" to suggest that he could do the same for the country. I'm sorry Rudy, but a bullying Mayor does not a President make. You may have fooled the rest of the country with those tired clips that show you walking around New York as "the picture of calm", but those of us who live here know that your dumb ass was walking around cause you didn't have any place to go. Rather than move the office of emergency management to an underground location in Brooklyn, you stuck by your stupid guns and stayed in the World Trade Center.

What is stupid and "butt-munchy" (my word) about Rudy's statements is that there is no evidence to support his claim that Republicans have cornered the market on dealing with terrorism. All evidence is to the contrary. He was the Republican Mayor of NYC during the attack, and it is widely known that after the first attack on WTC in 1993, we should have been way more prepared than we were on 9/11. In fact he was widely criticized for not implementing a single recommendation made by the fire department official who identified crucial emergency response failures after the first attack. There was an opportunity to use the 1993 attack to inform our security and he did not rise to the occasion. He was operating under a Republican Governor and a Republican President. That he had the temerity (I love that word) to make these comments is profound.

Lacking any experience dealing with foreign policy, Rudy can only lean on his "America's Mayor" title, which..if you really look at it, is a crock of shit. Rudy didn't bring New York together, the circumstances did. Paris Hilton could have brought us together. It doesn't wipe away everything else.

From all appearances, Rudy is attempting to offset his previously moderate positions (and his drag performances) by suggesting that America needs a war President, and that he's the man for the job.


That is a steaming pile of bullshit if I've ever seen one. For that reason, and so many more, Rudy Giuliani is the Butt Munch for the month of April. Take a look at this legendary clip from Keith Olbermann. He rips Julie Ani a new one:

Self Imposed Exile

And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom. -Anais Nin



Here I sit....in an empty apartment. The place is quiet, save for my breathing and the sound of my fingers tapping the keys as I type this blog entry.

I am alone. My phone froze the on Friday, so although I've found myself alone before, I've always been able to call someone. Just to say hey. Today, I find myself on a mental island. Left to my own devices. Left to the voice in my mind asking....demanding an answer to the question: Why am I alone.

I actually had an opportunity to connect with someone. Nothing romantic, but a connection nonetheless. A fellow blogger extended himself past the unspoken wall that is created when folks create profiles...screennames....identities online. I had a really bad day yesterday. Rather than let Friday be Friday, I let shit from Friday bleed into today. Why do I do this? I had the opportunity to connect, and I let it pass me by.

Maybe being alone is familiar, so it's quite easy for me to create dynamics that will ensure that that this is the experience that I'll have. I don't know what my problem is, but what I recognize, today more than ever, is that I'm creating this dynamic for myself. What must I do to change this. Do I have it in me? It hurts...and yet I make sure that this is the experience that I have. The social behavior that come naturally for some people has never been natural for me. I have to push past insecurities, doubt and other walls that (fuck, fuck, fuck) I put up. I won't meet anyone--friends or lover--until I change this. I have to care enough about myself to create a better experience for myself. I have to change a way of being that took a long time to create. The times when I do connect with people, it's after massive amounts of self encouragement...pleading with myself to step out of my self imposed exile.

Do I care enough about myself to create a different experience? Do I have it in me to change? I have to.....I must! I can't not make these changes. This is not a maybe question. This is a must question. This has been me for nearly 30 years. I'm sure my childhood trained me how me to treat myself. The question is, can I unlearn all of that to make myself happy. I can't take another 10 years of this and find myself at 40 asking the same questions. I can't do this like this anymore.

So I wrote this down because I needed somewhere to put it. As my phone is fucked, there is literally no way I can call anyone to discuss these feelings. The work that I've been doing for the past 12+ years has provided me with the skills to be a sounding board and in some cases, a container for my friends' emotions. Unfortunately, I find that I rarely meet anyone who can return the favor. So the thoughts simply roll around in my head.

Spider Man 3 Trailer

Currently being referred to as the most expensive movie ever made, Spiderman 3 is easily one of the most anticipated movies of 2007. Critics be damned, I was not at all disappointed by the first two installments, and I'm sure I'll enjoy the 3rd film--I won't call it a trilogy....there's simply too much money to made for the creators to shelve this series for any extended period of the time.

Perhaps I've never been disappointed because I go into the film with the expectation that the script will be so so, the acting will be good, and the action and special effects will be fantastic. We're not talking Oscar material here. Having said that, Tobey Maguire is a really great actor, the perfect actor to put a face and emotion on a comic book character. The boy can act. Let's just hope that he takes off the tights every once in a while.

Kirsten "get me a cocktail!" Dunst, returns as the beautiful but utterly unnecessary and underused Mary Jane Watson, James Franco (and his lips) also rejoins the cast as Harry Osborn. He should get an MTV award for his excellence at brooding. He's such a good brooder! Additions to the cast include Thomas Hayden Church as Flint Marko/Sandman - we find out in this film that Flint Marko is actually responsible for the death of Benjamin "Uncle Ben" Parker, Peter's Uncle. When Peter learns this information, he goes all apeshit and finds himself consumed with revenge. I don't know how (mind you, I'm not an insider, nor did I read the comic, so if you know the reason, please share), but Peter's suit turns black (maybe because Peter gained some weight and Black is slimming? Maybe he's going to the Folsom Street Fair? I don't know); also joining the cast is Topher Grace (That 70's Show, Win a Date with Tad Hamilton) as Eddie Brock, a rival reporter who has it in for Peter. Brock is infected with some nasty black stuff (don't judge--see above), which turns him into Venom.



The Synopsis from Yahoo Movies:

Peter Parker has finally managed to strike a balance between his devotion to M.J. and his duties as a superhero. But there is a storm brewing on the horizon. When his suit suddenly changes, turning jet-black and enhancing his powers, it transforms Peter as well, bringing out the dark, vengeful side of his personality that he is struggling to control. Under the influence of the suit, Peter becomes overconfident and starts to neglect the people who care for him most. Forced to choose between the seductive power of the new suit and the compassionate hero he used to be, Peter must overcome his personal demons as two of the most-feared villains yet, Sandman and Venom, gather unparalleled power and a thirst for retribution to threaten Peter and everyone he loves.

Below is a trailer found on Veoh.com, as well as some more pics. Note that this is a full screen copy of the widescreen trailer, which can be found here. Click here to find out where the movie is playing (in NYC at least), and click here for the official site.

Online Videos by Veoh.com