Seth Rogen & Misogyny; Bianca Del Rio on Tranny Word

Seth Rogen & Misogyny

I'm purposely linking to different articles about this issue to show how the comment threads vary in opinion. The gist of it all is a Washington Post critic, Ann Hornaday, wrote an op-ed piece about the shootings in Santa Barbara and Elliot Rodger where she slammed pop cultural media (mainly the film entertainment industry) for possibly leaving misguided impressions on Elliot...and all of us. One of the films on which she focused was Judd Apatow's Neighbors starring Seth Rogen.

How many students watch outsized frat-boy fantasies like “Neighbors” and feel, as Rodger did, unjustly shut out of college life that should be full of “sex and fun and pleasure”? How many men, raised on a steady diet of Judd Apatow comedies in which the shlubby arrested adolescent always gets the girl, find that those happy endings constantly elude them and conclude, “It’s not fair”?

Evidently, Seth Rogen read Hornaday's piece and he responded, and where else but on Twitter, the typical venue of the Hollywood privileged and elite.

Rogen tweeted this, among other things:

.@AnnHornaday how dare you imply that me getting girls in movies caused a lunatic to go on a rampage.

This one particular tweet has garnered a few heavy online discussions about misogyny, one of which seemed to think Rogen really missed the point altogether.

For the love of Judd Apatow movies, GIRLS ARE NOT A THING YOU GET. They're not the goody bag at the end of the frat party. It honestly feels like Rogen could not miss the point more if he were participating in some kind of point-missing contest.

According to NY Daily News, Judd Apatow retweeted all of Rogen's tweets.

As I said earlier, the comment threads with these articles are interesting to read.

My only comment is that the world is still run by straight, white, privileged men like Rogen and Apatow. That's just a fact. As far as I know it can't be disputed. They say what they want, do what they want, and even give us the content they want to give us. I would have thought Rogen had the capacity to respond in a more professional manner.

When Seth Rogen started doing the gay parodies I laughed along with him at first. I didn't think it was harmful. But it reached a point with the last one where I even posted that I think he should know when enough is enough. From my post...

 There's more here with a photo. I think it would be wiser for Rogen to focus more on those painful roles he's been taking on in recent years rather than focusing on drag as a straight man. If you don't believe me just try to sit through The Guilt Trip or This Is the End. A few wasted hours of my life I'll never get back.

Bianca Del Rio on Tranny Word

The tension with the tranny word debate continues to evolve. This time Bianca Del Rio of Rue Paul's Drag Race is going after transgender, Carmen Carrera.

"There’s all this madness about sh*t we can say and sh*t we can’t say, and I’m sure most of you saw on Twitter today that Ru was speaking her mind. And I think this is actual proof — I’m a man in a dress, and if it brings out straight people, black people, Asian people, then come and f*cking celebrate. It’s not that f*cking serious.

And let’s face it. We wouldn’t know who the fuck Carmen Carrera was if she didn’t f*cking get on Drag Race. Maybe she should take what’s left of her d*ck and stick it in her mouth and shut the f*ck up."
I think this is going to continue, and it may even devolve to a lower level than the most eloquent quote above.

You can read more here. This comment thread is interesting, too.

In full disclosure, I've never actually seen RuPaul's Drag Race, so I don't know either of them. But I don't use the word tranny either.









 

Rick Santorum & Greg Ball on Marriage; Gays Closeted at Work; Zack Efron Seth Rogen In Drag

Rick Santorum on Marriage

I apologize ahead of time for circling the airport a little with this post. Last week I shared a photo on facebook with someone named Greg Ball. It was something like national teacher day and I thought Greg Ball looked like a nice guy who had posted a nice photo honoring teachers. I'd accepted a friend request from him earlier in the month and I hadn't seen many updates because facebook only shows what it wants to show in my news feed. I just thought Ball was a guy on facebook, maybe even a reader, and I'm not one of those who vets each an every person on facebook. It's social media and I want to get to know people I don't know. Isn't that the point? The last thing I'm interested in is getting reacquainted with people from high school. Been there done that.

But then something clicked in my head and I went back to check out Greg Ball's timeline on facebook, just to make sure I didn't share anything controversial. These days you can't be too careful and I stay out of politics and religion unless it involves gay rights. The last thing I need is to have people coming after me on facebook for something I didn't even realize I did. I once posted I ordered flowers for someone from 1-800-Flowers.com and didn't know they were anti-gay at the time. In any event, Greg Ball turned out to be a New York Senator. I didn't see anything controversial on his timeline and he still seemed like a decent guy, but I figured I'd do a quick search just in case. And sure enough, once again, I found a few articles about Ball that date back to 2011 stating he's anti-gay marriage. So I deleted the photo share and moved on to something else. We're still friends. I'm not going to block him. We just won't be sharing each other's updates and braiding each other's hair.

It's not that I have anything against Greg Ball, or his beliefs. I just don't get why some politicians like Ball seem to think that gay marriage is such a huge threat to society or religion. Doesn't he think there are religious gay people? Seriously. I often think it's because they don't really know real gay people. They only see the loudest voices that don't always represent gay people all that well. But that's not a good excuse either, because if you're a political leader of any kind you should make a point to know these things.

For some reason, Greg Ball now reminds me of Rick Santorum. Santorum is the conservative poster boy for all things anti-gay. Ball is much better looking and in much better shape than Santorum, but he even resembles Santorum to a certain extent. And even though Ball hasn't been as vocal as Santorum on gay marriage, I can't help but associate Ball with Santorum from now on. Maybe that's just as hooded on my part as it is for conservative straight people to think we're all like the gay guys on Modern Family. But I suppose it's only natural, especially considering the latest comments from Rick Santorum on marriage.


'What we need to do is have the father and mother raise those children and that means a man and woman bringing to a child what a man and woman can bring and that's what we should be focused on,' Santorum told host Neil Cavuto during an appearance on Fox News Channel.

Personally, I think these are interesting times for all politicians. And a lot of what they say and do now will be following them around for the rest of their lives. Think George Wallace and the civil rights movement in the 1960's.

You can read more about Santorum here. Greg Ball was just an example of how paranoid I've become when it involves sharing or reposting anything on social media.

And just to keep it real, this is what Greg Ball said in 2011. If it comes to my attention that he's changed his views, I'll update the post. But I couldn't find anything recent.

 “Knowing that marriage equality was likely to pass, I thought it important to force the issue of religious protections. Over the past few weeks, I’ve had the distinct opportunity of listening to literally thousands of residents, on both sides of this issue, by holding an undecided stance. I thought it was important to listen to all of my constituents and hold an undecided position until the actual bill language was written and everyone’s voice had been heard. Now that the final text is public, I am proud that I have secured some strong protections for religious institutions and basic protections for religious organizations. The bill still lacks many of the basic religious protections I thought were vital, and for this reason, and as I did in the Assembly, I will be voting ‘no.’”

Gay marriage is legal now in New York.

Gays Closeted At Work

Unfortunately, when a lot of straight people think of gay men and what they do for a living they think hairdresser, florist, interior designer, or waiter. I'm not knocking these respected professions. It's a dangerous stereotype that's been around for a long time, and the saddest fact of all is that most gay men don't work in any of these stereotypical industries and they almost always tend to remain in the closet at work. Tony, my own husband, worked in corporate America for twenty years and he never mentioned me or that he was gay. It's just not something gay men are willing to take a chance on, especially when they have families, car payments, mortgages, and lives that depend on their salaries. And the same goes for women. One of my best friends from Brooklyn is a lesbian and she has been with her wife for thirty years. She didn't let anyone know about her wife until she retired a year ago from teaching school. I could go on endlessly with examples.

53% of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender employees say they feel uncomfortable to come out, despite support for LGBTI rights continuing to grow.

According to the poll of 806 LGBT people published the Human Rights Campaign, the percentage has barely budged from 51% in 2009.

One in four LGBT responds said they continue to hear offensive comments, including ‘that’s so gay’, in the workplace.

If you're surprised you shouldn't be. There's more here. I think this will change, but up until now only the most privileged like Ellen and Neil Patrick Harris have been able to come out freely without losing their livelihoods.


Zack Efron Seth Rogen In Drag

Maybe it's just me once again, but I thought it was funny the first few times I saw Seth Rogen camping it up in gayface with James Franco. I even posted about it a few times. But frankly, it's starting to get on my nerves and I think it's time for Rogen to move on to something else. It's getting tired. I'm sure there's something else a big, strong, strapping straight guy can do for amusement other than gayface.

Fallon occasionally dresses up as a teenage girl on The Tonight Show to host ‘Ew!’ – a series of spoof skits of programming on the TeenNick cable channel.

Previous stars to appear as friends of Fallon’s teenage girl alter ego Sara have included Lindsay Lohan and the skits have Fallon shooting the show out of Sara’s bedroom.

There's more here with a photo. I think it would be wiser for Rogen to focus more on those painful roles he's been taking on in recent years rather than focusing on drag as a straight man. If you don't believe me just try to sit through The Guilt Trip or This Is the End. A few wasted hours of my life I'll never get back.

Palm Beach Stud by Ryan Field

 

 

http://www.amazon.com/Bad-Boy-Billionaires-Palm-Beach-ebook/dp/B00JMGDR8U/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1399561870&sr=8-1&keywords=palm+beach+stud+by+ryan+field



His Only Choice by Ryan Field

 

 

http://www.amazon.com/Second-Chance-His-Only-Choice-ebook/dp/B00HZ47Q4C/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1399561915&sr=8-1&keywords=His+Only+Choice+by+ryan+field

 

 

 

The Preacher's Husband by Ryan Field

 

 

 

http://www.amazon.com/The-Preachers-Husband-Glendora-Hill-ebook/dp/B00JEHN0D4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1399561981&sr=8-1&keywords=The+Preacher%27s+Husband+by+ryan+field

Footballer Porn Surfaces; Seth Rogen's Zac Efron Crush; Oh, Naughty Plagiarist

Irish Footballer Porn

A 25 year old Irish footballer is allegedly being bullied and abused online now because he did gay porn. Actually, he did a gay for pay film that can be found on a "well-known" web site where "straight" guys fake being gay for a gay audience.

Posted online last month on The Casting Room, a man that appears to be the athlete is interviewed discussing his sexual preferences.

The man, given the pseudonym of ‘Fergus’, is wearing a London GAA top – the same team the footballer plays for. He is then seen giving and receiving oral and anal sex.

The footballer, widely named on Twitter, has not made a comment on the video.

Dozens of people have sent the player homophobic messages, calling him a ‘sick fag’.

You can read more here.

I did a simple search and found this.

Some accepted his apparent decision to appear in a pornographic film, but many hurled abuse or made crude jokes, while some expressed concern for the young man's well-being.

And this article mentions his name and goes into more detail. There's also a photo.

Dozens of people have also left vile messages on his personal Twitter page abusing him for appearing in the film.

Of course the horrible way he's been bullied and abused goes without saying. But I do find the web site where this whole straight guy fantasy thing happens interesting. We hear mixed messages about this all the time. We read research and hear "experts" talk about how gay men aren't attracted to straight men, and yet there are web sites like this lurking around everywhere making tons of money on the straight guy fantasy. What am I missing here?

Seth Rogen's Zac Efron Crush

This is interesting because it's almost the exact opposite of what I just posted with the gay guy crush on the straight guy. Even though Seth Rogen and James Franco parody things in a gay way sometimes, as far as I know both are straight. Evidently, it's not too far-fetched for a straight guy like Seth Rogen to have a man-crush on another straight guy like Zac Efron.

 'The first time I saw (Efron) with no shirt on, my first instinct was there was something wrong because he has so many bumps sticking out of his body!My body is like one big bump, and his is like 87 different little bumps that come together!'

Rogen added: 'In the movie I make a joke, it's like his whole body is like a giant arrow that points to his d–k!. It's like someone designed the muscles to draw your eyes down from his gorgeous face and suddenly it's like a Plinko game with your eyes.'

You can read more here, where there's a clip of Rogen talking about this.

I actually think Rogen is big, strong, fuzzy, and adorable. And I'd choose him any day over Efron. In fact, in my latest release, The Preacher's Husband, the preacher in the storyline reminds me of Rogen. I didn't plan that, at least not consciously anyway.  


Oh, Naughty Plagiarist

I rarely link to this particular web site because I find it dated now. But not completely; just slightly. For a long time it was THE place to go when you had questions about a shady agent, editor, or publisher. It's always been accurate and I think the intent has always been to help authors, not to hurt them. And although the post to which I'm linking now is just as articulate as any post they've ever done, I can't help but wonder if all that time and energy could have been spent on something more current...something that we're all dealing with now as authors, readers, and publishers.

In any event, the post talks about someone I've never heard of (and wouldn't have heard of had it not been for this post) who allegedly has a long history of all kinds of shifty activity, from unethical literary agent practices to plagiarism in the worst (and most ridiculous) ways.

Based in Alabama, WordWorks is owned by Pamela Wray Biron, who provides "Expert and Innovative Content Solutions," including editing, ghostwriting, graphic design, illustration, marketing, and web services. A veritable Renaissance woman. And, gosh, just look at Pamela's clients! The US Justice Department! 20th Century Fox! The President of the United States! Check out the impressive names on Pamela's Testimonials page! Steve Jobs! Bill Gates! Michael Eisner! Editorial and marketing staff from all the Big Five publishers!

There's just one problem: most of the testimonials are plagiarized, and not just from Jodie Renner.

It's a long post, and worth reading because it's interesting to see how far someone will go. And I guess if something like this helps one or two people from getting scammed it was, indeed, worth the effort. I also don't want anyone to get the impression I'm slamming this blogger. I'll admit that I've become a little jaded on the topic of bad agents and posts like this because I've been so desensitized to these things over the years I can almost spot a fake 100% of the time at a glance. But, there are plenty of scammers out there now who aren't acting as agents. They are gaming, they are aggressively promoting, and they are making the rest of us all look like veritable fools because we're not doing the same things. And that's the kind of thing I'd like to see on blogs like the one I'm linking to below because that's the kind of thing that's hurting us all the most.

You can read more here.

Truvada & HIV Prevention; Elaine Stritch Who? James Franco's New Gay Parody

Truvada & HIV Prevention

I think this is probably one of the most comprehensive pieces I've read yet about the antiretroviral drug, Truvada, as it applies to HIV prevention. The FDA approved Truvada for use in preventing HIV infection, but there's also been a division within the medical community for many reasons, and this article titled, "What Is Safe Sex? The Raw and Uncomfortable Truth About Truvada," by Rich Juzwlak, probably covers everything most people need to know for now.

I know about Truvada not as a prevention drug but from dealing with friends who are HIV poz and take it as part of their antiretroviral therapy. But Juzwlak gets into how it applies to raw sex, the choice to bareback, and a lot of the more emotional aspects with respect to Truvada and HIV prevention. And it's not just for gay men. It's for everyone.

The understanding that I might benefit from using Truvada dawned on me slowly, like I was stuck permanently at 6 a.m. for a few months. It was other guys who helped prompt my decision, like the ones I had the sense not to fuck raw when they assumed that's what we'd be doing on first meeting, or the ones who tried to fuck me bare so casually, it was like they were going in there to check their mail. It was the guy who told me, "Yes, I'm negative—I was tested in February," in October. It was the guy that I hooked up with who then proposed a threesome via text: "My friend said he wants to fuck raw." This was a few texts after I told him, "I play safe," and he said, "Yeah, me too." A few texts later, he admitted he'd already fucked raw with our prospective third.

Juzwlak also mentions important things we don't often see when reading about Truvada, like long term side effects and cost. One prescription costs around $1,389.99 and it can reduce bone density and cause kidney problems. Those who are HIV poz and are on antiretroviral therapy and take ARVs like Truvada have regular blood work done every three months to monitor all these things. It's a way of life.

On top of that, there are immediate side effects:

Unfortunately, I discovered that taking Truvada gave me too many new things to feel. Whatever short-term side effects I could get, I did. Less than a week out, I started to feel a deep sense of fatigue every day around 6 p.m. It was something I could power through and eventually shake, but it made me feel like dropping to the floor and passing out instead of going to the gym or attending movie screenings. I had perpetual muscle soreness, especially in my legs, as if I had squatted way more than I should have the day before. My skin got worse. I developed a disgusting, raised rash on my torso that my dermatologist told me was the result of a nickel allergy (I had been wearing the culprit belt for years). I was gassy.

From what I've seen with friends, I can back all this up...and even add more because different people react differently.

But one of the most interesting things about this piece I spotted was that most people who are on Truvada for prevention don't always take it regularly which could present even more issues. If you talk to any ID doc who treats mostly HIV patients he/she will tell you one of the most common things with people on ARV meds is that they aren't always consistent with taking their meds. I don't know why. It's just a fact that I've heard many, many times from health professionals.

As I said above, if you don't know anything about HIV prevention or Truvada you really should read this article. I only covered the bare essentials here. It's long, but covers so many aspects you'll basically get everything you need to know right there.

You can find it here at Gawker.

Elaine Stritch Who?

Of course I've heard of Elaine Stritch, however, she's never been my icon. I appreciate her work (what little I know of it), so please don't get me wrong. But she's another one I wouldn't stand in line to see on my best day. But she is, according to this article, a "gay icon," and even she didn't know it until recently.

'I'm just becoming aware of it - by articles such as this one,' she admits to PrideSource magazine.

'I really have become very much aware, first of all, what great audiences they are. And it isn't that I finally discovered that gay people understand me and straight people don't - oh, no no no. Not a word of truth in that. I can't tell you how many straight people I know that think I am the cat's pajamas.'

Now go back and read that statement again, but this time replace gay people with African Americans...or any other minority. "What great audiences THEY are..." If she were talking about African Americans or any other minority that would ring of racism. I don't fault Stritch for this. I truly don't, and I'm not getting all PC here now. We are all to blame. And she's right. I'm sure there are even more straight people who think she's the "cat's pajamas" than there are gay people.

You can read more here.

James Franco's New Gay Parody

Last November I posted about James Franco's gay parody with Seth Rogen, and now he's done another for the cover of Vogue. This time the focus is on Kanye West and Kim Kardashian, with Rogen photo shopped wearing a wedding dress and Franco with his arms around him.

In Franco's recreation, Rogen wears the dress as he's 'held' by his best mate.

'Seth! Love you, dog,' Franco writes above the doctored picture.

You can read more here.

I think everyone loves these parodies...well, almost everyone. I've had a few tight-assed reviewers who didn't like my novel take offs on straight romance films. But that's another story. One didn't even have the sense of humor to realize it was a parody. But no harm done. Everyone has a right to an opinion, even those without a clue.

GQ's 25 Least Influential List; James Franco Parody with Seth Rogen

GQ's 25 Least Influential List

Other than wondering about who reads GQ Magazine anymore, or any print magazine for that matter, I couldn't help notice that GQ Magazine's list of the 25 least influential people is interesting. (If you still read print magazines please don't comment with vitriol. I think it's wonderful that you do, but print magazines like newspapers are dwindling fast and it's not my fault.)

First, the most annoying thing is that I can't actually get a comprehensive list of the 25 least influential because it's one of those annoying web sites where you have to click from page to page twenty five times. Ugh!

In any event, some of the names on the list are surprising, some not.

While magazines across the country offer readers their pick of the world’s “most influential people,” this year, GQ magazine is bringing you the “The 25 Least Influential People Alive” — and on the list are MSNBC host Ed Schultz, and, of all people, President Barack Obama. This is the same magazine that oddly, named Obama “Leader of the Year” in 2009 and “Man of the Year” in 2008 while calling Sarah Palin “dangerous” and “poisonous.”

If you care about GQ's list, you can read more here. And here's a link to GQ's actual web site where if you have the time in your life you can click through 25 long, slow pages and sift through ads you don't care about.

Sorry for the snark here. But besides putting President Obama on the list and saying, "nothing gets done," they also added Miley Cyrus for "licking sledge hammers." I thought it might be parody at first, but it seems real. Unfortunately, GQ didn't list themselves for the exploitation of men over the years, promoting fake unrealistic male images, and for being about as relevant as the typewriter in the year 2013.

James Franco Parody with Seth Rogen

Now this, I thought, was funny. When I saw it on social media in several places this afternoon I wanted to share just so I could have it up on the blog and link back to it again in the future. It's a video of James Franco and Seth Rogen making out on a motorcycle.

Today, Seth Rogen released a shot-for-shot remake of Kanye West's now-infamous, Lisa Frank-inspired "Bound 2" music video featuring Kim Kardashian.

According to his Facebook status, Rogen and James Franco made the video "during down time on the set of #TheInterview." It looks like they had a lot of free time on their hands:

You can check it out here. Is it just me or is Rogen extremely attractive in this?