Loving One Another - Issue No. 007

Stop and Love One Another Today.

It takes only a few seconds to call anyone who matters to you and tell them how much they mean to you.

I call my mom and dad every day to tell them I love them.  You should too.

Live every day as if it was your last. 
You'll be glad you did.
I Love You Ry!!

Hedda Lettuce Takes on RuPaul's Drag Race Season 4 Contestants

Here's a little something for all you RuPaul Drag Race fans! It's a Monday, so I need to make you laugh.  Now, I'm sure that all of you know who Hedda Lettuce is?  Right?

If you don't - SHAME ON YOU! THAT'S HYPOCRISY!!!

Known as the The Queen of Green, she is one of the most popular drag queens around!  I would love to continue writing more about her, but you can read more about her at heddalettuce.com.  For now, I want to post this video where she gives her take on the season 4 contestants of RuPaul's Drag Race.  It's an absolute hoot.

Is it me, or are this year's drag queens a hot mess?  I don't think any of them match up to the previous drag race queens.

OMG Hilarious! - Lincoln

Documentaries To Watch: The Bully Project

If you don't want to read any of what I have to say, at least view the trailer down below.

Sometimes I just want to go back to a school, ANY school, and be some kind of instructor, teacher, counselor, or monitor that just watches out for these kids. I can see how spotting every bullying situation could be difficult for teachers and administrators alike, but at the same time I was harassed for years consistently and not once, NOT ONCE, did any teacher or administrator do a fucking thing about it.  Until my mom forced them to.

Over a period of four years, 5-8 grade, at lunch, in class, in the locker room, at physical education, in the halls.... there wasn't a single place except maybe the bathroom where I wasn't tormented. This behavior in school will never stop until something is done. Now that I think about it, only you can stop someone from bullying another person when you witness it in action. Trying to handle it through force or punishment isn't possible. Only through educating the students as early as kindergarten on why bullying is wrong and hurtful will be the only way to stop all this pain.

These kids need to be taught how horrible it can feel to be on the other end of the jokes, harassment and ridicule, but also learn how easy and misguided one can be to join in on the fun - taking part without realizing the damage they have done.

Teach them the power of words and how much more of an impact they can sometimes be than a fist to the face. Words can stop bullying and create new friends, yet still have the ability to cause unimaginable pain depending on how they're used.

Show them how being smart or small or different or gay is not the equivalent to being a freak, something wrong or a very bad thing. Being unique is a gift. It's special because you're not like everyone else. You're you, and you're great just for being who you are. It's a message that isn't shared enough today.

But no matter what is done in the schools to teach our kids to be kind to each other, as long as they continue to see horrible examples of bigotry, hate and abuse set by our politicians, pastors and parents, there will never be an end to the suffering and fear some kids face every day they go to school. This can be changed. It can no longer be accepted as a rite of passage or child's play, and to anyone out there that would dare call the protection of a gay child from anti-gay rhetoric "freedom of religion" or "anti-Christian bigotry"...... to hell with you.

I know this is a very inappropriate stance to take and is the absolute worst way to try and bring all people together to stop this epidemic....but seriously...to hell with you! Open your mind, your heart and your eyes and see that these kids are dying right in front of us. They are innocent and have done nothing to deserve this, but when you hide behind your religious beliefs to cloak your hatred and bigotry you are the bullies. You are the instigators. You are the cause of this pain and suffering that no loving God would condone, and you are an accessory to murder if you do not change your words and actions that have farther reaching consequences then you could ever imagine. Stop worrying about the life of an unborn fetus and start caring about the child that cries himself to sleep every night because he knows he's different, he knows he can't change, and all he wants is the torture and pain to stop so that he can truly be loved just the way he is. Will you love him for who he is or condemn him for being a sinner? What would Jesus really do.

We all have the power to stop this ongoing tragedy. Whether it be taking action to enact anti-bullying laws, speaking to your school administrators or simply having a conversation with your child. I beg all of you to do something, anything, to try and attempt to eradicate this evil that has been going on in our schools for way too long. I can't say this enough but these kids are dying, and unless we act, more will continue to have their lives cut short by this catastrophe that is bullying. Don't be the parent standing over the grave of your 12 year old child. Don't be the school official that didn't intervene and say something. Don't be the person that talks about religious values when you can't even comprehend what they truly mean. Don't be a bully and don't be a bystander that does nothing. Be a hero. It's definitely not an easy task and it never will be, but someone has to do it. There is no Superman. There is only you and your ability to love and be kind to others, over an easy choice to hate. You have the power. Make the right decision. Stop bullying today.

Almost a year ago, my partner Peter posted this trailer on his blog, Blade 7184 that moved me beyond words, and it will finally be released on March 9, 2012.  Please watch it, it would mean a lot if you did.

2012 GM Advanced Tech Window

I'm starting to think there's really nothing one can't do.  

General Motors has not implemented this innovative technology into their vehicles, but I'm sure you'll be seeing it in the near future.  As you will see in the video below, GM challenged Bezalel Academy graduate students from Israel to conceptualize new experiences for rear seat passengers. And this when the Windows of Opportunity Project was born.

It's actually pretty darn cool.  I wish this were around when I was a kid.  It sure would have kept me occupied during the 9 hour trip to grandma's house.  And it would've definitely kept me and my sister from fighting in the backseat so much, LOL.

How Much Teenagers Care About Politics

The Wall Snake

Rat snake, Rattle snake, Chicken Snake, I don't care what kind of snake it is. Any snake that can climb a wall is absolutely not cool.  Watch as this rat snake climbs up a brick wall, apparently liking the feel of the grout on the way up.  He travels along the mortar lines as you'll see in the video.

I Quote That - What Matters

Why Hello My Dear Watson

It looks like Hermione Granger's 20 year old brother, Alex Watson doesn't need any help getting exposure.  What do you think?

Must Watch: Endless Pool Jumping

So this is how the Chinese train their Olympic Swimmers.  No wonder, they're so good.  Actually, this is a really cool video. A definite "Must Watch".  And to think they had to synchronize it just right, otherwise there would definitely be lots of red in that pool.

The song, "Holiday (So High)" being played in the video is by 009 Sound System also known as Alexander Perls.

OMG Hilarious! - Not A Good Time

The Golf War

Something goes terribly wrong during a routine golf patrol when a golfing contingent gets ambushed along the back nine. Freddie Wong gets shot and killed by a golf ball, and the rest of the golf force take on two rogue golfers shooting golf balls at them.

Quoted - Nick Jonas on What Gay Meant, His Preacher Father, and Gay Marriage

"I don’t think that conversation needed to be had. I was totally aware, I understood what it meant, and I was totally fine with it. It didn’t confuse me, because I knew it was all about love. I was raised in a really open home where the policy was love.

My upbringing was faith-based, but we believed you should love all others as you want to be loved, because everyone should be treated equally. That’s helped me have an understanding of people on different journeys and in different walks of life. At the end of the day, we’re all the same, because we all want to be loved. As long as love as the key, we’re in good shape.

My friends are my friends, and people that I’m acquainted with don’t necessarily share the same opinions as I do, and that’s how I’ll put that. My thoughts on gay marriage are that everyone has the right to love and be loved, and that’s the position I take."

- Nick Jonas in an interview with The Advocate on whether he knew what "gay" meant, what it was like growing up in a Christian home, and his thoughts on gay marriage.

Poster of the Week - Issue No. 42 - Limitations

Continuing alphabetically, I bring you this week's poster, "Limitations".

Subway vs. Hawaii Five-0 [video]

Okay, there's product placement, then there's product placement.  We all know that musician's use them in their music videos, and your favorite television series do this crazy shit too.  But they're usually subtle about it - you don't usually see an entire minute worth of it.  

Hawaii Five-0 recently had an episode on CBS that went a little overboard. I thought it was absolutely hilarious, and cheesy as hell.  Check out the video.

The only thing left he had to say was where he got the sandwiches. LOL.

Isn't This The Truth? How To Win An Argument

This is perfect, and oh so true!  LOL, I can't stop laughing, because you know every relationship has gone through this.  And if you haven't, here are the step by step instructions. :-)

Violinist vs. Nokia [video]

I don't know about you, but nothing is more annoying than when you're in a meeting and someone's cell phone goes off.  I know, because mine has gone off a couple of times, and it annoys the crap out of people.  Same thing goes for movie theaters, except you can't tape people's mouths shut.  LOL.  I meant they're cell phones go off in movie theaters as well.

But most importantly, when you're a violinist and performing in front of several hundred people, or maybe a couple of judges, what do you do when a cell phone starts ringing?  Oh, I know!  Mimic the cell phone ring tone during your performance!

I Quote That - Love This Kid

Costa Concordia vs. Titanic

As you all know the Costa Concordia cruise ship hit a rock in the shallow waters of an Italian island last Friday, and has since claimed the life of couple dozen people, including 2 Americans.  Live Science wrote an excellent article the other day on the comparison of the Costa Concordia and Titanic, and I couldn't wait to share it.

So how do the two shipwrecks match up? While the loss of life on the Titanic was much worse than on the Costa Concordia, even the Titanic's poorly planned evacuation may have been less chaotic than the one off the Tuscan coast.

The hectic evacuation of the sinking cruise liner Costa Concordia has been compared with the likes of the disastrous Titanic disaster. In fact, Swiss survivors even told the newspaper La Tribune de Genève that Celine Dion's "My Heart Will Go On," the theme song to the 1997 film "Titanic," was playing in their dining room as the ship hit the rocks.

By the numbers, here's a side-by-side look at the two cruise ship disasters:

Date of wrecks: The Titanic went down on April 15, 1912. The Costa Concordia capsized on Jan.13, 2012.

Size of ships: The Titanic was 882 feet and 8 inches long (268 meters) and had a tonnage of 46,000. The Costa Concordia was larger, with a tonnage of 114,500 and a length of 951 feet and 5 inches (290 m). The width of the Titanic was 92.5 feet (28 m), compared with 118 feet (36 m) for the Costa Concordia.

Bragging rights: The Titanic was the largest ship of her day. The Costa Concordia had the largest spa center ever built on a cruise ship.

People on board: 2,201 people were aboard the Titanic when it sunk, and 4,200 were aboard the Costa Concordia.

Cause of wreck: The Titanic famously hit an iceberg on its starboard side in the middle of the North Atlantic, while the Costa Concordia struck a rock on its port side when the captain brought the ship in close to the Tuscan island of Giglio in the Mediterranean Sea.

Lifeboat capacity: The Titanic's lifeboats could have carried no more than 1,178 people. Nowadays, according to the International Maritime Organization, ships are required to have plenty of lifeboat space, with enough lifeboats hanging off the port side to accommodate half of the passengers, enough on the starboard side to accommodate the other half, and room for 25 percent more of the ship's passengers in inflatable rafts stored onboard. [Titanic Quiz: Fact or Fiction?]

"The Costa Concordia had sufficient lifeboat space, as far as we know, by the regulations she operates under," said Charles Weeks, an emeritus professor of marine transportation at the Maine Maritime Academy, and a member of the Titanic International Society. Unlike the Titanic, which lacked sufficient staff at lifeboat muster points, the Costa Concordia seemed to have crew supervision at the lifeboat stations, he said. The delay in lowering the lifeboats, which occurred about 45 minutes to an hour after the ship hit the rocks, may have been the captain's call, he said.  "There may have been a perfectly valid reason why he waited so long," Weeks told LiveScience. "You don't want to put lifeboats in the water while the ship is still making way. That can be very hazardous."

Time it took to sink: The Titanic went down over a period of two hours and 40 minutes. The Costa Concordia began listing about 20 minutes after it hit a rock near Giglio Island and was completely on its side within about three hours.

Depth of the wreck: The Titanic lay on the seafloor 12,460 feet (3,798 m) below the surface. The Costa Concordia essentially ran aground and is now half-submerged — the ship is unable to float in water less than 26 feet (8 m) deep.

Temperature of water: The passengers of the Titanic unlucky enough to end up in the water likely perished in a few short minutes, as the water temperature was just 28 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 2 degrees Celsius).

According to Accuweather, the air temperature when the Costa Concordia crashed was in the mid-to-low 40s Fahrenheit. The water temperature was in the mid- to upper-50s. In 50-degree water, hypothermia sets in quickly; boating guides put the time at about 60 minutes until exhaustion or unconsciousness, with death following within three hours. 

Loss of life: Only 711 of the passengers aboard the Titanic were rescued, resulting in a death toll of 1,514, according to the British Wreck Commissioner's Inquiry. As of today (Jan. 18), an estimated 11 Costa Concordia passengers were confirmed dead, with 23 still missing.

Fate of the captain: Edward J. Smith, the captain of the Titanic, went down with his ship. His body was never found.

The Costa Concordia captain, Francesco Schettino, allegedly left the ship with passengers still onboard. He claims he tripped and fell into a lifeboat while coordinating the evacuation and could not get back on the ship. A transcript of a phone conversation between Schettino and a coast guard officer reveals the officer insisting Schettino return to the ship, and the captain refusing. Schettino is now under house arrest and is being investigated for manslaughter.

The standard of the captain being the last person to leave a crippled ship serves two purposes, Weeks said. First, it's the captain's job to take care of everyone else on the boat. Second, if a captain stays with a damaged ship, he can protect the ship owner's interests. If the captain is still on the boat, the owners can arrange a towing contract to get the vessel back to port, Weeks said. If the ship is abandoned, it must be salvaged, which can be a more complicated and costly process for the owners.

Big evacuation foul-ups:  Hundreds of Titanic passengers never had a chance at survival, given the lack of lifeboat space available. Not only that, but a U.S. inquiry into the disaster found that the evacuation process was a mess: There was no system for loading the boats, and many of the boats went down partially filled (though there was space for 1,176 people on the boats, only about 700 made it onto one). Additionally, the loss of life would have been much worse had the weather have been rough, the panel found. With the lifeboats suspended 70 feet (21 m) above the ocean, rough waters would have made lowering them without smashing them against the ship impossible.

On the other hand, all reports indicate very little panic during the Titanic evacuation, at least not until the very end. This is likely because most passengers didn't realize the seriousness of the situation, Weeks said. There are reports of passengers refusing to get on the lifeboats, choosing instead to stay in the warmth and light of the doomed ship.

The same cannot be said of the Costa Concordia evacuation, which survivors describe as chaotic. "It was every man for himself," one survivor told French News outlet France 24. Crew members reportedly panicked and jumped aboard lifeboats before passengers.

The Costa Concordia listed to one side, in contrast with the Titanic, which tilted forward, her bow in the water. That may have made the Concordia sinking seem more dramatic than the sinking of the Titanic, at least from the perspective of those onboard.

"A ship that lists to one side is far more dramatic than a ship that trims down by the head," Weeks said.

The evacuation of the Costa Concordia was delayed, with passengers initially informed that the ship was having a minor electrical problem. There had been no evacuation drill onboard — it was scheduled for Saturday — so passengers were confused. Many of the crew did not speak Italian and could not communicate with their charges. Some cruise-goers reported being on lifeboats captained by waiters and other support staff.

Weeks said reports of the crew's behavior still needed confirmation, but said that such a situation is not without precedent. The cruise ship Oceanus, for example, sank off the South African Coast in 1991.

"The social director wound up overseeing the evacuation of the passengers," Weeks said. "The captain and certain members of the crew went off in the first lifeboat."

OMG Hilarious! - Grave

Crimes of the Century - No. 7 - The Lana Turner Affair

THE LANA TURNER AFFAIR, 1958

Lana Turner reigned as one of Hollywood's box-office queens for more than two decades. Real life was much trampier. Her father, a miner in Idaho, was murdered after winning a craps game. She loved to hang out with men of ill repute and would eventually marry seven times. One marriage, to the actor Lex Barker, would end in 1957 after she accused him of molesting her daughter by a previous marriage, Cheryl Crane. 

True to her failings, she began a torrid and tumultuous affair with Johnny Stompanato, a man suspected of mob ties. When she tried to break it off, he grew violent. And on the night of April 4, 1958, Stompanato and Turner engaged in a ferocious argument at her Beverly Hills home, so violent in fact that 14-year old Cheryl ran for a knife and ended up stabbing Stompanato to death. 

The papers loved the story and the coroner's inquest was one of the most sensational legal hearings Hollywood has ever seen. Turner's tale on the stand was riveting: a wayward mother in distress and the faithful daughter who comes to her rescue. "I walked toward the bedroom door," Turner testified. "He was right behind me. And I opened it and my daughter came in. I swear it was so fast, I truthfully thought she had hit him in the stomach ... I never saw a blade." A Stompanato friend's outburst in court implied that it was Lana who wielded the knife, but the coroner declared the whole thing justifiable homicide. Turner's career flourished into the 1980s.

***

As you read through the 25 crimes Time Magazine has selected, you will wonder which of them will remain in the popular, perhaps even the artistic imagination in the years to come? How will they be retold and with what kinds of lessons and cautions in mind?  Visit my blog every Saturday as a new crime will be posted each week.

***

Go back and read the previous 6 crimes here.

Thanks for the Memories Rick Perry [video]

If its one thing Ryan and I will miss from the 18 Republican debates, it will be this character, Ricky Perry.  Yep.  From his "oops" moment to his misconstrued history, from his drunken moments to his Alzheimer's, Ricky, you will truly be missed.

Only bad thing is... you're back in Texas, unfortunately.

Forever

Must Watch: Mr. Rogers Amazing Speech to the Senate

Most of you know who Mr. Rogers is.  He is the famous television host of Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood that aired on PBS for 33 years. He wrote all the scripts, did all the puppets, and wrote all the music for his show.  

I remember my mother plotting me down in front of the television to watch this show, along with Sesame Street.  And you know what? I'm glad she did!  I hardly spoke any English at the age of 6 and 7, and I attribute these shows to helping me become a Spelling Bee contestant and winner as I went from grade to grade.  I had 12th grade spelling by the time I was in 5th or 6th.

Rogers, educated as a minister, was displeased with the way television was addressing children, and he made every effort to change this over his career, and he did.  During the Nixon Administration, the president wanted to cut funding to the Public Broadcasting Service, and Mr. Rogers was having none of it.

He went directly to the Senate offices in 1969 and spoke for 6 minutes of what was supposed to be a 20 minute speech, and got $20 million dollars for it.  One of the senators, Sen. John Pastore, a Democrat from Rhode Island (the same man who had led a crusade against the impropriety of commercial broadcast network TV content - wasn't exactly inclined to approve the funding.) went so far as to say,  "I'm supposed to a pretty tough guy, and this is the first time I've had goosebumps for the last 2 days."

The story only gets so much better, but you have to see the video to see, hear and feel what I'm talking about.  It's pretty darn emotional -- pretty darn amazing.  I love you, Mr. Rogers.  You have made a difference in my life, and I thank God for you.

Quoted - Andrew Sullivan on his Newsweek Cover Story "Why Are Obama's Critics So Dumb?"

"Under Obama, support for marriage equality and marijuana legalization has crested to record levels. Under Obama, a crucial state, New York, made marriage equality for gays an irreversible fact of American life. Gays now openly serve in the military, and the Defense of Marriage Act is dying in the courts, undefended by the Obama Justice Department. Vast government money has been poured into non-carbon energy investments, via the stimulus. Fuel-emission standards have been drastically increased. Torture was ended. Two moderately liberal women replaced men on the Supreme Court. Oh, yes, and the liberal holy grail that eluded Johnson and Carter and Clinton, nearly universal health care, has been set into law. Politifact recently noted that of 508 specific promises, a third had been fulfilled and only two have not had some action taken on them. To have done all this while simultaneously battling an economic hurricane makes Obama about as honest a follow-through artist as anyone can expect from a politician." 

- Andrew Sullivan on his Newsweek Cover Story "Why Are Obama's Critics So Dumb?"

Documentaries To Watch: Second Class Citizens

A documentary which began as a fruition is on a promising track to become a reality.  

Filmmaker Ryan James Yezak is currently working on a documentary sure to win the hearts of millions around the world, but most importantly, let it be known that it is okay to be gay.

Hoping to garner $50,000 in order to make his film "Second Class Citizens", Yezak raised $47,000 dollars in less than 24 hours, and has so far been pledged $140,000. If you wish to donate and be a part of this great movement, please go here and make a pledge.

A countless number of people have shared the following video which will bring you to tears once you get to the end.  Ellen DeGeneres chimes in,  "Larry was not a second class citizen. I am not a second class citizen. It is okay if you're gay."

"I want to make a documentary that encompasses all areas in which we are discriminated against. The general population is not aware that discrimination against the gay community goes beyond marriage & bullying. There is far too much hate directed towards our community and I want to capture that hate on camera. In addition, I want to explore where this hate comes from, why it continues to exist, and what we must do to get rid of it. A better solution is needed because the solution we have right now isn't working fast enough.

I am not a second class citizen. You are not a second class citizen. Right now, the laws in place (and lack thereof) say that we are. Let's change that." - Ryan James Yezak

Click "after the jump" for more information on this project and Ryan Yezak.

Disney Prince of the Week 002

Last Friday, Prince Eric from the Little Mermaid was featured as my inaugural Prince of the Week.  

In today's issue, and for the next 18 weeks I'll be posting a Disney Prince of the Week.  Can you guess which movie and name of the character who played this week's Prince?

Quoted - Ezra Miller on Exploring His Sexuality

“I’ve had many, you know, ‘happy ending sleepovers’ in my early youth. My period of exploration – I think that’s essential. Anyone who hasn’t had a gay moment is probably trying to avoid some confrontation with a reality in their life.”  

– We Need to Talk About Kevin‘s Ezra Miller on exploring his sexuality.

President Obama Sings Al Green's "Let's Stay Together"

It's a short clip, but it sure makes me smile.  I wholeheartedly believe this man has done more for this country than any other President ever has over the past 20 - 30 years.  And I also couldn't have stated it any better than the guy who posted this video on YouTube:

"Sorry about the blocked comments everyone, but I honestly don't have the time to deal with all the racist bile from YouTube's Ron Paul mob and the Tea/Firebagger bigots

This is the original 'President Obama sings Al Green' video on YouTube, but please, copy at your leisure - my pleasure!"

OMG Hilarious! - Push, Push

Hey Baby Girl

Okay, I don't know about you, but this kid needs help.  And serious help.  I'm scared for the girl he's talking to, Briona.  Hell, I got scared just watching him profess his love for her. LOL.

Nevermind that the guy looks like a troll, but dear Briona, I suggest you get a restraining order as soon as humanly possible.  Move the hell out of town, before you wind up in trash bags across hwy 59.  Jesus Christ, God Bless You!