Movies To Watch: San Andreas

While the plot of the movie is so stereotypical - Father goes out of his way to save daughter across the state; The special effects would be something I'd like to see on the big screen.  Poor Californians though, they can never get a break.  If it's not DC getting blown to bits, it's the Golden State falling into the Atlantic.

"Where will you be?  Who will you be with?..."

Check out the trailer to San Andreas
 

Obama Takes Over The Colbert Report

 

Last night, President Obama kicked Stephen Colbert off his chair just as he was about to give his segment of "The Word".  It was pretty fun to watch. 

He joked about himself, Republicans and of course, Fox News.  Check it out.

Prohibition Ends!!!

This Friday will mark the 81st anniversary of the repeal of prohibition in the United States by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

It feels like I haven't had a drink in years; Honestly, I don't remember the last time I had a drop.  And this says alot, because I was a heavy drinker in my twenties and off and on in my thirties.  So if you feel the need to celebrate, please be careful.

Learn more about the Prohibition era here: History.com.

Raised by a Mexican Mom? Then This is For You!

It's been forever since I posted a blog, so here it goes.

Javier Moreno over at Buzzfeed listed 28 things people who were raised by a Mexican mom know to be true,  And I'd have to say he's on point with some of these.  

We were not catholic so the candles didn't exist, and the quinceañera? Not so much.  Lol.  But trust me, I have family who represent this entire list and you know who you are!  LMAO.

Thank you sharing Michele!

1. She believed VapoRub (or Vick's) was a cure for everything.

2. Along with Sprite.

3. If you scraped your knee, you could always expect the “Sana, sana” rhyme.

You would feel the wrath of the dreaded chancla.

  

There was no way you were leaving the house without finishing your chores.

Whenever she watched novelas you were given a play by play.

Check out the entire list here. And if you haven't seen "The Secret of the Chancla" you can't catch that here. Hilarious!

Movies To Watch: Unbroken

Photo courtesy of Tom Sanders Photography

"Don't Give Up, Don't Give In. There's Always an Answer to Everything."  The words from a true American hero who is still alive today.  His name is Louis Zamperini, and you won't know what I'm talking about until you see this powerful and emotional trailer.  Check it out.

WHY GAS?

I just finished ordering my personalized license plate for my Chevrolet Volt.  What do ya think? :-)

I literally tried every combination you could think of and this was the only one left.  I tried NO GAS, ZERO GAS, ZRO GAS, N0 GAS, X GAS and others, but to no avail.  I think I chose a pretty cool one nonetheless.

Laugh of the Day: The Morning After

Ahhhh, the morning after.  So how long should you wait before this happens to you?  LMAO - this is absolutely hilarious!

Are People Really This Stupid? Issue No. 39 - NO GAY EATING HERE!

I don't even know where to begin with this.  What's next? Segregated bathrooms?  Hell, from New York to Chicago - there's gay high schools going up, because kids need a place to feel safe without being bullied and tortured.  Just recently laws in Kansas and Arizona were passed by Republican lawmakers who felt the need to discriminate gay patrons.  Lord help me if something similar happens in this state (Texas) and someone kicks me out of a restaurant.  Are people really this stupid???

by Haywood Bynum III

Proposed Jim Crow laws for gay people are already taking effect in Kansas.   38-year-old Johnny Quinns-Smith wanted to get an egg-salad sandwich for himself and his fiance, Erique Boltzman.  He went to his local diner outside Franton, near Scranton, a place where he and Boltzman had occasionally ate over the past 6 years.  In fact, it was at this diner that the two met during a lunch hour.

But today, Quinss-Smith encountered something he thought he would never see in his lifetime:  a sign.  A sign that said, “Service Refused To Gay Couples.”

“I was in absolute shock, I mean, I could not even fathom what was going on,” he said.  When he went into the restaurant, all went silent.  The locals looked at him, with several pointing and whispering.  Wiping out a cup, a server behind the restaurant’s main ordering station stared at him and then looked over at one of the newest signs next to the cash register.

“I looked at where several people’s eyes were tracking.  Then there it was, it was a sign that said ‘No Gay Eating Here’.”

Shock: “No Gay Eating Here”, Kansas bill allows businesses and government workers to refuse service to gay couples.

Not wanting to make a scene, Quinns-Smith quickly walked up to the stand where he had always been able to order his food.  The server who had taken his order and brought him his food for years stood there in front of him and asked, “How can we help?”
“What is wrong.  What is this sign meaning,” Quinns-Smith asked, feeling uncomfortable as eyes rested on him.

“It means you and your boyfriend can’t come eating in here no more, unless you find God,” a customer seated offered a response before staff said anything.
“You need to find God and the Bible,” someone else yelled out.  The floodgates were open.

“We don’t want your germs on the silverware.”  ”Just repent son, you can still be forgiven and be normal.”  ”Being gay is not natural.  It is not God’s way.”

Quinns-Smith ran from the restaurant, utterances from the customers making him absolutely horrified and uncomfortable.  When he closed the door behind him, he saw the sign boldly positioned on the front door, right above business hours, “Service Refused to Gay Couples.”  Quinns-Smith had not even noticed it when he walked in.

While he does not plan to return to the restaurant, Quinns-Smith is worried that so many people in town were so bold to talk him down about his lifestyle and that the restaurant was supporting their views, telling him he needs ‘Jesus and to read his Bible’ and to just ‘stop being gay.”

Related articles : Anti-Gay Jim Crow” Bill Gets Dangerously Close to Reality in Kansas Law

The Kansas House of Representatives recently passed a bill with a 73-49 vote that  allows government workers and businesses the right to refuse services to gay couples.  Fortunately, the bill lost traction in the Kansas Senate, but it is still alive and could become law in the state.   The story of this restaurant will become reality for more gay couples across the state, facing an unprecedented showing of ignorance that has unfortunately reached back from the turbulent 1960s and into our modern age of progress.

When Johnny Quinns-Smith hopped back into his car, his fiance was surprised. “Where’s our lunch?”
“I had to explain to him, that because we are a gay couple, some people already felt they had the right to deny us any service, and that included getting an egg salad sandwich so we could eat outside for lunch and enjoy a rarely warm winter’s day.”

This article originally appeared on the Topekasnews

Post Secret Fridays - Issue 119

PostSecret is an ongoing community art project where people mail in their secrets anonymously on one side of a homemade postcard.

See More Secrets. Follow PostSecret on Twitter. 

Want to see older Post Secret Friday issues?
Click my Post Secret Logo Below.

Let It Go - Frozen - Alex Boyé (Africanized Tribal Cover) Ft. One Voice Children's Choir

Last March I posted an amazing dubstep video by violinst, Lindsey Stirling and the venue she used was absolutely breathtaking.  Well this time around another artist, Alex Boyé has used the same venue.  

Well....... not exactly.  Alex used the Ice Castles in Utah, whereas Lindsey used the Ice Castles in Colorado.

And what's the song? 

"Let It Go" from the Disney movie, Frozen of course.  Check it out, it's pretty darn cool.

Also if you're interested in finding out where this was filmed, you can check out The ICE CASTLES AT SILVERTHORNE.  They are an unparalleled creation of walkways, illuminated ice formations, tunnels, and arches – made entirely out of ice and designed with the visitor in mind. These massive and dynamic ice structures are nearly 30 feet high, and collectively measure over 10,000 tons.

On a recent blog entry, Oprah.com described the Silverthorne Ice Castles as “magical...twinkling and sense-defying and straight out of fairy tales.” The post went on to say, “of all the gorgeous pictures on the internet of incredible structures made of ice (and to be sure there are many.), I'm most moved by Brent Christensen's Silverthorne Ice Castle, a cavernous, surreal-looking place that looks as if it were constructed by an army of icy elves, or else appeared on its own in an enchanted forest.”

This is definitely another great place added to mine and Ryan's wishlist of places to visit.  A-ma-zing.

Inside Our Mother's Womb

A word is never uttered throughout the video, yet a commenter states... "this was really good, until the God part".

Regardless of one's view on religion or a higher being; You have to admit this video is pretty darn cool.  Whether you're a parent or not, this is how we all developed in our mother's womb; Which begs the greater question...

Why on God's green earth would a parent disown their gay child?  Better yet, a mother?

How to Behave Around Your Gay Teammate in the Locker Room

Seriously folks. Get it together.  More often than not, us "Gay" boys are probably not interested in you or how you look anyway. LOL. Well...... unless you look like Zac Efron. haha.

by John Loos
 
Hey, you. Yeah, you. Elite athlete making millions of dollars playing football for the NFL. I know you're concerned about the upcoming season now that Michael Sam, the star defensive lineman from Mizzou who's a top NFL prospect, just came out as gay.


OH MY GOD WHAT IF HE LOOKS AT YOUR JUNK?!

Clearly, this is the most terrifying thing a modern-day gladiator like yourself faces at your job. Not a 300-pound mountain of muscle chasing you down, not a cataclysmic spinal injury, not the constant threat of brain damage.

No.

The minute chance of a split-second side eye glance from another man who may, in his private life, be naked with his boyfriend, is clearly far more stressful.

But have no fear! I was a closeted gay athlete in high school (a defensive lineman, like Michael Sam!), so I know a thing or two about navigating a locker room. I know, for instance, any fear you may have of being checked out by a gay teammate is nothing compared to the constant fear a closeted athlete has of being discovered/ridiculed/punched in the face by a bigoted teammate.

To help you through the next NFL season, here is a handy guide to how to behave in a locker room where a gay man may be present.

So, you know, like ANY OTHER LOCKER ROOM IN THE HISTORY OF MANKIND EVER.

Step 1: Acknowledge your gay teammate

Say hello. Say "nice game." Perhaps give him a compliment on a tackle, or a catch, or a great run. Maybe throw in a high-five or, if that is too uncomfortable for you (it shouldn't be), give any another indication that you're happy he's on your team, even if he plays for a different team off the field.

Step 2: Acknowledge that he's human

Ask a question about his life. How's his family? His partner? Talk about shared interests (Yes! You likely have shared interests with this homosexual human!) If you don't know what this person likes, ask. Or talk about the weather! Or Beyoncé! Not because he's gay, but because everyone, gay straight, male or female, Madagascan village elders or Inuit whale hunters, has something to say about Beyoncé. She's the universal conversation starter.

Step 3: Get undressed

Because you just spent two hours playing in the mud and dirt, and it's a locker room and you're an adult -- and get over yourself and seriously -- you have to change out of your uniform. You smell like shit.

Step 4: Realize at this point, you're looking at your gay teammate more than he's looking at you

Why is he not looking at you? You're attractive! You work out! Are you not his type? Maybe he's only into punters. Oh my God, it's almost as if your teammate is concentrating on getting cleaned up and getting home to his life, just like you were supposed to be before you got preoccupied with checking him out to see if he's checking you out.

Step 5: Do your usual stealth glances of other naked teammates

Because straight men size each other up all the time in locker rooms. But it's from a place of competition, which is far more acceptable for some reason. Bros bein' bros, etc.

Step 6: Realize at this point, you're being paid millions of dollars to exist on this team with this gay person, so you'll survive somehow

At the absolute worst, this teammate finds you attractive and has a moment of weakness and lets one little glance slip that you catch, and you notice because you're (of course) already staring at him. Now you know how the thousands upon thousands of breasts you've stared at slack-jawed in your lifetime feel. Congratulations, Margaret, you've just become a woman!

Step 7: Count the number of half-naked teammates around you and divide by 10

That's how many actually are gay, whether they've stated it publicly or not. And they've been there all along, since you started playing football in high school, and somehow you're still alive and unscathed and making millions of dollars.

Step 8: Shower

Because, again, you smell. If your gay teammate is showering at the same time, kudos to you for noticing he walked into the showers. Why are you watching him so closely, anyway? Seriously, are you cruising him?

Step 9: Dress, go home

And play with the piles of money you've earned from somehow being brave and manly enough to put on skin-tight capri pants, a jock strap and give other grown men really aggressive hugs and wrestle them to the ground.

This article originally appeared on The Second City Network and on Huffpost Gay Voices.

900 Miles Between Fill-ups

GM released the following ad during the Olympics and it was absolutely fantastic!   
 
I truly never understood "900 miles between fill-ups" until I became a Chevy Volt owner.  And boy am I proud of our decision to purchase one.  I can't even remember the last time I put Gas in my car.  Oh yeah, it was around Christmas, when I went to visit family.  2075 EV Miles and counting...

Check out the ad here.

A Car and It's Drone

It's only a concept, so don't get too excited.  But it's cool nonetheless.  The concept car from Renault features a driver-controlled drone in the trunk of the car!  Yep, it simply comes out the rear of the car, and investigates upcoming traffic for you.  Great for burglars too!  lol.  As I said, don't get too excited over it; These rarely get to the dealership floor.  Check it out.