Let's Play "Foodie, A-hole, Racist or Jerk!"

Eat This, Y'all

Wow. The Food Network continues to prove that their talent bookers have issues with vetting their stars. Their first scandal involved British chef Robert Irvine and his claims that he cooked for the Queen. That turned out to be a lie and Irvine was fired (though hired back again after he proved to be a fan favorite). Then 'Barefoot Contessa' star Ina Garten refused to cook with a cancer-stricken child whose Make-A-Wish wish was to do just that. Soon after, douchebag extraordinaire, Guy Fieri, was outed as a sexist, anti-Semitic, homophobic creep who can't look a woman in the eyes. And last week, photos of sexy British chef Nigella Lawson hit the web, being choked in public by her husband.

Today it was revealed that the network's most beloved star, butter-loving diabetic Paula Deen (pictured above) is a racist. Yup! During testimony in a civil trial, Deen admitted that she not only regularly uses the "N" word, but had actually hoped to plan a wedding using African-American wait staff pretending to be slaves! 

Holy crap! What the hell is wrong with the talent bookers at Food Network? They certainly don't seem to be doing a good job making sure their stars are worthy of stardom. If I were a Food Network exec, I'd be loosing my mind right about now. 

Can you imagine Julia Child embroiled in such a scandal? I know I can't. 

I have always had an issue with many of the people Americans venerate as "stars," especially in the age of so-called 'Reality TV.'  When chefs like Child; Friedman 'Chef Tell' Erhardt and Grahame Kerr made their marks on TV in the 70's, the world was a different place and any scandals in which they may have been involved (though I doubt there were any), weren't fodder for the Internet and anyone with a PC to see. They were about the food, and their quirky and delightful presentations.

Wanna be famous? Want adoring fans and tons of money for hosting a show or making public appearances? Then you better make sure you have nothing to hide. In the Information Age, everything is public and you'd better be prepared to face the consequences of your unsavory past. Or at least make sure that either your past isn't unsavory or be willing to embrace your unsavory past with grace and aplomb. 

Here's to your heart attack, y'all!

Let's not get into Deen's son Bobby and all the rumors about his sexuality (I'm no Perez Hilton) for now. I'm just asking that you be aware that the 'celebrity' you love, may not be the perfect person you might like to think he or she is.

More, anon.

Prospero

Nope! He's a-No Longer de Pope!**

Insert The Omen Theme Here

My Day Job Co-Worker: "The Pope's stepping down!"

Uncle P: "He never should have stepped up."

Other Co-Worker: "You got that right! He should never have been Pope in the first place." 

The single most unpopular Pope in modern history*, Pope Benedict today announced that he is resigning due to his age and health. He is the first Pope to resign in over 400 years. Of course, Benedict had a hard act to follow. John Paul II was the most beloved Pope in modern history; a charismatic man who survived an assassination attempt and exuded kindness. Benedict, an honestly creepy old man with Draconian values turned out to be not only horrendously homophobic but complicit in covering up sexual abuse while a bishop in Germany. Corruption, depravity and hypocrisy are nothing new in the Catholic Church. Perverts, pederasts and murderers have all been Pope, many times over. Of course today, shaman and fakirs hold much less power over rationalism and people aren't afraid to tell the truth, especially when those they were supposed to be able to trust, violated them so personally and so horribly.

Such an historic announcement certainly seems to me to have deeper and exceptional significance in the secret annals of the Vatican vaults. I truly believe that there is a secret being buried that is so explosive, the Church would never recover should it get out. 

Now you know me. I'm hardly a conspiracy nut. But if any organization has reason to conspire a cover-up. it's the Holy Roman Catholic Church. No, I'm not suggesting that that ridiculous DaVinci novel is true. Or that Beyonce's flashing of an Illuminati sign at the Superbowl was the signal to take German Joe down. Of course, Pat Robertson would have you believe 'Nemo' (I still think that's a stupid name for a storm, Jules Verne be damned) is punishment for the states which approved Marriage Equality in November. Hey, Pat. 'Nemo' is nature's punishment for us abusing the environment, ya douche.

Many LGBT groups are happy to see Benedict go. 'Other Co-Worker' predicted we will see a Pope of color next, citing several Brazilian Cardinals on the "short list." Okay. Still, no one should get too excited about real progress in the Church any time soon. The Cardinals are still all a bunch of old men, obsessed with sex because they aren't supposed to have it. What's that saying about the deliciousness of forbidden fruit? Absurd doesn't even begin to cover it.

Secular society will move forward first, and the Church will eventually follow in another generation or two (they'll have to, if they want to remain relevant to the few remaining followers they'll have by then). People are still afraid to let go of superstition, though the tide is turning toward rationalism and reason. It amazed me to see how freeing it was to do so. Life is too short and too precious to worry about what happens later. What matters is now. 

I can't stress this enough: If you are living a lie because some religious leader told you that you were evil; if you are afraid of what people will think of you; if you think your family will abandon you... the worst thing that's going to happen to you is going to happen to every single one of us, no matter what we do. Why not enjoy the very brief gift we've been given to its fullest? Don't hide your light under a bushel (you should pardon the reference, no matter how relevant). Come out and love the life you deserve with someone who deserves your love.

And the next time you complain when you can't get cell-phone reception, think about the kid in some refugee camp who can't get enough food to keep the cramps away. 

Don't live your life the way someone else tells you should. Live it in the way you know you should. Live the way that brings joy to you, those that you love and those who love you back. They are the only ones who matter. Trust me.

So, maybe this video is the big secret. Or the one below:

Oh, how love crazy people. I have no doubt the Pope is evil. Just not in the way these nutjobs have concluded. Benedict is evil in the way that all people who perpetrate mythology as truth; homophobia as righteous and hate as love, are evil.

You have no power here. Begone, before someone drops a house on you!

More, anon.
Prospero

*You gotta be pretty bad to be less popular than a Nazi sympathizer.

**Once a Musical Theatre Geek, always a Musical Theatre Geek

I Used to Like Clint Eastwood

As we have previously established, Uncle P is old. Old enough to remember when actor/director Clint Eastwood was hot. Seriously. In those Sergio Leone Spaghetti Westerns and on "Rawhide?" Damn! Hell, even in Unforgiven. I have not watched his current wife's 'reality' show on the E! network (though I generally loathe those kinds of programs), so it's been a while since I've seen him.

Last night, however,  Mr. Eastwood was the much bally-hooed "Surprise Guest" at the Republican National Convention, where he proceeded to ramble on to a empty chair for nearly 12 minutes (he had been given 5) and nearly caused Twitter to break down. If you haven't seen it, here it is:

Honestly, if any other 82 year-old had been caught talking to an inanimate object in public for 12 minutes, they would have been sent to a home. Still, I don't understand how an avowed Hollywood liberal (as illustrated in the graphic above) can support a platform of homophobia, misogyny and science-denial. Is this what happens after one turns 75? Does one suddenly change political parties and lose all sense of fashion at the same time? If that's the case, then please shoot me when (and if) I turn 70.  Better dead than poorly-dressed and ill-informed (or something like that). Oh - and no matter how old I am, if you ever see me with a comb-over, you have my permission to slap me as hard you can (hopefully dislodging the comb-over in the process).

I can only hope that dementia has set in. It's the only explanation for Eastwood's behavior last night that makes any sense to me. Of course, maybe someone slipped him some acid just before he went on. 

The whole thing makes me tired, angry and sad.

More, anon.
Prospero

A Monday Night Quickie

Okay - so maybe it's already been done to death by a thousand gay bloggers, but I just had to weigh in on the whole George Rekers scandal.

Honestly, it just makes me sad. While I am always happy to see a hypocrite brought down, I still have to wonder about the emotional pain that goes along with such an event.

Rekers certainly caused emotional pain in the gay men he supposedly councils to become "straight." And I imagine his family must be experiencing some pain at the revelation that the man they thought they knew is not the man Rekers apparently is. And Rekers certainly has his own pain in dealing with his own repressed homosexuality.

If you live in a cave and haven't heard about this scandal, here's a report from Newsy.com:



I'm currently directing a production of Del Shore's hilarious play Sordid Lives for the annual JTMF AIDS fundraiser. In it, one scene involves a therapist who believes she can 'de-homosexualize' gay men through therapy. Of course, the American Psychiatric Association removed homosexuality from their list of recognized psychological disorders over 40 years ago. Still, folks like Mr. Rekers believe that therapy and prayer can turn gay people straight.

I'm happy (and sad for those who believe otherwise) to report that one CANNOT "Pray the Gay Away." Such so-called 'therapies' have proven again and again to do far more harm than good. And as evidenced by these recent events, lying to the world about yourself while publicly denouncing the very activities in which one engages, can only lead to more pain. As soon as the so-called "Religious Right" realizes that we (the LGBT community) are not only here to say, but aren't going to put up with their lies, the better. Of course, those who live by blind faith are doomed to live blindly. How many more George Rekers or Ted Haggards will it take before they realize the error of their ways? Sadly, I think they never will.

And here's Rachel Maddow's take on the whole thing:



I hope every person involved in the "ex-gay" movement takes a step back and re-analyzes their take on this subject. Unfortunately, I don't think they will.

More, anon.
Pospero