steph posted on her website about my queer as folk post, and i think it deserves some followup conversation:

first, a quick summary, for those interested:

on 3/9 i mentioned that Randy Harrison & Peter Paige are the only real gay men in the show that's predominantly about gay men, Queer As Folk - i said, "just seems a bit strange that there's this huge queer show and only 2 of em are really gay...not good strange, not bad strange, just strange...."

then steph responded in her 3:19pm, march 11, 2003 entry: "Here's my two cents: it's bad strange. I challenge you to go to any restaurant in Califor-ni-ay and not have your food served by a gay actor. There are thousands of them out there, if not hundreds of thousands. So it's not just strange that 98% of all gay characters on TV and in the movies are played by straight actors, while the gay actors wait tables. It's happening because of descrimination, for the same reason that Amos and Andy used to have black characters played by white people in black face. Because people aren't comfortable knowing the the guy playing the gay role is actually gay. But it's okay if it's all pretend.

Case in point: Several years ago, Spin City has a gay male character kiss a straight male character as a joke. It got huge laughs, and played in prime time with no objections. That same night, Ellen Degeneres' character kissed a straight female character as a joke. It did not get huge laughs. It was pushed back to a later time slot, and it got a parental advisory warning. What was the difference between the two? On Ellen, the actor playing the part was gay. On Spin City, the actor playing the gay character was straight."

my reply? well, i'm intrigued by the comment that it's a minstrel show - steph, were you saying that only in reference to the fact that they're hiring straight people to play gays (like the Amos n' Andy reference) or do you find that the show content degrades gay people as well? that's a recurring complaint i've heard from gay people that don't like the show - the characters are all assholes, druggies or somehow fucked up - but i have to say i know many more people like the characters on QAF than i see in other television shows. i think it's a very realistic show - granted, it's got some cheesy soap-opera tendencies at times - but i tend to agree with the disclaimer they put on every episode: it doesn't reflect all of gay society.

i've found myself much more offended by episodes of "Will & Grace" than anything I've seen on QAF. speaking of W&G, Sean Hayes refuses to state his sexual orientation in interviews - this article on gay.com spells it out: When it comes to his sexuality, Hayes doesn't really want the public to know. "I don't wanna say I'm straight or I'm gay," he told Hollywood Online in 1998, "I want to keep everything open so as no one can form any opinions about me, because this world that we live in isn't all that forgiving." don't you find that more offensive than a confessed straight guy playing the part of a gay guy? the way he says it seems rather cowardly - he's afraid that saying one way or another is going to require forgiveness in the future? this isn't to say i don't like Sean Hayes - i really liked him in Billy's Hollywood Screen Kiss and enjoyed the Jack character on W&G for a little while - but i think Jack's become more of the minstrel than anyone on QAF...

yeah, i guess it does suck that they're hiring straight people to play gays when there are plenty of gays out there that could take the parts, but i really wonder how much of that was a factor in casting QAF - a very explicit show about gay boys, based on a Brit series - really think they had tons of people interested in the roles? being made for Showtime hasn't really been something to shout from the rooftops - they don't quite have the air of respectability of a channel like HBO...so, who knows. if it takes a while longer for heteros to portray homos to at least get homos portrayed somewhat realistically on television, i don't think that's a bad thing - we've definitely got a ways to go, but maybe someday we could get to that idealistic world of all the gay waiter/actors hanging up the aprons to go into acting full time...

yowza, so much to do...

thanks to guys like HowdyDave and various people from the Cyberonics discussion board, i've decided to journal my experience with the Vagus Nerve Stimulator...the info i've received has been very helpful in making sure that i'm making an informed decision - i think this will prove to be a very beneficial device!

it's getting implanted into me in two days - two days!!!

so now i'm trying to decide how to go about it - i've pondered just starting up a totally separate blog on blogspot, pondered upgrading all the blogs i have and doing blogger pro, or maybe just getting a totally new domain of my own...and on and on and on...

the audioblogger option has really intrigued me - one thing i want to focus on in particular is how this will affect my voice. the biggest side effect i've read about regarding the VNS is the change it will make to one's voice - reading one woman's description of how it made her sound "like Bea Arthur after a testosterone shot" made it vividly clear that it's quite a change, but unless you can really HEAR how things were before and how they are after, it's hard to imagine...now, it's not like i rely on my voice for anything...no public speaking things are involved in work, and it's not like i'll be killing my singing career - since i don't have one - but i think it'd be cool to give people a concrete example of what sort of changes can happen. i also thought some pix would be good as well, of the incisions and such...the more info i can give to people about this thing, the better.....

why the fuck would mcdonalds not promote this woman to manager? cuz she's got a birthmark.

granted, seeing her is quite a jolt at first, but this is fucking MCDONALDS people! would her customer service or cooking abilities be hampered by her face? don't think so.

good to know our reps in congress are busy with lots of really important issues, like renaming food in the cafeterias...no more French Fries, now it's "Freedom Fries"....huh?!?

so, just because france thinks we shouldn't blow iraq to oblivion we can't have anything with "French" in the name?

so, do we just change French to Freedom in every instance? after a hot night of Freedom Kissing and trying out that new Freedom Tickler in the boudoir - whoops, i mean bedroom! - we'll have some Freedom Toast for breakfast?

very fucked.


what fucked version of hello kittie are you?
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*rofl* shoulda seen this one coming:


Gay Bear


Which Dysfunctional Care Bear Are You?
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heh heh heh...


You have a dominant kiss- you take charge and make
sure your partner can feel it! Done artfully,
it can be very satisfactory if he/she is into
you playing the dominant role MEORW!


What kind of kiss are you?
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:: how nintendo are you? ::

Green - You believe that small economic units
should control the goods, and that the
government should be permissive of
"victimless crimes," respectful of
civil liberties and very strict towards big
business. You also believe in either a
socialist tax structure or more power to local
communities. You think that environmental
policies should be written into law. Your
historical role model is Ralf Nader.


Which political sterotype are you?
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the Elephant Sanctuary in Hohenwald, TN gets my vote for best motto: "So they loaded up their trunks & they moved to Tennessee"...

ticketmaster sucks ass...i know, another statement of the obvious, but i'm just cranky cuz i couldn't get jimmy buffett tix for me & clara this morning - even though i stood in line at marsh while mom stayed at home and tried getting through on the internet...

it's amazing the fucking fees they add onto ticket prices as well - i suppose this is actually a verizon fee, but the ticketmaster page said "$2.75 Parking Fee will be added on to each ticket purchased." - excuse me?!?!? every single person is driving alone? if not, how the can they tack that onto the ticket price?!? that's in addition to $4.50 venue fee (huh?) and $1 "SFC", whatever the fuck that is...evil bastards...

perhaps i'll wait till closer till concert time, to see how likely it is that clara's gonna be able to make it, then pay a fucking scalper for em...*shrug*

i'm now in the midst of disc 5 of the second season of queer as folk...what a show...took em long enough to get to season 3, but i guess it's been worth the wait...

interesting - the showtime website has a question in the FAQ - "Which of the cast members are gay in real life?" Showtime's answer: "Some of the actors are gay, and some of them are straight." - not mentioning who's who....i found a larry king interview with the cast, and it turns out only two of em, Randy Harrison and Peter Paige are truly fags...just seems a bit strange that there's this huge queer show and only 2 of em are really gay...not good strange, not bad strange, just strange....