Philadelphia: The City of Brotherly Love (mm-kayyy!)

Saw this and had to share:

Is Philly the Birthplace of Gay Rights? (AP)



This AP article goes on to say: "The Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission has approved a state historical marker near Independence Hall declaring the area the site of the first public demonstration for gay and lesbian rights." Therefore, pre-dating the Stonewall Riots. Ehh... read the article.

I loooove Philadelphia. Its my hometown and I am very proud of it as well. It has a nice "communal" feel to it. People tend to be less stressed out and not-so standoff-ish as say NYC or DC. Its a great place for a long weekend because there's lots to do, whether its hanging out in Center City or out in the country in New Hope.



Here are some really cool sites to find out more about Philly:

http://www.gophila.com/ The Go Philly! website usually has great weekend package deals (theater + hotels), etc. Check out their "Gay-friendly Travel Information" section as well.

http://www.outinphiladelphia.com/ Out in Philadelphia for the gay scene

http://www.epgn.com/ Philadelphia Gay News. Kinda like DC's version of the Washington Blade.

http://www.newhopepennsylvania.com/ New Hope is a GREAT place to do the Bed and Breakfast-thing and really get away from the buzz of the city. You'll have your mix of breeders and gay-folk. The Raven and Cartwheel are definitely places to party in the evenings.

Ok... that's my plug for the Philadelphia Tourism Board ;-)

I need a SOLDIER...!

God, I love that song. And Destiny's Child. And that video. I digress.

Here's our new gay "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" poster child: Army Sgt. Robert Stout:

Gay U.S. Soldier Wants to Serve Openly (AP)

Our man-in-uniform received a Purple Heart (very cool) serving his country and wants to continue to serve.

In typical White House fashion (according to the AP): "The Bush administration has asked a federal court to dismiss the lawsuit." That is just so passive aggressive.

If anything the Congressional Budget Office has acknowledged its a definite quantitative loss: "A recent congressional study on the impact of "don't ask, don't tell" said that hundreds of highly skilled troops, including many translators, have left the armed forces because of the rule, at a cost of nearly $200 million, mostly for recruiting and training replacements for 9,500 troops discharged between 1994 and 2003."

It just reminds me of the hypocrisy of our country, Land of the Free, Home of the Brave (if you're straight). How is it that we are the premiere super power in the world, yet can be complete social retards at an aggregate societal level? Go figure. That's what America "special" (as in "riding-the-short-bus-to-school" special)

"Best In Show": FULFILLED

I LOVE the movie Best In Show. Love it love it love it. Now you can watch it fer' REAL on Bravo! I have to admit, that I've only caught an episode, but this is truly Tivo-worthy. If anything, you can watch the validation of the "gay dog show couple" stereotype via Brandon and Ryan:

Some interesting blurbs from the Bravo TV website:

• They own "...High Maintenance Bitch which makes fashion accessories for women and their dogs, such as dog-sized boas, magnetic earrings, stoles and couches"
• "...they decided to change their Toy Fox Terrier's name from "Zipper" (given to him by the breeder) to Liberace. Ryan says, "If he's going to be our show dog, he's got to have a real show dog name." They wanted something outrageous that would garner attention."

<sigh>

Sausage Boy Wins Hearts of Americans Everywhere!!

Looks like Scott "Sausage-fingers" Savol has miraculously survived another week on American Idol despite this past week's revelations by our friends at The Smoking Gun regarding his chick-beating past.

I have a couple of theories behind this:

1. He has rallied the support of morbidly obese and overweight Americans everywhere. You figure that approximately 30% of Americans are overweight and about 5% are considered "morbidly obese" (I think that Scott qualifies for the latter category). Essentially, millions of Americans may identify and empathize with his fatness. They need a new spokesperson since Fergie and Fat Actress, Kirstie Alley, aren't cutting it. Think of all the commercial endorsements that the Stay-Puft Boy will get!
2. Scott has the support of battered women everywhere (I'd dig up statistics on this, but I'm too lazy and overweight to muster the energy). These are the women who frequently say, "he hits me because he loves me and I deserve it" and then actively text message their vote to AI.
3. His "homies" are extorting votes from their public housing project.
4. His hometown news team is obviously RALLYING for him because that's what they always do...

Those are the top theories I could think of right now. I hope that he and Carrie Underwood aren't getting it on behind-the-scenes. That's just a very nasty visual, but I can see her being one of those girls who like guys that are bad for her.

Speaking of hometown news, my peeps in Philly (Yodabeesh beats chest with fist) are "keepin' it REAL"... love the straight up commentary. Check it out at PhillyBurbs.

A Message from Scott: "I BEAT THE RAP, YO! Now I beat-cho ASS! I'z be the next American Idol... and after this, I'm gonna finish off my baby's momma!!"

(Scott gasps for a breath. His breathing becomes belabored and beads of sweat form on his brow. His raised pointed sausage-like digit slowly falls to his side with the slow grace of an orka whale.)

One last note: If you poke Scott with a fork, will he bleed sausage gravy?

Late-breaking news: Condoleezza Rice to Star in Aunt Jemima Musical

Its true! Condi Rice is starring in an Aunt Jemima Musical. According to EJ Moore:

"Condoleezza Rice announced today that she has signed with Miramax pictures to star in Jemima Power, the upcoming musical about the life and times of America's best-recognized pancake lobbyist, Aunt Jemima."

I knew that Condi was an accomplished pianist, but a stage actress as well? She never ceases to amaze me. This truly takes the (pan)cake. (pun intended)

Today's Pervert!

Sexual Pervert and Deviant of the Day Award goes to Steven Copenhaven of Georgetown, TX!!



From our kind friends at the New York Lawyer:
"According to an arrest warrant, Copenhaver, a solo practitioner, allegedly solicited "deviate sexual intercourse" from a woman in exchange for the attorney's fees to represent the woman's husband. "

Good job, dumbass. Looking at your picture I can see why you would need to barter your time for sexual services . You look like one of those trolls that hangs out in the dark-room at Omega (its a DC gay bar for those of you not in the know...).

Did I mention that he's on his local school board? Check out his Bio! Round Rock School Board: ScumBag.

Celebrity Death of the Week: Prince Ranier of Monaco

Why is it that we can't seem to go for a week without some kind of celebrity going to the eternal sleep-sleep with the angels? This week... Prince Ranier of Monaco. I had him in the running (see previous postings) so it was just a matter of time that the Grim Reaper caught up to him (the GR had a busy month!). Kinda sucks that this is overlapping with the Pope's funeral (I hate playing second fiddle as well). Its like having to choose between going to the Golden Globes and the Oscars if they were held at the same time. Read on:

Prince Ranier of Monaco dies at Age 81. (WP)

So his son, Prince Albert will inherit the throne of this tiny principality. I think he's gay. Check it:

"Prince Albert is unmarried and has no children...Groomed for decades to succeed his straight-laced father, Albert is well traveled, multilingual and a five-time bobsledding Olympian. In recent years, he has been Monaco's top ambassador. A confirmed bachelor raised in the spotlight, he also has been seen as a sometimes reluctant heir."

Gay. What do you think?

Anyhow, for those of you wondering "where the hell is Monaco?", it is along the southern coast of France. According to my dear friends at CIA Factbook, its no bigger than 3 times the Mall in Washington DC. Thrilling.

Where's my fcuking coffee...?

Sucks to be him...

Special shout-out to the Kween for sending this story my way...

Anyhow, I read this story and thought to myself, "wow, that fcuking sucks!". Read on and you'll see why.

Deliveryman Emerges Safely After 3 Days Stranded in Elevator


Translated from Chinese: "Horrry shit! Im-a so fcuked! Why I no eat lomein! Im-a so fcuked! Why I no work in sweatshop instead of derrrivery boy!? I so fcuked bigtime!"

Today's Celebrity Crap-O-La

SO CHECK IT! Justin Jeffre of 98 Degrees fame has decided to run for mayor of Cincinnati. For those of you who don't exactly remember him, he was the "not-as-hot-as-the-others" member. I always thought he looked like Droopy Dawg:

Also, lil' tidbit for you folks: Jerry Springer (yes, of trash TV fame) used to be mayor of Cincy. Droopy has no party affiliation, is running as an independent, and is going to make a reality TV show of his run for mayor. Good luck to you, Droopy! (BTW, were you the baritone of the group?).


So, Britney Spears wants her own fcuking show on UPN "which will document the story of the Spears-Federline courtship, engagement and wedding," according to Variety magazine. WTF... I thought she wanted to stay OUT of the limelight? Somehow I doubt this show will be anything like Nick and Jessica's Newlyweds show on MTV. Oh, and Britney, make sure you get a prime slot on UPN... right in between The Parkers and America's Top Model. The mere thought of a Britney reality show just made me throw up a little bit.


On a much more somber note from our friends at DrudgeReport, Peter Jennings has lung cancer. That really sucks. I like him and always thought he was really handsome. He's had a lot of divorces which makes me wonder if he's a player. Anyhow, good luck with the chemo and hang in there, PJ!

Desperate for News: Woman Breastfeeds Tiger Cub

Ok ok ok... I am really reaching here for headlines. YodaBeesh (and perhaps yourselves as well) has grown weary of the news and is in search for the extraordinary. This one definitely caught my eye. It also made me throw up my breakfast a little bit.

Woman breastfeeds newborn tiger cubs

I tried looking for a picture of a woman breastfeeding a tiger cub on Google, but to no avail. I thought the above image was kinda cute though. Just look at it, then close your eyes and imagine the cub's razor sharp teeth (you've played with cats, haven't you?) latching on to a nice aureola with a thick nubby nip in the middle.

Milk away, lil' one!

Just can't get enough TERRI...

I don't know how, but this one totally slipped under the YodaBeesh radar screen due to recent events with the Pope (and my avoidance of being subject to anymore MSM). Let us not forget dear Terri Schiavo! She's ash now:

Schiavo cremated; feuding continues

Hey, did you know that there are websites out there that let you pick out cool creamation urns? YodaBeesh did not know that! Check out http://www.besturns.com
Here's your "standard" urn:

But THIS is the one that I want for my YodaBeesh ashes when I get creamated. Its called the "Stone Temple Urn":

I should probably update my Will to reflect that, huh? DH and I are gonna have our ashes mixed together, and then scattered in a secret Beesh hiding place TBD.

More AI Rants: Anthony Federov

So I found out that Anthony Federov is actually from a neighboring town of mine in Lower Bucks County. I have friends that went to his high school (Go, Neshaminy!), though he was probably still a young fetus in pre-school when they were there (or most likely, fleeing the former Soviet Union).

I don't know what to make of him. He looks like a pallid recovering leukemia patient, but that's me. Even more bothersome, he looks like Egghead Jr. from the old Foghorn Leghorn cartoons. Observe:

Don't you just love the high school graduation pic taken at GlamourShots? (note: hand on chin... total GlamourShots give-away)

He's a real hometown hero (though, I guess they all are, aren't they?). Read on from the Bucks County Courier Times:

Relief for Federov Fans

American Idol Gossip Folks: Scott Savol

So we wonder week-to-week, "why do people love Scott Savol?" Well, I have the answer. Its called Battered Wife Syndrome. I'd do the prevalence statistics for you, but just read the article from Smoking Gun and you'll understand where Sausage-Fingers get his fan base. Do you think that his Michelin-Man-like hands cushion the blows to the mother of his baby? Thanks Smoking Gun! Read on:

American Idol Finalist's Violence Rap

YodaBeesh falls through...

In my previous postings I mentioned that I would go to Mass on Sunday. Well, it just wasn't going to happen yesterday.

I fully blame (and take responsibility for) my own laziness, apathy, ennuyeux (look that up in your French-English dictionary), and, most importantly, daylight saving time. I really have no other reflections or deep profound revelations beyond that.

Though, to give you more insight into my own personality, Eeyore has held a special place in my heart since I was a little Jedi. Go figure.

New Liberal Media Mogul on the Block: Al Gore

So, Al Gore has decided to join the ranks of the dysfunctional media moguls (Rupert Murdoch, Ted Turner, Michael Eisner, whoever else....) and announced that he's launching his own TV network called "Current".

According to Reuters, Gore had this to say:

"We are about empowering this generation of young people in their 20s, the 18-34 population, to engage in a dialogue of democracy and to tell their stories about what's going in their lives in the dominant media of our time."

Uh-huh.

I'm not quite sure what to make of that comment. This comes from the same guy who played tonsil hockey with Tipper on TV (and gave us all the heebie-jeebies):

Anyhow, the YodaBeesh prediction is that this will suffer the same rapid rise and fall of such great ideas as The Magic Johnson Show, NBCi, CopRock, and The Oxygen Network. I will make sure to document "Current" every single fckuing step of the way!

Message to Al: Dude, don't try to play all hip and connect with the young cynical audience of this generation. If you do a talk show with young adults, you'll have definitely reached a new low. Kids are so ADD these days that you'll be lucky if they are able to make it to channel 551 (or whatever lucky channel you are assigned by DirecTV and Cox). Oh, and leveraging the "Google" name really may not help you. I don't see what Google has to do with "democracy" and "teen issues". Please don't drag Google down with you. I'd like to see their stock continue to climb. Otherwise, best of success to you!

YodaBeesh Review: The DaVinci Code by Dan Brown

Ok, so I JUST finished The DaVinci Code this afternoon. My original intention of reading the book was to see what all the fuss was about. I mean, c'mon... even CNN was making SPECIALS about this book (gotta love MSM).

Any how, I found the book to be as interesting and engaging as much as, say, a John Grisham or Tom Clancy novel. I didn't experience any huge epiphany after reading the book, and quite frankly, I think that all the hype detracted from my experience from the book. That being said, the details in the artwork, history, and locations (France, UK) were very believable... actually accurate based on YodaBeesh's worldly travels (ok, I've been to Paris). There are actually tours out there that visit all the spots in the book: Globus Journeys.

All in all, a good, quick, and enjoyable read; it kept my attention, but could be labelled as highly overrated and made me wonder what all the fcuking hype was all about.

Thanks, MSM, for ruining what could have been a good experience!

Post-Pope Play-by-Play

Its odd to open up this morning's NYT and have this as the first image pop out at you:



Amazing yet eerie how quickly the Vatican has laid his body out for state viewing already. I'll have to finish reading the DaVinci Code today <looks left and right suspiciously>. That image actually evoked memories from a saint that my family would visit in Philadelphia named St. John Neumann:



The Pope has that "most-likely-going-to-be-canonized-a-saint" quality to him, based on similarities I've seen between him and St. JN.

As a young YodaBeesh, the family would go to Mass at JN's crypt (right off of the Girard Ave. exit of I-95 in NE Philly). This guy's body is preserved in a tomb that also serves as the altar for Mass. And he is preserved sans embalming. (Not like Lenin, where he's pumped full of embalming and preserving fluids, and kept in some bizzare vacuum sealed chamber). Its one of many conditions for being canonized a saint: no decomposition of the body (usually some kind of fragrant scent involved); post-humous miracles by the "intercession" of the nominated-individual have been documented and validated by the Vatican; and a whole lot more. Its a cool, interesting, arcane, ritualistic process that's been held for thousands of years. Wow, my years of Catholic conditioning and indoctrination is resurfacing!

Speaking of "arcane", check this quote out from today's NYT:

After a doctor certifies his death, tradition calls for the Vatican camerlengo, Cardinal Eduardo Martinez Somalo, who will run the Vatican until a new pope is chosen, to call out his baptismal name three times. He then strikes the pope's forehead with a silver hammer to ensure he is dead. The hammer is then used to destroy the papal ring, the symbol of his authority.

Crazy, yet cool, huh?

Ugh... nasty thought just came into my mind. I betcha that CNN, the President, MSM are going to start all this talk about SAINTHOOD for PJPII, and then that will become some bizzare political driving factor for the canonization process. At least give time for the man's corpse to get cold...! Its just a YodaBeesh prediction, that's all.


Haven't made it to church this morning <shakes fist at clock>. Damn daylight savings time. Well, I still have the opportunity to go this afternoon/evening. To be continued...!