Random obsession tidbits

So I just finished participating in the live U People vlog and it is wonderful! It was so much fun, I definitely encourage everyone to tune in at 9pm eastern time and join in.

So has it sunk in yet? We have a Black president! It's crazy, I really didn't think he would win and here we are. I'm so excited and now completely obsessed with the Obamas. You know how some people in the UK are all obsessed with the royal family that's me with the Obamas now. I actually care about all the ridiculous mundane facts about them. Its fun to be so invested in the people that are running our country. I've never been this excited about the future of our country before.

Also all my After Ellen peeps, how surprised are you that Karman and Bridget are married?! I watch Brunch with Bridget faithfully and to find out she's married to Karman is just great and they make such a cute couple too.


Also Katt Williams has a new dvd out and I've only gotten halfway through it, but its soo funny. Here's a cartoon of one part of his routine.

Black People can swim!!

So its time for the Olympics, and I'm watching even thoush I said I wouldn't. I really wanted to make a principled moral stand, but I suck sometimes. Am I really the only weak one out there? Have you ever wanted to boycott something in entertainment and not been able to? Maybe I'm really to weak. Anyway enough with my weakness. back to the Olympics so this is the only time I get really patriotic. I just finished watching the men's 4x 100 relay. I love swimming so I try to watch most of the races, but this one was especially important because of Cullen Jones.

Its very rare for people of color to be major contenders in swimming and then Cullen Jones makes the Olympic team. The best part is that we won! smashed a world record and beat the French who were talking trash *cough* I mean we won and beat the highly favored French (that sounds less aggressive right?). Anyway I was so excited and into this race. Cullen Jones is only the 2nd African American to win Gold in the Olympics and mind you the first was Anthony Ervin in 2000. Believe it or not Ervin is Black, Native American and Jewish, Black comes in all different colors.


Cullen is also the third Black swimmer to make the Olympic team, Anthony Ervin was the first followed by Maritza Correia.

Maritza Correia is the first Black Puerto Rican to make the team, which is also great, because I've noticed that even in Countries with large populations of POC you only see the white members, like Australia and South Africa.

Okay if it wasn't enough that these three are making moves in the swimming world, but Maritza and Cullen are also dating! How great is that?! Cullen and Maritza are also committed to helping out the community. They're working on a documentary about Black swimmers called parting the waters. Read more here

I'm excited that he won the gold but unfortunately that was his only race for this Olympics.
So I'm a little excited if you couldn't tell lol. So am I the only one watching? Which are your favorite events?

I fell in love Sunday Night

I just had the amazing pleasure of seeing Lenelle Moise in her play Expatriate. It was amazing, hands down the best play I've ever seen. The descriptions I've seen of the play don't do it justice. The play is more than the story of 2 women who leave the U.S. to escape all the various isms in the U.S. Its really about the very real and complicated relationship between 2 longtime friends Claudie and Althine. I absolutely fell in love with the main character Claudie. I identified with her so much minus lusting after the best friend. She was so real and troubled. I love how Lenelle Moise was able to show how someone can have a life's worth of baggage and issues and still manage to be a whole person. Then there is Althine who is such a familiar character. I feel like everyone has an Althine in their life. You watch Althine go down this self destructive path and you are rooting for her the whole time. the combination of supeb acting and amazing music completely pulled you in. The fusion of jazz, and jazz influenced music just captivated me. The play starred Lenelle Moise and also Karla Mosley who played Althine. Mosley was amazing (I know how many times can I use amazing, but there really is no other word to describe this play). Karla Mosley really owned the character of Althine she made you feel everything Althine was. I will give away that Althine does struggle with addiction, and Karla Mosley played the cracked out singer role so well I felt like I was watching Whitney Houston on Being Bobby Brown. I found myself sitting there and just wondering how I managed to see this amazing play. I wondered how did she create this piece. I love how Claudie is a Lesbian in the play and sexuality is definitely a large part of this work, but its not the only piece. It is not a tragic coming out story, or the same tired story of the poor lesbian forever lusting after her unsuspecting best friend.

Even though Karla Mosley was stunning, I have fallen completely in love with Lenelle Moise, seriously COMPLETELY in love with her. I love a strong intelligent beautiful woman, and Lenelle Moise is all that and more. She not only starred in the play but she also wrote and composed it. I was lucky enough to get a front row center seat for the play and at one point she glanced down and her eyes were piercing. I saw all the passion and emotion she brought to this role. I went on the night where there was a talk back session about Black Queer protagonists and when she came back out she literally took my breath away she was so stunning. I sat there and just soaked up everything she said. Afterward I shook her hand and I got a picture taken with her, but I get so star struck I couldn't say all I wanted to. I wanted to tell her how much this play touched me, even now its hard to describe. I've been really going through a rough time lately and battling some serious bouts depression, and seeing me reflected back not only in the play but in the wonderful example of a strong beautiful Black Queer woman that is Lenelle Moise, really made me feel so much better. She was so nice when I spoke to her briefly and incoherently (damn my starkstruckness!) I was so nervous I forgot to introduce myself and she asked my name and when she asked I was like why would you even care who I am. But, she is that down earth not just putting up with annoying fans. If stalking wasn't annoying, creepy, illegal and a real turn off I would so stalk her lol! If anyone is in the NYC area and wants to go, but doesn't want to go alone I will go with you, because if I bring its less stalkerish....right? lol
But in all seriousness she was able to put together such a beautiful piece of art that didn't just entertain me, but it touched me. Lenelle and Sharon Bridgeforth were talking about the importance of making positive life choices and choosing to be healthy, and I needed to hear that.
After going to this play I felt the way I do when I go to a U People event, I felt at home.

I have been kidnapped by Octavia Butler!

I have been kidnapped by Octavia Butler!

Her words completely have me held captive. It all started out when I suggested that my friend read some of her works, for a summer read. She didn't start with the suggested Kindred, but instead went straight to Dawn. She was so into it that I had to pick it up. I was lucky enough to find the whole series neatly packaged in Lilith's Brood. I really liked Dawn, I liked Adulthood Rites but it turned out to be a little intense at times, but I devoured Imago. That was by far my favorite.

I already had Parable of the Sower and Fledgling in my house but hadn't gotten to them yet. But, after falling in love with the Xenogenesis trilogy I went and bought all the Octavia Butler I could find. I bought the Wild Seed and The parable of the Talents. After finishing Lilith's Brood/ Xenogenesis trilogy I dove into the Parable of the Sower and OH MY GOD! I can't put it down. I have to literally pull myself away from it, but its so hard I'm so completely enthralled by her words.
She's such an amazing writer! Its a shame she's passed on and once I finish her works there will be no more new ones. I've purposefully not told you anything about these books, because if you haven't read them then this is the best way to begin, without knowing any background. So don't walk but run and pick up everything she's written and sit back and enjoy. Also don't read the back of the book, which I know is only going to tempt you, but the back of Parable of the Sower gives away something you don't find out until halfway through the book.

Word on the street is that she was also a Lesbian, which from this picture, doesn't surprise me.

Yes I'm being stereotypical, but you know you were thinking it too!

I can't pull myself away from the Parable of the Sower any longer, so I'm going back to finish it.

I'm a dork and I'm okay with that

Excuse me while I whip out my dork hat..... But, I am a HUUUGE Sailor Moon fan!!

Seriously I loved Sailor Moon when I was younger, and then I found out that the whole entire series can be seen online at youtube and veoh. It took me a while but I finally got through the first season and then I made it through the second, skipping through a few episodes. But, I haven't enjoyed any season like the third! First we have the introduction of Sailor Neptune and Sailor Uranus who are .... LESBIANS!!! Wooo Hooo !! Here are some pics of them

how butch is Uranus!
But, despite her Butch exterior she has a little femme in her too!










And she's got all the girls swooning, even Sailor Jupiter developed a little crush (who I called as being gay from the beginning!)





Check out her high femme girlfriend Sailor Neptune



Besides the mere presence of Lesbian characters, I really like how they've been treated. Its just sort of no big deal. At first all the other Sailor scouts thought Uranus was a guy. But, they haven't shunned them at all. They actually want to be like them and so far Jupiter and Sailor Moon have found comfort in Sailor Uranus' arms. I also love that in one episode Sailor Jupiter talked about how hard she tries to conform to gender norms.

Unfortunately, most of this has been cut out of the English dubbed version, so you have to watch it in Japanese with subtitles. Which, isn't bad because they got a new voice actress for Sailor moon and her voice is like finger nails on a chalk board.

But despite my love for Sailor Moon I will never go this far!










So thank you for indulging my Sailor Moon obsession, and go watch all of the episodes now!!

Dani, Dani, Dani!!!

As you all know I am horribly addicted to TV. My latest guilty pleasure has been A shot at love with Tila Tequila, which is an absolutely horrible tv show. It only reinforces stereotypes about lesbian and bi women, it subjects these women to so much blatant homophobia and racism that it makes me sick. However, there has been one shining star that has kept me watching and that's Dani Campbell. She is the "futch" firefighter on the show, and is oh so hot! She's down to earth never bad mouthing the other people on the show, and she's just great. I'm so obsessed that anacoana has threatened me if I mentioned her name again, but I can''t help it she's just so damn hot, and that talentless idiot Tila Tequila didn't pick her.

On the one hand I'm happy because she's too good for her, but on the other hand I can't believe she didn't see that Bobby was a troll and Dani a goddess. I just don't get it so. There's my rant on Tila Tequila and now let's all stare at the beauty that is Dani Campbell.

I thought she was hot from the first time I saw her in her firefighter outfit, which you can see at about 2:20 in the video below. You can also get a nice taste of what's wrong with this show from the clip.



Oh an Amanda's a hypocrite she talks about gross "butchy" girls but she was on The secret lives of women: Lipstick lesbians, with her very butch girlfriend.



Anyway back to ::swoon:: Dani!