School of Burlesque on CBS
Tuesday, May 6th, 2008Look! It is some of our beautiful friends from “The Sensuous Woman”… ah, I miss them!!!
Archive for the ‘In The News’ Category
White-out vs Yellowface
Monday, May 5th, 2008I haven’t seen the new film “21″ but I don’t plan to, which hurts a little, because I am a big Kevin Spacey fan. I liked him since he came to my 23rd birthday party with Jason Gould. The story of “21″ is based on a true one, about a group of Asian American kids who take card counting to another level and beat the house at their own game. It is a cool story about Asian Americans, and even though there are a couple of great young Asian actors in the cast of the film, they are only in minor supporting roles. Hollywood for some reason didn’t think that the film would be “marketable” enough with people who looked like the people who the story is actually fucking about! So because of this - the leads in the film are white!!!
That is right - the story, which was one about Asian American kids sticking it to the man has been stolen right from under us and given to white people. This makes me so fucking furious I can’t believe it. It makes me “railroad” mad. No fuck that – it makes me fucking “internment camp” mad. It is like they made a film about building the railroad or being in an internment camp and cast white people in it. It is up there with the casting of David Carradine instead of Bruce Lee in “Kung Fu” but it is actually worse because there was at least a slight attempt to make David Carradine seem chinky – well actually - I don’t know – what is worse? Yellowface or outright non-inclusion? Is it better to be made into a caricature or just plain invisible?
Hollywood is still racist, and even though there are a few more Asians out there making great television and movies and music and art - it just isn’t enough. I am a huge “Grey’s Anatomy” fan, and even though I think Katherine Heigl is totally hot and beautiful and a killer actress and Patrick Dempsey is truly McDreamy - to me, the real star of that show is Sandra Oh. She absolutely lights up the screen. I want to cry with pride and elation and excitement every time I see her. Here is someone who is so talented that she was able to transcend racial barriers - these weird ideas that Hollywood still hangs onto that Asian Americans can’t tell stories that aren’t directly related to their asian-ness – but Sandra, she is so good no one and nothing could stop her. I just keep thinking about that one scene when Burke leaves her at the altar and she is crying and pulling off her wedding dress. Don’t even act like you didn’t cry. I am crying just thinking about it. Omg - she rules. She is gorgeous and sexy and such a gifted amazing actress and I want to see her in some big blockbuster movie about a wedding sometime too!
Until that movie comes out I am going to make myself happy with Harold and Kumar 2…
National Day of Silence
Friday, April 25th, 2008Today is the National Day of Silence, which is about making sure LGBT kids are not bullied in school, and this year it will be dedicated to the memory of Lawrence King, a California pre-teen who was shot and killed by another classmate out of homophobic hate. It is an important day, because we need to protect our children. Kids aren’t always aware of what their hatred can do. It is just as deadly as grown up hate. Hate kills. And it hurts everyone.
I remember when I was in high school, and someone had written all this homophobic graffiti, identifying all these ‘lesbians’ in school, writing all the girl’s names in big letters all over the walls. It was really scary, like a witch hunt. Rumors started swirling about who else was a lesbian, and then my day came. One horrible girl named Kathi said that I had tried to kiss her on the lips, and I was really offended – because yes, I wanted to kiss girls on the lips, but not her! Eew! Kathi was gross! Of course she was not ugly, she was a beautiful girl who later became a real live anorexic model, but she was mean, with a long black dark streaky sandy gritty vein of meanness that ran through her like a shrimp, and that made her unbearably ugly to me. I was really mad about it and I was scared anyway because I knew inside that I was different, and that people were picking up on it was really frightening. This was in the 80’s, so we had no real understanding of gay pride. It only existed for adults then, not for kids. When I tried to defend myself against the rumors, people would say, “Why are you getting mad? If you are mad about it that totally means you are a lesbian and you love Kathi!” I don’t know if I cared about being called gay as much as I cared about people thinking I had bad taste.
In retrospect, I had it really easy. Kids didn’t have guns then, at least not in my school. Bullying and name calling was hurtful, but it didn’t kill you, it just made you want to die, which was bad too. When you are a kid, being thought of as different is so scary, and we just want to blend in, but if you are gay, you can’t always hide it. People pick up on it, and if they want, they can turn it against you. And the consequences can be deadly. I don’t want any more children to suffer because of this kind of ignorance and stupidity. Growing up is hard enough without having to fear being killed because of who you are.
It’s not a compound!
Wednesday, April 23rd, 2008Here is an amazing video made by my husband, Al. It’s not a compound!!!
Starving Dog in Art Exhibit
Tuesday, April 22nd, 2008I got forwarded this email and I was absolutely horrified. I cannot believe it. It makes me so upset I can’t even deal.
Subject: Boycott Guillermo Vargas at the Biennial Centroamericana Honduras 2008
In 2007, the ‘artist’ Guillermo Vargas Habacuc, took a dog from the street, tied him to a rope in an art gallery, and starved him to death.
For several days, the ‘artist’ and the visitors of the exhibition have watched emotionless the shameful ‘masterpiece’ based on the dog’s agony, until eventually he died.
Does it look like art to you?
But this is not all… the prestigious Visual Arts Biennial of the Central American decided that the ‘installation’ was actually art, so that Guillermo Vargas Habacuc has been invited to repeat his cruel action for the biennial of 2008.
PLEASE HELP STOP HIM.
http://www.petitiononline.com/ea6gk/petition.html
It’s free of charge, there is no need to register, and it will only take 1 minute to save the life of an innocent creature.
Thank you for your time.
Polygamists
Monday, April 21st, 2008I’m so glad I am not a polygamist.
First of all, I don’t really like pie. I know that is weird. Pie is good, but for some reason, I don’t like to eat it because usually it is too hot and I burn my tongue, and it is too sweet, so it gives me a crazy sugar high really fast and then I am exhausted. Polygamists seem to eat a lot of pie. I am not sure if this is a known fact, but a pie seems to complete the polygamist outfit.
Which leads me to the outfit - even though pastels like baby blue, lilac and soft pink flatter me, I don’t want to wear the big shouldered prairie dress. Don’t get me wrong – I love “Little House on the Prairie” but only when it is kept in the realm of ‘drag’ and not worn every day for religious purposes. The shoulders are too wide and lambchoppy to make anyone look good.
I don’t want to marry anyone that much older than me. Not just because of the sex (which would be not so fun to begin with but at least old people finish either super fast or super slow) but because there would be nothing fun to talk about. How do you relate to each other? It would be boring!
I also don’t want to be a polygamist because then I would probably have to cook or clean and I don’t know how to do either of those things. Also I have terrible allergies, so if I had to live in any kind of compound situation I am sure I would die of a runny nose.
I feel really bad for all those children, because they are the victims who are only being punished again by being separated from their families, but how can they be saved from their fate unless they are taken away? The whole thing is super sad but it also makes you really grateful not to be a polygamist.
Jailed for Being Gay
Saturday, April 12th, 2008I am shocked and disgusted that the Egyptian government has put 5 men in jail for being gay!! That is horrible. I have been to Egypt to study bellydance, and I haven’t seen the homophobia clearly because all the men – gay and straight – walk in the street holding hands! They are all hanging all over each other, swinging arms linked by their pinkies! How could they tell who was gay and who was not? All the men act so physically affectionate with each other. They are way more demonstrative of their same sex love than they are here. It is crazy! I swear to God it looks like Gay Pride, or some kind of early 90s ACT UP protest, but they have it every day! What are they trying to say? Gay romance between straight men is fine, but against the law for actual gays?
Puppy Mills
Tuesday, April 8th, 2008Oprah did an important show about the horrible business of puppy mills, which are “dog factories,” where female dogs are caged for their entire lives in order to churn out litter after litter, which are then sold at pet stores. It is an awful and cruel (not to mention disgusting and inhumane) practice. I am glad that Oprah shed some light on this situation, which has been going on for decades without anyone being able to stop it, even though animal rights activists have been protesting the entire time.
Puppy mills are horrible and should be illegal! Purebreds are available all the time at animal shelters, and can be adopted as puppies or older. As an old dog mother of three shelter babies myself, I think it is most rewarding to adopt an older dog, and it is also a lot easier. Puppies are so cute, but can be a tremendous amount of work, and they don’t stay little for that long. Older dogs are great – what you see is what you get! Even if you have your heart set on a purebred puppy, if you do a bit of searching, especially if you go to specific breed rescue groups, you can adopt one without a lot of hassle. I think shelters are the way to go though, because people discard their pets tragically all the time, or they don’t spay or neuter and wind up with litters that nobody wants. Animal shelters are full of squirming puppies who desperately need homes and you never know, your baby could be in there just waiting for you to come pick him or her up!
Please adopt pets from animal shelters or rescue organizations. You will not be sorry!
When I Think of Tibet
Friday, March 28th, 2008As the weeks go by and tensions and violence escalate in Tibet, it makes me more and more anxious. Tibet is a beautiful, mysterious country. I visited many years ago, and although there were always problems (I remember one incident when my travel party was delayed for several hours because of public executions!!) it was much calmer than it is now.
There isn’t enough air, which makes everyone who is just visiting a little high. To add to the trippy nature of the place, pretty much every site is religious. Even the graffiti is of different incarnations of Buddha – painted all over the sides of mountain rocks. If you felt sick, you were encouraged to meditate on the cool, indigo blue medicine Buddha, the deity whose color reminded me of the Milk of Magnesia bottle, whose image would soothe, coat and relieve as you pondered upon it. Tibet has the most challenging toilets in the world. I have been everywhere and I can attest to that! Hands down, Tibet is the number one worst place to go number 2.
But to counter that, Tibet has the best looking people in the world. They are Asian but with light eyes! Like green and blue! So everyone kind of looks like they are wearing contacts but they are not. I remember sitting in the courtyard of the Drepung monastery, watching all the gorgeously hot monks draped in their deep red robes, flinging their prayer beads at each other as they argued about philosophy while trying to steal looks at us at the same time. I know you aren’t supposed to hit on celibate people so I just sat on my hands the whole time and tried not to make eye contact for more than three seconds. Girl, it was hard!
I also loved the dog monastery, a special temple for wayward monks who have reincarnated into dogs. The grounds are covered in dogs of every size and shape and breed and hue, silently pondering the cycle of birth and rebirth. Squirming litters of puppies wriggle underneath their dog mothers and their distinguished elders nap in the patches of sun breaking through the clouds. There is no barking, no howling, no fighting, and miracles of miracles – no poo! – nothing but the quiet mediation of dogs and monks. You are allowed to feed the dogs small pieces of dough, and they actually wait in line! When I think of Tibet, I remember the politeness of the dogs, pulling back their dog lips and ever so gently taking the food from my hand with their open teeth, not wanting to bite my hand accidentally and then looking warmly into my eyes with a silent thanks. The thought of rioting and looting and blood in the streets there is too painful to comprehend.
Chubby
Tuesday, March 25th, 2008Just read an article about myself where I described myself as “chubby” and I think that it is a fairly unacceptable description, and I want to apologize to myself for saying it, because that is just wrong. I am not chubby – and to call myself that is to endanger the lives of millions of young girls who look to the media to define who they are, who are constantly checking themselves for fear of wrecking themselves, who are afraid to be thought of as “chubby,” who don’t realize that they are perfect as they are, and it is irresponsible. I fear they will read this article and look at my body and be scared because it is like theirs, and they will then think of themselves as “chubby” and learn to hate themselves more. To call me “chubby” is to call a billion women “chubby” who shouldn’t think of themselves as anything less than hot and sexy and curvy and built. I am not “chubby.” I am a real live perfectly beautiful woman, and just because I may be larger than the mostly anorexic female population in Hollywood, it doesn’t make me any less desirable or gorgeous because I like food. I take it back, as I must take back all the millions of insults that I hurl at myself without knowing it. I would never, ever say any of the horrible things I say to myself about myself to anyone else, not even someone I hated, because there is no one I could possibly hate that much. We must stop fighting the war against ourselves before we can truly start to love ourselves. We are not “chubby,” we are perfect. We are beautiful. We are so very very beautiful.
Brand New Sins!
Friday, March 21st, 2008The pope has just released a number of brand new sins! They include drugs, pollution and genetic manipulation. I am not sure how he gets to do this, but if he can, I think everyone should be able to! So here are some new sins from me (not in any particular order…)
Tailgating. Thou shalt not drive too close to other cars. Mortal sin. People can get killed. One time, I was being tailgated so close on the freeway that it felt like the other car was raping my car. I mean it was a vehicular sexual assault. He kept pounding the back of my car until his car just blew up and sprawled across multiple lanes blocking traffic up for miles. Isn’t that just like a man?
Talking too loud in someone’s ear at a club. Thou shalt not try to talk over the booming techno beat, shattering your friend’s eardrums and annoying everyone in the process. You don’t even get heard, you strain your voice, you hurt their ears, no information is that important. Thou shalt wait til thou is outside.
Homophobia – thou shalt not be a homophobe! (this is something the pope cannot get enough of!)
Sexism and racism in the presidential race. Thou shalt not try to use gender or racial stereotypes in order to undermine presidential candidates, no matter who thou might vote for!
A More Perfect Union
Thursday, March 20th, 2008I think Barack Obama really delivered an awesome speech on race. He took a potentially very difficult situation with comments made by his pastor, and turned it all around into another amazing opportunity for him to shine, which makes me think he is a Jedi.
Reverend Wright
Wednesday, March 19th, 2008I think too much is being made about Barack Obama’s pastor, Rev. Wright’s controversial comments. Firstly, they were made by Rev. Wright, not Obama, and they are not all that inflammatory, as far as I can tell. When you have religious leaders regularly spreading hatred against homosexuals by falsely representing the Gospel, why then is someone demanding that America answer to its racist policies considered a big deal? I prefer Rev. Wright’s angry words to the homophobia I regularly witness on Sunday morning television. Also, Obama said that he was not aware of all the statements made by Rev. Wright, which I believe. I mean, who really listens in church? I don’t! It’s boring! That is why I don’t go!
High Class Hoes
Tuesday, March 18th, 2008This whole Spitzer scandal is amazing, but what I find the most incredible is how expensive the prostitutes were. Up to $31,000 a day! That rules! Talk about HIGH CLASS HOES!! That is some pricey pussy and I hope it was worth it. Damn! It must be lined with chinchilla and diamonds. (7 to be exact! Ow! Rough edges!) That is a solid platinum cunt. Like something you see in SKYMALL - you are not really paying for just the pussy, you are paying for shipping and insurance. That is really cool! I have much respect for hoes. I wish I had thought to charge. I was usually so fucked up back then, when I was spreading it for the masses, I would just say, “Oh – um. Uh, alright…”
I could have had a credit card machine! I am thinking maybe I should bill people now for it.
Free Tibet
Friday, March 14th, 2008I am worried about Tibet, and concerned that China will retaliate to the recent outbreak of violent protests by the Tibetan people. Tibet is a peaceful country, and has remained so miraculously, despite all of the crimes committed by the Chinese. Their culture has been repressed and controlled beyond belief. Tibetans want desperately to practice their religion, yet they are not even allowed a picture of the Dalai Lama. This is insane.
When I visited in 2000, upon landing in Lhasa, my luggage was completely torn apart by Chinese officials. I had several books with me – these were the days before Kindle – and the guards took nearly an hour with them, tearing Toni Morrison and Zora Neale Hurston and Langston Hughes and James Baldwin to pieces – searching through every page to make sure I didn’t have any Dalai Lama photos stuffed in there. We were not even allowed to say his name. Sometimes you could subtly mention “H.H,” the Dalai Lama’s DL nickname, but mostly, you had to be careful with what you said and who you said it to.
I don’t understand why the Dalai Lama is such a danger to the Chinese. His philosophy and peaceful, non-violent teachings have won him a Nobel Peace Prize and earned him an esteemed position among all the great world leaders. His books are translated into every language. He is a huge presence within the spiritual lives of millions, people who pay small fortunes just to be in the same room with him, who do nothing without consulting “The Art of Happiness” – yet those who need him most, the people of Tibet, the people who worship him as a living deity, are forced to live without him. If China wants to be respected as a true first world nation, they must be accountable for their actions. They should not be allowed to hide their dirty laundry behind the Olympics or anything else.