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Girls Who Like Boys Who Like Boys

A new "reality" show.

By Troy PattersonPosted Friday, Dec. 3, 2010, at 8:02 PM ET

Girls Who Like Boys Who Like BoysThe reality show Girls Who Like Boys Who Like Boys (Sundance, Tuesdays at 10 and 10:30 p.m. ET), intriguingly ridiculous, plays a variation on two themes that are regularly intertwined on the Bravo network—the consumption habits of a certain kind of conspicuous woman and the cultural sensibility of a certain kind of gay man. The show's great advance, to degrade a phrase, is in treating the consumption of the sensibility as a central theme.

In a voice-over, a woman introduces the premise and, perhaps unwittingly, a sitcom-ish point of view: "There are millions of women in New York City who have the perfect love life"—wait a beat—"with gay men." Then the show's four female stars chime in to discuss the good qualities of their gay male friends—their trustworthiness, their candor, their good humor, their listening skills. ... These friends are, "above all, men who will never leave us." You immediately get the sense that, with the us, the series is both expressing its own perspective and reaching to gather the audience in its first-person embrace. A naive viewer may develop the impression that gay men are prized as companions for resembling dogs gifted with the power to talk about cute shoes.

Here we are again in Gotham, its enchantments represented by the Lake in Central Park, the waggling G-string pouches of go-go boys at Chelsea clubs, and the dining rooms of restaurants there's no great urgency to get to. Down in SoHo, Elisa, a 45-year-old divorcee with one daughter, runs a vintage boutique with the assistance of David, a pal since college. "I don't know what drew me into her room," he fails to reminisce, "whether it was the Joni Mitchell album or the smell of cannabis or what ..." They have a genuine bond, and also they bring a lot of energy to dramatizing that bond in cartoonish terms. Note the scene in which David goads Elisa, who effectively professes never to have seen a running shoe, into going for a jog in the park. Initially, she is tentative, and he is bushy-tailed. Shortly, his knee acts up, and she trots gamely on. Eventually, they take a pedicab home, after David has had a chance to sit on a bench and smokes a cigarette in an Art Nouveau posture. The producers must have thought that a hansom cab would be over the top. David should have stretched, perhaps.

Naturally, a show like this would be incomplete without a scene set at Fashion Week, which is where we meet up with Crystal (lawyer, author, single mother, ex-NBA wife) and Nathan ("I'm the sidekick!"). They are apparently partners in an entertainment enterprise; at least, that was the pretense for her happening to mention that she spent New Year's in St. Bart's with Jay-Z. Nathan is 34, apparently a fine age for exploiting one's own insecurities. He says he wants, as a 35-year-old, to be a father, despite being single and obliged, being a party promoter, to stay out all night chugging Veuve from the bottle. (What happens when the kid wakes up at 6 a.m.? "That's what you have nannies for.") Nathan sits in a studio telling the camera about a depressive period during which, lamenting the absence of his own father, he sat in Central Park and cried for hours. Simultaneously, through the magic of editing, he sits on a bench in Central Park, re-enacting the dolor. A duck quacks. Nathan says, "I don't think Crystal takes me seriously when I say that I want to have a child, and that hurts my feelings." In fact, on the evidence, no one takes him seriously, including the show itself, which presents him as a combination of younger brother, support-group partner, and kicky accessory.

Out in Brooklyn, Joel, a writer and composer, is preparing for a trip to Iowa to marry his doctor boyfriend. His pal Sarah is an ace at failing to repress her envy of him. You can tell by the way she combines words like "fear" and "spinster." Where's her perfect guy? I refuse to condemn Sarah for her whining partly because I know how lonely it can feel out there and partly because there are more interesting things to condemn her for. It is one thing to sit in front a TV camera and talk about the difficulty of caring for a mother suffering from dementia, and it is another to bring that mother toddling onto the screen, as Sarah does, a moment that the editors, nudging the bathos along, juxtapose with a shot of the daughter stroking her teddy bear.

But now I waver and wonder whether to give Sarah the benefit of a doubt. Perhaps she entered the series under the impression that it would explore human relationships with a degree of sobriety or try to say something halfway serious about sexual identity. Girls Who Like Boys Who Like Boys does have some pretensions to seriousness. Exposing them, it betrays its core triviality. Episodes feature these soundbite speed-round segments in which the girls and the boys take two-second swings at social issues and cultural politics—gay marriage, for instance, and the use of the term "fag hag." Earlier this year on FX, an episode of Louie featured a riveting bit, by turns hilariously raunchy and solemnly thoughtful, on the matter of when and if it's correct for a straight comedian to use the word "fag" in his act. If you are a sucker for indie-film branding, then you might expect Sundance to attempt a similarly intelligent treatment, and you will get what you deserve. "Why can't we be 'fag princesses'?" is the sum of one comment. Is that anything like a frog prince?

TOO DAMN FUNNY

"THE REAL STORY"

OLD SCHOOL FLASH BACK!

What ever happened too?
Wassup peeps, I spent some time with a very close friend in West Palm Beach Florida the past couple of weeks and we started catching flashbacks and just wondering what ever became of a few old flames and sparks. Here are a few to bring some smiles to your faces and memories, if not get out the geritol...smile!

IN LOVING MEMORY

JERRY PATRICK

1953 - 2009

Wow you are never expecting to get that call to say someone has made their home going, but when it is one of your closest and best friends it takes on a significantly different meaning. It effects the very core of your life from that moment on.

(pictured here the first person on the right)

This year I lost Jerry one of my two best friends in my life. No warning, no feeling just an awkward phone call to say he was found dead. Alone and discomforted, he passed away from complications of kidney disease and diabetes. Jerry was a fun loving bashful character who served in the US Army in Germany where he became very fond of cigarettes and beer. He was a financial acquisitions professional for Anne Taylor for the past 12 years.

Personally, I was very angry with Jerry for not saying bye, not having one last hurrah together in Santo Domingo, just one more weiner schnitzel and beer at our favorite German Restaurant. Most of all I felt profoundly alone, confused and afraid for my own immortality. Consciously I appeared to be fine but emotionally I was a wreck. I stopped taking my own diabetes medication, slipped into not shaving or giving a damn. Finally becoming so ill I had to be hospitalized where I realized I had to pull it together.

Only now am I able to say Jerry "I loved you my brother" thank you for being my friend, my brother and partner in crime. I cherish all the great moments we had together, thank you for understanding how I felt when I lost my boo and thank you for being in my life while you were.

Rest in peace and may god always hold you close.

FROM THE STREETS

ANOTHER "GREAT ONE" BITES THE DUST!

Wow! Say it ain't so my favorite spot in the DR has finally bit the dust and closed it's doors. No details, no follow up just up and closed. The Camillo House Apartments better known as Anthony's place closed it doors quietly and mysteriously earlier this summer!

Anthony Montgomery, a native New yorker transplanted Dominican is one of the long time highly successful ex pats. Moving to Santo Domingo and quickly establishing himself as a promoter, tourism professional and local host all helped him become very well respected in the travel and entertainment industries. Anthony was instrumental and the force behind many bed and breakfast upstarts. He was also the ever informative editor of the "MONAGA" blog.

His most notable was the Camillo Houses on Calle de Padre Belini. The apartments well well kept, clean and centrally located for a very reasonable dollar. It is not known just what and how circumstances played out in the closing but is we know Anthony we have not heard the last from our resilient and enduring entrepreneur friend.

I am personally saddened because Anthony always knew exactly how and what I expected on my visits which were numerous over the years. I will miss apartment 6 on the front, our brief talks and laughs.

FROM THE STREETS

CALIFORNIA
The State of California in political circles has become one that is increasingly owned, operated and manipulated by Hispanics by and large. Now the Los Angeles Times reports as the California Assembly closes in on naming a new leader, the question is not whether the next speaker will be a Latino from Los Angeles, it is which one.No less than four state political power houses are vying for the position but in a bold and party shattering decision John Perez threw his cigar in the race recently igniting some fierce infighting, back stabbing and bickering.
Perez, who would be California's first openly gay legislative leader, had surprised the Capitol by entering the contest. For months, he had been insisting that he would leave the Assembly to run for a state Senate opening next year. A week earlier, Villaraigosa, a former speaker himself, had hosted a summit of sorts at his mayoral home to talk about the speakership race. The attendees were Perez, De Leon, Nuñez and the mayor. And then the big announcement was made and to throw fuel on the fire the current speaker held a press conference to all but declare Perez the winner months before the official vote takes place. I guess it is true we really do bring drama to all that we do!

UGANDA
If Uganda's anti-homosexuality bill becomes law, it will be little short of state-sponsored "genocide" against the gay community, a prominent member of the Ugandan Anglican church said this week.
Canon Gideon Byamugisha said the bill, which recommends the death penalty for anyone repeatedly convicted of having gay sex and prison sentences for those who fail to report homosexual activity to the police, would breed violence and intolerance through all levels of society.
"I believe that this bill [if passed into law] will be state-legislated genocide against a specific community of Ugandans, however few they may be," he said.
The bill, which will strengthen Uganda's existing laws against homosexuality under its Penal Code Act, has been widely condemned by world leaders and human rights groups, who fear it will trigger a witch hunt against the gay community. Activists have raised concerns that the bill will hinder the country's fight against HIV/Aids among the gay community and legal experts have said it will undermine freedom of expression and association.
Yesterday, Uganda's Daily Monitor news website reported that Sweden will cut aid to Uganda if the bill is passed. Canada has also condemned the bill and the British prime minister, Gordon Brown, took the matter up directly with the Ugandan president, who has given tacit support for the bill, at the Commonwealth summit last weekend. Britain is Uganda's fourth largest donor. But James Nsaba Buturo, the minister of state for ethics and integrity, told the Guardian last week, that the government was determined to pass the legislation, even if meant withdrawing from international treaties and conventions or losing donor funding.
Exploiting traditional views
Byamugisha said gay people were being used as "scapegoats" for Uganda's social problems, such as the breakdown of the family unit and rising HIV infection rates, and politicians were using the bill to tap into the prevailing anti-gay mood in the country in the run up to the 2011 elections.
"They [politicians] are exploiting the traditional and cultural abhorrence to same-sex relationships to their advantage. They know that if they criminalise homosexuals, homosexual tendencies and homosexual acts, they stand a better chance of winning votes from the majority of religious followers and leaders, because most of us may not be able to distinguish what may be considered 'unacceptable', from the point of view of religious and cultural belief and opinion, from what is 'criminal', from the point of state law that is meant to keep peace, order and justice," he said.
"What makes this proposed law truly distasteful is the amount and level of violence that is being proposed against suspected, rumoured and known individuals who are gay, and their families and community leaders in their places of worship, residence, education, work, business and entertainment."
He added: "When you say that parents of homosexual children, and that pastors and counsellors who extend spiritual guidance and psycho-social support to homosexuals, will be regarded as 'accomplices' in promoting and abetting homosexuality if they don't report them to police, then you take the law a bit too far."
Byamugisha's stance will put him at odds with many in Uganda. But the minister has a track record of speaking against a prevailing mood. In 1990, after the death of his first wife, he discovered he was HIV-positive. Two years later he became the first practising African priest to publicly declare his status, not an easy thing to do in a country that, for all its efforts to significantly lower infection rates, has not shaken the stigma associated with the disease.
Since revealing his status, Byamugisha, who is a Christian Aid goodwill ambassador on HIV/Aids, has campaigned for the rights of people living with the disease. In 2003 he established the Friends of Canon Gideon Foundation to end the stigma of diagnosis, encourage safe sexual practices, improve access to treatment and support orphans or vulnerable children who have lost parents. This year he was awarded the Niwano Peace Prize for his work.
Taking a gamble
But while Byamugisha took a risk over his HIV status, speaking out against the bill could prove a bigger gamble. The church in Uganda, as in other African states, takes a clear view that homosexuality is a sin and is something that can be cured. Some will no doubt see the bill as a way of curbing an "evil" practice. But the minister hopes the ferocity of the bill will deter religious leaders from throwing their weight behind it.
"I sincerely hope that my fellow religious leaders will comprehend my stand against the level of violence proposed in the bill," he said. "I hope that they will not translate my hesitation to support the bill as a moral surrender to behaviours and practices that we regard as 'unacceptable' and 'sinful' in our ethics and morality frameworks. I hope that they will translate my hesitation as shying away from endorsing a bill that will institutionalise violence and death to a minority group simply because the majority do not like them."
Regardless of opinion from faith leaders, though, Byamugisha believes he has an obligation to speak out. "I realise that if I am happy to speak out against discrimination and stigma in relation to HIV, then I should also be happy to speak out against paralysing homophobia, sexism, tribalism, Puritanism, fundamentalism and against anything else that reduces and diminishes our love, care and support for each other as we travel the road of faith and belief."
Liz Ford and Emma Pomfret guardian.co.uk,
Friday 4 December 2009 11.44 GMT

NEW JERSEY
In a last minute now or never fervor a bill to legalize gay marriage in New Jersey will be posted for a vote. Sen. Ray Lesniak, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, says the bill is scheduled to go before that committee on December 7th and will be voted on by the full Senate next Thursday. Garden State lawmakers who support the idea have been reluctant to post the bill for a vote unless they were fairly certain it would pass. Both houses of the Legislature must pass it before it goes to the governor. The current governor "Corzine" has pledged his support and said he would sign the bill into law. The timing is crucial to reach his desk before he is replaced by the newly elected republican governor who is strongly opposed to marriage quality and has vowed to veto the legislation if presented.

OHIO
In a not so surprising move members of Cleveland’s transgender community will be protected against discrimination under legislation passed unanimously by the city council. The ordinance approved Monday night expands the city’s existing anti-bias laws to bar businesses from denying jobs or housing to people because of their gender identity or gender expression.
It’s the council’s latest step meant to show that Cleveland is a tolerant city. The city was recently rewarded for those efforts by being named the host city for the 2014 Gay Games, an international sports festival.
Council members said they may consider extending the protections further next year, possibly by allowing transgender persons to use either a men’s or women’s public restroom.

CHINA
Opening of the gay pub in southwest China’s Yunnan Province was delayed due to pressure, said its founder on Tuesday, the 22nd World AIDS Day.The pub in the tourism Dali city which has drawn wide public attention was set to open on Tuesday. “The pub will open sooner or later,” said its founder Zhang Jianbo, who was a doctor from the Dali No.2 People’s Hospital. One reason for the delay was too much pressure towards volunteers working in it. “They will be looked at through ‘colored glasses’,” he said. The staff are worried they will be subject to hatred and criticism for offering help and assistance to people seeking information on HIV/AIDS prevention and care. Not withstanding societal stigmas regarding homosexuality.

NEW YORK
As the holiday season roars into full speed so does the season of giving and some of the New York City's major gay promoters and marketing companies are teaming up for a few special charity events. If you are in the area please support the cause of your choice but do share something with someone this holiday season!

LIFE STYLE AND CULTURE

"ASPIRING NEW MUSICIAN AND MODEL"
Hot, sexy and multi-talented London based model Louis-Harris Tench was a recent “Ford/ VMan” Search Finalist. Although a finalist, Louis didn’t win. The aspiring R&B artist/ model is very likely to be signed by one of the major agencies given his exposure and success during the contest. Age: 23
Height: 6'1
Chest: 38
Waist: 31
Shoe: 11
Hair: Brown
Eyes: Brown


We look forward to hearing and seeing more of this hot new prodigy on the fashion & music scenes! For more about Louis or his music check out: youtube.com/louisharristench

HAPPY THANKSGIVING 2009

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 26TH, 2009

Wassup Family!
From our family at THE STYLE SHOPPE, Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours! We are busy catering and preparing a fabulous dinner party for 250 guests for one of our Jewish clients. Yeah, "koshruth cooking" has very special requirements and restrictions but we can handle it!
We cooked 25 Kosher Turkeys. The day began at 5:00 AM the turkeys had to be cleaned, marinaded and finally roasted. We used 16-20 pound turkeys so they cooked roughly three hours each. Once properly cooked and cooled, they had to be broken down into breasts, dark meat and scraps for the gravy and stuffing. The day came to a close at 7:30 PM. We hope you and your family are having as much fun as we are!
The final menu featured:
Pumpkin Bisque
Mesclun Field Greens with Cranberry Walnut Dressing
Roasted Turkey
Pecan Cranberry Stuffing
Giblet Gravy
Orange Glazed Brussels Sprouts
Herb and Garlic Roasted Fingerling Potatoes
Homemade Cranberry Sauce
Hot Water Cornbread Muffins
Deep Dish Apple Pie Souffle
Egg Nog Spiced Vanilla Ice Cream

CHEFS CORNER

While surf'in the web, I came across this interesting piece produced by "THE FUTURE" a handsomely well produced website authored by a group of friends who self promote and offer their own unique and personal flavor on culture, lifestyle and media. I think the website is fabulous overall but I take issue with their lack of fact checking and research of the material they present. "Opinions" are not necessarily factually accurate and are subject to personal interpretation. What is not subject to personal interpretation or conjecture are technical facts and historical precedence. One plus one equals two no matter what one thinks personally.

As a professional classically trained chef, I was surprised they did not edit the piece for technical and historical accuracy. Esthetically it doesn't matter because the average subscriber most likely will not know right from wrong anyway, but for the culinary professionals who watch the piece, it is an insult from someone calling themselves a chef. Similar to a doctor diagnosing you with a common cold but treating you with a shot of penicillin in the rear.
Pastry Arts are a highly specialized skill set within Culinary Arts with it's own techniques and terminology. Chef Love references the butter and sugar to be beaten together and emulsified with the eggs. The order of the ingredients is correct but the process is not. Anytime butter, sugar and eggs are combined in this style it is known as "the creaming method." The creaming method is one of several ways that you can mix ingredients to make a cake or cookies. It is the most prevalent method used because the resulting cake will be light and tender. If in fact the butter, sugar and eggs are beaten, the results will be grainy and thick. Yes! Now you know why your last cake was so thick and heavy. Another golden rule of baking "always combine the dry ingredients" before adding the wet. The spot also failed to mention a critically important step. The oven must be preheated before placing the batter in the oven. If the oven is not properly heated, the leavening agents in the batter will not properly activate and the results will be flat. Eggs require steam to rise and agents such as baking soda or power require water and heat.

"Brulee" means burnt cream. The chef incorrectly referred to the method/ technique of burning sugar as Brulee. The technique is caramelization. When ones refers to brulee most often it describes the classic french dessert. Creme Brulee is a classic dish of smooth custard, with a CARAMELIZED SUGAR topping. I am looking over my notes taken in Pastry Arts 101 during Culinary school. The chef incorrectly states he brulees the bananas when in fact he is caramelizing the sugar topping. If the sugar is caramelized to the point it melts and forms a solid sheet on top of the bananas it may be called "bananas brulee."

To the novice these are minor insignificant points but one must remember there is always a part of the audience that knows the proper and correct style and technique. Television, movies and talk shows all use fact checkers to avoid these types of errors. Here is a fabulous simple pound cake recipe to enjoy this holiday season.

SIMPLE POUND CAKE RECIPE
Preheat oven to 340 degrees F. Spray and line 2 8" cake pans.
BUTTER 1 1/4 lbs.
SUGAR 1 1/2 lbs.
LEMON RIND, grated 1 oz.
SALT 1/4 oz.
CAKE FLOUR 1 3/4 lbs.
BAKING POWDER 3/4 oz.
EGGS 2 lbs.
Cream together the butter, sugar, lemon rind and salt, set aside
Sift together the cake flour and baking powder
Alternately add the eggs and flour mixture to the bowl in thirds on low speed
Add half the batter to each of cake pans and bake for 20 to 30 minutes or until cake springs back when lightly touched in the center.