ANTI-GAY: Anti-gay ad on DC Metro buses tests gay community’s definitions of free speech: The ad carries the website of StandForMarriageDC, a religiously motivated, anti-gay group that seeks to roll back the District’s gay marriage law by forcing a voter referendum on the issue. (@metro weekly)
TWO AND A HALF MEN: There has never been a better opportunity to kill two birds with one stone as there is at this time. Granted; one of these stones is the most irreprehensable act a man can commit — beating his wife. One of them is just a TV show we don’t like which we feel makes too many misogynistic jokes. But in light of Charlie Sheen’s recent arrest for domestic violence, is it really appropriate for Two and a Half Men to be on the air?
To be honest, Charlie’s record is one of many things I haven’t liked about this show from the get-go. He was like popularly known as a hard-partying, womanizer in the 90’s and then was charged with misdemeanor battery in ’96 when his ex-girlfriend filed charges claiming he physically abused her. It’s so weird that someone so evil could be the son of Jed Bartlett! (@nypost)
FICTION: Everyone is Invited, by Lydia Davis: “I Know we’re supposed to be happy on this day. How odd that is. Usually I’m just nervous — probably because I’m supposed to be happy. I think about other years. When you’re very young, you’re usually happy — at least you’re ready to be. You get older and see things more clearly and there’s less to be happy about. Also, you start losing people — your family.” (@nytimes)
AFTER-CHRISTMAS SALES: You can’t always get what you want, but if you try sometimes, you just might find, you get something even cheaper:
RANDOM: Video Game Accesories are all On Sale, Athletic Shoes are 70% Off (a lot of New Balance & Adidas), get your Flip-cam Kodak Zi6 HD Pocket Video Camera for $99, 25% off all Bumble & Bumble Products, and find a heap of Calvin Klein, Diesel, and other Boyshorts 25% Off Or More.
SEX: 70% off the Doc Johnson Lucid Dream #14 Multi-Speed, Waterproof G-Spot Vibrator, Twist-bottom Control! It’s only like 10 bucks. That’s like ten cents an orgasm. Or the famous Doc Johnson i-Vibe Rabbit Vibrator is 64% off, or just go for the gold and get a 75% off Pipedream Products Jelly Eager Beaver Pink Adult Sex Toy Kit. You’re welcome!
DVD: The entire first season of one of the best shows ever, The West Wing, is $16.99 (72% off) and the Complete Second Season is $18.99, SNL – Best of Gilda Radner is $6.49, The L Word – The Complete Fifth Season is 50% off ($29.49), and a DVD you probably didn’t even know existed called Lilith Fair – A Celebration of Women in Music is $7.49.
(Check out all of amazon’s After-Christmas Deals)
Get an extra 20% off clearance at Hanes.com. This offer is valid now through Feb. 7th.
$5 off any title at Magazines.com.
BUS: Blogger Jesse James interviews our friend out actress Haviland Stillwell. (@jesse james)
ORNAMENTS: An ornament featuring well-known celebrity drag performer Hedda Lettuce has the right-wing outraged the night before Christmas – “What Andrew Breitbart seems to be implying with his commentary on the ornament is that gender variant people of all stripes aren’t American citizens.” (@phb)
DATING: ABC News Nightline with the assistance of Steve Harvey ask why so many successful Black women are single (42%, double the rate for white women). Harvey suggests they fix this problem by lowering their standards. Autostraddle suggests they fix this problem by going lez and dating hot successful lez women. 
The story says: “Let’s take 100 black men. By the time you eliminate those without a high school diploma (21 percent, compared to 14.5% of white men), the unemployed (17 percent) and those ages 25-34 who are incarcerated (8 percent), you have only half of black men, 54 percent, whom many black women find acceptable.” The best part is how the women stick to their guns when challenged to “compromise.” The worst part is that (granted, they only had seven minutes, so this would have been a bit of a tangent) no one mentions how it’s the separate & unequal public school system created by rich white men that is primarily to blame for the statistical inequity between black men & white men w/r/t education & incarceration rates and maybe we should look into that if we want long-term change. And also the fact that the narrator seemed resigned, but not disturbed, by the proclamation that “white men don’t date black women.” (also white men and black men aren’t the only kinds of men in the world) Sigh. Anyhoo. (@abc news)
TEEVEE: The AV Club’s favorite TV moments that stuck with us in 2009: “some moving, some shocking, some thrilling, some embarrassing” – probs the best TV-related list we’ve seen this year. (@theonion)
CHRISTMAS CAROLS: The Muppets sing the 12 Days of Christmas on Jimmy Fallon
Do They Know It’s Christmas? – An all-star comedy Christmas Carol. Sung by the Comedy Death-Ray Xmas Nativity Choir (feat. Paul F. Tompkins, R.O. Manse, Tig Notaro, Rob Huebel, Patton Oswalt, Mike Phirman, Jimmy Pardo, Brian Posehn & Scott Aukerman, Garfunkel & Oates, Aimee Mann, Chris Hardwick, Paul Scheer & June Diane Raphael, Doug Benson, Mary Lynn Rajskub, Nick Thune, “Weird Al” Yankovic, Cracked Out, Dragon Boy Suede, Natasha Leggero, Thomas Lennon & Ed Helms)
…why can black women only date black men?
I know right???
they gave that issue about 45 seconds — quickly all the women said that white men didn’t want to date black women, and then they moved on to Steve Harvey telling them that they should lower their standards. I was like “wtf, um, you just briefly mentioned that that kind of racism is so omnipresent that you’ve all completely accepted it as truth and then moved on?” I hope ABC gets a lot of letters about that one.
Well I kind of feel that white men don;t want to date black women or or not attracted them. I am not sure why but it is an accepted belief so many don;t try. Granted I have never really tested this theory. My sis and I was talking about it and we realized that we don;t go to the right place to meet white men.
What kind of advice ‘lower your standards?’ WTH?
Successful women did not get where they are by compromising. It may take longer but you can find what you are looking for just be patient. There is nothing wrong with being single. Ppl are in such a rush to not be alone and then they settle, esp when they are older. As the great Madea said ‘I’d rather be happy and alone with a puppy and a goldfish then wondering why the hell someone is in my house.’
Even now, I am young and not successful(yet), but I still have certain height, job and/or school requirements, plus a no kids policy that must be met, off top. No negotiations or compromising.
I feel like having Steve Harvey tell me I need to lower my standards is actually my worst nightmare? Also, while I do find this story really interesting, I’ve also seen it discussed on like every blog/news outlet I read, which is a little weird to me. I agree with MsNJS – is being single such a crisis that it really makes it a huge news story? I understand the underlying issues to this, and I agree that they need to be discussed, but I feel like there are more productive conversations to be had about life for women of color in America than “Why can’t they get a man?”
I felt like Steve Harvey was there b/c his buddy wanted to date one of those girls or something, I was so confused by his logic.
Because I am an insane radical feminist I think segments like this exist to make women panic about being single, successful, and fulfilled ’cause conservatives feel threatened by the idea that women don’t need men and aren’t dedicated to marrying & reproducing right away because then the traditional family structure will be undermine — like how the whole media freaked out over Sex and the City, and the SATC movie was disappointing b/c the message had become a lot more about settling. Of course we have to compromise and not be insane, but marriage doesn’t have to be the goal. Why can’t it be a news piece about why so many black women are single & successful and totally okay with it.
Lori Gottlieb did a piece in The Atlantic called Marry Him in ’08 that told women they should all settle for “Mr. Good Enough.” Why should love or relationships or LIFE ever be about settling?
I liked the woman at the end who was like; “I would love to be in a relationship, in a marriage, but I don’t feel that defines me. So if I don’t find the perfect person for me, then I’ll just remain single.”
Watched the full piece. First observation is all of those women were beautiful and young. “My clock is ticking” I wanted to smack them for that. Girl you are just 31! I recently decided that I don’t want kids until at least 30 maybe later.
IDK Why can’t there be a news piece about women being successful single and happy? Or a story about a woman being successful and not focus on the relationship status. Stories like this further perpetuate the fear and anxiety about being single. Even though they really being alone. People need to learn the difference between being alone and being single. They are not always the same. You can still have people, ie family and friends, that can fill your life. Its not the same as a partner obviously. But there are ppl who are truly alone or have nothing.
I agree that things like this kind of just exist to prey on women’s insecurities – it makes me think of those awful cover articles in Cosmo or whatever, you know? “Ten Things You’re Doing To Ruin Your Relationship Without Even Knowing It!” It just makes me sad a little that marital status is what we choose to focus on for whether or not a group has “made it.” It’s true that statistics for marriage are lower for black women than white women. But so are wages, and quality of healthcare, and access to jobs. I just feel like those are important numbers to talk about! Arguably more important! That is all.
I just think that like looking at marriage statistics is such a random way to assess anything. How many women of any race are in happy marriages if they “lowered their standards”? Probs not that many.
also @msnjs yeah that was the weirdest thing, like they’re all hot & happy and seem to have close friendships with each other — the narration was saying how it was sad that they weren’t married over footage of five hot women sitting down for drinks who clearly liked each other and enjoyed each other’s company. nothing’s missing there. the distinction between “alone” and “single” is a v.important one
And how often do you see pieces on successful men who should compromise for Mrs. Good Enough?? Oh that’s right, they can be totally happy without a woman. My B, Steve Hardy, I forgot.
ahh wooooops Harvey*** Freudian slip?
@msnjs Well, why they said “my clock is ticking” is because there is a certain age when you cant have children anymore.. and the older you are the more likely it is that your children will have problems.
I know. I understand what they are saying to a certain degree. But women are having children, healthy children, in their 30’s. My grandmother had my mom at 39 back in the 50’s. Which was really old for back then. So that rush that you use to have, to have children is not the same as it was.
oorrrrrr they could just not have children and instead adopt a kid like Charlotte in Sex and the City because we already have a serious overpopulation problem in America! This is another one of those topics I could go on about forever, so I will stop.
what the fuck, charlie sheen. what the fuck, dc bus ads. errrrrrrg.
My concern is that more and more gay men get STD. It seems that gay men is easier to get an STD.
According to the report from the largest STD dating site == Positivefish.com ==(if I spell the site correctly), the gay subscribers
increased continually. Most of them are sexy.
Charlie Sheen’s face has always scared me. I also always forget he is Emilio Estevez’s brother — I like Emilio better — also didn’t realize he was the highest paid actor on tv… what the heck is wrong with America
Speaking of what the heck is wrong with America, but entirely unrelated to this post (yes, I’m going to share anyways), the Sports Illustrated “Sign of the Apocalypse” this week was how Tiger Woods now holds the record for the most consecutive days (20) on the cover of the New York Post, surpassing the previous record of 19 days held by the 9/11 attacks. WTFWTFWTFWTFWTFWTFx20!