Sunday Diva/Three From The Hip: Britney Spears

Sunday Diva/Three From The Hip:

Britney Spears

*Note: I was going to have a little fun at Britney's expense, today; over the years she has said some very funny - laugh out loud - things. But it felt mean, especially in light of all the new information coming out about her life. No, I have not seen 'the documentary', nor will I - because that feels like yet another layer of exploitation. I don't want to be part of that... so I canned my initial take on this and went in a different direction.

In my own personal big gay church, there is a wing devoted to those belonging to The Rhythm Nation. These women got us to think, encouraged us to love and respect ourselves, made us feel sexy as hell and... most importantly, got us to dance! One such diva? 

The incomparable Britney Spears.

The camera has always loved her. And so have her fans.

Many of us have watched her grow up before our eyes. 

The All-American Sweetheart who hit us one more time? She could have knocked us over with a feather! We fell for her like a ton of bricks. 

When your debut single sells ten million copies worldwide? Well, you know a phenomena is about to be born.

As she evolved from our teen princess into an international sex symbol, we followed along, turning each page of every magazine, amazed and dazzled by her beauty and charisma.

And she got us to dance. Yes, the beats kept growing harder, the strobes a bit stronger. And we? Were transfixed.

And then came that day... you know the one. When we all stared for a different reason. 

Our darling Britney fell down and went 'boom'. 

An explosion heard around the world. 

We all breathed a collective sigh of relief once she was on the rebound. 

Oh, it was touch and go for a bit, but before long our girl seemed back on track... growing stronger each day. 

Then she took us to the circus... and we thought the greatest show on earth was up and rolling once again. 

Why, didn't she promised we would dance until the world ends?  

But the music recently stopped.

It appears what happens in Vegas? Can unravel in Vegas.

And so... the world holds it's breath once more.

And this time? I know we're all wishing for a happy ending.

Our American princess deserves nothing less.

The gospel according to her?

Well, here are three from the hip, falling from her lips.

The topic? Being a Mom

"My mom is a wonderful woman. She's always been an inspiration to me, but having kids helped me make even more sense of my relationship with her."
 

"We have a nanny in the house, but there are always times when one of my kids does something bad or wrong, and they'll listen to me more than they do the nanny. So I think it's important to set up that boundary of respect for them at a young age, so they will know, 'I better listen to Mommy.' "

"As a mom, you have all these situations you go through, and you're like, 'What is going on? Is this normal? Is this a phase? Or what is this?' and then you feel silly for asking questions because you think, 'I'm a mom - I'm supposed to know these things,' but you don't."

Toxic - Britney Spears

Radar - Britney Spears

 

Ooh La La (From The Smurfs 2) - Britney Spears

And one last parting shot...

"I notice that if there are some times I've been stressed, because I'm human and stress about things, that affects your kids. So you have to make sure you're a 'happy mom' so they can be happy."

Weekend Onesie: At What Price?

Weekend Onesie:

At What Price?

This week, we reached a milestone of tombstones. 

A half a million dead because we, one of the most developed nations in the world, failed to get our shit together and do the right thing.

Yay! America! 

Still #1.

This is the price of freedom.

People act and vote against their own self interest all the time. It's their right to do so, protected by our constitution.

Stupid? Oh, hell yeah.

I just shake my head at all those folks living in crappy trailers in shitty little towns in the south all up in arms about the government controlling their lives, creating a welfare state... all the while they're surviving on state subsidies and food stamps.

The disconnect? I think it's a form of self-preservation.

I mean, people tend to want to be proud of who they are so they can live with themselves - so that kind of denial is a sort of self-preservation. Also... the whole shaming and pointing the finger at others for the very thing you're doing? That gives one a sense - albeit a false sense - of superiority. 

And no one has a need to feel superior more than Americans. 

We've been marching around with that chip on our shoulder since the day we landed at Plymouth Rock. It's in our cultural DNA.

But, back to the finger pointing - about the welfare state? Yeah... you know what that's really about, right? Us vs. Them? The 'them' in this case refers to urban folk - which is an institutionalized racist codeword for POC.

Now, there's a whole thing about southerners having lost all their free labor which destroyed a way of life that never should have been in the first place if they had any morals which plays into that anger.. but that's for another post. 

Again, getting back to the freedom to vote against your own self-interest...

Well, in this country... we are, indeed, guaranteed the right to be stupid. Guaranteed the right to do the wrong thing.

Yes, it's wrong to put others at risk simply because you don't want to cooperate. Let's face it... wearing a mask? It's not that much of a hardship. But, because it has been politicized and defined as the government trying to tell us what to do... well all those folks that constantly vote against their own-self interest, they got all up in arms and decided to defy what those of us who live lives guided by common sense saw as something that was in our own best self-interest to follow. 

But those who comply? We're the cucks. 

We're the problem. 

Not those spreading the disease by gathering in bars that were or should have been closed. Not those that flood the streets sans mask every time their favorite sports team wins some stupid trophy. Not those gathering and travelling when people in the know - people like Dr. Fauci - people who are guided by science (Yes, Meghan McCain, it is true!) - were telling us that was not a good idea. 

And anti-vaxxers? 

Well, that is a whole 'nother level of stupidity... but also guaranteed in the constitution. 

Personally, I am aghast that half a million people's lives have ended and none of these people - including many politicians - seem to acknowledge or grasp the magnitude of that rather morbid accomplishment. 

I watched Biden's speech. I was with my mother and my ex. Had I been alone, I would have cried. It was a moving speech... maybe a little too personal, maybe a little to self-referential, maybe a little too emotionally-manipulative. I dunno. It was effective. 

And it was chilling. 

Let freedom ring...

...but at what price?

We live in a divisive society. A certain faction of our government and a certain faction of the financial complex have teamed up, having recognized that it is in their best self-interest to keep people - particularly people of a lower economic status - pointing fingers and hurling insults at each other. 

Incidentally... this is also why the LGTBQ bill is suddenly such a hot ticket item. It's divisive. It keeps people riled up. It distracts.

It keeps the poor, the common folk, busy... and if they are busy, they won't recognize that our constitution guarantees them a say in how things are run. For if that faction should wake up and realize they are fighting the wrong battles and they do indeed have the power to change things... well, that would mean those in power - the wealthy, the titans of our financial complex, and those politicians kept in place by those one percenters... would, most likely, lose some or all of their power. 

So, it's really in the 'best' interests of those individuals and the likes of Fox News to keep people ignorant and riled up. It's a means of maintaining the status quo. 

And we all 'like' the way things are? Right? 

I mean, that's why we resist wearing masks and social distancing and actually acting in our own self-interest. 

Because we don't like change. 

Well, something tells me that the half a million people that lost their lives - more than the lives lost in WWI, WWII and Viet Nam combined... something tells me that they aren't too pleased with how that all turned out for them. 

Something tells me they are definitely not okay with the way things are.

And, while it is the freedom they ended up dying from... I don't think it's the freedom they held in their hearts while their hearts were still beating.

And those that paid with their lives on battlefields in the name of freedom? All those brave soldiers? 

Something tells me that this freedom... the one we all appear to be justifying and allowing to rule the day?

That is not the freedom they died for, either.

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Wishing you all the best.

Stay safe. Stay healthy. Stay strong.

And... wear a damn mask!

- uptonking from Wonderland Burlesque

This Is Not America - David Bowie / Pat Metheny Group

Friday Fun: Celebrate National Tell A Fairy Tale Day!

Friday Fun:

Celebrate National Tell A Fairy Tale Day!

Tomorrow is National Tell A Fairy Tale Day. So that... got me thinking.

I mean... look. I could of gone with one of the national holidays for today, like, say... National Chocolate Covered Nut Day.

But, hey. You know me...

Do you really want me to be posting pictures for National Chocolate Covered Nut Day?

I think not. 

For one thing... I misread it and thought it was National Chocolate Nut Roll Day.

And honeys... you do not want to know what sprang into my sick little mind. Uh-uh.

Another choice? National Clam Chowder Day. And, well... didn't we just celebrate that (National Chili Sauce Day?) Sort of the same thing, when you think about it... the way I think about it. 

So, I decided to take a look at what's on the plate for tomorrow... and I saw this - National Tell A Fairy Tale Day.

Well, honeys... we gay folk, as a culture... we got all sorts of fairy tales. I mean drag queens are the living embodiment of magic. And if those circuit boys aren't from Peter Pan's Lost Boys gang... then why the hell they never grow up?

And as far as stories go, we have our tropes and they take the form of... yep, you guessed it, gay porn.

Now... I am going to warn you. 

As some of you are already very much aware, some of our gay porn fairy tales are... well, to put it mildly... a little messed up. I mean we have a weird ass kink when it comes to sexualizing an authority figure with someone under their control. For proof of that... just look at the archetypes represented in The Village People. Policeman, Construction Worker, Cowboy, Indian Chief, and Army Dude. Add a Coach and a Priest and you got it all covered. And that was marketed to kids. I know... because my youngest sister, who was 14 at the time, kept buying all their albums!

And there are, indeed, on-going gay porn tropes that have some folks scratching their heads and... throwing fits. Seems some of the things gay folk find sexy can be taken out of context and termed perverse! (SAY WHAT?) 

But then, hetero porn is just as guilty when it comes to questionable themes like incest and scenes featuring imbalanced power dynamics.

So, for today's post, I wanted to share the work of Josman. I think his artwork is amazing. However, it wasn't until I started putting his stuff side by side that I started to recognize a particular theme. 

Let's see if you can put your finger on it.

As I put this collection together, I had to remind myself... this is fantasy. These are gay fairy tales.

If you don't agree... I understand. But this is the stuff of make believe. The reality? Well, it looks nothing like this, hons... trust me on that, from personal experience.

I did do a little research on Josman. It seems he used to have a regular comic called Hand Jobs which stopped publishing new material years and years ago. The ones here are mostly from 2003 and 2004. Someone else mentioned that they believed his work was now licensed by a pay site and that is the reason that new material has not been forthcoming. 

Thing is, no one seems to know exactly what became of him. Someone on the same forum mentioned that he had published a series of horribly inappropriate works, but then the authenticity of that work was questioned by others.

One thing I did learn? I am not alone when it comes to having qualms about his artwork. A couple of blogs praise his work, but then also cop to feeling a bit skeezy about enjoying it.

To each their own. 

I, personally view these as fairy tales... something devoid of anything approaching reality. And that is the context in which they are being presented here, today.

With that said, here is a small collection from the talented hands of Josman.

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Wishing you all a lovely weekend.

Temps here are finally tolerable.

Enjoy!

- uptonking from Wonderland Burlesque

Fairytale - The Pointer Sisters

Today Was A Fairy Tale - Taylor Swift