Friday Fun: The One Finger Salute: It's Ronald Reagan Day

Friday Fun: 

The One Finger Salute:

It's Ronald Reagan Day

Did you know that February 6th was Ronald Reagan Day?

Well, it is.

It's our opportunity to celebrate a mediocre actor who parlayed his fame into becoming one of the worst presidents this country has ever had the displeasure of witnessing. Some of his fuck-ups are still being felt today. In fact, if it weren't for Reagan there would have been no GW Bush and no orange ogre! Yes, Reagan, in his stupid meat-puppet way, managed to totally fuck-up politics in this country forever!

Reagan's sins are many... Debategate, Iran-Contra, denying the existence of AIDS, increasing wealth inequality, the HUD Rigging scandal, numerous lobbying scandals, the savings and loans crisis, the EPA scandals, Operation Ill Wind, the Wedtech Scandal, and his longest lasting legacy - the rise of the conservative right wing and Xtian nationalists.  Yeah, old Ronnie let Falwell and the boys in the back door and we've been fucked since. 

And let's not forget that during his final years in office, Nancy was basically running the country.

Oh, yeah, honeys - Ronnie boy is the O.G. He actually makes Nixon look good. 

Now, given current circumstances, I will admit that Ronald has some major competition what with the orange ogre and his minions running amok in D.C.

But I still say we lay all this at the feet of the GOP and it's decision to run a movie actor for president. And he won. Twice. What's wrong with this country, you ask? What's always been wrong with this country. 

So, here's to you, Ronnie... I give you the Wonderland Burlesque One Finger Salute.

You earned it, honey.

Oh... and look on the bright side - at least we don't have to sit through one of his stink-bomb films!

You celebrate your way.

I'm celebrating this mine.

Here's to you, Ronnie boy!

- uptonking from Wonderland Burlesque

Ronnie Talk To Russia - Sheree

Ronnie, Talk To Russia

Election Day Tuesday! - November 5th - VOTE!

Election Day Tuesday

November 5th

VOTE!

Help this country escape Bizarro World!

VOTE!

It's that simple.

It's that needed.

Hold your nose if you wish.

Whine all the way to the polling place. 

But...

VOTE!

  High turnout is needed for best results!

Yes, "some woman" does need your help!

In fact, all women need our help.

VOTE!

And give them back control over their own bodies.

And someone is in serious trouble - this country.

So, do your duty.

VOTE!

I thank you... 

All true Americans thank you!

My Vote Will Count - YelloPain feat. Sevyn Streeter

Weekend Onesie: Hold Your Nose And Vote Blue!

 

Weekend Onesie

Hold Your Nose And Vote Blue!

Tuesday is election day. 

Get out there and do you duty... vote!

And if you have any sense at all... you'll vote blue.

Yes, it's come down to the basics. Seems we're a color-coded society now - red and blue. 

The thing is... no issue is truly black and white. 

So, if you are thinking about skipping out this year because of this issue or that issue... think again, my friend. 

A non-vote is a vote... for the other side. 

If we learned anything from that time Hillary Clinton ran for the presidency, it's that every vote counts and numbers truly matter. Had some of you not opted out of that election, we might be living in an entirely different USA today. 

I get it. The world is messed up. This country? Messed up. Capitalism? Messed up. Our political system? Messed up.

But if you take a look at the two candidates - there is one that will make less of a mess out of our country than the other. There is one, in fact, who plans on doing this country even greater harm.

For those of you who think you are taking a stand by not voting? You are. For the other side. Again... a non-vote, or to throw away your vote on some third part candidate? That's a vote for the other side.

And just what do I mean when I say... the other side?

Folks, the situation is critical. Personally, I do not want to live under a dictatorship - especially when that dictator promises to be a total dick. Those are four years I do not want to live through again. So many lies. So much information. So much hate.

If you want to turn back the clock to 1952, where only straight white men get what they want? Then by all means, stay home. 

But if you have lick of common sense... hold your nose, if you have to... but go to the polls and cast a damn vote.

If you value your freedom. If you want your voice to ever be heard. If there are changes you would like to see be made? 

Then vote blue, my dear - it truly is the only way to preserve democracy and make a pathway for change. 

Don't sit on the sidelines. Don't claim not to care. 

You can't, we can't, the world can't afford not to care.

So do your duty.

Vote!

Hoping it all turns out well.

To be honest?

I can't even begin to contemplate the alternative.

- uptonking from Wonderland Burlesque

Vote Or Die - South Park

Weekend Onesie: Election Week Hangover? Do Like Liz!

Weekend Onesie: 

Election Week Hangover? 

Do Like Liz!

Ah, November 8th has come and gone. 

Yes, it was 'only' a mid-term election, but... it sort of indicates what to expect in 2024, now doesn't it?

So, how did you do? 

Weathered it well? Happy with the results? Fucking devastated?

No matter... take my advice. 

Do like Liz.

"Pour yourself a drink, put on some lipstick and pull yourself together."

Yes, we'll get through this.

As for that lipstick? 

What's the color of a true winner?

What's the color of the status quo?

And for those of you who are sore losers?

Might I suggest a nice shade of orange. 

It goes so well with any prison jumpsuit.

These are the days, my friends.

Hold your heads up high.

(Oh! Not that head, dear.)

- uptonking from Wonderland Burlesque

Lipstick - Sophia Del Carmen

Weekend Onesie: The Politics Of Gender Authenticity

Weekend Onesie: 

The Politics Of Gender Realness

I must confess, if I see a dude in women's lingerie or a frilly neon pink thong on Grindr? I block 'em.

Sorry. Just not for me. 

You see, I need to free up that space for someone I might be interested in, as I am not a member - therefore, the number of profiles I get to view are quite limited. But I do the same with bottoms and transgender people. That doesn't mean I don't support their rights to be who they need to be - oh, no! They are all deserving of parades to march in and I will be on the sidelines cheering them on. 

No, it's only a matter of creating opportunities for myself on Grindr.

It's also a matter of laziness. 

That's a lot of drama. 

Doesn't that seem like a lot of drama? 

And if there is one thing I don't want while enjoying a casual hook-up, it's dealing with someone else's personal baggage. I get it: pronouns are important and this is something relatively new and perhaps being a tad militant about declaring such things in a profile on a hook-up site is a great way to get the word out there, but it's a big turn off for me. It feels complicated. And since I'm a lazy gay, especially when it comes to Grindr, I'm gonna have to pass.

Because I know myself. I will slip up. In the heat of the moment, I will get it wrong. And I have enough of my own personal baggage, guilt and low self esteem to deal with as is, I don't need some 25 year-old shaming me for uttering the wrong pronoun in the heat of passion.

Yep.

Everything is not for everyone. 

And as body positive as I am, I just know there are limits to what get's my personal action going - and it's generally not women's clothing. That's not to say that if someone of the caliber of our Miss Maddie dropped out of the sky, into my little bunker dressed as Pam Demic I wouldn't give it a go. 

Yes, there are exceptions. 

And a man in a pair of fishnet stockings? Well, sign me up.

Hell, even certain Congressmen from North Carolina have been known to try on a pair.   

That's all a matter of preference.

But gender fluidity is not a matter preference. Nor is gender identity. Those are a matter of mental health. They're a matter of self discovery.  A matter of being true to who you are and being who you are. 

A matter of gender authenticity.

And that's to be respected.

Gender authenticity is not about penises and vaginas. No more than it's about feather boas and jock straps. It's about essence.

And a man wearing a piece of women's clothing? Well, sometimes a bra and panties is just a bra and panties. That stuff is like hair color or nail polish or piercings or tattoos; sometimes it has nothing to do with gender identity. Some men who are tops wear women's clothing because it simply makes them feel sexy.  

I get it. And I say... you go, gurl! Get your sexy on.

But that's not what's being attacked in the hallowed halls of congress and state legislatures throughout this not-so-fine country of ours. 

So, while you, like me... might not want to 'deal' with it because it's too 'difficult'  - well, walk a mile in the Manolo Blahniks or Air Jordans of our fluid brothers and sisters.  

Consider how you would feel if people addressed you or referred to you using the wrong pronouns?

Such people have to deal with those kind of difficulties for a lifetime. And when you throw politics on top of that? Man, that gets rough. And these folk have enough to cope with. 

So voice your support and show them some love... vote! 

Vote out these misinformed, ignorant politicians who can't seem to wrap their heads around this issue because they're too busy trying to secure funding from the NRA or improve their social media following, or are just too old, white, mean and stupid to do the right thing. Their lack of understanding and empathy is killing people - because when you deny someone the right to be who they are and you deny them the right to speak about who they are and what they are experiencing? Then? You are silencing them and, as we have learned all too well in the past, silence equals death.

Sound familiar? It should.

This is all our fight. It is all one in the same. 

We can't allow a bunch of bigoted, small-minded politicians to tell us which restroom we can use or what sports teams we can play on. They don't get to decide or define who we are. They don't get to legislate us or shame us or make us feel less than.

Don't let them silence any of us.

Use your voice and...

Vote!

Walk A Mile In My Shoes - Coldcut

Walking In My Shoes - Depeche Mode

Weekend Onesie: Back When This Was Shocking...

Weekend Onesie:

Back When This Was Shocking...

From inset:

Beaux Arts Balls and similar Bohemian revels are considered a part of the Paris picture and are seldom bothered by gendarmes. But when a group of fashion designers and chorus boys requested police permission to hold a 'wedding' in a public place, authorities uttered a horrified "No!" Nevertheless, the nuptials went off on schedule. They were held secretly in a Montparnasse apartment. A CONFIDENTIAL photographer took these photos of the world's 'queerest' wedding. 

Strange how times change... or not.

I don't know about you, but I'm waiting for the day that the conservative right gets their act together and takes on gay marriage again.  

Once they stacked SCOTUS in their favor, they wasted no time tackling a few of their favorite punching bags. Yes, it seems, while they don't want anyone telling them what to do (mask mandates, vaccinations) they definitely want to be able to tell YOU what to do (abortion, prayer in school.)  

Oh, don't kid yourselves, they're coming for us.

Yes, it seems conservatives keep spinning in place like a child with one shoe nailed to the floor: looking over there, eyeing that, focusing on those people, throwing all their energy behind this or that or the other thing - but by doing so, they will eventually... 

Wait. 

Wait a minute...

While were at it. 

Why do we allow them to wear the banner 'conservatives' - why don't we call them what they really are: bigots, homophobes, racists, hatemongers? Bullies. In a way, it's a good thing there are so many flavors of hate under that umbrella. See, I actually think its a rather long list of fragmented fringe groups - each with a different set of criteria and goals, which is why, perhaps, they can't seem to get their poop in a group long enough to actually accomplish any of their evil goals. 

So many targets, so little... what? Money? Manpower? Logic?

Is this really the kind of people the GOP want under their tent? 

Yes. Yes, it is. 

That's how the GOP insures that they will vote for whatever unqualified convicted liar / con man / thief / charlatan they put up for office. You see, like intelligence, integrity is in short supply at the GOP, so it's no longer considered essential - which sort of undermines that whole 'conservatives' banner, huh?

Anyway, I am just waiting for them to spin back around and focus their Village of The Damned eyes on the LGBTQ+ community. I mean, currently they do have the Transgender Community in their sights (and have for a while - remember when public bathrooms were scary?) - because gender identity is a hot topic - but eventually they will swivel back to the war they lost... 

And I don't mean that 'Civil' one. 

Thing is... thanks to people like Pete and Chasten, they can't make us all out to be the monsters they tried to convince everybody we were back in the day. As gay folk go, we've come a long way, baby. Far enough, that we're not going back without a fight. And since our focus is clearly defined and we've already proven that we're better organized and more articulate by beating them once... we can do it again. 

Which brings to mind another issue... have we, the gay community, become a bit too politically complacent? A bit too comfortable? Shouldn't we be out there, fighting fights that are not necessarily ours, but continue the erosion of individual rights that we've somehow, against the odds, managed to secure for ourselves?

If it's happening, I'm not seeing it. I'm not hearing about it. 

I know we're all concerned about the apathetic law enforcement response to the on-going epidemic of transgender homicides. But shouldn't we be doing more? Shouldn't there be a national movement bringing visibility to this issue - the same that we created in the early days of the AIDS pandemic and the drive to secure gay marriage?

I don't have the answer. I don't know how such a movement builds momentum to the point that one day you're seeing posters at your bus stop. 

I guess my point is... we don't have the luxury of being complacent. When it comes to gay marriage, we've sat on the beach in our lounge chairs enjoying our pina coladas, savoring our victory long enough. 

Because we're a targeted group, we need to ALWAYS be politically active. We need to shine that spotlight. We need to have that discussion. We need to push for action. 

It's a new year: 2022, and conservatives think they've figured out ways to seize control, destroy our democracy and turn back the clock to 1952. 

Don't let them.

We've got skin in this game... 

So let's get back in the game.

Stay strong, stay safe, stay healthy...

-uptonking from Wonderland Burlesque

Please leave any suggestions for what we can do, as individuals, to fight the good fight in the comments section.

Thank you.

Thank You - Alanis Morissette

Wonderland Burlesque's 'The Big Interview' Quiz - Part Five

Wonderland Burlesque's 

'The Big Interview' Quiz - Part Five

For today's quiz, we'll be finishing up with a few categories that are of a more personal nature, limiting it to five, so it's a bit less time consuming.

The rules remain the same.

Imagine if you were a television, radio or newspaper reporter and it was your job to conduct interviews with people you either admire intensely or from whom you would like to demand answers.

That's the fantasy that fuels today's quiz. I want to know whom you would like to interview, and just as importantly, what is it you want to know. What's the burning issue? What's that one question you're dying to get the answer to?

Explain your reasons for picking the individual. What is it about them that intrigues you? Approach this as if they have to answer the questions you ask them! They have no choice. They have to answer and answer honestly. And they can't walk out on you.

Here are the final five:

Social Warrior

So how is a social warrior different than an activist? An activist is an outsider, typically tilting at windmills - not that their enemies aren't real, but that the methods of an activist generally lack true effectiveness. 

A warrior, on the other hand, operates from a position of authority. One is definitely smarter than the other and no one is smarter than... 

AOC 

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

When Nancy Pelosi insisted on retaking Speaker of the House, I was fuming. She's a magnet for ill will. She's been vilified and is an easy target for the far right. It was time for some new blood.

And I couldn't think of anyone more suited to really shake things up than AOC. So, when Nancy wouldn't step aside and let someone new take the heat, that is the moment I was done with the old guard. I support the Dems as the lesser of two evils. If this country is survive and thrive? AOC is the only way to go. 

Ocasio-Cortez is one of the first female members of the Democratic Socialists of America elected to serve in Congress. She advocates a progressive platform that includes support for workplace democracy, Medicare for All, tuition-free public college, a federal jobs guarantee, a Green New Deal, and abolishing the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Yes, I was skeptical when Bernie Sanders was hawking this same platform, but AOC is the future and we need to embrace it, her, and her ideas. Capitalism as currently defined in the country? A failed experiment. It's time to even the playing field. Anyone who doesn't understand that is of the old guard and either protecting some self-interest or simply too afraid to make the leap. 

The other thing I love about her? More than any of her colleagues, she recognizes the importance of social media. It is the future of politics and the primary reason the Repulsivcans are flailing. There's an on-line gaming community for a game called Animal Crossing where people play a cute little critter inhabiting an island full of other little cute critters. You build a house and fish and pick fruit. It's harmless fun. If you subscribe to the Nintendo Switch service, you are able to visit other people's islands. One day (it was a holiday), AOC spent the day dropping in on people's islands, just to say hello. 

That's the kind of warrior spirit I am interested in supporting. Smart wins it (eventually) every time. And if she can turn my head around to her way of thinking? She has a gift and a brilliant future.

A Socialite or Heiress/Heir

I like my privilege served old school. None of this Paris Hilton/Tinsley Mortimer/Oliva Palermo bullshit.  

Dominick Dunne? Doris Duke? An Astor? A Vanderbilt?

Sigh.

Also, quite possibly, known as: "bem-amada" (beloved)!

That's what Brazil's President Getúlio Vargas most likely called her. She'd married his secretary of state, but was believed to have been Vargas' mistress. She is also believed to have lived in the presidential palace, Catete. In addition, she served as part of Brazil's secret service; dispatched to Paris in the guise of a fashionista, she gathered intelligence information on the powers of axis during WWII. The information she gathered convinced Vargas to turn down the axis' invitation to join their efforts.  

As a young woman, she befriended Thomas Edison. She was also the friend and confidante of designer Coco Chanel and had a huge impact on French society.

As US Vogue editor, Bettina Ballard recalled: 

"I particularly remember the season when Aimee was lionized in Paris. She was so pretty, so genuinely nice, carried gaiety with her like a fan, and she was almost eaten alive. Hung with diamonds, she was pushed from fittings to balls, never allowed a moment for private conquest because every hostess needed her for her party to prove that she could draw the lioness of the season. Aimee just wanted to dance and flirt and have fun. That wasn't what Paris expected of her."

Later in life, she became a part of the Kennedy enclave, flitting between homes in Paris, New York City, Palm Beach, Florida and Biarritz - never remaining in one place for very long. She remained a high profile guest at elaborate receptions throughout the world up until her passing at the age of 103. When 102? She swam daily in the Atlantic!

As for the rumors that she was Vargas' mistress and lived in the palace? 

Aimée remained mum. 

I wonder what other secrets "bem-amada" took to the grave?

A pity that Cher never played her in a movie.

A Social Media Influencer

I don't understand the need for social influencers. Those YouTube kids with their million dollar deals, sipping some energy drink while filming themselves engaged in some selfish, self-aggrandizing pursuit? They make me ill. I can't think of a nastier way to make a living, although reality television is right up there. The only talent most of these people possess is the ability to whiten their teeth. Watching their videos or listening to them? Like having knitting needles shoved in all your face holes. I find them obnoxious, not entertaining. Their lack of purpose is only exceeded by their absence of shame and need to exist. But this, thanks to corporate America's greed (yes, another reason that capitalism as it exists does not work - we reward people for the wrong reasons) and their willingness to fund these shyster's worthless lives, is what passes as social media influencers. 

So give me someone of substance. Someone who's smart. Someone with talent, wit, and a sharp eye. 

A true survivor... 

Kathy Griffin

I never thought of her in this manner until The Boyfriend suggested it. We were talking about social influencers and he mentioned Kathy. And, just like that, another piece of the puzzle fell into place. 

You see... we have Kathy before... and Kathy after. Before? She was our gossip queen and it was harmless fun. Now? Since the orange ogre? She's developed teeth and the ability to connect the dots. Her mind is as quick as Dennis Miller's ever was - without all that white male privilege mucking up the message. I can see the day when she's a political commentator. 

That's the power of redemption. 

That's the power of being smart. 

 A Person On The Street

That Person Who Litters

The other day, I was sitting in my car in the parking lot of one of our local grocery stores. The Boyfriend was inside foraging. I didn't have my cell phone with me, so I was people watching. A car came zooming in and parked. Two huge dumps got out... young, overweight, scraggily beard, unkempt, a snap cap put on backwards covering greasy hair, wearing clothing that one could only describe as beyond comfortable. (Yes. I am a judgmental a-hole.) I could only imagine what video game they tore themselves away from (Grand Theft Auto) as they left their parent's basement long enough to make this trip. They returned moments later, a chilled 42 oz. Mountain Dew clutched in their privileged, fatty, white boy mitts. 

As the one getting in the passenger side enters the vehicle, he leaves his door ajar just long enough to deposit two sacks full of fast food garbage on the pavement before slamming the door and speeding off. 

I was aghast. In shock. Not so much that I didn't attempt to get out of my vehicle and say something, but my seat belt was fastened and I was so gobsmacked I couldn't disengage quickly enough.  Instead, realizing they'd gone, I sat there watching as the wind threw their garbage about the parking lot like a kitten with a new toy. 

Such nonsense? It breaks my heart. And enrages me. 

Those are the people I want to 'interview.' Where do they get off? Who raised them? What the capitol F are they bloody NOT thinking? Who are they to inflict their waste upon the rest of the planet in such a manner? Where is the disconnect? Would they want me coming into their parent's basement and taking a dump on their game console? I very well think not!

And it's such a senseless, meaningless, thoughtless crime. So easy to remedy. Right outside the grocery store doors? Giant trash receptacles, there for... I don' know, let's say all the trash you've accumulated in your car. It just takes a bit of forethought. As you go into the store, take all that crap with you and put it in the bin, you stupid, selfish, thoughtless ninny.

And who lives like that? Bags of fast food rubbish on the floorboard of the passenger side of your car? How lazy and disgusting are you? 

These people? They are the enemy. They are the real problem and a waste of oxygen. 

And of course...

Neither of them could be bothered to wear an f'ing mask when they went in the store.   

A Family Member

My Aunt Kate

She was a latecomer to our clan; the second wife of my grandfather's youngest son. An outsider. 

Kate came from privilege. Landing in our little world she must have felt like she'd landed in the world of The Hills Have Eyes, also known as hillbilly hell.  Well-traveled, well-read, well-educated and smart as whip, she managed to keep her thoughts to herself (as long as my grandfather kept his hands to himself.) I once wrote her a letter sharing with her what her arrival meant to me. She was a breath of fresh air. And signs that there was another world 'out there.' 

Sadly, I have never been able to shake the dust of our history from my feet - one firmly entrenched in different worlds - the real one and the one the clan inhabits. I tried to break completely free, once, but life failed me, my health ultimately making all my decisions for me. And since then? Well. One foot entrenched. 

But not Kate. She's always lived life on her terms and I know very little about who she is and what formed her way of thinking. She was a feminist. A health nut. A fitness guru. And up on current events. Currently, she is in charge of voter registration for her community in Florida!

These days? I see her once a year, when she makes her yearly trek to Mayo Clinic for her annual physical. The visit is always a shared one - my mother and the ex, included, and terribly brief. So there has never really been an opportunity to find out who this lady is and what makes her tick. 

If it were not for Covid, I would be on a plane to Florida now, spending a good three days peppering her with questions about her life. I think she would be receptive to the idea, though she's not been much of an open book. 

She fascinates me, as all women of a certain bearing and a sense of style do. And I would hate to think that she might shuffle off this mortal coil without sharing at least a glimpse as to the source of her radiance. 

And, of course... due to the absence of information, one fills in the story where needed, assessing qualities and attributes not necessarily part of the truth. She's human. So, I wonder... where does the reality of her begin and fairy tale I've created about her end?  

--- ---

And that's it for this set of quizzes. I believe the only one of my interviews that has a chance of happening is the one with my Aunt Kate. 

Your turn. Leave your answers in the comments section or post them on your blog and leave a link here. 

Thank you for reading... and participating!

She's A Lady - Tom Jones

Spy In The House Of Love - Was (Not Was)