Fun
Boystown Oscar Watch Thread
The big Oscar night party is at Sidetrack here on Boystown. If you are watching the show, chime in with your thoughts.
Word to the wise: If you take away Oprah’s bacon fudge, she will cut you.
Head over to IOwntheWorld.com for more!
There are times when I talk about Oprah and the things she does here in Chicago that people don’t know whether or not to believe the Charybdis of Lake Michigan was capable of doing whatever it is we’re talking about that day.
Sometimes, it’s clear (to me at least) that I’m joking, like when my boyfriend Justin and I were at the Shedd Aquarium a few weeks ago and I took him over to the Beluga whale tanks and told him they were newly renovated (which they indeed were), “because Oprah is moving to California and that frees up her old tanks for smaller creatures to move into”. Justin is 25, and is very nice, but gullible at times (he grew up on a farm in Arkansas), and he actually wondered if Oprah did, indeed, live at the Shedd Aquarium for a while, possibly only when she was sick, so that vets could better take care of her.
Later that day, when Justin and I were looking at the sea dragon exhibit, I told him how Oprah admitted to eating 30 pounds of macaroni and cheese the night “Beloved” tanked at the box office. She was so upset, she just kept demanding her personal chef make her Kraft macaroni and cheese, endlessly, until she felt better. 30 POUNDS LATER.
Justin didn’t believe that really happened, but it did. Entertainment Weekly covered it, which is about as accurate and respectable as the New York Times these days. And EW.com is a huge fan of Oprah’s, so if even they admit this happened, then it really and honestly did happen.
“But, it’s just not possible for one woman to eat 30 pounds of anything at a time. That can’t be true,” Justin insisted, trying to picture Oprah disappearing that much pasta and powdered orange cheese sauce into her epic and legendary gullet.
If you spend any amount of time in Chicago, you will hear all sorts of stories like this, with Oprah making a pig of herself on the rare occasions she attends public events. This is the reason, in fact, that she rarely attends events. She can’t trust herself with the snack table, so she just RSVPs in the negative.
Which, of course, is a net positive for anyone else hungry that night.
IOwntheWorld.com has a hilarious take on Oprah up today, directly aimed at the “friendship” she and Michelle Antoinette Obama share. Remember, it was this dynamic duo that flew to Copenhagen, Denmark in 2009 at massive taxpayer expense (on an Air Force jumbo jet assisted by staff leftover from the defunct Aurora, Ohio Sea World) to secure the 2016 Olympics for Chicago…a trip that resulted in Chicago coming in fourth place because the International Olympic Committee members were treated so poorly by Oprah and Michelle Antoinette at a reception that they took those hurt feelings out on Chicago’s bid.
It was Oprah who promised millions of suburban housewives watching her show that Obama was “the One” who would be “the great Lightbringer” to solve all our problems and usher in “The Golden Age of Hope and Change”. Though, to be fair to Oprah, those same housewives also believed Dr. Phil, Nate Berkus, and Rachel Ray were good for anything, too, so they really should have known better with Obama.
Check out the IOwntheWorld.com Oprah/Michelle Antoinette comic. It’s great fun.
Sunday Open Thread: January 23rd, 2011
What’s on your minds this Sunday?
What are people in your part of the country talking about?
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Just for fun, here’s a very talented young woman named Traci Hines, singing spot-on renditions of all the Disney Princesses’ most famous songs, starting with the absolute most beautiful song Disney’s ever made, “Part of Your World”.
It doesn’t appear this woman is employed by Disney in any capacity.
She doesn’t make costumes for a living, or work in a year-round Halloween store, either.
She just dresses up as these characters, then sings their songs in her living room, broadcasting on YouTube, for people she’ll never meet.
Can’t you just imagine her strolling through the halls of her apartment building, or around the cul-de-sac in her neighborhood, smiling and waving, pausing for photos with passersby, as she heads out to get the mail or find small animals to befriend?
I wish she lived in Boystown, because I’d love to have her as a friend, too. She is the Holy Grail of a gay man’s best, straight, female friend.
Just imagine what she could do at Sidetrack on Showtunes Mondays.
Everywhere Traci Hines goes, every day of her life, she leaves a trail of sparkle and pixie dust behind.
HOW AWESOME IS THAT?
Do you do anything incredibly eccentric/cool that’s completely overboard like this?
Don’t ever put your light under a bushel.
Let your princess flag FLY…from the top of your living room couch cushion castle, if need be.
FLASHBACK: Do you remember the “Halloween display” Leftists put up in 2008 showing Governor Sarah Palin hanged from a rooftop?
Drudge Report yanked this story from the Memory Hole…where Leftists in California put up a “Halloween display” depicting Governor Sarah Palin hanging from a roof, execution style, her hands tied behind her back.
I’ve told you repeatedly about a bar here in Boystown named Sidetrack (which actually happens to be one of the best gay bars in the world). Its owners are great guys 95% of the time, but have a weird and twisted obsession against Governor Palin that also manifests in depictions of brutality towards her. Currently, on “Comedy Night Thursday”, Sidetrack shows a video montage of dozens of people being hacked to pieces in horror movies…blood, guts, and brains splashed everywhere. At the end, they edit in video of Governor Palin with the tagline to the effect of, “Don’t you wish this would happen to Palin?”.
It’s sick.
It’s misogynistic.
It’s completely unlike everything else Sidetrack does.
I’ve complained about it. My friends have complained about it. But, Sidetrack General Manager Chuck Hyde insists “it’s funny” so he continues to run the video.
Chuck Hyde is not a bad man…but like many gay men he’s blinded by an irrational hatred whenever anything political comes up. Somewhere, somehow, a lot of gay men are taught to bring the hate whenever a political discussion arises…especially if there’s a female Republican in a 50 mile radius.
My ex, Jacobi, is a bartender here in Boystown and on Saturday he went ballistic because of the assassination attempt on Congresswoman Giffords. The reason Jacobi and I split was because of his hatred of Governor Palin, specifically, and how unhinged he would get at the merest mention of her. On Saturday, Jacobi kept saying “This is all Palin’s fault!”. A customer asked him what he was talking about, and Jacobi launched into a diatribe about how Governor Palin and the Tea Party have drawn too much attention to politics in the last two year, so people are angry, and that they all need to shut up so that people can calm down and then Jared Lee Loughner wouldn’t have gone on his murder spree. ”Republicans should shut up and not go on TV and then things like this wouldn’t happen”, Jacobi insisted, not making a damn bit of sense. Which, admittedly, is standard operating procedure for him a lot of the time. He ended the round of insanity I witnessed by saying something about him wishing what happened to Congresswoman Giffords would happen to Governor Palin, and soon got so revved up he had to take a break in the back.
He was unhinged.
He’s a proud and confirmed “Liberal”, as he calls it.
And he casually wishes bodily harm on a conservative woman he has never met and knows very little about, but hates because she is (a) conservative and (b) a woman.
This is standard operating procedure with gay guys in Boystown, Chicago…and I bet it’s similar in the gay community wherever you are, too.
How do you go about using coupons to save money at the grocery store?
Yesterday, we ran a story about the new “Extreme Couponing” show TLC is going to air, featuring shoppers who take full advantage of manufacturer’s and store coupons.
Some of you have been using coupons for years, to great effect, to save money for your families.
Other readers might find themselves in situations where money is tight and they need to save wherever they can to stretch what they make in this Obamaconomy (while they are still waiting for all of their promised Hope and Change to arrive…on the back of a unicorn, ‘natch).
If you are a great shopper, and an effective coupon-clipper, please take a few minutes today and chime in below with HOW exactly you go about your couponing and HOW you plan your shopping. You might think this is obvious stuff, but we received a great number of emails from people yesterday excited TLC is producing the “Extreme Couponing” show because they just don’t know how to coupon-clip.
They don’t know where the coupons come from, how to use them, what coupons to look for, etc. Practical questions like “Who do I give the coupons to?” and “How do I know if they are any good?” were asked repeatedly.
Please chime in if you have a good handle on all of this. Either add your remarks to comments or write us with a “Dear HillBuzz,” letter via email on how you save money for your family at the grocery store.
This is one small way you might be able to help a family out there that you may never meet, just by sharing your practical experience and knowledge in this area. There is an ENORMOUS interest in saving money and stretching a dollar as far as possible in this Obamaconomy, so if you can help a fellow mom, dad, grandma, or whomever out, please do so by breaking down coupon-clipping so just about anyone can understand how to do it.
Links to sites with great household money-saving tips would also be appreciated by many, we’re sure.
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UPDATE: Here’s a great set of tips sent in by reader JenforPresident:
1. Purchase the Sunday paper to get coupon inserts. You can find “coupon insert schedules” if you Google search that will tell you what inserts to expect when. There are usually NO inserts on or around major holidays. Shop around for the cheapest local paper that will offer all of the inserts. You can usually save some money by subscribing to the paper rather than buying it at the store. Also ask friends and family who get the paper to save the inserts for you if they don’t use them.
2. Clip the coupons for brands and items that you know you will use. It’s good to be flexible regarding brands in order to get the best deal. Avoid gimmicky items that you really don’t need or won’t use (remember, coupon inserts are primarily there to advertise NOT to help you). Optional: take a moment to laugh at the mumus, weird support undergarments, tacky figurines, etc. and wonder if there is a serious market for them beyond gag gifts.
3. Browse online coupons and print any that interest you. Get them from Coupons.com, SmartSource.com and RedPlum.com. Most coupons can be printed twice.
4. Get the weekly ad for any grocery stores that you like to shop at. Many grocery stores offer double or even triple coupons up to a certain value. Take note of the sale prices and determine if you have coupons to match up with the sales. At most stores if an item is Buy One Get One Free, you can use TWO manufacturer’s coupons (one for each item) to get the products for super cheap. Some stores have great coupons in their ads that can be combined with manufacturer’s coupons for the same item.
5. Sign up for free membership cards at any grocery stores you frequent. This will get you extra discounts and sometimes you can get rewards to use toward gas or future purchases. It may also help to follow them on Facebook or Twitter to get special coupons or deals throughout the week.
6. Don’t use your coupons as soon as you get them! Stores plan their sales around coupon inserts. They will often match their sale products to the coupons in that week’s paper, but that doesn’t mean you’re getting the best deal–they’re just trying to draw you in. They don’t expect people to hang on to coupons for a while, and the items may be more deeply discounted later on.
7. If there is a specific product on sale or that you just plain need but don’t have a coupon for, check the brand’s website! Many brands offer printable coupons on their websites. Sometimes you have to register, but it’s worth it.
8. Create a coupon binder. Don’t worry about looking like a geek–people will actually compliment you for being so organized. Get a three-ring binder and fill it with plastic baseball card sheets. Buy divider tabs so you can sort your coupons according to the categories that work for you. Get a small pouch that fastens into the binder to store a pen or pencil, highlighter, small pair of scissors and a calculator.
9. Menu plan and make a shopping list. This will keep you from impulse buying. If you jump at every “great deal” whether you need it or not, you’ll end up wasting money. Having a clear idea of what you need will keep you on track.
10. Stock up! If you can get a GREAT deal on a particular product that you know you will use, buy as much as you can. After a while you will get a feel for the sale cycles, and you will know how much of an item to buy to last until the next sale. I usually stock up on staples like peanut butter, applesauce, cereal, bread (freezes great!), and toiletries like soap and toothpaste.
What are your own personal takes on this…do you have any more steps to add to Jen’s list?
“Extreme Couponing” to become new series on TLC
This is fun.
Once, I went shopping with my friend Abbey in Cleveland. She got a whole cart full — and I mean piled above the rim of the cart, with stuff on the bottom shelf too — of groceries and used a mountain of coupons.
I don’t know how she did it, but the store actually OWED HER $2.00.
It was the most amazing thing I have ever seen in my life.
I seriously wanted her to frame the receipt and hang it on her wall, I was so impressed.
Evidently, I am not the only one, because TLC is taking “Extreme Couponing” to series…a show that will illustrate how much shoppers can get with coupons if they know how to work the system.
Are you good with coupons?
Do you have any shopping tips you could share?
A whole country struggling to make ends meet in the Obamaconomy would love to hear them.
Have a safe and fun night out – see you on the other side of 2011
Before I head to New Year’s Eve adventures here in Boystown I wanted to thank everyone for being a part of things here on HB in 2010. You were collectively the best part of a brutal year.
Tonight, if you are headed out on adventures of your own, please drink responsibly and plan ahead. If you know you can’t say no when the free shots and champagne start flowing, give a bar manager your car keys so there is no chance in Hell you can drive home.
There is no shame in cabbing it and admitting you lost control and are now too buzzed to drive.
I don’t want to turn this into an after school special, but I have lost friends to drunk drivers, so on a night like tonight, just please remember how your actions can impact yourselves and others.
Have fun. Be excellent to all you meet tonight. Live to see tomorrow. You are loved and needed in the fight come 2011.
Use the best trick in my book if you know you will be pressured to drink a lot tonight: order a Guinness in a bottle. It’s opaque. No one can see how much is in it. If you want to have just one, you can totally pretend it is still full all night and no one can tell. It is a great way to stay sober without seeming like a wet blanket.
Look out for those around you tonight. If you see someone driving erratically, call 911 and report it. Better safe than sorry…you might save a life.
Let’s all do our part to start the New Year right, and alive, with all our limbs, and nothing we regret tomorrow.
I get to spend the New Year with an awesome guy I love, some really great friends, and all the many characters in Boystown that make me smile…or cringe, as the case may be. The decorations are all gold and gaudy. There’s glitter everywhere. I’ve seen Chers representing almost every Cher look and decade, save “serious actress” and “infomercial sellout”.
Wouldn’t have it any other way.
See you in 2011!
