When Divas Attack!

Wow!  the bitch is back, and he’s being vile, bitter, and slightly on point.

Queerty, reports some pretty vicious quotes from an aging Sir Elton John about an also aging Madonna.  It’s been obvious for some time that Elton and Madge don’t like each other.  But the vitriol in this latest dust up is quite stirring.  The following are not for delicate eyes.

Quote #1

“If Madonna had any common sense she would have made a record like Ray Of Lightand stayed away from the dance stuff and just been a great pop singer and make great pop records, which she does brilliantly. But no, she had to go and prove… she looks like a fucking fairground stripper.”

Quote #2

“Why is she such a nightmare? Sorry, her career is over. Her tour has been a disaster and it couldn’t happen to a bigger cunt.”

Morning Shot: April 30, 2012

• Birthday Shots
  This weekend saw a plethora of birthdays celebrated. On Saturday, we had energy expert Tom Weirech, Nellie’s owner Douglas Warren Schantz, uber sexy Bryce Romero, and cutie but straight Ben Garmisa. Sunday gave us Cody Telep, Jimmy Asci, Claudia Hrvatin, Steve Kessler, Junior Pardo, and local musician and all around great guy Tom Goss. Shots today go out to Daniel Vickers and former mayoral candidate and realtor Dave Kranich. Laissez les bons temps rouler!

• Every Town Needs a Marion Barry
  It’s been a few days since we last utter the words Marion Barry. So let’s start the week off with a hoot. At a DC Council hearing last week, the Council-bully “deflected pointed criticism of his recent controversial remarks about Asians and repeatedly blamed the media for taking the comments out of context.” WaPo has more. Barry never ceases to amuse.

• Oakland A’s Pitcher Comes Out Against Homophobic Kiss Cam
  The Advocate reports that Oakland A’s pitcher Brandon McCarthy blasted the practice of often focusing baseball stadiums’ “kiss cams” on two men to spark laughter as silly and homophobic. McCarthy tells the San Francisco Chronicle. “There’s that stupid, little comedic value of it if you don’t really think about what it implies,” he said Tuesday. “It kind of got old on that level. Then I actually started thinking about why we were supposed to be laughing, and it bugged me.” Bravo, Mr. McCarthy!

• More Taxes for Texas… and Amazon.com
  According to multiple reports, residents within Texas will be forced to pay 6.25-percent sales tax on all Amazon purchases starting on July 1, 2012. An agreement was struck between Amazon management and Texas lawmakers after two years of discussion and legal debate on the matter. Texas officials agreed to stop attempting to collect uncollected sales taxes between 2005 to 2009 that reached close to 269 million, and Amazon has agreed to start collecting sales tax in addition to bringing more jobs into the state. Specifically, Amazon will create a minimum of 2,500 jobs with fulfillment centers in addition to investing $200 million in capital investments over a period of four years.

Morning Shot: April 27, 2012

• Birthday Shots
  A couple of birthday shots to pour this morning. Brendan Tupa, affectionly known as “Chavez” is celebrating a birthday today, as is Tom Nagelberg. Happy birthday gentlemen!

• The Messiah?
  The Redskins have a new savior… again! Heisman winner and Baylor alum Robert Griffin III was the overall #2 draft pick by the Washington Redskins yesterday in the NFL Draft. Two things you need to know: (1) the Redskins will still suck; and (2) Dan Snyder is still a prick.

• DC Transportation Just More Expensive
  Up up and away! Last week we saw an increase in cab fares from $1.50 to $2.16 per mile. Now metro is set to raise there prices too. On July 1, Metro fares will go up around five percent. Base peak fares on trains will increase from $1.95 to $2.10, and the maximum fare will jump from $5 to $5.75. Off-peak fares will go from $1.60 to $1.70 and top out at $3.50. The peak-of-the-peak surcharge will be eliminated.

• Fox Renews Fringe for 13 Episodes
  This makes me VERY happy! The producers tweeted last night that the perpetual bubble-show was given the green light for a half-season order next fall which will presumably be designed to wrap up the ongoing, alternate-universe exploits of Olivia, Peter and Walter. Great news!

• NoMa Summer Screen Lineup
  Danger, Will Robinson! Danger! The NoMa Business Improvement District’s just announced its slate of movies for its annual summer screening. This year’s theme is end-of-the-world movies. The Day After Tomorrow (May 23), Dr. Strangelove (May 30), Men in Black (June 6), Independence Day (July 4), Red Dawn (July 11) just to name a few.

Morning Shot: April 26, 2012

• Birthday Shots
  Birthday shots this morning go out to my old elementary school nemesis, and later friend, Laura Coe. I always came in second to her in every academic event at Blackshear Elementary. No, I’m not still bitter. Pour a shot for my Marine buddy, Josh Gimble, who continues to serve his country by attending the East Texas Police Academy at Kilgore College. Finally, a shot for my good friend Ryan Donovan, who this morning became an uncle for the fourth or fifth time. I lost count. That Donovan clan keeps popping them out. Pretty soon, they will have a batting line up that rivals the St. Louis Cardinals.

• Another Dumb Idea from the Salahi’s
  Tareq Salahi, a vintner and one half of the Virginia couple who achieved notoriety for crashing a White House party and later saw his wife run off with a Neil Schonn, the guitarist for the Journey, now says he will run as a Republican for governor of Virginia. Stupid is as stupid does.

• Has ACT UP Grown Up?
  Act Up celebrates its 25th year of AIDS activism by – how else? – a march down to Wall Street. The Advocate takes a look back at some of the group’s most visual moments.

• Civil Union Bill Approved in Colorado Senate
  In a bipartisan vote, the Colorado state senate approved a civil unions bill on its second reading Wednesday. A third and final senate vote will take place before the legislation heads to the Republican-majority House. Per The Advocate, “Colorado voters approved a ballot measure to constitutionally ban marriage equality in 2006 but a poll from earlier this month shows that 62% of Coloradans—and 55% of Republicans—agree that same-sex couples should have civil unions or marriage rights.”

Morning Shot: April 24, 2012

• Birthday Shots
  A ton of shots to pour today starting with Christian O’Brien, artist Dylan Davis, Marine buddy Jared Pearce, ZX alum Josh Calaguiro, Matt Hammond, and Rob DiBiano. Hope you have great birthday, guys! Whew, I’m tired. I need a drink.

• Biting the Hand that Feeds
  When an artist gives the green light to the people at Glee to tackle one of their songs, they general know it’s going to be a “Glee production number.” Guess the folks in Goyte thought otherwise. Now that Glee has sent their hit song back up the charts, they offer a backhanded compliment. Goyte is quoted in the Herald Sun saying, “They did such a faithful arrangement of the instruments but the vocals were that pop ‘Glee’ style…” Um, what did they expect?

• By the Numbers!
  DCStreetBlog.org brings up a simple question that people often think about, but never mention out loud in conversation. Is Capital Bikeshare Profitable? Angie Schmitt poses the question while discussing other cities with similar systems. The crux of her article is simple, yet brilliant. “Since its start in September 2010, Capital Bikeshare has taken in $2.47 million and spent $2.54 million on operating expenses. And that doesn’t even include the expensive things, like docking stations—which can cost well over $50,000 each—plus the bikes themselves. Those capital costs, at $7 million thus far, are covered by federal funds.” Things that make you go, hmmmmmm.

• Kangaroo Boxing Club
  It’s coming! The new restaurant from my good friend Peyton Sherwood. The name, Kangaroo Boxing Club, comes from “long-running, drink-infused, late-night bar discussions on the fact that, without technology, man is physically unable to compete with the majority of the animal kingdom. How would you win a match with a kangaroo?” according to Peyton. Check out their Facebook page and watch their progress. Oh, and by the by, The PORC Truck will be open outside KBC next Saturday! Stop by and try their delicious offerings.

• Overheard
  Your legs are like peanut butter. Easy to spread!

• It’s Official, Secrest In!
  At least for the next two yeas, Ryan Seacrest will continue to be everywhere you turn. He just inked a new deal with American Idol. Of course, the details are hush hush.

Morning Shot: April 23, 2012

• Birthday Shots
  Today’s birthday shot is a double pour. That’s because today is the birthday of two awesome bartenders who not only share the same day, but also share the same bar — Joey Phalin and Jayson Smith. So if you’re at JRs this week, tell them happy birthday!I would be remiss if I didn’t give a birthday shot to one of my favorite Aggies, Dennis Black. Yes, I know a few Aggies. I’m only friends with the smart ones, so that narrows the field down considerably. I hope Scott has something special planned for you.

• Bye Bye XP
  You’ve probably heard by now, but Microsoft has kicked off what it calls a “two-year countdown” to the death of Windows XP and the Office 2003 productivity suite. Neither will be supported as of April 8, 2014. According to ComputerWorld.com, “XP will have become Microsoft’s longest-lived operating system. The company will have maintained the software for 12 years and five months — or about two and a half years longer than it usually supports an OS.”

• Equality Democrats?
  We’ll see! According to The Advocate, there’s a recent push to have the Democratic platform officially embrace marriage equality. If this happens, I will say bravo. It’s something I would love to see done in my Republican Party, but these things take time.

• Song of the Day: “This Masquerade,” by George Benson
  “This Masquerade” is a song written by Leon Russell. It originally appeared on his 1972 Carney album. Over the years, it has been recorded by many other artists, including Helen Reddy (1972), The Carpenters (1973), and Shirley Bassey (1982). But it was jazz guitarist/vocalist George Benson who had the biggest hit with the song, making it a Top Ten hit on his 1976 signature album Breezin’. Benson went on to win the Grammy Award for Record of the Year with his version of the song.

Morning Shot: April 20, 2012

• Birthday Shots
  Earlier this week I completely forgot the birthday of my favorite Amazonian! She’s tall, blonde, and a complete ‘Around the Way Girl’ who was even able to tame my good friend, Schmoopie, I mean Erik the Viking. Happy belated birthday, Kerrie!!! This week was also the birthday of an awesome friend and DJ, Steve Henderson. Steve has a double life that he splits between DC and Chicago, so I rarely see him. He’s currently helping to put the final touches on what will be an outstanding Capital Pride live stage.

• More Ben’s Please!
  Washington City Paper yesterday reported that Ben’s Chili Bowl was officially opening up a new store along the H Street corridor soon. I have mixed feelings about this. I used to love to go to Ben’s! But lately, with the insane lines and subpar food, it hasn’t been my destination of choice. Let’s hope it improves. According to the story, “there will be a bar upstairs and a half-smoke joint on the main floor.”

• To Branch Out or Not to Branch Out
  Rarely does a website get a story so utterly and completely right with its first sentence. That’s just what happened with DigitalTrends.com and their story about Facebook’s new app, BranchOut. They pose a simple, yet poignant question: “Does anyone else think using your Facebook profile to get a job sounds hazardous to your career’s health?”

• It’s #80sFriday so, I Lost on Jeopardy, Baby!
  The HuffingtonPost.com alerts us to the fact that perennial game show Jeopardy is back in town on Saturday, this time to host the the third-ever Jeopardy! Power Players Week episodes which are taping Saturday at D.A.R. Constitution Hall. Some of the celeb contestants include Anderson Cooper, Chris Matthews, Robert Gibbs, Chris Wallace, Chuck Todd, Dana Perino, David Faber, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Katty Kay, Lewis Black, Lizzie O’Leary, Thomas Friedman, Clarence Page, and Kelly O’Donnell.

• Song of the Day: Keep On Keepin’ On, by MC Lyte (feat. Xscape)
  This 1996 hit was on the soundtrack for Sunset Park. In spite of the fact that the film went no where, the song was the only Top Ten hit for MC Lyte in her own right. Two years prior, she had great success being featured on Janet Jackson’s You Want This single. Not the best song to listen to at work without ear buds, MC Lyte, along with the likes of Queen Latifah and Salt ‘n Pepa, were true pioneers when it came to female rappers.

Morning Shot: April 18, 2012

• Birthday Shots
  Today’s birthday shot goes out to my good friend Andy Walker, who used to be a neighbor of mine back on Freedom Way (Penn Ave.). He had to go and ruin a good thing by moving. And by good thing, I mean cigar night every other week. A shot also goes out to a person I refer to as The Sheriff. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise, but Casey Pick runs the LCR National office. Nothing goes on there or within any of our chapters without her knowing about it. She’s a great person and a great friend. Happy birthday, Casey and Andy!

• A Conversation with Police Chief Cathy Lanier
  Tonight, the DC Chapter of Log Cabin Republicans will host Police Chief Cathy Lanier to have a conversation to address the recent string of violent attacks towards members of the LGBT community. We expect Chief Lanier to discuss the recent arrest in the IHOP incident, as well as other hate-crime related activities around the District. After Chief Lanier’s presentation, she will entertain a Q&A with members and guests.

• 311? There’s an App for That!
  Borderstan reports that last week, Mayor Vincent Gray’s office announced the launch of DC’s new smart-phone application, DC311 See Click Fix. The app allows citizens to use their iPhone or Android mobile device to make service requests, including complaints about trash, potholes, graffiti and illegal dumping.

• Song of the Day: “If You Could Read My Mind,” by Stars on 54
  This song is was recorded for the soundtrack of the 1998 film, 54, which starred Mike Myers as Steve Rubell, owner of the Studio 54 nightclub. It was a cover dance version of the 1970 Gordon Lightfoot song. This version always gets the blood pumping and flowing through the body.

Morning Shot: April 17, 2012

• Birthday Shots
  Today’s birthday shot goes out to my very good friend and inspiration Dr. Will Braun, also known as Wilhelmina Van Trappe of the Van Trappes. I’ve known Will since his days of tending bar at the old Hamburger Mary’s on 14th Street in DC (now Churchkey). It addition to being a good bartender, Will turned out to be a great friend as well. He broke my heart and went and moved to NYC. But thanks to the Interwebs we still keep in touch.

• Can I Have Some Chile with that Quake?
  A strong earthquake with a magnitude of 6.5 hit central Chile over night. The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake’s epicenter was 30 miles northeast of Valparaiso, Chile, and it had a depth of 15.5 miles. It struck at just before midnight local time (3:50 Tuesday GMT). Chile’s oceanography service discounted the possibility of a tsunami.

• White House Fall Out continues
  Tico Almeida, an activist with Freedom To Work, has provided details of the meeting that lead to the White House’s decision to withhold an executive order banning federal contractors from discriminating against the LGBT. And it ain’t pretty! Instinct Magazine has the details.

• DC Budget Autonomy
  …from DCist (and Roll Call), “A senior Senate Democratic aide confirmed to Roll Call that Sen. Joe Lieberman, the Connecticut Independent and chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, which has jurisdiction over D.C. affairs, will sponsor a bill severing the link between the city’s budget and the Congressional appropriations process…The text of Lieberman’s budget autonomy bill has not yet been released, but proponents of expanded autonomy for District residents are hopeful that it would not contain riders designed to make a D.C. rights bill more palatable to conservative lawmakers.”

Morning Shot: April 16, 2012

• Birthday Shots
  Today’s birthday shots go out to two good friend, Steven Walker and Marc Morgan. I met Steven too many years ago at JRs on 17th Street, and we’ve somehow managed not to hate each other over the years. HA! Marc I met a couple of years ago when he ran for DC Council. While he did not claim victory in that endeavor, he has gone on to become President of the LeDroit Park Civic Association, and was recently elected to the national board of Log Cabin Republicans. Tonight, Marc is having a “Spring Fling” at Bar 9, with donations being collected for the Wanda Alston House from 6pm-9pm.

• Emancipation Day
  DC will celebrate the 150th anniversary of Emancipation Day today. On this day in 1862, President Abraham Lincoln signed the Compensated Emancipation Act for the release of “certain persons held to service or labor in the District of Columbia.” The Act freed about 3,100 enslaved persons in the District of Columbia nine months before President Lincoln issued his famous Emancipation Proclamation.

• Best Buy Closings in the Area
  Over the weekend, the Wall Street Journal published a list of the 50 stores that Best Buy intends to close in the next 30 days. Two of those stores are in the greater Baltimore-Washington area. One is at the Inner Harbor of Baltimore, and the other is at Landmark Mall in Alexandria, VA. There is one other in Hunt Valley, MD, and two others in the Commonwealth – in Fredericksburg and Richmond.

• Herndon Graddick is GLAAD
  Multiple media reports have announced that GLAAD, the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, has selected its current Vice President of Programs and Communications to lead the organization.  Graddick is responsible for many recent achievements, including “Stand Up For Ellen,” GLAAD’s response to the One Million Moms boycott of J.C. Penney, and GLAAD’s recent Commentator Accountability Project (CAP) which tracks comments from more than three dozen anti-gay pundits like Maggie Gallagher and Tony Perkins.