Me and the big V

Every once in a while I find myself caught in a discussion about my lack of sexual experience, and last Friday at the office was one such day. Granted, the discussion veered that way because I wouldn't drop another discussion about somebody else's reproductive organs, so I guess I had it coming.

The discussion last Friday was a little different, though, because my officemates seem intent on helping me lose my V card than even some of my closest friends. I don't know if they're serious, but they seem to have arranged something for me later on this week. I hope they're just kidding.

I know I always say that people -- girls especially -- shouldn't care about what other people will think if they find out they're still virgins, and I still stand by that. I don't care what other people think about the fact that I'm in my 20s and still a virgin.

What I am worried about is that I feel like it underscores how hard it is for me to trust other people. I believe that you only do it with someone you love and trust, and since I like to think I'm surrounded by trustworthy people, I must be the one failing to communicate.

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The fact that you can now get gay married in Iceland, along with the uniformly favorable remarks about the country in Gawker's notoriously snarky comment section, make me want to move there.

*insert title here*

As most everyone on my flist already knows, Alexander McQueen died last Thursday. Gawker has an obituary complete with pictures up, while Jezebel screencapped McQueen's final tweets. On the other hand, ONTD reports that the Westboro Baptist Church plans to picket his funeral.

I've never really seen an Alexander McQueen creation up close, but I have been an admirer of what I've seen of his work on magazines and various other media. The fact that he was out and proud and married his partner just makes this loss twofold.

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Molly Shannon to play Sue Sylvester's nemesis on "Glee".

I LOVED Molly Shannon in Superstar!

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Brazilian men in their underwear. Must I really say more?

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Finally, NY lesbians marries male stranger in gay marriage protest.

Koalas and walruses and Bear Grylls, oh my!

Getting back to work after the holidays has been a little rough for me. Nothing to do with my colleagues, of course, mostly just me having a hard time shaking off the holiday mindset. I'll hopefully be back in working mode by next week.

Work has certainly not been stuck in the holiday spirit. Just this past week, we had two celebrity interviews, with loads more coming next week. I really should start shaping up before I get myself fired or something.

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It's been a mixed bag with regards to the gay marriage question all around the world. While Martha Stewart and Portugal are okay with the gay, New Jersey voted 20-14 against gay marriage.

Oh well. I guess it's better than nothing?

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Scientists say dolphins should be treated as "non-human persons"

I am reminded of Douglas Adams and "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy".

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Videos under the cut for you guys, ranging from koala sex shows to walrus self-pleasuring to Bear Grylls giving himself an enema. Yes, you are reading everything correctly.

Two female koalas put on a sex show wile Andy Roddick is being interviewed.

Presented with no comment.

I should really start watching this show. I swear.

Holiday homophobia, pregnant weightlifters, and pretty books

The holidays are just around the corner, and while that may mean a less stressful workload for most people, I'm not sure I can say the same for those of us in the office. Things haven't slowed down at all with regards to work, and we're not even sure if we're going to get Christmas off. I'm hoping for the best, though.

It's that same work week crunch that's prevented me from putting anything up on the blog until today. Throughout the past two weeks I've amassed quite a number of open tabs, some of which I've already had to discard because the news is stale already.

There is also the fact that nothing really exciting is going on with my life. I was supposed to go to a party yesterday, but my ride had to leave before I could leave the office. So there's that.

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As most of you guys know, reviewing books is part of what I do at my job. When I first started doing this, I was given instructions not to be so hard on local authors, especially when they were just starting out. Through the years, I've been given more freedom to write what I really think of a book, and I'm immensely thankful for that.

Being free to sat what I want does have its drawbacks: Saying a book sucks balls is bound to get a reaction from the author. Thankfully, I've only had one author go after me because of a bad review, and her points weren't very good ones at all.

Besides, the irate author I got is nothing compared to Candace Sams, who I believed is often referred to as "Crazy Lady". Her book, Electra Galaxy's Interstellar Fellar is given a one star review on Amazon and she goes nuts. I would recommend following Making Light's suggestion and "Remember to click on all the links that say Customers don’t think this post adds to the discussion. Show post anyway.'"

Trust me, it's an absolute trainwreck. The only thing I have to complain about is that Sams flounces away after page 19.

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"White Horse, Gold Dragon", written by "Lan Pam Thi"

The author name is in quotes because it turns out that "Lan Pam Thi" doesn't actually exist, or at the very least, didn't even write the book. This wouldn't normally be a problem, except the book won a prestigious literary prize in the Czech Republic.

Read the full story over here.

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Homophobe and notorius money-grubber Oral Roberts is finally dead.

He has this to say about gay sex: "The waste matter comes out of the body as poison, and he penetrates that part of the body in homosexuality. It's not to be put in the mouth of the man, or the mouth of the man or the woman…. It is the male organ, penetrating the vagina of the woman, the male and the female."

Here's a great response from one of the commenters on Gawker: "Isn't it fascinating how these folks like Mr. Anal Bob really seem to have the most vivid imaginations as far as what the sex lives of so called sinners are like?

A gay guy is like, 'yeah, I thought this guy was attractive, we went back to his place and had sex.'

Oral Dick here thinks like 'he drooled long spindles of saliva across his chest as he took the hard veined, throbbing penis across his moist lips, into the cavernous wet mouth, suckling the tip with his tongue, aching, throbbing, praying to the heathen gods for the seeds of sin to splatter his wide eyed eyes with hell fire. This is wrong. Insert penis in vagina. Ejaculate. Rinse. Repeat. Amen.' Ugh. Rest in a world without heaven or hell because neither exists, dumb fuck. Peace out!"

Also, what kind of evil parents would name their kid "Oral"? I mean, REALLY.

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In other gay news, you can now get gay married in the District of Carolina. New York may have been a disappointment, but at least there is still some progress being made.

Which is more than I can say for the Comelec, which rejected Ang Ladlad's appeal to be allowed to run for party list. Here's hoping that the Supreme Court comes up with a much more favorable ruling.

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A weightlifter in Chile gives birth during practice while a dad in England delivers a baby using Google.

Sometimes I love the world.

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PRETTY.

I am so happy that I haven't completed my collection of Nabokov novels, because that means I can still get to buy these beautiful editions. You can find the rest of the covers here.

Where my gay boys at?

As I never forget to remind everybody who knows me every single day of the week, I am a gay virgin who can't drive. (Bonus points for those who can catch the movie reference in that!) There isn't really anything wrong with that -- I think I lead a very good life even without a little man on man action on the side.

And I certainly don't think the people who do engage in the buttsex should stop doing it just because I'm not partaking in any of it. Have all the buttsex that you want, I heartily approve of it. If all of this happens within the context of a loving, monogamous relationship, then definitely all the best to you.

I just find it frustrating that in light of recent douchey events, combined with the fact that every "straight tripper" and "bisexual" within 10 feet of me is engaging in the nasty, that there isn't much of a ruckus about the recent Comelec ruling. If you're enjoying some gay loving, I think it's only fair that you be expected to take part in some fighting for that gay loving you're enjoying.

Maybe I should have expected it -- they can't even call themselves gay when they are so obviously enjoying some hot and nasty gay sex. I just thought that there would be at least some faux!outrage online, and not from the usual outlets. This should mean something to you, no matter how you label yourself. What is happening here is your fellow HUMAN BEINGS are being deprived rights that everyone else now enjoys. If it can be done to them, if YOU let it be done to them, who's to stop them from doing the same to you? Even if you're totally "not gay" at all. As in not even one tiny bit.

Die in a fire, Comelec

Comelec rejects Ang Ladlad party list on grounds of immorality. This happened days ago, but I don't think there's a statute of limitations as to how long a blogger can heap abuse on a bunch of blowhards.

Because really, Comelec. REALLY.

"Older practicing homosexuals are a threat to the youth."

This is what we've come to now? Dredging up the gay = pedophile argument? Have you commissioners not been watching the tabloid news that you all seem to love to death? Most of the child molesters are straight male relatives. Fuck that, our favorite child-raping congressman is a flaming heterosexual. It is absolutely stupid to scream "pedophilia" when gays are involved and not do the same for the straights.

Goddamit, I'm too sleepy to discuss this more eloquently. Fuck you very much, Comelec.

Rise of the transgenders

I don't get to talk to a lot of foreigners with regards to the state of the LGBT community here in the Philippines, but from the few I've managed to discuss it with, it would seem that our country is quite the gay-friendly haven.

Looking at today's TV environment, it would really seem so. In fact, the primetime shows on the country's two biggest networks prominently feature transgenders in their cast, and nobody seems to be batting their eyelashes at any of the proceedings.

One could say that transgender have always figured prominently in the Philippine entertainment industry anyway -- Lino Brocka's "Ang Tatay kong Nanay" (My Father is my Mother) being one such example -- but for the most part they have played the parts of comedic relief, often the object of verbal and physical punchlines.

Rica of PBB Double Up and Justine of Survivor Philippines are far from being the object of comedic relief.

PBB's Rica

Rica has an impressive academic background, coming from one of the country's incredibly competitive science schools and a graduate from the Ateneo. She's well-liked in the house, and so far the only votes she's gotten are from two housemates who grew up in the provinces, which is to be expected.

Survivor's Justine

Justine is even more impressive. First to be voted off and sent to Survivor Philippines equivalent of "Exile Island", she has defeated all of the challengers she's been up against, and is now part of the top three and is actually rumored to win the whole thing.

That isn't to say that there isn't a lot of work still to be done. Even the Pinoy Big Brother website labels Rica as part of the non-existent "third sex", and we all know about the lady behind "Enchong Dee is a gay". But I hope that this current goodwill towards transgenders translates to better acceptance of the LGBT community among the public.

We're still pretty low key, after all. It's not like we're out there doing something as controversial as this.