Author: Jeff Tabaco

Like you, I thought my blog might be a Tucker Carlson-free zone, but alas, no longer. Last week I read a New York Magazine article about Rachel Maddow, a “feisty” lefty who the magazine says outshines Carlson on his show, The Situation. I tuned in last Friday, and unfortunately Maddow was not a guest that night, but still I watched for a little bit. One segment on Encore House, the gay and lesbian retirement home under development in Los Angeles, caught my interest.

However, the discussion was uninformed water-cooler talk; they didn’t even try to lay out the home’s justification before dismissing the very idea out of hand, at times being flippant and stereotypical. At one point Carlson says, “I’m not even sure what transgendered is.” Oh, please. I’m sure he does know, but his disingenuous quip conveniently distances himself from the topic. It’s like, “Transgender? That’s crazy talk!” Ugh. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. (Later he tries to step back from the edge, alluding to his journalism experience working in newsrooms with happily “integrated” gay people.)

Below is the exchange from the show, followed by an excerpt from an AP report about the retirement home.

Tonight is “Night Out with the Nationals,” sponsored by Team DC, a local GLBT sports organization. The Nationals take on the Colorado Rockies at 7:05 p.m. at RFK Stadium.

Thom and I are sitting this one out, but we definitely have been meaning to see the Nats play. Maybe when the weather eases up.

» Related: GayBaseballDays.com.

A while ago I mentioned a couple of free summer film series in D.C., and there is another one underway at the National Building Museum as part of its 25th anniversary. Dedicated to “the relationship between architecture and film,” the series is called Reel Architecture and runs Wednesday nights through Aug. 24:

Doors will open at 7:15 pm; films will begin at 8:15 pm. Live local bands will perform from 7:30 pm to 8:00 pm. Seating is first-come first-served, with only a small number of chairs available, so bring your blankets and pillows and spread out on the carpeted floor of the Great Hall! Outside food and non-alcoholic beverages are permitted. Concessions will be available for purchase.

Sounds like fun. The National Building Museum, appropriately enough, is a beautiful architectural venue in its own right and would be a great place to hang out and watch a movie. More details, including the schedule of bands and films, are available at their website.

Aside: Another free and more extensive film program worth noting is the one at the National Gallery of Art, which runs all year and shows mostly historical and documentary films.

Thom and I saw Charlie and the Chocolate Factory last night, which was pretty good. (The following talks about one plot point, which I suppose really isn’t a spoiler, especially if you haven’t been living in a cave like me and you actually know how the story goes.) I have to admit that I hadn’t ever read the book or seen the original movie. Over the years I’d gathered bits and pieces of the story through pop-cultural hearsay, and then only recently did I watch the beginning of the original movie on TV. It was all a little weird as I expected, but I never finished watching it mostly because — thanks to my paranoid imagination — I had assumed, with maybe the exception of Charlie, that all the children died in the end!

So imagine my surprise watching the movie yesterday when they all emerge weary yet alive, having gone through the various candy machines. Ha. At that point I allowed myself to enjoy the movie a bit more. Up until then I was completely unsettled. I guess that’s the point. (I’m still not getting close to a squirrel.)

In an inverse sort of way, I’m reminded of that Friends episode where Phoebe finally finds out the fate of Old Yeller.

Aside: One of the previews we saw was for a very Nightmare Before Christmas-looking movie called Corpse Bride, which reunites many of Charlie‘s same creative forces (Tim Burton, Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, Christopher Lee, Danny Elfman, Deep Roy). I’m looking forward to that.

Ooh, boy, it’s another downpour. Even more thunder and lightning this time, the whole production. Alex the cat has hidden himself away under the bed or in some corner of the bedroom. I feel like the power could go out at any second.

Godspeed the poor Ledo’s delivery guy who’s supposed to get here soon with our food. (Speaking of delivery, Thom’s copy of the new Harry Potter arrived earlier today without incident.)

Yikes, it’s really coming down outside. The cloud cover is so dark and the rain so heavy. Looking out the window I feel like I’m in a car wash.

I have an appointment for a haircut down at Dupont in half an hour. So I guess I better get going and brave the rain (and the shears).

[Addendum: Ta da! Newly shorn:]

[This may not look much different from many other photos of me, but believe me, it’s a drastic change from how it’s been looking recently. The fledgling ponytail is gone! (Only to return in a few months, for sure.)]

For you local foodies: the Bethesda-Chevy Chase (Md.) area is holding its first annual restaurant week July 18-24, with most participating restaurants offering two-course lunch for $10 and/or three-course dinner for $25. A list of participating restaurants and offers is available in PDF. Of the 20 places on the list, the only restaurant I’ve eaten at is Mon Ami Gabi, which has pretty good food and atmosphere. Mmm, all of a sudden I have a hankering for steak frites. It is Bastille Day after all.

As you fellow travelers to and from D.C. may know, ever since National Airport (DCA) re-opened after 9/11, passengers traveling through National are prohibited to get out of their seats during the first 30 minutes of departing flights, and the last 30 minutes of arriving flights. Not for much longer. From the Post:

Passengers at Reagan National Airport will no longer have to sit in their seats during the first 30 minutes of every departing and landing flight, the Department of Homeland Security announced today along with of a larger restructuring of the agency.

The elimination of the rule won’t happen immediately, but will begin shortly after the agency issues security directives to airlines, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said at a lunch with reporters and editors of The Washington Post.

He said it was time for the rule to be eliminated because he is confident that other security measures in place, such as hardened cockpit doors and better screening, make it unnecessary. The rule was put in place as a condition for reopening the airport after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

It’s about time. Where the rule seems at its most inconvenient for the general flying public is on short flights, like to and from New York, where the 30-minute rule plus the normal procedure of being seated during takeoff and landing means you can’t get up from your seat at all for the duration of the flight.