Suck it up

Austin has been talking about his alter super hero the past few days.

So caught up in it he confuses Paraguay for Uruguay.

Yes uruguay. Sorry. My mind is on other things. Like a new super hero called ABSORBENT MAN

and just who is ABSORBENT MAN?

He's from planet eradicadia. They have special absorbent fabric. He fashions a wetsuit and swims thru the oil. And sucks it all up!!

after a couple days he has been transformed

absorbent man here. Just flew back to my lair. I have to take off my wetsuit, recharge my solar batteries, and get back to the gulf.

We know Austin you think of Absorbent Man in a combination of this:

plus this

But an absorbent guy who lives in a lair? And protects the waters. Well... it seems more like this.


He's absorbent. He loves the water. He lives in the sea. He likes quirky ties. And funky shoes I mean check out those legs remind you of anyone?

And the socks?

And his lair
Jakey's Patrick. He's your BFF. And he's a star, not exactly a star like Patrick but a star.

He's played an action hero. And he has those trunks.

And they pretend to be super heroes (Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy). Who does that sound like?

You know superhero sidekicks can hang out and no one says anything


ok... well....

And you didn't think Austin was on the PoP promo tour. Now we know.

(thanks M&M for the reminder about this picture)

Crown & (Low) Country

Might have been Slow PoP but it didn't fizzle...

The Prince withing striking distance of making $300 million at the box office has been crowned the biggest video game movie of all time, pulling ahead of Tomb Raider by over 20 million to date.

So what does that mean for the newly crowned royalty? Well gamer site Kotaku put it this way:

"With DVD sales yet to add to that tally, it's surely enough to warrant a sequel, one where they'll no doubt make him a lot angrier, and we'll all look back on the first film with rose-tinted glasses and say how amazing it was."

You think the Prince will be back next time with Kung Fu grip next time?


And in a Low Country boil Austin and company's video in part with Global Green was released as well as their interview with E! News. But there was a familiar ring there.

Global Green at Gulf Isle

E! News June 22, 2010

Miss ... Miss. Just one thing. (where in the Peter Falk did that come from )

All that metal your wearing with those bracelets and the water and sun well..... the glare...I mean that could ... well it's shiny...you know very reflective...almost blinding.... good thing to see eye protection.

Ohh and one more thing Do think its a good idea to wear black in the hot humid South in June? Ohhhh it's very nice shirt that Global Green makes and it does make you stand out from the rest of the entire group, but whew... that would be a melter.




All joking aside.


There are so many people, so much wildlife, and countless communities impacted by this spill and in so many ways. Whatever way you choose to help or group you choose to support it is now when it is needed. Doesn't matter who said it or how it was conveyed.

It comes down to two words.
Please help.
That is the most important message.

Faced

Looks like Austin is going official and set up an official Facebook page to shake off the fakes.
Must love his opening salutation:

"Hey Guys. Here is my official Facebook Page so you won't be fooled by the fakes anymore! I won't be posting here, but you can follow me on Twitter @aus10nichols"

That's exactly what what the guys at Facebook really want to hear. He may not be posting much, at least he put up a good but maybe an odd choice for a profile pic for an official page for someone in show business.

Most celebrities' official page, they'd show their face. But not this wild turkey.
Beautiful, quiet, reflective, and a little mysterious.
Back to the camera, an introvert's ideal of a profile pic.

Unconventional as it may seem, it fits, doesn't it?

This picture isn't from his recent trip, even though it might be made to look as it was. Why? While sea grass can be found on the Gulf Coast, those smooth rocks on the water's edge say somewhere different. Perhaps some where further north? Like those "long rocky beaches" (as Mr. Manilow says), familiar to eyes who have seen New England coast. Or maybe northern California? Let's just say rocks aren't Southern.

While Austin might be backing up to the camera, Jake's went sideways (without the wine or Paul Giamatti) while he was was away.

Out for lunch with Mom on Sat.
Some shopping on Sunday. And a few little kicks thrown in.

Is he taking on both Karate Kid and Toy Story 3 on with a Hedgehog doing Karate move?

You beat me at the boxoffice,
but you both are no match
for my big banana shoes.

Austin's Official Facebook Page

Seas' son

It's well known of Austin's love for the water,

he grew up with it



"Water sports are in my blood. ...I started water skiing competitively when I was 2." (People)

speaks of it's power

I'll get up about 5:30 a.m. and go to Malibu and surf. There's something very therapeutic and healing about it.(LA Times)



writes of it

There once lived a man named Alfred.
No one called him Al.
And no one called him Fred.
But he asked everyone to call him Red.
Even though his hair was dark dark mahogany brown.

He preferred the sea to land. Spent most of his time on boats.
Alone. Throwing nets. Casting. Swimming. Diving. Spearing. Speeding. Cruising.
His hair and skin was always salty and dogs loved him. Loved to lick the salt from his skin.
He was shy and rarely spoke to girls. Although sometimes he would find
one on his boat. A young mermaid perhaps. Who had flopped up on
deck. He would spear a fish and cook it up fresh for her. Snapper
grilled with garlic and lime. Or he would dive for conch and make
fresh conch salad right on deck. The maids liked him on the sea. But
no one liked him on land.

On land, Alfred walked with a limp
and spoke with a stutter. There was a hitch in his gate, a twitch on
his face, and a fly that would follow him all over the place.

Needless to say, land lubbers stayed away. Kept him at bay. Threw him away.
Tossed him like trash. Never paid in cash.
But for some reason, when he left his land legs behind, and sailed for blue
water, Red came alive. Pirate. President and CEO of the Atlantic.
Primary stockholder of fish and wave. MVP of rigging and knots. Four
stars for bravery and a purple heart because his heart actually was
purple.

Maybe someday, the right mermaid, he may hook. Not from
any book. Or fairytale. But a real, scale and fins, mermaid. Long,
beautiful, salty hair, concealing her.... Well you know.
And when that day comes, she will take him away. He will be the Tom Hanks
to her Daryl Hannah. And finally he will get his wish. To live and
breathe among the fish.

your faithful servant,

wild turkey

works with it

and tries to tame it




With the Gulf Coast just hours from home growing up, it is without a doubt from where Austin's initial outrage and intention came, and the passion and need to do something in this crisis.


Here's to letting that be his compass guide and not a siren's song.

Out Spotlight

Today's Out Spotlight is minister, author, filmmaker,activist, teacher and half of one of the most beloved teams on the television show The Amazing Race with his son Mike. Today's Out Spotlight is Rev. Mel White.

James Melville White was a behind-the-scenes member of the Evangelical Protestant movement through the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s, writing speeches and ghostwriting books for televangelists such as Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson, and Billy Graham. White began coming out privately during the same period that the Religious Right stepped up its anti-homosexual statements.

In 1962, White graduated from Warner Pacific College. That same year, he married his wife Lyla. Mel and Lyla had two children, one of whom is the actor/comedian and screenwriter Mike White.

White went on to receive an M.A. in communications from the University of Portland, continued graduate work in communications and film at USC, UCLA, and Harvard. He received his Doctorate of Ministry from, Fuller Theological Seminary and also was on staff as a professor of communications and preaching for over a decade. Throughout all of his graduate work and teaching he also worked as an evangelical pastor.

After their marriage, Mel White admitted to his wife that he had always been attracted to men, while at the same time teaching that homosexuality was a sin. He fought to overcome his feelings, attempting to cure for his homosexuality. He turned to marriage, having a family, psychotherapy, prayer, electroconvulsive therapy, and even exorcism. Nothing changed his true orientation,and after he attempted suicide, he and his wife agreed to an amicable divorce. He began to understand and accept his homosexuality and reconcile it with his Christian faith, and express it respectfully and responsibly.

That journey is told in his book "Stranger at the Gate: To Be Gay and Christian in America," published in 1994 the year after he came out. Lyla, his former wife wrote the foreword to this book.

In 1984, White met Gary Nixon at the progressive Episcopal church All Saint's Church in Pasadena, California. After 27 years, in June 2008 they were legally married in at the church they where they first met.

In 1993, Mel White came out publicly when he was installed as dean at the Dallas Cathedral of Hope of the Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches (UFMCC). He announced during his first sermon, "I am gay. I am proud. And God loves me without reservation." After coming out, White transferred his clergy credentials to the gay-affirming Metropolitan Community Church.

Since then, he has devoted himself full-time to minister to lesbians, gays, bisexuals, and transgender people, working on their behalf in the media, in the political process, and with fellow religious leaders.

In 1997, he was awarded the American Civil Liberties Union's National Civil Liberties Award for his efforts to apply the "soul force" principles of Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr. to the struggle for justice for sexual minorities.

He and Gary founded Soulforce, a national social justice organization that works to end the political and religious oppression of LGBT people, the following year in 1998.

Dismayed by the increasing confrontational tone on both sides of the issue, and the hateful words and actions that increased the divide and inspired by the nonviolence movements of Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr., he developed a program based on their principles. Adapting the teaching of Gandhi's principles called satyagraha or "soul force" many based on the teaching of Christ, and adapting them to address the struggles of the LGBT community.

Rev. White has produced, wrote, and directed 53 documentary films and television specials on spirituality.

His journey has not only been an example of living proudly for the community but on a more personal level as well, as being an example for his son Mike who is openly bisexual.

Mel and his son Mike appeared on the fourteenth season of The Amazing Race. The nicest, sweetest and most fun-filled team of the season the two lasted for seven legs on the race before being eliminated in sixth place in Phuket, Thailand.

White has said he would much rather be the loving gay and stand before God in judgment that ministers like Falwell, Robertson, or Kennedy that do so much harm to so many of Gods children.

Mel and Gary currently reside in Lynchburg, Virginia.


Soulforce


Mel and Mike:

And to celebrate those men who are fathers, and father figures to us all.

Happy Father's Day.

From the President Obama’s Father's Day proclamation:

“Nurturing families come in many forms, and children may be raised by a father and mother, single father, two fathers, a step father, a grandfather, or caring guardian. We owe a special debt of gratitude for those parents serving in the United States Armed Forces and their families, whose sacrifices protect the lives and liberties of all American children. For the character they build, the doors, they open, and the love they provide over our lifetimes, all our fathers deserve our unending appreciation and admiration.”

And for a Tooth & a Goose