Drink Up!

Does it feel like a hangover over from yesterday. The only way to fix that, hair of the dog, or well Goose . Everyone has their favorite was to indulge. Sure that many wouldn't mind the hangover of too much of this good thing.

So how do you like your Gray Goose?


On the rocks?



With a splash?




Naked?



Or with a Twist?



Besides Gray Goose is so much better than the Koolaid.

Pictures: IHJ and Picture This! An Austin Nichols Journal

So Sad ....Too Bad

I really don't know what to tell you. It's not a big deal.
(Yeah right every A-lister gets invited)


Everyone knew that you were going to be on the East Coast this weekend.
(How could they not I got like hourly emails) I don't how Anna Wintour would think you wouldn't want to go to the the Met Costume Gala. (Oh hell yes I do! Burn!)


It's really not a big deal. Just another Red Carpet thing, you're not missing much.(Just the biggest fashion event of the year) It's been couple of years since I've gone but I think it pretty much the same deal. Red carpet, smile smile, go in and mingle, look at the costumes for the theme, yada yada yada. (Starting to crack)



Maggie? Yeah she's going this year. Well it makes sense, the theme is Superheroes and you know with Dark Knight it makes sense. ( Zing! Pow!)


Who's she wearing? I don't know. I don't think it Ralph Lauren, funny if she did though since I did when I went and Austin did (KaPow!) when he went. Who know what Kirsten was thinking last year with that thing on her head.


You know I got invited to the Governor's for dinner, maybe I can ask if they could squeeze you in. I can't make any promises, but if not, I will make sure I bring you back something official from the governor's office. (What was in that Welcome to SC gift basket that I got that would work - got it!)


Something to make this all worthwhile.

Uno, Dos, Tres, Cuatro......CINCO De MAYO

Happy Cinco de Mayo, or a better way to count today would be "One Tequila, Two Tequila, Three Tequila, Floor"

Cinco de Mayo is not Mexican Independence Day (Sept 16th) but a celebration of Mexico's victory over the French in the Battle of Puebla on May 5th, 1862. Celebrated regionally in Mexico, Cinco de May is celebrated in the United States and other countries as celebration of Mexican heritage and pride. And somewhat like St. Patrick's Day in the U.S. celebrating means partying, and the excuse to throw back Mexican beers or tequila and eat Mexican food.

Jake Austin Mexico

One lost their shirt, the other found a skirt and both found something to do break up the monotony of filming.

While it's always Austin losing his shirt at a moment's notice, this time its Jake. Jake has lost his several times in various locales in Mexico, including his stay filming Jarhead, but most recently in Cabo San Lucas. Jake might have gone with a someone who brought a skirt that that trip, but it was Austin who found his there a while ago. "I actually have a skirt. I went on vacation to Mexico and I bought one just to wear while walking the beach. Just like a towel." (GQ) Sarong, so good.

And how do you break up the monotony of filming that would be enjoying a tasty beverage or Dos (Equis) or tres or ......

.....Timber....

But don't pull a Peter. While drinking with Jake when they were living in a Mexican hotel during the Jarhead shoot. "I had a couple margaritas... Jake started drinking beer at that point and I had some margaritas, maybe only two or three. And there was a thing that was like a fountain in the middle of the courtyard. We're staying at this not-very-nice hotel that had like a fountain and it looked like it could be a pool, but it was not actually a swimming pool. And he says I finished my margarita and I put it down and he said he was in mid-conversation with me and he said I just walked over to the edge of the pool and with all my clothes on, just walked into the pool and went underwater for a little bit and then came up and walked into my room totally wet. And he said he was in the middle of talking to me about something. So that actually happened, I realized, and I sortta blocked it out." (Filmmonthly) Blocks that out but not Jake playing "Candyshop" 50 million times.

Austin is no stranger to Mexico on either coast or borders growing up in Texas. Sure he found ways to break up the grind of filming Luz Del Mundo despite a much shorter shooting schedule than Jake's Jarhead.

You wonder if the J and A-team have made for the run for the border and not Taco Bell.

Speaking of tasty treats, wonder when leaving the Mexican surf, if Austin get a hankering for a Big Boy like he does when he finishes surfing in Malibu.

As for getting Nailed and celebrating - leave that to Pee Wee.


Thanks to Austin Nichols Fan, AustinMedia, Picture This: Austin Nichols Journal, SAB87, and IHJ

Out Spotlight XXIV

Today we'll focus on out WNBA athlete Sheryl Swoopes. Swoopes played 11 years for the WNBA's Houston Comets, who won 4 WNBA championships with her at forward. Two months ago, Swoopes signed to play with the Seattle Storm. Swoopes has won 3 Olympic gold medals and was a 3-time WNBA MVP. Swoopes' college team, the Texas Tech Lady Raiders, won the NCAA championship in 1993, when she was a senior.

Swoopes was the first player signed into the WNBA when it was created. She played the last third of that first season after giving birth to her son, Jordan, and lead her team to the first WNBA championship. Swoopes is known for great offense and defense, and has been called the female Michael Jordan. Swoopes was the first women's basketball player to have a Nike shoe named after her- the "Air Swoopes."

Swoopes married in 1995 and had her son. The couple divorced in 1999, with joint child custody. In 2005, Swoopes came out publicly as a lesbian. Her partner is former basketball player and Houston Comets assistant coach, Alisa Scott. Swoopes and Scott are raising Swoopes' son together.

Swoopes told ESPN-

"It doesn't change who I am. I can't help who I fall in love with. No one can. .. Discovering I'm gay just sort of happened much later in life. Being intimate with [Alisa] or any other woman never entered my mind. At the same time, I'm a firm believer that when you fall in love with somebody, you can't control that."

"But I'm tired of being miserable. Not being free to be who I am, not being OK with other people knowing who I am -- it has been miserable. And it hurts. I'm a very affectionate person. Going out to the movies or dinner, seeing so-called normal couples show affection in public and knowing that I can't, that hurts. It's frustrating to keep everything inside and not be who I want to be. I'm sure life is not going to be easier for me just because I'm coming out. But at least I'll be free."

The ESPN story

What's interesting is that the WNBA has a reputation for having many lesbian fans and players. I had season tickets to the Washington Mystics for several years and I can attest to the game's popularity among lesbians. Also, many of us would talk at the games about who was or was not gay in the league. Swoopes was one of the names that was often mentioned as a probable lesbian.

The WNBA has had difficulty in dealing with its gay players and fans. Active players have been discouraged from coming out. There was a controversy in Washington a few years ago over a feature at games that involved showing kissing couples on the Jumbotron. They would never show two women, despite the fact that there were numerous lesbian couples kissing in the stands trying to get pictured. They never did show lesbian couple that I know of and they ended the feature after the complaints from the gay community. I say kudos to Swoopes for having the guts to come out while still playing.












Sheryl Swoopes in 2001.












Sheryl and Alisa.

Swoopes talks more about coming out

Unnecessary Lies

Right now I am reading the book The Girls: Sappho Goes to Hollywood by Diana McLellan. This book was suggested by Daff. Thanks Daff! :) I've just started it and already have come upon some interesting quotes. In trying to uncover the secret sexual lives of her subjects, McLellan found that lies, especially those that were both repeated and unnecessary, lead her to the truth more frequently than the so-called "true" reports. She writes-

"One big, unproven lie reveals far more than dozens of widely reported "truths"- once you understand why it was told." (Italics the author's.)

And a tiny bit later she says-

"Whenever I could document a consistent unnecessary lie, I fished more intently in the waters around it than elsewhere, hooking in as many sources as possible, arranging events in the correct sequence to determine cause and effect, applying what I knew to areas I did not know, and slowly triangulating my way toward the truth." (Also italics the author's.)

I've been kicking this idea of the unnecessary lie around in my head. It really does appear that Hollywood runs on lies, but are the typical lies that Hollywood tends to tell unnecessary lies? Would the Hollywood machinery really fall apart if these lies were not told? Who and what are these lies really protecting? And how does this all relate to Jake and Austin?

Here is a poll for your perusal. It is difficult because there are only two choices. That is intentional. Just give your best answer and don't overthink it. Go with your gut feeling. The definition of "unnecessary lies" is whatever YOU say it is.

If you said "yes," please say what you think the lie(s) are.

NOTE: OMG's Movie Club is again soliciting suggestions for our next movie! Let's hear what you all would like to watch next.

Rhyming time

When is a pickle not a pickle? When it's a pickle pop.

This offbeat Texas treat of frozen pickle juice, is cool but not too sweet. And that's no chilly dilly!

The healthy alternative to sugary sweet frozen treats, Bob's Pickle Pops have now been USDA approved for schools across the U.S. Why? Seems there be a lot of pickle juice drinking in South Texas and pickle juice and hot Texas days just lend themselves to frozen adventure.

John Howard was already selling pickles at the roller rink's snack bar, so he started to freeze his leftover pickle juice -- really the brine from the pickle jars -- and sell that, too. "We sold 200 to 300 every Friday and Saturday night," he says. Then they began to run out of pickle juice.

Because they think big in Texas, Howard got a "giant hydraulic press" last October to process the pickles. "We're the first to squeeze our own pickle juice," he says. They squeeze about 10 gallons -- about 150 pickles -- at a time and have nothing left at the end but the skins. No more leftover brine: Pickle Sickles are made only from freshly pressed pickles.

Will these become a the new next thing? Who's to say, but seems like it is catching on with 20,000 sold a month and now at the Six Flags over Texas amusement park.

And for something a little spicier - Jalapeno pickle pop. Somehow you can see that with some tequila and a dare.

The Texas Treat with a Juicy Tale.

Pickles? huh?

Gotta think Nichols.

May Day ? or the Id(l)es of March

Looks like Jake and company having their own May Day Parade.

What is it with Jake and hair, Austin might get some tricky ones, but this time Jake definitely got the short end of comb.Did hair and make up come up with it, or did Jake find his own inspiration in poltical satirist Stephen Colbert(character), or in South Carolina native Stephen Colbert. (THE MAN) You be the judge.











The March is on!

Keep thinking conservative. Conservative Republican. Big Business. No Social Reform. Is this collar getting too tight?
Global Warming - Early Spring I say. Is my arm starting to tingle? Bill O'Reilly. Fox News. Dick Cheney. George Bush is good? Ohhhh noooo went too far!
I AM having a heart attack! Smile keep smiling Cheney has these all the time.

What happens when a liberal dresses like a conservative.