For what?

Yesterday I passed by the Paul Smith store on Fifth Avenue and was stunned to see an entire window display based on Parisian May 1968 propaganda. This collapse between mercantilist nostalgia for revolutionary youth culture and global branding was not surprising and yet it still disgusted me. Though as I have written in the Collecting Schlock section of this blog, I am party to such decontextualized appropriation of revolutionary visual culture for its chicness -- as in my blog photo, so who am I to judge? 

Rocio Durcal and Barbara Rey

Since I am in the mood to showcase Spanish singers/entertainers in homoerotic situations that even Almodovar could not imagine - here is a classic landmark in Spanish cinema: the first ever Lesbian film "Me Siento Extraña" (I Feel Strange, 1977) starring singer Rocio Durcal and vedette Barbara Rey. This movie was made during the proliferation of soft-porn known as the Destape or unveiling that followed the long decades of repression, censorship and other miseries of the Franco regime. Unfortunately I have only seen fragments such as the one above but even this is not to be believed - the logs in the fireplace, the significant close ups of the champagne flutes to the moist lipsticked mouths, the observation that she "feels strange," followed by the abrupt jump cut to the two of them naked in bed having sex. Hot. It's hard to hear but the soundtrack is of a Spanish version of punk rock band singing "Soy Lesbiana!" among other things. Priceless.

Durcal went from child star to singer known for her versions of Mexican Rancheras and Rey from being a go-go dancer and vaudeville type actress to acting in a circus run by her drug addicted abusive husband Angel Cristo (you cannot make this stuff up - even the names are awesome), then later was involved in a scandal involving a video of her and her alleged lover, King Juan Carlos I. Hence, the irony that her last name is Rey. Durcal was known and loved as the opposite to the sexual and scandal-prone Rey - the family woman, wife and mother. She tragically died young of cancer, like her dear friends (see below) Rocio Jurado and Lola Flores.  

Lola Flores and Rocio Jurado

There's nothing better than this: Rocio Jurado, la mas grande, sings to her great friend, Lola Flores. The love-fest goes way beyond even Almodovar. You can't make this stuff up. As Lola herself said when asked about rumors of lesbianism in the flamenco world, "Who hasn't had a go at it with a friend now and then?" (my loose translation) Rocio sings part of her classic song "Se Nos Rompio El Amor (de tanto usarlo" - Our love broke, from over-use - a pretty erotic song but even better when sung to her colleague. Sadly, both great Divas died young of cancer- La Faraona, Lola Flores and La Mas Grande, Rocio Jurado.

Obama in Puerto Rico

Obama campaigns in Puerto Rico - note the catchy song and his attempts to salsa dance. Sorry, papi, I know it's hot out here & you are tired, but......a salsa dancer you ain't.

FOX news journalist calls for Obama Assasination

This is truly beyond the pale, we knew FOX news was completely reprehensible in every way, but to go as far as conflating Barack Obama with Osama Bin Laden, and then calling for his assassination leaves me speechless with outrage.

"Love English"

One of the best paragraphs I have read in a while:

"So just what are Chinese people learning about the English-speaking world? For starters, we’re moody sluts. A book called “Love English” teaches that “Do you want to go to a movie?” really means “I’d eventually like to have sex with you,” while “I’m bored” really means “Do you want to have sex?” The final entry in “50 Selected Love Letters Between United States Presidents and Their Beloved” is from Monica to Bill, and introduces the adjectives “disposable,” “used” and “insignificant.”

To read the rest:

LETTER FROM BEIJING
Learning to Speak Olympics
By MIKE MEYER
Published: May 25, 2008
With the Games approaching, a question: Can an irritating monkey help China become conversant in English?

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/25/books/review/Meyer2-t.html?ex=1369454400&en=08e70ca24ebd0923&ei=5124&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink

"Pure" American

Yesterday I saw this at a CVS store and many associations crowded my mind: the recent arrests of almost 300 undocumented immigrants (or "illegal aliens" as the government and right wing would call them); the racist campaign being run by HRC and McCain against Barack Obama (the first, claiming working class whites are "her" supporters; the second, tacitly supporting his backers who lie about Obama being Muslim, as if this was a strike against him); the Jewish people-- Democrat and Republican --who also oppose Obama for allegedly being Muslim. 

I am also about to blow a fuse every time I hear or read about the upcoming Puerto Rican democratic primary June 1 -  ignorant US citizens are only now realizing that they have a colony in the Caribbean called Puerto Rico....even though this country invaded the Island in 1898! And I love HRC's demagoguery in telling the Puerto Ricans living on the Island that they will get money from the US and that they will be "allowed" to vote for President like their compatriots who live in one of the 50 states, rather than being second class citizens. A NY Times article the other day pointed out that it was under "her" Administration - actually, her husband's - that the tax breaks that gave incentives to US companies to establish themselves on the island (to get cheap labor) were repealed, thus dealing a death blow to the Island's economy. This, along with NAFTA, sealed the nail on the coffin, leaving Islanders with huge unemployment, soaring crime rates, the lowest per-capita income below any of the 50 states, among a host of other problems. 

And speaking of prejudice and ignorance: why is it OK for supporters of McCain to make racially-tinged or anti-religious comments against Muslims and Catholics but as soon as one makes an anti-Semitic comment, McCain drops said minister immediately? Not that I am a fan of the Catholic mafia in the Vatican or of most of the Church leadership, being a recovering Catholic myself, but shouldn't we be against all kinds of religious discrimination?