These are two of our canine crew members, Alexander and Amadeus. We've been working on a 7 month quest to help them come to terms with their apparent fear of men. Hence ...
MANXPOSURE 2006
Essentially, we ferret out our male friends who aren't afraid of big dogs and invite them over to toss bacon bits and other meaty tidbits to two large barking dogs while trying not to flinch. We reward the men with chocolate chip cookies.
It has been working very well. After about 10 minutes of fear barking, they both end up on the floor begging for belly rubs and petting. Now, we are gearing up for a summer Man Party. Two dogs, two lesbians, our straight female dog trainer and a room full of gay men ... now that's a party!
Miss Mona and her feline companions are not thrilled with all the ruckus, but certainly enjoy the company. They only fear children with sticky fingers.
For the past two weeks, I haven't found anything worth commenting about in the Post-Gazette's "Just Ask Cat" column, a quasi-advice section penned by Catherine Specter. Specter is the genetic mutation of Harriet Nelson and Carrie Bradshaw, minus the cool hair.
Why does it bother me so? One need only turn to the back of the Employment Section for the incredibly good column "Help Me Harlan." Harlan offers compassionate, thoughtful and gentle insight into the angst of modern life, with an especially graceful connection with adolescents. Cat Specter offers her belief that "You are so hot" is a useful relationship building comment.
Harlan's column calls to mind the grand dames of advice, Dear Abby and Ann Landers. I read both religiously throughout my childhood and teen years. They gave me an anchor in the face of seven zillion difficulties, both large and small. I felt validated and affirmed as a person -- I felt like there was an adult out there that valued me for who I was on the inside versus trying to change who I was on the outside.
For the most part, Specter's damage is benign. I'm sure there are women in Pittsburgh who are seeking validation in their fashion choices and their belief that the right lipstick is crucial to snaring a good man. To everyone's disadvantage, Specter occasionally ventures in serious advice territory - such as encouraging a reader to tacitly condone racism.
She's like the oblivious sorority sister who fails to comprehend that your impact on the world should not be limited to fashion advice and an occasional charity event. Sort of the pre-Harvard Elle in Legally Blond.
Thursday evening it was my turn to cook and I was feeling uninspired by the dismal pantry contents. Well, actually I was at work and not remotely interested in preparing a meal. So I proposed we dine out. Luckily for us, the Post-Gazette's Munch had reviewed a great little South Side joint ... Cambod-ican Kitchen.
Not being bar crawlers, we had never experienced the 'burgh famous Chicken on a Stick. But as part of our sacred pact to avoid Olive Garden, Red Lobster and any other restaurant found on both McKnight Road and Route 22 in Monroeville, we headed for the South Side.
I had the best meal of 2006 yet. No contest.
The place is super-cute, the owners are incredibly nice and even the semi-drunken college kids were bearable. and the food ...ah, the food!
I am not an "on the stick" kind of girl. Splinters in my food has never been appealing and I hate getting my fingers greasy. <Yes, no wonder I'm a lesbian.> But chicken in pita? That's my kind of appetizer. Except it was incredibly huge and we had also ordered special rolls in rice paper with the most wonderful vinegar dipping sauce ... plus the entrees.
Enough ranting. It is a dee-lishous restaurant and you should get in your car right now and drive there. Go often and spend lots of money so they will stay in business. I am not kidding. Go. Now.
Some random notes...Rep. Randy Cunningham's loot came on the auction block last week. You remember Randy? The gentleman who ranted about the evils of gay people but then accepted bribes. The last time I checked, stealing was a big one in the ten commandments, but, uh...being gay ...WAS NOT.
Also, some observations about who might vote to take away gay folks right to marry. The pigeon sniper. The man who was seen walking on the roofs with an air rifle that looked like an assault rifle? Shooting piegeons. The person who locked down Pittsburgh for several hours and then, incredibly, tottered back to Fayette County. He can marry. He can breed. And they say gay people are a threat to society?
Finally, I attended the ACLU's annual meeting on Sunday and heard Randy Forrester speak. Seems among urban gays there's still a complacency about gay rights. A belief that being gay is becoming routine. Accepted. Let me say this, and not as eloquently as Mr. Forrester. The religious right, the self-righteous hypocrites that they may be, are coming after you. They don't like you. They want to establish a theocracy and, guess what? It won't include you. So wise up and get your head out of the sand.
Finally, I am also amused about the religious right's collective panties in a knot about the Afghanistan Christian that the Afghanistan government wants to execute. Bush came into that country and a "democratically" elected government was established. And this same government wants to execute this man. Not that I agree, but what did they expect? There also going after women and...gay people but you don't hear the focus on the family squawking about that, do you?
This week, I found Catty's advice to be fairly benign. She does still deliver a healthy dose of hypocrisy along with a rather nasty scratch at a reader. Overall, she continues to fall far short of the bar set by the advice goddesses, Ann and Abby. How much longer will the Post-Gazette force us to endure her clumsy attempts to channel Sex in the City?
Note to PG: Sex in the City is off the air. If you want to deliver a saucy pop-culture influenced dose of advice, find us an Earl or a Dwight Schrute.
Correspondent's Call: When she writes " Why should it be the right of a self-selected group of people to determine the proper attire at a social function," Catty should take a long hard look back at her comments on the proper attire for women to wear on dates. I guess it is different for someone paid by the PG to dish out obnoxious advice.
I'm not a fan of Catherine Specter's alleged advice column in the Post-Gazette. In fact, I'm secretly convinced she was planted by the Mellon-Scaife contingent to subtly shift PG readers back to "when men were men and girls were girls." Her advice has mostly been ridiculous and demeaning.
Today, however, she took herself to a new low endorsing silence in the face of overt racism for the sake of self-preservation. The question stemmed from a renter whose landlord made racist comments about other (african American) tenants. Her question:
Question: I don't feel right paying money to someone with those values, but I have a lease. Can you put my mind at ease until I can move out?
Cat's Response: Of course you kept your mouth shut; otherwise next week you'd have no heat. It seems callous, but there's a reason people separate business from personal matters. Look, for all you know your dry cleaner is a bigot, but he presses a shirt like nobody's business. Would you still go there if you knew? No, but only because you have the choice. You don't have that option when you're bound by a lease.
Cat's Call: Stay cool, remain friendly with your neighbors, and hightail it outta there when you get the chance.
Apparently, Catty was too busy applying lip gloss to pay attention in history class. Because guess what? Silence is complicit endorsement. This reader wants to feel better for not speaking out against injustice and racism. She doesn't get a pass from me or any other reasonable person.
Guess what Catty? There are LAWS to protect people from racist landlords. Including retaliation by turning off your heat. There are resources right here in Pittsburgh that your reader could call if she felt the need ... Fair Housing Partnership which enforces fair housing laws is a good place to start. So your argument for self-preservation is complete crap.
Catty, this woman wanted to rationalize remaining silent in the face of racism. You had the opportunity to provide a thoughtful answer to educate people on how to respond to overt racism. You blew it by minimizing the real issue.
In 2003, PG columnist Tony Norman wrote this about Ms. Specter "She believes the burden of living a good life means acting generously, even when it's against her best interests."
I don't see it.
Pgh Lesbian Correspondent's Call: Tony Norman's sabbatical cannot end soon enough.
Had dinner with my long-time friend Amy (27 years or so) and her adorable two-year old daughter last weekend. She informed me that her 80ish grandmother had heard my "Lesbian Correspondent" segments on The Temporary John McIntire Show and was very pleased.
Apparently, Grammy is a big fan of both McIntire and Lynn Cullen. Obviously a woman of good taste.
Grammy is down with the lesbians. She also caught my 10 second interview by WTAE on the Catholic Church sex abuse scandal last fall. Obviously a woman plugged in.
1. The Beach (read sunny, warm and not here) 2. Budapest 3. Ireland 4. Another beach
Four Folks Now Tagged With This Meme: I really don't know any other bloggers who would do this. Except for Unspace who sent it to me in the first place ...So I guess this is a dead end unless someone wants to pick it?
This week, I found 
