Sunday mornings

Sunday mornings are something special.
For me, they start with coffee in bed, followed by a calm reading of the TIME just to be sure I know what's going on in the world.
Of course half the times I'm hangover and all the other times I have a workload of things to do, but there are some sundays when you open the window and the weather's not at its best and you don't have that many things to do so you have the morning for yourself... And don't underestimate that morning, because it's a vital part of your week. If you don't get that time for yourself (and your loved one for the lucky ones out there), it's much harder to find out who you are and what you're thinking.
And it's precisely those kind of mornings that I'm having today, so I want to tell you what has made my sunday morning even better than what it was already, but i'll have to start from the beginning.



So it all started out when my best friend told me that I should see a psychologist. She put it in a nice way, saying that "normal people" go to the psychologist too and that I don't have "a problem", but nevertheless, I should go see someone who told me in a nutshell what my problem is in life. Of course in these cases you usually deny the fact that you have a problem, which is what I did, until I realized that there's a reason why a person is your best friend and that is that they know you better than you know yourself sometimes. Anyways, I was on Afterellen one day and I stumbled upon someone called Cathy De Buono.
I suppose the out gay community knows her, because she's an actress and I suppose she must have participated in some gay films, but I had no idea who she was. So I did what I always do when I don't know someone... I search them on YouTube.



What's your problem? That's the name of her show. She does episodes where she interviews gays, gay-friendlies, straights and everything you can imagine and answers letters from Afterellen users with all the possible questions. She's a psychologist and she helps with this show a lot of people who don't have access to a gay community. Every episode she has a new guest and it's a very funny but at the same time interesting show, so I recommend it for your sunday morning. While I'm already recomminding that, I want to do another shout-out to recommend an artist that has been on her show: Ashley Sumner. She was the actress in "And then came Lola", a movie that I'm desperately trying to find on the internet (but without success yet). Most importantly, and I only discovered this on the Cathy De Buono vlogs, she is a painter. And her artwork is actually amazing! So if you do have some money stored away (I'm already saving up for that), go to ashleysumner.com, you won't regret it!

So these are the things that made my day start of well, that me find another piece of myself, because I'll be honest, I do think that each and everyone of us is a puzzle and I envy those people that have already found all they're pieces and put them together, but I'm still far away from that stage. Anyway, start watching "What's your problem" with your cereal bowl and see what a psychologist has to say about your problems, or things you never even considered a problem but might be one... And enjoy your sunday morning!!!

About Shoe Day, Oscars and Women's Day

Today, I had a very inspirational day and wanted to write a number of posts about people, series, life and all those other things. But then I noticed that I haven't posted anything for a couple of days and various "special days" have happened, so that I will just talk about those special days and the emotions they bring along:



First of all there was shoe day. Some of you may know the lesbian network "shoe", others don't, but a couple of days ago there was this day devoted to all us closet or out cases. The idea behind the event is that it's sometimes really difficult to recognize a lesbian/bi from the outside and some of us are usually just too shy to talk to someone without knowing for sure. And since we're not all marked by say, green hair or something, this day is to show that we're out there and maybe find out who else around you is going through the same things. So what you had to do, was just put your shoes out the window (attached to something of course, not just throwing them around, that would be simply stupid) and that's it - see if you spot some shoes or if someone spots yours! I of course put mine out, because one of my secret fantasies was that someone would leave a note in my shoes, which of course didn't happen, but nevertheless, I think it's a good idea and I wish you all a belated happy shoe day.
This reminds me that shoe.org is actually a great site, for people all over to join for free and meet people, friends or anything else... you can be out or in the closet, go by your real name or anonymus, put on pictures and blogs and so on. Remember if you do join, Bilarious is my name, and I'm always interested in your story!



Next big event was of course last night... I'm unfortunately not really one of those people that stayed up all night to watch them, but I can at least say I saw the reviews... THE OSCARS!!! If you haven't seen them, shame on you, if you have, what disappointed you? What surprised you? What were you secretely expecting that no one else guessed?



And of course, today! Women's day!! For me this is just one more day to express just how much I love women. But for the rest of the world, I guess this day is to remember who we are and what progress we've made, how we've established ourselves in our own society and we've managed to take control over certain aspects of our lives, that we didn't control before. Let's say it, women haven't always been as emancipated as they are today, and there are still a lot of places where women fight for their rights. To those people, I say we're all with you. We support you and our hearts are with you. To other women, well, happy woman's day, and to my fellow lesbian/bi women, go out and get them!!!

That was all about the special days from me.. Go celebrate, because God knows we deserve it!!!

Disney

Today I want to talk about what shapes us as people, what influences the person we become and what impacts an entire generation. That's right, people, each generation can talk about a major influence and I'm pretty sure my generation got the best of it: DISNEY!
Who did not grow up watching Disney's? Who doesn't cry everytime they hear the Lion King or Tarzan soundtrack? Who doesn't know the clue lines to almost every Disney movie by heart?

My dad tells me that as soon as I learned to talk I started telling the Snowwhite story, all and by heart, to anyone who showed the faintest sign of wanting to hear it. And I admit it, I'm a Disney-addict and I've always been one. I've watched them all, I knew them all by heart and I haven't stopped watching and re-watching them even at my age now.
But the true influence that Disney had on me and my generation, I was only able to understand now.

Can you imagine the responsibility that Disney had, when creating movies that were supposed to teach us life lessons at the same time as be entertaining? Well, to me, they did everything they could and they did it marvelously. Disney movies are fun and hilarious, they're emotional (I cry every single time I see the Lion King and all the others) and they are of best quality. They have the best music you could possibly put together and still integrate great dialogues. You can watch it at any age and still learn something from it, at the same time as finding it a great movie. But most of all: It teaches us things we need when we face our everyday life and the everyday world.
I guess what you take with you from a movie or a book kind of depends on yourself and on what you interpret or see in it. For me, the lesson Disney taught me, was that there is a place for everyone in our world, as long as we're ourselves and don't let other people shape us into something we're not and we don't want to be.
Now, before I turn into a philosophist and tell you all about my life goals, I want to say two more things about Disney:



I'm sorry, but there is one thing I couldn't understand. Why the second and third movies? Why couldn't you just leave those incredible pieces alone instead of creating the following story and making a "Lion King 2", "Mulan 2" and even "Pocahontas 2". I will never comprehend what you were thinking, because I refused to watch most of the 2s and 3s of my favorite movies in fear that you would ruin them, which you most probably did (at least for me).
The second thing is a shout-out to all you Disney-Lovers. There is a new movie coming out quite soon, The Princess and The Frog, where the main character is a black character! This is another thing about Disney, they integrate everything (wait for it, in ten years we'll have our own Disney-gay-character) and everyone in their movies and they clear prejudices.
Having said that you should go watch the newest Disney movie reminds me that I haven't seen a Disney in a while and I'm off to my Disney collection to choose what I'll be watching tonight.
Bilarious

We are the world

This post is not a movie review and it has nothing to do with the bisexual part in me. It has to do with the human part in me and in everyone of you. It's about pain, it's about love, it's about being the world and being its children.

It's never too late to spread the word.
Tonight I first saw the video that all our good singers put together for Haiti, "We are the world", and I swear I had tears in my eyes. To see all these different, competitive people stand by each other, smile and sing their hearts out for those people that got hurt in Haiti made me think that maybe there is still some good in all of us. They put on an amazin performance, watch it on YouTube, or buy it even, because it's really worth it (and I bet your favorite singer is somewhere in there!)



I'm not devoting this post to Haiti, because if you haven't heard of it yet, you're of no use to Haiti (or to the world for that matter). But what I want everyone to know, is that these things happen more often than we realize it. And the places that are most vulnerable to catastrophes are usually those ones that can't help themselves.
"We are the world, we are the children."
If we don't lend a helping hand, who will? Who will pay attention and care for those who need help if not those of us in a position to do so? Why should we allow others to suffer when we can linder their pain? Why should we close our eyes when they need us?

I think Haiti was helped a lot by our international community, and it's something to be proud of. Let's keep this up, let's be active, let's be there when we're needed, let's be the world's children, united and together.

British Series: Sugar Rush, Skins

I love accents.
Having said this slightly odd and maybe creepy thing, I might add that my favorite accent is the British accent (although I do appreciate the French, Swedish, Spanish and Italian accent as well).
Once more - even though I sound as random as possible, what I'm saying is actually connected to TV (I told you the media presence is everywhere these days). You see people, tonight I want to talk about two series I started watching only because of their accents: British series.
Now, I didn't use to be very fond of British people, but the ones I've been living with (on my computer, that is), actually made me change my mind, so here they are:



Sugar Rush is a series based in Brighton (a city that I went to, unfortunately before I discovered myself that I was bi, so I didn't actually get to enjoy the city in its best element!), starring Kimberly Daniels (Olivia Hallinan). Now, her character starts off annoying and I didn't stand it in the beginning. But fortunately, by the time she realizes that she's crushing on her best friend Sugar Sweet (Lenora Crichlow and by the way, yes that is her name!), she also grows something that makes her bareable (I can't precisely say what). During the two series that are out for now, Kim deals with her fairly odd and slightly psychotic parents, her coming out and the love story with Saint (Sarah-Jane Potts), a lesbian working at something called the "Clit Club" (sexy toy shop). The interesting twist in this series is the connection between Kim and Sugar and how their friendship/weirdthing evolves as they both grow up (I just noticed that I sound old already, even though I'm really not).
I actually enjoyed this series, but I wouldn't watch it again, if you know what I mean. But it's entertaining and there are some really funny characters (like Kim's brother, who's also borderline-human and very much borderline-alien).



The far better series, the series I love the most right now, is Skins. Now Skins is something I used to watch before, but it just got so much better when they put in a lesbian love story (like I said, they're starting to do that everywhere now, which is of course fair considering our presence). The series has already four seasons and is airing the fifth season, where each character receives his/her own 40-minutes-episode. The stories are amazing, honestly, and it shows how growing older is not as easy as we're always made to believe. My favorite characters are Effy Stonem (Kaya Scodelario) and the twin sister Emily Fitch (Kathryn Prescott ... the other syster, is only just a c-word) and of course the lovely Naomi Campbell (Lily Loveless). Luckily, these last two favorite characters just got together and have an amazing story with all the ups and downs, highs and lows, smiles and frowns.
Ignoring the fact that I love those two characters (plus Effy, who's amazing anyway), the series includes a lot of very interesting and close-to-the-bone (or how Alice Pieszecky would say: "More like sucking on the marrow") storylines, love stories, topics and characters.
To this series, I can only say: Watch it! You have to! It's awesome!

Ok, I'll stop now before you think I'm a complete weirdo, but here's the info you need: Both series are on the channel E4, which some of you might be able to watch (lucky you), but others (including me), aren't, so as usual my advice is to either hit SurfTheChannel or YouTube and let those half-saints (YouTube-cool-video-uploaders) show you the world of our community portrayed by the British people!
Yours truly,
Bilarious.

Anyone but me

Good afternoon people, bilarious here.
I've decided to talk to you about something I only just discovered a few weeks back. You see, I usually don't watch web series, because I assume that they have a very low budget and that with that little money, nothing good can be done. But once again, I was wrong. Of course web series have it harder: It's harder to be noticed online amongst thousands of other things, rather than on TV where you have your fixed time table, and it's really much harder to produce something with good quality and only a fracture of normal TV series' budget. So the only thing they have left to hold on to, is the quality of their story.



So here is the web series I recommend for you: Anyone but me. I haven't quite figured out what the title means and I admit that the storyline is rather slow, but I like it. The story is about Vivian McMillan (Rachael Hip-Flores), who's in a relationship with Aster (Nicole Pacent), but is forced to move away from NY City because of her dad. The interesting twist begins when she moves to a place where her usually relatively open gayness, becomes more of a closet case. There are other parallel storylines about race, love, friendship - you name it. There are two seasons out, in total something like 14 episodes of 5-15 minutes each. So it's something you can watch when you're working on your computer and you need a small break from everything.
Enjoy,
Bilarious

Desperate Housewives

As usual, my Monday night (the most annoying day of the week, admit it!) is saved by one TV series only: Desperate Housewives.
I'd be lying if I said that I can't stand even one of the housewives. In fact, the only one I had a problem with (because she was a bit of psycho), was Katherine, but from tonight on she's gained major cool points.
Not only did Katherine Mayfair (Dana Delaney), let the Stripper (Julie Benz) move in with her, but also managed to fall for her seductive advances. And I'll be the first to say that she not only looks stunning, but has the most attractive voice too. So major cool-points for Jatherine fo sho.
Now let's admit: Sometimes, Desperate Housewives goes too far - too many catastrophes, murders, mysteries or just simply: too much action. But who can blame them really? My heart warmed tonight for two reasons: Katherine and the Stripper, and the way-too-cute couple Bob (Tuc Watkins) and Lee (Kevin Rahm), who hosted Gabrielle Solis (Eva Longoria) for a while.
Leaving you with the two things that saved my evening and made my day!
Bilarious

Medical Series: Grey's Anatomy, Terapia d'Urgenza, Dr. House, Hospital Central

I'm now sitting at my desk, with my university application form, trying to figure out what I want to do for the rest of my life.
Now, you might not care at all about what I do, what I think or who I am, but believe it or not, what I'm doing right now has a lot to do with TV series.
Where did you think you get your inspiration from? Your parents? Old school. Your friends? Too early to find inspiration. TV? That's right, our idols, our inspiration, our dreams, they all come from that big black squared thing in your living room!
You see, I always knew that the only thing I would certainly never become is a doctor (because I almost faint at the sight of blood and can't imagine touching someone's insides for a living). But now, now that I have to finally send in the application form, I'm starting to change my mind. And the reason why I do that, is because I'm very much series-addicted and I've started to watch a lot of hospital-series lately.
Now, what you might find astonishing, is that in almost every hospital series you can think of, there's a gay couple and their love story, so for me, that makes it even more interesting. Think about it, Grey's Anatomy, Dr. House, Hospital Central, Terapia d'urgenza and so on. As weird as this sound, it's safe to assume that if 10-20% of the population is gay (which unfortunately, I don't really believe is true, but let's assume that for a second), the chances of there being a gay couple in a series depicting real life in a hospital are quite high (10-20% of course). So we love that. We love the fact that they don't only show gay couples in gay series but get them in doctor and nurses uniforms. We love the fact that our presence is growing and finally taking up a realistic appearence in TV.

Having said all this, I really just want to tell you about my favorite hospital series and their couples, and leave you with something to watch for tonight:





Grey's anatomy: Classics. Good sense of humor. Entertaining. Close to the bone. Love it!
Everyone loves Calliopie Torres (Sara Ramirez), everyone loved her coming out love story with Erica Hahn (Brook Smith) and now everyone adores her being with Arizona Robbins (Jessica Capshaw). Grey's anatomy is a must for all you hospital-series-lovers out there.



Terapia d'urgenza: An Italian series, on set in Milano that gives you 18 episodes (for now, hopefully we'll get more), each of a duration of 95 minutes (basically your whole evening). We're staring (once again), the lesbian doctor Marina Ranieri (Alessia Barela) who approaches the until-now straight nurse Esther Bruno (Elisabetta Rocchetti) and finally the love story between the two evolves. Now, I'm not so sure that this series is worth a lot. The story is old and seen already (Hospital Central - ring a bell), the end is as very similar as other ends of gay couples, such as in Los Hombres de Paco (it better not become a habit of just killing 'em in the end), the dialogues are not really that deep and let's face it, the reason why they shut it down is because almost no one watched it when it was on Rai Due. BUT: It's in Italian. And that makes up for a lot of things.



I told you already about the series Hospital Central, and right now I can't think of more. I know that many people watch Dr. House, so presumably it's quite good, but it never really convinced me. I can tell you though, that one character we love very much, Thirteen (Olivia Wilde; the same actress that we loved in couple with Mischa Barton in the O.C. California), has had her share of girl-to-girl kissing. But again, I have no idea what, when, where, how, who or why. Go inform yourself and report back (with details and pictures, if possible).

So what should you do now? If you're lucky and Grey's is on (which is actually more often than you'd think), go get 'em.
If you're not, Megavideo has all the latest episodes of Grey's and YouTube gives you full episodes of Terapia d'urgenza, with subtitles.
That's it from me, yours,
Bilarious.