Last week, after months of “you shoulds” from friends and other web series professionals, I found a quiet corner in my favorite Greek Cafe and watched Season One of the award winning web series, Out With Dad, in its entirety.  I then took a glance at my uneaten pita and watched Season Two of the web series up through its winter hiatus.  I sat there thinking, remembering, and wanting more.

Out With Dad is a coming of self story of finding your peace and your place in this thing we call life.  Rose is a teen age girl struggling with the realism of her sexuality, having the courage to come out to her dad, and sorting out her feelings for her best friend, Vanessa.  Dad is doing the best he can with his suspicions of the inevitable conversation to come…and his best is pretty damn good.

I wanted to know what motivated this man to create this series, so I contacted Jason Leaver and we had a most pleasant conversation about just that…and many other discoveries like an irreverent project (my favorite kind) in the works called, The Gate.

Sit back, listen at your leisure, and see why I call Jason Leaver one of the biggest “tools” I know…

Donate for an Out With Dad Season Three here,

Contact your local US PFLAG organization here.  PFLAG Canada here.  PFLAG international here.

Visit my friend, Jeryl Orsino, and her music website here.  And as always, thank you, Jeryl.

A few months ago, a mutual friend introduced me to hand and body-part model, Adele Uddo.  I was immediately smitten.  Now, I know what you are thinking, it’s the “parts” that captured my attention, but that’s not true.  Well, it is true to a certain extent, holy hell, I have a pulse, don’t I?  But Adele is much more that just the sum of those beautiful parts.  Not only is she not too hard on the eyes, she is intelligent, witty, quirky, and lovable…a few of my favorite things.

Adele’s relatively new blog, Hand Jobs: Tale of a Hand Model, is a source of great personal joy and insight.  It’s my opinion that Southerners are great storytellers, and Adele is no exception to my rule.  Chronicling her journey from a child of great culinary (among other) privilege in New Orleans to being uprooted and transplanted on a raw-vegetable, hippie commune in California.

Adele expounds upon the remarkable tales of traveling cross country in a bus named the Mars Hotel; the pleasures and paranoia of adult prescribed, prepubescent drug use (she is NOT a Native American), the heart break of trying to fit into a “normal” school life without ingesting preservatives and meat-byproducts, and the interaction of real-life characters most likely experienced by most of us only through the scripts of a sitcom.

I invite you to sit in on our conversation about parts…Adele’s, and the ones that run a little more than skin deep.

Please visit Adele’s website:  www.adeleuddo.com

Please read Adele’s blog:  Hand Jobs: Tale of a Hand Model

And as always, thank you Jeryl Orsino for making me seem a little more rockin’ with your music  Go listen:

Photo By Jo Ann Santangelo

In light of the recent ruling regarding the unconstitutionality of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, the military’s ban on gays serving openly in the military, I was honored to sit down and chat with retired Navy Captain, Joan Darrah and her partner of over 20 years, Lynne Kennedy.  Joan had an illustrious 30 year career as a Navy intelligence officer, but with her extremely high security clearance, came the personally classified nature of her sexuality.   As a result of DADT, and the things you do for love, Joan and Lynne both served their country in a mandated silence.

The events of September 11, 2001, brought a realization that personal truth and the commitment to family are far too important to keep quiet.  Captain Dannah began early retirement proceedings and began to serve not only her country, but her community.  As an advocate of SLDN, Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, Captain Darrah testified before Congress to the adverse affects on military readiness of their compromise legislation of 1993, DADT.

Photo from Advocate.com

Joan and Lynne continue to speak out in these uncertain days after Judge Phillips decision.  With the Washington Post reporting that an appeal is pending from President Obama’s Department of Justice, military members are advised to be cautiously optimistic…but not open and truthful, yet.  I hope you enjoy the conversation as much as I did.

Servicemembers Legal Defense Network -  National organization devoted to assisting those affected by “don’t ask, don’t tell, don’t pursue.”

Joan’s testimony before Congress

Write your Senator in support of the repeal.

A few days ago, I had the distinct privilege of sitting down and chatting with the incomparable Tina Sloan, daytime drama legend…and now author.  Tina has chronicled her life as an actress, mother, and daughter in a wonderfully charming, humorous, and poignant memoir entitled Changing Shoes.

Changing Shoes is a primer of sorts for growing old gracefully and meeting aging head on.  Tina utilizes footwear as a metaphor for the different stages of life; when you are ready for a change, it’s simple, just change your shoes.  From the innocence of pink Capezios to the sophistication silhouette of a pair of black Chanel pumps, Changing Shoes takes us on a sentimental journey of youth, career, motherhood, and the decline of aging…our own and our parents.

So, enjoy the conversation with two women who really love shoes…and the changing stories beneath the sole.

Tina Sloan on Twitter

Changing Shoes, the one-woman show, ticket info

Tina Sloan on Season 2 of Venice, the Series

Tina Sloan on Empire

Thanks to Jeryl for our Schmootzcast intro music “Stay Away From You” from her Radio Friendly CD . Check out all of Jeryl’s music on her MySpace page.

Las Aparicio fans will be happy to know that writer, Natassja Ybarra, is very forthcoming about the endgame of the Mariana/Julia story of the very popular telenovela.  Will there be a wedding?  Yes.  Are the gay nuptials the last we will see of the couple?  Not at all.  Marriage maybe be the declared victory of this revolution, but life is just beginning for these two characters.  No denying, this is evolution.

Natassja and I talk about the entirety of Las Aparicio and its highly anticipated journey to Telemundo.com, the collaboration of writers as it pertains to all the characters, and what the future holds for other programming.  And of course, we talk about Mariana/Julia/Armando and “polyamor”.  Enjoy.

Las Aparicio will be subtitled in it’s entirety on Telemundo.com beginning August 17th.  Until then, I have listed links to the YouTube channels with subtitles:  love2angel12, nixawme, and scootgirl100.

Thanks to Jeryl for our Schmootzcast intro music “Stay Away From You” from her Radio Friendly CD . Check out all of Jeryl’s music on her MySpace page.

Last week I was lucky enough to engage in conversation with the lovely Eréndira Ibarra who portrays Mariana, half of the smoldering same-sex super-couple of Julia and Mariana on the telenovela, Las Aparicio.  Take a look:

[youtube 6La-ZIrzl5M&feature=related nolink]

As you will hear, Erendira is extremely gracious to this uni-lingual, English-only, American blogger.  We chat about the Mexican soap opera, the truthful, yet controversial storyline of “Juliana”, and the extreme commitment of bilingual fans who take it upon themselves to subtitle the LGBT themed love story.

I blogged about the fact you should be watching, and now it’s verbalized.  This is no fairy tale, this is a soap opera, and there is plenty of drama.  There is no platitude of patronizing head bumping or finger caressing; there is honest passion…and a love triangle that is agonizingly frustrating.  But I can’t stop watching over and over again.

Click the heels. listen, and enjoy.  I know I did.

Las Aparicio will be coming in it’s entirety to Telemundo.com.  Until then, I have listed links to the YouTube channels with subtitles:  love2angel12, nixawme, and scootgirl100

Last week my funny bone and I were fortunate enough to Shoot the ‘Schmootz with comedienne and community caregiver, Gloria Bigelow.  We sat down for a late night snack of humor, politics, and the occasional reminiscence of nostalgic TV.  Going into the interview, I was quite familiar with Gloria’s comedic timing, but I soon discovered that it is her passionate work with inner city youth that is no joke.

Please join me as Gloria and I spend a humorous and high-spirited hour of conversation.  How often can you actually have fun…and learn something as well?  Enjoy.  I know I did.

Also join Gloria and her co-host, DJ, on their Blog Talk Radio show, Late Nite Snacks, airing tuesdays at 10 pm EDT. You can also find Gloria on The AfterEllen.com One Night Stand Up airing on the Logo channel, 5/13/10 at 9:00 pm and weekly on episodes of CherryBomb on SheWired.com.

Episode 5 – The “Schmootz on” Gloria Bigelow

Mindschmootz’s Podcast

Thanks to Jeryl for our Schmootzcast intro music “Stay Away From You” from her Radio Friendly CD . Check out all of Jeryl’s music on her MySpace page.

April was Sexual Assault Awareness Month, and honestly, I was not aware of that fact until doing research for this interview.  It is opportune in reference to my conversation with Joanna, though I believe a thirty day designation is something she would find interesting and worthy of comment.  For Joanna Katz, every day is awareness day.

On June, 17, 1988, Joanna and a female friend were abducted at gunpoint, beaten, tortured, and gang raped repeatedly by five men.  Bloodied and dazed, Joanna was able to escape her attackers, find help, save her friend from imminent death, and fight for the conviction of her assailants.  It would be enough to end the story here, but thanks to a South Carolina justice system that, at the time, continued to emotionally brutalize victims of sexual crimes, Joanna’s story was only beginning.

Joanna’s inspiring account of survival, both physically and emotionally, is chronicled in the PBS documentary, Sentencing the Victim.  As a compliment to this podcast, I encourage you to watch the documentary.  I will warn you, this is a brutal film in it’s subject matter.  It is dark, disturbing, and infuriating at times, but it also encapsulates hope, support, and courage in its purest form.

In our conversation, I ask Joanna about life post-documentary, where her advocacy has taken her, and what has changed, if anything, socially and/or politically, where victim’s rights are concerned.  I believe this conversation is enlightening and inspirational.  And this is the Schmootzcast after all, so Joanna is delightfully humorous, so entertaining as well.

Episode 4 – The “Schmootz on” Victim Rights Advocate, Joa…

Mindschmootz’s Podcast

You can watch the documentary here:

Episode 3 – Schmootzcast with Queens of the World’s Mel R…

Mindschmootz’s Podcast

Thanks to Jeryl for our Schmootzcast intro music “Stay Away From You” from her Radio Friendly CD . Check out all of Jeryl’s music on her Facebook page here. Become a fan today.

Episode 2 – Schmootzcast with Rachael Hip-Flores

Mindschmootz’s Podcast

Thanks to Jeryl for our Schmootzcast intro music “Stay Away From You” from her Radio Friendly CD . Check out all of Jeryl’s music on her MySpace page.