Setting Back Gay Rights Twenty Years

With the recent spate of gay teen suicide and the debut of a campaign to let them know that It Gets Better (here are my two favorites), there's been an encouraging upswing in concern for gay youth. Less uplifting, though, we just had the debut of "The A-List." In a word: oy.

First, these guys might be on "a" list, but it's sure ain't a letter so low in the alphabet. When you spend the first half of your show justifying your "A-List" status and dropping sad names, you ain't A-List. And, of course, there is the self-evident fact that anyone who was really A-List wouldn't be caught dead on this show.

Second, oh Mike Ruiz! I loved his appearances on RuPaul's Drag Race; he seemed so fun and, yes, very hot. Unlike the rest of the horrors on this show (Reichen? A hairdresser? A bunch of bottom-of-the-barrel models/boytoys? Oy!) he's also actually talented and successful. And, yet, he's on this show. It's very distressing.

Third, except for Mr. Ruiz and Reichen's Brazilian piece, the cutest things on this show are the hairdresser's pugs. These boys need to step away from the eyebrow wax. (Seriously, though, those pugs are adorable!)

Fourth, these guys are dumber than a can of spray tan. They have all the wit of Oscar Wilde's wallpaper.

Five, OMG ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ! Seriously, they're the most boring gays ever. Tired bitchiness

So, in sum and in total: ugh.

Aqua-Pugs

I'm not shocked that there is a pug swim race, I'm shocked that pugs can swim! Mine just sank to the bottom, doggy-paddling furiously as they went down like the Titanic.

(Via Towleroad)

Pug Chic

The pug is the flavor of the month in Hollywood. As a former pug owner, I must say that they'll fit right in in Hollywood: they are born thinking they're already stars. They can teach those starlets a thing or two about being a true diva! Plus, they're just so darn cute! (And I don't want anyone saying, "They're so ugly!" They're not; they're beautiful.)

Another reason pugs fit in in Hollywood? Pugs also often have nose jobs, though in their case it's not cosmetic, but to breath more easily. Still, it's plastic surgery!

Font Breeds

Pugs are so much more interesting than Times, but who cares, it's dogs and fonts together!

Animals Are People, Too!

We overestimate our pets' intelligence; most of them are dumb as a rock. Not my dogs, of course. They were geniuses! They knew exactly what you were saying to you! (Not that they'd ever do anything you'd tell them, of course. Pugs are rather cat-like in their air of "You're an idiot and you're disturbing my nap-time. Off with you!" Still, they totally understood you! )

Seriously, though, how dumb can animals who get us to feed, shelter, and take care of their young of be? Who are the dumb ones here, again?

The Snortmarillion

I'm generally staunchly anti-dressing-your-pets-up.  Just leave the poor things alone, I say.  But pugs dressed as Lord of the Rings characters?  That just hits too many of my buttons to resist. 

Bourgeois Birthday Bash

Yes, there was last year's anniversary meditation and another anniversary post, and still other anniversary posts, too. But this year it's the FIFTH anniversary of Bourgeois Nerd! Such a momentous event cannot go un-noted, so prepare yourself for FIVE YEARS LATER: A BOURGEOIS NERD EXTRAVAGANZA!

It all began with this first post on New Year's Eve 2004. From small seeds grow... small plants? Or something.

My greatest blogging triumph, perhaps, is the Cartoon Nostalgia series. Nostalgia's fun. And damn I watched a lot of cartoons!

Shocking for a blog called Bourgeois Nerd, I've talked a whole hell of a lot about Star Wars. I'm also prone to going meta about nerds and geeks and what it all means. It's all so self-reinforcing, not to mention cliche.

Glade Lady is my muse. My crazy, commercial character muse.

Pathetically enough, this is the last time I had almost-sex. *sigh* That was when I still had my lost youthful looks (before I got fat and ugly); now, I'm just thoughtful. This is one of the many reasons I'm not a very good Gay, except that I am. Makes me worry about love.

I'm nothing if not a bibliophile (I know, you're shocked), so there are more posts about books and libraries than is even possible to number! A few of the highlights: I like the smell of books; Bourgeois Book Club; I was in a book and then proceeded to shill it endlessly.

I was once briefly famous in the academic blogosphere. Fame, alas, is elusive on the blogosphere. I don't regret the conclusion not to go into academia, though.

Thi post that has perhaps gotten me the most traffic, due to its placement on Google Images. I've since gotten to see her in person, and let me tell you it's even more amazing!

I recently took a walk down Memory Lane to reminisce about Blogs That Aren't There Anymore.

I didn't think the new Star Trek movie would work at first, but then I changed my mind.

I'm obsessed with polar bear hybrids, as well as pugs, pandas, unusual white animals, gay birds, interspecies amity, and just about anything cute.

I can be amazingly thick sometimes.

Christmas is over, but holiday nostalgia and The Spirit of Christmas lasts all year 'round at Bourgeois Nerd!

As hard as it is to believe, I can get even more pensive and existential than usual. Heck, I doubt I'm real sometimes!

I like fall, and like the turning of the leaves each year, I repeat this fact every autumn.

I find that confession is good for the soul, and blogs are the new confession booths, without all that pesky priest and the Hail Marys and such.

Spam is the artform of our age.

I was obsessed by the Beijing Summer Olympics (for the menz, natch)!

For a certain subset of readers, my main claim to fame is the GH TWoP FAQs.

Finally, I know why you all really come here: Skimpy Sundays. Pervs!

Five years and 2,694 posts later, here I am! It's all rather amazing. I've outlasted so many worthier and more popular blogs. It's humbling. And what's next? Well, hopefully at some point this year I'll be able to get the new look going. This place definitely needs a facelift. Otherwise, I just hope I can continue to grow and improve as a blogger, whatever that means.

But regardless of what the future brings, right now I want to thank all the fantastic bloggers who I shamelessly rip off for content draw inspiration from and who have linked to me over the years. Thank you most of all, though, to all my readers. My readership isn't the biggest out there, but it's definitely one of the best! I love you all! Happy New Year!!!

Kawaii Pugs

Puggies! My Dusty used to do that handstand thing like the one at the end, too. Surprising and amusing behavior from a dog breed not exactly known for their athleticism.

Pug Post

Pugs are marvelous creatures.

Puppeh!

I swear to dog, this is exactly what my Dusty looked like! Pugs are funny things: they're really just chill, rather happy dogs, but on the other, their wrinkles and smooshed-in faces make them look so pained and traumatized you just want to hug them. It's all part of their adorability.

Pedigree Problems

Inbreeding is endemic to pedigree dog breeding programs, but it causes a lot of problems. One thing in particular that caught my eye in the article, that's absolutely horrifying, especially if you're a pug-lover like I am:

Scientists at Imperial College, London, recently found that pugs in the UK are so inbred that although there are 10,000 of them, it is the equivalent of just 50 distinct individuals.

What. The. Fuck?!?!?

I just can't help myself!

Isn't this little guy just the cutest little thing?!?!? I need a dog; I really miss my pugs...

(Via Towleroad)