Turns out BP stands for "Barton's Pimp"

Even Biden took notice and I which he wouldn't sugarcoat it so much.

Movie Review - Astro Boy SPOILER ALERT

On the surface, Astro Boy is Wall-E without the subtlety.

The city of Seattle (veiled? I don't think so.) is elevated and suspended above the air pollution of the earth below. The result is a two-tiered society of city dwellers served by robots, and surface dwellers living in the garbage dump of the city above them.

Scientists, funded by the military, develop an endless supply of energy harvested from a far off star. It must be stored in two separate conditions: blue energy which restores the environment, brings peace and prosperity, and makes all things new again, and red energy which is military and kills people. The incumbent President running for re-election in this movie loves him some red energy.

I could go on and mention that the President doesn't want a dirty hippie sitting in his oval office (that line is actually in this movie, really) but there is a much more pernicious theme in this film. For all its 'gag me with a pro-Democratic agenda' political correctness, this movie teaches kids that under no circumstances can they trust that the love of a parent will be consistent and unconditional. Dad (Nicholas Cage) made him indestructible and put a blue energy heart in his mechanical body, and then decides the robot can't fill the void left by his dead son, so kicksthe robot-with-the-soul-of-the-boy out of the house so he can work out his own emotional loss. Astroboy's search for someone who will provide him with consistent unconditional love? Well, it kind of happens at the end but then again, he's a frikken robot with the power (and urgent sequel-predicting opportunity) to save the world, so who needs a Dad? And as in many children's movies, especially Disney products but also John Hughes movies, moms are almost completely absent or invisible. Astroboy's surface-dweller gang of friends are parentless, too, except for a robot repairman voiced by Nathan Lane, who we think is going to be the substitute father, but in the end is crazy, abandoning, and destructive.

Sorry to sugarcoat it, but Astroboy is a noisy, non-educational and emotionally damaging piece of crap, and I'm sorry I took my kids to see it.

Information overload?

So if I wasn't following the artist/director David Lynch on Twitter I wouldn't know the weather in Los Angeles and I wouldn't care. But because I follow David Lynch on Twitter the opposite is true.

That what you CAN know becomes what you MUST know and trumps what you SHOULD know or even WANT to know...wow that's so very David Lynch.

But really, don't sugarcoat it, my tweet:

Don't Sugarcoat It Award for January 2

This is an easy one. The beloved Doctor Zaius wins today's Don't Sugarcoat It Award for putting into pictures what so many of us have put into words.

Love on ya, Doctor Z.

For those of you new to this blog: The Don't Sugarcoat It Award is something I give out when I come across a blog post that says it like it is, sometimes with profanity, but that's not essential. You can't be nominated, it's my whim and my blog surfing that determines the winner.

As usual with Don't Sugarcoat It's, leave your comments at the winner's blog. Thanks.

Holy moments?

I was in a restaurant this past weekend with people I loved. It has to rank as one of the nicest moments of my life. To those who were there, thank you.

Salon tonight. Surrounded by post-Christmas clutter (and the kids who produced same) so no video blog today.

BTW I haven't said anything about the Rick Warren thing yet. Citizens who feel this is worse than a smack in the face to the Left and the Gay community are justified. [Update: As usual Susie Bright doesn't sugarcoat it and is not necessarily safe for work.] I'm with the guy in the Frank Rich oped: it's time for Warren to “recant his previous statements about gays and lesbians, and start acting like a Christian.”

I don't feel bad for us Lefties, though, having heard enough wide-brush "all religion is equally bad" blogger crap in the past four years to know Obama couldn't please some of them unless he dispensed with prayer altogether (ain't gonna happen).

I'm sad that Rick f-ing Warren is the issue, rather than respect for all humanity.

Isn't it interesting how we're not talking about Reverend Wright anymore?

The Don't Sugarcoat It Award for November 28

Dang it's been a long time since we had a Don't Sugarcoat It Award.

For those of you new to Blue Gal or who forgot, The Don't Sugarcoat It Award is for individual bloggers who write a post showing gifted prose and a flair for direct, frank, and occasionally, but not necessarily, obscene discourse.

I award these prizes when I find them, and you can't submit posts for consideration. It's a surprise to all of us that way.

Today's award goes to the beautifully-named blog Übermilf, for her lovely Thanksgiving-themed post, "Dear Fucking Assholes Who Write Gravy Recipes."

Not only is the post Don't Sugarcoat It worthy, I totally identify with her aversion to cooking organ meat.

And although Übermilf is writing about a bit of a turkey gravy crisis, you may be relieved to know that in a subsequent post, we find that at least two women in her holiday household were eventually drunk enough on martinis to make adequate gravy. That's exactly how it should be.

As is usual with Don't Sugarcoat It's, leave all comments over there. Thanks.

[Ubermilf is from Chicagoland, and has inquired about a midwest blogger meetup in 2009. If you're interested, let me know. I'm thinking spring break or early summer, and I'll organize it. bluegalsblog AT gmail]

If you're a feminist, you must have a voice. (huh?)

I had a lot of visitors here last week from the terrific blog "I blame the patriarchy." Twisty Faster is a past Don't Sugarcoat It Award winner and she's blogrolled here, too. But many of her visitors were lurkers, and none of the few who felt bold enough to comment left a link to any "blog of their own" or contact info. I didn't like getting sniped at by anonymous feminists, and turning off anonymous comments is not an option, because some non-bloggers use that option and then sign their comments and also email me off list. (Thanks, OG.) Eventually I turned off comments at the posts in question, because it just depressed me to see women who clearly had something to say, deny themselves the right to own it or actually engage in a dialogue with me. I'm right here, sisters.

I feel really bad about the whole deal, because if a feminist can't feel safe to criticize, vent, suggest, or applaud with their own hands, EVEN at a four-year-old blog written by a woman who has, in contrast, gone quite public, that there's some serious fear. Don't get me started about why don't these women have their own blogs. It's such a male-dominated blogosphere and yet, don't we have modems, too? If they were just being polite by not criticizing me at my own home, why not post a link to my blog and say "what gives with BG?" That's what the commenter at Twisty's did, but then commenter hasn't updated her own blog in over six months. Don't get me started.

If we want to LIVE as equals, we'd better start sometime, and that means eradicating the fear that keeps us hidden and silent. If the fear is defensive, we must nurture its victim. If the fear is just unwarranted anger in disguise, or worse, laziness or avoidance of responsibility, we must confront it.

h/t Tyrant of the Seven Seas, who was kind enough to ask the question, and not in a Neil Cavuto way.

UPDATE: Here are articles on male predominance in the political blogworld, both in terms of audience and writers.

Don't sugarcoat it, David.

Okay, I think I kind of see where they're going with this "Chocolate Soup" show...



h/t Heather.

The Don't Sugarcoat It Award for August 28

Goes to Twisty of I Blame the Patriarchy, because I totally agree. [emphasis mine]:

...a commercial for Pantene hair products wherein a chestnut-maned supermodel conversationally explains — you know, girl-to-girl — how easy it is to achieve her sexy hairstyle. First you buy six or seven Pantene products. You wash the hair with a few different kinds of Pantene stuff. Then you blow dry the hair “in sections.” Then you tease up the roots with, I suppose, a root-teaser. Then you put Pantene goop on it, and wind the hair around a dozen huge rollers. Then you eat 40 pounds of fudge. Then you take off the rollers and mess the hair up with your hands. Then you apply half a can of Pantene hairspray. I think there may have been another couple of Pantene-related steps in there somewhere, but who can remember all this shit without a stenographer?

Still, all that, and her hair just sort of looked like hair.

As usual with the don't sugarcoat its, leave your comments over there.

Politics is not therapy.

Dear PUMAs: "The mind of a woman in love is operating at the lowest level of the intellect."

"Aw bullshit, Alfred Hitchcock, you misogynist prick!"

Alright! Alright! This is a good reminder for all of us, actually:

Politics is not therapy. It's not something that is conducted so people who live essentially comfortable lives can feel good about themselves and happy about outcomes...

It's about what kinds of lawyers are appointed to important positions in the Justice Department to defend the constitution and people's civil liberties. It's about what kinds of people will be working in Labor Department, either helping or hindering the creation of more unions. It's about who is at the Environmental Protection Agency, and whether the laws that protect poor communities from illegal toxic dumping will be enforced or ignored. It's about what the State Department and other agencies do to foster the development of democracy and human rights, or what they turn a blind eye to. And of course it's about the Supreme Court. And it's about a hundred other things just like these things.

Most Democrats, regardless of who they supported in the primaries, totally get this.

Hillary Clinton gets this.

Last night's Ted Kennedy moment really took me back, especially the signs that evoked 1980 so clearly. That was back in the day, brothers and sisters! Although I was still too young to vote, I made phone calls for the Kennedy campaign as a teenager.

1980 was quite a convention. Emboldened by late in the season primary victories, Kennedy and his supporters actually fought for an open convention, where delegates pledged to Jimmy Carter could switch to Kennedy, even on the first ballot. His amazing speech the second night of the convention left some of us liberals still feeling sour about Carter, which wasn't hard.

There were a lot of Democrats who didn't want to play nice in 1980. They voted for John Anderson, or stayed home.

Ronald Reagan was elected President that year.

If we win this year, I pray we'll have Hillary's speech tonight to thank for some of that. I hope won't sugarcoat it: "Support Obama or you are NOT supporting me and what I stand for." I hope she can become the conscience of the Senate that Ted Kennedy has been. And please God, make her drop the Zionist/AIPAC bullshit.

PS. Caroline Kennedy wins an award from me. Wolf Blitzer wants her to "walk us through" the vetting process that yielded Biden?

"No, I am not going to walk you through it. It was a confidential process."

Way to say fuck off to that annoying blowfish.

Ooh I found the vid, and the issue of 1980 is also deflected by her, heh:

The Don't Sugarcoat It Award for July 9

I don't often follow celebrity news. So trust me, the fact that I've actually heard about Christie Brinkley's divorce, in detail. is a sign that it's an extraordinarily noisy affair. "Don't Sugarcoat It's" are usually reserved for foul-mouthed bloggers, but I really gotta hand it to the court-appointed mental health professional in this case, who essentially said:

"you're both self-absorbed crazyheads putting the needs of your pathetic egos ahead of your children's welfare, in public."

Thank you for keeping it sweet, court-shrink.

Don't sugarcoat it, Manila.

Manila Ryce hosts the latest Carnival of the Liberals, and he's got yer Unity Pony right here:

Before we get started, allow me to briefly explain the content of this particular carnival. As you can imagine, during this election season I received many well-written posts about why Hillary sucks and why Obama sucks. Being the great unifying force that I am, I must insist that we find some common ground in agreeing that they both suck, and that no real liberal is honestly happy with the conservative platform of either senator.

I wouldn't go that far. But I was dumbstruck by both candidates' talking points this morning on NPR, about which one of them is BETTER at "reaching across the aisle" and working with Republicans.

I am convinced that Howard Dean's poll numbers show we need everybody's vote except the 27 percenters and the Fundies (overlapping there but still) in order to prevent another stolen election. That anything less than a repeat of 1972 in our favor will lead to another Republican administration, because they can.

1972. Everybody voted for Nixon. And then they conveniently forgot that they had. Yup.

Nevertheless. This is bullshit. Unadulterated bullshit.

(AP) Democratic presidential candidates Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama touted themselves as willing and able to work civilly with members of the Republican party during interviews with a newspaper in Ohio, where voters head to the polls Tuesday for a crucial primary election.

During her seven years as a U.S. senator serving New York, Clinton said, she has worked with members of the GOP on topics including child safety, veterans' issues and military readiness.

"My record is clear," Clinton said in a telephone call Thursday with The Cincinnati Enquirer editorial board. "Some people have been surprised by the collegiality between me and my colleagues across the aisle."

But Obama said he less inclined to give in to partisanship.

"Her natural inclination is to draw a picture of Republicans as people who need to be crushed and defeated," the U.S. senator from Illinois said in a separate telephone interview with the newspaper.

"It's not entirely her fault. She's been the target of some unfair attacks in the past."

As president, he said, he'd work with both Democrats and Republicans in Congress.

"I'm not a person who believes any one party has a monopoly on wisdom," he said.

What about a monopoly on "rip the Constitution to shreds and ask us to thank them for it please Mister President may I have another" BULLSHIT, Senator?

Remember the Goldwater slogan, "In your heart, you know he's right?" Well, I still am not convinced we have to play the "other side of the aisle" game, but if we do, in our hearts, we know the GOP is



Happy Leap Day.

Don't Sugarcoat It Award for January 23

to Physioprof, a recent addition to the Blue Gal sidebar.

Physioprof has just started his blog, but he comes with a pedigree. He was kicked in the ass to get his own blog by Driftglass, who was kicked in the ass to get his own blog by Steve Gilliard. So Physioprof is kinda sorta Steve's blog grandson he never knew.

Steve would be proud.

Here's the kind of comment at DG's, this time regarding Chris Mathews, that got Physioprof bumped to his own blog:

"You know you're truly a bottom-of-the-barrel low-life misogynist scumbag when even some asshole "reporter" from gonorrheic cockdribble purveyor Politico calls you on your sexism."

That comment alone is worthy of a don't sugarcoat it, but here's a sample of the don't sugarcoat it talent decorating Physioprof's own place...

For progressives who are disgusted with Obama’s comments about Reagan, it doesn’t matter what he said, how it was intended, or how it should have been interpreted. What matters is the undeniable fact that he mentioned Reagan–the most beloved halo-encircled icon of the motherfucking Republican Party–you know, those sick depraved bastards who have been successfully working day and night for the last 40 years to turn our constitutional republic into a feudal fucking kingdom–in a context other than one of avowed repudiation of his pernicious political strategies and governmental policies. Reagan was the leader of those sick depraved bastards as he presided over the early stages of enacting their perverted agenda, one that has now brought us to the brink of national disaster.

I've said it to you already, Physioprof, but welcome to the party. Leave comments at his place, and tell him Blue Gal sent you.

Don't Sugarcoat It Award for September 30

To Norwegianity for this gem:

The Supreme Court will have to put a hold on each and every scheduled Texecution because the state of Texas is run by a pack of psychotic, dry-humping, Mexican-hating, closeted misanthropes who have their best sex when a person of color gets injected.

I just can't add a thing to that. Well done, ma hunnies.

Don't Sugarcoat It Award for August 26

It goes to FOBG Alicia at Last Left Turn Before Hooterville for her lovely post:

Shut Up, Newt. Just Shut Up. Please, For the Love of God, STFU.

It's from a few, okay, ten days ago, but still worth reading every sweet word. Love on ya, Alicia. (Leave comments over there as usual with the Don't Sugarcoat Its.)

Caption this photo

Jenna shows us how to practice abstinence. First, don't spill yer beer.

Photo at Tengrain's, who points out how classy she looks.

Gone all morning...don't sugarcoat it award this afternoon.

Don't Sugarcoat It Award for August 10...

goes to FOBG D-Cup of Politits for her lovely post:

Bring on The Class Warfare: A Rant That Covers Anal Sex, Solid Gold Strap-Ons and Sean Hannity's Masturbation Habits

Yes ma hunnies the title alone is award-worthy but the whole post is worth reading. Leave comments over there, please.

And correcting two major oversights Politits is now on the blogroll and previous winner DeRosaWorld will be getting his prize sent out the same time as D-Cup's. Sorry 'bout that.

Don't Sugarcoat It Award for June 15

When I linked him yesterday I also found that DeRosaWorld had recently written a lovely post worthy of the Don't Sugarcoat It award. Don't Sugarcoat It's go to small blogs (that can use the hits, so please don't submit members of Congress or any Orange Push-ups) who use language to tell it like it is. The language need not be foul, but we won't let that stop us neither.

DeRosaWorld wins today with his lovely and daintily-named post, "The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff can Suck my Dick! The Secretaries of State and Defense -- Double Suck! -- War Czar."

The judges were particularly impressed that DeRosaWorld wants the President of the United States to actually act as Commander in Chief instead of hiding behind a non existent, no one wants that job, war czar. Good one.

If DeRosaWorld wants a button, he can email me a snail mail addy.

And btw I can't figure out who to give the prize to in the poetry contest. They're all too good. Maybe I'll just do a drawing. I'll keep you posted.

Hump Day Open Thread

Bumpersticker from here.

Comment prompts:

This came up at salon Monday: Who's your favorite GOP candidate, for pure snark/ridicule purposes? My initial buck is on Brownback, but Guiliani sure is a close second. Tell us why, too.

Is there any link between Scooter Libby and the guy who jumped the Popemobile yesterday? Make one up.

I'm also looking around for some don't sugarcoat it posts. Got some sweet panties for the award ceremony. If you see a blogpost that doesn't sugarcoat it (small blogs only, please), let me know.

Don't Sugarcoat It Award for May 10.

Seriously, if I were to start vlogging it would be fun to sit around with four people contractually obligated to be less attractive than I am, and scream about what an awful person Paris Hilton is. How much does Nancy Grace make, anyway?

Well, not that any of us give a rat's behind about Paris, but Happy Jihad's House of Pancakes, with the perfect excuse--needing NOT to think about his dissertation--has written a lovely post about Ms. Hilton's plea for clemency. Actually, the letter to Governor Schwarzenegger is way funny in its own right, but Happy Jihad adds his own unique brand of flapjackin' goodness to the mix.

Apparently the letter begging for clemency, which the Jihad has the wisdom NOT to link, includes this indigestible nugget:

If the late Former President Gerald Ford could find it in his heart to pardon the late Former President Richard Nixon after his mistake(s), we undeniably support Paris Hilton being pardoned for her honest mistake as well, and we hope and expect The Governor will understand and grant this unusual but important request in good faith to Ms. Paris Whitney Hilton.

To which Happy Jihad replies:

Unusual, you betcha! And what is this Watergate shit? Do you know how unpopular Gerald Ford became after he pardoned Nixon? Real unpopular! And you are invoking that as part of your appeal to an elected official? Good luck, sugar tits.

I also appreciate his advice to Ms. Hilton regarding the fear and tears her impending jail time brings about:

You know what makes the scary times better? Booze!

Happy Jihad will be receiving via snail mail a "Vituperative, foul-mouthed, blogger of the Left" button from the Cafepress store. Washington Post columnist David Broder, who coined the phrase, and I, congratulate you.

And yeah, as usual with the DSCIA, leave your comments over at the winner's post. Thanks.


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