Movies, movies...Lesbian movies!

I've always been a big fan of the movies. Ever since I can remember. Some movies were so special at certain moments in my life, that somehow made me think about what I was doing and subsequently make a drastic decision.
There are the movies that make me laugh, make me cry, got me scared, and then... there are the "lesbian movies"

The first movie that I saw way before I "became a lesbian" was "Entre Nous". If you haven't seen it, it is a fabulous story about two women that find each other after the war. The daughter of one of the women is the director of the film. I liked the images, and yet I was very curious about the whole thing that was happening between the women! At that moment I was fighting very much against me being actually "that way".
Then in New York, I saw two movies that were an eye opener for me: "The Incredibly true adventures of 2 girls in love" and "Go Fish". Honestly, on this last one I felt it was interesting to see this lesbian world, but basically I was bored with it. At least the girls were more entertaining!
It was with my first serious girlfriend that I discover "Desert Hearts". That was a movie that really moved me! I was so into the whole story and the tension of the professor with the younger woman... It was like my fantasies coming true! (yes, I had a crush on one of my professors in College!)
One of the most beautiful movies I've seen with a lesbian theme was "When night is falling". I loved the style, the sets, the color, the symbolism, the women...pretty much I loved everything.
And then, there are the foreign movies that I consider a must: "Fire", because it breaks with everything traditional within a very conservative Indian society. "Aimée & Jaguar" is a great love story set in WWII, filled with bravery and sadness, and it was shot in Berlin; and last but not least, "French Twist," a very funny story about an unusual threesome, with Victoria Abril, one of my favorite Spaniard actresses. There are many other movies with a Lesbian theme that I saw, and many that I want to see, a couple of Spanish movies are on my list. Now I feel like watching "Entre Nous". Good thing I own the DVD. Good night!

There is no such thing as Costumer Service!

In Europe, the concept of "Customer Service" is not exactly the same as we are used to in the US. Don't get me wrong, many things are great in Europe, but they still don't believe that crap of "the client is always right". They KNOW they are doing YOU a favor, even if you are the one PAYING!

The first time I noticed that, was many years ago, when I had a Venezuelan Passport.
I was traveling to Europe with a friend, and we were coming to Germany, France, Switzerland and Belgium.

I went to the French Consulate in New York, since France was the only country that required a visa. In there, they asked me where I was traveling, and I told them. Then, they insisted I should ask for the Visa for Germany since I was going to be there the longest. But Germany didn't required Visa for Venezuelan tourists. It took me a good 10 minutes to convince the woman that she was supposed to be the one giving me the visa. And finally, after paying some $40 I got it.


When I moved to Germany I also discover that again, Customer Service was not the "strong" skill of many companies.
For example in January, Deutsche Telecom called to offer me a special deal with my DSL, an upgrade that required a new router, plus free calls in Germany, all for just 1 more Euro a month. So, I said yes. Almost 3 weeks later, one day I didn't have Internet access through DSL. Since my best friend was experiencing the same, I thought maybe it was a thing in Berlin. It was a Wednesday. Thursday, still no DSL. So I called Telecom. And they said that it was because they switched me already to the improved DSL... but Oh! I haven't got the router yet!! And I need the internet, since I WORK on the internet! I was lucky enough that I could call the "English" line where, if you are lucky, someone that speaks English will answer. So, they ordered my old connection re-connected, and I told them that I would call when I got the router.
One week later, finally the router arrives. I try to install it, follow all the instructions, follow everything and then... nothing! No connection was made. In the meantime, my best friend had spent more than a week and a half without internet, because there was a problem with DSL that was provided by Telecom, but her Internet provider was AOL, and they could not help her, because AOL didn't have access to DSL, and Telecom would not help her because she was not a client for their Internet. And by the way, AOL is my internet provider and Telecom provides DSL.
So, I call Telecom, they were very patient, and the guy explained to me for over 20 minutes what I should do for the configuration, since I have a Mac and the instructions were for Windows... After 20 minutes he asked me for my client number, and I gave it to him. He insisted he needed one that was different, which was my internet access client number. When I told him AOL provided my Internet, the patient and nice guy became a completely different person! Oh, then I can't help you! You have to call AOL! But it was Telecom offering me the new service! I just knew there was only one solution: CANCEL THE NEW CONTRACT AND RETURN THE ROUTER! (Which by the way, they offer for free on the phone and then sent me the bill for 58,49€!)

And this week, I spent 5 days trying to get a reservation for 4 tickets from Barcelona to Caracas. It was a complete and total nightmare!!! The Customer Service this time was in Spain. They rejected my credit card twice, requesting a bank transfer instead. I called the US to the Bank that issued my Card and asked what was the problem, and they said they have not received anything! When I told the spaniard company that they can call collect and ask for authorization over the phone, they say: "I'm sorry but we are not used to do that". After coordinating with many people I finally get them the transfer, and 2 hours after the transfer was made, they sent me an e-mail telling me that unfortunately my reservation was canceled, and I would have to make another reservation, which is now almost 400€ more!!
I felt I was becoming THE HULK! I felt like my skin was green and I could break that woman's neck over the phone! But instead I had to be calmed and collected, because of course she might not be as "diligent" as she has been so far! That was terrible!
I'm sorry about ranting, but in cases like the ones above, I really miss the United States Customer Service, where the client is always right!

Sunday's Rituals

When I was a kid, I remember I would look for the newspaper on Sundays to read the comics. When my sister was able to read, we would "call" a reservation of the comics so one could read it first. Kid's stuff! Later on in life, there was a time when I would love Sunday mornings to read the newspaper while listening to Opera, which usually was "La Traviata" and "Carmen".
After my father died, on Sundays my mom would go to the cemetery, and then we all go to have lunch together. I would almost always ordered a French Onion soup, and that would make me take a nap in the afternoon. Then I'd go to the movies at night.
When I lived in New York, Sunday brunch was a must, no matter with who, or where, but it became a tradition.
Now that I'm living in Europe, Sundays are days that have only one thing constant for me: I read the Washington Post Magazine. I discovered it over the internet, one day that I was looking for something to read, and really enjoyed it. One of the people I enjoy reading is Jeanne Marie Laskas. Some of her columns are hilarious! I also like the features they write about.
Why am I telling you this? Well, this week, Laskas wrote about hair, and I found it very funny, since I was writing in here about hair too.

Some times, it is just a haircut!

Have you ever had one of those day when you feel like life is too much? Nothing goes the way you want! You felt like cereal for breakfast, and the milk went bad. You wanted to take the day off, and you get sick with nausea and can't even move from the bed. You wanted to open a can of peanuts, and the ring breaks when you try to pull it. Or your cat vomits all over your CDs!
Well, when you thought nothing was going to get better, you might take action, searching for a solution. Of course, some solutions are not exactly the best... But then you realize that life can be so much better, and you know you'll just feel better if you had the perfect haircut!
I know, this sounds superficial, but it is true for most women, straight, gay, femmes or butches. A haircut can be THE defining act that will make you look at life under another perspective: the one from where YOU feel great!
Some times you think you know what can be best, but its not true. Britney's haircut, need I say more? Although I still think she doesn't look THAT bad! I don't think she is crazy because she shaved her head... I did it once too (and stayed in my house for 3 months until my hair grew!)

Think for example of Demi Moore on "G.I. Jane" She had the hair, she had the skills, she was the one to be a G.I, but until the haircut, she could not really accomplish her goals. I liked that movie, and strangely enough, I thought that scene when she shaves her hair was very sexy. Maybe I am alone with this but its Ok. I know I can be weird sometimes.

Then we have people like Shakira, for whom her hair is so much a part of her whole presence! If its' curly is great, if its straight is great. She looks great no matter what, even when her clothes are ripped, because she has a great body too. And by the way, have you seen the video of Shakira and Beyoncé, "Beautiful Liar"? They look so alike! I watched it few times and at points it is confusing! They look great together, almost like twins. Great directorial job! Sorry I digress.
Getting back to my original idea, a haircut can be what really changes everything! I bet you that millions of women in the 90's knew very well, that having THAT perfect look and hair, was the solution to their problems. Remember "the Rachel"? Maybe some of you are too young to remember,(in case you haven't seen it, just check out reruns of "Friends", or rent the DVDs) but I know many that tried to get it, got it and well, the result was not what they expected. But just the idea of looking that great, was enough to already change the mood and see life under a different perspective.
So, without further ado, I'm going to get a haircut today! Have a nice weekend!

Gay Marriage at Disney: LEGAL!!

Disney Legalizes Same-Sex Unions
Real social change doesn't come from Washington.

Jesse Walker | April 9, 2007
Gay couples are now free to buy a Fairy Tale Wedding package at Disneyland, Disney World, or Disney's cruise ships, with "a ceremony setting befitting the dreams of a princess." The Disney properties have long allowed same-sex couples to tie the knot on the premises, but this is the first time those unions are being given official sanction. The Magic Kingdom has thus proved itself more progressive than the motherland, or as progressive as you can be while throwing around the word "fairy."

The reactions have ranged from the anti-gay activist Sonja Dalton's remark that this would be "a fantasy wedding indeed" to the gossip site TMZ.com's depressed discovery that homosexuals can be tacky too. (It's called camp, darlings.) But the most interesting fact here is just why Disney would change its policy. It wasn't because regulators ordered it to do so. If anything, the government has been increasingly unfriendly to gay unions, with multiple states passing laws refusing to recognize same-sex marriages. Nor was it pressure from activists, though The Advocate reports that "the change follows criticism from LGBT news outlets." (From the other side of the issue, the Southern Baptist Convention boycotted the Disney empire from 1997 to 2005 because of its "promotion of homosexuality.") It was the fact that two potential customers asked to purchase the service, and the company decided it had more to gain from saying yes than saying no.
click title for full article

I think it is great for all those people that actually want to get married, be it homosexual or heterosexual couples! I support the Same-sex marriages, just because we are all citizens, and we all should have equal civil rights. The religious organizations can do whatever they want, but the State is under the obligation to protect the civil rights of ALL the citizens, and make sure they have EQUAL RIGHTS. So, if a couple wants to marry and enjoy the benefits of filing taxes, immigration, inheritance, adoption, and all those rights that are attached to the contract of marriage, why not make it a LEGAL RIGHT for EVERY COUPLE? Most of the people that oppose gay marriage argue under religious reasons. And the State should have NOTHING to do with the Church.
Personally, I don't believe in marriage. But I will support every homosexual couple that wants to marry and its registered at Pottery Barns or any of those places!

Berlin, Berlin... Berlin!

What a beautiful day we had today. I went out with the bike and met my girlfriend at Nollendorf Platz, which is one of my favorite places in Berlin. It is filled with people and cafes, and the atmosphere is relaxed in general.


There you can find people from all over, many gays since one street over is filled with gay bars, and is one of those places where you can sit at a cafe ans spend the afternoon just looking at people.

Today in particular, since the weather was so nice, there were a lot of people on bicycles, people sitting outside in cafes and eating ice cream.



We had delicious Korean food at a small but excellent little restaurant called "Rotari". If you are around, you got to go there.
Days like today, make me love this city, because even the colors look different!

Oh, and just to show you two typical things from Berlin: There are a lot of Bears like this one here, all over the city. There was one with the rainbow flag right in here, but they moved it and I don't know where it is. Also, in Berlin, most of the taxis, are Mercedes Benz...
Berlin is still to me a small town with a big city mentality. I enjoy being here, and its such a cool place! Of course when it is cloudy and rainy and the sun doesn't come out for a week, then I hate it!

Lesbian Celebrities

I noticed that people are obsessed with celebrities, or at least the media is, and they want to transfer those obsessive feelings to the public. So, I was thinking, besides the already known lesbian celebrities like Ellen Degeneres, Rosie O'Donnell, Melissa Etheridge, Martina Navratilova, I would like to have some of those celebrities that the media is after, come out as lesbian. I'm not saying they are, but wouldn't it be cool to have some of these women as lesbians? Or at least as honorary lesbians because they are so cool (according to me!)


So, my "YES" list would be: Reese Witherspoon, Angelina Jolie, Britney Spears, Beyoncé Knowles, Shakira, Jennifer Lopez, Salma Hayek, Alyssa Milano and of course my personal list of favorites, Julia Roberts, Sandra Bullock, Hillary Clinton, Emma Thompson, Demi Moore, Melina Kanakaredes, Mariska Hargitay, Joy Behar, Holland Taylor (Helena's mom on the L word, even though some say she is already one of us!).

But I also have a list of people that I DO NOT want to be part of the lesbian community! I know, I shouldn't be so discriminating, but I don't think they would give us a good name. We already are not exactly in the good side of many people, like the religious groups and such, so, we don't really need someone that will damage our image even more. This is a very short list: Paris Hilton, Paris Hilton, Paris Hilton, Star Jones

Of course this is just wishful thinking on a slow night!

Women to the back of the bus!

I was just watching CNN, and there was a report about 2 bus lines that have the route into central Jerusalem, where they cater to the orthodox Jewish people, and they have the women sitting in the back, while the men ride up front. Not only that, I don't know for sure if the women could actually go in the front if there were no seats available in the back. Apparently, only women accompanied by men that are relatives are allowed to sit next to them in the bus, Otherwise, they have to sit in the back. One of the women interviewed said something that made me think: "To every religion, be it Jewish, Muslim or Christian, it is like 'open season' for women".
I want to think that every religion should have their own practices and convictions, but like the women with the Taliban, and so many others that are abused in the name of cultural and religious practices, shouldn't it be a limit when there are human rights being violated?
I feel I am so lucky! I am a woman and I'm free to write what I want, and do what I want and love who I want. There are so many that die just because they don't have the right to go to a doctor, simply because they need to be accompanied by a male relative. What would happen to us lesbians, if we don't have a "male relative"?
I still can't believe that those are practices that are current in today's world!
There has to be something we can do about it!

DISCRIMINATION: a nasty habit

I found this on the internet:

Lesbian Couple in Wyo. Denied Communion
Apr 5, 01:22 PM EST
By KATHLEEN MILLER - Associated Press Writer

GILLETTE, Wyo. (AP) -- Leah Vader and Lynne Huskinson, a lesbian couple who got married in Canada last August, sent a letter recently to their state legislator decrying a Wyoming bill that would deny recognition of same-sex marriages. The lawmaker read the letter on the floor of the Legislature.
Soon after, the local paper interviewed the couple on Ash Wednesday and ran a story and pictures of them with ash on their foreheads, a mark of their Roman Catholic faith.
It wasn't long after that that the couple received a notice from their parish church telling them they have been barred from receiving Communion.
"If all this stuff hadn't hit the newspaper, it wouldn't have been any different than before - nobody would have known about it," said the couple's parish priest at St. Matthew's, the Rev. Cliff Jacobson. "The sin is one thing. It's a very different thing to go public with that sin."
Click the title for full story
The end of the article:
"Vader said the couple never made any secret of their relationship. She pointed to statuettes of two kissing Dutch girls in front of their single-wide trailer home. She also said that the couple posed for a church directory family photo with Vader's children from a previous marriage, and that the church has sent mail to both of them at the same address for years.
Huskinson questioned why Catholics having premarital sex and using birth control are not barred from receiving Communion, too. But the parish priest said the difference is this: The other Catholics are "not going around broadcasting, `Hey I'm having sex outside of marriage' or `I'm using birth control.'"

I grew up as a Catholic, and I do follow the philosophy of Jesus, but I just can't cope with a Chruch that is acting this way! I can't believe that this Church wants to make John Paul II a saint, when he was the most homophobic Pope in history! I can't believe that Hate is a family value, much less a Christian value. I can't believe when they tell us that GOD hates homosexuals, when according to them, GOD created each and EVERYONE of US.

Today, I am a PROUD FORMER CATHOLIC simply because I know that Jesus Christ wouldn't have acted the way the Church is doing it.
And I know if we want a different future, we have to start teaching our children to accept and to not discriminate. Check out this videos on YouTube. It is an experiment a teacher did with third graders, and there is a big lesson there. Kids are what we teach them. Let's stop discrimination.
A Class Divided, Part 1
A Class Divided Part 2
A Class Divided Part 3

What makes a woman SEXY?

Its almost 4 in the morning, and I'm not sleepy at all. So, I was thinking about sharing with you cyber visitors my ideas of what makes a woman sexy. First, I feel that every woman I've been attracted to, was and probably still is very sexy. My first serious crush was Julie Andrews playing Maria in "The Sound of Music". Yes, I know, not very innocent of me at 8 years old, but I just couldn't help it! By that time I also fell in love for the first time: my third grade teacher. I always had the hots for older women!
After that, I can't remember much. I think I was not paying too much attention, since I was trying to be straight. Years passed, I went to the University and it wasn't until my Masters degree that I actually came to face the truth.
I went to the movies and saw in a huge screen an incredible shot. The movie, "Pretty Woman" and the object of my desires, Julia Roberts! My heart stopped, I felt like melting, but then it was over, and I thought it was something brief, just a fleeting moment of crazy passion at the 3:15pm show.
But life and Television had something else for me to digest. Candice Bergen playing Murphy Brown was the woman of my dreams! Clever, funny, strong... I couldn't fake being straight anymore.

My first "serious" girlfriend knew I had other loves that came freely into our bedroom: Melina Kanakaredes in her underware walking around on a scene from "Providence", or Annette Bening in "The American President" and later on, Mariska Hargitay, Meridith Vieira, Demi Moore... There was only one that was a constant, even in her worst moments, she was always my real love: Julia Roberts! In "Stepmom" I really confirmed that she will always be for me the epitome of a Sexy Woman... of course after my girlfriend! Good thing my girlfriend has this German mentality and doesn't have a problem if I have a one night thing with Julia... so, Julia, if you are reading this, please contact me! I promise you a night to remember!!! OK, time to go to bed, Good night!

Isn't she beautiful?

She is my favorite painting... with my personal touch.

And since I was thinking about beauty, I found a website where women (mostly) get to review beauty products. For all you lipstick lesbians and women in general out there, the place is called beauty tricks, and their link is under "interesting links".
http://www.beauty-tricks.com/

Support women's sports! WNBA

First of all, this is so not like me! I am really not into sports, but I feel I should do my part of supporting the women that are in professional sports. I was checking out the WNBA website, and found that the tickets to the games start at $10! That is pretty affordable to be in New York City! Of course I checked out the Liberty Team. When I told my girlfriend this afternoon that I was actually writing about sports in my blog, her jaw dropped! I am still laughing at her face!
Other than that, I've been experimenting with a great little software. I'll show you all what I have done later on. It would go faster, if I could understand all the commands! (The software is in German, and my German is very basic and rather limited)