¡THE BATTLEFIELD IS EVERYWHERE!

WALK SOFT & CARRY A BIG STICK...

WHAT IF...? THE STRANGE THING ABOUT THE JOHNSONS

I came across this movie via my blog brother Zee Jai's blog and I HAD to post this to the blog. This movie TOTALLY blew me away and answer a question that was on my mind for years and I hope you leave asking yourself What if...?

The Johnsons are an attractive, well-to-do,
upper-middle class family. Sidney, husband and father, is a famous poet, known
and adored for his kindness and sensitivity. Joan, wife and mother, is a
dutiful housewife, an obsessive homemaker and the life of every party. Their son,
Isaiah, is a charismatic young man who has just gotten married to an equally
appealing young woman. In fact, there is only one thing that separates the
Johnsons from their charming friends and neighbours: Isaiah, the son, has been
molesting Sidney, the father, since he was fifteen years old. And what's more,
Sidney has written a memoir that chronicles, in great detail, the ins-and-outs
of this unseemly father-son relationship. 'The Strange Thing About The
Johnsons' is a dark satire of the domestic melodrama, which asks "What
if...?" and then for some reason comes up with an answer.

DADDY: ¿WHAT'S IN A NAME?

Ah, the Sugar Daddy. For straight men
this role is taken for granted: You have a hot girlfriend because you’re
loaded? But if a gay couple’s ages vary by 10 years or more, others will let
the barbs fly without hesitation. Yes, few men are as scorned as the Sugar
Daddy, which is ironic because intergenerational love among gays is not
uncommon.

Youth and beauty are qualities women
are typically judged on, while men trade on their economic status. Thus,
traditionally, heterosexual men and women each know where they stand in the
dating game. But in the gay world, youth, beauty and economic status often
intermingle, so it becomes particularly difficult for some gay men to not only
understand their position in a relationship, but also to refrain from judging,
making assumptions or growing defensive when labels such as “Daddy” are thrown around.

DADDY, one simple word that provokes a variety of responses; but why?

@ THE CENTER OF PATHOLOGY IS...

 ...at the center of
pathology is the individual's inability to control the self. One of the amazing
things about the human mind when one looks at it from the point of view of the
so-called unconscious, is that the individual who does not know himself and does
not know reality, is the individual who escapes from self-knowledge, is an
individual who does not know the roots and bases of his actions. 

 He is an individual who seems to be determined by external forces (or by internal forces) of which he has little or no knowledge. He is often constantly puzzled by his own behavior. He is often a wonderment to himself. He struggles against impulses, desires and wishes over which he has little or no control because he has, in his escape from self-knowing and reality, conceded his self-control and given it over to someone else. 

In releasing his identity and permitting another
to place an identity within his psyche, he has at the same time placed in the
hands of that other the ability to control his behavior."

8 THINGS NO ONE TELLS YOU ABOUT RELATIONSHIPS...

The
surprising, enlightening, and sometimes hard truths we all face after marriage,
and how they teach us about what love really means.

"...And
they lived happily ever after."

You're
smart. You know life is no storybook. But admit it: Somewhere deep in your
subconscious lurk romantic visions of a fairytale ending. The images may be
sketchy and a little outdated, but you can still make out the silhouette of the
bride and Prince Charming riding off into the sunset.

In real
life, sometimes your Disney fairy tale ends up feeling more like a Wes Craven
horror flick — and you're the chick who keeps falling down and screaming for
her life. I've been there. Let's face it; marriage is not for the faint of
heart. You want to believe your pure love for each other will pull you through.
And it does. But it ain't always pretty.

That may
sound grim. But here's a secret: Sometimes it's the least romantic parts of
marriage that have the most to teach you about yourself, your partner, and the
nature of love. Read on for some simple truths that will unlock the surprising
treasures and pleasures in your imperfect, unstorybook, real-life love.

1. You
will look at the person lying next to you and wonder, Is this it? Forever?

When you
get married, you think that as long as you pick the right guy — your soul mate
— you'll be happy together until death do you part. Then you wake up one day
and realize that no matter how great he is, he doesn't make you happy
every moment of every day. In fact, some days you might wonder why you were in
such a hurry to get married in the first place. You think to yourself, this
is so not what I signed up for.

Actually,
it is. You just didn't realize it the day you and your guy were cramming
wedding cake into each other's faces, clinking champagne glasses, and dancing
the Electric Slide. Back then you had no idea that "for better and for
worse" doesn't kick in only when life hands you a tragedy. Your
relationship mettle is, in fact, most tested on a daily basis, when the utter
sameness of day-in/day-out togetherness can sometimes make you want to run for
the hills. That's when the disappointment sneaks in, and maybe even a palpable
sense of loneliness and grief. It's not him. It's just you, letting go of that
sugarcoated fantasy of marriage that danced in your eyes the day you and your
beloved posed in all those soft-focus wedding photos. You're learning that
marriage isn't a destination; it's a journey filled with equal parts excitement
and tedium.

Waking up
from a good dream to face the harsh morning daylight may not seem like a reason
to celebrate. But trust me, it is. Because once you let go of all the hokey
stories of eternal bliss, you find that the reality of marriage is far richer
and more rewarding than you ever could have guessed. Hard, yes. Frustrating,
yes. But full of its own powerful, quiet enchantments just the same, and that's
better than any fairy tale.

2. You'll
work harder than you ever imagined.

Early on,
when people say, "Marriage takes work," you assume "work"
means being patient when he forgets to put down the toilet seat. In your
naiveté, you think that you will struggle to accommodate some annoying habit,
like persistent knuckle cracking or flatulence.

If only
it were that easy. Human beings, you may have noticed, are not simple
creatures. Your man has mysterious, unplumbed depths — and from where he sits,
you're pretty complicated, too. You have to learn each other the same way that
you once learned earth science or world geography. And getting married doesn't
mean you're done — it just means you've advanced to graduate-level studies.
That's because every time you think you've mastered the material, he'll change
a bit. And so will you. As two people grow and evolve, the real work of marriage
is finding a way to relate to and nurture each other in the process.

"It's
like losing weight," says Andrea Harden, 45, of Buffalo, NY. "You
want it to be a one-time deal. You lost it, now just live. But then you learn
it's a lifestyle. That's marriage. The effort is a forever thing." So
don't be too hard on yourself — or him — on those days when you feel like
you're struggling through remedial math.

3. You
will sometimes go to bed mad (and maybe even wake up madder).

Whoever
decided to tell newlyweds "Never go to bed angry" doesn't know what
it's like inside a bedroom where tears and accusations fly as one spouse talks
the other into a woozy stupor until night meets the dawn. If this scenario
sounds familiar, I've got three words for you: Sleep on it.

You need
to calm down. You need to gain perspective. You need to just give it a rest.
I've found that an argument of any quality, like a fine wine, needs to breathe.
A break in the action will help you figure out whether you're angry, hurt, or
both, and then pinpoint the exact source. Maybe the fight that seemed to erupt
over the overflowing garbage can is really about feeling underappreciated.
Could be you're both stressed out at work and just needed to unload on someone.
Taking a break will help you see that, and let go. Or maybe you really do have
a legitimate disagreement to work out. Without a time-out, sometimes a
perfectly good argument can turn into an endless round of silly back-and-forth,
rehashing old and irrelevant transgressions as you get more and more wound up.

Even when
you do manage to stay focused and on topic, there are some fights that
stubbornly refuse to die by bedtime. And if you stifle your real feelings just
to meet some arbitrary deadline, your marriage will surely be the worse for it.
"This was a huge lesson for me," says Andrea. "As women we've
been trained to make nice. But the whole kiss-and-make-up thing just to keep
the peace was eating me up inside. I'd let things build up inside me until I
just exploded. Now I wait a while to get hold of myself — let the emotions
settle a bit — and state my position. Even if that means reopening the fight
the next day."

4. You
will go without sex — sometimes for a long time — and that's okay.

There are
few men in the Western world sexier than my husband. And I don't say this
because I know he may read this article. I've seen women checking him out when
they think I'm not looking. (Honestly, ladies, you don't have to sneak a peek.
I don't mind if you stare.) That said, there are times that I just don't feel
like having sex — often for reasons that have nothing to do with Genoveso.
(See? Even his name is sexy.) I can't lie and say this is always okay with him.
But the fact is, there are also plenty of nights when he's not in the
mood. So maybe a few days go by when we don't do it. And then a few more.
And...

Sexless
periods are a natural part of married life. A dry spell isn't a sign that
you've lost your mojo or that you'll never have sex again. It just means that
maybe this week, sleep is more important than sex. (I don't know about you, but
between work, 3 a.m. feedings, the PTA, soccer, T-ball, and everything else, I
sometimes crave sleep the way a pimply, hormonal adolescent longs to cop a
feel.)

And don't
kid yourself; no one in America is doing it as often as popular culture would
have you believe. Instead of worrying about how much you think you
"should" be having sex, keep the focus on figuring out your own
rhythm. "I used to think, what’s happened to us? We always used
to be in the mood," says 35-year-old Kim Henderson of Oakland, CA,
who's been married for five years. "Now I know better. Life happens. My
husband just started a new job. He has a long commute, and we have two small
children. I think we're good."

The key
is to make sure that even if you're not doing "it," you're still
doing something — touching, kissing, and hugging. Personally, my heart
gets warm and mushy when my husband rubs my feet after a long, tiring day. He
may not be anywhere near my G-spot, but that little bit of touch and attention
keeps us connected even when we're not having spine-tingling sex.

5.
Getting your way is usually not as important as finding a way to work together.

I can be
a bit of a know-it-all. There, I said it. It's really not my intention to be
hurtful or brash with people I love. It's just that a lifetime of experience
has taught me that in most areas, at most times, I am right about most things.
What shocked me several years into my marriage, though, was the realization
that the more "right" I was, the more discontented my husband and I
were as a couple. See, oddly enough, throughout his life Genoveso has been
under the misguided impression that he's right most of the time (go
figure!). So we'd lock horns — often. That is, until I learned a few things.

Namely,
that when it comes to certain disagreements, there is no right or wrong — there
is simply your way of looking at things and your husband's. "I used to be
very black-and-white earlier in our marriage," says Lindy Vincent, 38, who
lives in Minneapolis. "Now I see that I'm not all right and my husband is
not all wrong. There's more gray in life than I thought, and that's taught me
patience and the value of compromise."

The more
I get to know and appreciate my husband for who he is, the more I respect his
positions. That doesn't mean I always agree with him. But I can see the value
in striking a balance that satisfies us both. And instead of harping on how
wrong he is, I can usually swallow the verbal vitriol and simply say something
like, "I see your point" or "I hadn't considered that."
After I sincerely acknowledge his view, it seems to become easier for him to
hear mine. And because I know I'm being heard, most of the time now, I don't
even want to prove how right I am anymore. Funny how that works, isn't
it?

6. A
great marriage doesn't mean no conflict; it simply means a couple keeps trying
to get it right.

Maybe you
think that because of my newfound wisdom, Genoveso and I never fight anymore.
Ha! As important as it is to strike a balance, it's also important to have a
big, fat fight every now and then. Because when you fight, you don't just raise
your voices; you raise real — sometimes buried — issues that challenge you to
come to a clearer understanding of you, your man, and your relationship. I
wouldn't give up our fights for anything in the world, because I know in the
end they won't break us; they'll only make us stronger.

7. You'll
realize that you can only change yourself.

Ever seen
the '80s sci-fi cult classic Making Mr. Right? When the stylish heroine,
played by Ann Magnuson, is hired to teach a robot how to act like a human, she
seizes the chance to create a perfect guy. A hotshot commercial whiz, she uses
her marketing prowess to shape John Malkovich's android character into her
personal version of the ideal man — sensitive, eager to please, and willing to
listen.

There is
a bit of that makeover fantasy in all of us — something that makes us believe
we can change the person we love, make him just a little bit closer to perfect.
We may use support and empathy or shouts and ultimatums, but with dogged
conviction we take on this huge responsibility, convinced we're doing the right
thing.

Whatever
our motives, the effort is exhausting. Transforming a full-grown man —
stripping him of decades-old habits, beliefs, and idiosyncrasies — is truly an
impossible task. And you will come to realize, sooner than later if you're
lucky, that it is far easier to change the way you respond to him.

Here's a
perfect case in point: "I used to go off on my husband because he didn't
empty the sink trap when he cleaned the kitchen," says Kimberly Seals
Allers, 36, of Bay Shore, NY. "It got me nowhere; my rants only made him
resentful. Now I come home and when the kitchen looks clean, I'm like, 'Cool,
now all I have to do is empty the sink trap.'"

8. As you
face your fears and insecurities, you will find out what you're really made of.

I've got
issues. Trust issues. Control issues. And others, I'm sure, that I've yet to
fully discover. I guess I've always known I wasn't perfect. But in more than a
decade of marriage, I've been smacked upside the head with the cold, hard
evidence.

There
were clues when Genoveso and I were dating, especially with the trust thing.
Early on, I was super suspicious of him. He used to say things like, "I'll
call you at 8." Then, just to try to trip me up, he'd call at 8. I knew he
was up to something, I just couldn't figure out what. The same kinds of
experiences followed after the wedding. Except occasionally he would actually
mess up. And I had no sense of scale when it came to rating his offenses;
everything was a major violation. Whether he teased me about a new haircut or
came home late, I seethed for days and even let thoughts of divorce creep into
my head. I figured, if he loved me — really and truly — this stuff wouldn't
happen.

I'd like
to be able to say that this irrational behavior lasted only a few months and I
eventually worked it out. Kind of, sort of, is closer to the truth. After years
of looking deeply into my soul and talking to good friends and the best sister
a girl could ever have, I've come to recognize certain things about myself. Not
to get all Dr. Phil about it, but I've had to examine my history with an
emotionally distant dad and a strong-willed mom and face up to all the ways,
both good and bad, that those relationships have affected how I approach my
marriage.

I still struggle
as a work in progress. But I am completely clear in the knowledge that many of
the deepest frustrations in your relationship are an opportunity for you to
confront yourself. That can be difficult to accept — after all, it's so much
more comforting to keep a running tab of your hubby's deficits and tell
yourself that his failings are the only thing standing between you and a
better marriage. But if you let it, this bumpy journey toward self-awareness
can be one of the more fulfilling rewards of a committed, long-term
relationship — you'll learn to love your quirks and be compassionate toward
yourself, just as you're learning to do with him.

That's the
strange beauty of marriage: It's full of hard times and hard lessons that no
one can ever prepare you for. But in the end, those are the things that give
richness to your life together — and make your love even deeper and stronger
than when it began.

MONDAY MUSICAL MOTIVATION: FIGHT FOR YOU

Check out the world
premiere of Jason Derulo's music video for "Fight For You" - The RedOne-produced track has been
selected as the official fourth single from Derulo's latest studio album "Future
History" - Enjoyable tune, with a cute and steamy video! I'm
still rooting for "Breathing" to become a smash hit, are you?

It´s gonna take a lot
to drag me away from you
There´s nothing that 100 men ore more could ever
do
Just like the rain down in Africa
It´s gonna take some time but I know you´re worth
fighting for!

OH

I´ll fight for you
EH BA BAM BA EH BAM BA EH EH EH BA BAM BA EH
EH BA BAM BA EH BAM BA EH EH EH BA BAM BA EH

I´ll fight for you

Friends are cool but we both know
They don´t want to see us together
Don´t wanna loos what I live for
I´m willing to do whatever
Cause I don´t wanna see you cry, cry
Give our love another try, try
I bet we get it right this time, time
As long as you´re prepared to fight, fight

I don’t wanna live another day
Without your body next to me
I´m not gonna let them break us down
Cause Baby I know now

It´s gonna take a lot to drag me away from you
-I´ll fight for you-
There´s nothing that 100 men ore more could ever
do
-I´ll fight for you-
Just like the rain down in Africa
-I´ll fight for you-
It´s gonna take some time but I know you´re worth
fighting for!

Lets go

What They say, it don’t even matter
They don´t really understand
Without each other we are barely breathing
Let´s get air in these hearts again
Cause I don´t wanna see you cry, cry

Give our love another try, try
I bet we get it right this time, time
As long as you´re prepared to fight, prepared to
fight

I don’t wanna live another day
Without your body next to me
I´m not gonna let them break us down
Cause Baby I know now

Know now, Know now

It´s gonna take a lot to drag me away from you
-I´ll fight for you-
There´s nothing that 100 men ore more could ever
do
-I´ll fight for you-
Just like the rain down in Africa
-I´ll fight for you-
It´s gonna take some time but I know you´re worth
fighting for!

I´ll fight for you
EH BA BAM BA EH BAM BA EH EH EH BA BAM BA EH
EH BA BAM BA EH BAM BA EH EH EH BA BAM BA EH

Now if you got someone that´s worth fighting for
Don´t let nobody hold you down, let me hear you
say, WOAH, OH WOA
And if you found someone that´s worth dying for
The one you can´t live without, let me hear you
say, WOAH, OH WOA

It´s gonna take a lot to drag me away from you
There´s nothing that 100 men ore more could ever
do
-I´ll fight for you
Just like the rain down in Africa
-I´ll fight for you
It´s gonna take some time but I know you´re worth
fighting for!

WHOW

It´s gonna take a lot to drag me away from you
-I´ll fight for you
There´s nothing that 100 men ore more could ever
do
-I´ll fight for you
Just like the rain down in Africa
-I´ll fight for you
It´s gonna take some time but I know you´re worth
fighting for!

Jason Derulo's Fight For You lyrics found on DIRECT LYRICS 

MIRACLE...

Miracle…The dictionary defines it as "an event that appears unexplainable by the laws of nature and so
is held to be supernatural in origin or an act of God." When I reflect
on the men and events that led me to Noel, I am forced to conclude that a
miracle -- no, a series of miracles -- has occurred. How else can years of heartache turn out to be, in the long run,
blessings?

But then my inner critic says, "Are you so self-obsessed as to believe that the hand of God/universe
moves through your puny life?" Well, if I assume an infinite God/universe,
the answer is, why not? The
dictionary definition of infinite is "having
no boundaries or limits." With that in mind it seems self-obsessed to
think that the influence of something infinite wouldn't extend to me, or anyone
else for that matter. Of course I could also claim that we're all chemical
accidents in a dead and meaningless universe. It just doesn't make a very
interesting Ah-Ha Moment!

THE DAHL HAUS PRESENTS: A LITTLE SKIN TO KEEP YOU WARM...

HOLD ON

"Hold On" is the title
of a song recorded by American vocal group Wilson Phillips. It was released
in February 1990 as the lead single from their album,Wilson Phillips. The song won the Billboard Music Award for Hot 100 Single of the Year for 1990. At
the Grammy Awards of 1991, the song received a nomination for Song of the Year, losing to "From a Distance" by Julie Gold and performed
by Bette Midler.

"Hold On"
became Wilson Phillips' first number one single, reaching the top spot of the Billboard Hot
100 on June 9, 1990. The song also spent a week atop the adult contemporary chart that same
year. In addition, "Hold On" peaked at number 6 on the UK Singles Chart.

·       
In
the 2004 comedy Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle,
Harold (John Cho)
and Kumar (Kal Penn)
sing along to this song while driving to White Castle.[13][14]

·       
A
cover of this song is performed in the talent show finale scene of the 2009
comedy Spring Breakdown.[15]

·       
The
song is performed by Wilson Phillips in a scene during the 2011 comedy Bridesmaids,
with members of the cast singing along. As a result the song re-entered the UK
and Australian Top 100 singles chart in July 2011.[citation needed]

·       
On
October 3, 2011, Chynna Phillips danced to "Hold On" on "Dancing
with the Stars".

WHAT DOESN'T KILL US...

What doesn't
kill us makes us bitter. I used to believe that to be both funny and true.
Years later I learned that pain could also be the touchstone for personal
growth, which of course points back to the original saying, "what
doesn't kill us makes us better." Not funny, but perhaps closer to
the truth. Or at least the truth I choose to believe in these days. So, having
recently experienced a bit of pain, am I better? Well, let's review:
I think I'm fairly immune to name-calling now. I'm not sure I could have made
that claim a few years ago.

I've also come
to see that the things I used to think were big deals, are not. Problems appear
to be relative. If you have a big one, it makes all the others seem almost
charming in comparison. And finally, when your life takes a path you could
never have foreseen, it's humbling. In a good way. It's kind of like a friendly
reminder from the universe that while you may think you have the starring role
in the movie of your life, you're actually just a bit player trying to grab a
quesadilla off the craft services table when no one's looking. So, to sum up: I
now have a thicker skin, I'm less likely to sweat the small stuff, and, perhaps
most importantly, I have a renewed sense of humility. All in all, better. 

THE DAHL HAUS WANNA KNOW: ¿WHAT ARE YOU THANKFUL FOR THIS YEAR?