THE DAHL HAUS PRESENTS: THE END(S) OF FEBRUARY 2013

DEAR JANUARY, HOW IS FEBRUARY?

FEBRUARY 2013: I LEARNT...

 ALL ELEMENTS I HAD TO TAP THIS MONTH

I FINALLY TOLD A FRIEND OF MINE SOMETHING THAT I KEPT FROM HIM FOR MONTHS ABOUT HIS RELATIONSHIP

THIS IS SO TRUE WHEN IT COMES TO MY CAREER & WHERE I WANT TO TAKE IT

AMEN TO THIS, BUT I DECIDED PUSH ON & KEEP MY EXPECTATIONS HIGH

 NOW I JUST NEED MORE SPACE...

 I DECIDED I WANTED MY FLASH TO BE GLORIOUS

I DECIDED THAT I NEED TO HAVE AS MUCH COMPASSION AS I COULD HAVE SO I CAN BREATHE WHEN THE CRAZY DAZE COME, HERE'S TO MARCH!

8 MEN IN YOUR LIFE YOU ARE OVERLOOKING

On your journey to finding true love, be careful not to make a wrong turn. Could Mr. Right be under your nose, men?

Don't Be Stubborn When it Comes to Love

Love is patient, love is kind… and it is also stubborn. Love will not surrender to you. It is your duty to surrender to it. It won’t come how or when you expect it to. Nor will it arrive in the package that you have predesigned in your mind. We do ourselves a disservice by attempting to make love fit our own agenda. Be flexible. It isn't about lowering your standards. It’s about increasing your awareness. Here are eight types of men in your life that you may have already overlooked.

¿TODAY {FEBRUARY 27th} IS NATIONAL WHAT DAY?

Today is National Chocolate Cake Day! 

Today is National Strawberry Day! 

SOURCE: CHECKIDAY

MANHOOD, A GAY MAN'S STRUGGLE

Manhood is an aspiration. It is a lofty and admirable goal that not every male can see or recognize. The road to manhood bestows respect on the individual male from inside because manhood is measured by the degree of difficulty attempted and achieved. The conditions one faces in confronting the obstacles to survival, in terms of degree of difficulty, may change, making life easier or more difficult, but the end result will always be the same because there are only two options. One either meets the challenges and overcomes them and embraces a true manhood, or one seeks to avoid struggle and pain at any cost and becomes less. It is always as simple as that.

The road to manhood is, and should be, difficult. The struggles undertaken by homosexuals aspiring to manhood insure the development of an internalized control over one's appetites, an awareness of our and our enemies' cultural history, and a clear understanding that one's responsibility to the life and resources of his community takes precedence over all other callings. It requires inner strength and consciousness. Struggle is the foundation of the homosexual manhood, struggle hones us, it defines us, and it makes us men.

RUPAUL'S DRAG RACE: SEASON 5, EPISODE 5 SNATCH GAME

·       Guest Judges: Julie Brown and Downtown Julie Brown

·       Mini-Challenge: Style a cuddler into a red carpet ready look for an Us Weekly fashion face-off

·       Mini-Challenge Winner: Alyssa Edwards, Detox, Roxxxy Andrews

·       Main Challenge: Celebrity impersonations in a Match Game-style setting

·       Challenge Winner: Jinkx Monsoon

·       Main Challenge Prize: Custom jewel package from Fierce Drag Jewels

·       Bottom Two: Detox and Lineysha Sparx

·       Lip Synch Song: "Take Me Home" by Cher

·       Eliminated: Lineysha Sparx

The shadow of the double elimination looms large over the remaining contestants as they enter the workroom to review the fresh banalities lipsticked onto the mirror. Roxxxy in particular is feeling the pressure. She thought for sure that a daily dose of Rolaskatox would grant her immortality, but the only recipe for legendary longevity is Charisma, Uniqueness, Nerve, and Talent, darling.

In what is fast becoming a trend, no one expresses regret that the eliminated ladies aren’t there anymore. With two less people around, there’s that much more room to hurl insults, so Jade and Alyssa fill the space with longer, sharper claws. A word to the wise, Ms. Jolie: Alyssa might not have a 26-inch waist, but you might not either in ten years, so maybe keep your body shaming to yourself. The thing these young kids forget about being 22 is that it only lasts a year.

Providing a much-needed break from the antagonism, the jaunty credits sequence jumps in, followed by an equally jaunty SheMail, and then an even jauntier real live RuPaul. She’s dressed like the bellhop in a 1940s farce and comes bearing fittingly zany news: the girls will be customizing fleece garments (referred to here as “cuddlers” because they could afford to buy Snuggies but not to call them by name, apparently) for a step-and-repeat “Who Wore It Best?” challenge.

¿TODAY {FEBRUARY 26th} IS NATIONAL WHAT DAY?

Today is International Sword Swallowers Day!

SOURCE: CHECKIDAY

YOU CAN ONLY CHOOSE ONE...

Diet 

¿OR?

Exercise

If you could ONLY CHOOSE ONE, which would you rather do? 

2013 OSCAR WINNERS ARE...

They say it’s an honor to be nominated. We say they are lying.

It’s in that spirit that we present you with the following list of winners (and only the winners) from Sunday’s 85th annual Academy Awards.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Christoph Waltz/Django Unchained

BEST ANIMATED SHORT FILM

Paperman

BEST ANIMATED FILM

Brave

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

Life of Pi

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS

Life of Pi

BEST COSTUME DESIGN

Anna Karenina

BEST MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING

Les Miserables

BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT

Curfew

BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT SUBJECT

Inocente

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

Searching for Sugar Man

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM

Amour

BEST SOUND MIXING

Les Miserables

BEST SOUND EDITING
Zero Dark Thirty and Skyfall (tie)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Anne Hathaway/Les Miserables

BEST FILM EDITING

Argo

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN

Lincoln

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE

Life of Pi

BEST ORIGINAL SONG

“Skyfall”/Adele

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

Argo/Chris Terrio

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

Django Unchained/Quentin Tarantino

BEST DIRECTOR

Ang Lee/Life of Pi

BEST ACTRESS

Jennifer Lawrence/Silver Linings Playbook

BEST ACTOR

Daniel Day-Lewis/Lincoln

BEST PICTURE

Argo

HOW DID SETH MACFARLANE DO?

WHO ARE THE REAL WINNERS/LOSERS @ THE OSCARS?

WHAT ARE YOUR BEST & WORST MOMENTS?

THE 85th ACADEMY AWARDS...

¿ARE YOU GONNA WATCH?

¿IS BLACK HISTORY MONTH RELEVANT?

Ask older African Americans if the contributions of blacks were highlighted in textbooks, school curricula or the nightly news when they were growing up, and the answer you'll likely hear is a resounding no. For centuries, the role that blacks, not to mention Hispanics, Native Americans and Asian Americans, played in shaping American society was left out of history books. To counteract this problem, historian Carter G. Woodson campaigned for what was known in 1926 as Negro History Week. Later, this week morphed into Black History Month, a time for the nation to recognize the major milestones and key figures in African-American history. But in today's society, where blacks are widely represented in U.S. government, popular culture, literature and elsewhere, the need for Black History Month has been called into question. Is Black History Month still relevant, or worse yet, is it racist? The benefits and drawbacks to celebrating black history may be more complex than you think.

The Argument for Black History Month

The United States is now headed by its first president of African descent. Moreover, blacks are widely represented in government, literature, film, athletics and other arenas. Given this, is it still necessary to set aside a month for the express purpose of celebrating the accomplishments of African Americans? Harvard University Professor Henry Louis Gates and writer Raina Kelley have both argued in Newsweek that Black History Month deserves to be celebrated, as it not only connects blacks to the struggles endured by forebears but also addresses the progress still to come in the black community.

"These sorts of gestures are necessary to reclaim the past," Gates explained in Newsweek. "Black History Month has been very effective in resurrecting the stories of our ancestors and in integrating those stories into our history. But we're not even on the horizon of the time to end Black History Month. When as many Americans are as familiar with Harriet Tubman as they are with Paul Revere, then we can talk about ending Black History Month."

Kelley noted that she understands why people, even African Americans, question the need for Black History Month, but stresses that the month can remain significant by highlighting the challenges facing black America at present.

"Rather than wasting time bemoaning the existence of Black History Month, why don't we use it to proselytize for the issues that need to be more fully covered and understood the other 337 days of the year-such as failing inner-city public schools, institutionalized poverty, health-care disparities, and job discrimination?" Kelley asks. "Black History Month is a measure of how fully or accurately our story is being told and a reminder of the work yet to be done."

When President Barack Obama proclaimed February 2010 African American History Month, he echoed some of the sentiments expressed by Kelley and Gates about why such a month should be acknowledged.

"Each February, we recognize African American History Month as a moment to reflect upon how far we have come as a nation, and what challenges remain," he remarked. "…In the volumes of black history, much remains unwritten. Let us add our own chapter, full of progress and ambition, so that our children's children will know that we, too, did our part to erase an unjust past and build a brighter future."

The White House makes the celebration of Black History Month relevant by adopting a different theme for the month each year. For instance, the theme for 2010 is "The History of Black Economic Empowerment." Such a theme encourages Americans to look back at how African Americans became entrepreneurs and skilled workers in spite of virulent racism, while pointing out how blacks can navigate the business and employment sectors today.

In his 2010 proclamation of African American History Month, President Obama pointed out how his administration aims to help blacks, and all Americans, by giving credits to small businesses, slashing tax breaks for companies that outsource work and giving breaks to companies that create jobs domestically.

"We are also reinvesting in our schools and making college more affordable, because a world class education is our country's best road map to prosperity," the President remarked.

If Black History Month is used as a platform to outline strategies to help the black community continue advancing, the 28-day celebration can remain relevant. And if the enormous challenges the black community has already confronted are spotlighted during Black History Month, African Americans may have faith that they can continue making progress. Despite potential benefits such as these, Black History Month continues to have its detractors.

The Argument Against Black History Month

Critics of Black History Month argue that the celebration is shallow, racist and "ghettoizes" black contributions to America in one 28-day period. For instance, Black History Month is a time when children learn about black inventors and pioneers such as Benjamin Banneker, an astronomer; or Madame C.J. Walker, the first self-made female millionaire. While those studying Black History Month are grilled on the names of African American pioneers, they receive little background on the historical context these heroes lived and prospered in despite deep-seated racism. Moreover, students learning about Black History Month may not understand the significance of Dr. Charles Drew reportedly inventing blood plasma. Without proper perspective, a student learning about Black History Month is armed with a list of names and inventions and little else.

Another reason Black History Month has come under fire is because some consider it to be racist. But is it? Perhaps Black History Month would be racist if its aim was to point out that blacks were superior to other groups. However, Black History Month functions to highlight the oft-overlooked accomplishments of African Americans. The reason there's no White History Month is because the accomplishments of whites and their contributions to society are showcased all year long. In short, Black History Month's goal is to raise awareness.

"Thus, it works in exactly the same way as Breast Cancer Awareness Month in October or Gay and Lesbian Pride Month in June," Kelley writes.

Some critics argue that Black History Month isn't racist because it singles out a particular racial group but because it seems to relegate celebration of African Americans to a mere 28 days. While Black History Month founder Carter G. Woodson designated February as a time to honor blacks (the month contains the birthdays of abolitionist Frederick Douglass and former President Abraham Lincoln, who signed the Emancipation Proclamation), he believed that the need to have such a month would one day prove unnecessary. He hoped that African Americans would be so thoroughly integrated into U.S. society that their contributions would no longer require singling out as the years passed.

Academy Award-winning actor Morgan Freeman has taken to task the fact that the U.S. still celebrates Black History Month. In a 2005 "60 Minutes" interview, Freeman called Black History Month ridiculous. "You're going to relegate my history to a month?" he asked. "I don't want a Black History Month. Black history is American history."

Historians such as the late Ronald Takaki and the late Howard Zinn tried to include the history of African Americans and other racial minority groups in their revisionist writings about American history. While the works of Takaki and Zinn are popular, especially in college courses, the standard history books continue to prominently feature whites while relegating racial minorities to the margins. Until the contributions of minority groups are the focal points of history books rather than footnotes, the need for Black History Month, Asian-Pacific American Heritage Month, National Hispanic Heritage Month and the like will remain strong.

 SOURCE: ABOUT DOT COM

ASSUMPTIONS...

"Everybody

fighting for the same thing may not necessarily be against the same thing and
everybody against the same thing may not necessarily be for the same
thing"

Kwame Ture

SPARTACUS: SEASON 3, WAR OF THE DAMNED, EPISODE 4: DECIMATION

A wise man once said, "The enemy deserves no mercy. Mercy is for the weak." Oh wait, no, that wasn't a wise man. That was John Kreese in Karate Kid. The Kreese technique of handling one's enemies was used within the walls of Spartacus' city during tonight's episode of Spartacus: War of the Damned, fittingly titled "Decimation." It was not a good night to be a Roman, I can tell you that my friends. Spoilers if you haven't seen the episode yet!

Who needs a war when there's plenty of in-fighting going on on both sides of this ongoing battle? There were already fractures developing among Spartacus' people even before Caesar managed to nose his way into the city and instigate a much bigger divide. While some people are supportive of Spartacus' fair but costly approach to handling the Roman prisoners, others think it would be much easier to survive the winter if they didn't have all these Romans to feed. I can see the argument to that, considering these rebels are mostly all freed slaves who spent their lives serving Romans against their will. But Spartacus' refusal to lower himself to the Romans' level by slaughtering them is also understandable. Of course, that means having to stuck up on a lot more food and supplies, which is what he spent the bulk of the episode trying to deal with.

When in Rome...

THE DAHL HAUS PRESENTS: FEBRUARY 2013 STIFF ONES

Life is like a penis. It's short, but seems so long when it gets hard