I'm So Ready

 First off Red Carpet Refugees needs to say Congrads to The LA Kings for winning the Stanley Cup! That makes 2 times in 3 years.  So for all of you that say that LA is not a hockey town, well....STANLEY CUP!  #told

 Some of you have shared with me your thoughts on what you see as my continuing to to place a microscope on the Right Wing.  In my own defense would I would like to say that they make it so easy with the double speak, coupled with their double standards.  To me the Tea Party are the Kardashians of the political world!  But today I would like to talk about our next presidential election.  And what better place to start then the great hope for the Democratic Party! 

The former First Lady,  Senator Clinton, Madame Secretary or "the brains behind Bill", whatever it is you call her Hillary Rodham Clinton has claimed a place in American history and refuses to step aside until she is finished.  But is she finished? Will she run? Can she win?   As Mrs Clinton said herself in a recent People Magazine interview "I have a decision to make...." 

But once again Boy About Town wants to go behind the sound bite & talk about what happens when that decision, which I believe has already been made, is announced.  So lets play along that the former Secretary Of State is spending time getting ready to be a Grandma, I believe that.  Enjoying watching TV with Bill, I kinda can go with that.  And is spending time in prayer to figure out if another run for The White House is the right thing to do, sorry girl ya lost me.  At this point there is no other person, of either party, that has the chops, the experience or the balls to lead the USA.  So with President Obama clearly giving his blessing & groups forming such as "I'm Ready For Hillary" could we please stop the peek a boo game and get to building some bridges with the moderates. Now I am sure all this has been happening out of view of the public view but what I am saddened by is the fact that while we will & should debate a candidates worthiness for public office why are we, with this candidate, asking question that would never be asked of a male.  We know Bill cheated with an intern by the name of Monica Lewinsky.  Why would anyone ask Hillary Clinton if she has read Monica's piece in Vanity Fair? Quick side note, amazing piece that I think everyone should read. Why would anyone ask about a concussion from years ago? Paul Ryan, who ran for Vice President,  has said that he has suffered AT LEAST THREE concussions, but I have yet to see anyone asking if his long term health & his ability to serve has been effected.  And the Grandma questions......REALLY?  Questions like "How will becoming a Grandma effect Hillary's decision making process?"  Was Mitt Romney asked that question...I am guessing no.   So is the fact that Hillary is clearly a woman an issue?  The fact that we are talking about it shows it is.  So talk people.  It is not going to change the fact that SHE is a force of nature that will handle this in her own time, in her own way. Hillary has said "we need to break that highest, hardest glass ceiling."  So we wait....sledgehammer in hand.

Stay Fabulous......Boy About Town 

What On Your Bedside Table....Batteries Not Included!

The other day when told someone I was reading a couple of books that I was looking forward to writing up on RedCarpetRefugees.com they looked at me as if I had just punched them.  So yes, Boy About Town can read, I even went to college!  But how often do any of us get a chance to sit down and read a book from cover to cover and really grab every little bit of it? Not that often I am guessing.  So I am gonna start reading some of the books you fine folks have been handing me, sending me & ordering for me and giving my never ending opinion on them. Kinda like Oprah's book club but without all the life lessons between commercial breaks!  The first book on top on the pile, yes there is a pile, is "Quitting Crystal Meth" by Joseph Sharp.  We are jumping right into the deep end of the pool boys & girls.  As we covered here on RedCarpetRefugees.com in a posting dated   September 25th 2013 the Meth epidemic has reached a point that everyone, somewhere knows someone that is battling Meth. Think you don't know someone? You know me, if only through this blog, but trust me there are others in your life.  In talking about the book I am going to refer to Mr Sharp as Joseph because he has opened himself so completely in his writing it would be odd to stand on ceremony, and lets face it, I am not that type of guy anyway.  What Joseph has done is put together a book that walks one through the long, painful and often repeated process of getting clean. This is not a story book,  in the sense he tells his story in a play by play but rather a guide to use along the journey....kinda like "What To Expect When Your Expecting" but for the tweaked set.  

I have to say, in reading "Quitting Crystal Meth" , that I don't believe to many active Meth users will sit down and start the book much less finish it.  I think that Joseph was fully aware that his book would be used by Meth addicts families & friends as a means of what to expect and what the right actions to take as well as not take would be! 

Having said that I also know that many an addict will be handed the book either by friends, rehab staff or even their drug dealers. Don't laugh, I saw that happen! And at a certain point the book is perfect for the addict themselves.  "Quitting Crystal Meth "  is a fabulous step by step, please note the step reference, way to start and manage your recovery.  What I like most was the small, short testimonies  from addicts.  What they had to say in each of their small bits fell right into line with the time frame of where the book was along the  recovery path.  At no point is one made to feel there is a blue print that MUST be followed but rather a path is pointed out and you are given an invite to walk the path and discover your own way while using others experience to aid you.  Joseph has managed to handle an insanely hard topic with a straight forward grace that is at times lacking in other books on the topic as well as in the recovery community at  to Joseph Sharp and to those needing the book I personally send you light & love.....We will surely see each other as we trudge the road of happy destiny.

Stay Fabulous !  Boy About Town

Off Season But On Point

In the mad rush of summer fun and getting fully prepped for LA Pride this weekend Boy About Town spent a week back at his "spiritual home" of Palm Springs which has proved to be just want was needed.  So while many may find the idea of spending time in the California desert right as summer hits it's full stride to be something to run

The Fab, Flagging 4

from I am going to spend a moment paying tribute to this touchstone in my life.....It's my blog and I can if I wanna!  So, we started the night off at David & Steve's favorite eatery, Greek Isle. These 2 hunks are the ones that introduced Boy About Town to the world of flagging which is coming up on a posting soon!  So I am starting my night off with a happily married, long term couple, that are both hella hotties but I am sitting in the spit where they tied the knot.  Bam! You have my attention!  We were joined by Tracy, a new Palm Springs gal that an ex introduced me to & I got in the break up, I totally scored with her in my plus column!  Now, have you ever been to the type of restaurant where the staff knows EVERYTHING about the food, the chef, the wine....Well boys & gals Greek Isle was just that place!  The cute waitstaff,  I judge a place by the whole picture, was on the ball. And as the live music kicked in and the cozy courtyard began to fill the staff did not miss a beat. When hitting Palm Springs stop in Greek Isle 139 E. Andreas Rd.  Now this meeting of the fab, flagging 4 happened on a Thursday night, which in Palm Spring means Village Fest!  Now during the winter months this weekly festival draws so many tourist and snowbirds that it can become to crowded.  In the warm, yet not overly so, summer nights, after the sun sets the locals come out to play at this must visit desert do! The Village Fest brings together local, small business owners that make their own product and sell it without all that middle man rigmarole!  #fabulous! 

Boy About Town & Lady LuLu herself!

It was amazing seeing old friends like the wonderful Lady LuLu.  Now for those of you that have, emailed, tweeted, facebooked, etc about the "cat hat" Boy was wearing non stop this winter, this is the Mother of said hat as well as tons of other fab finds.  Her shop is right off the main drag in downtown Palm Springs but during VillageFest she sets up shop ON the main drag!  For those of you not yet blessed to visit this hidden paradise visit her at www.LadyLulu.com !  There were also new finds like this ditty "Time 4 Corn Hole"....The lady manning the booth went outta her way to let us know that this is a booth that sells games.  Honey, Boy About Town helped invent that game.  

All up & down the strip the booths were selling their local products, live music played and the streets were not so packed that you felt as if you were dating the people you walked with!

Again.....fabulous! 

And no Palm Springs posting would be complete without a shoutout to The Palm Springs Aerial Tramway!  This is a must visit, full stop!  The view from the top of of the mountain is amazing.....and the ride up is worth the ticket price alone!  AND it is about 15 degrees cooler up there making it the perfect day time activity!  So while many may not think off season is the ideal time to visit any number of places I will take the shorter lines, cheap rates and more room to do my thing any day. #told

Stay Fabulous

Boy About Town

Head First...Always!

So much to catch up on that I am skipping the usual blah, blah and diving in head first. And that means dealing with the rumor that yours truly, Mr Boy About Town, had passed away. Or as one Facebook posting called it "lost his battle with the forces of darkness" which somehow makes me sound like a character in Star Wars.  Anywho,  after some research, I have discovered that I am not dead but rather just in a bad mood.  As to those that think I had something to do with the rumor in order to get some free press, I did not,  but only because I didn't think of it first.  So lets recap...Not Dead, yet! 

Now, there has been much in the press about the VA dropping the ball on the handling of health care for our vets & of course now we have the political uproar over the prisoner swap that won the release of U.S. Army Sergeant Bowe Bergda.  But what I have been noticing is that at some point the story stops being about the "news" and starts being about how the  story is being reported, received, retold, tweeted, etc.  So is the story the facts as we understand them at the time or is the story how it plays to the mass market in 70 characters or less? I understand that I play a big part in this. While I never claim to be CNN, BBC or even FoxNews I am aware people turn to me and others like me to take the pulse of the world we live in. And while writing on topics I do a lot of research on that given topic! That comes with a bit a responsibility to your topic, your readers and yourself.  So to report about what others are writing is indeed part of the story, it is not the story it's self.  So yes The White House dropped the ball on the release of Sgt Bowe Bergda. And yes the whole walking away from his post is hinky as hell.  And clearly I too saw he the freed Sgts father was wearing a v dress shirt in the rose garden that while very summer, was not a smart PR move. But those are the news, Yes even the dress shirt. Not what people are saying about the above mentioned on Facebook! 

Now in keeping with this news worthy vain lets "Katch Up The Kardashians”  I try to stay away but I just can't! They are like a STD that just won't quit.  Well first there are a few people that can say NO to the clan, Leo DiCaprio, along with Paris Hilton, refused to be filmed for “Keeping Up With the Kardashians” while partying on Sunday at Los Angeles.  Seems they did not want to damage their brand by appearing on what is becoming Americas slow moving train wreck!  This summer the clan is filming in New York's playground for the uber rich, The Hamptons!  Coming from a New York family myself, my parents met on the NYC subway ......classy huh? I know that the Kardashians hitting the scene there is going to go over like a fart in church! AND... Kourtney Kardashian, the only sister not in a rush to run down the aisle, has announced she is pregnant with her third child. I smell drama, which equals good TV. Okay, I believe we have covered everything worth covering....Kardashians are still a mess, I do a better job then FoxNews but not BBC and again....NOT DEAD....yet!

Stay Fabulous 

Boy About Town