Fausto, I agree. I think someone is being overly sensitive.

Said by: Andy at December 14, 2006 06:27 AM

Now now Fausto..

I don't understand WHY Ellen needs to be out and proud *GAY* during her work hours.

I love me some Rosie and Ellen, but WHY do you need everyone who is gay to be OUT 'N Proud? Is it necessary for everyone to bring their sexuality to work with them? Enlighten me with your blueness.

Said by: Tony G at December 14, 2006 10:49 AM

I believe Ellen doesn't talk about her homosexuality as much now because when she came out on her comedy TV show, it was considered to be over done for that time. My guess is Ellen thinks everyone knows she is gay by now and that she can now go on being a person on TV who happens to be gay as opposed to a gay person on TV. I could be wrong but that's been my take on her. What do you think?

Said by: Mike (DMCEx) at December 14, 2006 10:52 AM

Being "Out and Proud" at work can mean a lot of things. Are we asking Ellen to eat actual snatch on daytime tv? No, thank you, we'd never, but it is little things that the show does.
Here's a little example: She has lesbian author Hilary Carlip on the show and edits out all references to her book "Queen of The Oddballs". I'm sure some producer thought "Let's not promote the book at all because she comes out as a lesbian in the book, but you wouldn't know it from the title and we are going to shock some viewer of the show and get accused of having some secret gay agenda of trying to seduce women into being lesbians or at least to buy their gay books or other crap that will get into trouble with all the old ladies who watch the show.*"

You can read about it here:
http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=59279156&blogID=152010088&MyToken=5d1940cf-632b-41b3-b383-6194cdf156aa

*How's My Ellen run-on sentence impersonation?

Said by: Marc at December 14, 2006 11:59 AM

After reading that post it does look like there was some cover up or hiding. Unfortunately, we don't know what the reasoning was behind this obstruction.

One question, though: is there value to people who are widly known to be gay holding positions or authority and/or celebrity who don't cover up that they are gay but don't talk about it frequently? The reason I ask is that I believe that Gay folks hope that at some time to be treated like everyone else so it may stand to reason that Ellen -- who is very well known as being gay -- is just going along as a "normal" person -- illustrating that gayness is not an abnormality any more than Blackness, or Asianess or what ever differences exist. I realize that it's a moving target at this time but maybe, once again, Ellen is ahead of her time being gay as a normal person which is what I believe everyone who supports Gay rights is looking forward to in the future. In this case she's kind of holding open the other side of the envelope from the very vocal supporters of Gay rights -- not necessirily disrespecting gay rights. I believe while transitioning, you need both/all types.

Not being gay myself, though, I may be way off target. I'm just guessing.

Said by: Mike (DMCEx) at December 14, 2006 01:14 PM

I love Ellen and I love Rosie. I seem them as my peers. They are good people who do their job really well and I look up to them as a openly gay talk show host myself.

That said, you don't need to be out and proud at work, but going OUT of your way to avoid talking about your partner, your personal experiences as a lesbian and the anxiety you must have felt during the years you were in the closet seems like Ellen is avoiding these topics for a reason. Maybe it's because the producers or she feel it will hurt the show's chances to succeed.

Ellen's show is a talk show that explores a wide range of topics. Heterosexual married people come on her show all the time and talk about their husbands and wives.

Everyone accepts Ellen and loves her show, but I think she has to visit Oprah (she was her therapist on her TV show) and figure out why she avoids the topic as much as she does.

Said by: Fausto at December 14, 2006 02:04 PM

Oh man, "Feliz Navidad" makes me want to pull my hair out. I love Christmas songs, but that me drives me insane. I don't really understand that impersonation of Americans your nanny did, but it's funny. Rosie's "Ching chong" is funny. I'm Italian and my friends mock-a the way Italians speak-a all-a da time. There's a difference between good-natured ribbing and flat out racism, and it's sad that we as a nation are becoming so PC that people forget how to tell them apart.

Said by: Frank at December 14, 2006 04:13 PM

O.K. Fausto. What's up with this new "sound machine" you bought at Brookstone for 99 smackers? And to think that I support your Podcast financially! The nerve. (BTW, where and when do I get mine?)

Said by: Scotty at December 14, 2006 04:33 PM

Hi Fausto & Marc,

At last I've caught up with the podcast... been listening frantically to the earlier shows that I missed since October. I heard about the red T-shirts just this week and promptly ordered mine (just in time), should I have gotten e-mail confirmation or something? I didn't think so and just hope it gets here for Christmas -my gift to myself-.

Anyway, besides the pointless chit-chat my comment comes with an sort of important observation...
BUYERS BEWARE!
I purchased the Mystechs song in iTunes (through your link of course), but when I got to their album I noticed the song you sometimes put at the begining of the show and on the Mystechs site called Astroglide is called Road Warrior Ride on iTunes, not sure whose mistake it is, but if anyone buys it off iTunes be sure to get the right one.

That's my 2 cents plus my good-deed for today.

Christmas Hugs,
Monstru(o)
Mexico City

PS
Ohh and as a Mexican, we also hate Feliciano's Feliz Navidad!

Said by: Fernando at December 14, 2006 05:02 PM

no u will not be getting wit me b/c i am str8 and allso b/c u ain't nothin but a hater. my name is lucious seymour--get it right!

Said by: Lucious Seymour at December 14, 2006 08:32 PM

I'm an Asian-American, and I felt that Rosie's comments were, at the very least, ignorant and insensitive. I'm sure there are a lot of people out there who don't know how offensive saying "ching ching chong" to an Asian person is. But whether or not she meant to offend anyone, imitating someone else's language in a way that has historically been used to denigrate them is just wrong and I feel that the reaction in the Asian-American community is justified.

Said by: MarkL at December 14, 2006 09:53 PM

Great show guys... and thanks for the shoutout and for playing CGMC again. :)

As for Rosie, I'm not so much upset with her for being potentially racist... I just wish she'd think before she speaks sometimes. She tends to shoot her mouth off without thinking and making herself (and the rest of us) look bad in the end.

And I love Ellen... she's hilarious, and she doesn't need to say she's a lesbian all the time because we know, and we see her outside the show. At least she's out and successfully doing a show-- when Rosie had her show, she was pretty much still in the closet and drooling over Tom Cruise all the time (YUCK)! :)

Said by: RcktMan at December 15, 2006 01:51 AM

Escuse me, Fausto, pero tu mamita got her American passport with no problem at the age of 21. It was my bro Bill who didn't bother to check into America formally until he decided to go to Europe and therefore get a passport as a 50+ person - only to find out he wasn't legally American and had to go through the naturalization process. HOWEVER, when I tried to get Medicare and the US gov't couldn't find my passport, Bill remninded me that I had a Mexican birth certificate, which the American Consulate in Monterrey graciously got for me. When I received it, low and behold I wasn't born on June 7, as my mother always told me, but on June 6! So I am truly a Gemini!
AND regarding giving FOF money - please do NOT confuse FOF with Fausto's personal funds, which he actually uses to put on this fabulous podcasting show. So, to keep it alive and well, dearest listeners, give as much as you can to FOF without guilt or resentment. :)

Said by: Patricia Fernós at December 15, 2006 10:37 AM

Ching chong Chinaman, sitting on a fence,
Trying to make a dollah out of fifteen cents... I was raised with this 'poem'... I think that Fausto's idea that languages are inherently racist or perhaps culturally defensive is thought provoking!

Said by: Patricia Fernós at December 15, 2006 10:48 AM

I figured you would clarify that. So DID you or did you not have to take the oath? I always thought it was you and Uncle Bill that took the oath together.

Said by: Fausto at December 15, 2006 12:49 PM

Patricia Fernos is so funny, how long did you go thinking you were born on the 7th of June? I'm a Gemini as well, and I am June 8th.

Said by: Mike from Bolingbrook at December 15, 2006 02:56 PM

Ok, i know it's late for me to be posting on this episode but i've had to catch up on my listening cos had a pretty crazy week last week.

i know i've commented on the 'asian topic' before and yes, i don't want to be overly sensitive but i think that there is some inherent racism and double standards when it comes to the "ching chong chinaman" comment. it is almost as bad as saying the 'n' word to an african american. i'm sure rosie wouldn't use that in a passing joke.

i think the asian population in america (i'm not from america but have a pretty good understanding of american culture, western culture and eastern culture) has not been as well represented and are quite misunderstood. the media only has a handful of personalities who are asian and that has only been quite recent. i myself have experienced racism in the western gay world after studying in melbourne for 8 years and still having people not seeing me for who i am but what race i am.

i heard the "ching chong chinaman" poem as a kid and didn't fully understand what it meant. but having it still presented as a joke on television by someone as prominent as rosie is just like using a golliwog or bringing back aunt jemima pancakes. it's just dated racism.

and on another topic, the female imitation in Farewell My Concubine by the male chinese opera singers was an ancient tradition of chinese opera. it might not be everyone's taste but even the men used that tone as male characters. i mean, as a western operatically trained singer, i can appreciate how trained their voices must be to create those tones but not necessarily enjoy it. just explaining a little chinese culture since i have gotten some puerto rican culture lessons from the podcast.

if you want to be more international and perhaps keep those chinese listeners happy, perhaps you should get someone from an asian background to help guest in your shows or at least give a little bit of background on what is happening in asia and how gay culture is over here. it might give the podcast a whole new side!

don't get me wrong, i do enjoy being a un-pc at times like (most of the) songs in Avenue Q but there is a time and a place for everything.

i still enjoyed other parts of the show and at least it's keeping up the healthy debate of what is conventionally 'right' or 'wrong' and the gray areas in between. but it would be good to let other cultures get up to speak for themselves as well if there is a chance.

and btw, love the red t-shirt... although i have to tailer it so i can actually wear it out to a club ;) or get more muscle to fit into it...

Said by: Jau at December 18, 2006 10:32 AM

Hey guys! Just for accuracy Fausto, you mentioned that I was Dominican and in fact, I'm not. I'm actually Creole and Central-American. BTW, that pic is about 5 years old when I used to weigh 600 pounds, lol. Love you both!

-PAPI

Said by: BIG PAPI L at January 3, 2007 11:13 PM