Marriage Equality

I typically try and keep these posts light-hearted or about life in general, but today…I’m going to tackle an issue that in some way affects us all personally:  Marriage Equality.  I am not labeling it ‘gay marriage’ because there is no such thing about making ‘marriage’ gay.  It is about bringing equality to all that deserve it.  This nation was founded upon the premises of equality for all, but rather than go into the legal aspects of it.  I want to ask certain questions:

Why should this even go before the Supreme Court, determining the fate of whether or not I have the ability to get married?  9 people, whose opinions shape my very ability to get married?  Why should these people decide such a matter, when after all, it’s mine whether or not to pursue such a monogamous relationship?  And what disgusts more is cretin like Antonin Scalia making comments that it’s okay for Coloradans to be openly hostile to homosexuals (re:  Romer v. Evans).  I have no words that this man represents the justice of the Constitution.

Second, on what grounds can one legitimately oppose gay marriage?  Morality is determined by the Bible, which is strictly outlawed by the Constitution under the Establishment Clause.  Second, if you oppose it because of ‘tradition’, whose tradition is that?  Society changes as does culture.  The LGBT community is out of hiding and is prominent in many ways affecting lives more than simply ‘getting married.’  We are your best friends, your family members, the adoptive parents of your sons/daughters child born out of wedlock.  At the end of the day, isn’t a relationship about love?  So, thereby, by opposing gay marriage one doesn’t support more love in this world.  That’s reprehensible.

Third, why wish for the states to have the single say?  This is not simply an issue of ‘state’s rights’ and that’s a way for the traditionally conservative states to hide behind tradition.  If I got married in Maryland or Massachusetts, they will recognize the marriage.  Yet, if I were to move to Ohio…it wouldn’t be recognized.  How can we have numerous states with their own laws, when it is governed at both a federal and a state level?  It is a matter that needs to be handled by the federal government, as it affects everyone.

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While those are the common issues, I want to point out certain things yet still that are not questions.

Taxes – joint filing.  Marriage is encouraged through the federal government for taxation purposes.  So, because we’re gay we can be openly discriminated against?  What about kids killing themselves over the bullying that is occurring due to intolerance?  We should embrace a culture of tolerance and acceptance.

So, sitting there, stating that marriage equality will ruin the institution of marriage; I ask, how?  That is a question that has no legitimate answer.  Hiding behind tradition for fear of change is revolting.  This world has never moved forward by obliging itself to the status quo.  As the Supreme Court hears the cases this week and subsequently hands down a ruling this June, it boils down to one thing:  love.

Report: Jay Leno To Be Replaced By … Jimmy Fallon

159435007.jpg.CROP.rectangle3-largeIt appears that the rumors are true and NBC is committed to transition “The Tonight Show” from host Jay Leno to Jimmy Fallon by no later than 2014. According to a report from the New York Times, a deal has yet to be made, but many network executives have been discussing this motion.

In addition, the show would shift location cross country – from California to New York City, where it all began with Steve Allen. It appears NBC has been “quietly” working on a new studio at famed “30 Rock” for this transition, expected to occur sometime in 2014. With recent jabs to the Peacock network during his monolouges of late, one must wonder if Leno had been tipped off about this recently.

The last time NBC attempted such a transition with Conan O’ Brien, it was reversed in a matter of months.

The Amazing Race: The Yak Chats with David and Connor

David and Connor O'Leary
David and Connor O’Leary

After last week’s history-making elimination of John and Jessica, who were holding the Express Pass when reaching the Pit Stop, the latest episode of The Amazing Race brought the teams to Vietnam for chess playing, communist partying, and bamboo dancing. With the team of David and Connor O’Leary (@Coleary00) making their way through the last few legs with an injured Achilles tendon, they were required to leave the game due to a doctor’s request as soon as they landed in Vietnam. The father/son duo took time today to sit down with the Yak and reflect on their amazing trip around the world and their emotional elimination.

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The Yak: Thanks for chatting with us! It was a really emotional and tough elimination to watch last night.
Connor: Thanks for having us.
David: It was really tough for us, too.

The Yak: Our members wanted to pass along their condolences in regards to being eliminated for something that was out of your control, but that they were impressed for you pushing along this far into the race with your injury. With that being said, how is your leg doing now?
David: It’s in process. I came home and immediately had surgery. They pulled the Achilles back together and they couldn’t do much with the calf muscle, but hopefully, it’ll heal over time. I am back on a bike, though, and I should be running again in the next 60 days, so I don’t see any reason why I can’t make a complete recovery.

The Yak: So, does it go without saying that if the show asked you to come back, you’d do it all over again?
Connor: In a heartbeat.
David:
 We’d be there next season, if we could.

The Yak: Looking back at the race, what was your favorite location that you visited?
Connor: I would say Indonesia. Bali is a pretty spectacular place, and it’s such an amazing culture.
David: Every place we went was so incredible. Vietnam was great, but I’ll have to agree with Connor, Indonesia was spectacular. Definitely, we’ll go back.

The Yak: What was your best memory from the race?
David: It was having the chance to go see these incredible places, and I got to do a few incredible things. I also got to watch Connor do some incredible things, and to be able to do that with your son, who’s also your best friend, makes all of it full of good memories. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and despite my injury, I don’t have any regrets about doing this race at all. Like I said, I’d do it again in a heartbeat.
Connor: It was fun, especially getting to do that racing element with your dad. We’ve done things together, but nothing that involves a competition element. It was fun to work with my dad as a team and see all the stuff we could do. It was a pretty amazing experience.
David: Connor was really glad that he got to jump out of the helicopter instead of building sandcastles.
The Yak: Seems like that was a decent trade off.
David and Connor: (laughs)

Connor and David Boat in Bora Bora
Connor and David Boat in Bora Bora

The Yak: When you learned that you had been cast for this season, did you do anything special to prepare for the race?
David: We did a lot to prepare. We spent a lot of time running, cycling, we went hiking with backpacks, we swam, and we really tried to be physically in a position that kept us fit. Personally, I wanted to make sure I could keep up with Connor. We also watched hours and hours and hours of The Amazing Race while making spreadsheets and analyzing challenges. We even decided who would be the best one to do each challenge. We were just trying to prepare to be in the heat of the moment, but then you get put into that moment and you forget everything you studied. It’s like everything just goes out the window and you’re left on your own.

The Yak: It appeared like you managed to handle most of the challenges without any problems, including your unexpected injury. You mentioned during the show that your doctor said you needed surgery within the next 7 days, but if he hadn’t made that suggestion, would you have been able to continue on?
David: I think we could have. Who knows how long we would have been able to do it, considering that Connor only had so many challenges he was allowed to do according to the rules, so at some point, I was going to have to do things and would have loved to been able to do more. We probably would have completed the leg in Vietnam, and then ultimately, we would have been eliminated, but that goes with the territory. Once we got the word that there was a window within which I had to have the surgery, I just made the decision that it was time to go out.

The Yak: Did you get a chance to get close with any of the other teams, and have you kept in touch since the race ended?
Connor: Everybody was great on the show. They were all super cool with us. We spent a few flights next to the Derby Moms [Mona and Beth] and the Country Girls [Caroline and Jen]. Whenever we had a down time at the airport, we got along with everybody.

The Yak: What was the toughest part of the race that you weren’t expecting?
David: Everything happened so fast. It was really intense. When you’re watching it on television, it’s really easy to armchair quarterback and say, “Oh, how could they make that stupid decision?”, but when you’re there, it’s all moving so fast, so when you get up and get a clue that says “boat” and “bag”, you just automatically just skip the rest of it and  head to your boat. You make stupid mistakes.

The Yak: Speaking of just getting up and going, during the non-elimination leg, how long were you racing without a break?
Connor: We were racing for over 4 days. They said that it was the longest leg in race history. It was definitely a long race and I’m sure by that point I just smelled terrible.
David: (laughs) I can confirm that he really did.
Connor: You’re so out of your element, and you’re not on a regular sleep schedule and not able to eat at a regular time, so it kind of messes with you a little bit, but it was still a blast.

Connor and David Race to the Pit Stop
Connor and David Race to the Pit Stop

The Yak: Watching you was very inspirational, since you both not only overcame cancer in your lives, but also had the additional challenge of the injury, so being able to come in first at all was quite impressive.
David: Thank you!

The Yak: What’s next for the both of you?
Connor: I take off in about a week for Europe for a few months for racing. School and racing is pretty much what I have going on.
David: I’m back to work, and whenever we can follow Connor racing, we do so. If there are races in Europe that we think would be really great to see, we try to do that. He’s got some big races in the US this summer, so we’ll be tagging along on those as well.

The Yak: Thanks so much for taking the time to chat with us, and we wish the both of you the best! Connor, good luck with your upcoming races, and let us know how it turns out! We hope to see you back on The Amazing Race in the future!
David: We hope so, too! That’d be great!
Connor: Thanks so much!

“Survivor: Caramoan” – The Yak Chats With Brandon Hantz

SURVIVOR: CARAMOAN - FANS VS. FAVORITESEven diehard Survivor fans have been less than thrilled at Survivor Caramoan Fans vs. Favorites up to this point. In this week’s episode all that changed during an explosive episode when Brandon Hantz a player on the Fans tribe exploded on Phillip Sheppard which resulted in his being voted out.

“I am the author of my destiny” Brandon exclaimed. For the first time in Survivor history an impromptu tribal council was held prior to the immunity challenge and Brandon was sent packing. In true Hantz style Brandon has no regrets on how the situation transpired. His annoyance at Phillip had come to a head and as Brandon says. “I tell it like it is!”

Many fans are applauding Brandon’s action to tell Phillip off. Phillips continual “special agent” lingo and references to his “Stealth R Us” alliance grated on Brandon’s last nerve as it has with many viewers. The Yak was able to participate in a telephone interview with Brandon.

Q:: Now that the show has aired what do you want people to know about what happened?
Brandon: Really, I liked it. Obviously Phillip was annoying he did stuff that was over the top and not necessary. But I think people already understand that. I don’t think they need clarification on how annoying he was. He got aggressive first. That’s not an excuse for what I did but it’s clear as crystal he said straight up, he’s a street fighter. I wasn’t even thinking about getting physical, it wasn’t even a question. He thought about it before I did. I don’t know if he was prepared to do what he said he was going to do if I ever got aggressive with him. It kind of backfired on him a little bit.

Q: The anger that you felt toward Phillip, how much of that was connected to your first experience on Survivor?
Brandon: About 90% of it really. He really got what I wanted to do to the Coach as far as my aggression. It was a lot of bitterness towards my last season. It was sad for me, it was hard. I grew up man, just like you gotta take the good with the bad. My second Survivor experience all around, my edit was amazing. It was all accurate the first and second time but it was so amazing. The way that you know I let so much get to me my first time and it’s so not that big of a deal. Like people are going to like you or dislike you whether you play Survivor or not. It’s just on a bigger scope. So I had to grow up a little bit. It’s been so amazing. My wife says we enjoy this. She says “Baby, if you ever get the chance to go play again, you’d better bring home a million dollars.” That’s her attitude. This to me wasn’t worth it in the beginning. But now that everything happened, even our separation. It actually got us closer together man; I honestly can thank Survivor for doing that. It caused a lot of drama and it caused a lot of changes in me. Like it all went to my head the first season, everything went to my head and I allowed it to get into my marriage. If I hadn’t ended up separating with my wife I wouldn’t realize how much I love her now, so I’m taking every bit of good. The both of us really appreciate the whole experience we appreciate the help on finances, there are so many good, positive things that have come good from it we both really appreciate the whole experience.

As far as Phillip is concerned anything I say is Survivor related. Nothing is going to be personal. There is no vendetta there’s no bitterness towards Phillip. It’s literally been a year, my mind has changed. I’m always growing and always developing. We’re not children, it’s a game and everything for me, Brandon is going to stay a game from here on out. I want an opportunity to compete against my Uncle Russell. That’s what I want. He’s proud of how I played the game. He’s never been more proud he said. We will be on live on the after show with Parvati. It’s going to be exciting. We’re good friends now. We realize we are a lot alike. He cried, I cried, he got angry. I got angry sometimes. We are like each other in a lot of ways. There is a love and respect there but we both are very competitive and there would be no holds barred if I was allowed to compete against my Uncle.

Q:: Do you have any regrets?
Brandon: No I’m going to be honest with you, no. Everything happens for a reason that’s just the way that I am. Everything that I did was true feelings, true emotions. I could have done things better but as far as regrets, no I enjoyed it. I didn’t throw the game, I made a point. I didn’t quit. As you can see I was up against the wall, I didn’t have a choice. The challenge would have been thrown either way. When you take away my chance at a million dollars, ain’t no rice or beans is gonna be left at all. It’s just plain and simple. I tried to be a gentleman with Coach and it didn’t work for me. I fell on my sword. I learned my lesson. I realized I was too nice the first time, too aggressive the second time. Third time would be a happy medium and you might see me win a million dollars. You can’t win for losing with the audience. obviously I’m compelling but I don’t try to be, I just try and be me. I wish I would have been out there longer but I’m happy with the way it ended.

The Yak: Aside from the Phillip incident watching the Season so far has there been anything that has surprised you?
Brandon: Just the way everyone was jumping on the crazy bandwagon. The way that Cochrane disrespected me by equating me to a murderer the first couple of episodes. I’ve never even been to jail and I’ve only been in two physical fights in my life. It was disheartening to see that he would compare me to a murderer. That’s the whole follower thing, the whole playing to the camera thing so I can understand it I guess.

Brandon went on to praise the production of Survivor. He said that Jeff Probst’s shoulder massage during his eviction was like a tranquilizer. He has the highest respect, love and regard for Jeff Probst, the camera crews, producers, and all those that worked on the Survivor production. Brandon’s main interest is to compete against his Uncle, Russell Hantz on Survivor. His favorite player is Dawn. He said “She’s like my mama.” He’d love to see her take the win in the end.

Thanks for talking with us here at the Yak Brandon and for an exciting episode of Survivor Caramoan.

NBC Resurrects “The Sing-Off”

the-sing-offUpdate (March 20): NBC has announced the show will return during the 2013 holiday programming slate. Also of note this holiday season for NBC will be the LIVE “Sound of Music” stage production, starring Carrie Underwood.

After axing the show as a consequence of poor ratings during its fall showing in 2011, NBC is reviving its a cappella singing competition – The Sing Off. The change of heart may stem from the success of most recent champ and highly talented group, Pentatonix. Per NBC’s casting site (click to apply for casting),

The Sing Off is back! America’s top A Cappella competition is gearing up for season 4 of the hit series. The most talented A Cappella groups will compete for the opportunity to win $100,000 and a Sony Recording Contract. No lip synching, back-up bands or safety net is allowed; this is the real deal!
Each week, A Cappella groups from around the country will sing the world’s most popular songs, arranged and performed like you’ve never heard them before. One group will be eliminated each episode, and America will decide in our live finale who will be the nation’s best a cappella group, and walk away with the ultimate prize.

There will also be some national casting calls this spring. Check out the dates below and go audition if you think you have what it takes!

Season four will air during the holiday season, late this year. No word yet on whether Nick Lachey will hold post as host. If you ask us, Lachey should return, as should Sara Bareillis, Shawn Stockman and Ben Folds as judges. NBC is unlikely to air The Sing-Off during the fall again, as it has been announced that The Voice will air twice a year. Look for The Sing Off to air either this summer or during the holiday season as in years past.

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The Hot Mess of Internet Dating

So on January 1st 2013 I decided to try internet dating. After years of no suitors… I have come to the age where I want my happily ever after. Well that is turning out to be harder than I thought. After two months, countless matches, few sparks and  rejections. I have come to the conclusion that maybe just maybe I am supposed to be alone for the rest of my life. I have reached out to several matches that have really intrigued me only to be shot down right away. I feel like crying sometimes because my sister found her happily ever after Why can’t I? I dread my sister’s wedding in May because my family and friends will look at me standing up in the maid of honor spot and say “God Bless her! Will she ever find her friend?”

That is my rant for the day. On to your regularly scheduled programs!

The CW Revives “Whose Line Is It Anyway?” For Summer

WhoseLineUSSummer just got funnier, as the CW network revealed plans to revive “Whose Line Is It Anyway?” this summer. The network ordered ten episodes of the series and announced plans to move forward without Drew Carey as host; however, Aisha Tyler will take over the rein.

RELATED | CW Season Finale Dates

Regulars Ryan Stiles, Wayne Brady & Colin Mochrie will be returning to the roles they held for eight seasons when the show lived over on ABC (from 1998-2004). Each episode, the gang will be joined by a special guest star and go through a series of improv games, as in the original. Tyler will hand out points for achievement.

The CW has not revealed a premiere date but we do know it will be coming this summer.