Confessions Of A Bravo Whore (Chapter 2)

Dear friends, this season of Top Chef is finally over. I can't thank you all enough for reading my blog. I appreciate your interest. Actually, I suspect only a handful of you read my blog entries; most probably stopped by just to see pictures of Lucas Gil, Riyo Mori, Tara Connor, and other beautiful people. Whatever. I don't blame you. Thanks for stopping by.

Anyway, this post is all about love (i.e, kissing major ass). Let me explain. Before February (or was it March?) of this year, my blog was like a ghost town. Every once in a while, a stranger would stop by, leave a comment or two, and then rush off to other uncharted areas of the blogosophere. I was like the Yanomami of Brazil, confined to my little piece of territory on the outskirts of the known blog universe. Ah, those were the days. I was so young and naive.

Over the past few months, I became a somewhat successful Bravo blogger. And by somewhat successful I mean that I currently dwell at the bottom of the Bravo hierarchy, which is fine with me. And now, it's time to thank a group of wonderful people for their support and generosity. Laz of Lazarus West and Ms. Place of Dishin' Dat have been regulars here at Blog By Cosmo Marius. As soon as they started commenting on my blog, other bloggers followed. So . . . thanks, Laz and Ms. Place, for your support. I'd also like to thank Damselfly and Calady of Blogging Top Chef and Bravissimo for including me in their Monday Morning Mixer. Ladies, you are wonderful and kind. It was a pleasure being part of your little Top Chef family. Allison over at Reality on Bravo has always been very kind. So, thanks, Alison. Oh, and I almost had a heart attack when Miss Xaxa and Charlus added me to their blog roll on Amuse-Biatch. That was such a pleasant surprise. I can't thank them enough for their kindness. And, of course, I have to thank the following bloggers: Jinxy, CB, Eric 3000, GayProf, KillerVirgo, and Linda Merrill. All of you rock!

Yes, my friends, we've been through a lot together. We've had some good times (Shear Genius, Workout, and Flipping Out, to name a few), but we've also seen the negative side of Bravo reality television (e.g., the lack of female talent). That's life, I guess. We'll have to move on and hope that things will improve. Now that Top Chef is over, things are starting to change in Bravo Land. Bravo bloggers are getting ready for the return of the queen of all Bravo Reality Shows--Project Runway. Banners are being updated as I type this. Gay boys all across this nation are creating new blogs with hopes of being the next Tom and Lorenzo. And there's a great sense of excitement building up across the blogosphere. All is right in Bravo Land.

Flipping Out Montage

I put together a fun little clip for fans of Bravo's new reality show Flipping Out. The name of the song is My House by Tom Novy. Enjoy!

Meme: Five Questions

I was tagged by one of my favorite bloggers. He’s prolific, generous, kind, intelligent, and the list goes on. Yep, I’m talking about everyone’s favorite amphibian, Sumurai Frog. The challenge was to answer 5 random questions, and here are my answers.

1. What is one place in your home country you'd like to visit but never have?
I’d love to visit Hawaii and learn more about the local culture.

2. What are your favorite smells?
I love the smell of pancakes, eggs, bacon, and other foods in the morning. There’s no better way to start the morning than by flooding one’s olfactory system with these wonderful odors. I also think the smell of a moderate amount of male sweat is attractive. Oh, some men just smell so good! I’m actually going write about this topic in the future.

3. What is a book that affected you deeply as a child?
I used to love the Hardy Boys. However, I’ve always enjoyed reading nonfiction books. I was particularly fascinated by European history and culture. I was a strange little boy.

4. Why will America never embrace soccer?
You know, I honestly have no idea. It’s just an American thing, I guess. We have a very distinct sports culture in this country that is undeniably American.

5. Who's afraid of Virginia Woolf?
Ok, let me just say that I love Elizabeth Taylor. She delivered an amazing performance as Martha in Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf. I really have to see this film again. I regret not seeing the Broadway production in 2004. I believe Kathleen Turner played Martha. She must have been sensational.

Anyway, thanks for thinking of me, Samurai Frog. :)

Meme Fun

So . . . my dearest readers, would you like to know a little bit more about me? Shall I tell you about my love/hate relationship with the Spice Girls? Or maybe I should describe the day I became fascinated with JLo. It's a wonderful story. Wait, did you just say, "Marius, we don't give a crap about your personal life. Please just post pictures of various Bravo reality stars. That's all you're really good for"?

Well, tough luck! You're going to learn more about me whether you like it or not. Yes, I was tagged by the fabulous Ms. Place. And here are my responses to the following questions.

Four jobs I have had or currently have in my life:
1. Office Clerk (I worked for a very nice attorney as an undergrad)
2. Grocery Store Cashier (My boss was such a jerk)
3. Restaurant Assistant Manager (I was mostly in charge of the wait staff)
4. Graduate Research Assistant/laboratory manager (I’m currently a graduate student, and I run a Neuroscience research lab for a senior Scientist at a major University)

Four countries I have been to:
1. Canada
2. Mexico
3. United Kingdom (Next year!)
4. Netherlands (Next year!)
Note: I’m just as bad as George W. Bush. I know; very sad.

Four places I’d rather be right now:
1. New York City
2. San Francisco
3. Paris
4. London

Four foods I like to eat:
1. Beef Stew (My grandmother makes the best beef stew)
2. Chicken Mole with Spanish Rice (there are different types of sauces; I prefer black mole)
3, Italian Food (A good friend of mine from Sicily makes a Bucatini pasta in broth dish that’s just so delicious. She refuses to share the recipe, it’s been in her family for generations)
4. New England Clam chowder

Four people that I would like to tag:
1. Adam
2. Allison
3. Jinxy
4. Frogboots

Happy International Weblogger’s Day

So, one of my coworkers is driving me nuts. She’s a nice person and I can tolerate her most of the time, but she’s one of the laziest individuals I’ve ever met. Seriously, this girl doesn’t know the meaning of the word motivation. It’s a miracle she shows up to work fully clothed. Yeah, I had a terrible day at work. As Jinxy would say, I need a drink!

Anyway, enough of that. It’s time to celebrate International Weblogger’s Day! Yay! Yes, I was tagged by a lovely gal named Allison who maintains an awesome blog called Reality on Bravo. Stop by her site and show some love. She deserves it. Seriously, you can always count on Allison to do the dirty work for you. She posts all kinds of stuff about Bravo (e.g., recaps, pictures, and news). She knows it all.

So, I’m supposed to list five reasons I love to blog, and they are as follows:

1. I’m addicted to Bravo reality television. Yes, it’s true. It’s both a blessing and a curse. I watch Bravo TV whenever possible. My all-time favorite Bravo reality TV episode is the Project Runway Season 1 finale. Seriously, I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve seen that sucker. Crazy! I just love sharing my thoughts about my favorite Bravo reality shows. And blogging lets me do just that.

2. I blog to keep in touch with family and friends. Actually, my mother, brothers, and some members of my extended family used to read my blog. Then, at some point, they just stopped. Ouch, that really hurts. Whatever. Apparently, they’ve got better things to do. Fortunately, I still have friends who read my blog. And, of course, I have to give credit to the person who inspired me to start blogging in the first place, and his name is Killervirgo. He’s a very good friend of mine—we met in Buffalo, NY and were college buddies back in the day (like 5 years ago?). Good times! Thanks for supporting my blog, Killervirgo. You rock! To my family, thanks for nothing. You’re so lucky I believe in unconditional love.

3. I blog because I’m a gay guy with something to say. Yeah, as a member of an often misunderstood minority group, I sometimes feel the need to share my thoughts and experiences with the world. And this blog has given me the opportunity to do that. I’ve also had the pleasure of reading other blogs that are maintained/written by gay men and women. It’s great to be in such good company.

4. I blog because it’s a great way to learn from others. Yeah, I love receiving feedback from other people. Everyone has their own unique perspective, and I try my very best to understand where people are coming from, so to speak. You’d be surprised; sometimes, one person’s comment can actually change my opinion about a topic. So, when people talk, I do listen. Well, that’s not entirely true; I usually ignore my annoying coworker, but I promise to listen to my readers and fellow bloggers.

5. I blog because it’s FUN! Yep, blogging about reality television and various aspects of pop culture is just plain fun! And that’s why I do this.

I apologize for posting this really late. Seriously, it’ll cease to be International Weblogger’s Day in less than an hour. Anyway, I’d like to thank Allison for thinking of me. So, now I have to tag five other bloggers. I know it’s too late to do this, but I’m going to do it anyway. I wish I could tag everyone one on my “It” list, but I can’t. So, I’d like to recognize the following blogs: And, You Are?, Dishin’ Dat, Damsel in Progress, Center of Gravitas, and Electronic Cerebrectomy. . . wait, I’d also like to recognize Jinxy, My New Plaid Pants, and Lazarus West (he was already tagged by Allison, but I have to recognize the great Laz). Anyway, I encourage all of my readers—all 5 or 6 of you—to visit these blogs. You can thank me later.

Link Fest: All Good Things Must Come To An End

The blogosphere is such a wonderful place. It’s a world full of ideas and various forms of self expression. Some blogs challenge you to think about important things like friendship, sacrifice, and intolerance. And some insanely prolific bloggers blog about . . . everything! One particular blogger, Samurai Frog, blogs about every topic imaginable—racism, television, and even the muppets. These are just four of my favorite blogs; for a complete list of my favorite blogs, check out “The IT List” section of the sidebar. Also check out the links listed under “Cinephiles;” you’ll find some great blogs there, too.

Anyway, as I was visiting my favorite blogs this afternoon, jumping from one post to another, I was shocked when I came across the most recent post on Cinemarati, a community of bloggers for film commentary. Apparently, Cinemarati will cease to exist in a few days, and that’s a shame. The one thing I’ll miss most about Cinemarati is that this group of bloggers managed to provide a forum for the female voice. While most film bloggers couldn’t care less about the sad state of women in Hollywood, Cinemarati would consistently bring up this and related issues. So, I’d like to thank this group of fine individuals (film critics, bloggers, journalists, and movie experts) for providing an alternative to the superficial offerings of the mainstream media. I guess all good things must come to an end. Well, it was fun while it lasted.