Day: June 11, 2013

ABC found the sequel to Desperate Housewives and it is cut from the same conflicts. The newest ABC hit, Mistresses, seizes upon the idea of marital conflict and raises the bar by hitting the notion of infidelity from every possible angle. Mistresses is sexy beyond comparison with stars whose names you’ll know from other hit shows (Alyssa Milano, Yunjin Kim), and secondary stars that sizzle (Shannyn Sossamon, Rochelle Aytes, Jes Macallan). Perhaps most interestingly, Mistresses represents the new normal. The show presents ABC’s version of multiculturalism with their standard of black, Asian, white, homosexual, and of course, blonde.

To begin, black beauty still doesn’t mean dark-skinned. While we’ve seen progress in the media, black beauty still must conform to european standards. You must be light-skinned. You must have straight (or appropriately curly–not kinky) hair. The Asian standard is the same, but not much change is required by Asian women to meet this standard. As we know, the standard of beauty is blonde and no show would be complete without the standard setter. Interestingly enough, IMDB lists the blonde actress first though Milano and and Kim are clearly the more well known and more important players in the show. That choice reflects the dominant ideology that being blonde and beautiful is supremely important when it comes to sexual attractiveness.

Sex sells and ABC is Avon. All of the people in the show are beautiful. Much like The L word, all Lesbians are viewed as Lipstick Lesbians, which is entirely in keeping with the show’s all is beauty theme, which though powerfully unrealistic is what draws the viewer’s eye.

Maybe I love this show because I don’t have enough drama in my life or maybe I still have a crush on Alyssa Milano. At any rate, I believe the show works to perfection in replacing Desperate Housewives and capturing an audience that is looking for something frivolous, detached from reality and super-engaging in that soap opera way. I haven’t seen the numbers, but I think this show is going to succeed in a big way.

One of the uncomfortable realities of flying out of JFK is your flight is likely to be delayed. I spent a ton of money taking a cab to the airport to make sure I wouldn’t be late for my 4pm flight. It turns out the flight is inexorably delayed, taking off perhaps three hours later. At least it gives me ten minutes to collect my thoughts.

New York was a life raft in a sea of sharks. I feel like I can finally remember the value and breadth of life. It seems a bit much, but the fact is this city is my muse. I came from here and I am connected to this place in the fundamental fashion a child is connected to a mother or a people to a planet. I will never feel that way about Arizona, despite my love and dedication to the land. I will always be a New Yorker first, and I believe that mentality will reward me well in my AZ dealings. Even when I run for office, the idea of NYC and that upbringing will influence the way in which I attempt to direct the campaign and eventually the city.

Big plans are what NYC is about and perhaps a bit of what I lacked. It is important in life to be a little uncomfortable. You need to have goals that are not ‘just out of reach’ but so close to you yet so far away that they are like the heat from the sun that powers you to build a ship and go out there and catch you a sunburst. I grew up in Harlem in a nice but relatively poor area to the 81st and madison wealth that defined my elementary school. I felt that sun everyday and built me a ship that took me all the way to college, a bit closer to the goal of having everything I wanted. Of course, what we want changes as we shuffle through life. What I want now isn’t what I wanted even 4 years ago. I am no rush to lead my college. I want to be a best selling author first. I want to travel and see things that will inspire me to be better and do more and live this one life that I have to the fullest.

It is hard to come upon those feelings in the suburbs.