TresSugar

Sex Rehab With Dr. Drew - Will You Tune In?

TresSugar — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 09:13:37 -0700

VH1 has ordered eight episodes of a Celebrity Rehab spinoff that will attempt to clarify sex addiction, an oft-misunderstood illness. Much like the original, Sex Rehab With Dr. Drew will follow a group of people in Los Angeles who struggle with the very real addiction and its destructive side effects. VH1 really sells it with this seductive promo:

For addicts, sex isn’t even pleasurable, but rather a way to escape the pain of past loss, childhood trauma, abuse, and abandonment. Like many other addictions, their habits can cost them their jobs, their marriages, even their lives.

Well, I'm sold! Are you?

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GiggleSugar Interviews Margaret Cho!

GiggleSugar — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 04:00:00 -0700

When I think of Margaret Cho, I think of her hilarious standup act in flashes of representative scenes. There's Margaret telling everyone how weird it is to be an Asian American on an airplane with a flight attendant offering you Asian chicken salad. ("That is not the salad of my people!") There's Margaret imitating her mother's cute Korean accent and puzzling over gay men and their, uh, interest in "the ass." And then there's Margaret imagining how period-centric the world would be if men menstruated. The busy comedian/activist/all-around rad diva took some time out of her schedule to talk with us about her many projects, including VH1's The Cho Show (the second episode airs tomorrow), what it's like to have a day named after you in San Francisco, and who is hotter: Lindsay Lohan or Samantha Ronson?

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To check out the interview (and/or to listen to it!), read more.

GiggleSugar: People feel very connected to you personally. Do you have any funny or crazy fan stories?

Margaret Cho:
People really connect with me for a lot of different reasons. I was the first Asian American person they ever saw on TV, and I was the first person to talk about gay stuff. I think when people see images of themselves in the media they feel like they matter, they exist and they‘re real so a lot of my connection with people who are fans of mine, it goes deeper than just an entertainment or artist kind of relationship, so I don’t really have like, a funny or weird fan story.

GS: You have a lot on your plate right now, particularly with The Cho Show which premiered on VH1 last week. I really love the chemistry you have with Selene, your gay friends, and your parents. It seemed to me like a 21st-century family.

MC: It’s like this beautiful, queer, multicultural, and very functional family. It’s really beautiful.

GS: Can you tell me what your vision for the show was?

MC: Well, I wanted to do a show about another Asian American family because I brought the first Asian American family to TV (All-American Girl) and I then I was alarmed that there had not been another one.

GS: Race, and sexuality and gender have been really central to your work and have inspired lots of people to join comedy who might not have felt like they could be a part of it. What do you think the state of race issues in comedy is these days?

MC:
It’s a big deal. Race is still very much a factor in how much we see of you. Like I look at my contemporaries, the people I started with are people like Ben Stiller, and I feel like, considering the difference in our careers, and how far he goes . . . he’s white, he’s straight, he’s a man. I think he’s great, I like him a lot, but . . .Race is a big factor in how successful people become.

GS: With some comedians I get the sense that they’re saying we’re post-identity, post-race, they think race doesn’t matter as much because now we’re all liberated . . .

MC: No! It’s just as bad as it always was. It’s incredibly sexist, incredibly racist, and incredibly homophobic. There’s no difference. It’s not liberated.

GS: I’m wondering if you saw the pictures of the Spanish basketball team . . .

MC:
Oh, yeah. That to me is so offensive but I feel that to them it was supposed to be affectionate. That’s how you’re affectionate, by showing racism. I think that there’s such a casual attitude towards racism against Asians that exists because I feel like the Asian community at large and especially the Asian-American community is not responsible enough to stand up to it and so I feel like it’s my responsibility to stand up to it.

GS: Who are some of the comics who inspired you and who are some of your favorite comedians now, and why?

MC:
When I was growing up, probably Joan Rivers or Richard Pryor or George Carlin or Steve Martin, Whoopi Goldberg, Paula Poundstone. Major huge influence. Love her. And now Wanda Sykes is my favorite. Chris Rock. Dave Chapelle. Bobby Lee. I’m a big fan of comedy.

GS: Do you see comedy evolving?

MC: I feel like comedians are becoming political - they’ve always been political - but they’re becoming more political now, and are even invited into the political realm to talk about politics. I’m an Obama campaign surrogate so to me that’s a very exciting thing to do. And so, I think, comedy has evolved and people are taking us more seriously as social commentators. Which is really cool.

GS: This is more a personal question but is also related to your humor. In your earlier shows like The Notorious C.H.O. you talk a lot about your experimentation when you were younger with sex, drugs and being kinda self-destructive. Do you regret any of that or do you think it contributed to who you are now and to your humor?

MC: I don’t regret that. I feel like . . . I want the brain cells back. (Laughs.) That’s the hard part . . .

GS: Don’t we all!

MC: Cuz I remember I used to be so lightning fast and it was like really crazy how smart I was. And now I’m just f*ckin’ so dumb, and I can’t remember sh*t.

GS: I think that’s age, too, cuz I’m right there with you.

MC: Yeah, but it’s f*ckin’ drugs. For me, it was totally drugs. I have huge gaps.

GS: But you weren’t a huffer or anything? (Laughs.)

MC: No, but you know, I did every drug, and a lot.

GS: You were a San Francisco girl, how could you avoid it?

MC: It’s so fun, but I miss the brain cells.

GS: They’ll regenerate. I think. (Laughs.) So, speaking of San Francisco, how does it feel to have a Margaret Cho day christened by the mayor?

MC: That was April 30. That was just last April. It was really cool and I actually work with Mayor Newsom a lot, because he and I are big gay marriage advocates.

GS: And your parents are still in San Francisco?

MC:
No, they moved. They’re in San Diego now.

GS: They’re so cute!

MC: They’re really cute.

GS: Your parents seem so not uptight!

MC: Well, they have their moments of getting super-uptight. They can’t fight their culture all the time. They can be pretty uptight sometimes and annoying. But they’re super-sweet and really fun, too.

GS: How does it feel to be successful and to also remain rebellious? Do you still feel like an outsider?

MC: I’ll always be an outsider because of who I am. There’s never going to be a feeling where I feel like I’ve arrived or I’m comfortable, but I feel like I’ve created my own thing. I love performing, I love doing standup comedy, and I love writing.

GS: You’ve been married for six years.

MC: We’ve been together for like 10. We’ve been married forever!

GS: But you still identify as bi or queer.

MC: For sure. Which I’ll always be. That doesn’t change.

GS: That’s wonderful. Are there any other projects that you’re working on that you’d like to talk about?

MC:
I’m doing a show for the Lifetime Channel now called Drop Dead Diva which is a comedy/drama. I play a legal secretary which is really cool and funny. I have to cover up my tattoos in a suit and be super-vanilla which is cool and which I love. And it’s a great show and then I’m going to finish out my tour dates, and then I’m gonna see if I finish out season two of The Cho Show. (I hope we are!) But we don’t know yet.

GS: What are some things that your fans might not know about you that would surprise them?

MC: Like, I am really a dog mom.

GS: Oh . . . ! [This is where I kept quiet about my cat fetish.]

MC: I have three dogs. They’re my whole life.

GS: Silly questions, now. Either or questions: Strawberry or grape-flavored gum?

MC: I can’t chew gum because I’m such a spaz like I would bite the inside of my mouth so much and bite my tongue and then my whole mouth would be filled with blood. It’s really stupid. I’m really dumb about chewing gum. I’m not sure how to. Sometimes, I’m super dumb about stuff. The other thing I’m dumb about is I don’t know how to do the laundry.

GS: I wish I didn’t know how to do the laundry and then I could make someone else do it. Granny panties or thongs?

MC: Um, I’d say thongs. But I do appreciate a granny panty in moderation.

GS: Lindsay Lohan or Samantha Ronson?

MC: Oooh. I love Samantha. (GS: I know!) MC: She’s such a hot dirty butch. I like her a lot.

MC: That’s it Margaret, thank you so much for your time. I hope to catch your show, Beautiful, in Santa Rosa!

VH1's Best Weed Ever!

GiggleSugar — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 13:00:00 -0700

Mad TV spoofed VH1's Best Week Ever by altering the concept and title just a tiny bit-- not a whole lot. And duuude...they gave us the best quote ever: "I've got Franken-nipple!" Give you one guess who that line belongs to: she's been to Taradise and back, and her last name rhymes with-- that's right-- weed.

Disecting the Word "Diva"

TresSugar — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 11:00:00 -0700

As I watched Paula Abdul, Kelly Clarkson, Leona Lewis, Jennifer Hudson, and Miley Cyrus perform on VH1's Diva show last night I kept thinking: what exactly is a diva?

So I looked it up in the dictionary and found a variety of definitions. I discovered that the word "diva" is derived from the Italian word for a female deity, or goddess. It's also the word for a female opera singer. And here are some of the more commonly used definitions I found:

Diva:

an admired, glamorous, or distinguished woman

a haughty, spoiled woman

It seems to qualify as a diva you have to have some special mix of talent and eccentricity. Do you consider yourself a diva?

VH1's The Pickup Artist: The Most Douchetastic Show on Television?

GiggleSugar — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 12:00:00 -0800

I really need to start watching cable again. VH1's The Pickup Artist starring Mystery (you may remember him from yesterday's If You Had To . . . challenge) looks spectacularly hilarious. The premise is simple: take some dorks and have a man who dresses like a "goth aviator" tell 'em the secrets to picking up chicks. (It involves a lotta cheesy pickup lines, wearing fuzzy hats, and sporting guyliner.) "Someday," he tells the cool-challenged fellows, "you're going to get so good at this, you will teach it to your sons." Ha! Something tells me Mr. Brian already has some tricks up his sleeve . . .

One Mention of Paris Hilton...

GiggleSugar — Fri, 02 Mar 2007 14:00:00 -0800

...and the standards (such as they are) of The View take a nosedive. First they're talking about Paris getting pulled over by the cops, then they're talking about sex with horses. I kid you not.

The Last Decade in Less Than Seven Minutes

TresSugar — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 06:00:00 -0800

Believe it or not, we're about to start a new decade in less than two months. That means we can all get ready for the barrage of recaps about the last 10 years, which have truly seen a lot of strange and sad events. This has been a decade dominated by terrorism, wars, Terri Schiavo, Hurricane Katrina, and gay marriage bans. But we've also witnessed the rise of YouTube, the Rick Roll, the iPod, Michael Phelps, and Barack Obama. Gearing up for the end of the year, Newsweek put together a seven-minute roundup of this decade's most memorable moments. I'm sure VH1 is taking notes for the inevitable upcoming show called something like "I Love the 2000s." What will we call this decade, anyway?

Megan Wants . . . a Murderer?

TresSugar — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 12:00:00 -0700

I bet Megan Hauserman (previously from Rock of Love 2 and I Love Money) did not think that her money-hungry ways could blind her from seeing a potential murderer in her midst. But that’s exactly what happens on Megan Wants a Millionaire, VH1’s show about a bunch of douches who want to date a gold-digger. It turns out that contestant Ryan Jenkins is a person of interest in the murder of his wife, Jasmine Fiore, whom he married (and possibly killed!) after the show finished taping. It's been reported that he's already fled the country.

I saw a few episodes of Megan Wants a Millionaire, and even for reality TV, it’s pretty awful. Just when you thought the worst character infraction the contestants could have was being douchey, this news comes out. Very, very scary.

Daisy of Love: Wherein Daisy Nicknames Her Fair Princes

TresSugar — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 06:00:00 -0700

If you wanted any sign that pop culture is fragmented and random, look no further than VH1's Daisy of Love. In order to even begin to fathom what this show is about, you have to be prepared to jump down the rabbit hole of reality television with me. Here goes. It stars Daisy de la Hoya - the runner up of Rock of Love 2. Not the winner, and not the first Rock of Love. And it's a dating show.

VH1 TV Shows | Music Videos | Celebrity Photos | News & Gossip

Daisy of Love premiered in April. I have missed out, but at the urging of obsessed fans, I've taken a look. Wow, uh, who dresses these people, where did they come from, and are they the result of an airborne toxic event? They're like mutant strains of douchebags, the chode version of C.H.U.D. (Cannibalistic Humanoid Underground Dweller) - C.H.O.D.E.

Anyway, in this clip, Daisy gives nicknames to the contestants, and there's also a man in a thong doing flips. Enjoy!

Book Bag: The Big Rewind, a Pop Culture Memoir

TresSugar — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 09:00:36 -0700

On more than one occasion, I've imagined what song would make the perfect soundtrack for a moment I'm currently living. One of my friends' favorite party topics is who would play us in our hypothetical biopics. We are a pop-culture obsessed culture, comparing our realities to that of reality TV stars and voraciously devouring VH1 specials and The Soup.

Naturally, I love the idea of The Big Rewind: A Memoir Brought to You by Pop Culture by The Onion arts and entertainment writer Nathan Rabin. The book tells Rabin's autobiography through the context of the songs, books, movies, and other diversions that defined his youth.

If you're still looking for something to read this month, Rabin's memoir sounds pretty rich. Each episode is tied to a specific song, book, or show, whether it's a story about tripping on mushrooms at the Anne Frank house in Amsterdam or a stay in a mental hospital that's compared to Girl, Interrupted. To read some of what Rabin has to say about the power of pop culture, read more.

Like an ideal family, our personal pantheon will never let us down. Ella Fitzgerald's version of "Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered" will never abandon you. Belle and Sebastian's If You're Feeling Sinister will never run off with your best friend. John Kennedy Toole's A Confederacy of Dunces will never tell you that it finds the prospect of having sex with you less appealing than watching back-to-back reruns of The Golden Girls.

It sounds as if many of Rabin's cultural references are also my own. But what would be the movies, books, TV shows, and more that would shape the story of your life?