I've got the conch

(This is a little late, but … )

I didn’t even watch the golden globes and minutes into Jodie’s speech my tumblr and twitter feeds were flooded. Droves of people just couldn’t wait to tell the world … that Jodie was taking too long with her acceptance speech. I only found scant evidence in the myriad of posts that Jodie had come out.

I went right to YouTube and watched it for myself.

I suppose what struck me most about her coming out was the nonchalantness of it all. The experience of coming out is, of course, vastly different for a teenager living in a small town, and a grown woman giving a speech to one of the most socially progressive crowds in the country. I just wasn’t prepared for how it was all stirred in with the rest of the speech. Her coming out was like the chocolate syrup in a mocha and I’d expected it to be more like the foam on a cappuccino; frothy, fabulous, two inches deep and dotting the tip of your nose.

The comments below the video (besides the usual homophobic spam) were all over the board. One person wrote that she has a right to privacy while another chided Jodie for staying silent about her sexuality while she could have been a role model for young people. Another commented on the sheer banality of her being gay while another person criticized her for tiptoeing around the issue by calling her lover her ‘BFF’. 

Now that Jodie has come out, it seems as if everyone has an opinion about how Jodie should be gay. 

Role defining is, in general, kind of a shitty thing to do to another person. Telling someone how to be gay, how to be a woman, how to be black, how to be white, how to be a man, and even how to be straight, is unnecessary and will, most likely, not garner  thanks.

Harvey Milk asked people to come out because he believed visibility would dispel myths about gays and could help pave the way for equal rights for the queer community. Harvey asked people to publicly claim their identities in the 70’s because there was not yet equality. 

And do we now have equality for gays? For women? For blacks? For immigrants? 

I’m not a fan of role defining without purpose, but when it comes to the issue of visibility in queer, feminist and classist movements, I stand with Harvey. 

Jodie Foster did a good thing by coming out. Her nonchalantness reflects the progressiveness of the crowd in which she came out, the security that she has as a retiring celebrity and even the false sense of ‘normalization’ that’s been created for gays in hollywood in the past ten years with a rising number of shows and movies featuring gay characters. If equality had been reached for the queer communities across the globe, I might even rejoice at the haphazard comment ‘who cares?’ when responding to Jodie’s coming out – but it’s not time for that yet. 

Yes, Jodie Foster is gay. Yes, it’s still a big deal. Tell your friends.

Rating: four jellyfish

So I know this is rather specific, but I thought I’d do a post on it anyway. Servant of Two Masters is a play I saw recently at the Guthrie in Minneapolis, MN. It’s an Italian comedy about a woman (Beatrice) who dresses as her slain brother and travels to Venice to collect dowery money from the father of his betrothed so she can reunite and run away with her rather fiery lover, Florindo. 

The real star of this play, however, is Truffaldino, a servant, who ends up serving both Beatrice and Florindo in hopes of snagging a second dinner. The two lovers, of course, don’t know that they are in the same town but through the bumblings of their servant, Truffaldino, they begin to suspect something’s up. Chaos ensues.  

In any case, I think what makes this play special is its half-improvised nature. It’s hard to explain what this means exactly, but let’s just say this play had all the airs of a piece of theater with the pop culture references of a stand-up comic. Very fun.

Rating: four jellyfish

I gave this place an extra jellyfish just for the atmosphere. 

There were too many, too little round tables all smushed into a too small space and it was difficult to walk around but at the same time it was perfect. It was the kind of snuggness that forces you to look other people in the eye and makes it easy to see other people’s computer screens but harder to not get caught peeking.

I like that kind of place. 

Also, they had donuts. I had no idea that they sold donuts but it made me very happy even though I didn’t get one and I got a cappuccino instead of a mocha because I’m kind of on a diet.

But anywho, the coffee was great and the people watching was fun. What more could you want from a cafe? Oh, and they have two walls lined with booths. Booths.

Rating: five jellyfish

Origami is the place to go for sushi in the Twin Cities. Trust me. I’ve been to Akita, Tiger Sushi, Bento Ya, etc. and nothing comes close to the quality at Origami. 

Nigiri is my favorite – and the albacore tuna nigiri was so buttery and tender that it fell to pieces right off its bed of sticky rice. They also serve a delectable whole, roasted mackerel with crispy skin.

If you’re into maki, you won’t be disappointed. Their 9 1/2 weeks roll is amazing. I think it’s the sweet unagi sauce that really gives it that extra kick.

My only complaint is that the gyoza were a bit cold. Not a great note to start a meal off on, however, what followed more than made up for that.

Rating: three jellyfish. 

If you live in the Twin Cities and you don’t already know about Cafe Latte, shame on you! 

They are most well known for their cafeteria-like set-up, their chili, and their trés leche cake. Personally, I’d vouch for their spreads plate, specifically their salmon and cream cheese spread. 

In any case, they’re a fantastic (and popular) place to stop in during lunch near Victoria Crossing and if you’ve got a little extra cash for lunch, it’s worth skipping the Chipotle in favor of a pasta salad, or a mocha and a sandwich. 

ps. I did try their mocha and it was a little sugary for my taste.