So we are finally in the dog days of summer (which I realized when I went for a run at noon). Some of us are working, going to school, or schlepping around interning. Others are laying by the pool sipping sangria (*jealous*). But, I think we can all agree that a break of any kind is welcome. Especially when that break is a trip to somewhere cool, offbeat and–the best part– cheap. So pack your favorite flip flops, airy sundress and camera and head somewhere, anywhere but here. Might I suggest any of these destinations:

Isla de Vieques, Puerto Rico.
This 21 by 5 mile island is referred to asIsla Nena by residents, loosely translating into “virgin island”. Located only 6 miles off Puerto Rico’s coast, it is a hotbed of natural beauty and tropical activities. You fly onto the island after flying into San Juan, Puerto Rico, so be prepared with a your iPod, a magazine, eye mask or Valium–whatever it takes to get you to board an 8 seater plane to Vieques Airport.

Once you’re on the island, you can stay anywhere ranging from $90 a night B&B’s to luxury hotels, so whether you’re on a typical college budget, or you happen to have a trust fund, there are accomodations for you.

Activities on the island include: hiking, snorkeling and diving, biking, fishing, sightseeing and dining in Bravos de Boston, Vieques’ most fashionable town. However, the highlight of this destination is definitely its Bioluminescent Bay. The bay is filled with phosphorescent microorganisms, that glow in the dark when disturbed. Nighttime charter boats take you on a guided swimming and kayaking trip to the brightest bio bay in the world. If you’re looking for a tropical getaway that won’t break the bank and is off the beaten path, Vieques is it. Read More »

Say, have you heard of Camille Paglia? If not, good news: it turns out that you are not old. You’ve also, apparently, managed to avoid the massive headaches that she’s been inflicting on thinking people for the better part of the last two decades. Now, for the bad news: she’s back, and she’s aiming to annoy the world once more.

Here’s the deal: Camille Paglia was the Ann Coulter of the ‘90s. She wrote a book, Sexual Personae, which dealt “shockingly” with issues of sex and gender, in that it basically re-iterated the talking points of idiot wife-beaters across the nation. (Here’s a sample quote: “If civilization had been left in female hands, we would still be living in grass huts.”) This book turned her into a popular media personality, and spawned countless essays and TV appearances; she was the go-to girl when conservatives needed to call upon some random crazy to bash women.

The peak of her career, of course, came when she took it upon herself to defend rapists, by saying that women who got drunk or wore skimpy clothes in the presence of men deserved to be sexually assaulted, because men simply could not be expected to contain their awesome sexual power. In her words, “woman’s flirtatious arts of self-concealment mean man’s approach must take the form of rape.” Read More »

Someone up above must hate me, because Heidi Montag released another terrible song. Perhaps this is what the U.S. Military is using in their latest foray into alternative forms of torture.

Don Imus seems to be back to his old ways. Shocking.

A lot of little children (and some really awesome college students…not me…ok, maybe me) spent their Friday evening at home with the Jonas Brothers.

The perfect breakfast for the morning after a late night summer Beer-B-Q.

To make money, or to make a difference; that is the question for many college grads.

Is your brain gay?

Some guys just can’t quite distinguish between fact and a cartoon from the early 90’s.

[Photo courtesy of the one and only, Perez Hilton.]

Last Sunday night I found myself at Barney’s Beanery in West Hollywood. It was Memorial Day weekend, so the bar was packed. I’d come with friends, so I wasn’t looking to talk to any guys, but looking around I was surprised at how many cute, normal looking ones there were.

There were tons of adorable nerdy boys wearing glasses and semi-skinny jeans who looked like they’d just come to chill and have a good time with their friends. Yeah, there were a few desperate-looking ones in buttoned-down collared shirts and pressed slacks, but I just ignored them. I couldn’t understand why my friend S (identity protection) always complained to me about not being able to find datable girls in Los Angeles, there seemed to be plenty of cute guys. So I decided to put myself in his shoes, and I looked around for girls. It was an eye opener.

To start with, there were five guys to every girl, and for every normal-looking, attractive girl, there were ten über-slutty ones. I saw one majorly stacked blonde wearing a blue dress so low cut I could practically see the surgery scars on her nipples. Fake tans, platinum extensions, and cheap stilettos were everywhere. We weren’t in some swanky bar on Sunset, and these girls weren’t going to find their future investment banker husband here, this was Barney’s, a bar full of currently unemployed, future TV showrunners. I suddenly felt incredibly bad for S. Read More »

I am sad to announce that legendary fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent passed away in Paris on Sunday at the age of 71. He is best known for redesigning “men’s clothes” for women through creations such as his infamous tux of 1966 and trademark elegant pantsuit. As one commentator put it, “Chanel gave women freedom” in the first half of the 20th century, and Saint Laurent “gave them power”.

In Other News,

Hilary Clinton emerged triumphant from Sunday’s primary in Puerto Rico yet it is doubtful that this will be enough to stop her downhill spiral. On Tuesday, the remaining 31 delegates will be decided as voters in Montana and South Dakota go to the polls for the Democratic Party’s final two primaries. Obama is approximately 50 delegates away from the 2,118 needed to secure the party’s nomination. Read More »

Q: What is Lindsay Lohan and Samantha Ronson’s relationship to one another? Are they…

a) Best friends
b) Roommates
c) Dating
d) Engaged

A: All of the above, apparently. HAHA, GOT YOU GOOD, F*CKERS!

But seriously. According to thesuperficial.com, Perez, the Daily Mail, the New York Post, and probably a hoard of other gossip mongers that I haven’t bothered to look at, Lohan and Ronson were spotted kissing on P. Diddy’s boat in Cannes this weekend. The Post also reports that that the two ladies have moved in together, and word on the street is that Lohan was seen at the D&G party in Cannes wearing a diamond ring on her engagement finger.

Rumors started floating around last year that Ronson, an actual factual lesbian, and Lohan were dating, but until these recent developments there wasn’t a lot of evidence to back it up. Leshan’s (no? no dice? alright) reps deny that she’s “gotten in to the catnip” so to speak, and maintain that her and Ronson are just BFFs, but these pics suggest otherwise. Read More »

Maybe it was Hot Topic’s fault. Or better yet, maybe it was TV’s fault. Either way, something turned a huge part of our heterosexual male population GAY over the last five years or so…and they all turned gay without even being homosexual. It’s a tragedy, really, and these way too femme boys who supposedly still like girls have even made my own love life tragically hellish.

Katy Perry’s hit single “Ur So Gay” couldn’t have come at a better time. Well, wait… I’d actually say it’s a bit overdue. I could have really used it to get myself through my last break up with a boy who told me that he had shaved his arms so that they’d ‘feel nice’ for me…

ANYWAY, It didn’t take me long to become a fan of this girl. Does Madonna love her? Sure she does. Does Myspace love her? Duh. But that’s not why I like her. I like her because she’s openly quirky. She’s intelligent AND fun and YES, that combination certainly does exist in female society and I’m proud to finally be able to add yet another awesome artist to the soundtrack of my life. Read More »

When Raul Castro replaced his brother Fidel as leader of Cuba last month, President Bush took a predictably cynical perspective. In a March 7th press conference he stated that,

“So far, all Cuba has done is replace one dictator with another. And its former ruler is still influencing events from behind the scenes. This is the same system, the same faces, and the same policies that led Cuba to its miseries in the first place.”

Well Mr. Bush, here’s a newsflash for you — if Mariela Castro, Raul’s daughter, has her way, Cuban transsexuals and gays will have more documented rights than any other Latin American country. Moreover, despite the overall human rights abusing nature of the regime, the bill will allow transsexuals and gays more equality and options than what is offered in the US.

According to the BBC, under the bill, same-sex unions and inheritance rights would be recognized. Transsexuals would have the right to free sex-change operations and switch the gender on their ID cards, with or without surgery.

Let’s compare this proposal to current US policies shall we? Read More »