"Zaftig? Isn't that German for 'Big Fat Pig'?" - The Margaret Cho-Dependance

Some days there really isn't much to get out of bed for, it's true. And then there are days like today where I discovered an old, but new to me, video of Margaret Cho stand-up and I think to myself "sometimes like is good!"

Thanks to Mark at Critical Condition for alerting me to the fact that Cho's 1994 HBO half-hour special has popped up on YouTube! I had never seen it, although several jokes used within it were used as much later as her astonishing 1999 documentary I'm the One that I Want - a film that, to this day and multiple viewings later, remains a laugh out loud riot and one of my all time favourite movies - and Notorious C.H.O. in 2002. The videos below (it's split into two 15 minute sections) remain as hilarious today as I'm sure they were nearly 20 (TWENTY!) years ago.

Don't get me wrong here, Cho still sends me into fits of uproarious laughter - in fact, in a strange twist of fate, I turned on the TV this afternoon and Cho was a guest on The View! - and her musical album, Cho Dependent that was released last year, is a wonderfully comedic yet serious musically in tune recording, but after Notorious C.H.O. I felt like she started to focus so much on the gay/sex angle of her act that she neglected other parts that she so vividly and poignantly made the focus of in her early work.

The variety and spread of topics and the speed with which she powers through the jokes is phenomenal in the 1994 special. It's amazing how great and funny the jokes still are and how about that costume? Looking like a less-tailored Irma Vep, she is! But, oh my, those jokes! Gags about Rosie Perez, Prince, her TV series All-American Girl (almost titled Wok on the Wild Side), the word "zaftig", weight, trapdoor sex, "Moran", her born again Christian brother, racists, chinos... "and then there's the ho!"

Watch the special below and then underneath that I've included a clip from I'm the One that I Want, which I can't recommend enough, and a couple of tracks from her album Cho Dependent. Enjoy.






"Intervention" (feat. Tegan & Sara) | "Eat Shit and Die" (feat. Grant Lee Phillips)

The A-Z of IDAHO

Today is IDAHO - International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia, don't ask me why they changed T and O in the acronym, okay? - and it's such a valuable day that will sadly no unrecognised in mainstream media. Tell that gay man or woman in your life, or the transgendered friend or family member, that they're important and valued.

Living in Australia right now can be quite sad for GLBT people since we have a Prime Minister and an opposition leader who seem to be battling each other to make the most homophobic statements possible. Hell, our PM is an athiest who "lives in sin" with her boyfriend, and yet she comes out saying that she doesn't believe in gay marriage because Australia has deep Christian roots. To Prime Minister Gillard I say "fuck off!"

I don't really have much to say on the matter because, well, I talk about gay issues quite a lot. Instead of making you read a whole lot of blather about what it means to be gay, I have collected a bunch of film trailers for films that deal with GLBT issues and that have personally affected me in some way. Some of these movies are tough and tragic, others are sweet and magic. So, just like the real world, I suppose. I recommend all of them and if you haven't sought out much in the way of gay cinema then I suggest you avoid the lame comedies that fill the "specialty interest" section of your local DVD retailer (Another Gay Movie, The Fluffer, Eating Out 7), but instead look at some of the daring, groundbreaking, thrilling, funny, touching and wonderfully made movies that have been made by some fabulous talent. The films below aren't necessarily my favourites, but they are great films, some of which don't get discussed enough in this world where A Single Man is the new go-to movie for gay cinema watchers.


The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert | Bear Cub


The Celluloid Closet | The Deep End


The Edge of Seventeen | Far from Heaven


Gypsy '83 | Heartbeats


I'm the One that I Want | Just a Question of Love


Kaboom! | Last Exit to Brooklyn


My Beautiful Laundrette | Newcastle


Orlando | Paris is Burning


Querelle | The Rocky Horror Picture Show


Shortbus | The Times of Harvey Milk


Urbania | Velvet Goldmine


Welcome to the Dollhouse | X2


Yossi & Jagger | Zus & Zo