Don't Get Me Started with Linda Sharp

Jack Mackenroth: Booty And Brains - From Project Runway To A Project That Is A Runaway Hit

It's been many years since the world met Jack Mackenroth as a talented designer contender on Project Runway.

The end of 2007 to be exact.

Back then, in addition to writing about the news of the day, I had taken up recapping PR as it was my guilty pleasure, and given the myriad bigger-than-life personalities, quite easy to do.  Anyone who has enjoyed the various recaps I have done over the years knows that they all come with a massive dose of snark.  Yes, I make sure to cover all the highs and lows in an episode, but I do it with a heavy shmear of humor at the expense of those involved.

So it was with Project Runway Season 4 - replete with personalities like the gloriously tattooed Sweet P,  Rami - who could drape me in oatmeal and I'm certain it would be gorgeous, the elfin Christian Siriano, and Jack.

For me, Jack stood out from the beginning episode.  Yes, yes, yes - his ability to make my eyes orgasm had something to do with it.  Jack was, is, and will continue to be extremely easy on the retinas.  His baby blues are piercing, his smile lights up a room.

But it was Jack's demeanor and story that truly drew me in.  The man had grace, talent, humility, and just happened to be HIV+.  And in that last fact, he was opening eyes to how that diagnosis actually translated into reality in the new millenium.

He received that diagnosis in 1990.  Do the math.  By the time he hit PR, he was 17 years in - healthy, fit (a champion swimmer all his life, Jack puts brick shithouses to shame), and practically glowing.

As he once told an interviewer, "I am a living testament to what you can accomplish by letting go of shame and being your own advocate."

And that is what struck me, stuck with me during his run on the TV show.  He literally flew in the face of what people think they know, what they think they fear.  When a staph infection (not related to his HIV status) cropped up, Jack withdrew himself from the competition in order to seek immediate treatment (five days in the hospital).  While there were tears shed, his priorities, humility, and grace were noteworthy.

In the recap of that episode, I suspended the snark, and wrote about just that.  And in one of life's little surprises, I woke one morning to find Jack in my inbox thanking me for the kind words.

Since that day I have watched Jack leave behind the disappointment of PR and blaze a trail of advocacy and activism as a champion not just in the HIV+ community, but in the world as a whole. 

Friends on Facebook for years now, it is a pleasure to find him pop up in my newsfeed (not just because many times he is modeling and partially clothed).  He is funny, sharp, suffers no fools, and is always upbeat.  And he is always busy opening eyes, supporting others, and educating the populace through his activisim.  His reach is long, his message profound.

His most recent venture is to garner attention and raise funds for Housing Works.  He has committed to the Braking Aids Ride - a 285 mile bike ride from Boston to NYC.  He is fundraising currently in an attempt to reach his goal of $50,000.

Which brings us to the picture many of you saw recently on Facebook when I shared it in my newsfeed.

Yes, that would be my name resting his chest.  Donating to his ride was a no-brainer, but the fact that he offered to scribe my name on his body, too?  Well, sign me up for The Mack Pack.

And that brings us to the thrust (all pun intended) of this post.  Read the press release below, and then donate if you can.  The charity is worthwhile and the man doing the legwork is, in my opinion, not simply one in a million.  That would indicate there are more men like him out there.

No, Jack is, quite simply, ONE.  And an amazing one at that.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Can An Activist Monetize a Social Media Army to Fundraise for HIV?

Jack Mackenroth Pledges to Raise $50,000 for BRAKING AIDS^® Ride With Sexy Selfies and Heartfelt Videos. 

(New York, NY – June 28, 2014) Former Project Runway designer turned HIV activist, Jack Mackenroth is attempting a feat that many individuals and companies are struggling to conquer--mobilizing and monetizing a massive social media following. Mackenroth, who is mainly known on social media for scantily clad photos, sharp wit and a dose of activism, believes he can do just that all in the name of HIV charity, fundraising for BRAKING AIDS^® Ride which benefits Housing Works.

If Mackenroth, who has been HIV-positive for 25 years, is able to reach his goal of $50,000 it will be set the record for the highest amount ever raised by an individual and he has only 7 weeks to make it happen. “I set the bar high just to see what was possible. It’s a cause that is obviously a very personal one and although I have worked for countless HIV charities and organizations and lent my face and name to campaigns, I have never directly asked for donations. I’m hopeful that others out there are as passionate as I am and willing to support me.”

BRAKING AIDS^® Ride (www.brakingaidsride.org) is a 285 mile bike ride from Boston To New York which begins on Friday, September 12^th and finishes in New York City on Sunday September 16^th. Riders must raise a minimum of $3,500 each to participate. All the proceeds benefit Housing Works (www.housingworks.org) whose mission is to end the dual crises of homelessness and AIDS through relentless advocacy and the provision of lifesaving services.

Mackenroth only started his campaign 2 weeks ago and he has already raised $8,000. His unconventional approach brought rapid results. “I promised anyone who donated $100 or more that I would tag their name or social media handle on my chest and post it all over my accounts. I got so many donations that I had to raise the amount to $250 because I can keep up with all the selfies.” said Mackenroth.

Mackenroth has 107,000 Twitter followers @jackmackenroth and 5 Facebook accounts with a total following of approximately 250,000 “friends” and followers. He has 17,000 followers on Instagram after joining earlier this year. The pay off for someone who donates $250 or more is not only that they are making a real difference for HIV but they also get a ton of social media exposure. Jack has also offered a personalized ass pic for anyone who donates $1000 or more. So far he has had 2 takers.

Two companies have also seen value in his ingenious, sexy marketing technique. Martone Cycling Co. (www.martonecycling.com) has donated two bikes to the ride. The red bike (pictured) will be used by Mackenroth to help his fundraising efforts. Every person who donates $100 or more will be entered into a raffle to win the bike, which retails for over $1200. The second bike will be given to the person other than Mackenroth who is the highest fundraiser overall. SCRUFF is also supporting BRAKING AIDS^® Ride by purchasing team jerseys for Mackenroth’s 15-man team, The Mack Pack, and also matching up to $2,500 in donations later this month.  

The Mack Pack, currently has 15 riders and to date they have collectively raised over $31,000. If anyone would like to ride they are still accepting registrations and welcome more members. Jack added, “I’d like to beat the team total record as well which is close to $150,000. We’ll see if people who read this will be motivated enough and selfless enough to give money to total strangers who are really struggling on a day-to-day basis.

Mackenroth will also be utilizing his social media outlets from now until the end of the ride to document the amazing experience and capture the challenges, the humor and all the inspirational moments during his journey. Watch his touching video about why he is so inspired to take on this monumental challenge.

Please donate and make a difference in the lives of people struggling with HIV and homelessness here: bit.ly/jackmack

You can follow Jack on Twitter and Isntagram @jackmackenroth.

For more information about BRAKING AIDS® Ride, contact:

Eric Epstein, Ride Director

212.989.1111 x11

[email protected]

www.brakingaidsride.org

For more information about Housing Works contact:

Andrew S. Greene

SVP for Development and Marketing

347-473-7403 (Brooklyn)

212-966-0466 x1134 (Soho)

[email protected]

www.housingworks.org

 

 

The More Things Change, The More They ... Get Worse

This morning I found myself looking through the stats for DGMS, giving a cursory glance at what links bring people here, what Google query became the inroad.  This piece, written on April 19, 2010 was on the list.  I pulled it up and gave it a read.  What struck me was how applicable it still is today.  Maybe even more in light of circumstances around the globe, tensions heightened here in our own country, misguided "patriotism" which looks much more like HATEriotism and cowardice.

I don't think I am alone in feeling we are nearing a tipping point of some sort.  We have let the lunatics run the asylum for far too long and those chickens are coming home to roost IN the cuckoo's nest.

Answers?  Good lord, I have no more than anyone else.  The best I can come up with is to ask people to STOP, take a breath, and truly educate themselves.  Turn off what foments your hatred, keeps your inner narrative filled with indignation and hubris.  READ.  Not Stormfront or The Blaze.  Hell, not even CNN these days.  Seek out FACTS, not conspiracy laden opinions.  Find NEWS - a straight forward presentation of what, where, who, when.  Not a finger pointing screed by a carefully coiffed "anchor."

And when you do start learning, don't be afraid or too egotistical to admit you were, perhaps, wrong.  That perhaps what you think isn't what is real.  What you fear, isn't actually an enemy, but a carefully created bogeyman designed by those who profit from your anger.

Sadly, on the whole, we are a stupid, bumper-sticker-mentality populace.  Geographically, scientifically - we are woefully unenlightened, uneducated, and easily led.

Like I said, I don't have answers, but it seems like replacing bullshit with FACTS may be a good place to start.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Looking Back, Looking Forward - originally posted 4/19/2010

Fifteen years ago today, a truck bomb ripped a hole in the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City...

And fifteen years ago, this picture ripped a hole in the heart of a nation...

 Without Googling, I can remember this child's name - Baylee. 

When this happened, I remember staring at my TV, mouth open, unable to comprehend that what I had only associated with terrorist bombings overseas, had somehow been unleashed in my country.

At the time, I had two small children.  And Kendall was just a hair older than Baylee.  How very easy it was to see her petite body in the arms of that firefighter. 

And it hurt.

Badly.

Looking at the photo today, fifteen years removed, fifteen years older, wiser, and far more jaded by the events I have seen since, it still hurts.

Not only was this an act of domestic terrorism, it was a spectacular act of cowardice.  Like 9/11, like the disgruntled asshole whose handiwork I see on a regular basis here in Austin - the building still charred by the fire, the hole still gaping like a tremendous wound from the plane he flew into it a month ago.

Terrorists, all.  Cowards, all.

Anyone who gets their ass in a knot and takes it out on innocent people - especially CHILDREN - are cowardly terrorists.

We like to think we are special in this country.  Sarah Palin and her ilk make mountains of money out of that spin.  We are above reproach.  The USA should never apologize.  We are the shit, man.  Bow down to us.

Um, no, no we're not.

And every single day, our idiocy is on display to the entire world.  As the rhetoric continues to ratchet up, as politicians gleefully incite willfully ignorant crowds, as misinformation replaces FACT - we edge closer to another Murrah Building going down in a blaze of gory.

More innocent people in this country are going to die at the hands of homegrown terrorists.  More children are going to be collateral damage of their misplaced rage, their anger stoked by political hucksters, TV schlockmeisters, and half term governors who are only in it for them$elve$, and who will feign innocence when the shit finally goes down.  (BIll O'Reilly - "Dr. Tiller The Baby Killer" - are you listening?)

The first picture is shocking.  Fifteen years later, it still amazes me how a truck bomb parked in front of a building could so quickly gut an entire building.

We should never forget.

But perhaps, more importantly, the picture we should focus on is that of tiny Baylee. 

That beautiful child should be a sophomore in high school, excited about her driver's license, nervous about the SATs, will she get a date to the prom?

That image should serve as a stark reminder to those who are stockpiling weapons and ammo, seed gardens, gold bars, and MREs that nothing they are angry about is worth one child's life.

And perhaps, just perhaps, they owe it to her memory to seek out information and FACT beyond the spin zone of AM radio and their favorite "news" channel.

Anger is fine.  As long as it is backed by a factual understanding of why you are angry.  If you are angry just because Glenn Beck's chalkboard told you to be angry, that's not good enough.  Discontent is great.  As long as you can spell your grievance correctly on your sign.  And action is perfectly acceptable, too.  Protest.  Write coherent letters to your representatives.  As long as you remember that YOUR way of thinking is not the ONLY way of thinking.   If you care so very much, prove it.  Replace your fabricated rage with FACTion.

You know as well as I do that something bad is going to happen again.  It's only a matter of time before another firefighter carries another Baylee and another innocent life is lost to arrogance, ignorance, and selfishness.

Look at Baylee and ask yourself, "Is my anger worth another child's life?"

The answer is NO.  Timothy McVeigh's wasn't.  No one's is.

In that respect, I do still believe in the greatness of this nation.  We ARE better than that.  The majority of people ARE better than that.  We just have to start standing up to those bad apples who are destroying the pie of the United States of America.

For you.  For me.  For Baylee...

To Look Or Not To Look

Today a plane fell from the sky over Ukraine. 

Helped as it was by a surface-to-air missile of some sort, it does not take much aeronautic or physics knowledge to imagine the damage done at 33,000 feet, much less what happened as the carnage rained down into the fields surrounding the village of Grabovo.

The devastation is complete.  What was in one moment a 777 filled with 283 international passengers of all ages, and a crew of 15 to see to their needs, was in the next a tableau of death. 

Pieces, parts, smoke, fire.

That includes the passengers, not just the plane.

Reading the eyewitness and reporter accounts is heartwrenching enough.  A small boy on his side in a field.  An infant torn from his parent's arms lying alone in the tall grass.  A young man, earbuds and ipod still in place, dead - arms and legs outstretched.  A partially clothed woman, leg missing.  A naked woman whose body crashed through the kitchen roof of a farmhouse.  That list goes on and on, and then narrows down to the parts that comprise a person.  A foot found on the road in the village.  Smoldering, unrecognizable parts.  A hand here.  An arm there.

To see the photos touches the humanity, the mortality at our very core.  That hand once held someone else's.  That foot once walked towards an embrace.  That arm once held someone tight - a friend, a lover, a child.

I debated someone earlier about those photos being distributed.  Their position, understandably as it is common one, is that it is disrespectful, horrid, gruesome.

My position is that what is disrespectful, horrid, and gruesome is what tore them from the sky and scattered them over a debris field that is estimated to be 9 miles.  Looking is not disrespectful.  In my opinion.

(No, I am not going to post them here for you.  It is a personal choice to look or not to look. They are easily found tonight.)

I have written many times in the past that I do not shy away from the images that are available in the aftermath of a tragedy.  A plane crash, a fire, 9/11.  It's not because I am not squeamish, or because I have some Faces of Death obsession.

I look because I feel a human connection.  I look because to not look is to ignore and turn away from the suffering endured by another.  Each year I honor those lost on 9/11 by looking, again, at the photos, the stories of those who perished.  I did not know them, but I know them.

Which is why I did not turn away from the more graphic images coming out of today's crash.  Those people that died, THEY are ME.  Those children?  They are MY children.  They are human beings who are made up of the same flesh, blood, hopes, dreams, smiles, hugs, tears, and longings that are my make up.

Their nationality does not separate me from their humanity.  Their color does not make them less deserving of my notice.  Their religious preference?  Who cares?  Whether they believed or did not believe in something, anything, nothing, doesn't matter in the final analysis of why I look.

I look because I have no other way to honor them.  I look because they are alone in a strange place and should not be alone.  And as I look, I find my hand reaching out to touch the monitor, to connect, whispering softly, "You matter. I did not know you, but you matter to me."

As I said, personal opinion, personal choice to look.  But if you don't look, then at least don't look away from the story.  I truly do not understand those who disengage from the news, from the world around them because "it is simply too much."  Tough.  Life is hard.  And quite frankly, those I personally know who choose this option, wouldn't know hard if it walked up and smacked them in the face.  Hard to them is having to park too far away from the mall door.  Hard is having the cheese left off their Whopper.   That's not HARD.  That is the true definition, and fullstop derision behind #firstworldproblems.  And people being so willing to look away is why we have so much of the conflict, strife and bloodshed in this world.

You are a citizen of the world.  If you don't engage, then you are part of the problem.

What happened today was far beyond a plane crash.  This was a deliberate act of aggression and stupidity, hubris and my-dick-is-bigger-than-your-dick syndrome.  These people were innocent, traveling on business, most on vacations.  And they got caught in the crosshairs of a political drama that seems to thrive on bloodshed.  That the shitbags who targeted the plane may have mistaken it for a military craft matters not.  They knew there were human beings in it, and cared not one whit.  They knew the end result of their firing the weapon was death.

The international community must come together on this one.  We MUST.  Daily we watch factions hellbent on destruction all over this globe.  Tonight, as I type, Israel has begun ground operations into Gaza, intent on taking Hamas down as hard as it can.

There will be no winners here.  Only losers.  Innocent people, like the four children killed on the Gaza shore yesterday, will lose their only true currency in this world - their lives, their humanity.

When the smoke clears, just as in Ukraine today, the only thing that will have been settled is when the dead people took their last breaths.  That will be defined.  But the rest?  Hate will still reign.  Politics will still remain.

In the fields around Grabovo tonight there are many things.  Many items intact.  Passports still bearing the fresh stamp of departure from Amsterdam.  A guidebook to Kuala Lumpur.  Luggage, lots and lots of luggage - brightly colored, name tags still attached, clothes still carefully folded inside.

So many of those items managed to squeek through relatively unscathed, almost in their same condition.  That's not odd.  That's not conspiracy.  And that's why the pictures are important, too.  Because at 33,000 feet when sudden decompression hits and oxygen disappears as do clothes, body parts, shoes - we are reminded what is most fragile in an airplane.  Not the laptops or cute little bottles of liquor.  Not the passport with your fugly picture inside. 

Humans.  We are fragile.  Our bodies injured with little effort, our lives taken easily from us.  At 33,000 feet it doesn't matter if you are a Cross Fit junkie or a sofa spud.  When something like this happens, our systems fail, our bodies fall to pieces.  We are flesh and blood, not Samsonite.

All of us.  We are connected by our fragility.  Our humanity lies in our fragility.  That is why we run to help a stranger in need.  That is why we wrap our arms around our bodies when we first hear about something like this.

Yes, the images are hard to stomach.  But if it were me, even just parts of me, lying in that wreckage, I would want someone like me, somewhere on this globe, to look, to touch their monitor, to whisper softly, "You matter.  I did not know you, but you matter to me."

May they all rest in peace.  And may their pieces, every beautiful one that made them whole, serve as the impetus for strong, lasting, thoughtful change in this world.  It's time to say, ENOUGH.

PoTAYto, PoTAHto

Websites dedicated to helping total strangers are nothing new.  Whether they exist to help pay an unexpected medical bill, fund a book/movie/CD, or simply get someone through a rough patch, the idea of people helping people is a good one.

I love checking out sites like GoFundMe and Kickstarter to not only see ideas trying to gain financial traction, but the generosity of both pocketbook and spirit as one person is moved to help another succeed.

I may not always click with the notion at play, but others might, and since it's not my money, but theirs?  God$peed.

Recently a Kickstarter campaign, started completely in jest, has gained not only dollars and publicity, but a cult following of sorts. 

It has also gained haters.

Color me shocked.

The Kickstarter in question centers around Potato Salad.  And a man's desire to make it.

POTATO SALAD KICKSTARTER

Zack Brown took to the crowd funding site with his tongue firmly in his cheek.  His goal?  $10

Basically I'm just making potato salad. I haven't decided what kind yet.

Under Risks and Challenges he listed:

It might not be that good. It's my first potato salad.

It started out as all Kickstarters do - the link passed to friends, then friends of friends.  Then someone dropped the link on Twitter, another on Facebook.  Soon, it was being shared globally, and inevitably it was picked up by the media.

The Potato Salad Kickstarter has been covered by print, TV news, and online on everything from international news sites to ezines, to countless blogs like mine.

Fast forward exactly 1 week, and his current pledge amount is over $44k.  (It briefly was over $70k last night - news not clear yet on whether the amount dropped due to processing or contributors canceling their pledges.)

This, of course, has delighted some, and enraged others.

I happen to fall on the delighted end of the spectrum.  OK, ok, maybe delighted is a bit hyperbolic, but I am most certainly amused.

Zack has responded by upping the ante on the page - promising to make various potato salads, offering incentives from recipe books to a pizza party depending on the amount each person pledges.

And all the while he has kept his tongue firmly in his cheek.  To paraphrase the Bee Gees, He started a joke, which started the whole world giving.

But to those not laughing, I must invoke dear Sgt Hulka:  Lighten up, Francis.

This is not some apocolyptic event, some referendum on society, some deadly serious, garment rending worthy occasion in which mayo is the devil.

If you don't like it?  Don't give.  But don't sit on your high horse claiming in a self righteous tone that we are all damned.  You look foolish, you look small, you look jealous that you didn't think of this.

The reason this Kickstarter took off running while some just sit and get no further than Aunt Millie and Grandma Ruth donating is simple.  Exposure and appeal.

That's it.  That's all.  No big mystery.

His $44k doesn't mean your product, idea, book, or CD aren't worthy.  It just means his idea sparked and caught the fire of human interest. 

Potato Salad is universal, it's relateable, it's funny.  And for the base price of $1 a person can buy into a moment of levity in a world weighed down with weariness.  They can purchase kinship, a giggle. 

They can briefly be an ingredient in the potato (poTAHto?) salad bowl of humanity.

And no matter how you say it or slice it, that's a good thing.

$leeping BOOTY

This.  This is everything that is wrong with us.

No, not the sleeping part.  Sleeping's great.  Hell, I wish I was better at it, but at best I play in the pillow bush leagues.  I will never go pro.

Rather, it is HIM.  He is what is wrong with us.

Andrew Robert Rector.

You see, Andrew fell asleep.  He happened to doze off at a Yankees game.  And Yankees games being televised, he was caught on camera making out with the Sandman.

So, what's a good sports announcer to do?  Comment on what happens to be filling the screen at the moment, of course.

 

The ESPN announcers were good natured, did nothing heinous or disparaging, BUT...

When this piece of work awakened to find out he had made the broadcast and the online highlights, he did the Amurikan thing - he filed a lawsuit.

Look out hot cup of coffee, old Granny's lap is about to get overshadowed by an even more steaming piece of legal sewage.

Poor Andrew has filed a lawsuit not just against the announcers, but against ESPN, Major League Baseball, and the Yankees.

Why?

Well, his poor wittle feewings have been hurted.  He is claiming he has "suffered substantial injury" to his "character and reputation" and "mental anguish, loss of future income and loss of earning capacity."

In his lawsuit, in which he asks for $10 million in damages, he accuses the announcers of using words like “stupor, fatty, unintelligent, stupid.”  These are actually words used by commentors on message boards, not the ESPN announcers.

But don't let a little thing like details strike out a potential booty like that.

Here's the bottom line - Andrew bought a ticket to a baseball game.  That includes wording on the ticket advising the holder's image may be broadcast.  No one made him fall asleep and become a topic of brief conversation by the announcers.

Just as no one forced this spectacle into the bigger spotlight, but ANDREW.  He and his money lust, which dictates someone must pay for his discomfort, typify everything that is wrong with us these days. No personal accountability, just a throw-shit-at-the-wall-to-see-what-sticks to someone else.

Look, I don't care that Andrew is chubby.  He just is.  I don't care that he fell asleep.  Big deal.  I do care that he is a pathetic opportunist.

As for additional online comments like “fatty cow that needs two seats” and a “confused disgusted and socially bankrupt individual”?

Well, the first one I will put down to internet trolling where anyone can say anything.

But the second?

Well, I'd say that person has Andrew down cold.

Amurika - land of the free to be as stupid as possible, and home of the brazenly idiotic.

(And lest you think I'm just harshin' too harsh?  See coal rollers.  We, as a species, are doomed.)