Pet Shop Boys released a snippet of their forthcoming new song “Together” from their upcoming greatest hits album Ultimate (releases November 1st). Take a listen below:
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
A Revised Love Never Dies Heads to Melbourne
Playbill revealed today that Andrew Lloyd Webber’s sequel to The Phantom of the Opera, is undergoing a major change from its current West End inception and is heading to Mulbourne, Austrailia:
Love Never Dies will play at Melbourne’s Regent Theatre in May 2011. A new creative team will take a fresh look at the musical that is currently playing London’s Adelphi Theatre. Lloyd Webber has enlisted Priscilla Queen of the Desert director Simon Phillips to helm the Australian premiere, which will also feature a new production design by Gabriela Tylesova. Bob Crowley (Mary Poppins) rendered set and costume designs for the current London production. Tim McFarlane will produce the Melbourne staging. Tickets for Love Never Dies will go on sale Oct. 25. “Im delighted that Andrew Lloyd Webber has chosen an Australian team to work on his inspired new structural changes, which promise to further intensify the thrills and spills of the story as told in London,” Phillips said in a statement. “Ive already begun developing a design with Gabriela Tylesova, hoping to do with the razzamatazz of Coney Island what Maria Bjornsons iconic Phantom designs did with the opulence of the Paris Opera, and I cant wait to start the search for the formidable talents required to do justice to the score!”Australia has always been part of the international plan for Love Never Dies, which premiered in London this past March. However, critics were cool on the lushly scored musical that follows the Phantom and Christine to Coney Island ten years after the original production ends its tale.The musical was to premiere on Broadway in November but has since delayed its arrival. Tony-winning director Jack O’Brien and Jerry Mitchell, who staged the original London production, are reported to have withdrawn from the project. Lloyd Webber’s plan to stage an altered version of Love Never Dies while the original is still running is not unheard of for the award-winning composer. When the London production of Sunset Boulevard opened in 1993, he followed with an altered staging in Los Angeles in 1994. The L.A. production (and its star) famously arrived on Broadway the following year, while the London production shuttered to undergo an overhaul and subsequently opened with a new cast.
Florida’s Ban on Gay Adoptions Ends
As a Doctoral Student in Public Affairs, one of the early research projects I decided to complete in my studies was a Cost/ Benefit Analysis on Florida’s Ban on Gay Adoptions. I was able to show, through the process of policy analysis, that the ban was costing Floridians millions of dollars in taxes and that the social science research done on the topic indicated gay men and lesbians were actually very good parents. In fact, no published studies undergoing a rigorous scientific peer-review process have ever existed to the contrary. Of course, when a federal appeals court ruled several weeks ago that the ban was unconstitutional, I was ecstatic. But when Governor Charlie Crist promised he would not appeal the decision, I immediately endorsed him for Senator.
Today, the ban has come to an end. George Sheldon, the Director for Florida’s Department of Children and Families (DCF) held a press conference to indicate that DCF will no longer ascertain the sexual orientation of prospective adoptive parents. Equality Florida applauded the move, but cautioned that discriminatory forces are still at play. Their press release stated, “The same anti-gay forces who pushed for Florida’s marriage amendment in 2008 will likely try to put a return of the adoption ban up for statewide vote in 2012.” To read my Cost/Benefit Analysis on Florida’s Ban on Gay Adoptions, click on the “Research” tab. The document is filed under “Unpublished Research Reports.”
DADT Ruled Unconstitutional
A federal judge in San Diego, hearing the case brought on behalf of the Log Cabin Republicans, issued a worldwide injunction declaring “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” unconstitutional. Judge Virginia Phillips declared “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” has a direct and deleterious effect” on the armed services by hurting recruiting during wartime and requiring the discharge of service members with critical skills and training. In addition, she ordered that any discharges under the bill must cease immediately.
While the Obama Administration has vowed to overturn the policy through Congress, this likely puts the President in the odd position of having to defend a policy he believes is discriminatory and dangerous to the United States Military. This is because the Department of Justice traditionally has to defend overturned congressional laws. The Service Members’ Legal Defense Network, while praising the ruling, cautioned gay soldiers to remain closeted, for now. Although the House voted to repeal “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” in early September, the Republicans in the Senate, led by failed 2008 Presidential nominee John McCain, effectively blocked the vote for passage, ensuring the discriminatory ban remained in place.
Monday, October 11, 2010
Important Endorsements
Some Very Important Endorsements
With the midterm elections right around the corner, it is imperative to take an educated look at the candidates running for office before choosing who to mark on your ballot. Below are my endorsements for the major elections on November 2nd. I encourage you to take some time to educate yourself on where these candidates stand on the issues and see for yourselves why I selected to case my vote in their favor:
Governor: Alex Sink, Democrat
General: Alex Sink (D) faces opposition for the Governors Seat from Republican Rick Scott. As CEO of HCA/Columbia, Rick Scott personally steered the company during the early 1990s, when hundreds of millions of dollars were stolen from Medicare and Medicaid in fraudulent billing for services and fraudulent reporting of medical service provision. In addition, Scotts current company, Solantic has been investigated several times for fraud and misrepresentation of service provision for Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement.
Issues:
Economic: Sinks economic plan outlines strategies to both immediately create jobs through removal of red tape for small business owners and maintain long-term growth by cutting taxes for small business owners. Sinks plan calls to initiate tax breaks for small businesses that are tied directly to the amount that company pays in federal taxes. Essentially, the more jobs (up to 20) that small business creates, the more tax credit the State of Florida would provide as an incentive.
Healthcare: Endorsed by the Florida Nurses Association
GLBT Issues: Endorsed by Equality Florida
State Senator: Charlie Crist (Independent)
General: While I have spoken unfavorably of Charlie Crist in the past, during this election, it is important to give him support. Crist has a track-record of being an anti-gay politician and his own sexuality has been the subject of much debate (rent the DVD Outrage for more information). However, lately, Crist has begun to change his stance on the issues. Most recently, as
Federal Congress, 24th District: Suzanne Kosmas (Democrat)
General: Suzanne Kosmas was elected in 2008 and replaced disgrace and corrupt Republican Congressman Tom Feeney. Kosmas faces a tough opponent in Sandy Adams, who happens to be my Republican state representative.Adams has had quite a bit of funding and has led an attack-ad desperately trying to make Kosmas look like Nancy Pelosi. I have contacted Kosmas several times about the need for important legislation passage, including healthcare reform, repeal of dont ask dont tell, and issues on animal protections. Each time, Kosmas has contacted me affirming she would vote favorably for each piece of legislation; and she did. Sandy Adams on the other handgave me and my group the cold shoulder two years ago in
Economic: Kosmas has backed strong government accountability in spending and was a small business owner for over 30 years on the east coast of Central Florida. She has supported numerous pieces of legislation designed to reduce taxes on small business owners and fought hard to keep maintain funding for NASA.
Healthcare: Strong advocate for healthcare reform, including tax break incentives for small business owners who provide health insurance to their employees.
GLBT Issues: Voted for repeal of DADT, supports repeal of DOMA, and supports ENDA.
Other Endorsements: Alan Grayson (D-D8), Leo Cruz (D-D33), Amy Mercado (D-D35) Scott Randolph (D-D36), Todd Christian D-D40) Lee Douglas (D-D41), Darren Soto (D-D49).
Friday, October 1, 2010
Love Never Dies Not Coming to Broadway in 2011
Playbill is reporting that Love Never Dies, the long-anticipated sequel to Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Phantom of the Opera, will not open in Spring 2011 on Broadway as previously announced. This is disappointing news for sure. Here is Playbill’s coverage of the story:
Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Love Never Dies, which officially opened in London March 9 at the Adelphi Theatre, will not arrive on Broadway in spring 2011 as previously announced. A spokesperson for the musical confirmed to Playbill.com, “Love Never Dies will not be opening on Broadway this spring. Further news about the show will be announced shortly.” Mixed reviews and the recent illness of composer Lloyd Webber had prompted an earlier postponement. Originally, the sequel to the international hit The Phantom of the Opera had been scheduled for a November 2010 Broadway bow. In April it was announced that the musical would open at the Neil Simon Theatre in spring 2011. The New York Times previously said director Jack O’Brien and choreographer Jerry Mitchell, who staged the London production and were scheduled to repeat their duties for Broadway, had withdrawn from the project. No official announcement about their withdrawal has been made. The New York Post recently added that Lloyd Webber’s plan is to now mount two separate productions with two different creative teams in Australia and Toronto. He will then choose the stronger of those productions to bring to New York at a date to be announced.
Knights Appear in the National Spotlight on Wednesday
After dominating Kansas State the entire game but eventually running out of steam in the last minute of the game, the UCF Knights (2-2; 0-0 C-USA) return home to Bright House Networks Stadium on Wednesday at 8pm to face the UAB Blazers (1-3; 0-0 C-USA), who last week took the Tennessee Volunteers into overtime. Last week, the Wildcats scored a touchdown on a quarterback scramble with 25 seconds left in the game, waking up just in time to seal a 17-13 win over the Knights. The Knights look for their first win towards a Conference USA Championship appearance. The game is going to be nationally-televised on ESPN. Kickoff is scheduled for 8pm. The Colleges of Nursing and Health & Public Affairs Tailgate Party will begin at 4:00pm in the Softball Lot (Lot E-5), directly across the street from BHNS. (Excerpts and photo courtesy Orlando Sentinel).
2 Articles Accepted for Publication in JSSR
I am very happy to report that two of my articles were accepted for publication in the Journal of Social Service Research this week. The first, an article that was reworked from a data-driven to a clinical piece is titled, “Using the Internet to Meet Sexual Partners: Research and Practice Implications.” The article, focusing on drug use within sexual relationships initiated in the on-line environment, is co-written by Dr. Sophia Dziegielewski (Professor, School of Social Work, University of Cincinnati) and will appear in a special upcoming GLBT-focused issue of the journal. The second, “Reducing Alcohol Abuse in Gay Men: Clinical Recommendations from Conflicting Research” sheds light on the conflicting studies about alcohol use and abuse in gay men and provides the clinician with recommendations on how to effectively screen gay male clients for alcohol abuse. Both should appear in-print and on-line in late 2010 or early 2011.
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
UCF Knights Build on Buffalo Win, Hope to Beat K-State
The UCF Knights football team (2-1; 0-0 CUSA) took control of the game late last Saturday securing a 24-10 victory against the Buffalo Bulls. Although the Knights struggled during the first half, they were able to pull ahead late in the third quarter to bring UCF their first road victory of the season. Below are video highlights of this week’s matchup at Kansas State and a recap of last week’s win at Buffalo (courtesy Orlando Sentinel):
LET’S LOOK AHEAD: UCF (2-1) plays arguably its toughest nonconference game of the season at Kansas State (3-0). The Knights’ defense faces a big challenge in the Wildcats’ dynamic senior RB Daniel Thomas, who ranks second nationally in rushing with 184 yards per game. Thomas, who has experience playing quarterback, can effectively run the wildcat and has helped carry Kansas State to a 3-0 record, beating UCLA, Missouri State and Iowa State.
LET’S REVIEW: The Knights shook off a sluggish first half, using a strong fourth quarter for a 24-10 win at Buffalo. True freshman QB Jeff Godfrey got his first career start against the Bulls, but UCF coach George O’Leary said he fell back into some bad habits as the rushing attack sputtered. Junior QB Rob Calabrese played the first two possessions of the third quarter with little success, then Godfrey came off the bench to lead UCF on a 15-play, 90-yard scoring drive that helped the Knights secure the win.
INJURY UPDATE: Sophomore RB Brynn Harvey will likely go through full-contact workouts for the first time since injuring his knee during spring football. O’Leary said Harvey might be back for the UAB game Oct. 6. Senior LB Lawrence Young may have suffered a slight concussion at Buffalo and his status is known for the Kansas State game. Redshirt freshman OL Chris Martin is expected to return to the lineup after missing the Buffalo game with a knee injury.
Republicans Block Repeal of DADT
In their usual ignorant, non-educated, and failing nature, the Republicans, led by John McCain (the sour and sore loser of the 2008 Presidential election) blocked repeal of the miltary’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy which prohibits openly gay men and women soldiers from serving. No Republicans voted to advance the bill, and two Democrats from Arkansas, Sens. Mark Pryor and Blanche Lincoln, voted no. Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.), the majority leader, voted no in a procedural move so he could bring the bill back to the floor in the future. The Republicans are well out of touch with the beliefs of the American people on this policy. The vast majority (around 75%-80%) believe the policy should be repealed and that gay and lesbian soldiers should be able to openly serve their country. The Republicans should be ashamed for using a social policy tactic to deny passage of the Bill, which included a 1.4% pay raise for the troops as well as funding for the campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan. This filibuster is an interesting and sad statement by Republicans, who are desperate to use divisive social issues to drum-up support from their far right-wing supporters. In November, voters should remember that the Democrats were the ones to not only support repeal of DADT, but also to give our men and women in uniform a much needed raise in pay and support our efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan.