A sad video surfaced yesterday that was posted by Army PFC Specialist Robert Rodriguez on his Facebook Page showing him harassing two young Iraqi boys. Knowing the two do not speak English, he taunts them asking them if they are fa**ots and if they engage in certain homosexual acts. He then concludes his ridicule by asking them if they will grow-up to be terrorists. The youngsters, obviously attempting to show gratitude and agreement with whatever the soldier is saying, show approval by nodding yes and giving a thumbs up hand gesture. Rodriquez, who in no doubt is in absolute world of trouble with his superiors (and rightly so) says he was bored and wanted to entertain himself by making the video. While the video is repugnant and sad, please remember, as the one soldier interviewed mentions, this is not reflective of the majority of soldiers working hard in Iraq.
Monday, May 24, 2010
Thursday, May 13, 2010
A Very Touching Reunion
Very reminiscent of the story of Christian, the Lion, this video shows a very touching reunion between Damian Aspinall and his gorilla Kwibi, after 5 years of being apart. The Aspinall Foundation rehabilitates endangered gorillas and then reintroduces them into the wild. Here, Damian Aspinall is reunited with Kwibi, after 5 years:
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Ragtime Revival Nominated for 7 Tony Awards!
The Broadway Revival of one of the greatest musical of all-time, Ragtime, may have been short-lived, but it is certainly not going unnoticed. Yesterday, the nominations for the Tony Awards (the most prestigious awards in American Theater) were announced. Ragtime was nominated for 7 Tony Awards, coming-in at #5 for the most nominated show. The show was nominated in the top-category of its eligibility, Best Revival of a Musical. The original production of Ragtime opened in 1998 and was the most expensive production ever staged at the time of its run. Although the original show was nominated for a slew of Tonys (including Best Musical), it took home 3 and lost the coveted prize to Disney’s The Lion King. [On a personal note, I actually saw the original Ragtime on Broadway and saw The Lion King the very next day. When the curtain closed on The Lion King, I was scratching my head in complete disbelief.] Ragtime and its revival (which I had the honor to see last Summer @ the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, DC) are simply put, two of the best shows to ever grace the Great White Way. Let’s hope the Tony Awards Committee realizes its extreme 1998 error and awards Ragtime with Best Revival of a Musical.
Below are Ragtime‘s 7 Tony Award Nominations:
– Best Revival of a Musical, Ragtime
– Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Leading Role: Christiane Noll, Ragtime
– Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Leading Role: Bobby Steggert, Ragtime
– Best Scenic Design of a Musical, Ragtime
– Best Costume Design of a Musical, Ragtime
– Best Lighting Design of a Musical, Donald Holder, Ragtime
– Best Direction of a Musical, Marcia Milgrom Dodge, Ragtime
Faux News Reporter PWNED by White House Press Secretary
White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs PWNED a Faux News Reporter yesterday in his morning press briefing after exposing Faux’s attempts to sensationalize the oil spill disaster as the work of the Obama Administration! Apparently, the former failed FEMA Director under George Bush actually insinuated (unquestioned) during his Faux News interview on Tuesday that in order to curtail support for offshore drilling (which, by the way–Obama just expanded but will hopefully reconsider), Obama concocted the disaster but it “got out of hand.” Obama has been one of the few politicians brave enough to call Faux News out on its completed slanted idiocy. But, this video is a must-see as the Faux News reporter has little to rebut after Gibbs laughs at the accusations and brushes-off Faux News for what it really is. Watch below:
Monday, April 19, 2010
Lady GaGa As You’ve Never Heard Before
Pop Superstar Lady GaGa continues to churn out the hits! YouTube announced last week that her video “Bad Romance” was the most downloaded YouTube video of all-time (with over 179,000,000 downloads!). “Telephone,” GaGa’s second release from The Fame Monster debuted at #3 on the Billboard Charts and is currently resting comfortably at #7 after 5 weeks. The song is a pop duet featuring Beyonce. Just like practically every single Lady GaGa has released, musicians around the world are putting their own touches on “Telephone.” Below, watch an absolutely incredible classical instrumental version of “Telephone” performed by Australian music group Aston. While the song’s pop-version is catchy and just as good as all her other hits, the classical version is downright beautiful. Take a look and a listen for yourself:
Take a $300 Million Luxury Tour
The Wall Street Journal goes for the first time inside the Philippe Starck-designed yacht of Russian billionaire Andrey Melnichenko. It is absolutely stunning and a gigantic show of oppulence. The video tour will leave you amazed to see just how upscale a $300 million yacht is designed inside and out. While I am not a fan of the use of animal skins and furs for clothing or interior design, the 3 minute video tour is definitely one worth taking:
President Obama Issues Historic Memorandum
On Thursday, April 15, 2010, President Barack Obama issued a memorandum to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) directing relevant agencies to take steps to ensure that individuals are not discriminated against in hospital settings on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. The memorandum requests agencies to develop rules to protect gay and lesbian patients and their families and address issues of hospital visitation, medical decision making, or other healthcare issues. Specifically, any healthcare agency that receives federal dollars for medical service reimbursement (for example, Medicare and/or Medicaid) must allow partners of gay and lesbian patients full visitation rights and allow them to serve as the decision-maker for their plan of care (placing them in-control of execution of advanced directives, do not resuscitate protocols, living wills, durable power of attorneys, etc.). Check out THIS LINK for the complete memorandum. The measure serves as another sign of President Obama’s intelligence and understanding of the importance of commited relationships among gay and lesbian persons.
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
“Teabaggers” Show New Level of Hatred while “Stonewall” Uprises
Just when you thought the ignorant and complete lack of IQ “teabaggers” couldn’t get any more stupid, they showed a new level of hatred towards gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender persons on their “Teabag Express” tour stop in Lansing, Michigan on April 10th. A vendor at the event was selling “Straight Pride” t-shirts highly reminiscent of the “White Power” hate speech associated with the Ku Klux Klan and Skinhead/ White Supremacist movements. Reaction to the t-shirts in the gay community has been overwhelmingly negative although many are defending the rights of the “teabaggers” to wear such hate garbage. Ironically, the “teabagger” pictured appears to also be ashamed of his or her hateful display as he/she covered his/her face during the photograph. And perhaps as a very appropriate and unintended reaction, the trailer for the documentary Stonewall Uprising released today. The documentary details the “Rosa Parks” moment of the gay liberation movement in the United States, where patrons of the Stonewall Inn bar refused to acquiesce to police brutality and homophobia and fought-back against the physical violence and abuse inflicted upon them. On a personal, note, I discussed the importance of the Stonewall Riots in my Doctoral Dissertation in the context of the GLBT civil rights movement. Watch the trailer below. Stonewall Uprising, from First Run Features, released in select markets beginning on April 8th and will hit the Miami Gay and Lesbian Film Festival on April 27th, 2010.
Monday, April 12, 2010
“The Situation” Meets Mets’ David Wright and 2 Upcoming GLBT-Themed Films Getting Release
Fans of the trashy yet-irresistable Jersey Shore are certainly familiar with “The Situation.” Well it turns out his five minutes of fame are not quite over just yet. Alongside New York Mets’ David Wright, “The Situation” filmed a pretty comical commercial for Vitamin Water. Check it out below. Also, two films with gay/ lesbian themes are nearing national release. The first (trailers below) is from the upcoming The Kids Are All Right, starring Anette Benning and Julianne Moore, who play a lesbian couple who’s children seek-out their biolgoical sperm-donor father (played by Mark Ruffalo) and strike-up an unexpected bond. The second is La Mission, which stars Benjamin Bratt as a rough Latino father on the streets of the Mission District of San Francisco who discovers his son is gay. Both look like great films! The Kids Are All Right releases July 7th 2010 from Focus Features. 5 Stick Films’ La Mission began its rolling-nationwide release on Friday April 9th.