Monday, December 31, 2012

Maryland: Marriage equality begins at midnight


When the clock strikes midnight tonight, it will mark more than simply the start of a new year for some couples in Maryland — it’s also when Maryland’s new marriage equality law officially takes effect. Some same-sex weddings are already planned for the first moments of 2013.

Since New Year’s Day is a government holiday, courthouses across Maryland are closed. But that didn’t stop Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake (D) from taking steps to ensure that same-sex couples won’t have to wait any longer for marriage equality. Rawlings-Blake will open Baltimore’s city hall tonight to allow at least seven same-sex couples to get married, and the mayor plans to serve as an official witness for the wedding ceremonies:
New Years Day will have a new meaning for the hundreds — if not thousands — of couples who will finally have the right to marry the person they love,” said Mayor Rawlings-Blake.
“It is a remarkable achievement for Maryland, and we are excited to open City Hall to host some of the first wedding ceremonies in our great state. Newly married couples will stand before their friends and family to profess their love and commitment to each other. This is what we worked for, and I am looking forward to take part in this historic and jubilant day.”
The first couple to be married at City Hall will be a longtime aide to the mayor and his partner of 35 years. And even though the courthouses in other Maryland cities may not be open, the early marriage licenses that some same-sex couples in the state were able to begin applying for in December will become official at midnight tonight.

Being on West Coast time, trust and believe that at 9pm my time I'll raise a glass to the fabulous couples who waited so long but won the right to marry the person they love.  That alone will make my New Year's Eve fabulous.

In advance of all the celebrations, I want to congratulate all the newlyweds.  Enjoy, take it all in and celebrate!

Forward!

(source)

Fantasia Barrino says anti-gay Instagram "taken out of context"


Former American Idol winner Fantasia Barrino says her words were taken out of context by LGBT bloggers who called out a rambling message she posted on Instagram that appeared to condemn marriage equality.

The message, which appears to now have been deleted, stated: "I Rise ABOVE IT ALL!!! THE WORLD IS GONE MAD. KIDS, THE GOVERNMENT, THE church House… Everybody Trying!!!!!!! Its a lot that going on that the Bible speaks about we should Not be doing. Weed legal in some places, Gay Marriage Legal BUT YET IM JUDGED!! Im not doing Nothing for you… My Life!!!!"

Barrino said in a new post that bloggers and the public misinterpreted her comments, which she said were intended to condemn judgment in general.

"It has been brought to my attention that something I said was taken out of context," she wrote. "I Fantasia Monique Barrino don't judge anyone because I don't want to be judged. The gay community is one of my largest supporters. I support the gay community as well as they support me. Bloggers please stop misrepresenting the facts."

Fantasia's PR team says the singer's comment about marriage equality being an example of a world gone mad were "taken far out of context":
Comments made by Ms. Barrino through her Intragram account were recently taken far out of context, and the purpose of this release is to set the record straight. Ms. Barrino is not now, nor has she ever been an opponent of the LGBT community. She has supported and performed at numerous events that are sponsored by the LGBT community.
Whether it’s through a live performance or placement on social media, Ms. Barrino uses every opportunity to reach out and connect with her fans, all of her fans.
Not sure about you - and I appreciate Ms. Barrino's talent - but how "out of context" can "a lot that going on that the Bible speaks about we should Not be doing. Weed legal in some places, Gay Marriage" be?  Pretty clear she thinks gay marriage we should not be "doing."

Sounds more like a lot of damage control to me.

Detroit Tigers Torri Hunter uncomfortable with idea of "out" teammate


Detroit Tigers right fielder Torri Hunter isn't down with the idea of an openly gay teammate, telling the Los Angeles Times he believes an out teammate would make him "uncomfortable."
"For me, as a Christian…I will be uncomfortable because in all my teachings and all my learning, biblically, it's not right," the former Angels outfielder told the publication. "It will be difficult and uncomfortable."
Well, for goodness sake, let's please make sure Mr. Hunter is 'comfortable.' No matter if that means gay professional athletes remain in the closet and UNcomfortable.

Read more at Huffington Post

Australia: Sydney rings in 2013

Video: Relive 2012 in 4 minutes



From filmmaker Ryan James Yezak.

Can you catch it all? While it feels like the year took forever, this makes it all come back in the blink of an eye.

(via Andrew Blonsky)

Sunday, December 30, 2012

Kanye says he's having a baby with Kim Kardashian?

Kim Kardashian having Kanye West's baby

From Matt Camp's  Twitter feed.

What do you think?  Are Kim Kardashian and Kanye West expecting?

Check out the story at Hollywood Reporter.  But remember you heard it here first :)

Shirtless Channing Tatum on vacation in St Barts

Jenna Dewan on her holiday vacation with shirtless husband Channing Tatum on Sunday (December 30) in St. Barths.

Channing and Jenna were spotted sharing pictures on a cell phone with each other and canoodling on some lounge chairs. Channing later took a walk down to the water to cool down.





Hillary Clinton hospitalized for blood clot


USA Today is reporting that Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton has been admitted to a New York hospital after the discovery of a blood clot stemming from the concussion she sustained earlier this month.

Clinton spokesman Philippe Reines says her doctors discovered the clot during a follow-up exam Sunday. Reines says Clinton is being treated with anti-coagulants.

Reaction to "Les Miz" movie from someone outside the theatre community



All my friends from the Broadway community have had our say on the good and bad of the "Les Miserables" movie.

Here's the reaction from a couple who are not Broadway vets.

Just goes to show how storytelling can be more powerful than we know.

Review of "Les Miserables" by Sam Richardson


Wisdom of the day


Saturday, December 29, 2012

A sobering thought...


President Obama supports same-sex marriage in Illinois


President Obama has weighed in on the possible marriage equality bill that may come to a vote in Illinois this January:

"While the president does not weigh in on every measure being considered by state legislatures, he believes in treating everyone fairly and equally, with dignity and respect," White House spokesman Shin Inouye told the Chicago Sun-Times on Saturday.

"As he has said, his personal view is that it's wrong to prevent couples who are in loving, committed relationships, and want to marry, from doing so. Were the President still in the Illinois State Legislature, he would support this measure that would treat all Illinois couples equally." Inouye said.

State Sen. Heather Steans (D-Chicago) and state Rep. Greg Harris (D-Chicago) are the lead sponsors of the "Religious Freedom and Marriage Fairness Act." They intend to put the measure up for a vote during the upcoming January lame-duck session.

Democrats control both houses of the state legislature and Gov. Quinn says he'll sign the bill if it hits his desk.  Fingers crossed...

Another reason to really, really like Mayor Cory Booker


Tweet of the day: Rogeronimo


Kitty patty-cake



Great voice-over work. Way cute.

Christmas Sweater



A little post-holiday bear flirtation?

(via JMG)

Friday, December 28, 2012

Maine: Same-sex marriage begins!


The first five same-sex couples who arrived to get marriage certificates walk up the steps of Portland City Hall (Maine) on Friday, December 28, 2012.

They begin to get officially married tomorrow, Saturday the 29th!

Update: First couple to get married under new marriage equality law - “We finally feel equal and happy to live in Maine,” Steven Bridges told the Bangor Daily News after marrying Michael Snell. Same-sex couples can now marry in Maine.


Fiscal cliff drama continues


From ThinkProgress: With four days left until the end of the year, President Obama will host the congressional leaders in the Oval Office today in hopes of reaching a compromise.

The House and Senate are back in session, but House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) refuses to take an up or down vote on a Senate-passed bill extending tax cuts to Americans earning less than $250,000 and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) is now demanding spending cuts to pay for an extension to the federal unemployment insurance program that expires at the end of the year.

The Washington Post reports that McConnell “for the first time was engaged directly in talks with the White House. He signaled an interest in cutting a deal.”

Happy birthday Joe Manganiello!

Joe Manganiello turns 36 today! Whoo-hoo! Celebrate!









Top Ten Grammar Peeves


I wish everyone would read this.  I don't know why this is so hard for so many.  Click the pic to enlarge.

Huffington Post: Most Compelling LGBT People of 2012

The Huffington Post has compiled a list of 30 "Most Compelling LGBT People of 2012."

I like the list, so here are a few I whole-heartedly agree with.  Check out the rest of the list here.

Tammy Baldwin: The general election on Nov. 6 was a historic one for LGBT people. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) was a part of that history when she became the first openly gay senator in the nation to win a seat in the U.S. Senate.

"I am honored and humbled and grateful, and I am ready to get to work -- ready to stand with Barack Obama, and ready to fight for Wisconsin's middle class," Baldwin said at her victory party.





Shane Bitney Crone: In May, Shane Bitney Crone got everyone's attention with his tragic, alarming and thought-provoking YouTube video, "It Could Happen To You," which went viral and has garnered over 3 million views to date.

The video highlights the many inequalities LGBT people face in the U.S., using his relationship with and loss of his longtime boyfriend as an example, and urges people to take a stand for marriage equality.

Since the video's debut, Crone has become a fervent LGBT-rights activist, making another video in a plea for full equality called "No Freedom Until We Are Equal" in November.





Edie Windsor: Edie Windsor and her late wife Thea Spyer spent more than 40 years together and were married in 2007 in Canada. Spyer was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis and passed away from the disease in 2009.

Because the U.S. doesn't recognize their marriage, Windsor, now 83, was forced to pay more than $363,000 in federal estate tax on her partner's estate and this inequality, courtesy of the Defense Of Marriage Act, caused her to sue the federal government in 2010.

In July, Windsor petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to hear her case and now, after historic news in December that Proposition 8 and DOMA would be addressed by the high court, Windsor's petition will be granted with a decision due in June 2013. 





Orlando Cruz: In October, Puerto Rican featherweight boxer Orlando Cruz made history when he announced that he is a "proud gay man," which made him one of the first active professional athletes -- not just boxer -- to do so.

The 31-year-old told USA Today: "I've been fighting for more than 24 years and as I continue my ascendant career, I want to be true to myself. I want to try to be the best role model I can be for kids who might look into boxing as a sport and a professional career."

Cruz won his first fight after coming out about two weeks later.

"I was very happy that they [the fans] respect me. That's what I want — them to see me as a boxer, as an athlete and as a man in every sense of the word," he said.






What makes a life "full?"


This has been posted many times on the internet.   I really like it.

My apologies that I can't attribute authorship, but I'm betting they won't be mad that I pass on their wisdom:

A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, he wordlessly picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls. He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was.

The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls. He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was.

The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else. He asked once more if the jar was full.. The students responded with a unanimous ‘yes.’

The professor then produced two Beers from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar effectively filling the empty space between the sand.The students laughed..

‘Now,’ said the professor as the laughter subsided, ‘I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life. The golf balls are the important things—-your family, your children, your health, your friends and your favorite passions—-and if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full. The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your house and your car.. The sand is everything else—-the small stuff.

‘If you put the sand into the jar first,’ he continued, ‘there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls. The same goes for life.

If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff you will never have room for the things that are important to you.

Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness.

Spend time with your children. Spend time with your parents. Visit with grandparents. Take your spouse out to dinner. Play another 18. There will always be time to clean the house and mow the lawn.

Take care of the golf balls first—-the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand.

One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the Beer represented. The professor smiled and said, ‘I’m glad you asked.’ The Beer just shows you that no matter how full your life may seem, there’s always room for a couple of Beers with a friend.

Billy Porter on art, passion and pumps



Billy Porter - soon to be starring in the upcoming Broadway musical "Kinky Boots" - stopped by The Candi & Randy Show to chat on his new role, his upcoming CD and his perspective on a 20+ year career in entertainment.


Presenting the Fabulous Fags of the Steambath



From a 1970s PBS production called "Steambath," this is a TV adaptation of Bruce Jay Friedman's version of "No Exit."

Tandy (Bill Bixby), Merideth (Valerie Perrine) and assorted others unexpectedly wake up in a steambath with no easy exit. After spending some time there, it becomes clear that the steambath is a sort of Afterlife, where indifferent souls come to tell their stories to God who happens to be the attendant picking up the towels.

I always liked Bill Bixby, of Hulk and Courtship of Eddie's Father fame, who had a pensive yet likeable quality about his acting.

(via Kennethinthe212)

Log Cabin Republicans run full page NY Times ad opposing Hagel nomination


Log Cabin Republicans took out a full-page ad in the New York Times today to criticize potential Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel for his comments about gay people not upholding American values and his positions on Iran and Israel.

There has been substantial backlash since word came that President Obama plans to nominate Hagel. Like Susan Rice, who withdrew as Sec. of State nominee, might Hagel find himself in a similar position?

From R. Clarke Cooper, outgoing executive director of Log Cabin Republicans: "Chuck Hagel’s weak record on preventing nuclear proliferation in Iran, lack of confidence in our ally Israel as well as an aggressive history against the LGBT community is a negative combination for a secretary of defense nominee," he said in an email. "While he may have recently apologized for his anti-gay comments to save his possible nomination, Hagel cannot walk away from his consistent record against economic sanctions to try to change the behavior of the Islamist radical regime in Tehran."

Asked by BuzzFeed about Hormel's initial assessment of Hagel's apology, that it was done with political expediency, not healing, in mind, Cooper remarked, "Log Cabin Republicans concur with Ambassador Hormel's original assessment of Chuck Hagel's current position on gay rights. We question the sincerity of it."

What if money didn't matter?

Thursday, December 27, 2012

What the hell?...


Wandering through YouTube tonight.

Watched some different clips, and this comes up as a "Recommendation" for me...?

What the hell..?

YouTube has some 'splaining to do.

This is an ad



This is an ad. I really don't care for what. I just like it.

(ok, it's for a clothing line called Nasty Pig, which kind of makes it even better...)

Marriage Equality: 2012 in Review



Quick round-up of all the progress made this year.

More wine!

Housing market: Fastest pace since April 2010


Further evidence that the US housing market continues to slowly improve:
The Commerce Department says that sales of new homes rose 4.4 percent in November to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 377,000. That's the strongest pace since April 2010, when a homebuyer's tax credit boosted sales.

New home sales have increased 15.3 percent in the past year.

Rising sales have kept the supply of available homes low, which pushes up prices. Only 149,000 new homes were for sale at the end of last month, just above a record low of 143,000 in August.

World's Longest High-speed Train Line



JMG points up this news clip of a new high-speed train in China that travels about the same distance between New York City and Key West in 8 hours.

Launched in China:.
It used to take the best part of 24 hours to travel by train from Beijing to the southern boomtown of Guangzhou. But as of Wednesday, when the world's longest high-speed rail line opened for business, the 1,428-mile journey has been cut to a mere eight hours. The trains travel at an average speed of 186mph, passing through five provinces as they tear through the countryside.

Plans call for connecting all cities in China with at least 500,000 inhabitants with these trains.

I've always been a big supporter of traveling by train. So much easier than the process of air travel. Just get on, sit down, and go.

Plus, the building of national infrastructure creates millions of jobs and helps the economy in many ways.

I keep waiting for our government to put similar efforts in play here.

Billboard Magazine's Top 10 Songs of 2012


Billboard Magazine's Top 10 Songs of 2012 based on a combination of radio airplay and sales:

1) Somebody That I Used To Know
Gotye Featuring Kimbra

2) Call Me Maybe
Carly Rae Jepsen

3) We Are Young
fun. Featuring Janelle Monae

4) Payphone
Maroon 5 Featuring Wiz Khalifa

5) Lights
Ellie Goulding

6) Glad You Came
The Wanted

7) Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You...)
Kelly Clarkson

8) We Found Love
Rihanna Featuring Calvin Harris

9) Starships
Nicki Minaj

10) What Makes You Beautiful
One Direction

What do you think?  Are these the top pop songs of 2012?  Did your favorite make it?

Wednesday, December 26, 2012

Hawaii Governor names Lt. Gov to US Senate seat


From the AP: Lt. Gov. Brian Schatz of Hawaii was appointed Wednesday to succeed the late U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye.

Gov. Neil Abercrombie announced the appointment after receiving a list of three candidates from the state Democratic Party earlier in the day. The other candidates were U.S. Rep. Colleen Hanabusa and Esther Kiaaina, a deputy director in the state Department of Land and Natural Resources.

Inouye died Dec. 17 of respiratory complications at the age of 88. He had sent Abercrombie a letter that day, saying he would like Hanabusa, 61, to succeed him.

"Sen. Inouye conveyed his final wish to Gov. Abercrombie. While we are very disappointed that it was not honored, it was the governor's decision to make," Jennifer Sabas, Inouye's chief of staff, said in a statement. "We wish Brian Schatz the best of luck."

Schatz, who is 40, will serve until an election is held in 2014. Had Hanabusa been appointed, a special election would have been needed to fill her seat.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid had urged Abercrombie to name Inouye's successor before the end of the year. Schatz could be sworn in as early as this week, which would make him Hawaii's senior senator heading into the new Congress, which begins Jan. 3.

Majority in Great Britain support marriage equality


According to a poll conducted for The Guardian, 62% of Britain's voting public endorses Prime Minister David Cameron's plan for marriage equality:
The ICM poll conducted just before Christmas found 62% of voters now support the proposals, with half this number – 31% – opposed. Most previous polls have found opinion leaning the same way, although the two-to-one margin revealed on Wednesday is particularly emphatic. An ICM online survey for the Sunday Telegraph in March asked the identical question – which expressly reminds people that the option of civil partnerships already exists for gay couples – and established a 45%-36% lead for the reformers.

Uruguay marriage equality Senate bill vote postponed


Uruguay's Senate was expected to vote on and pass its marriage equality bill today. Opponents of the bill slowed that progress down a bit.

Via On Top Magazine:
The “Marriage Equality Law” seeks to modify some 20 articles of the Civil Code, including whose surname goes first when children are named.

Opponents asked for the bill's vote to be postponed until the Senate's first meeting in April to allow more time to study the proposal. The request received unanimous approval.

The bill has already received an initial nod in the Senate and it cleared the nation's lower house earlier this month.

President Jose Mujica has said he'll sign the bill into law. Uruguay currently recognizes gay couples with civil unions. After a couple has lived in a “stable relationship” for 5 years, they may petition the government for the recognition.

GMA's Sam Champion weds partner in NYC


“Good Morning America” weather anchor Sam Champion married his boyfriend artist Rubem Robierb in New York City.

“Good Morning America” co-anchors Lara Spencer, Josh Elliott and other friends and family members attended the ceremony that took place at Champion’s Manhattan apartment. Robin Roberts read an Elizabeth Barrett Browning poem, while Robierb’s mother and sisters in Brazil watched the ceremony through Skype.

New York State Supreme Court Justice George J. Silver officiated the wedding.

Champion came out on-air in October when he announced he and Robierb were engaged.

According to an ABC News press release, the couple plans to have a party in Miami, where Robierb lives, on Dec. 31 to further celebrate their wedding.

(via WashingtonBlade)

Annapolis business man closes wedding service rather than include same-sex couples


The owner of an Annapolis trolley company says he'll no longer offer wedding services because he opposes same-sex marriage.

Discover Annapolis Tours has long been a fixture among the city’s wedding venues. Its famous “trolley” buses are often garlanded and filled with flowers and used as a kind of limousine for brides and their retinues on their wedding day.

Owner Matt Grubbs said that he will be foregoing an estimated $50,000 in annual income by retiring the trolleys from weddings. The company’s website currently declines to offer an explanation, saying that full details will be made available on January 1, 2013, the first day that same sex couples will be allowed to marry in the state.

The Baltimore Sun reports that Discover Annapolis owner Matt Grubbs wrote to a potential client, a straight man, Chris Belkot, that his company is Christian and therefore won't participate in Maryland's inclusive laws.

"We're a Christian-owned business, and we are not able to lend support to gay marriages," Grubbs wrote. "And as a public accommodation, we cannot discriminate between gay or straight couples, so we had to stop doing all wedding transportation."

Grubbs then urged Belkot write to his representatives to "request they amend the new marriage law to allow an exemption for religious conviction for the layperson in the pews." Grubbs also described marriage equality as "repressive bigoty."

He went on, "The law exempts my minister from doing same-sex weddings, and the Knights of Columbus don't have to rent out their hall for a gay wedding reception, but somehow my religious convictions don't count for anything."

Shocked and appalled by Grubbs' comments, Belkot wrote back, "It is your right to run your business any way you see fit, but let's be honest here, you drive a trolley up and down a street. Not exactly God's work."

Anti-LGBT discrimination, like racial, age, disability, religious and gender discrimination, is illegal in all of Maryland’s public accommodations.

(via RawStory)

Famous failures

Click to enlarge pic

Landfill Harmonic



"Without music, my life would be worthless."

Tuesday, December 25, 2012

Christmas morning movie - 1st showing of Les Miserables


At the very first screening if Les Miz movie in Las Vegas with Michael and John G.

Very excited to see it :(

One movie going comment though: I'm amazed at how many people but so much at the concessions stand. Folks are walking in here with trays full meals of food. Just kind of a lot it seems.

Plus eating distracts from the movie. At least it does for me.

Anyway, the movie's starting and I'm happy. I guess if all that food makes it better, then pop that corn.

Happy happy, kids!

p.s.  Movie is over.  And it's fabulous.  Audience ended up being packed.  And I've rarely heard an audience be so visibly moved.   Definitely a must see, folks.

Hawaii Gov. Abercrombie to name Sen. Inouye successor Wednesday

Hawaii Gov. Neil Abercrombie will announce a replacement for the late Sen. Daniel Inouye’s (D) seat on Wednesday, according to a report.

CBS News reports that a Democratic source says the governor wants to appoint a successor quickly so that a new Hawaii senator can take part in possible votes over a deficit deal to avoid January’s “fiscal cliff.”

Inouye, a nine-term senator and strong LGBT ally, died last week at the age of 88. He was laid to rest on Sunday at a service in Hawaii, attended by President Obama and fellow senators.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid on Saturday urged Abercrombie to appoint a replacement with “due haste.”

On Wednesday, each of the applicants will speak to leaders of the state Democratic party, and the chairman will present Abercrombie a list of the party’s top three applicants. The source says Abercrombie intends to name his appointment later that day.

(source)

Monday, December 24, 2012

Dolly Levi on my Christmas mantle


A couple of years ago, I reunited with my "Hello, Dolly!" buds from the 1995 revival and we did a number at Gypsy of the Year with Carol Channing.  Great, warm, wonderful time.

At that event they sold special "Hello, Dolly!" Christmas tree ornaments - so, of course, I had to have one.

Carol sits on my mantle overseeing all the holiday activity, much like 'Dolly' making her magic at the Harmonia Gardens restaurant.

Makes me smile.

Merry, merry everyone.

"A Very Bear-y Christmas" - The Candi & Randy Holiday Show



Join us and our 'bear-y' special guests for a fun, furry holiday episode of The Candi & Randy Show:

Mike Enders from AccidentalBear.com

Ian Parks from the web series Where The Bears Are

Travis & Chris from ModernBear.net

Gerald McCullouch from the film BearCity 2

Listen in as our guests share their holiday memories and stories - sure to be a lot of fun, so let the fur fly!

Plus we play their favorite Christmas songs along with some of our own.

Jersey Shore series finale garners low ratings


The Jersey Shore‘s series finale fist-pumped quietly into that good night with the least watched finale of the show’s run.

Our great national nightmare is over.

Marriage equality makes list of "Top Legal Quotes of 2012"

The Advocate points to a recent list of the top legal quotes of 2012 compiled by the editors of the National Law Journal which includes this line from the 9th Circuit Court's decision to invalidate Proposition 8: 
"Had Marilyn Monroe's film been called How to Register a Domestic Partnership with a Millionaire, it would not have conveyed the same meaning," the decision read. 
The case in question, Perry v. Hollingsworth, challenging the constitutionality of California's voter-approved ban on marriage equality, will soon be heard by the U.S. Supreme Court.

Morning Joe: Holiday Joe Manganiello


Sexy Santa of the day: Shirtless William Levy

Shirtless William Levy as Sexy Santa

(via SmokingNun)

The Advocate: Tips for improving your credit score



As we all finish the holiday shopping and head into the new year, I thought this was a timely little video to check out your credit score and see what you can do to improve it in 2013.

My New Year's resolution is to leave the credit cards in my pocket and not use them. I'm not bad with them, but I'd like to get them down.

Anyone else thinking ahead to financial health in 2013?

Coco Peru goes Christmas shopping



Coco is simply fabulous. If she plays her one woman show near you, make sure you go.

Maybe you'll get a Panettone from her next Christmas :)

President Obama: LGBT rights a major accomplishment of 1st term

"One of the things that I’m very proud of during my first four years is I think I’ve helped to solidify this incredibly rapid transformation in people’s attitudes around LGBT issues — how we think about gays and lesbians and transgender persons. A lot of that just has to do with the fact that if you talk to Malia, the idea of making an anti-gay remark at her school is just unimaginable. They just don’t get that.

“And so, there are those attitudinal shifts that make up this new coalition as well. For all the divisions that you read about in our politics — and many of them are real and powerful — the truth is, is that we have steadily become a more diverse and tolerant country that embraces people’s differences, and respects people who are not like us. And that’s a profoundly good thing. That’s one of the strengths of America. It was hard-fought. And there’s been the occasional backlash, and this is not to argue that somehow racism or sexism or homophobia are going to be eliminated or ever will be eliminated. It is to argue that our norms have changed in a way that prizes inclusion more than exclusion.”

– President Barack Obama in his Time “Person of the Year” interview

(h/t Buzzfeed)

Nick Youngquest, retired Aussie Footballer, on cover of Dorian Magazine


From Buzzfeed: Nick Youngquest, a retired Aussie footballer, covers the winter issue of Dorian, an international fashion and lifestyle magazine.

The former player has become a vocal ally for LGBT issues and recognizes his growing status as a gay icon. In an interview with AfterElton, he explained what it was like being a sex symbol:
I have no problem with it at all, if they want to look at me that way that’s all good! I wish sometimes I got as much attention of the ladies as I do off the men to be honest, but it’s all good. The first time I realized it was after doing a calendar in Australia in ‘06 for breast cancer. It was a naked calendar and I think gay guys took a liking to it then.
See that calendar pic below...


Senator Barney Frank?





Retiring Rep. Barney Frank won't say if he would turn down an appointment to be the interim replacement for Sen. John Kerry, who was formally nominated for Secretary of State on Friday.

“The governor ought to be free to make whatever choices he makes. In Massachusetts, you’re talking about an interim, not a permanent appointment. I certainly would not take on any long-term appointment,” Frank said. “As for an interim thing, I think accepting offers that haven’t been made is kind of presumptuous.” Pressed to clarify, Frank said his answer was “not a ‘no’ or a ‘yes.’ Rejecting an offer that hasn’t been made is also presumptuous.” Speculation about the Senate appointment has focused so far on Vickie Kennedy, the widow of the late Sen. Ted Kennedy. If Frank were to end up getting the nod, he’d be the second openly gay senator, after Wisconsin Sen.-elect Tammy Baldwin.

Sunday, December 23, 2012

Mitt Romney "had no desire to run" says his son

The jokes just write themselves, folks.

Mitt Romney didn't want to be president, anyway.

That's what Tagg Romney, Mitt's oldest son, told the Boston Globe for its big post-mortem on his father's failed presidential bid published on Sunday.

“He wanted to be president less than anyone I’ve met in my life," Tagg Romney told the paper. "He had no desire to ... run. If he could have found someone else to take his place ... he would have been ecstatic to step aside.

Romney's reluctance to become commander in chief has been hinted at by his sons before. Before their father sought the 2012 GOP nomination, several said they tried to convince him not to run.

"I tried to convince him not to," Matt Romney told Conan O'Brien in June. "I think there were a few of us that tried that. I just felt for us as a family, this isn't the best thing. But ... for the country, we think it's the right thing."

Romney hated the idea of running for President so much he ran twice.

What a nice slap in the face to all those who worked on his campaign, donated millions to his campaign and wasted their vote on him. Maybe he should think about repaying every one of them.

One campaign worker said he shut off their credit cards before they could get a cab home after his concession speech (which he had NOT written, because he "only wrote an acceptance speech.") That really sounds like someone who "really didn't want it anyway."

(via YahooNews)

Rob Gronkowski celebrates the holidays in fab Christmas sweater



I like this guy a lot. And I like that he has a fun sense of humor.

I mean, seriously, you have to have a sense of humor to pose for this pic.

Happy happy Rob! You rock!


(via AccidentalBear)