News Round-Up: November 12, 2018

Some news items you might have missed:

• No hunky pic to start this news round-up as I want to make sure we all stop and thank our military veterans for their incredible service this Veteran's Day. I come from a military family (my dad was a Major in the Air Force during WWII and the Korean War) and have always been so proud of his service.

• The president of Poland told a reporter recently that he would consider enacting a Russian-style 'gay propaganda' law which would ban any materials that presented the LGBTQ community in a positive light.

• A gay man from the UK, Duarte Xavier, has been found guilty of tricking straight men into having sex with him. He's been sentenced to 15 years in jail for his shenanigans.

• David Burtka, also known as Neil Patrick Harris' husband, will have a major guest-star role in episode 3 of the web series West 40s.

• Mark Penn, a longtime adviser to Hillary Clinton, says the former Secretary of State will mount a 3rd run for the White House in 2020. While many say it's time for her to exit the political arena, I'd vote for her again in a heartbeat.

• A 22-year-old California man, Samuel Woodward, has pleaded not guilty in the stabbing death of  gay University of Pennsylvania student, Blaze Bernstein.

• Over the years, I've gone back and forth regarding Sarah Brightman's pop-opera recordings. Some have been fun and somewhat experimental, while others can feel she's using a small sliver of her voice.

I did love her duet, "Time To Say Goodbye," with Andrea Bocelli in 1997.

Since I recently wrote about Bocelli's new album, I'm of a mind to include Brightman as well.

Her newest album, HYMN, has lovely duet with French tenor Vincent Niclo, who's quite easy on the eyes and ears, and very much worth the listening.

I should also mention my husband worked on Phantom of the Opera on Broadway and knows Sarah. He only has wonderful things to say about her. Check out "Sogni" below.