GLAA Forum

Fruitvale Station portrays 2009 murder by BART police officer

Due for a July release, director Ryan Coogler's drama Fruitvale Station, portrays a real event. The film, produced by Oscar-winning Forest Whitaker, won the Prize of the Future at the Cannes Film Festival.

In the early hours of New Year's Day 2009, unarmed 22-year-old Oscar Grant was shot in the back on the platform of Fruitvale Station in Oakland, California by Bay Area Rapid Transit police officer Johannes Mehserle. Mehserle was subsequently convicted of involuntary manslaughter and served 11 months of a two-year minimum sentence. He said he had accidentally pulled his gun instead of his taser gun.

The disturbing court-released compilation of video from the actual shooting, taken by witnesses with their cell phone cameras, is below. One thing about such incidents that adds insult to outrage is the increasing illegal habit by police of confiscating cell phones from witnesses. If you are doing no wrong, why the need to harass bystanders and destroy evidence?

Morning Brand

Russell Brand makes Mika all nervous as he visits Morning Joe to promote his new comedy tour, "Messiah Complex." I know he's not everyone's cup of tea, but I think he's brilliant.

Daily Show highlights bigotry aimed at Christians

This has become a meme for opponents of the LGBT rights. I've been waiting to see the police reports and documentation backing up these claims.

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
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Carl Tanner - Di quella pira

I met operatic tenor Carl Tanner on Sunday evening at a Father's Day cookout at the home of my friends Alan and Will. A delightful fellow. Here he plays Manrico in Verdi's Il Trovatore, leaving his girlfriend to rescue his mother ("Madre infelice") in the show-stopping "Di quella pira." Carl's website is at http://carltanner.com. The entry page features a clip of the finale from Bizet's "Agnus Dei."

Make the switch

June is always the gayest month because of the many LGBT pride celebrations around the country.  The possible Supreme Court decision on DOMA and Prop 8 have magnified that this year.  Adweek has a collection of 16 advertisements One Million Moms would strenuously object to.  And there is an article on how advertising to gay people has changed in the last century.

Cheerios ad parody

Nice.

Trailer for The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

This is the trailer for the second installment in Peter Jackson's trilogy of The Hobbit, due for release in December 2013. Looks good.

Travis Pratt

Another recent America's Got Talent contestant with an amazing operatic voice is Travis Pratt of Tifton, Georgia, singing "O Mio Babbino Caro" in the same key as Renée Fleming. After he's done, he proposes marriage to his girlfriend right onstage. His technical skill revealed some serious training, so I looked further. Sure enough, below you can see him showing his moves as he directs a gospel choir.

Jonathan Allen takes the stage

I get leery of these feel-good talent show videos, but this young singer who was kicked out by his parents for being gay really does have a first-rate set of pipes. The song: "Time to Say Goodbye," whose lyrics are a mixture of English and Italian. Howard Stern is right: this guy knows how to sell a song.

Well if you insist....

Ricky Martin's latest single.

Capital Pride Slow-Mo

A beautiful video from Aram Vartian at Metro Weekly.

Get happy

This great TV moment came fifty years ago on The Judy Garland Show. The two performers were 21 and 41 years old, respectively. Streisand remembers:

She was holding my hand and I thought, "Gee, she seems nervous." At that time, I wasn't nervous. I was still very young, I think, about to do Funny Girl, and now, when I think back on it, I think, "Oh, my God, I know exactly what she's feeling." Or, you know, the fears. It's like, as you get older and people are kind of looking for you to fail more, I think—not people, not the audience—but, you know, critics or producers or whatever. And I just felt her. I felt her anxiety.... Part of me is much more relaxed than I've ever been, less frightened, less anxious. On the other hand, it's a coming-of-age-thing, and she was much younger than I am, but there are things with careers.... I just understand the anxiety even though in a sense I'm calmer. It's a dichotomy. It's hard to explain.... You wonder, "Well, do I give it up? Do I retire? Or do I get more in before my time is up?"

(Hat tip: Steven Publicover)

NPH wows crowd in Tonys opener 2013

Last evening's Tony Awards broadcast featured another spectacular opening number led by host Neil Patrick Harris.

A Google doodle for Mr. Sendak

Today would have been the 85th birthday for beloved illustrator and author Maurice Sendak, who died last year. He came out five years ago at age 80. In tribute, today's Google doodle is based on his books. NYT's review of his last completed book is here.

Collins marches in biggest Boston Pride parade

Jason Collins, shown marching in yesterday's 43rd annual Boston Pride parage, is such a lovely man. Also featured is outgoing Boston Mayor Tom Menino, who was showered with thanks and affection for his decades of service. There were extra security precautions due to the recent marathon bombing, but the parade went without incident.

(Hat tip: Andy Towle)

Protest and Revelry

(Paul Kuntzler, left, and Frank Kameny, middle, marching with Mattachine Society
of Washington at Gay Liberation Day, NYC, 1970. Photo courtesy NYPL)

My special Pride Month column is now up at HuffPost. Here's an excerpt:

As we step off and wave our banners in Pride parades across the country, we have cause for many emotions. But we have only to look around us to be reminded of our comrades in the struggle and the strength of our cause. The increasingly shrill and hyperbolic attacks by our opponents carry a tacit recognition that the tide of history is with us. If we would honor our friends and forebears who did not live to witness this historic shift, then let us take this break from our battles to celebrate the joy that they taught and showed us.

Jason Collins plans to march in Boston's Pride parade with his friend and former Stanford roommate, Rep. Joe Kennedy. He will doubtless be well received. More important, he will feel at home. Being at home in our own country is a key part of what we have been fighting for. Our brothers and sisters in traditionally homophobic workplaces are no longer accepting the prison bars of invisibility and isolation. As they come out and pursue their happiness, countless people they never knew will have their backs. In that we have considerable reason to take pride.

Tags: #lgbt #lgbtpride #gaypride

Colbert on David Koch and PBS

The Colbert Report

Stephen Colbert reacts to this story from the May 27 issue of The New Yorker by Jane Mayer titled "A Word From Our Sponsor: Public television’s attempts to placate David Koch."

Two men kissing! Two actors acting!

Behind the Candelabra: The Reviews Are In - watch more funny videos

If you've had a rough week, this "review" of Behind the Candelabra may cheer up your dark little heart.

(Hat tip: Andy Towle)

Jason Collins Honored with GLSEN Courage Award

Amid the continued violence, the need for role models is all the more clear. This guy is golden.

Ellen on A&F: "Fitch, please."

I am a Kinsey 6, but I love this woman.

May 22 - Rally for Scouting Equality

This just in from Equality Maryland:

On Thursday, May 23 the National Council Delegates of the Boy Scouts of America will be voting on whether to repeal the decades-old policy that homosexuality goes against the core values of the BSA. We at Equality Maryland, agree its time to lift this discriminatory ban so that every child can experience the joys of Scouting. However, some delegates from Maryland are still on the fence!

TOMORROW at 4pm Scouts for Equality is hosting a rally in Washington, DC to show the delegates from Maryland and around the region that they have our support to vote in favor of inclusion. Supporters from across the Mid-Atlantic region will be gathering at the Scouting Memorial on the Eastern Side of the Ellipse in Washington, DC at 4pm. Click here to RSVP and lend your voice to equality in Scouting!

Former GLAA President Craig Howell comments:

This will be worth going to if only to see the campiest memorial in DC, the Boy Scouts Memorial. Not sure if it's the best background image we want to project, however, since the memorial stars a Greek-like or Stalinesque nude man towering over a Boy Scout.

Then there's the Military Instruction sculpture at the northwest corner of Lafayette Square. Hey, what pervs at the Fine Arts Commission approved this stuff?

Conan staff writer responds to tweet against Jason Collins

The Jason Collins story is the third news item in this clip. Very funny.

Dr. Phil and Letterman on Jason Collins

In the midst of an amusing male-bonding insult ritual, Dave Letterman and Dr. Phil talk about the significance of Jason Collins coming out.

Sir Ian and Sir Derek in Vicious

Ian McKellen had an unrequited crush on Derek Jacobi when they were at school together fifty years ago. Well, now they are playing an old gay couple in a new British sitcom. From this brief clip the material looks awfully dated, and Sir Derek's broad performance makes Nathan Lane look restrained. But if it comes available on Netflix, I'm sure I'll watch it. I've had the pleasure of seeing both of these marvelous actors perform live at different times over the years, but as both spent their careers playing leading men, Vicious is the first time since school that they've appeared together.

POTUS at Nerd Prom

The Language of Love

This lovely short film about first love and coming out is written by and stars 17-year-old Kim Ho.

Caesar's Palace: 'We always root for two of a kind'

Good for Caesar's Palace:

@CaesarsPalace
We always root for two of a kind. #UnitedForMarriage pic.twitter.com/grkcpww6G4

Ding dong, it's number one

75 years later, Billie Burke, Judy Garland, and the Munchkins are at the top of the charts in Britain. Okay, this is not the most tasteful response to the demise of Margaret Thatcher. But there it is, the top seller at the UK iTunes store. Well, it's not as if they dropped a house on someone, or bombed a retreating ship, or some bloody thing like that.

Tidal Basin, early morning light

The Japanese cherries in their full glory on Wednesday morning. (Photo by Rick Rosendall.)

PrezBillyJeff's first tweet

The Colbert Report
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Stephen Colbert took the liberty of setting up a Twitter account for Bill Clinton. The first two parts of the interview after the jump.

Jon Stewart to GOP: what's the obsession with bestiality?

Thank you, Mr. Stewart.

Out and proud on Sunset Strip

NBA great Earvin "Magic" Johnson's 20-year-old son EJ showed no shyness recently on Sunset Strip, where he encountered cameras while walking hand-in-hand with his boyfriend. EJ's parents are entirely supportive.

Teaser: Behind the Candelabra

A teaser for the upcoming movie starring Michael Douglas as Liberace and Matt Damon as his lover Scott Thorson. I'm glad that two A-list actors are comfortable playing these people, but for some reason the prospect of it leaves me cold.

"The world mocks at it, and sometimes puts one in the pillory for it"

I was reading some tweets from Stephen Fry today, which prompted me to look up this clip from his amazing performance in the title role in the 1997 movie Wilde. In this trial scene, he responds to the prosecutor's question, "What is 'the love that dare not speak its name'?" while trying to avoid confessing to homosexual sexual relations, which were a crime. This was word-for-word from the published trial transcript.

After the past week, it is worth looking back 118 years to remember the courage of a pioneering spirit. Below is an excerpt from a lecture by Fry in which he talks about how Wilde is seen today, 118 years after his disgrace and downfall.

Video: Jimmy Kimmel's Pedestrian Question on same-sex marriage

An amusing person-on-the-street survey.

42

Due for release next month, the story of the breaking of the color line in major league baseball. One of the great American stories.

Wanda Sykes, the best medicine

I'm still trying to clear my head of the craziness from the CPAC conference, and I find that some Wanda Sykes fits the bill. This clip is nearly four years old, from the first year of Obama's presidency.

Nat "King" Cole's 94th birthday

Today would have been the 94th birthday of the great Nat "King" Cole. Here is his rendition of "Stardust" by Hoagy Carmichael and Mitchell Parish, accompanied by photos from the Hubble Space Telescope. Below is his performance of "When I Fall in Love" by Victor Young and Edward Heyman.

Icon of Harlem’s Gay Night Life Gives Way to Wreckers

A fascinating story at NYT.

(Hat tip: Craig Howell)

SNL cold open: Justin as Elton on Hugo

Justin Timberlake impersonates Elton John to sing "Candle In the Wind" for Hugo Chavez.