Author: Randy Slovacek

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US men arrested on Atlantis Cruise ship in Caribbean speak out

Two gay men from California have spoken about their ordeal that began onboard an Atlantis Cruise ship in the Caribbean:

The trouble began shortly after the cruise ship Celebrity Summit docked Wednesday morning at Dominica in the eastern Caribbean. Mayer and Hart were in their room when they got a call from a cruise ship official.

“We were summoned that the captain wished to speak to us,” Mayer said. “We were caught off guard.”

Three cruise ship officials and six Dominica police officers were waiting for them. After police interviewed both men separately, the assistant captain spoke, Mayer said.

“At this time, we are going to eject you from the ship. We have zero tolerance toward your behavior,” Mayer recalled him saying.

Police drove them to their headquarters, where they sat on a bench for nearly two hours without legal representation despite repeated requests, Mayer said.

After police took pictures and obtained fingerprints, a high-ranking officer began a nearly four-hour interrogation.

“He said: ‘You’re being arrested for being gay. We’re arresting you for the crime of buggery,’” Mayer said. “He said that other people said that we were engaging in homosexual sex. He repeated that several times. I told him I didn’t know why they would say that. I wasn’t doing that.”

Mayer said he was naked in his cabin and nearly naked on the balcony. “I was less partially clothed than I should have been.”

The two men were charged with indecent exposure and put in a five-by-eight-foot cell to await an appearance before a magistrate.

“The treatment was inhumane,” Mayer said. “We were detained for approximately 26 hours, and 19 of those locked in a cement cell, which had no running water, no toilet, no lights. It stunk of feces and urine. It was infested with cockroaches, ants and bugs.”

Mayer said police brought in government officials to look at them.

“They paraded many people by to look in on us as if we were some type of animal, which was quite humiliating,” he said. “People got great joy in the pleasure of taunting us.”

On Thursday morning, police drove them to the courthouse in the capital of Roseau, passing through an angry crowd, Mayer said.

“They were chanting and banging on the police vehicle. They were screaming things,” he said. “I’ve never seen anything like this in my life, other than in movies. Both my partner and I really feared for our safety.”

Once in the courtroom, Chief Magistrate Evaline Baptiste ordered the men to pay a nearly $900 fine after they pleaded guilty to indecent exposure. He called the two men “rogues and vagabonds.”

Police then drove them to the airport, Mayer said.

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Carol Channing: Larger Than Life on DVD

So excited this will be released soon. I’m very privileged to be a part of this wonderful documentary on Carol Channing’s extraordinary life and career.

I was lucky to be appearing on Broadway with Carol at the time the documentary was still filming. The director asked several of us who had appeared with Carol in the last Broadway revival of “Hello, Dolly!” to sit down and speak about our time living and working with this icon of Broadway. I’m very proud to say a story I felt very strongly about – which speaks to Carol’s beautiful character – is included in the film.

If you love Broadway; if you want to understand what it takes to make it in show business; and if you want to see the dedication and love people have for a true star – watch this film.

So proud I’m a part of it (and no, I make no money from the sales) and I love that people will get a sense of this amazing, incredible, great Broadway star.

Click here to order from Amazon. It’s a beautiful testament to a life lived fully.

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Video: “Dirtier Laundry – Just The Boys”

Andrew Christian decided to re-edit the “Dirty Laundry” video by dedicating the whole video to the five gorgeous Andrew Christian soccer players and additional shots of their assets.

Meet the cast:
Richie Nuzzolese-Team Captain
Ryan Moore-Mr. Green Eyes
Jason Medina-Mr. Beautiful Smile
Brandon Howell-Talk Drink of Water
Jose Parra-Pec Bouncer

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Darren Criss, John Legend, Bridget Kelly & more: History of Voting

With cool animation rooted in a youth pop cultural aesthetic, and by using celebrity narrators ­Grammy Award winning artist John Legend, Glee’s Darren Criss, celebrity blogger Perez Hilton and R&B singer, Bridget Kelly – the video speaks directly to millennials’ sense of what is exciting, important and cool. By doing so, the video engages them in a discussion about America’s voting history and inspires them to register to vote.

Teachers across the country are educating their students about the importance of voting & registering them to vote with Rock the Vote’s Democracy Class. Sign up to join them here: http://bit.ly/GMuRoi

Darren Criss will also lead a new campaign to engage American kids in the election process.

The Glee star has partnered with Rock the Vote and the National Education Association to kick off the first ever Democracy Day on March 23rd in Los Angeles. The one class-period program will utilize pop culture, video, discussion and mock election to motivate young people to engage in the election process.

“The voting process can be a bit overwhelming and at times confusing, particularly for first time voters,” Criss explained in a statement. “I’m very excited to be a part of such a comprehensive effort that both educates young people about the importance of their vote.”

Video Credits:
Director: Ian Inaba
Producer: Sara Dosa
Animator: Haik Hoisington

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President Obama’s statement on Trayvon Martin killing

President Obama spoke today about the killing of Trayvon Martin in Sanford, FL:

“When I think about this boy, I think about my own kids,” Obama said in the Rose Garden. “I think every parent in America should be able to understand why it is absolutely imperative that we investigate every aspect of this. And that everybody pull together.”

“My main message is to the parents of Trayvon Martin. You know, if I had a son, he’d look like Trayvon,” Obama said. “All of us as Americans are going to take this with the seriousness it deserves.”

“Obviously, this is a tragedy. I can only imagine what these parents are going through,” Obama said. “All of us have to do some soul searching to figure out how something like this has happened.”

Trayvon Martin, a middle-class black teen with no history of trouble, was shot and killed in Sanford, Fla., a community just north of Orlando. His alleged assailant, George Zimmerman, a neighborhood watch captain and criminal justice student, apparently killed him on Feb. 26 as the 17-year-old walked home from a convenience store near his suburban neighborhood to his father’s house a few blocks away.

Before the shooting, Zimmerman, who has a weapons permit, told a police dispatcher there was “a real suspicious guy” who looked “like he was up to no good or on drugs or something” and looked to have “something in his waistband.” Although he was directly told not to follow Martin, Zimmerman chased Martin on foot and eventually shot him. Martin was unarmed, carrying only a bag of Skittles and an iced tea he had just purchased.

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Geraldo Rivera: “I think the hoodie is as much responsible for Trayvon Martin’s death as George Zimmerman was”

Seriously? From the video:

BRIAN KILMEADE KILMEADE (co-host): Let’s talk about the Trayvon Martin case and what’s going on in Florida right now.

GERALDO RIVERA: I believe that George Zimmerman, the overzealous neighborhood watch captain should be investigated to the fullest extent of the law and if he is criminally liable, he should be prosecuted. But I am urging the parents of black and Latino youngsters particularly to not let their children go out wearing hoodies. I think the hoodie is as much responsible for Trayvon Martin’s death as George Zimmerman was.

JULIET HUDDY (guest-host): What do you mean?

RIVERA: When you, when you see a kid walking — Juliet — when you see a kid walking down the street, particularly a dark skinned kid like my son Cruz, who I constantly yelled at when he was going out wearing a damn hoodie or those pants around his ankles. Take that hood off, people look at you and they — what do they think? What’s the instant identification, what’s the instant association?

At the 2:47 mark Geraldo says “unless it’s raining, or you’re at a track meet – leave the hoodie home.” Has anyone told Geraldo IT WAS RAINING when Trayvon was shot???

Shut up, Geraldo. Shut up.