LGBTQ news and entertainment
On Meet the Press Sunday, Rep. Tim Huelskamp defended his plans to amend the U.S. Constitution to ban same-sex marriage, repeating the often-told lie that it would protect children.
David Gregory slapped that down saying “Children tend to prosper in homes where there is a loving marriage. There is really not evidence to suggest that if you are a same-sex couple or a heterosexual couple that it makes one difference one way or the other.”
Chad Griffin and hate group leader Brian Brown debate the future of same-sex marriage.
From Queerty – Raising My Rainbow:
I was standing in the kitchen making breakfast for my two sons. They wanted waffles and bananas. They wanted whipped cream on top, not syrup. They said it was summertime and we should celebrate with whipped cream. It was sometime around seven in the morning in California.
My smart phone turned bright with an announcement.
#BREAKINGNEWS Supreme Court strikes down federal provision denying benefits to legally married gay couples
Was I reading it right? Did it mean what I thought it meant? Could it possibly be true? Was my smart phone smarter than me? It was too early in the morning. The news alert was too confusing. I needed it in plain English. I consulted an expert source: Facebook.
Where were you when you learned DOMA was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court?
It was the first post that popped up. I paused. DOMA had been declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court. Where was I? I was standing in my kitchen with a bottle of syrup in one hand and my phone in the other. I looked at my sons sitting on the couch. I looked at C.J. He’s growing his hair out “like a girl” and every strand was sticking out in a different direction due to a good night’s sleep. He still looked dreamy in his flowered pajamas with a hula girl on them. One leg was daintily crossed over the other and his pedicure was showing signs of wear.
I got the goose bumps. Literally got goose bumps. Something had happened and I was having a physical reaction. I looked at my goosebumps. I looked at my phone. In our state, my brother can get married when and if he wants to. I looked at my gender nonconforming son. If he grows up to be gay he will be able to get married. All of my LGBTQ friends are finally being treated as human beings deserving of all of the rights, privileges and freedoms that I was granted simply for being straight.
I started to cry. Even though I had already done my makeup in preparation for a day at the office. Big, slow tears took their time down my cheeks. One day my sons will be able to marry the person of their choice and have it recognized by our state and our country.
I put the syrup away and got out the whipped cream. I applied it liberally to their waffles and set the plates in front of them. They cheered. So did I.
I got in the car and headed to work. I had a voicemail. My mother-in-law had called to get my brother’s phone number so that she could call and wake him up and be the first person to congratulate him on being able to get legally wed.
My husband called on his way home from working the night shift.
I answered the phone.
“Hello?”
I figured that he hadn’t heard the news.
“It’s a great day for our cause, mama!” he said.
I teared up again and thought of a quote I had seen on Pinterest.
“Crying doesn’t indicate that you’re weak, it just means that you’ve been strong for too long.”
and I have a cause that we’re passionate about. We are reluctant advocates. For three years, we’ve given people a glimpse into our lives, into the adventures in raising a gender nonconforming, possibly gay son in hopes that they would see that we are not weird. We are different. We are parents doing the best that we can as we raise a son who at times has wanted to be our daughter and, at other times, has longed to be a stereotypical gay man.
Risk is a four-letter word to us. And, openly blogging about our LGBTQ son has been a risk that we reluctantly took. Had anybody else done it before us or at the same time as us or done it after us, we gladly would have stepped off our soap box and supported and cheered from the sidelines.
But, that didn’t happen. So we kept on keeping on. Getting more and more invested in LGBTQ rights and our sons’ futures with each passing day.
When I learned the DOMA and Prop. 8 rulings today it felt like a victory for me. Even though I’ve been married for 13 years. More than that, it felt like my six-year-old son – who has been called “gay,” “faggot,” “dick sucker” and “freak” — is being seen as a human being worthy of equal rights by the highest court in all the land.
I could have easily spent the day crying…and eating whipped cream…and cheering with my sons.
Full story here: http://www.queerty.com/on-this-day-in-history-a-mother-realizes-the-world-has-changed-for-her-son-20130628/#ixzz2Xnv3NMfm
Video of Cher performing at NYC Pride 2013
Check out snippets from her performances of “Strong Enough,” “Believe” and “Woman’s World,” as well as atmosphere from the event, some Deborah Cox snippets and Whoopi Goldberg’s intro.
(via Boy Culture)
“If you removed all of the homosexuals and homosexual influence from what is generally regarded as American culture, you would pretty much be left with “Let’s Make a Deal.” ~Fran Lebowitz
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| Final fight scene from KA at the MGM Grand |
A terrible tragedy has occurred at one of Cirque du Soleil’s premiere productions in Las Vegas.
A performer in the show KA accidentally fell over 50 feet to her death.
From the Las Vegas Sun:
According to reports from audience members, the incident occurred Saturday night during the latter stages of the production at MGM Grand. Guyard-Guillot was one of the artists suspended by a wire from the show’s vertical stage in the show-closing Final Battle scene. As she ascended to the top of the stage, she slipped free of her safety wire and dropped to the open, unseen pit below the performers.
After the incident, one eyewitness seated in the middle of the audience and just a few rows from the lip of the stage said Guyard-Guillot dropped from the left side of the set (or on the right side, as audience members face the production) over a distance of at least 50 feet. The show momentarily continued, but then the music halted, and the performer’s screams and groans could be heard from below the stage. One source close to the production said she died on the way to a hospital.
“(The artist) was being hoisted up the side of the stage and then just plummeted down,” said Dan Mosqueda, visiting with his wife and 10-year-old son from Colorado Springs, Colo. “Initially, a lot of people in the audience thought it was part of the choreographed fight. But you could hear screaming, then groaning, and we could hear a female artist crying from the stage.” Mosqueda’s wife, Annie, has a background in theater and tweeted about the incident soon after it occurred.
Minutes after the artist’s fall, a recorded announcement was played on the theater’s sound system informing ticket-buyers that refunds or vouchers to future shows would be offered to those in the audience, and the crowd was dismissed.
Cirque released a statement this early afternoon: “The entire Cirque du Soleil family is deeply saddened by the accidental death of Sarah (Sassoon) Guyard, artist on the production ‘Ka,’ that happened on Saturday, June 29, in Las Vegas. The artist’s immediate family has been informed of the accident. Our thoughts are with her family and the entire Cirque du Soleil family.”
It is the first reported death from an accident onstage in Cirque’s 30-year history.
My sincerest condolences to the family of Guyard-Guillot and to the cast of KA.
New York City Pride Grand Marshal Edith Windsor rode in triumph today as about million people screamed her name.
When Windsor’s car turned onto Christopher Street, the thunderous chants of “EDIE! EDIE! EDIE” echoed down the very blocks where the gay movement began 44 years ago this week.
Last night was the opening of the new Cirque du Soleil show Michael Jackson ONE at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas. And when Cirque named this show “ONE” with capital letters, they meant it. This is ‘The ONE.’
From Cirque du Soliel’s press release:
Michael Jackson ONE is a sonic, tonic fusion of acrobatics, dance and visuals that takes the audience on an immersive journey through the music and spirit of Michael Jackson.
Driven by Michael’s powerful, multi-layered music – heard like never before in a riveting, state-of-the-art surround-sound environment – ONE takes the audience through a series of seamless visual and musical tableaux, at the heart of a world that is in turn majestic, playful, magical and heart-warming.
In Michael Jackson ONE, Michael’s artistry and spirit are expressed through the vibrant energy of the cast of 63 dancers and performers, underscored by aerial performance, driving acrobatics, and vivid choreographies that use the urban/hip hop idiom as a springboard for exploration.
ONE is a heartfelt tribute to the work, innovative spirit, and legacy of Michael Jackson – the King of Pop, the genius, the visionary, the One.
The world premiere attracted celebrities including Justin Bieber, Neil Patrick Harris, Ryan Kwanten, Allison Janney and Alfre Woodard. Also in attendance were Michael Jackson’s brothers Marlon, Tito and Jackie.
From beat one the audience in immersed in the world and music of Michael Jackson. Where Cirque’s first tribute to Jackson, Immortal, was a huge stadium-sized event that left some critics lukewarm – not enough MJ, not enough Cirque – this is all Cirque and all Jackson.
The acts are spectacular and each has it’s own relationship to Michael’s music videos, dance moves and life. “Michael Jackson ONE” gets it right taking the audience on an amazing journey.
This is easily one of the best shows Cirque has created that takes a known entity and brings that to life in the fabulous world that can only be Cirque.
In addition, the opening night gala was a great time on the Mandalay Beach. Food and drink were everywhere, and I met two of my FAVORITE actors, Alfre Woodard (who sat behind me during the show and hugged me during the curtain call as we all danced) and Ryan Kwanten (of True Blood). Michael and I spent a long time with Ryan and his girlfriend Ashley at the party, and both could not have been more down to earth and fun.
Great night.
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| With Ryan Kwanten of True Blood |
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| With the FAB Alfre Woodard (True Blood, Desperate Housewives, Passion Fish, Miss Evers Boys) |
Show Schedule for Michael Jackson ONE:
Starting July 1, performances are Saturday to Wednesday at 7:00pm and 10:00pm.
Starting September 3, performances are Saturday to Wednesday at 7:00pm and 9:30pm.
There are no performances on Thursdays and Fridays.
Tickets:
Call 877.632.7400 or 800-745-3000
Go to www.cirquedusoleil.com/mjone or www.mandalaybay.com
Gay-marriage opponents Sunday lost a last-ditch bid to reinstate California’s Proposition 8 ban on same-sex marriage, when a Supreme Court justice denied a motion to suspend the wedding ceremonies, which resumed in the state last week.
The Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, in San Francisco, lifted its stay Friday of a 2010 federal district court order invalidating Proposition 8, following Wednesday’s Supreme Court decision dismissing the appeal of that order.
In an emergency petition filed with Justice Anthony Kennedy, who oversees the Ninth Circuit, Proposition 8 backers said the appeals court lacked authority to issue its Friday order because the Supreme Court hadn’t yet sent out a certified copy of its Wednesday ruling, and because Supreme Court rules generally require a 25-day delay before rulings become final.
On Sunday, Justice Kennedy denied the application without comment, a Supreme Court spokesman said.
(from WSJ)