Category: Uncategorized

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The Bravery Tapes – Eric and Juan

Eric and Juan are a gay binational couple featured in The Bravery Tapes, a project that profiles stories of human courage.

Via the Los Angeles Times:

For some same-sex couples, the issue is made even more complicated by our country’s immigration laws. In his video Op-Ed “Eric and Juan,” Jens Erik Gould introduces us to a same-sex couple who got married in 2008, during the brief time when gay marriage was legal in California. Though Eric and Juan have built a life together here, DOMA prevents Juan from applying for a green card through marriage. It is among the many federal benefits the two are denied.

“Juan has had so much adversity in his life,” Gould says. “Someone tried to kill him in Mexico because he was gay. Now, not only does he still experience discrimination for being gay in the U.S., he’s also living undocumented here. Many people in this situation hide in the shadows. But despite all the adversity and risk, he’s publicly fighting for what he believes in because he wants to be an example for his community.”

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Gallup poll: 53% of Americans support marriage equality

Gallup released the results of it’s latest poll concerning the support of marriage equality in the US.

From the poll:

Gallup’s May 2-7 poll suggests Americans’ support for gay marriage is solidifying above the majority level.

Recently, Rhode Island and Delaware legalized same-sex marriage, and Minnesota is likely to follow suit. That would bring the total number of states legally recognizing same-sex marriage to 12.

Just three years ago, support for gay marriage was 44%. The current 53% level of support is essentially double the 27% in Gallup’s initial measurement on gay marriage, in 1996.

 Read more on the poll here.

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Rep. Darrell Issa says an “act of terror” is not a “terrorist act”

On September 12, 2012, the day after the Benghazi attacks, Obama delivered a speech in the Rose Garden in which he referred to the attacks as an “act of terror,” saying: “No acts of terror will ever shake the resolve of this great nation, alter that character, or eclipse the light of the values that we stand for.” The following day, Obama twice referred to the attacks as an act of terror, once in Colorado and once in Las Vegas.

During an appearance on Fox News’ America Live, Issa accused Obama of minimizing the attacks by referring to them as an “act of terror,” saying: “An act of terror is different than a terrorist attack. The truth is, this was a terrorist attack.”

Perhaps in the world of Washington DC politics, there might be a difference in the phraseology? But in the clip, Issa keeps saying “the American people deserve ‘real time’ information.” I seriously believe that if you tell the American people something was an “act of terror” or a “terrorist attack” – the American people perceive those as the same thing.

This is slicing and dicing, parsing and chopping language to help support the idea that something that didn‘t happen (a cover-up), happened.

(via Media Matters)

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New series: “Almost Human” on FOX

This action-packed police drama set 35 years in the future centers around the unlikely partnership between a part-machine cop and a part-human robot.

YouTube description:

“Starring Karl Urban (“Star Trek”), Michael Ealy (“Sleeper Cell,” “Common Law”) and Emmy Award nominee Lili Taylor (“Six Feet Under,”), ALMOST HUMAN is a high-tech, high-stakes action drama set 35 years in the future, when police officers are partnered with highly evolved human-like androids.

“An unlikely partnership is forged when a part-machine cop (Urban) is forced to pair with a part-human robot (Ealy) as they fight crime and investigate a deeper cover-up in a futuristic new world.”

(h/t JMG)

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Trailer: New Series – “Sean Saves The World”

Sean Hayes returns to NBC primetime this fall in “Sean Saves The World” as a single, gay dad trying to balance raising his daughter, cope with his mother (Linda Lavin) and his boss.

I enjoyed a lot of “Will & Grace” and Hayes was very good in the Broadway revival of PROMISES, PROMISES.

Some funny stuff here. I’ll be checking it out.

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Video: Openly gay Minnesota state Senator Scott Dibble speaks before marriage equality vote

Minnesota State Senator and chief author of the Minnesota Marriage Equality Bill Scott Dibble speaks in support of his bill prior to the Senate vote.

The bill passed shortly after this speech by a vote of 37-30.

Check out the quick video below of the reaction of the crowd in the Capitol rotunda moments after the bill passed.  This is what equality looks like, kids.

Congratulations Sen. Dibble and Minnesota!

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Steam Powered Giraffe on The Candi & Randy Show

Listen to internet radio with CandiXRandy on BlogTalkRadio

Today on The Candi & Randy Show we had the chance to talk with Steam Powered Giraffe.

Steam Powered Giraffe (SPG) is a musical project formed in San Diego in 2008 that is popular in the steampunk subculture. The act combines the visual of robot pantomime with sketches, pop culture references, improvised comedic dialogue, and original music.

Each member of the group plays a “robot”. The Robots are like nothing you have ever seen.

Steam Powered Giraffe is more than just a band, they are an experience.

The Robots:

• The Spine (David Michael Bennett) is a futuristic dieselpunk robot with a titanium alloy spinal column and convincing human mannerisms. His skin is smooth silver, and he wears a black fedora and red tie. He plays guitar, bass, mandolin and keys.

• Rabbit (Bunny Bennett) is a malfunctioning copper clockwork robot, who wears a black coachman’s hat with steampunk-style goggles on it and a black tunic with red accents. He plays the melodica and the accordion.

• Hatchworth (Sam Luke) is an art deco robot made from a stove. He was one of Colonel P. A. Walter’s original robots, but was locked away due to a leaking power core. When the robot The Jon left the band, Hatchworth was released from lockdown and refurbished as a musician. He wears a bowler, sports a bushy orange mustache and wears a black military tunic with red accents. Sam Luke was previously a human member of the band. He plays bass and guitar.

You can find their music on iTunes by clicking here.

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Minnesota: Marriage Equality passes in state Senate by vote of 37-30

The Minnesota state Senate voted moments ago in favor of a marriage equality bill, the final vote need to make Minnesota the 12th U.S. state, and the third in as many weeks, to legalize same-sex marriage.

Gov. Mark Dayton has promised to sign the bill and a ceremony is expected on Tuesday. The law would take effect on Aug. 1.

Prior to the bill’s third and final reading, the Senate rejected two amendments offered by GOP opponents.

The first amendment (A10), by Paul Gazelka (R-Nisswa), would have extended exemptions to individuals with religious objections to same-sex marriage, but also used the more generic term “any marriage.”

Gay marriage supporters said the amendment would have had the effect of legalizing discrimination against gay couples, and by the amendment’s language, couples in “any marriage” — effectively gutting the state’s existing civil rights protections under its human rights act.

That amendment failed by a vote if 26-41.

The second amendment (A51), from Sen. Torrey Westrom (R-Elbow Lake), sought to legislate gender-neutral language such as “spouse” and “parent” for same-sex couples only, and utilize gender-specific terms such as “mother,” “father,” “husband,” and “wife” for opposite-sex couples.

That amendment failed by a vote of 31-36.

Here’s the vote board showing the 37-30 results that moves the bill to the Governor’s desk.

(source)

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Kinky Boots, Cyndi Lauper & Billy Porter win at 2013 Outer Critics Circle Awards

KINKY BOOTS won for Best New Musical, New Score (Cyndi Lauper) and Actor in a Musical (the fab Billy Porter).  Yay!

PIPPIN – which I recently saw and loved – also did very well winning Lead Actress (Patina Miller), Featured Actress (Andrea Martin) and Featured Actor in Musical (Terrence Mann), Best Choreography (Chet Walker) Best Revival, Best Lighting Design and Best Direction (Diane Paulus).

Here is a complete list of nominees and winners (bold) of the 2013 Outer Critics Circle Awards

Outstanding New Broadway Play:

  • Grace
  • Lucky Guy
  • The Nance
  • The Testament of Mary
  • Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike

Outstanding New Broadway Musical:

  • Chaplin: The Musical
  • A Christmas Story, The Musical
  • Hands on a Hardbody
  • Kinky Boots
  • Matilda The Musical

Outstanding New Off-Broadway Play:

  • Bad Jews
  • Cock
  • My Name is Asher Lev
  • Really Really
  • The Whale

Outstanding New Off-Broadway Musical:

  • February House
  • Dogfight
  • Giant
  • Here Lies Love
  • Murder Ballad

Outstanding Book of Musical:
(Broadway or Off-Broadway)

  • Cinderella
  • Chaplin: The Musical
  • Dogfight
  • Kinky Boots
  • Matilda the Musical

Outstanding New Score:
(Broadway or Off-Broadway)

  • Chaplin: The Musical
  • Dogfight
  • Hands on a Hardbody
  • Here Lies Love
  • Kinky Boots

Outstanding Revival of a Play:
(Broadway or Off-Broadway)

  • Golden Boy
  • Orphans
  • The Piano Lesson
  • The Trip to Bountiful
  • Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

Outstanding Revival of a Musical:
(Broadway or Off-Broadway)

  • Annie
  • Cinderella
  • The Mystery of Edwin Drood
  • Passion
  • Pippin

Outstanding Director of a Play:

  • Pam MacKinnon: Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
  • Nicholas Martin: Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike
  • Jack O’Brien: The Nance
  • Bartlett Sher: Golden Boy
  • Michael Wilson: The Trip to Bountiful

Outstanding Director of a Musical:

  • Warren Carlyle: Chaplin: The Musical
  • Scott Ellis: The Mystery of Edwin Drood
  • Jerry Mitchell: Kinky Boots
  • Diane Paulus: Pippin
  • Alex Timbers: Here Lies Love

Outstanding Choreography:

  • Warren Carlyle: Chaplin: The Musical
  • Peter Darling: Matilda the Musical
  • Jerry Mitchell: Kinky Boots
  • Josh Rhodes: Cinderella
  • Chet Walker: Pippin

Outstanding Set Design: (Play or Musical)

  • John Lee Beatty: The Nance
  • Rob Howell: Matilda the Musical
  • David Korins: Here Lies Love
  • Scott Pask: Pippin
  • Michael Yeargan: Golden Boy

Outstanding Costume Design: (Play or Musical)

  • Amy Clark & Martin Pakledinaz: Chaplin: The Musical
  • Gregg Barnes: Kinky Boots
  • Dominique Lemieux: Pippin
  • William Ivey Long: Cinderella
  • William Ivey Long: The Mystery of Edwin Drood

Outstanding Lighting Design:
(Play or Musical)

  • Ken Billington: Chaplin: The Musical
  • Paul Gallo: Dogfight
  • Donald Holder: Golden Boy
  • Kenneth Posner: Cinderella
  • Kenneth Posner: Pippin

Outstanding Actor in a Play:

  • Tom Hanks: Lucky Guy
  • Shuler Hensley: The Whale
  • Nathan Lane; The Nance
  • Tracy Letts: Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
  • David Hyde Pierce: Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike

Outstanding Actress in a Play:

  • Tracee Chimo: Bad Jews
  • Amy Morton: Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
  • Vanessa Redgrave: The Revisionist
  • Joely Richardson: Ivanov
  • Cicely Tyson: The Trip to Bountiful

Outstanding Actor in a Musical:

  • Bertie Carvel: Matilda the Musical
  • Santino Fontana: Cinderella
  • Rob McClure: Chaplin: The Musical
  • Billy Porter: Kinky Boots
  • Matthew James Thomas: Pippin

Outstanding Actress in a Musical:

  • Lilla Crawford: Annie
  • Valisia LeKae: Motown: The Musical
  • Lindsay Mendez: Dogfight
  • Patina Miller: Pippin
  • Laura Osnes: Cinderella

Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play:

  • Danny Burstein: Golden Boy
  • Richard Kind: The Big Knife
  • Jonny Orsini: The Nance
  • Tony Shalhoub: Golden Boy
  • Tony Shalhoub: Orphans

Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play:

  • Cady Huffman: The Nance
  • Judith Ivey: The Heiress
  • Judith Light: The Assembled Parties
  • Kristine Nielsen: Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike
  • Vanessa Williams: The Trip to Bountiful

Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical:

  • Will Chase: The Mystery of Edwin Drood
  • Dan Lauria: A Christmas Story, The Musical
  • Raymond Luke: Motown: The Musical
  • Terrence Mann: Pippin
  • Daniel Stewart Sherman: Kinky Boots

Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical:

  • Annaleigh Ashford: Kinky Boots
  • Victoria Clark: Cinderella
  • Charlotte d’Amboise: Pippin
  • Andrea Martin: Pippin
  • Keala Settle: Hands on a Hardbody

Outstanding Solo Performance:

  • Bette Midler: I’ll Eat You Last
  • Martin Moran: All the Rage
  • Fiona Shaw: The Testament of Mary
  • Holland Taylor: Ann
  • Michael Urie: Buyer & Cellar

John Gassner Award:
(Presented for an American play, preferably by a new playwright)

  • Ayad Akhtar: Disgraced
  • Paul Downs Colaizzo: Really Really
  • Joshua Harmon: Bad Jews
  • Samuel D. Hunter: The Whale
  • Aaron Posner: My Name is Asher Lev
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First look at Jane Lynch as “Miss Hannigan” for Broadway’s ANNIE

From Playbill we get a first look at Emmy Award-winning actress Jane Lynch, known for playing a bullying cheer coach on TV’s “Glee,” as orphanage matron “Miss Hannigan” in Broadway’s Annie beginning May 15.

Two-time Tony Award-winning actress Katie Finneran, who created the role of Miss Hannigan in the new production of Annie, will depart the production at a date to be announced, in order to begin filming a new NBC comedy series with Michael J. Fox.

Annie plays the Palace Theatre. Visit anniethemusical.com.