Bye bye, Palm Springs. A good time was had by all. Thanks for the gorgeous weather ๐
Relaxed cat, hanging, chilling…
Olivia Newton-John concert in Palm Springs
Great times all around last night at Olivia Newton-John’s concert in Palm Springs (technically Indio, but folks may not know Indio, so I’m going by Palm Springs…) at the Fantasy Springs Casino Events Center.
First of all, ONJ is in amazing voice. The entire concert was extremely well sung. I’m so used to the idea that as some singers get older, the voice often loses some flexibility and range. Completely the opposite with Olivia – her voice continues to get better and better. Some of the highlights were Olivia’s high, high soprano finish to “Jolene,” and her full belt ending to “Weightless.”
But my personal favorites were the last two songs of the evening, “Grace and Gratitude” and “I Honestly Love You.” After two hours, she was not only in fine singing form but her interpretations were art. Connected, personal, and heartfelt. Just fab.
I also loved seeing other fans of Olivia’s that I’ve gotten to know over the years – David, Mykel, Todd, Virginia… I can’t remember every name so if I forget one it’s just me being formerly blond. But it was great seeing everyone. Only thing I don’t like about these situations is we had to get backstage after the concert so we didn’t have a huge amount of time to catch up. But glad we had time to chat with folks even if it was short ๐
Backstage we caught up with not only Leeza Gibbons (who’s a friend of Olivia’s for many years going back to the Great Walk fundraiser in China for the Olivia Newton-John Cancer and Wellness Centre) but Lindsay Wagner, the original Bionic Woman! I’m not usually star struck but I’ve been a fan of Lindsay’s my whole life it seems. She spent a few minutes catching up with Olivia, and I have to admit this was one photo op I wasn’t missing.
I won’t go on too much, but I will say: if Olivia is performing near you (this is a 30+ city tour), GO! Great music and great times. You can find her tour cities by clicking here.
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| Me backstage with Olivia, Michael and Lindsay Wagner |
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| Olivia Newton-John and Lindsay Wagner backstage after Olivia’s concert in Palm Springs |
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| Me with Leeza Gibbons, her husband Steven and Michael |
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| The casino had the new Grease slot machine located prominently ๐ |
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| Another shot of the Grease slot machine |
North Dakota: Gay college football player dismissed from team
Jamie Kuntz was dismissed from the North Dakota State College of Science’s football team after he was caught kissing his 65 year old boyfriend during an away football game.
The school feels that he was an ongoing distraction but Jamie thinks that his sexual orientation was a factor in his dismissal.
SB Nation’s Amy K. Nelson gives excellent coverage to this very complicated story from all points of view, talking to Jamie, his teammates, and the school’s athletic director for the first time on camera.
GOP Senators introduce bill to stop same-sex ceremonies on military bases
Two GOP U.S. Senators on Tuesday introduced legislation that would prohibit same-sex unions from being held on military bases.
Here’s the long and short of it:
Specifically, the bill would prohibit marriage or marriage-like ceremonies at military facilities that are not a union between one man and one woman.
โThe Defense of Marriage Act remains law, and as policy changes are implemented by the Department of Defense, the statute must be followed,โ Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss) said. โThis legislation also protects the freedom of conscience of chaplains who are serving our nation in the Armed Forces.” The bill was also co-sponsored by Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.)
Last year, the Department of Defense authorized military chaplains to perform same-sex marriages in accordance with state law.
The authorization allows military chaplains to participate in ceremonies on or off military bases in states that recognize same-sex marriage.
The Department of Justice stopped defending DOMA in federal court actions after both President Obama and U. S. Attorney General Eric Holder last spring found the law to be unconstitutional.
Tonight in Palm Springs!
Seeing Olivia Newton-John tonight!
I haven’t seen her yet during her current 30+ concert tour. The reviews have been fantastic, and videos posted on YouTube show her in fab voice.
Have You Never Been Mellow, Don’t Stop Believing, Magic, Xanadu, I Honestly Love You, Sam, Grace and Gratitude, Suddenly….
Still time to get tickets – click here.
Can’t wait.
After the fact, Mitt Romney agrees with President Obama on source of recent Middle East unrest
Mitt Romney strongly denounced an anti-Muslim film linked to riots against U.S. diplomatic compounds in the Mideast, accusing its director of wrongly offending Islamic sensibilities.
Romney told ABCโs George Stephanopoulos that while he had not seen the film himself, he knew enough to declare it a โvery bad thing.โ
โYou know, I think itโs dispiriting sometimes to see some of the awful things people say,โ Romney said. โAnd the idea of using something that some people consider sacred and then parading that out a negative way is simply inappropriate and wrong. And I wish people wouldnโt do it.โ
Romney said that the film is clearly legal under the Constitution.
โOf course, we have a First Amendment, and under the First Amendment, people are allowed to do what they feel they want to do,โ he said. โThey have the right to do that, but itโs not right to do things that are of the nature of what was done by, apparently this film.โ
The Republican nominee also condemned Florida pastor Terry Jones, whose burning of a Koran sparked deadly attacks abroad in 2011, for promoting the film.
โI think the whole film is a terrible idea,โ he said. โI think him making it, promoting it, showing it is disrespectful to people of other faiths. I donโt think that should happen. I think people should have the common courtesy and judgment โ- the good judgment โ not to be โ not to offend other peoplesโ faiths. Itโs a very bad thing, I think, this guyโs doing.โ
Now, if this all sounds good to you, I want to remind you that this was EXACTLY what President Obama said the day the riots began. And this sentiment is basically what Romney was speaking out against saying this approach to the issue was “apologizing” for the US.
“The United States condemns in the strongest terms this outrageous and shocking attack,” Obama said with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton at his side in hastily arranged public remarks in the Rose Garden of the White House.
“Today, we mourn four more Americans who represent the very best of the United States of America. We will not waver in our commitment to see that justice is done for this terrible act. And make no mistake: Justice will be done.”
This hardly sounds like an apology.
Stevens lost his life in an assault on the American diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya, amid anger among Islamist extremists at a low-quality film mocking the Muslim Prophet Muhammad. Outrage at the movie also led an angry phalanx of Egyptian protesters to storm the U.S. Embassy there and tear down its American flag.
Noting anger in the Middle East at the film, Obama declared, “We reject all efforts to denigrate the religious beliefs of others. But there is no justification for this senseless violenceโnone.
“The world must stand together to unequivocally reject these brutal acts,” Obama said. “Already, many Libyans have joined us in doing so, and this attack will not break the bonds between the United States and Libya.”
Film director of “Innocence of Muslim” found; apparently duped by producer
In the beginning, the inflammatory film Innocence of Muslims was called Desert Warriors — when it was just some schlocky, lucky-if-it-ever-makes-it-to-DVD film about people not named Mohammed killing each other in the desert — and its director was a fellow named Alan Roberts.
If Gawker’s got the story right, then Roberts, like the actors involved with the project, had no idea Desert Warriors would be detoured by a crazed Copt, meth-maker, and petty criminal Nakoula Basseley Nakoula — overdubbed, re-edited, and turned into anti-Islamic propaganda.
Roberts, it seems, isn’t anti-Islam at all.
From Gawker:
Until the release of Innocence of Muslims, the 65-year-old Roberts has had an unremarkable career as a small-time director and editor. His directing credits include some softcore porn from the 70s and 80s like 1977’s Young Lady Chatterly, The Sexpert and The Happy Hooker Goes to Hollywood, third of the Happy Hooker trilogy.
Roberts is more accomplished as a film editor, with 28 editing credits, including the 2003 Johnny Knoxville/Christina Applegate vehicle Grand Theft Parsons. In the mid-2000s, he ran a digital post-production facility called Genesis Post-Production according to a press release for a documentary about Burning Man where he’s credited as producer.
Since Innocence of Muslims improbably became the most talked-about film in the world, Roberts has understandably been “laying low.”
Via Towleroad
Hunky Gareth Thomas watching the game
Just chilling watching the game.I gotta let those days go;() twitter.com/gareththomas14โฆ— Gareth Thomas (@gareththomas14) September 15, 2012





