Ira Glass on why “it takes a while”
Broadway’s “Memphis” on PBS this coming week
PBS’ “Great Performances” will air a live (taped) version of the 2009 Tony-winning musical Memphis. The performance features the original cast led by Tony nominees Montego Glover and Chad Kimball.
The PBS series continues next month with the 25th anniversary performance of The Phantom of the Opera taped at London’s Royal Albert Hall. (PBS. Info/local listings.)
Check out the original cast’s 2010 Tony Awards performance:
Actress Judi Dench battling blindness
Academy Award winner Judi Dench said in an interview published Saturday that she had been diagnosed with macular degeneration, an eye condition which can cause blindness, and that her eyesight was already so bad that she couldn’t even read her own scripts.
The 77-year-old told the Daily Mirror that she was relying on friends and family to keep her up to speed with her lines.
“It’s usually my daughter or my agent or a friend and actually I like that, because I sit there and imagine the story in my mind,” she told the newspaper during an interview at a London hotel. “The most distressing thing is in a restaurant in the evening I can’t see the person I’m having dinner with.”
She won an Academy Award for her role as Queen Elizabeth I in “Shakespeare in Love” and is best known to international audiences as intelligence boss M in the James Bond series.
However, my favorite performance is this one: a reprisal of her “Desiree” from A Little Night Music:
Maryland House of Delegates passes marriage equality!
Lawmakers in the Maryland House voted today in favor of marriage equality in their state for the first time.
Gov. Martin O’Malley has pushed for the law and pledged to sign it.
The Maryland House of Delegates needed 71 votes to pass the bill. Whether the chamber had the requisite votes was a matter of high speculation just hours before the vote. Pro-marriage equality lawmakers on Thursday had to delay consideration of the legislation until today, when it passed 71 to 67 as cheers erupted from the gallery and on the floor.
Delegate Anne Kaiser, a lesbian, said during debate of the bill that her parents had hoped she “finds someone to love.” Then, “I have, and I wish to be married.” Delegate Maggie McIntosh, who come out as a lesbian while serving in the House, said “We seem to be on a roll.”
Footballer Lee Steele fined for Gareth Thomas tweet
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| Gareth Thomas |
Footballer Lee Steele has been fined by the Football Association for posting a homophobic remark on Twitter about the Rugby player Gareth Thomas.
Steele wrote on Twitter in January ”I wouldn’t fancy the bed next to Gareth Thomas #padlockeda**ehole’. The footballer was referring to openly gay Gareth Thomas and his participation in Channel Five’s Celebrity Big Brother.
I’m not quite sure what Mr. Steele’s issue was since he wasn’t in the Big Brother house, and therefore not likely to come across Gareth Thomas naked.
Following Steele’s comments on Twitter the footballer was released from his contract with Oxford City with the club releasing a statement saying ‘The Oxford City board have decided to release Lee Steele in view of his recent comment via social media which is considered seriously contrary to the ethos of the club.’
Steele later apologised for his comment on Twitter but was charged by the FA who have now found him to be in breach of Rule E3 (1) which reads ‘A Participant shall at all times act in the best interests of the game and shall not act in any manner which is improper or brings the game into disrepute or use any one, or a combination of, violent conduct, serious foul play, threatening, abusive, indecent or insulting words or behaviour.’
The FA have fined Steele £200 and ‘severely warned’ him about his future conduct.
Chris Evans discusses playing Captain America and the upcoming “Avengers” movie
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| Chris Evans attends The Ever Changing Face of Beauty video installation February 14, 2012 in New York City |
Gov. Chris Christie vetoes marriage equality in New Jersey
Gov. Chris Christie has followed through on his promise to reject a bill allowing same-sex marriage in New Jersey by quickly vetoing the measure Friday and renewing his call for a ballot question to decide the issue.
The veto came a day after the state Assembly passed the bill. The state Senate had passed it on Monday. Christie, a Republican who opposes same-sex marriage, had vowed “very swift action” once the measure reached his desk.
In returning the bill to the Legislature, Christie reaffirmed his view that voters should decide whether to change the definition of marriage in New Jersey. His veto also proposed creating an ombudsman to oversee compliance with the state’s civil union law, which same-sex couples have said is flawed and promotes discrimination.
“I am adhering to what I’ve said since this bill was first introduced — an issue of this magnitude and importance, which requires a constitutional amendment, should be left to the people of New Jersey to decide,” Christie said in a statement.
Senate President Steve Sweeney was blunt in his criticism of the governor.
“He had a chance to do the right thing, and failed miserably,” Sweeney said.
Steven Goldstein, chairman of the state’s largest gay rights group, Garden State Equality, said Christie’s national political ambitions guided his action.
“He won’t veto the bill because he’s anti-gay,” Goldstein said in a statement issued before the veto was issued Friday. “He’ll veto the bill because the 2016 South Carolina presidential primary electorate is anti-gay.”
Goldstein, who said he has a cordial relationship with the governor, promised to continue fighting him vigorously on the issue. “And we will win, so help me God,” he said.
The Flip Side (Bar)
Clever, interesting and funny…
I liked.
Thanks David Hanson-Currier for the tip.
Obama Administration won’t defend denial of military benefits for same-sex married couples
The Obama Justice Department has concluded that laws banning same-sex couples from receiving military and veterans benefits violates the equal protection component of the Fifth Amendment, and will no longer defend the statute in court, Attorney General Eric Holder wrote in a letter to Congressional leaders on Friday.
“The legislative record of these provisions contains no rationale for providing veterans’ benefits to opposite-sex couples of veterans but not to legally married same-sex spouses of veterans,” Holder wrote. “Neither the Department of Defense nor the Department of Veterans Affairs identified any justifications for that distinction that would warrant treating these provisions differently from Section 3 of DOMA.”
Read more at TalkingPointsMemo.com
Maryland House of Delegates may pass marriage equality this afternoon
The Maryland House of Delegates appears poised to pass same-sex marriage legislation when it meets late Friday afternoon.
Del. Tiffany Alston, a Prince George’s County Democrat who previously opposed the bill and voted against it in committee, emerged from House Speaker Michael E. Busch’s office and later offered a two-part amendment.
The first part prevents the law from going into effect if there is pending court litigation. A second part of the amendment would require judges to strike down the entire law should any part of it be illegal.
“(Alston’s) vote was contingent on the passing of that amendment,” said O’Donnell.
The House is scheduled to return for a final vote Friday at 4:30 p.m.