Category: Uncategorized

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Patrick and Scott tie the knot

With so much attention this past weekend on the Kim Kardashian wedding (where one news person referred to the couple as “our American royalty” and I gagged) I wanted to post this truly beautiful and moving video about a gay wedding that happened, like many weddings, without a lot of fanfare except for those involved.

It’s beautifully shot, framed and edited; and it really captures the honest emotions of what happens on what is, for many of us, the most important day in our lives.  Not millions of dollars, not lots of hype or press.  Just the honest emotion of two people.

Patrick and Scott’s wedding was beautifully shot by John Hoel, who writes:
“It was truly a day I’ll never forget and I was so honored to have captured it. Elizabeth couldn’t have put it more eloquently during the ceremony, ‘When our law lags behind, people continue to live their truth and create their own version of a family, and this is what Patrick and Scott are deciding to do today.’

I completely relate to so much of this video. When Michael and I were first married in Toronto in October 2003, the things I remember most were getting dressed, walking to the Toronto courthouse, fixing each other’s ties, holding hands while exchanging vows and the incredible weight and importance of the moment.

We married again in Palm Springs, CA, in October 2008 (we are one of the 18,000 couples who got to keep our married status) and again the same things stick with me: getting dressed, waiting for the mayor to marry us, being in the moment as we exchanged vows.

It’s a very powerful day of emotion that I never thought I’d experience. And much of my passion for marriage equality is based on how I was affected by getting married and what it meant to us.

With all due respect to Ms. Kardashian, this video comes much closer to what “marriage” is about to me.

Michael and I getting married in Toronto – October 17, 2003

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Marriage Equality Update for August 22

This week’s Marriage Equality Update is all about Minnesota, Maine, North Carolina, Colorado, and Broadway.

All four of those states have months of bitter fighting over marriage to look forward to, with millions of dollars likely to be spent on both sides.

Also, the play based on the Proposition 8 trials will have an all-star reading next month.

Watch the update for details.

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Josh Groban at the MGM Grand 2011

Saw Josh Groban last night in concert here in Las Vegas. Seriously a world class voice. Period. A great voice. No question. He clearly has a great vocal talent and a great vocal coach.

And – he’s really stepped up showing his quirky, funny side during the concert which really makes him more endearing to the audience.

My one quibble – can I use the word ‘quibble?’ – is that for his encore he comes back on stage to sing arguably his biggest hit song “You Raise Me Up” which the entire audience clearly was waiting for.

HOWEVER, Josh invited the audience to sing along with the song. Now, while I love singing along at home with Josh in my shower or living room, I personally feel there are people who paid good money to hear JOSH GROBAN sing his big hit song – not the woman next to me who took Josh up on his offer to sing along, and did so at full voice.

So instead of hearing the world-class “over a $100 dollars a ticket” Josh Groban, I got to hear “Nancy from Ohio” standing next to me sing “You Raise Me Up” full voice in my ear. Nothing against “Nancy from Ohio” – but I wasn’t there to hear her sing Josh’s hit song.   And truth be told, she was just taking Josh up on his invitation.

Please Josh – while it’s friendly and quirky to invite the audience to sing along, I believe there are a lot of folks who come to your concerts to hear YOU sing. Not “Nancy from Ohio.”

Can you imagine paying good money to see Celine Dion and the woman next to you in the audience belting out “My Heart Will Go On” full voice?  Or the guy next to you at an Olivia Newton-John concert singing along with abandon as Olivia sings “I Honestly Love You”?   Think about it.

Just my .02

Otherwise, thanks for singing like a champ.

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Video Of Rick Perry Trying To Get Out Of A Speeding Ticket

In 2000, then-Lieutenant Governor Rick Perry tried to stop a police officer from giving his aide a speeding ticket, saying, “Why don’t you let us get on down the road.” At the 1:22 mark Rick Perry gets out of the car and says “Do you need to see my ID?”

Since when does a passenger show their ID for a speeding stop? Perhaps when you’re the Lt. Governor and you think it might make a difference…

Things that make you go “hmmm…”

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First On-Screen Same-Sex Kiss from Oscar-winning “Wings”

Here is the touching scene from the Oscar-winning Wings (1927) featuring one of the first, if not the earliest surviving, on-screen same-sex kisses in film history.

The poster of the clip set this scene to the track ‘The Gift of Mortality’ from the soundtrack to “Bicentennial Man” by James Horner.

The music is a beautiful choice to support the scene.

I think it’s possible this would have never made it past censors in the 1930s – 1960s. The fact that this was made during the Roaring 20s probably helped this stay intact.

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B of A to Rick Perry: “We’ll help you out”

From ThinkProgress: A top Bank of America executive was caught on camera yesterday whispering to Gov. Rick Perry (R-TX), “Bank of America. We’ll help you out,” as the GOP presidential candidate attended New Hampshire’s Politics and Eggs breakfast. The executive has been identified by the financial website Zero Hedge as James Mahoney, Director of Public Policy for the bank.

Over the years Gov. Perry has benefited greatly from Bank of America’s financial support, and it appears that support will continue as he seeks the presidency on a platform of — coincidentally enough — bank deregulation. His gubernatorial campaigns have received $125,900 from Bank of America’s PAC and executives since 2003.

I guess it’s not all that damning except, if you watch the video, the very sly kind of quick comment Mahoney makes, then quickly moves on. It’s clearly not a “Hi, how are you? Thanks for coming” kind of comment. The physicality of the comment says more than the content.

What do you think?

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Can Michele Bachmann ‘promise’ $2 a gallon gas?

Rep. Bachmann told a crowd on the campaign trail she could promise $2/gallon gasoline as president– a claim that, according to CNN’s Joe Johns, was “completely fact-free.”

Johns went through Bachmann’s comments and followed up with experts explaining how gas prices work – they are set internationally, with the president having very little to do with it.

As for how prices can drop to that specific price Rep. Bachmann promised, Johns noted somewhat wryly that “about the only way for the price of gas to drop to $2 is for the entire global economy to tank” – something that could happen with the influence of an American president, but doesn’t really make for an appealing campaign talking point.

Johns turned then to CNN financial reporter Ali Velshi, who emphatically attacked the promise as an “entirely irrational, baseless claim, not doable.” If it did happen, he added, “the most likely way to do that is a global depression.”

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Did Rick Perry invest in a pornography company?

From PoliticusUSA.com: According to reports, Rick Perry invested as a private citizen in Movie Gallery corporation to the tune of between 5-10k according to his 1995 personal financial reports.

Movie Gallery was, at that time, the largest distributor of porn in America, and able to sell and rent regular videos for much cheaper than the competition due to their heady porn profit.

The ultra conservative American Family Association (AFA), a self-described “Christian organization promoting the biblical ethic of decency in American society begged the government to investigate Movie Gallery.

Rick Perry later passed laws to help companies like Movie Gallery avoid “frivolous” tort suits, after they were sued for allegedly violating the law by illegally distributing porn across state lines. This move was seen by some as a move to protect his investment in Movie Gallery, as he used the very word Movie Gallery used (“frivolous”) regarding the lawsuits they were fighting at the time.

Read more at PoliticusUSA.com