Oh yeah – the long haired hottie up right is Jason Mamoa, the Justice League‘s “Aquaman,” taking part in a haka with a group of other MMA fighters as a show of support for New Zealand mixed martial arts fighter and friend, Mark Hunt, in advance of his upcoming match.
The group war chant is incredibly powerful — Mamoa performed one for his Game of Thrones audition.
I’ve long admired the visceral, passionate war chants from New Zealand. You can see more here and here on The Randy Report.
From Breaking Glass Pictures, be sure to check out queer film, Handsome Devil, in limited release today in New York City and Los Angeles, and available OnDemand June 6.
Set in a boy’s boarding school, the earnest characters deliver a charming and charismatic coming-of-age story that’s reminiscent of Dead Poets Society.
Synopsis:
Ned, the bullied outsider, and Conor, the new boy and star athlete, are forced to room together at their boarding school. The boys take an instant dislike to each other, and seem destined to remain enemies until an English teacher, Mr. Sherry, begins to drill into them the value of finding one’s own voice.
This lesson, however, isn’t appreciated by everyone, particularly rugby coach Pascal, who has his own agenda and harbors some deep suspicions about the boys’ teacher.
HANDSOME DEVIL was written and directed by John Butler (The Bachelor Weekend) and stars Andrew Scott (Spectre, “Sherlock”), Fionn O’Shea (The Siege of Jadotville, The Aftermath), Nicholas Galitzine (High Strung, The Beat Beneath My Feet), Michael McElhatton (The Zookeeper’s Wife, “Game of Thrones”), and Moe Dunford (”Vikings”).
Slowing down to think on my podcast this morning, this Billy Joel track (from 1977’s Turnstiles) crept across into my brain.
I love this song like an old friend. For years, Billy would cite the song as one of his favorites.
The lyrics always feel like a calm meditation in search of a less than manic sense of balance.
And, as we “stand upon the ledges of our lives” with that maniac in the White House, I am more and more aware that “our reason coexists with our insanity.”
They say that these are not the best of times But they’re the only times I’ve ever known And I believe there is a time for meditation In cathedrals of our own
Now, I have seen that sad surrender in my lover’s eyes And I can only stand apart and sympathize For we are always what our situations hand us It’s either sadness or euphoria
So we’ll argue and we’ll compromise And realize that nothing’s ever changed For all our mutual experience, Our separate conclusions are the same
Now we are forced to recognize our inhumanity Our reason coexists with our insanity And though we choose between reality and madness It’s either sadness or euphoria
How thoughtlessly we dissipate our energies Perhaps we don’t fulfill each others fantasies And as we stand upon the ledges of our lives, With our respective similarities It’s either sadness or euphoria
Donald Trump may be ignoring Pride Month, but following in the U.S. Navy’s example, the Department of Defense issued this statement observing Pride Month.
The Defense Department is observing June as LGBT Pride Month to recognize DoD’s lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender service members and civilians. DoD Pride, an employee resource group, is hosting its annual celebration June 12 at the Pentagon.
Tolerance and Justice
“The struggles, sacrifices and successes among the LGBT community continue to shape our history and remind us to uphold tolerance and justice for all,” Anthony M. Kurta wrote in a memo announcing the observance today. Kurta is performing the duties of the undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness.
“Integrity and respect are fundamental qualities of our military and civilian culture,” Kurta noted in the memo.
Celebrating Diversity
“As we celebrate the diversity of the total force, we honor all who have answered the call to serve, and their unwavering commitment to our shared mission,” he wrote. “During the month of June, let us celebrate the diversity of the DoD workforce and rededicate ourselves to equity, dignity and respect for all.”
Tree Man’s Instagram account swelled by tens of thousands over the past few days as the tweet went viral.
He told the Daily Mail, “I had NO idea where all these people came from. Then, I started getting tons of “tree” comments, haha. I was so confused. Finally, through talking to someone in my DMs, I was linked to the [BuzzFeed] article. The Tree Man was born. It’s been super fun and hilarious to see all the memes, articles and comments this is getting!”
Check out just a sample of his hard-bodied pics from his Instagram account below:
Tyson Beckford and the Chippendales (click to enlarge)
Some news items you may have missed:
• That time you’re at the Planet Hollywood pool in Las Vegas and notice Tyson Beckford and the Chippendales just hanging… #HappyFriday
• In this sneak peek from MTV’s The Challenge: Champs vs. Pros, Olympian Gus Kenworthy gets emotional recalling lying about his sexuality while being a professional skier.
• President Trump has no time to honor Pride Month, what with being so busy proclaiming June “National Ocean Month” and “National Homeowner Month.” As such, Ivanka Trump got a whole lotta backlash when she tweeted a bubbly message about how she “celebrates” and “honors” the LGBTQ community.
• Chilean President Michelle Bachelet plans to send a bill to Congress later this year that will legalize same-sex marriage in her country. South America currently celebrates marriage equality in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, and Uruguay.
• MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough says his sources point to White House Chief Strategist Steve Bannon as the “leaker” inside the Trump administration.
Joe Scarborough: Leaks for recent Kushner-Russia stories came from Steve Bannon pic.twitter.com/ZPXslKvV6f
• A North Carolina minister is accused of kidnapping and assaulting a gay parishioner. The 23 year-old victim says he was slapped, punched, choked and screamed at for two hours in an effort to exorcise his “homosexual demons.”
• The film adaptation of Wonder Woman opens nationwide today boasting a rating of 94 percent on Rotten Tomatoes as of this writing, putting it ahead of popular super hero movies “The Avengers” (92 percent), “Guardians of the Galaxy” (91 percent), and tying “Iron Man” (94 percent). Watch the trailer below.
