Just in time for the weekend, out singer/songwriter Judah Gavra drops his latest single and music video – “Falling.”
Written with collaborator Chris Williams and produced by Gilad Markovich, the music video is directed by Frank Boccia.
Paired with Gavra’s impressive, soaring vocals, the video – like Gavra’s previous releases – is a high-end production across the board. Moody and plaintive at the outset, “Falling” takes it’s time to build to an emotional crescendo.
Gavra has performed extensively all around the world including Carnegie Hall, the finals of Israel’s Eurovision competition, and extensive musical theater credits across the U.S. in musicals like “The Full Monty”, “Aida” and “Legally Blonde.”
The track is available now on all major digital download sites like iTunes and Amazon.
I’ve previously covered the handsome and talented Mr. Gavra here.
The NBA has announced that the 2017 All-Star Game will be held in New Orleans after moving the event from Charlotte, North Carolina, in the aftermath of that state’s discriminatory, anti-LGBT legislation known as HB2.
New Orleans, announced Friday as the new location of the game, replaces Charlotte, which was set to host the game until the NBA decided last month to move it elsewhere.
Unlike several other Southern states, Louisiana has not been swept up in legislative efforts to pass laws similar to that in North Carolina — a fact Gov. John Bel Edwards has touted while lobbying the NBA to bring its All-Star weekend to New Orleans.
“We embrace our rich cultural heritage and see our diversity as a virtue,” Edwards wrote in a letter to NBA Commissioner Adam Silver in late July. “Should the NBA choose to bring the All-Star Game back to New Orleans in 2017, it will strongly reaffirm its commitment to communities that value fairness and inclusion.”
“By moving the 2017 All-Star Game to New Orleans, the NBA and Commissioner Adam Silver have sent a clear message to lawmakers in North Carolina and across the country that discrimination against LGBTQ people has consequences and will not be tolerated,” said HRC President Chad Griffin.
“New Orleans’ explicit LGBTQ non-discrimination protections will ensure all NBA employees, players, and fans who participate in the All-Star Game are protected from discrimination.
“Governor Pat McCrory and state lawmakers should use this as an opportunity to halt their assault on the people, reputation, and economy of North Carolina, and work toward replacing HB2 with commonsense non-discrimination protections. We look forward to the day when all North Carolinians can live their lives free from discrimination, and Charlotte is able to welcome back the All-Star Game.”
North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory continues to claim HB2 has had no economic impact on his state even as dozens of conventions and events have pulled out of North Carolina over the divisive legislation costing the state untold millions of dollars.
McCrory currently trails his Democratic opponent, Attorney General Roy Cooper by 7 points in the latest NBC News poll.
While Republican White House hopeful Donald Trump grandstands in Louisiana, attempting to look presidential in the aftermath of terrible flooding, Democrat Hillary Clinton urges folks to make donations to organizations who can actually help in a time of crisis and not be a “distraction.”
Baylor University, already coping with hideous reputation issues, is now facing another public embarrassment as video has surfaced showing wide receiver Ishmael Zamora beating his dog with a belt, then kicking the frightened animal.
In May, Baylor school president and head football coach were both fired after team officials failed to report complaints of allegations of violence against women by football players.
In late June, a video of Ishmael Zamora, a wide receiver for the Bears, was shared on another Baylor player’s Snapchat. The video shows Zamora abusing his dog.
Viewers can hear Zamora’s dog yelp as Zamora hits the dog with a belt. The player then kicks, yells and curses at the dog.
Former Baylor student, Shelby Ball, said she knew she had to do something as soon as she saw the video.
“I went to authorities probably about two hours after I saw the video,” Ball said. “Dogs can’t speak for themselves… I felt like something needed to be done.”
Police documents show that Ball initially went to Animal Control and the Baylor Police Department with the video of Zamora. The documents show that the school’s athletic department knew about it.
Zamora said that he was only trying to discipline his dog and not harm him.
Zamora expressed that same sentiment in a statement he released to News Channel 25.
“I lost my temper trying to discipline him,” Zamora said. “I’ve been through training with a dog trainer to help me learn new potty training tips.”
Paul Manafort, who basically replaced Donald Trump’s first campaign chief, Corey Lewandowski, has resigned from the Trump campaign after being replaced himself by Breitbart News head Stephen Bannon and Republican PR guru Kellyanne Conway.
Oh, plus that little matter of being implicated in multi-million dollar payments for lobbying on behalf of a pro-Russian Ukraine party without properly disclosing those payments.
All of these machinations come as Trump trails Democrat Hillary Clinton in virtually every national poll and in most vital swing states.
Eric Trump told Fox News Friday that Paul Manafort “did a great job with the delegates” ahead of the Republican National Convention last month, and that he resigned earlier Friday because Donald Trump didn’t want to be “distracted by whatever things Paul was dealing with.”
Manafort stepped down in the wake of a campaign shake-up, as well as revelations about his work for a pro-Russian political party in Ukraine.
The Associated Press reported Thursday that Manafort’s firm orchestrated a covert Washington lobbying operation on behalf of Ukraine’s then-ruling political party. Manafort and his deputy, Rick Gates, never disclosed their work as foreign agents, as required under federal law.
The Trumpster issued this statement:
“This morning Paul Manafort offered, and I accepted, his resignation from the campaign. I am very appreciative for his great work in helping to get us where we are today, and in particular his work guiding us through the delegate and convention process. Paul is a true professional and I wish him the greatest success.”
BREAKING: Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort resigns in wake of campaign shakeup and revelations about Ukraine work.
After days of lengthy international reporting regarding four U.S. Olympic swimmers who couldn’t seem to get their stories straight about a night on the town gone wrong, 12-time Olympic medalist Ryan Lochte has issued an “apology” for not being “more careful and candid” in how he related his version of events last Sunday night.
“This was a situation that could and should have been avoided,” Lochte said. “I accept responsibility for my role in this happening and have learned some valuable lessons.”
Lochte originally told the press that he and 3 fellow U.S. swimmers were robbed at gun point by police, but the story upon examination was not holding up.
While Lochte quickly returned to the U.S., his fellow accomplices Gunnar Bentz, Jack Conger and Jimmy Feigen were questioned by police.
Bentz and Conger were dramatically removed from their plane at the airport as they attempted to leave the country. After speaking with police, Bentz and Conger were finally allowed to leave Brazil last night.
Even as they made their way home, an attorney for the two told the press, “They did not make any untruthful testimony. They did not lie in their statements.”
Feigen has apparently agreed to make a $10,800 payment in order to be allowed to leave the country later Friday, his lawyer said.
All in all, this has been a silly mess begun by a drunk 32 year old frat boy, and then perpetuated by police officials upset their city’s reputation had been besmirched.
Former President Bill Clinton told Clinton Foundation staffers today that in the event that Hillary Clinton is elected president, the foundation will no longer accept foreign or corporate donations.
Former President Bill Clinton tells staff members on Thursday that it will also hold its final Clinton Global Initiative meeting in September in New York, regardless of the outcome of the November election.
The former president made the announcement in an afternoon meeting with foundation staff, according to participants who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity ahead of the formal announcement.
Bill Clinton said if Hillary Clinton wins the White House, the family’s foundation would only accept contributions from U.S. citizens and independent charities.
According to the Clinton Foundation website, the organization addresses many issues including: improving global health, increasing opportunity for girls and women, reducing childhood obesity and preventable diseases, creating economic opportunity and growth, and helping communities address the effects of climate change.
Sometimes, as I’ve traveled overseas, I’ve been troubled by that notion, of the assumption of the Ugly American. I’ve thought it a cartoon, a caricature, whose time was surely over.
And then, sometimes, you see someone like Ryan Lochte open his mouth.
And when you hear what comes tumbling out, it all makes perfect sense.
That’s the worst part of what Lochte and his stable of stumble-bumbling swimmer pals have done the past few days, now that it’s apparent that whatever might have happened to them late one night — actually, early one morning — in Rio, it wasn’t exactly the way Lochte described it the first time around.
In fact, it seems apparent that Lochte and his cohorts in chaos — Jack Conger, Gunnar Bentz and Jimmy Feigen, all swimmers representing the US in a decidedly different way than Katie Ledecky and Michael Phelps did — were using the old “robbed-at-gunpoint” chestnut as cover for what was apparently a gas station encounter with a security guard and, quite hilariously, a bathroom door.
[snip]
The Ugly American is alive and well in 2016 thanks to this dope. Thanks for that, Ryan. Now don’t let the bathroom door hit you on the ass on your way to Palookaville.
I hadn’t seen the opening of The Rookies probably since the show aired from 1972-1976.
Looking at it now, three things immediately jump out at me that I’d never noticed:
• Check that famous Police Academy shot – same one used in the original opener for Charlie’s Angels
• Speaking of Charlie’s Angels, Rookies cast member Kate Jackson went on to big-time stardom with that mega-hit from the 1970s
• And one more Kate Jackson connection – Rookies cast member Michael Ontkean starred as Jackson’s husband in the 1982 “coming out” pic Making Love.
That flick was probably the first mainstream portrayal of gay life I’d ever seen. I can remember like it was yesterday sitting in a movie theater with my freshman college roommate, Matthew. Neither of us had come out yet, and the silence driving home that night was ripe.
