Out singer/songwriter Matt Zarley’s new music video takes on Sara Bareilles’ masterwork, “She Used To Be Mine.”
As we all know, life is not neat, life is not a straight line.
The road may stretch out in front of us, but every now and then, we do glance at the rearview mirror:
He’s imperfect, but he tries He is good, but he lies He is hard on himself He is broken and won’t ask for help He is messy, but he’s kind He is lonely most of the time He is all of this mixed up and baked in a beautiful pie He is gone, but he used to be mine
Matt Zarley
Coming from this introspective viewpoint, Zarley finds himself weighing some past decisions.
Zarley writes:
Before I started recording, I spent several really wonderful years doing theatre in New York. When I first heard this song, it reminded me of those experiences and how close I hold them to my heart.
I miss them.
I think any of us can relate to this song and it’s message. I think most of us have regrets to an extent. I know there are times when I reflect on my life and think to myself that this is not where I envisioned myself. Not to say that I am not grateful for my life… cuz I am.
But, if I could go back and have a do-over, there are definitely some things I would change.
There are days when I really miss the guy I used to be…he used to be mine.
The guitar-driven approach to the track, with a lovely yet pensive viola at just the right time, makes a perfect frame for Zarley’s muscular vocals.
Congressional critics do not appear to have the votes to override Trump’s veto. So, as a practical matter, the administration can continue to spend billions of dollars more on border barriers than lawmakers authorized, unless and until the courts intervene.
“Today I am vetoing this resolution,” Trump said, flanked by law enforcement officials at an Oval Office event. “Congress has the freedom to pass this resolution and I have the duty to veto it.”
Trump had telegraphed his plan to proceed with additional wall spending on Thursday, minutes after the Senate voted 59-41 to block it. Twelve Republican senators joined Democrats in rejecting the president’s emergency declaration.
Trump declared a national emergency last month, after Congress authorized only $1.3 billion in border wall funding, far short of the $5.7 billion Trump had asked for. The emergency declaration allows the president to redirect funds from other accounts such as military construction to the Southern border wall.
Republican senators who bucked the president said they did so to preserve congressional control over the government’s purse strings.
The border wall project still faces a variety of legal challenges, and despite Trump’s veto, House and Senate votes against the emergency declaration could carry some weight in the courts.
Would this be a good time to remind folks that Trump lied all those times on the campaign stump when he claimed Mexico would pay for the wall?
Happy birthday, Russell Todd! (photo: James Franklin)
Some news items you might have missed:
• Belated birthday wishes to my longtime buddy, Russell Todd! I’ve known Russell since the 90s when I first moved to the west coast. Everywhere we’d go fans would remember him as ‘Dr. Jamie Frame’ from Another World, Friday the 13th Part 2, and other movie/TV projects. Totally the best guy, and yes – he is that handsome 🙂
• Traffic on the app Tumblr has dropped by 150 million page views since banning “photos, videos, or GIFs that show real-life human genitals or female-presenting nipples” on the site from December 17.
• Sadly, Netflix has announced the cancellation of its reboot of the Norman Lear sitcom, One Day at a Time. The new version, featuring a Cuban-American family, was about as good as a TV sitcom can get. The series tackled coming out, homophobia, depression, and many important topics with class and intelligence. If you have Netflix, I recommend you go catch up on the 3 seasons we did get.
• A new documentary, Mack Wrestles, chronicles the story of Mack Beggs, the trans male Texas high school wrestler who won the state’s girls champion despite wanting to wrestle boys. The film just premiered at the 2019 SXSW Conference & Festivals in Austin, Texas.
• Ray Mabus, the former Secretary of the Navy, blasted the Trump/Pence transgender military ban as a “stain on our country” saying the policy “tells our children that merit has no place, while prejudice does.”
.@DeptofDefense implementing this bigoted plan hurts the military & everything it stands for. Evidently it’s not enough to be able to do the job & be a patriot. This is a stain on our country & tells our children that merit has no place, while prejudice does. https://t.co/mCgJcUd9wR
Rannells, who shot to fame as the lead in the hit Broadway musical The Book of Mormon, shares in the excerpt details of rather unsettling encounters with a Catholic priest while growing up in Nebraska.
Using the alias ‘Father Dominic’ to refer to the priest, the Girls star explains how the priest forcibly kissed him after confession one day.
“He stood up and pulled me up with him. He hugged me tightly. I felt safe and heard and understood. Then, with unexpected force, he kissed me. On the lips. He muscled his tongue into my mouth and held the back of my head still. Then he released me and made the sign of the cross on my forehead. He smiled.”
It comes as no surprise that Rannells would spend the rest of that year avoiding the priest.
He was mostly successful in his avoidance until his mother insisted Father Dominic be invited to his graduation barbecue.
At the end of the party, the priest announced he was leaving and asked young Rannells to see him out.
Cringing at the idea of being alone with the sixty-something priest, Rannells knew what might be coming.
Standing at the door, saying what he hoped would be his final goodbyes with the priest, Rannells writes, “He grabbed me by the back of the neck and forced his tongue in my mouth.”
“I just stood there and let him,” he continues. “I didn’t kiss back, but I also didn’t move. He smiled at me and walked to his car.”
Rannells handled the moment in the best way he knew how – he went to the kitchen and “slammed a glass of wine before going back out to the party.”
The future Broadway star would ponder the kiss for some time.
“How many teenage boys have to deal with this shit at their graduation parties? Am I the only one? Or was Father Dominic just taking a tour of homes and forcing French kisses on young men throughout the city?”
Soon after, the teenager would leave the Cornhusker state and find himself (and his career) in New York City.
The actor would go on to starring roles in the aforesaid Book of Mormon as well as Falsettos, Hairspray, Hamilton, Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Jersey Boys and The Boys in the Band on Broadway. He would also make a splash in his recurring role on the TV series Girls as well as the films The Intern and A Simple Favor.
The 40-year-old says the new memoir is about “homesickness, bad auditions, good auditions, sex with the wrong person, occasionally sex with the right person (who generally turns out to be the wrong person), some unfortunate but inescapable life events on the path to adulthood, and lots of wine with friends along the way.”
I’m thinking a lot of folks will relate.
Throughout the tome, Rannells proves himself to be a deft storyteller with a sophisticated touch when it comes to humor.
Forty-nine people were killed in shootings at two mosques in central Christchurch, New Zealand, on Friday, in a terrorist attack that Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern described as “an extraordinary and unprecedented act of violence.”
• Officials said that one man in his late 20s had been charged with murder, and that two explosive devices were found attached to a vehicle that they had stopped.
• A Muslim leader in New Zealand said the attack was especially shocking as it took place around Friday Prayer. The police urged people to stay away from the mosques until further notice.
• A gunman streamed a live video of the attack on Facebook, and he appeared to have posted a manifesto online.
“You may have chosen us — but we utterly reject and condemn you.”
Jussie Smollett pleaded ‘not guilty’ in Chicago today
Actor Jussie Smollett appeared in a Chicago courtroom Thursday morning to officially plead ‘not guilty’ to 16 counts of felony disorderly conduct.
The charges stem from his claim that on January 29, during a late-night food run, he was assaulted by two men who physically beat him, put a noose around his neck, and poured an unidentified liquid on his head. Smollett alleges his assailants used homophobic and racist slurs during the attack.
The Chicago Police Department were able to track down the two men – brothers Ola and Abel Osundairo – via surveillance cameras. The two men told police they were paid by Smollett to stage the incident in an effort by Smollett to increase his salary on Empire.
Since the scandal has escalated and charges were filed against him, the TV show has written Smollett’s character out of the remaining episodes this season.
His attorney, Tina Glandian, entered the plea during the brief hearing at Leighton Criminal Courthouse, according to Chicago’s local CBS2 News.
Following the plea, Cook County Judge Steven Watkins ruled that Smollett may travel to California and New York for consultations with his lawyers as long he provides the court with 48 hours notice.
Otherwise, the 36-year-old will not be allowed to leave the state of Illinois without prior permission from the court.
The presiding Criminal Court Judge allowed cameras in the courtroom today, but Judge Watkins will have the final say as to whether future hearings will be open to media cameras.
Smollett has indicated through his lawyers that he wants the cameras in the court as a balance to what he says are ‘misinformation’ leaks. His attorneys say they want the public to see evidence as it is presented in court.
During a recent appearance on CNN with Anderson Cooper, Smollett’s defense attorney Mark Geragos claimed the Empire star has been the victim of a ‘media gang bang.’
“What is happening here is, frankly, a media gang bang of this guy of unprecedented proportions,” said the celebrity lawyer who has previously represented Michael Jackson, Winona Ryder and Scott Peterson.
He added later, “I defy anybody to find any indictment anywhere where somebody has brought 16 counts for being a victim of a hate crime.”
Smollett’s next court appearance is scheduled for April 17. Watch Geragos’s ‘gang bang’ appearance on CNN below.
UPDATE: Twelve Republican senators joined with Democrats to approve a resolution denouncing Donald Trump’s declaration of a ‘national emergency’ to gain funding for his long-sought border wall by a vote of 59-41.
12 Senate Republicans have voted Yes on disapproval resolution (vote still open): Alexander Blunt Collins Lee Moran Murkowski Paul Portman Romney Rubio Toomey Wicker
Donald Trump went on a pre-emptive Twitter rant in advance of a vote in the GOP-controlled Senate today on a Democratic resolution to block Trump’s emergency declaration in order to get funds for his beloved border wall.
In his tweet, Trump threatens to veto the resolution which would be his first use of veto powers while in the White House.
A big National Emergency vote today by The United States Senate on Border Security & the Wall (which is already under major construction). I am prepared to veto, if necessary. The Southern Border is a National Security and Humanitarian Nightmare, but it can be easily fixed!
So far, seven Republican senators have announced they will vote for the resolution – Sens. Mitt Romney, Mike Lee, Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski, Thom Tillis, Rand Paul, and Lamar Alexander.
The Hillsuggests Sens. Marco Rubio, Ben Sasse, Ron Johnson and Jerry Moran could join the list of Republicans voting against the president.
After the victim of an alleged gay bashing in Salt Lake City, Utah, caught his attacker punching him on video last month, state lawmakers found themselves under new pressure to update the state’s hate crime statute.
Upon the arrest of the suspect, Carlo Alazo, Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill told the media he would not be attaching hate crime enhancements to the charges because he felt it was “nearly impossible” for him to prove that intent under Utah’s hate crime statutes calling them “unworkable.”
“I would have to show that the person involved in criminal behavior had the intent to deny a constitutionally protected right,” Gill added, such as free speech or religious expression, which doesn’t apply in this case. “It’s so burdensome, we don’t even go to it.”
Utah’s hate crime laws apparently have never been utilized successfully in court.
Last week, the state Senate passed an updated version of the law by a vote of 18 – 11. And Tuesday night, members of the House approved the legislation by a vote of 64 – 9.
Thatcher’s bill would allow judges to increase penalties for a crime if a defendant is convicted of targeting someone based on ancestry, disability, ethnicity, gender identity, national origin, race, religion or sexual orientation. Additional classes that would be protected under the bill include age, familial status, homelessness, marital status, matriculation, military service and status as a police officer or emergency responder to the list of protected classes.
A person must first be convicted of a crime before additional penalties would apply.
The Tribunereports that Gov. Gary Herbert has signaled he will sign the final version of the bill.
“Governor Herbert appreciates the great work of the legislature in passing this important piece of legislation, which will serve as a powerful tool in providing critical protections to marginalized groups and persons,” read a statement from the Governor’s office.
Troy Williams, the executive director of Equality Utah, said the moment was nearly 20 years in the making.
“It was incredibly moving to have a body of conservative elected lawmakers vote for protections for LGBTQ individuals,” he told the Tribune.
An interesting development during the debate in the House, though, was the passage of an amendment that adds “political expression” to the list of categories that will be protected by the new law.
Rep. Karianne Lisonbee (R-Clearfield) became emotional as she shared she had been the target of “death threats” after she recently made changes to a proposed bill that would have banned so-called ‘conversion therapy’ for minors.
Lisonbee’s changes eventually gutted the bill, HB399, and lead to the main sponsor pulling his own legislation from consideration for now.
The development not only angered LGBTQ activists, but past Facebook comments by Lisonbee were brought to light in an Associate Press report where she had questioned if living a ‘homosexual lifestyle’ could lead people to suicide.
As a result of her tearful testimony, the amendment to the hate crimes bill was passed.
The bill now heads back to the state Senate to approve the changes to the bill where it’s expected to pass.
Lance Bass, the openly gay member of the boy band *NSYNC, has produced a new documentary that chronicles the behind-the-scenes story of his former manager and producer titled, The Boy Band Con: The Lou Pearlman Story.
In the 1990s, Lou Pearlman became fascinated by the success of the New Kids on the Block and set out to replicate their business model.
Beginning with the Backstreet Boys, the best-selling boy band of all time racking up over 130 records sold, the music impresario would go on to create and manage the bands *NSYNC, O-Town, LFO, Take 5 and US5.
All of those acts would eventually sue him in court for fraud and misrepresentation.
In 2008, Pearlman would be convicted of perpetuating a huge Ponzi scheme that bilked over $300 million from investors. He was sentenced to 25 years in prison, where he would eventually die in 2016 at the age of 62.
Along the way, there were also allegations (never proven) of inappropriate sexual advances to the boys of his bands.
In 2009, Rich Cronin of LFOtold Howard Stern that auditioning for Pearlman included the producer asking Cronin to take his shirt off and then massaging the singer’s bare shoulders.
When Stern asked if Pearlman ever made a sexual move on him, Cronin reportedly replied, “Eventually he did – some other dudes went for it. And if you did, he took care of you. He’d buy them cars…”
The new documentary, available on YouTube Originals, is the first time Boy Band members themselves have shared their perspective on Pearlman’s story.
Taking part in the testimonials are Lance Bass, JC Chasez, Chris Kirkpatrick (*NSYNC), AJ McLean (Backstreet Boys), Aaron Carter and Ashley Parker Angel (O-Town).
In the trailer, several of the band members express their surprise when they finally starting making money, but not nearly what they felt they deserved after selling millions of records.
Bass presented the film at the SXSW Festival in Austin, Texas, this week and sat down with the local ABC affiliate to chat on the film.
With Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation possibly coming to a close soon, the House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly (420-0) for a non-binding resolution calling for Mueller’s final report to be provided to Congress and the public.
According to NBC News, the final decision regarding the release of the report will fall to Attorney General William Barr.
Don’t count on the Republican-controlled Senate to take up the resolution anytime soon.
