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San Diego Couple Jailed In Thailand For Posting Photo Mooning Buddhist Temple

I think this kind of stupidity is pretty rare.

A gay couple who have made a small name for themselves on Instagram as “Traveling Butts” enjoy taking photos of themselves bare-assed as they travel the world

Now, their little hobby has landed them in a Thailand jail with a possible “long jail term” ahead of them.

From CBS8 in San Diego:

The San Diego couple known as Traveling Butts on Instagram has more than 14,000 followers on the social media platform. Their photos showcase themselves posing with their naked rear ends in front of landmarks across the globe.

Their most recent posts in front of Buddhist temples sparked outrage on social media after people called them ignorant and disrespectful.

The couple’s friend M.G. Perez said “They are a thing. They are hot on Instagram and on social media.”

After the pair posed in front of sacred Buddhist temples, they landed in hot water with police in Thailand.

Perez believes the two are in a Bangkok jail after seeing an alarming message on Facebook. “It says, ‘anybody have any connections with diplomats in Bangkok or know a lawyer in Bangkok?’ That was my wake up call. Like, ‘Travis, what is going?’”

Ti and Dasilva posted their location at a Bangkok police station informing their friends they might soon be arrested while pleading for help.

After one of the men wrote “I don’t know how much longer I’ll have my phone,” the couple went dark.

Of the risqué photographs Ti and Dasilva took in front of the temples, he said, “It is in no way any form of disrespect. It’s just their expression.”

Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s office has apparently been contacted for aid in regard to having the idiots freed.

No sympathy from me. When you travel abroad, you have to respect the laws and traditions of that country. Period.

Here’s the Facebook post from the Thailand government:

A gay American couple who author the Instagram page “Travelling Butts” has been arrested at Don Mueang International Airport for having taken photos showing their backsides with the respected Temple of the Dawn. A deputy spokesman for the immigration police said the charge would not be a normal public indecency charge. Instead, they would be charged with committing indecency in a place of worship, which carries a long jail term.This is a reminder that everyone should have respect for Thai religion and culture.

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Garrison Keillor Terminated By Minnesota Public Radio For “Improper Behavior”

Garrison Keillor (image via Twitter)

From USA Today:

Garrison Keillor, the former host of “A Prairie Home Companion,” says he’s been fired by Minnesota Public Radio over allegations of improper behavior.

Keillor told The Associated Press of his firing in an email. In a follow-up statement, he says he was fired over “a story that I think is more interesting and more complicated than the version MPR heard.”

He didn’t give details of the allegation. Minnesota Public Radio didn’t immediately respond to messages.

Keillor retired last year from his longtime radio show, but still produced The Writer’s Almanac for syndication.

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Squee!!! Watch The Trailer for Upcoming “Avengers: Infinity War”

Squee!!!

Excuse me as I, and the entertainment world, totally geek out over the newly-released trailer for Marvel Studios’ Avengers: Infinity War.

Bringing together just about everyone in the current Marvel cinematic universe, it’s pretty awesome.

We don’t really get to know much about plot points other than the story centers on galactic bad-guy Thanos.

“An unprecedented cinematic journey ten years in the making and spanning the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe, Marvel Studios’ “Avengers: Infinity War” brings to the screen the ultimate, deadliest showdown of all time. The Avengers and their Super Hero allies must be willing to sacrifice all in an attempt to defeat the powerful Thanos before his blitz of devastation and ruin puts an end to the universe.”

According to the press release, the film stars Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Mark Ruffalo, Jeremy Renner, Elizabeth Olsen, Anthony Mackie, Paul Rudd, Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Pom Klementieff, Tom Holland, Benedict Cumberbatch, Chadwick Boseman, Sebastian Stan, Peter Dinklage, Josh Brolin, and many, many more.

Avengers: Infinity War opens in theaters on May 4, 2018. Check out the trailer below.

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Donald Trump Says In Private That’s Not His Voice On “Access Hollywood” Video Tape

Donald Trump

Even though Donald Trump admitted to the world that it was indeed him on the now infamous Access Hollywood “Grab’em by the pussy” video clip, the Donald is now trying to convince folks in private that it might not have been him.

The New York Times reports that Trump’s habit of creating “alternative facts” goes beyond the Access Hollywood tape.

In January, shortly before his inauguration, Mr. Trump told a Republican senator that he wanted to investigate the recording that had him boasting about grabbing women’s genitals.

“We don’t think that was my voice,” Mr. Trump told the senator, according to a person familiar with the conversation. Since then, Mr. Trump has continued to suggest that the tape that nearly upended his campaign was not actually him, according to three people close to the president.

Mr. Trump’s falsehoods about the “Access Hollywood” tape are part of his lifelong habit of attempting to create and sell his own version of reality. Advisers say he continues to privately harbor a handful of conspiracy theories that have no grounding in fact.

In recent months, they say, Mr. Trump has used closed-door conversations to question the authenticity of President Barack Obama’s birth certificate. He has also repeatedly claimed that he lost the popular vote last year because of widespread voter fraud, according to advisers and lawmakers.

Mr. Trump’s friends did not bother denying that the president was creating an alternative version of events. One Republican lawmaker, who asked not to be identified, said that Mr. Trump’s false statements had become familiar to people over time. The president continues to boast of winning districts that he did not in fact win, the lawmaker said, and of receiving 52 percent of the women’s vote, even though exit polls show that 42 percent of women supported him.

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Matt Lauer Fired From The Today Show For Sexual Misconduct Allegation

Matt Lauer

Matt Lauer, has been fired from his position as host of NBC’s The Today Show after a “detailed complaint” was filed with the network’s human resources department.

From The New York Times:

“On Monday night, we received a detailed complaint from a colleague about inappropriate sexual behavior in the workplace by Matt Lauer,” Andrew Lack, the NBC News president, said in a memo to the staff.

He said the allegation against Mr. Lauer “represented, after serious review, a clear violation of our company’s standards. As a result, we’ve decided to terminate his employment.”

“While it is the first complaint about his behavior in the over 20 years he’s been at NBC News, we were also presented with reason to believe this may not have been an isolated incident,” Mr. Lack said.

Ari Wilkenfeld, a civil rights lawyer with the firm Wilkenfeld, Herendeen & Atkinson in Washington, said he represented the woman who made the complaint to NBC, but declined to publicly identify her. In a statement provided to The New York Times, he said:

“My client and I met with representatives from NBC’s Human Resources and Legal Departments at 6 p.m. on Monday for an interview that lasted several hours. Our impression at this point is that NBC acted quickly, as all companies should, when confronted with credible allegations of sexual misconduct in the workplace.

Lauer had served as the host of the morning news show since 1997.

He follows other high-profile firings such as Charlie Rose of CBS’s The Early Show and Bill O’Reilly, formerly of Fox News.

The Times piece goes on to say the newspaper spoke to the woman on Monday but she apparently was not ready to come forward publicly at that time.

Variety had been investigating reports of complaints by women regarding Lauer. After today’s news, Variety published their article. Here’s the beginning:

As the co-host of NBC’s “Today,” Matt Lauer once gave a colleague a sex toy as a present. It included an explicit note about how he wanted to use it on her, which left her mortified.

On another day, he summoned a different female employee to his office, and then dropped his pants, showing her his penis. After the employee declined to do anything, visibly shaken, he reprimanded her for not engaging in a sexual act.

He would sometimes quiz female producers about who they’d slept with, offering to trade names. And he loved to engage in a crass quiz game with men and women in the office: “f—, marry, or kill,” in which he would identify the female co-hosts that he’d most like to sleep with.

These accounts of Lauer’s behavior at NBC are the result of a two-month investigation by Variety, with dozens of interviews with current and former staffers. Variety has talked to three women who identified themselves as victims of sexual harassment by Lauer, and their stories have been corroborated by friends or colleagues that they told at the time.

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Australia: Senate Approves Marriage Equality Bill 43-12

Just two weeks after Australia’s “vote by mail” survey showed 61.6% of Aussies approve of same-sex marriage, the nation’s Senate has approved a bill that would make marriage equality a reality by a wide margin of 43 “Yes” votes to only 12 “No” votes.

The issue now moves to the House of Representatives where it is expected to pass easily.

Watch below the moment when the Senate votes were announced last night.

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News Round-Up: November 28, 2017

Some news items you might have missed: • The weather is definitely getting a bit cooler here in Las Vegas. You might need this (above) to help keep you warm, although I’m torn between the fur hat or the furry hunk 😉 • For #GivingTuesday – Facebook & The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation will be matching up to $2 million in donations to non-profits including the It Gets Better Project. Click here to donate on the official Facebook page and look for the “Donate” button. • The Warwick Rowers are back with their 2018 charity calendar! Click here to order and you’ll be helping the hunky student rowers to end homophobia in sports and work for more LGBT inclusion. Watch the teaser video below.

• England, Wales and Scotland have changed blood donation rules for sexually active gay men as of today. The “abstain from sex for a year” waiting period will now be reduced to a shorter three-month pause, which is still ridiculous. • A federal judge has denied the Trump administration’s request to delay enlistment of new trans troops beyond January 1. • My longtime friend, Obie Award winner David Drake, has been named the new artistic director of the Provincetown Theater. David is one of the most talented people I’ve worked with in the theater (The Night Larry Kramer Kissed Me; Pageant). Period. This is terrific news for the P-Town Theater. Congrats, David.

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Web Series: “The Journey Of Being Likable”

Funnyman Michael Henry has created/written/produced a new web series titled, The Journey of Being Likable.

“This is the show for people that have ever felt out of place, misunderstood, or less than,” says Henry.

“For gay people who feel underrepresented and for people who are trying to navigate where they belong in the landscape of their own community.”

Watch the trailer and first episode below.

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Trailer: “Love, Simon”

A new coming-of-age film from director/producer Greg Berlanti – Love, Simon.

The film looks to be reminiscent of those 1980s big studio, John Hughes romantic dramedies about teenagers in love.

Except for this time – the lead is gay.

Via press release:

Everyone deserves a great love story. But for seventeen-year-old Simon Spier it’s a little more complicated: he’s yet to tell his family or friends he’s gay and he doesn’t actually know the identity of the anonymous classmate he’s fallen for online.

Resolving both issues proves hilarious, terrifying and life-changing. Directed by Greg Berlanti (Dawson’s Creek, Brothers & Sisters), written by Isaac Aptaker & Elizabeth Berger (This is Us), and based on Becky Albertalli’s acclaimed novel, Love, Simon is a funny and heartfelt coming-of-age story about the thrilling ride of finding yourself and falling in love.

“No matter what, announcing to the world is pretty terrifying, cause … what if the world doesn’t like you?”

I know a few folks who might relate to this (as I raise my hand “Me! Me!”).

The film’s production team has an awesome pedigree across the board. Looking forward to seeing this.

Love, Simon arrives in theaters everywhere March 16, 2018.

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Teaser: Will & Grace “A Gay Ole Christmas” Special

Even though we have to wait until January 4 for a regular Thursday night episode of Will & Grace, NBC is “gracing” us with a special holiday episode on Tuesday, December 5.

Apparently, the fearsome foursome travel back in time to 1912 Manhattan.

Via TV Guide:

Will & Grace’s “A Gay Olde Christmas,” airing the first week of December, starts with Will (Eric McCormack), Grace (Debra Messing)), Karen’s (Megan Mullally) and Jack (Sean Hayes) wishing they could experience the New York city of old, and then by the magic of TV, are transported to 1912 Manhattan via alter egos.

Will will become Billem Van Williams, a wealthy and worldly (read: probably gay) man with exquisite taste married to Fanny Van Williams, who’ll bear an uncanny resemblance to Grace. Megan Mullally, meanwhile, is in an ironic role reversal as Karolyn O’Malley, a dirt poor woman living in a tenement; she takes in a sailor, John Patrick Mcgee (Sean Hayes) who has relationships with men only at sea. This is all right before World War I, a time of great prosperity — for some — and the episode will show how their disparate worlds intersect.

Additionally, there will be a subtle homage to Debbie Reynolds, who played Grace’s mother during the original run of the show.

Will & Grace airs “A Gay Ole Christmas” Tuesday, Dec. 5 at 9/8c on NBC.