Matty Marz (image via official website)
Out Music: Matty Marz ‘Pretty’
Trailer For New Musical Comedy Series ‘Schmigadoon!’
Schmigadoon! premieres July 16 (promo photo via Apple TV+)
Disney World Drops Gendered Announcements, Snowflakes Whine
(photo: Zichuan Han/Pexels)
I HATE THAT. BRING IT BACK NOW!!!
— Joanne🌙 (@jo_mindy232311) July 1, 2021
So don’t go to Disneyland; no one wants haters there anyway, problem solved.
— PristineChristine (@PristineChrist4) July 3, 2021
Jo mindy gets cranky around naptime.
— Dean (@DeanKonkamo) July 4, 2021
Fauci: 99% Of Recent COVID Deaths Involved Unvaccinated People
Dr. Anthony Fauci (screen capture)
On this week's #MTP Compressed:
– Vaccine hesitancy threatens progress
– COVAX works to vaccinate world
– Americans face a “summer of reset” pic.twitter.com/TVOZ5IGYj3
— Meet the Press (@MeetThePress) July 5, 2021
InstaHunk Round-Up: Weekend Edition
https://www.instagram.com/p/CQ3SQ1UjkFA/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link Wishing everyone a happy and safe holiday weekend as the U.S. celebrates its birth. Checking in with some of our favorite Instagram accounts, we begin with Las Vegas entertainer Davide Zongoli (above) who sent his July 4th greetings from the desert. Next, David Torres shared the spirit of the Independence Day in his own unique way: https://www.instagram.com/reel/CQ6RQeXAWS0/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link Hunter Harden shared his favorite red, white and blue outfit: https://www.instagram.com/p/CQ5Vu_BteIK/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link Writer in Red spent Friday night freeing the fur: https://www.instagram.com/p/CQ1NK4yhmM-/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link Fitness guy Ramses Principe is “living not wishing” at the Éteka Slow Beach in Colombia: https://www.instagram.com/p/CQ4ZPdGDn-S/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link Max Emerson got pumped up on his new patio: https://www.instagram.com/p/CQwJgAhlB1i/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link Nyle DiMarco did what he does best: https://www.instagram.com/p/CQ3zkxLsl5R/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link Matthew Camp was being a #hornylittledevil. By the way, when visiting Camp’s Instagram account, make sure you read the hashtags… 😉 https://www.instagram.com/p/CQrNNQ9p7A6/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link Thanks to Instinct writer Corey Andrew for this live clip of Spiderman in action in NYC: https://www.instagram.com/p/CQ4023JhKOj/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link Antonio (aka fitnesspapi_) struck a pose: https://www.instagram.com/p/CQ6lqp3JTqV/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link Ignacio Pérez Rey got all kissy face with blogger Pepê Oliveira: https://www.instagram.com/p/CQ58GWHHgH4/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link Jett Hallum hung up his gas station uniform: https://www.instagram.com/p/CQtshwVsoHC/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link Steve_in_LA with his guy Tobi is a definite smile-maker: https://www.instagram.com/p/CQ1W39yB9oh/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link If you haven’t been to Palace South Beach – what are you waiting for? https://www.instagram.com/reel/CQ3j7RTJfWj/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
Happy 4th Of July 2021!
Wishing everyone a fun and frolicsome 4th of July as the country recognizes the birth of our nation. We’ve come a ways from last July 4th, when travel was way down and gatherings were – at least supposed to be – kept within our pandemic bubbles. This year, thanks to COVID vaccines, holiday celebrations can be safer and larger. Here’s some stats on how far we’ve come: • According to the CDC, 67% of U.S. adults have gotten at least one vaccine dose. Among Americans 12 and older, 64% have gotten at least one shot. • According to the results of the Axios-Ipsos Coronavirus Index a year ago versus today in regard to how folks feel about returning to pre-coronavirus lives:
June 26-29, 2020: Large to moderate risk – 70%, Small to no risk – 29%
June 25-28, 2021: Large to moderate risk – 28%, Small to no risk – 72%
• AAA projected holiday travel this weekend will be almost back to pre-pandemic levels — just 2.5% lower than in 2019. • An expected 43.6 million Americans will drive to their destinations, the highest on record for this holiday and 5% more than the previous record set in 2019. • And air travel is definitely bouncing back – TSA reports it screened more people on July 1 and 2 than it did on those dates in 2019! Have an awesome holiday and make sure you tune in for PBS’ A Capitol Fourth tonight! 
I’ll be holding down the fort at my backyard today 🙂
Video Of Officer Playing Music To Avoid Being Posted To Internet Goes Viral
Sgt. David Shelby (screen capture)
When James Burch and several activists began filming a sheriff’s deputy during a confrontation on the Alameda County courthouse steps in Oakland, Calif., this week, the officer caught the group by surprise. He pulled out his phone and started blaring Taylor Swift’s 2014 hit single “Blank Space.”
Confused, Burch asked: “Are we having a dance party?”
After he and the other activists pressed the officer about what he was doing, the deputy — identified by local media as Sgt. David Shelby — said, “You can record all you want, I just know it can’t be posted on YouTube.”
He was referring to YouTube’s automated copyright system, which detects and removes unauthorized protected material — such as a popular song — from being uploaded to the Internet.
Things didn’t quite go according to the officer’s plan as the clip has amassed over more than 848,000 views on Twitter at this writing. Plus, a version did indeed make its way to YouTube that has garnered more than 573,000 views so far. I saw the original tweet when it happened and wondered, “What is it the officer didn’t want recorded?” He didn’t seem to be doing anything wrong, so…why the digital confrontation? He made himself look shady when it’s not clear he was. #fail “The officer was trying to be a little smart, and it kind of backfired,” Sgt. Ray Kelly, a spokesman for the Alameda County sheriff’s office, told the Washington Post. “Instead of censoring it, it made it go viral.” According to Kelly, Shelby still works for the sheriff’s department but the issue has been referred to internal affairs for review. While there’s no policy prohibiting an officer from doing what Shelby did in the video, “there is a code of conduct on how we should carry ourselves in public,” Kelly said. The spokesman added that the sheriff’s office does not “condone” the deputy’s behavior. “This is not a good look for law enforcement,” Kelly said. There is a “serious lesson learned here.”
A Capitol Fourth On PBS Tonight Hosted By Vanessa Williams
Make sure to tune in tonight, July 4 at 8/7c on PBS for a special presentation of A Capitol Fourth hosted by Vanessa Williams! The acclaimed extravaganza features coverage from 20 cameras positioned around Washington, D.C., ensuring viewers are front and center for the greatest display of fireworks in the nation. Featured performances include Jimmy Buffett, Gladys Knight, Alan Jackson, Cynthia Erivo, Pentatonix, Renee Fleming, Train, Jennifer Nettles, Mickey Guyton, Jimmie Allen, Auli’i Cravalho, Laura Osnes, Ali Stroker, and Maestro Jack Everly conducting the NSO. This will mark 41 years of the PBS celebration of Independence Day. A Capitol Fourth is broadcast to millions of viewers on PBS and streaming platforms as well as to our troops watching around the world on the American Forces Network. In the four decades since the humble beginning of A Capitol Fourth, a parade of superstars — including Frankie Valli, Patti LaBelle, John Williams, Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin, Reba McEntire, Carole King, Neil Diamond, Dolly Parton, Steve Martin, Josh Groban, Gloria Estefan, Huey Lewis and the News, Little Richard, Tony Bennett, Faith Hill, Ray Charles, the Bee Gees, Kenny G, Aaron Neville, Kenny Rogers and the Muppets from Sesame Street — has offered the best in American entertainment and helped set the tone for a spectacular American birthday party. There aren’t many TV events I can honestly say I call “must see TV.” But for years I’ve celebrated this TV presentation of diversity, inclusion, class, and a healthy helping of patriotism. Tune in to your local PBS station tonight for the terrific performances and amazing fireworks.
Brazil: Governor Comes Out In Advance Of Presidential Campaign
Eduardo Leite of Brazil (image via Facebook)Eduardo Leite, governor of the southern state of Rio Grande do Sul in Brazil and a 2022 presidential hopeful, has come out as gay.
Leite, who hopes to challenge his country’s virulently anti-LGBTQ leader, President Jair Bolsonaro, in next year’s election, came out during an interview with Brazil’s top broadcaster, TV Globo.
“I’m gay — and I’m a governor who is gay rather than a gay governor,” Leite shared with viewers. “Just as Obama in the United States wasn’t a Black president, but a president who was Black. And I’m proud of this.”
Leite, a member of the center-right Brazilian Social Democratic Party (SDB), went on to say he has nothing to hide and wished that sexual orientation was a “non-issue” in Brazil.
The 36-year-old’s announcement was met with much support from the worlds of Brazilian politics and LGBTQ activism.
The Guardian reports Toni Reis, a longtime advocate of LGBTQ rights in the South American country, wrote on social media, “You’ve made history.”
“I know the pain the prison of the closet represents, particularly in a conservative environment like politics,” tweeted Fabiano Contarato, Brazil’s first openly gay senator elected in 2018. “Everyone must find the right moment for this gesture. Be happy and follow your great work: life will be lighter!”
Leite responded to the public show of support on Twitter writing, “The countless messages of care and support I am receiving make me absolutely safe. Love will conquer hate! Thank you very very much everyone!”
Amid the positive responses, however, were some who noted that Leite eventually came to publicly support Bolsonaro in his 2018 presidential campaign on the eve of the election although he disagreed with Bolsonaro on several policies including the treatment of minorities.
At the time, Leite called his decision a “democratic gesture.”
According to The Guardian, Jean Wyllys, the first out member of Brazil’s congress to fight for LGBT+ rights, noted that Leite has yet to disavow his previous support for Bolsonaro.
“This chap had many opportunities to defend the LGBT community and he didn’t,” said Wyllys. “On the contrary … he was a Bolsonarista until yesterday – and he’s probably still one today, because at no point has he retracted his support for Bolsonaro.”
“So I don’t celebrate this,” added Wyllys. “I’m not part of this team of people who are commemorating this chap coming out of the closet as if it was some great accomplishment for Brazil’s LGBT+ community.”
40 Years Ago Today In The NY Times
Forty years ago today, the New York Times published its first report on a “rare cancer seen in 41 homosexuals” – the first mention of what would become the HIV/AIDS epidemic. According to the author of the piece, Lawrence K. Altman, “gay” wasn’t yet approved by the Times‘ style manual. The cancer was Kaposi’s sarcoma, and until then it had seldom been seen in otherwise healthy young men. We all know what happened next… (h/t Boy Culture)