Bad Boy Series: A Wild & Wacky House Warming Party – Bring Your Own Towel

Artie O'Daly and Drew Canan in the Bad Boys web series
Artie O'Daly and Drew Canan in the Bad Boys web series
L-R Artie O’Daly, Drew Canan (screen captures)

In the latest episode of Artie O’Daly’s Bad Boy web series, the wild and wacky cast of characters continue to spin out while O’Daly’s “Scott” tries to keep his footing in the middle of the insanity.

Whitney (Theresa Ryan) is hosting a house warming party in her ‘new home’ (really Scott’s house, but she keeps ignoring that fact) and everyone is waiting for ‘Bad Boy’ Jim (Drew Canan)  to arrive.

He’s apparently been waylaid by a longer than usual shower in the guest house with a buddy. You know how these things go…

Suddenly, FBI agent Calista (Alina Bock) shows up disguised as Whitney’s sister/Jim’s mom but no one seems to see through the disguise except for Scott.

Whitney: “I see your teeth grew back.” Calista: “Let’s not talk about the past. Let’s focus on the present.” Whitney: “How dare you tell me to focus when you know I suffer from rolling blackouts!” (as she takes a big swig from a bottle of wine)

Meanwhile, ‘Bad Boy’ BJ (Braden Davis) has decided to get decked out in a leather harness and snap some selfies: “I’m gonna go take thirst traps on the couch…”

Braden Davis as NJ in the Bad Boy web series
Braden Davis as BJ (screen capture)

Finally, hottie Jim shows up (in a towel thank god) and Calista’s charade looks like it might come crashing down.

But what we really want to know is: Does Daddy Scott finally hook up with Jim?

Kudos to O’Daly & company for keeping the off-kilter banter continually bouncing from character to character in fast-paced farcical fashion.

With this 15th installment, the Bad Boy series is clearly developing a loyal fanbase on YouTube. Check out my previous coverage of the web series here.

Axios: States Where COVID Has Been Deadliest

A map of where COVID-19 has been the deadliest

A map of where COVID-19 has been the deadliest
(Map: Michelle McGhee and Andrew Witherspoon/Axios)
Axios has created an interactive map showing where the pandemic has been deadliest in the US. Via Axios:

In New Jersey, which has the highest death rate in the nation, 1 out of every 406 residents has died from the virus. In neighboring New York, 1 out of every 437 people has died.

In Mississippi, 1 out of every 477 people has died. And in South Dakota, which was slammed in the fall, 1 of every 489 people has died. States in the middle of the pack have seen a death rate of around 1 in 800 dead.

California, which has generally suffered severe regional outbreaks that don’t span the entire state, has a death rate of 1 in 899. Vermont had the lowest death rate, at 1 of every 3,436 residents.

Click here for interactive version showing total deaths and ratio.

The Daily Show: ‘Best Of’ Trump Bootlicking By Lou Dobbs

The Daily Show remembers Lou Dobbs's over the top Trump bootlicking

The Daily Show remembers Lou Dobbs's over the top Trump bootlicking The Daily Show has put together this video montage remembering the highest heights of Lou Dobbs’s Trump bootlicking during the Donald’s time in office. Lou Dobbs was fired last week after Fox News was hit with a $2.7 billion defamation lawsuit by voting software Smartmatic. The lawsuit named the network, Dobbs, and his Fox colleagues Maria Bartiromo and Jeanine Pirro. Dobbs’s show was cancelled the next day. Dobbs wets himself throughout the video praising Trump as a “true leader,” the country’s “greatest” president, and a man who “has set a standard for presidents that most mortals won’t be able to beat.” Perhaps the biggest whopper of all: “You’re also the most loved and respected in history.” Folks – this is how we got to the January 6 invasion of the U.S. Capitol building. Fawning over-praise like this for a man who couldn’t even bother to read intelligence reports.

News Round-Up: February 8, 2021

Actor Russell Tovey

Actor Russell Tovey
Russell Tovey (image via Instagram)
Some news items you might have missed: • Out: Actor Russell Tovey (above) says his dad wanted him to get ‘hormone treatment’ after he came out as a means to ‘cure’ Tovey of being gay. • The Advocate: Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg has selected Arlando Teller, a gay member of the Navajo Nation, man to serve as deputy assistant secretary for tribal affairs. Teller, who was elected to the Arizona House of Representatives in 2018, resigned his seat last week to take the post at the Department of Transportation. • Pink News: Soccer legend David Beckham has signed a £10m deal to become face of Qatar, one of the most dangerous places in the world to be gay. • Revry: The queer streaming network has a whole schedule of programming to celebrate Black History Month. The six-part drama Single Record follows a talented and arrogant rapper whose record label could drop him if his next song isn’t a hit. His desperation to save his career will force him to confront his identity, sexuality and bring him to new lows that could cost him everything.

• Jerusalem Post: An Iranian cleric warned followers not to go near people vaccinated for COVID-19, claiming the vaccine turned them gay. Ayatollah Abbas Tabrizian wrote on his Telegram social-media platform: “Don’t go near those who have had the COVID vaccine. They have become homosexuals.” • Reuters: Hackers broke into the computer system of a facility that treats water for about 15,000 people near Tampa, Florida and sought to add a dangerous level of lye to the water supply. “The guy was sitting there monitoring the computer as he’s supposed to and all of a sudden he sees a window pop up that the computer has been accessed,” Sheriff Bob Gualtieri said. “The next thing you know someone is dragging the mouse and clicking around and opening programs and manipulating the system.” • CNN: Senate leaders reached an agreement Monday giving House impeachment managers and Donald Trump’s lawyers up to 16 hours each to present their cases and creating the option for a debate and vote to call witnesses — if the House impeachment managers seek it.

Biden: Trump Administration Left COVID Situation ‘Even More Dire Than We Thought’

President Joe Biden speaks with Norah O'Donnell of CBS News

President Joe Biden speaks with Norah O'Donnell of CBS News
President Joe Biden speaks with Norah O’Donnell of CBS News
In a his first sit-down interview since taking office, President Biden shared with Norah O’Donnell of CBS News that his administration was disappointed to learn that the Trump administration had far fewer doses of COVID-19 vaccine available than previously thought. “One of the disappointments was, when we came office, is the circumstance relating to how the [previous] administration was handling COVID – it was even more dire than we thought,” said the president. “They indicated there was a lot more vaccine available and it didn’t turn out to be the case.” The president went on to say he has ordered vaccine makers to ramp up production, and he’s received the ok from National Football League Commissioner Roger Goodell to use all NFL stadiums as mass vaccination sites.

Cohen Apologizes To Stormy Daniels For ‘Needless Pain’

Porn star Stormy Daniels and former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen

Porn star Stormy Daniels and former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen
L-R Stormy Daniels, Michael Cohen
For the first time, Donald Trump’s former personal lawyer Michael Cohen speaks with porn star Stormy Daniels in an hourlong chat on Cohen’s podcast, Mea Culpa. Via HuffPost:

Seeking to bury the hatchet, Cohen interviews Daniels in the latest episode of his podcast, “Mea Culpa,” in which the two commiserate over life-altering experiences with Trump and his recent departure from office.

Cohen, in keeping with the title of his program, apologizes for “the needless pain” he put Daniels through when he arranged a $130,000 payment during the 2016 presidential campaign to keep her quiet about an alleged dalliance with Trump a decade earlier. Trump has denied the affair.

“Both of our stories will be forever linked with Donald Trump, but also with one another,” Cohen tells her. “Thanks for giving me a second chance.”

Also in the podcast chat, Daniels refers to the 2008 sexual encounter with Trump “the worst 90 seconds of my life, for sure, because it just made me hate myself.” She shares that she hadn’t planned on having sex with the Donald. At one point in the tryst she apparently pondered how to escape the room, thinking “I could definitely outrun him.” Cohen has been recording the podcast from his living room in Manhattan since being released from prison last summer. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and health concerns in crowded prisons, he’s being allowed to serve out the rest of his sentence at home.

 

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Olivia Newton-John On GREASE Criticism: ‘We Need To Relax A Bit, Enjoy Things For What They Are’

International pop star Olivia Newton-John
International pop star Olivia Newton-John
International pop star Olivia Newton-John (photo: Michelle Day)

With the coronavirus pandemic impacting lives around the world and social issues like LGBTQ rights and the Black Lives Matter movement, do we really need to ‘cancel’ a 42-year-old movie musical?

The mega-successful 1978 movie musical Grease was aired over the holidays on one of the BBC channels in the U.K. and some folks took to social media to decry the film as homophobic, racist, sexist, and even ‘rapey.’

In a recent interview, international pop-star Olivia Newton-John, who played ‘Sandy’ in the film, was asked about the kerfuffle.

“I think in this particular instance, it’s kind of silly because the movie was made in the ’70s about the ’50s,” the Aussie shared with the podcast ‘A Life of Greatness.’ ”It’s fun. It’s a fun movie musical and not to be taken so seriously.”

“I think everyone is taking everything so seriously,” added the 4-time Grammy Award winner. “We need to relax a little bit and just enjoy things for what they are.”

Newton-John has previously addressed criticism that the finale of the movie is sexist when ‘Sandy’ becomes a ‘bad girl’ to get her man played by John Travolta.

“Everyone forgets that, at the end, he changes for her, too,” notes the 72-year-old.

Olivia Newton-John and daughter Chloe Lattanzi
Olivia Newton-John with daughter Chloe Lattanzi (photo: Michelle Day)

For her part, Newton-John prefers to take a more positive view of life.

In 2018, the “Physical” singer shared with the world she was battling stage four breast cancer for the third time.

But today Newton-John says she’s feeling strong thanks to treatments ranging from western medicine to ‘kinder, gentler’ plant-based medicine.

“I think every day is a blessing,” she told The Guardian in an interview. “You never know when your time is over. We all have a finite amount of time on this planet, and we just need to be grateful for that.”

That said, Newton-John isn’t ready to spend her time sitting still.

She recently released a new pop single, “Window in the Wall,” with her daughter Chloe Lattanzi that looks to connect folks, not cancel them.

The music video for the single quickly hit #1 on the iTunes Music Video chart and stayed at the top spot for over a week. Newton-John says the new track will be part of a soon-to-be released collection of duets.

Rep. Ron Wright Is 1st Member Of Congress To Die After COVID Diagnosis

Rep. Ron Wright (R-TX)

Rep. Ron Wright (R-TX)
Rep. Ron Wright (R-TX)
Rep. Ron Wright (R-TX) became the first member of Congress to die from COVID-19. He died Sunday night at the age of 67. His family and spokesperson confirmed Wright’s death Monday morning. Wright had been battling cancer. From the Dallas Morning News:

According to the statement, Wright had been keeping a vigorous work scheduled before contracting the virus. Two weeks ago Wright and his wife, Susan, were admitted to Baylor hospital in Dallas because of COVID-19 side effects.

Wright announced on Jan. 21 that he had tested positive “after coming in contact with an individual with the virus last week.” He had been in quarantine since Jan. 15 and said he would remain in quarantine until doctors cleared him to return to work.

While Wright is the first member of Congress to die from coronavirus-related causes, Rep.-elect Luke Letlow (R-LA) died last December while battling the virus, before he could be sworn into office. Letlow was 41 years old.

Super Bowl Wrap Up: Tom Brady, Face Masks , And Amanda Gorman

Poet Amanda Gorman at Super Bowl LV

Poet Amanda Gorman at Super Bowl LV
Poet Amanda Gorman at Super Bowl LV
Three quick Super Bowl bites as we move on from the terribly lop-sided event into this Monday morning: • While I’m no fan, there’s no denying Tom Brady is pretty much the best quarterback in the history of the NFL. That said, why did he have to choose to make a statement about not wearing a face mask as he entered the stadium yesterday – even as everyone around him did?  

• And speaking of ‘no face mask’…  

• But I’ll close this from the luminous Amanda Gorman who helped open the Super Bowl with “Chorus of the Captains.” https://twitter.com/latimessports/status/1358564722434580481

RuPaul, Dan Levy, Lil Nas X & More In SuperBowl LV Ads

RuPaul and friends in an ad for Paramount+ 
We’re getting ready here at Randy Report Central to watch The Weeknd concert where I hear they’ll be playing some sportsball. Of course, we like to see the big-deal Super Bowl commercials (and love the costumes the players wear), but just in case you miss it, here’s a round-up of the ads featuring LGBTQ folks. Drag star RuPaul, Grammy Award winner Lil Nas X, tennis legend Billie Jean King, and Schitt’s Creek star Dan Levy all star in ads this year. Check them out below. By the way, my dad was one of the first sports handicappers in the United States going all the way back to 1958. A major athlete himself, he really understood football, basketball and baseball, but unfortunately those sports smarts weren’t genetic. So, I have no idea who’ll win the game although I’d love to see Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs take it home just because…