Politics, pop culture and entertainment news of interest to the LGBTQ community
NBC News anchor Lester Holt (screen capture)When The Randy Report began in 2011, I used to have the news on throughout the day. NBC News, ABC News, CBS News, CNN, MSNBC – yes, even Fox News – because I wanted to stay up-to-date on all the breaking news.
But over the years, a constant stream of news became pretty heavy when you consider what’s happened in the US in the past several years. So… Continue reading “My Favorite Thing Today”
My favorite thing today – writer and filmmaker Leo Herrera hits the bullseye with his poem “Unmistakable Softness,” read by Jake Shears. Only two minutes, and so spot on. Continue reading “Unmistakable Softness By Leo Herrera – My Favorite Thing Today”
(stock image via Depositphotos)I recently came upon a Twitter thread from 2019 that literally made me stop and catch my breath.
On March 4, 2019, one Twitter user asked the question: “What is the kindest thing a stranger has done or said to you?”
Several stories were posted, but this one, from Joe in Chicago, stood out for obvious reasons.
A phone call to an LGBTQ book store from a confused young man results in a tribal instinct to protect by taking ‘that call.’
Oh God I can’t even tell this story and not cry.
I used to manage an LGBT bookstore, when bookstores were still a thing. One night, a caller says he thinks he might be gay and is considering self-harm. We were not a crisis center!
But as long as we’re talking, he’s safe, right?— Joe (@TweetChizone) March 4, 2019
So I talk to this guy and I answer questions, and I try to be encouraging and I’m maybe sounding a little frantic and I’m definitely ignoring the 4-5 customers in the store, and this angel of a woman puts her hand on my shoulder and asks for the phone.
“My turn,” she says.— Joe (@TweetChizone) March 4, 2019
And SHE, this 50-something lesbian talks to this stranger on the phone. And a LINE FORMS BEHIND HER. Every customer in that store knows that call, knows that feeling, and every person takes a turn talking to that man.
That story comforts me so much to this day.— Joe (@TweetChizone) March 4, 2019
Wow. There are so many good folks out there. Let us not forget that because it keeps you going in times like these.
— Judy Howard, Esq 😷 🇺🇸 (@JudyHallHoward) March 5, 2019
Just found this heartwarming thread. Indeed comforting and brings hope for humanity. 😭❤️
— Henrik Perälä (@henrikperala) March 17, 2021
This fills my heart. ❤️
— Marla Erwin 🏳️🌈 #BanTheGOP (@marlaerwin) March 14, 2021
So I saw this post on BuzzFeed and I screenshotted it & sent it to everyone I know. I cry every time I read this story and it lets me know that this world, it’s going to be ok. There is more good than bad. Thank you a million times over for sharing this story!!
— Hospitalist Prime (@skrishnan37) March 17, 2019
Of all the things the Internet has done for the LGBTQ community, the biggest boon is suicide prevention. Queers can’t say anything online that looks the least bit like they want to hurt themselves without a flock of people showing up to help them through the moment.
— Reconstructionist_Reconnaissance (@RealArtisans) March 7, 2019
Just in case you or anybody else needs this info. Plus, here’s the link to the online chat- https://t.co/1Wqmm6h1VX pic.twitter.com/ZLLpEp2JQR
— Awesomesauce Me (@Awesomesauce_Me) March 5, 2019
Tom McGovern (screen captures)My favorite thing today because this quick video made me laugh out for reals…
Funnyman and songwriter Tom McGovern shared this over the weekend after pondering a lyric from John Mellencamp’s 1980s hit “Jack and Diane.”
McGovern sings the song using the one line: “Suckin’ on a chili dog”
It doesn’t hurt that he’s cute, too :
#funny
Jack and Diane but all of the lyrics are “suckin’ on a chili dog” pic.twitter.com/p0w7w0hDTV
— Tom McGovern (@tommcgovern27) February 12, 2021
My favorite thing today 🙂
Sometimes in life, things don’t work out …
Take a break and try some humour
😁#WeekendWisdom pic.twitter.com/8Sup8cC6y0— Geetima Das Krishna (@GeetimaK) July 25, 2020
Tony Award winner Bebe Neuwirth (Sweet Charity, Chicago the Musical) retweeted this on Twitter and it’s my favorite thing today.
Check out how this adorable little girl and “beast mode” daddy get in their stay-at-home workout.
#ColorMeImpressed
“Beast-mode.”
Check out this daddy and his baby girl during the lockdown.
I’m here for this.🌎❤️pic.twitter.com/Pk1GXNx1sS
— Rex Chapman🏇🏼 (@RexChapman) May 3, 2020
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| Jack Higgins approaches the stage to accept his diploma |
When Jack Higgins took to the stage to accept his high school diploma, he put his fingers in his ears expecting to hear cheers and applause.
Instead, he heard silence.
CNN reports that Jack has a severe form of autism and is sensitive to noise. After eight years in his high school’s program for students with cognitive, learning or behavior challenges, he was ready to graduate on June 20.
His parents wanted him to participate in the ceremony, but they were concerned that he would be overwhelmed sitting for hours in a large auditorium surrounded by hundreds of people.
Principal Lou Riolo, principal of Carmel High in Putnam County, New York, had an idea: ask everyone to sit in silence as Jack approached and accepted his diploma.
But could high schoolers, caught up in the excitement of graduating, be trusted to stay silent?
Accompanied by his two brothers and school aide Rob Ancona, Jack approached the stage with his fingers in his ears, having practiced for weeks to handle the loud noises.
Instead, he received a spontaneous, silent standing ovation.
“The students were amazing,” Riolo told CNN. “They are a class act and superseded expectations. For example them rising to their feet after Jack received his diploma was them. It was not preplanned and no one told them to act like that that.”
“I have been lucky and blessed to see some really remarkable things in my 31 year career but this so far has to be the most incredible,” added the principal.
“But as much as the students rose to the occasion so did Jack,” gushed Riolo. “Since Jack is very limited verbally, how overwhelming was it for him with a large crowd and expectation that it would be loud?”
“It was so brave of him to take that walk which must have seemed like forever and he did it with grace, class and strength.”
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| Students giving Jack a silent standing ovation after receiving his diploma |
From CBS’s Sunday Morning: “The Wow Concert”
It was an unusual outburst for a classical music concert: an audience member shouted out “Wow!” at the very end of Mozart’s “Masonic Funeral Music,” performed by the Handel and Haydn Society in Boston. The group’s president and CEO, David Snead, was determined to find out who had broken audience protocol in such a forthright way. The answer to his query proved very surprising, as Steve Hartman discovered.
Wait for it…
(h/t theOUTfront)
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| (image via Unsplash/BenKlea) |
My favorite thing today.
Maybe even “year to date.”
My Twitter friend, Jude, pointed up this post (via a Facebook page) from an anti-gay hater about how being gay isn’t natural, blah, blah, blah…
My first instinct was to point out that ‘nature’ doesn’t segregate us. Nature puts us exactly where we should be, and all is right with the world.
Plus, straight people make gay babies, so, there’s that.
But it turns out there are people far more fun than me.
Check out these responses. It gets sooooo good! It looks like a lot to read, but I promise it’s worth it.
