Here’s a video message from wowlebrity lady duo Damiana Garcia and Deven Green, with a special guest appearance by glamazon wowlebrity Ridge Gallagher, helping you ring in the New Year for 2016! Pop open that bottle of bubbly, and join these gal pals for all the fun. HAPPY NEW YEAR 2016, BABY!!!!
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Do you hate New Year’s Eve? Do you loathe standing in a room full of drunks, making awkward conversation with strangers? Whether you’ve been invited to a strip club, house party, or “girls’ night out” this New Year’s Eve, John Oliver has excuses ready to help you get out of your social commitments.
“New Year’s Eve is like the death of a pet,” he says. “You know it’s going to happen, but somehow you’re never really prepared for how truly awful it is.” (via The DW)
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Oh yes honey! The HERstory-making RuPaul’s DragCon is nominated for Con Of The Year! Fans of DragCon can vote daily… so VOTE! And vote OFTEN! Watch out, ComicCon, Anime Expo, and Star Trek Convention… we’re coming for you!
RuPaul’s DragCon is by far the most fabulous convention OF ALL TIME! If you don’t believe me, look at these GIFs!
If you haven’t gotten your tickets for RuPaul’s DragCon 2016… GET THEM NOW!
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One last #WOWBestof2015 post! If you read the WOW Report, you know what’s up when it comes to good music for the most part, right? I mean, who am I to be telling you what you should be listening to? I’m sure most of you could introduce this pop-loving princess to a new album or 10 (and please do on WOW’s Facebook page!) Regardless, these are my picks for albums you may have looked over but should give another chance.
Honorable Mention: Selena Gomez – Revival
I’ve been a huge fan of Selena Gomez the pop star since her first album, Kiss & Tell, with her “band” Selena Gomez & the Scene. Sure, her early stuff was basically teeny-bop to the nth degree, but she matured with every album and my inner tween loved every minute of it. Until this album. On my first listen I hated it. But since then, it’s grown on me with every spin. Enough so that I put it on this list. Get Revival on iTunes.
Everyone always told me I would love Grimes; I just never really listened to her music. That changed this year with her newest album, Art Angels, with its lead single “Flesh without Blood.” It blew me away! If any of her past albums are like this one, I’m going to be spending a lot of money on iTunes in 2016 catching up. Get Art Angels on iTunes.
6) Courtney Barnett – Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit
I have to admit I only recently discovered Courtney Barnett in the past couple of weeks. Her album was released in March to critical acclaim, and rightfully so! Her big single “Pedestrian at Best” sounds like a cross between namesake Courtney Love, “If It Makes You Happy”-era Sheryl Crow, and The Breeders. In other words, ’90s bliss in 2015. Get Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit on iTunes.
I LIVED for Hilary Duff as Lizzie McGuire back in the day on the Disney Channel, and “Come Clean,” which was the theme song to Laguna Beach, was MY SHIT. Fun fact: I once got a perfect score singing that song on some PlayStation karaoke game. Anyway, who even knew Hilary was planning on doing the singing thing anymore. I thought she was having fun being a mom and would stick to acting. She is, after all, on Younger on TV Land, and I’ve heard it’s really good. Lucky us that she decided to release another album, my favorite of hers ever! It’s super poppy, and the girl has NEVER looked better. She better work. Get Breathe in. Breathe out. on iTunes.
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January 1, 1933– Joe Orton:
“To be young, good-looking, healthy, famous, comparatively rich & happy is surely going against nature.”
If you have ever been the recipient of an email or letter of outrage from one, Edna Welthorpe, I suppose I must apologize, which is not the easiest thing for me to do. Edna, who lives in the ironically named Boring, Oregon, is the stolen alter-ego of playwright, Joe Orton, one of my favorite figures from the 20th century. In the 1950s, Orton created Edna Welthorpe & made her the guardian of public morals. Orton used the priggish Edna’s letters to goad those in authority into revealing their own innate idiocy.
Orton was not above writing letters criticizing his own plays in order to generate controversy & hence, publicity. I took up Edna’s personality in the summer of 2012, when I found myself jobless for the first time in 45 years & with time on my hands I began to write letters & emails to publishers, film studios, & theatre companies complaining of homosexual content. My Edna Welthorpe wrote a letter to Elle Décor magazine in September 2012 outraged that the publication featured “The residences of sodomites… can you just imagine the fluids on their walls?” My Edna also writes to guys on Craigslist, critical of the furnishings in the background of their dick shots in the Men Seeking Men personals. If you ever received one, please know that I did what needed to be done.
If you don’t know or understand Orton’s place in Theatre History, as a jumping off place, use the brilliant Stephen Frears’ film Prick Up Your Ears (1987), with an eerie portrayal of Orton from Gary Oldman, along with inspired work from Alfred Molina, Vanessa Redgrave, Wallace Shawn. It is based on the terrific biography of Orton with the same title by John Lahr, The New Yorker drama critic. The gay British playwright Orton is an incredibly important figure in queer literature. He is perhaps the finest writer of farce in the 20th century, a great stylist, in the tradition of Noël Coward, Harold Pinter & George Bernard Shaw.
He was born John Kingsley Orton to working-class parents in the East Midland of England. After joining several local theatrical companies, mostly playing insignificant roles, Orton took speech coaching to get rid of his lisp & his Northern English accent. He had been a student at a business college but he wanted to be an actor & auditioned for & was admitted to the Royal Academy Of Dramatic Arts in 1951.
Orton’s move to London was a pivotal moment in his life, the beginning of his real career as an actor & playwright, & his introduction to a fellow RADA student named Kenneth Halliwell, who became his mentor & his lover. Halliwell encouraged Orton to read & study the world’s great literature, & he had a strong influence on the development of Orton’s creative abilities.
Orton found work as an actor & stage manager for several years. He & Halliwell worked together on a novel, The Boy Hairdresser (1960) that failed to find a publisher. Finding no one to take their work seriously, the couple amused themselves with a series of hoaxes. Orton created his alter ego Edna Welthorpe, a snobby senior citizen. He later revived her to stir up controversy about his plays.
The couple also had a hobby of humorously defacing books borrowed from public libraries & then returning them in their altered state. They used plates from art books to decorate their tiny apartment, covering every inch in pictures, & they altered books by adding dirty photographs, surrealistic collages of musclemen & kittens, & outrageous pornographic rewritten copy to the book’s dust jacket flaps. Orton & Halliwell were eventually caught, arrested & charged, & sent to prison for 6 months in 1962. When the police raided their flat, they found thousands of loose plates & hundreds of stolen books.
After their release, Orton began to consider himself an author, & worked on his own novel Head To Toe (published posthumously in 1971), & writing his own plays. In 1964, the BBC produced Orton’s radio play The Ruffian On The Stair. It was then substantially rewritten & produced for the stage in 1966.
Orton loved the attention from the good reviews & began to pour out new plays. Entertaining Mr. Sloane found its way to theatre agent Peggy Ramsay who had it produced in 1964. Audiences were both shocked & amused. The reviews ranged from praise to outrage.
Entertaining Mr. Sloane lost money, but gay playwright Terence Rattigan, whose own works were strictly conventional, invested in it, & the play was transferred to a theatre in London’s West End winning rave reviews & several awards. Within a year, Entertaining Mr. Sloane had productions in NYC, Spain, Israel, & Australia, as well as being made into a film.
Orton’s greatest play was Loot (1964), a crazy parody of detective fiction, & one of darkest farces. It mocked the establishment’s notion of death, the police, justice, religion, & justice.
The Beatles were fans & engaged Orton to write a screenplay, Up Against It, for them to be directed Richard Lester.
As Orton a more famous, controversial figure in the world of London Theatre, Halliwell, an odd, withdrawn man, grew increasingly alienated & distraught, largely because of the continual rejection he faced as both a writer & a visual artist, & because of his poor self-image as an older, heavier, & bald companion to the boyish, hot Orton.
On August 9, 1967, Orton was bludgeoned to death in his sleep by Halliwell, who was found naked in the middle of their one room flat. His hands, chest & head were covered with Orton’s blood. He had swallowed 22 Nembutal pills, dying several hours before Orton, whose sheets were still warm when the police arrived.
The note on the desk in Halliwell’s writing read:
“If you read his diary all will be explained. K.H. PS: Especially the latter part.”
The last pages of the diary were missing.
Orton’s plays continue to be produced at theatre companies around the world. Halliwell’s single play remains unproduced. All 3 novels that he co-wrote with Orton remain unpublished.
In delicious irony, the defaced & altered books have recently been given gallery shows, one at the library that they were borrowed from.
I rather idolize Orton, except for that whole murder thing. His writing is anarchic, outrageous, & still shocking, which is inspiring to me. Today, I am reading The Joe Orton Diaries, collected & edited by Lahr.
“The kind of people who always go on about whether a thing is in good taste invariably have very bad taste.”
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Natalie Cole, who overcame the long shadow of her famous dad, Nat “King” Cole, as well as substance abuse, has died. She was 65. According to a statement from her family, Cole died last night at Cedar Sinai Hospital in L.A.
“due to complications from ongoing health issues.”
Sisters, Timolin Cole and Casey Cole, and son, Robert Yancy, said in the statement,
“It is with heavy hearts that we bring to you all the news of our Mother and sister’s passing. Natalie fought a fierce, courageous battle, dying how she lived … with dignity, strength and honor. Our beloved Mother and sister will be greatly missed and remain unforgettable in our hearts forever.”
The daughter of Nat “King” Cole built a chart-topping career with hits such as This Will Be, Inseparable and Our Love. She fought health problems for years and received a kidney transplant in 2009 after developing hepatitis.
Cole won nine Grammy Awards, including Album of the Year and Record of the Year in 1992 for Unforgettable … With Love, a virtual duet made with the recordings of her late father. It included versions of some of his best-known songs, including That Sunday That Summer, Too Young and Mona Lisa.
Nat “King” Cole died of lung cancer in 1965 at age 45. Natalie was just 15 at the time and Cole was already a huge star in the music industry when Natalie was born to the R&B legend. Her first album, 1975’s Inseparable, won two Grammys — one for best new artist and one for best female R&B vocal performance for the hit This Will Be (An Everlasting Love).
Watch her sing with her dad.
(via NBC News)
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Did you have too much to drink last night? Or nothing at all? Well, a woman in upstate New York has a high blood alcohol level whether she drinks or not. A drunk-driving charge against the woman was dismissed after doctors proved she suffers from a rare condition called “auto-brewery syndrome.”
The woman was pulled over for erratic driving and showed to have a blood-alcohol level of 0.33 percent, which is well over the legal 0.08 percent. She claimed not to have consumed enough alcohol to be drunk and to prove it she started having doctors test her. Her lawyer arranged two nurses and a physician’s assistant to monitor her for a full day and then retest her.
“At the end of the day, she had a blood-alcohol content of 0.36 percent without drinking any alcoholic beverages.”
She also used a breath test kit that showed every night for over two weeks she had a blood-alcohol level of about 0.20 percent despite not drinking ANY booze. Her body really does use high-carbohydrate foods to create alcohol. Her lawyer said,
“She had no idea she had this condition. Never felt tipsy. Nothing.”
The DUI charges were dismissed this December. She is now free to drive with no restrictions but plans on making some changes to her diet. It’s January 1. Don’t we all. (T/Y Tad; via The Guardian)
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Yes, the future really WAS something that, collectively, the world used to envision and fantasize about. Take a look at these images! In the movies, in fashion, in pop culture, in science and all over the press we once imagined what the future would be like; all freaky and new and cool! (Nobody envisioned a future of looking down at our dumb phones and tripping over curbs…. but btw, those stupid smart phones accomplish about half of all that future envioning and dreaming in the palm of your hand.) Now the fashion we wear is pretty dull and our closets, cars and our interiors look more or less like they did 20 years ago. The most popular space stories (Star Wars notwithstanding) are about being left behind, looking for a new planet or finding something TERRIFYING out there. Yeah, we were (and are) scared of the future too.
Well, the future is here and it looks kinda bleak, if you ask most people. What happened to that dreaming of a better tomorrow we used to talk about? We once sold it to our kids too. The talk seems to always be about how the crappy future is that we are leaving them. We can’t even agree on what the future might look like. (With climate change –which half of the country seems to dismiss entirely– it all seems kinda iffy.) Well, I say, let’s get back to that optimism of the future past. My New Years greeting for all my pals is this digital composite to the left. I give it to you, as well. Here’s wishing you a SWEET ’16 and the wide-eyed optimism of a 50s teenager, where ANYTHING was possible. It still is.
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Natalie Cole died last night at Cedar Sinai Hospital in L.A. She was 65.
Her first album, 1975’s Inseparable, won two Grammys — one for best new artist and one for best female R&B vocal performance for this hit, This Will Be (An Everlasting Love).
What a talent, gone too soon. Watch this star shine. And then you can watch RuPaul’s Drag Race contestants DiDa Ritz and The Priness lip sync for their lives when Natalie Cole was a guest judge on Season 4.
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Here’s one of your last chances to get a frock, a sparkly choker, or a feathered bolero jacket from iconic NYC store Patricia Field, before it closes for good. As we previously reported, the Sex and The City stylist is closing her legendary boutique after 50 years. Starting tomorrow (January 2) at 11am, every item will be 50% off…yes, that means EVERYTHING…including original House of Field samples, David Dalrymple one-offs, Larry Tee’s Tzuji and wearable art by Scooter LaForge. Get there early, and grab up a piece of NYC history! Patricia Field, 306 Bowery bet Bleecker & Houston Sts, NYC, 212-966-4066
“I’ve enjoyed the game … but I’m getting tired,” the 74-year-old fashion icon told the Daily News. “I want to open my social life back up, and go to the gym for a swim every day. I can’t do normal things anymore, and I’m feeling it. I know that my clients are going to be sad, because they come in and tell me that there’s no store like this in the world,” she admits, “but I’ve gotta watch out for my health and myself.”
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Dida Ritz and The Princess lip sync for their lives to Natalie Cole‘s “This Will Be (An Everlasting Love)” for RuPaul, Michelle Visage, Glee‘s Amber Riley and the “Unforgettable” Natalie Cole herself during the third episode of season 4 of RuPaul’s Drag Race. #RIPNatalieCole
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Haines with Anita Page (1926)
January 2, 1900– William Haines:
“One could be forgiven for illiteracy, but never for lack of good taste.”
Check out the great biography Wisecracker: The Life Of William Haines: Hollywood’s First Openly Gay Star (1998) by the great chronicler of Hollywood history, William Mann. Haines’ story is simply delicious.
As Billy Haines, he was one of MGM‘s biggest stars of the late 1920s, playing cocky yet sympathetic wise guys in popular films like Brown Of Harvard (1926). In the early 1930s, Haines was the number one male box-office star, although few remember him for his film work now. He was a talented, handsome, assured, romantic leading man. Off-screen, he was gay, way gay, openly gay.
Haines’ story remains particularly intriguing because he took on Louis B. Mayer & the MGM brass by refusing to act the part of a straight guy for the studios’ publicity departments. He chose to be open about his partner with a certain disregard for fame & fortune.
For the film-going public, Cary Grant & Randolph Scott played coy with their relationship. When his openness spelled ruin for his acting career, Haines simply switched careers & became even more rich & famous as the interior designer of choice for Hollywood stars. Haines managed to remain in the spotlight without ever having to stand before the cameras again.
Haines had never set out to be a movie star or an interior designer. He was a smart, appealing young man with talent for grabbing each opportunity that presented itself. He lived by his wits, always seeming to make the right moves. He managed to reach the very apex of success in 2 difficult careers for which he had no training.
When Haines was just 14 years old, he ran away from small town in Virginia & ended up, as so many resourceful boys do, in NYC. A tall, exceedingly handsome young man, he found an older gentleman to help him make ends meet. He lived in an apartment in Greenwich Village where he became friends with Archie Leach, who would later change his name to Cary Grant, & young costume designer Orry-Kelly.
With his All-American good-looks, Haines became a model. He sent his photograph to Producer Samuel Goldwyn’s New Faces Of 1922 talent contest & won. After a screen-test followed, Haines moved to Hollywood, where he was given good roles in popular silent films. He was a much bigger star than his BFF Joan Crawford. Haines appeared in more than 50 films, & was the first MGM star to have a speaking role.
In the crazy 1920s & early 1930s, there was a rich gay subculture in Hollywood. This was before the Hay’s Production Code & before studio executives’ intimidation led to the establishment of the Hollywood closet, an institution that runs strong to this day. With the gossip about his love life threatening to ruin Haines’ leading man image, Mayer, MGM’s powerful studio chief, gave him an ultimatum: lie about his homosexuality & get married, or lose his contract. Haines refused. He never worked in films again.
Haines dropped the Billy, renamed himself William Haines & as easily as he became a top star, he became the town’s top interior designer. His first client was his pal Joan Crawford, but others soon followed: Claudette Colbert, Jack Benny, George Burns & Gracie Allen, Carole Lombard, William Powell, Lionel Barrymore, Marion Davies, Douglas Fairbanks, studio head Jack Warner & gay director George Cukor. His social standing was decidedly A-list. He worked for & socialized with Frank Sinatra. Ronnie & Nancy Reagan were his frequent guests at his lavish home.
In 1969, he designed the interiors of Winfield House in London, the official residence of the American Ambassador. That commission brought Haines international acclaim & clients from around the world.
Self-taught, Haines offered an alternative to the fashionable Art Deco interiors that were made ever trendier by the films of his era, & gave birth to the California Style still celebrated in the 21st century. The look became known as Hollywood Regency & represented a contrast to the stark minimalism of the modernist movement. With roots in 19th century England, Haines’ style combined English & French Regency, & Greek Revival, with the glamour of Old Hollywood. Hollywood Regency is the very opposite of my house, which owes it look mostly to squatter shacks, camp cabins, beach cottages, & boys’ forts.
His career lasted until Haines left this world in 1973. William Haines Designs remains in business to this day, with main offices in West Hollywood & showrooms in NYC, Denver & Dallas. His original furniture designs are still produced for the top end design trade.
Still, I admire that beginning in 1926, when Haines lived openly as a couple with Jimmy Shields, a movie extra. Haines refused to give up Shields for the sake of his film career & their relationship lasted until Haines’ passing. That was 50 years, together through it all. Crawford called them “The happiest married couple in Hollywood”.
Haines was taken by that damn cancer when he was 73 years old. A few weeks later, the grief-stricken Shields put on Haines’ pajamas, took an overdose of sleeping pills, & slipped away in his sleep at the beautiful Hollywood Hills house that they shared. He left a note that read:
“Goodbye to all of you who have tried so hard to comfort me in my loss of William Haines, whom I have been with since 1926. I now find it impossible to go it alone, I am much too lonely.”
Their ashes are interred next to each other at Woodlawn Memorial Cemetery in Santa Monica. Haines has a star on The Hollywood Walk Of Fame in front of The Roosevelt Hotel, site of the first Academy Awards ceremony in 1929.
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Irishman Allan Dixon (who lives in Australia) seems to have mastered the art of selfie taking with critters. These pics of him with various species has blown up worldwide since Christmas. He seems like a very earnest guy, not to mention cute. From his Facebook;
Wow, it’s been an interesting few days. I woke up yesterday and my phone exploded with notifications full of nice messages from all over the globe.
For two years I took photos with animals in various locations. It was something funny I did with no intention of it ever going somewhere.
Start working on something you like. Find people that need help in that area. Showcase how you can help. Brainstorm, innovate, help and repeat the cycle.
He’s also a daredevil. Dixon used to work for Tourism Australia, but is now trying his hand at recording crazy stuff for his YouTube channel, 360 Thrill. Check out some of his insane videos here.
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You didn’t think I wasn’t going to chime in with my favorite things, right? I mean, if everyone else is giving their 2 cents then I should, too. And you know what else everyone says? They say, “make your list an odd number! People love odd numbers!” But you know what? I’m round, at least for the beginning of 2016, so I like the number 8. It’s divisible by 16, and it kind-of rhymes with Blake. KIND-OF. So, these are 8 of my favorite things from 2015. #WOWBestof2015
I haven’t installed mine yet because the batteries were NOT included, but I’m sure it’s a game changer. I only wonder why they didn’t call it the IllumiPotty?
Working here at World of Wonder is a whole lot of things, but one thing it IS NOT is boring. Every year seems to get a little better, and 2015 was a freaking BANNER YEAR with the 1st annual RuPaul’s DragCon! Next year is guaranteed to be BIGGER & BETTER. Get your tickets for RuPaul’s DragCon on May 7 & 8, 2016 NOW!
Check out my post on my favorite albums of 2015. Did I miss any?
I’m a candle addict. And these are my latest obsession. They have the best colors, and the scents to reflect them. Not too weak, and not too strong. I love the simple design, and I get mine at Marshalls or TJ Maxx. But you can get them online. My favorite? Wild Honey Nectar. It reminds me of this candle I got working this gifting suite for the 2007 Oscars at the Roosevelt Hotel. My first brush with celebrity? Carrot Top. He wasn’t at the gifting suite. He just appeared at the top of a staircase while we were loading in.
5) Precinct in Downtown Los Angeles
My FAVORITE new bar in Los Angeles is Precinct in DTLA! Now I have THREE favorite bars including Faultline & Eagle LA!
6) Society6.com
The options are ENDLESS. If this isn’t proof, I don’t know what is.
I had ADT since I moved in to my house in 2012, but switched to AT&T Digital Life because they offered hi-tech cameras with night vision, locks for your doors, climate and light control in your home that can ALL be controlled remotely from your smart phone through an app, AND a tablet that acts as a second smart keypad for the low price of $55 a month plus equipment. When I ordered, they were running a special where you could get one camera for $100 off. I wanted 3 cameras – one for each door. (Here in LA there is a harsh $200 penalty every time the police are dispatched for a “false alarm.” I got three last year.) The friendly agent read the order back with the 3 cameras, but when the guy showed up to install, AFTER I took the day off to make sure it was installed before I left for holiday break, he only had one camera! Ugh. I’ll let you know how the situation unfolds, but AT&T Digital Life is an AWESOME option for affordable home protection, and maybe more importantly, peace of mind.
The Goldbergs is awesome. Main character Adam was only a little older than me, and it’s all about growing up in what some call the best decade ever. I can relate with him because he LOVES pop culture and isn’t the typical sports obsessed boy. And his BFF is a girl! Yep. Wendi McLendon-Covey is PERFECT as “smother” Beverly Goldberg. There’s also always REAL VHS footage shot by show-runner Adam Goldberg (who the show is loosely based on) himself and an awesome throwback ’80s jam. I always love seeing the real Bev-O. If you grew up OR raised children anywhere around the 1980s, you’ll love this show.
The post #WOWBestof2015: Blake’s Favorite 8 appeared first on World of Wonder.
It’s a new year which means new (and old) ways of re-inventing friendships, ditching bad ones, and moving forward with the ones who care. You’ve already seen my 5 Simple New Years Resolutions to take to the Office, but here’s my 5 New Years Rezzies for Friendship in 2016:
5) DITCH THE BITCH
Not to shoot at the hip straight off the bat, but if you had a toxic friendship in 2015, why on Earth would you stick around for their tumultuous wrath in 2016?!
Life is short so make your #FriendGoals tall, or rather, Venti. Being a career woman is already hard enough as it is and you don’t need to take shit from with the B in apartment 23 anymore.
A new year not only gives you a new outlook on who you want to associate and surround yourself with, but it’s also a literal new calendar to book new hang-outs with the special friends in your life that DO matter.
4) WORK FRIENDS TO WERK FRIENDS
You spend 5 days a week with them (sometimes 6 or 7 even), so start to see them as real life people outside the four walls of your office building. Reaching out and connecting with a work friend, and transitioning that relationship into a “drinking buddy” or even a “bae” will only enhance and enrich your personal and professional experience.
3) TIME TO RETIRE #SQUADGOALS
Why would you need to have “squad goals” if you’re already with your squad? This hashtag is one that I hope goes away in 2016 because it takes you out of the present, and puts you and your friends on a chopping block for a metaphorical MySpace Top 8 situation (and we’re all just too old to be ranking our friendships!)
2) CONNECT YOUR CONSTELLATION
Introduce your friends to each other and expand your circle group. Call this sheer convenience or whatnot, but connecting all your friends into one giant social constellation breeds great karma for the new year and allows you the sneaky brilliance of being able to stay in touch with a larger slice of your friend pie chart by making all your friends, friends with each other.
Besides, you’ll get to be the Kevin Bacon of your group, and there’s nothing wrong with that.
1) COMPLIMENTARY KILLS THE CAT
As fun as it is to get all your friends together for a big Sunday brunch (See Point 2), it’s equally important to carve out special time with your bestie. Book a spontaneous vacation together, buy a matching heinous sweater, or just plan a slumber party on a work night complete with face masks, movies, and pizza.
If you can’t afford a weekend getaway, just telling them how important they are in your life is priceless. It’ll mean a lot to them and to you that you have this beautiful soul in your life to continue cheering you on in 2016.
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It’s usually a pretty big deal coming out as a regular person in your own life, but add an extra layer of fame and most of us can’t imagine what that would be like. These 20 were among the thousands that made to leap to be truthful in their lives these last 12 months. Not knowing their own stories from the inside, we have to drop the judgement and applaud anyone who says, “This is who I am.” Bravo! Brava!
Nyle DiMarco
Winner of America’s Next Top Model shared he was “sexually fluid” on Twitter. He is also deaf and has legions of fans of multiple genders.
Mason Darrow
A member of Princeton‘s team, Darrow came out to his teammates a few years ago. To the rest of the world more recently in Outsports.
“Telling my teammates was the best decision I have ever made.”
Israel Gutierrez
In September, the ESPN commentator came out as gay and two weeks later, he and fiance David Kitchen got married.
“The only way to truly understand [what we go through] is to live in our shoes, which is impossible. Short of that, sharing our experiences is the best way to potentially break through and help people understand.”
Jussie Smollett
Smollett plays the gay son Jamal Lyon on Empire, which led to some questions about whether he was gay himself. When Ellen DeGeneres asked him, he answered, yep.
“There’s never been a closet that I’ve been in.”
Gus Kenworthy
A freestyle skier who won a silver medal in Sochi, Kenworthy was part of an historic U.S. sweep of the first Olympic ski slopestyle contest. The extreme skier came out in an interview in ESPN:
“I’ve gotten to the point where the pain of holding onto the lie is greater than the fear of letting go, and I’m very proud to finally be letting my guard down.”
Joel Grey
Though out to friends and family for years, the 82-year-old Broadway legend came out in a January interview with People. He confided he’d had trouble accepting himself, citing conversations he’d overhear between his parents:
“[They’d talk] derisively about ’fairies’ and men being dragged off to jail, and even worse, for being who they were.”
Aaron & Austin Rhodes
These twin brothers were a hit on YouTube but their reach extended when they came out to their father on video — who assured them his love for them will never change.
Ingrid Nilsen
Nilsen has millions of YouTube followers too. They tune in for her beauty tips and in June she came out as gay. How else? In a YouTube video.
Miley Cyrus
Cyrus founded the Happy Hippie Foundation to rally young people to fight for homeless and LGBT youth, danced with RPDR queens at the 2015 VMAs and in August, came out as pansexual.
“I’m very open about it. But I’m not in a relationship. I’m 22, I’m going on dates but I change my style every two weeks, let alone who I’m with.”
Keegan Hirst
Hirst also came out as the first openly gay British rugby player in August. The father of two admitted that his biggest stumbling block was a deeply-embedded cultural denial:
“Society dictates that when you’re a 16-year-old lad you have a girlfriend, you sleep with her and that’s how it is… I convinced myself, no way could I be gay, it was inconceivable.”
Michael Angelakos
Passion Pit‘s lead singer came out in November and admitted that his sexuality was a factor in his recent divorce:
“It’s always been about putting it off in my head. Not consciously… I just wanted so badly to be straight, because I love her so much.”
Reid Ewing
Ewing is best known for playing Dylan, on Modern Family, Ewing made a remark about another man being hot on Twitter. (The context of the tweet was a discussion of body dysmorphia, a disorder from which Ewing has suffered.) When another Twitter user asked,
“Did you also just out yourself?” Ewing replied,
“I was never in.”
Kristen Stewart
This year, a journalist quoted the Stewart’s mom as saying Kristen is bisexual and dating a woman but her mom denied saying it. The journalist said she had it all on tape. The actress herself later said:
“Google me, I’m not hiding.”
But the tabloid media continues to play it (homophobically?) cool about her relationship with “gal pal” Alicia Cargile.
Lily-Rose Depp
The 16-year-old daughter of Johnny Depp and French singer Vanessa Paradis, came out as sexually fluid by posing for a photo series; a caption identified her as falling
“somewhere on the vast spectrum.”
Yusaf Mack
After being discovered in a gay porn movie, he claimed he had been drugged. He later changed his story to say he was bisexual then later coming out as gay.
Adam Rippon
The Silver medalist figure skater opened up about being gay in an interview with Skating magazine.
“When athletes come out and say that they’re gay, it makes it a little more normal and less of a big deal — especially in the athletic community. I want to say something to the dad out there who might be concerned that his son is a figure skater. I mean look at me; I’m just a normal son from small-town Pennsylvania. Nothing changed.”
Randy Thomas
Once an activist with the now-defunct “ex-gay” group Exodus International, Thomas came out in a January blog post as
“gay with some level of bisexual tendencies.”
He has apologized for how the movement has hurt LGBT people and says he knows not all will forgive him.
Holland Taylor
Taylor just disclosed she’s in a relationship with a woman. American Horror Story‘s Sarah Paulson! We thought we couldn’t love either of you ANY more!
Caitlyn Jenner
Her 20/20 with Diane Sawyer was the biggest coming out moment of the year. Possibly EVER. And yes, as visible as she is, even according to her own admission, she has some lessons to learn. I know, if she just wasn’t part of THAT family or a Republican, you could cut her some slack. We can just acknowledge what she did and see how she evolves in 2016.
Happy New Year, everyone! Cheers, queers! (via NewNowNext, The Advocate)
The post #WOWBestof15: 20 Famous Faces Who Came Out Last Year appeared first on World of Wonder.
When I posted the 20 celebs who came out in 2015, I almost added that I hoped for a big bombshell in early ’16. This may not be that but it works for me. Today actor Colton Haynes seemed to come out in a post on Tumblr. It was in response to a fan’s question about his “secret gay past.” The Tumblr post that caught Haynes attention reads,
“when I found out colton haynes had a secret gay past i got so excited even though i know it makes absolutely no difference in my life.”
Haynes replied,
“Was it a secret? Let’s all just enjoy life & have no regrets :).”
Haynes also tweeted on New Year’s Eve,
“No fear this year.”
Questions about Haynes’ sexuality have be raised before –even right here on The Wow Report (right James?). Haynes has never publicly addressed the rumors. E! Online says,
“Colton, who is immensely popular and very active on a number of social media platforms, has always remained private online about his sexuality and love life and has often sparked speculation about it. After his comment, Twitter exploded with more.”
In the past, Haynes has been outspoken about his support for LGBT rights and shared pics on Instagram of his gay brother Joshua and his husband Scott. If this is the new 2016 “no big deal” style of coming of out, I like it!
(Photo, Instagram; via Towleroad)
The post #LGBT: Um, Did Colton Haynes Just Come Out..? appeared first on World of Wonder.
Zac Efron posted a photo from the upcoming Dirty Grandpa (you know, the film that gave us these iconic GIFs) a couple days ago on Instagram to get us all excited for its release later this month. The photo shows Zacky’s beautiful stomach in a crop top that says “Stop Staring At My Tits.” Clearly though, when it’s possible, we all love to stare at Zac’s chest—and apparently, Zac’s upcoming Baywatch co-star (and ultimate buff Zaddy) The Rock is no exemption, as he commented on the post along with 7,050 others…
Sidebar: this comment has me somehow even more excited to see these two on screen together in Baywatch… omg. But back to Zac’s “tits.” Have you seen these GIFs tho?!
Nice tits, bro.
The post The Rock Summed Up What The Entire World Thinks When He Called Out Zac Efron’s “Nice Tits, Bro” on Instagram appeared first on World of Wonder.
Vanessa Bughaw
Alex D. Linz
Bruce LaBruce
Cissy King
Dabney Coleman
Danica McKellar
Eli Manning
Jason Marsden
Kimberly Locke
Liya Kebede
Lloyd
Mel Gibson
Robert Loggia
Stephen Stills
Thomas Bangalter
Victoria Principal
The post January 3: It’s YOUR Birthday, Bitch! appeared first on World of Wonder.
January 3, 1897- Dorothy Arzner:
“Each day when I went to work at a studio, I took my pride & made a nice little ball of it & threw it right out the window.
Portland’s own Todd Haynes has been promising a biopic of Dorothy Arzner since 2003. Her story has has yet to make it to the screen, maybe Julianne Moore would be Haynes’ number one choice for the role. Who else do you think might embody the men’s suit wearing, openly gay Arzner? I’ll even throw in Cate Blanchett as Katharine Hepburn for a second time. Arzner gave Hepburn her first starring role playing a famous female flyer in Christopher Strong (1933).
Arzner nurtured the careers of several strong female film stars. She has also served as an inspiration for other women directors, even in our own era. Someday, when having a woman direct a major Hollywood film isn’t worth mentioning, film fans will be shocked to learn that there was a time when Arzner & Ida Lupino were the only gals working behind the camera.
Arzner started at Paramount Pictures as typist, before her way up to a screenwriter & editor. She eventually demanded a chance to direct, threatening to move to another studio. She showed real pluck & panache with her first film Fashions For Women (1927), a box-office hit. She was then offered Paramount’s very first sound film, The Wild Party (1929).
The Wild Party starred “It Girl” Clara Bow in her first speaking role & Frederic March in his film debut. It proved popular with the critics & fans. & for its time, it was controversial with scantily clad co-eds & chorus girls.
Paramount thought Arzner was right for melodramas with female leads like Sarah And Son (1930), with Ruth Chatterton who was nominated for an Academy Award, & giving Rosalind Russell her first great role in Craig’s Wife (1936).
One of the reoccurring themes in Arzner’s films is the emotional toll of an unhappy marriage. Her work often features a man who behaves like he owns a woman, or a man competing with a woman.
Arzner’s films also frequently show nuanced, complex, sympathetic female friendships with hints of homoeroticism. Just last month on TCM, I caught Arzner’s Dance, Girl, Dance (1940) with Lucille Ball, in her first starring role, & Maureen O’Hara as roommates Bubbles & Judy, who scrap over men & money, tossing off wisecracks & dancing like a lesbian version of Fred Astaire & Ginger Rogers. It also has a nutty turn by famed acting coach Maria Ouspenskaya as an especially butch dance instructor.
Arzner had a major love affair with Marion Morgan, the choreographer on Dance, Girl, Dance. She also spent some special time with Joan Crawford, before, during & after they worked together on The Bride Wore Red (1937) & The Last Of Mrs. Cheyney (1937). Crawford was even able to lure Arzner out of retirement to shoot commercials for Pepsi, when Crawford was the spokesperson & on the Board Of Directors for the company.
In 1943, Arzner made her final film, First Comes Courage, a war film overflowing with lesbian subtext. Systemic sexism & overt homophobia had been on the upswing with the start of The Hays Code in 1934. There was a return to traditional gender roles after the end of WW2. I am not certain if these were reasons why a woman whose films were as good as any man’s, & who made money for the studios, stopped making movies. Her inability to conform to an increasingly conservative moral climate in Hollywood is certain.
Arzner was a complicated & unique woman. She possessed a biting sense of humor & a sophisticated personal style. Between 1927 & 1943, Arzner directed 17 feature films. Almost all have unconventional heroines, strong & self-sufficient, who must reconcile marriage & career. Like James Whale, her films resonate with gay subtexts.
After leaving the studio system, Arzner made Army training films & taught at UCLA, & she shot those Pepsi commercials. In 1936, she became the very first woman to join The Directors Guild Of America. They finally honored her contribution in 1975, 4 years before her passing.
In 2015, 2 out of the top 25 grossing films were directed by women Pitch Perfect 2 (Elizabeth Banks) & 50 Shades Of Grey (Sam Taylor-Johnson). Women directed just 4% of the top money-making films in the 21st century. Of the 700 top-grossing films in history, women make 13% of the directors. In 85 years of the Academy Awards, only 4 female directors have even been nominated for Oscars: Lina Wertmüller for Seven Beauties (1976), Jane Campion for The Piano (1993), Sofia Coppola for Lost In Translation (2003), & Kathryn Bigelow for The Hurt Locker (2009). Only Bigelow has taken home the statue.
Lesbian making feature films is a very small list, but I particularly admire Kimberly Peirce who directed Boys Don’t Cry (1999), & Lisa Cholodenko who directed the terrific Oscar nominated The Kids Are All Right (2010).
The post #BornThisDay: Director, Dorothy Arzner appeared first on World of Wonder.
