I’m allergic to cats so we’ve never liked each other much. I don’t get the appeal or much about them, but these pics make them look as though they could take your drink order or walk to the store to get you the morning paper. In other words, useful.
(via Sad and Useless)
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Gawker Media, which was ordered to pay about $140 million to Hulk Hogan, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection yesterday. It is also up for sale, with a difficult future following a contentious invasion-of-privacy lawsuit brought by the former wrestler.
Ziff Davis, the digital publisher of AskMen, PCMag and Computer Shopper, put up a bid for Gawker’s assets — with $100 million as the opening price The publisher plans to buy Gawker’s blogs — but not assume its liabilities. If no other offer emerges, the court must approve the sale’s price and terms.
Gawker’s properties include Gizmodo, Lifehacker and Deadspin, are expected to continue operations during bankruptcy proceedings. Ziff Davis CEO Vivek Shah wrote in a staff memo that was obtained by USA TODAY.
“There’s a tremendous fit between the two organizations.“
Nick Denton, founder of the online media company, had been considering selling Gawker’s blogs after a judge denied last month its motion to seek a new trial. Billionaire Peter Theil funded Hogan’s lawsuit against Gawker with the goal to put them out of business. Gawker outed Theil several years ago and he’s been pissed ever since. I guess his money bought him some sweet revenge. (via USA Today)
The post #4Sale: Ziff Davis Offers To Buy Bankrupt Gawker Media For $100 Million appeared first on The WOW Report.
In what looked to be a pretty low-key affair, Madonna‘s estranged brother, Christopher Ciccone, got married to Ray Thacker yesterday in a civil ceremony in Beverly Hills. A creative powerhouse, Christopher has been a back-up dancer for Madonna, helped her stage early tours, directed her videos and decorated her many houses over the years. He is now an artist. We have many friends in common and we are Facebook friends, not actual friends, so I occasionally see his updates. His married status was a bit of a surprise today. On the pic below of the two about to tie the knot, someone commented,
“Where Madonna at?“
To which Chris shot back,
“She’s the guy in the background“
As far as I can tell, his new husband is a Brit and a bit younger. Christopher just posted the pic below of their father’s Golden Wedding Anniversary just last month (he remarried after their mother died at a young age.)
We wish Christopher and Ray a long and happy marriage!
Christopher & Madonna back the day
The post #Hitched!: Madonna’s Brother Christopher Ciccone Weds Ray Thacker in Beverly Hills appeared first on The WOW Report.
Here’s a sampling from a private collection of rare, massive 40” x 60” posters that were printed for drive-In movie theaters. Haute Campe offers a collection of original rare, vintage film posters from the 1940s-1970s originating mostly from drive-ins and grindhouse theaters. Most of the posters went through a single distributor called National Screen Service, hence the “property of N.S.S.” at the bottom of 99% of the movie posters printed in the 20th century. While most posters were destroyed by the elements some were returned to the distributor and piled up in their archives for many years. Design-wise, if we want something to look trashy, we still use these pioneering graphic solutions.
(via Dangerous Minds)
The post 21 of the Weirdest, Most Lurid Exploitation Film Posters Ever appeared first on The WOW Report.
A 21-year-old man wielding two handguns shot former contestant on The Voice Christina Grimmie Friday night after a concert in Florida, and then fatally shot himself.
Grimmie, 22, died from her injuries from the shooting, which happened last night around 10:30 The Plaza Live in Orlando. The singer had just opened for the band Before You Exit and was meeting fans and signing autographs a half hour after the concert ended when she was shot.
Police said Grimmie’s brother as a hero, and said he tackled the suspect, whom they described as a white male with two loaded magazines and a large hunting knife in addition to the two handguns he was carrying. Orlando Police Chief John Mina told reporters,
“Almost immediately, her brother Marcus Grimmie tackled the suspect. Shortly after that, the suspect killed himself.”
The suspect traveled to Orlando apparently to commit this crime and then had plans to travel back to where he came from.
This isn’t a crowd that you would suspect would be carrying guns into a venue like this.“
Detectives were scouring his cellphone and computer to find a motive for the killing.So far there was “no indication” that he knew Grimmie.
The shooting happened inside the venue as about 120 concertgoers crowded around Grimmie for a chance to meet her and buy merchandise. Fans’ purses and backpacks are typically checked when they enter The Plaza Live, but there are no metal detectors there.
Grimmie was a native of Marlton, New Jersey. She came in third on Season 6 of The Voice Adam Levine was her coach. Levine posted a photo of himself with Grimmie on Instagram, commenting before her death was confirmed:
“Behati and I are absolutely devastated and heartbroken by Christina Grimmie’s death. Our hearts go out to her family“
Other fellow artists and fans also wrote tributes to Grimmie, who was discovered on YouTube and had more than 3 million followers on her account zeldaxlove64. When reports of Grimmie’s death first surfaced, #PrayforChristina was the top trending hashtag on Twitter.
Grimmie’s publicist Heather Weiss confirmed her death early Saturday morning.
“It is with a heavy heart that we can confirm that Christina has passed and went home to be with the Lord. We ask at this time that you respect the privacy of her family and friends in their time of mourning.“
Very sad news. What a waste.
(via NBC News)
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Trend alert! Umbrella hats are back and you need them NOW.
There was a gorgeous turnout at the Staples Center last night, where fashionistas flocked to gawk Moschino ‘s Creative Director Jeremy Scott‘s 2017 resort collection of hippie-inspired Hawaiian and sixties surfer styles with bejeweled leis, crochet dresses, Guatemalan granny embroidery and all-black Goth lace with – YES! – umbrella hats for the designer’s 2017 resort collection. Very Peter Brady goes wild with Gigi Hadid and they’re doing a kind-of-too-soon-but-probably-retro-early2000-Burning-Man-Chic
But it was clearly ’60s inspired, as you can see from my Instagram video’s below. The models actually look like Hannah/Barberra cartoon characters.
A video posted by James St James (@jamesstjames1) on
Miranda Kerr and Alessandra Ambrosio opened the show. Taylor Hill, Devon Aoki, Anwar Hadid, Hailey Baldwin, and Cindy Crawford’s son Presley, modeled in it. Everybody who is anybodywas there, ands they looked FANTASTICK. Katy, of COURSE. And Caitlyn Jenner! And wowlebrities Annie Flanders, Michael Schmidt, and Rose Apodaca. (Pics here by Rose, btw)
The takeaweay, though, is this Instagram photo with lovely ladies Candys Caine, Caitlyn Jenner, and, Katy Perry. We’ve entered into am ultra weird era where everything is just Simmonsiasm.
Says Jeremy to the Hollywood Reporter:
“It’s my love letter to Los Angeles — I was thinking about the way I like to dress and the way that I see people dress here, especially the ‘It’ boys and girls storming around Melrose or going to Coachella and doing all of the things that I love to do. I like the eclecticism of all the cultures found here,” Scott told The Hollywood Reporter.
As I was leaving I had a FML moment when after years of desperate stalking I finally had a photo op with my future husband Robbie Rogers, and it ended up being in a place where there was UNDERlighting (WHO DOES THAT AT A FASHION SHOW?), so I looked really creepy and weird and now probably he’ll never really marry me because THIS was our “cute-meet”.
Also, big shoutout to Kabuki who did runway makeup – Three words: Uh. May. Zing.
The post Pictures! Video! EVERYTHING! from the Jeremy Scott/Moschino Resort Show In LA, Last Night! appeared first on The WOW Report.
![Photograph of Henry Scott Tuke (left) and Tom White on Newporth beach [c.1917] by Photographer Unknown](http://static4.worldofwonder.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/tuke-photo-2-1000x611.jpg)
June 12, 1858– Henry Scott Tuke was a British painter and photographer. It is always a lovely jolt of energy when I rediscover an artist mostly forgotten by me. I found a Tuke painting while looking for 19th- early 20th century paintings of sailors for a lighthearted feature about Fleet Week in Portland, Oregon, happening right now. No matter what you suspect, I was not Googling “Naked Male Bathers”. Yet, that is exactly what came up on my computer screen when I went looking for him.
He was born into a Quaker family in York, England. In 1859 the Tuke family moved to Falmouth, a pretty town on the coast of South Cornwall, where his father, a doctor, set up a practice. Tuke was encouraged to draw and paint from an early age. His earliest drawings, some from when he was just four years old, were published in magazines and newspapers.
Tuke studied at the Slade School Of Art on a scholarship which also provided the funds to study in Italy for a year. From 1881-1883, he lived in Paris where he was encouraged by Jean-Paul Laurens to paint “en plein air”, which doesn’t simply mean painting outdoors, but an entire style of painting formulated in France during Tuke’s era, characterized by the representation of the luminous effects of natural light and atmosphere contrasted with the artificial light and atmosphere associated with paintings produced in a studio.
While studying in France, Tuke decided to move back to Cornwall where the light was especially vivid and where many of his Slade schoolmates and his Parisian friends had already formed The Newlyn School of artists. After exhibiting his work at the Royal Academy Of Art in London, Tuke began to receive commissions that brought him a nice income for a painter.
In 1885, Tuke went home to Falmouth where many of his major works were produced. The happy memories of a childhood spent on the beaches around Falmouth, watching the tall ships coming into the harbor from all over the world, helped his decision to return to Falmouth where he remained for the rest of his life.
In his early paintings, Tuke put male nudes in mythological settings, but critics found these pieces to be too formal and flaccid. Beginning in the 1890s, Tuke left the mythological themes behind and simply painted local boys fishing, sailing, swimming and diving, and also began to paint in a more naturalistic style. His technique became more free. He began using bold, fresh colors. Tuke painted some female nudes also, but for some reason, they were not as successful as his male nude paintings.
He became best known for his paintings of those boys, but he really was a very diverse and talented artist with a variety of subjects and using many media, including the new use of photography.
With his commission money, Tuke bought his first boat, The Ripple, which became a floating home and studio. The beaches of Falmouth were the perfect setting for painting as they faced south, bathed in sunshine. The beaches had interesting barnacle encrusted rocks and shallow tide pools for the models to stand around.
Although Tuke’s paintings of nude young men must have appealed to his gay friends and buyers, his work was never explicitly sexual. His models’ junk was almost never shown, and even in groups, the guys are rarely in physical contact with each other. Most of the paintings have the nude models on the beach facing out to sea, so only their back view is shown.
After a journey in 1892 to an island in the Mediterranean, Tuke returned with the desire to paint the naked outdoors in Falmouth. He tried painting nude bathers as early as 1885 using professional male models brought in from London, but this was expensive and difficult. Instead, he asked the local lads to pose nude for him. Tuke always paid them and treated them with courtesy and consideration, although he sometimes asked them to model outdoors as late as November, so there was a shrinkage issue. He also needed to use secluded, inaccessible beaches as he created his greatest artistic challenge: painting the nude human figure outdoors.
Tuke used rough, visible brush strokes, at a time when smooth, polished finishes were favored by the fashionable painters and the critics. He had a strong sense of color and was especially skilled in the depiction of the soft fragile sunlight of the English summer. Although Tuke often finished paintings in his studio, photographs of him show that he worked mainly in the open air, capturing that freshness of color and the realistic effects of sunlight reflected by the water and on the naked flesh of his models.
Unusual really for the late Victorian era, Tuke’s male nudes sold well with collectors and they were purchased by major art galleries in Europe and North America. But he was also quite famous as a formal portraitist, and he maintained a London studio to work on these commissions. I knew his portrait of gay adventurer/writer T.E. Lawrence (Lawrence of Arabia) before I actually knew of the painter.
T.E. Lawrence (1922)
Tuke was an associate of Oscar Wilde and others in the gay circles of London. He was a friend of my favorite painter of the era, John Singer Sargent.
Tuke was elected to full membership of the Royal Academy in 1914. He had a heart attack in 1928 and left this wretched world a year later. At the end of his life, Tuke knew that his painting had gone out of favor. He left most of his fortune to the men who, as boys, had been his models. He is remembered mostly for his oil paintings of young men, but he was an important maritime artist, producing as many portraits of sailing ships as he did of attractive youths. Tuke was prolific, with over 1,300 paintings in important collections and museums, and more are still being discovered in this 21st century.
Popular in his own era, after his death, Tuke’s reputation faded and he was largely forgotten until the 1970s, when he was rediscovered by the first generation of openly gay artists and art collectors. He is now a cult figure, especially in gay cultural circles, with lavish books with plates of his paintings.
All my research this week, and Catching the Light: The Art And Life Of Henry Scott Tuke (2008) by Catherine Wallace was sitting in my bookshelf all along. One of Tuke’s biggest collectors is Sir Elton John.
The post #BornThisDay: Painter, Henry Scott Tuke appeared first on The WOW Report.
It was about 2 a.m. at Pulse, a gay nightclub in Orlando hosting its regular Latin night, when the music was interrupted by gunfire. On the club’s Facebook page Ricardo J. Negron Almodovar was there and said,
“Shooter opened fire @ around 2:00am. People on the dance floor and bar got down on the floor and some of us who were near the bar and back exit managed to go out through the outdoor area and just ran. I am safely home and hoping everyone gets home safely as well.“
Christopher Hansen who also there said,
“Bang! Bang! Screaming. And loud noises. The guy next to me was shot … when I turned around to look everyone was falling and dropping and screaming.“
The shooting became a hostage situation, which lasted roughly three hours and left an unspecified number of people dead, including the shooter, according to police. At least 42 people were taken to hospitals. According to ABC News, approximately 320 people were inside the club at time of the shooting. Some people reported hiding in the bathroom until law enforcement secured the area.
During a press conference this morning, Florida Department of Law Enforcement spokesman Danny Banks officially classified the shootings as an “act of terrorism.”
The FBI, along with numerous other agencies, investigating the shooting said it was not clear if it was an act of domestic or foreign terrorism.
Messages on Snapchat, Facebook and Twitter show how scared and desperate everyone was. It is the second time this weekend that Orlando was terrorized by a gunman. On Friday night, after performing a concert, Christina Grimmie was shot and killed by a gunman who killed himself.
When in God’s name are we going to tighten gun control laws in this country? This makes us all sick every time it happens. And we get sick a LOT lately.
@OfficialJoelF self explanatory video pic.twitter.com/wsIm2IziwQ
— ferhobs (@ferhobs) June 12, 2016
Gunfire exchanged at #pulse nightclub hostage situation in #Orlando. pic.twitter.com/qeF0s6Ien6
— Nic Hornstein (@nichornstein) June 12, 2016
UPDATE: ABC News reports that the shooter has been identified by officials as Omar Mateen of St. Lucie County, Florida. The FBI assistant agent in charge of the agency’s Tampa division, Ron Hopper, was asked at a news conference on Sunday at 7 a.m. if the shooter, who was shot and killed by police, had ties to Jihadist terror groups.
“At this time we’re looking at all angles right now. We do have suggestions that that individual may have leanings towards that, that particular ideology. But right now we can’t say definitively, so we’re still running everything around.”
(via USA Today)
The post UPDATE: Shooting at Gay Nightclub in Orlando Leaves 50 Dead appeared first on The WOW Report.
With at least 50 people dead, the massacre early this morning at a gay nightclub in Orland, this is the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history. This is the new normal, I guess.
According to NBC News, these are America’s deadliest mass shootings:
50 killed (this number may rise, as many are in critical condition)
At least 50 people are killed and some 50 others are wounded after a gunman opened fire and took hostages at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, early on the morning of Sunday June 12. Officials said a hostage situation developed after the gunman, identified as Omar Mateen, stormed the Pulse Nightclub about 2 a.m.32 killed
On April 16, 2007, 23-year-old Virginia Tech student Seung-Hui Cho shot 32 people to death on the Blacksburg, Virginia, campus before killing himself. The dead included 27 students and five faculty members. Another 17 people were injured. Days after the shooting, the worst school shooting in the nation’s history, NBC News received a package from Cho that contained a video of him ranting about rich “brats” and complaining about being bullied.27 killed
On Dec. 14, 2012, 20-year-old Adam Lanza killed 28 people, including himself, his mother, 20 elementary school kids and six school staff and faculty at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. Lanza suffered from extreme mental health issues that weren’t treated, and was preoccupied with violence, a report from state officials found. He also had easy access to weapons, the report said.23 killed
On Oct. 16, 1991, A 35-year-old named George Hennard crashed his pickup through Luby’s Cafeteria, a packed restaurant in Killeen, Texas. He shot and killed 23 people before shooting and killing himself. Twenty-seven others were wounded. The Texas massacre is the deadliest shooting to not happen at a school in U.S. history. According to a former roommate, Hennard “hated blacks, Hispanics, gays. He said women were snakes.”21 killed
On July 18, 1984, James Huberty, a 41-year-old former security guard who had lost his job, opened fire at a McDonald’s in San Ysidro, California, killing 21 employees and customers, including children. A police sniper killed him an hour after he started shooting.18 killed
On Aug. 1, 1966, former U.S. Marine Charles Joseph Whitman, 25, killed his mother and wife, then went on top of a tower at University of Texas at Austin and killed 16 others. He also wounded at least 30. Whitman had complained of physical and mental health issues before the attack. He was then shot by a police officer. An autopsy after his death revealed he had a brain tumor, but it was not clear whether that had affected his actions.14 killed
On Dec. 2, 2015, 14 people were reported dead and an estimated 14 hurt in an attack at the Inland Regional Center in San Bernardino, California, a state-run facility that provides services to people with developmentally disabled people and trains social workers who care for them. The killers remained on the run Wednesday afternoon.14 killed
On Aug. 20, 1986, postman Patrick Henry Sherill killed 14 postal workers in Edmond, Oklahoma, and then killed himself with a shot to the head. The rampage came a week after two supervisors reprimanded him for lousy performance.13 killed
On April 20, 1999, students Eric Harris, 18, and Dylan Klebold, 17, killed 12 other students and a teacher at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado. Two dozen were injured. They then killed themselves in the school’s library. In journal entries, the high school seniors had written about a desire to imitate events such as the Oklahoma City bombing.13 killed
On Nov. 5, 2009, Mad. Nidal Malik Hasan, 39, killed 13 people and injured 32 others at Fort Hood, Texas. The massacre prompted the Army to come up with a list of 78 recommendations for Fort Hood to identify the potential for violent behavior among its soldiers. Hasan has been sentenced to death.13 killed
On April 3, 2009, in Binghamton, New York, 41-year-old Jiverly Wong, an immigrant, killed 13 people and injured four others at an immigrant services center before killing himself. President Obama called the shootings “an act of senseless violence.”13 killed
On Feb. 18, 1983, three robbers at the Wah Mee gambling club in Seattle killed 13 people. Kwan Fai Mak and Benjamin Ng were convicted of murder later that year and are serving life sentences; Wai-Chu Ng was deported to Hong Kong last year.12 killed
On July 20, 2012, 24-year-old James Holmes sprayed bullets on a midnight screening of the new Batman movie at a theater in Aurora, Colorado. In addition to the 12 killed, 58 were wounded. Defense attorneys tried unsuccessfully to argue that he was insane at the time of the attack; he was sentenced to life in prison in August.12 killed
On Sept. 16, 2013, a 34-year-old named Aaron Alexis opened fire inside the Washington Navy Yard, killing 12. The former Navy reservist died in a gun battle with police.
(via NBC News)
The post 50 Dead: Orlando Mass Shooting Is the Worst In U.S. History appeared first on The WOW Report.
Orlando shooter, Omar Mateen
Local FBI Assistant Special Agent-in-Charge Ron Hopper said at the press conference that there are “suggestions” the gunman “may have leanings” toward Jihadist ideology. Hopper had been asked about whether the shooter was connected to radical Islamic terrorism.
Hopper said they can’t say definitively whether the gunmen is connected to that ideology. He said we’re looking into all angles right now.” ISIS supporters and sympathizers on Twitter posted messages after the shooting, but there have been no official claims by the Islamic State terror organization.
Mateen’s father, Mir Seddique, has reportedly told reporters that he didn’t think this shooting was based on ideology but that his son was “anti-gay”. He told NBC News that his son was
“enraged after seeing two men kissing in Miami months ago.“
So, this was no matter what, a hate crime.
(via Heavy)
The post #HateCrime: Omar Mateen’s Father Said His Son Was “Anti-Gay”– ISIS Tweets Anti-LGBT Messages appeared first on The WOW Report.
Authorities in Santa Monica found possible explosives with weapons and ammunition Sunday in the car of a man who told them he was in town for the L.A. Pride Parade in West Hollywood.
Early Sunday, Santa Monica police received a call of a suspected prowler near Olympic Boulevard and 11th Street. Patrol officers responded and encountered an individual who told officers he was waiting for a friend. That led officers to inspect the car and find several weapons and a lot of ammunition as well as tannerite, an ingredient that could be used to create a pipe bomb.
Authorities said the arrest occurred at 5 a.m. The suspect told authorities he was looking for a friend at the festival, said acting L.A. County Undersheriff Neal Tyler. The suspect is being questioned and authorities were trying to find the person he said he was looking for, he said.
Neighbors called police after he was spotted knocking on doors and “loitering in the area,” Rodriguez said.
The parade comes hours after the attack at gay club in Orlando that killed 50 people. At least 53 were injured in the deadliest shooting in modern American history after a gunman took hostages. The gunman has been identified as 29-year-old Omar Mateen. Mate father said that his son was anti-gay and enraged when he saw two men kissing in Miami recently.
One source in West Hollywood said there was discussion of calling off the parade but that officials decided to go forward, with heavy security including undercover officers in the crowd.
West Hollywood City Councilwoman Lindsey Horvath said in a statement that Los Angeles County sheriff’s officials are stepping up security efforts around Sunday’s parade and other festivities. ,
“We are hearing absolutely devastating news reports from Orlando this morning. Gun violence on the LGBTQ family during Pride Month makes me sick. The deadliest mass shooting in America happened to LGBTQ people on Latin night. While we mourn this heartbreaking loss, we must also rededicate ourselves to the fight for full equality for all people. No one is equal unless everyone is equal.”
A reporter for ProPublica tweeted out a Sheriff’s Department bulletin detailing the arrest. (via L.A. Times)
The post #LGBTQ: Man With Assault Rifles & Bomb Materials Arrested Headed To L.A. Pride Parade appeared first on The WOW Report.
You can read President Obama‘s full statement on the Orlando mass shooting here. An excerpt is below;
“This is an especially heartbreaking day for all our friends — our fellow Americans — who are lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender. The shooter targeted a nightclub where people came together to be with friends, to dance and to sing, and to live. The place where they were attacked is more than a nightclub — it is a place of solidarity and empowerment where people have come together to raise awareness, to speak their minds, and to advocate for their civil rights.
So this is a sobering reminder that attacks on any American — regardless of race, ethnicity, religion or sexual orientation — is an attack on all of us and on the fundamental values of equality and dignity that define us as a country. And no act of hate or terror will ever change who we are or the values that make us Americans.
Today marks the most deadly shooting in American history. The shooter was apparently armed with a handgun and a powerful assault rifle. This massacre is therefore a further reminder of how easy it is for someone to get their hands on a weapon that lets them shoot people in a school, or in a house of worship, or a movie theater, or in a nightclub. And we have to decide if that’s the kind of country we want to be. And to actively do nothing is a decision as well.
In the coming hours and days, we’ll learn about the victims of this tragedy. Their names. Their faces. Who they were. The joy that they brought to families and to friends, and the difference that they made in this world. Say a prayer for them and say a prayer for their families — that God give them the strength to bear the unbearable. And that He give us all the strength to be there for them, and the strength and courage to change. We need to demonstrate that we are defined more — as a country — by the way they lived their lives than by the hate of the man who took them from us.
As we go together, we will draw inspiration from heroic and selfless acts — friends who helped friends, took care of each other and saved lives. In the face of hate and violence, we will love one another. We will not give in to fear or turn against each other. Instead, we will stand united, as Americans, to protect our people, and defend our nation, and to take action against those who threaten us.
May God bless the Americans we lost this morning. May He comfort their families. May God continue to watch over this country that we love. Thank you.“
–President Barack Obama, June 12, 2016
The post President Obama says Today Is “An Especially Heartbreaking Day for Our Fellow Americans Who Are Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual or Transgender” appeared first on The WOW Report.
As our hearts go out to Orlando, Florida, we’re happy to report that former drag race contestant Kenya Michaels and Roxxxy Andrews are safe after horrifying mass shooting at Pulse Nightclub last night. Kenya was scheduled to perform after midnight and the shooting occured around 2 AM while she was in the bathroom.
The following was put on social media by fellow racer and friend Yara Sofia:
And Roxxxy Andrews (whom wasn’t performing, but in the area) shared on her Twitter:
Our thoughts are with all the lives that were lost and we’re grateful our Ru girls are safe and okay. #PrayForOrlando
The post Former Drag Racer Kenya Michaels Safe After Pulse Nightclub Shooting in Orlando appeared first on The WOW Report.
It is with a heavy heart that we at World of Wonder have some devastating news…upon the horrifying loss of 50 lives at the terrorist-driven shooting at Pulse nightclub in Orlando, we lost a World of Wonder friend, Eddie Sotomayor – cousin of racer Jade Sotomayor who was a RuPaul’s Drag Race partner with Al and Chuck. He made it a point to make sure the queens we’re taken well care of when they were in town.
We pray for Eddie’s family.
The post #RIP: Jade Sotomayor’s Cousin & WOW Friend Eddie Sotomayor Dead After Orlando Shooting appeared first on The WOW Report.
As the world mourns and bleeds for Orlando, so are our RuPaul’s Drag Race queens. You’ve already read our first round, so here’s our second round-up of RDR queens’ thoughts on their Facebooks, Twitters, and Instagrams…
1) Adore Delano took to Twitter to share her sentiments and there’s definitely no party happening:
2) JuJuBee also a friend in the shooting…#RIP
3) Chad Michaels chimed in with her prayers:
4) Cynthia Lee Fontaine shared her hopes for the future:
5) Phi Phi O’Hara said what we’re all feeling:
6) Alyssa Edwards always beaming with wisdom:
7) Mimi Imfurst isn’t playing around:
8) Raja shared her emotions on the aftermath:
9) Raven took to her Twitter to share some powerful words:
10) Jinkx Monsoon urges us to fight forward.
Hug each other a little tighter today, hunties. We all need it. And remember:
The post RDR Queens React To Orlando Shooting On Social Media Part Two appeared first on The WOW Report.
Orlando police have identified 46 of the 49 mostly LGBT people whose lives were lost early Sunday morning when a madman opened fire at Pulse nightclub. National news outlets are doing their best Monday to tell the individual stories of each of the victims and turning attention away from the killer, who took his own life during the assault.
On CNN’s website, a list that details the most of what we know so far about each of the victims is being updated constantly. Check it out here and remember these young people.
REST IN PEACE
Edward Sotomayor Jr., 34
Stanley Almodovar III, 23
Luis Omar Ocasio-Capo, 20
Juan Ramon Guerrero, 22
Eric Ivan Ortiz-Rivera, 36
Peter O. Gonzalez-Cruz, 22
Luis S. Vielma, 22
Kimberly Morris, 37
Eddie Jamoldroy Justice, 30
Darryl Roman Burt II, 29
Deonka Deidra Drayton, 32
Alejandro Barrios Martinez, 21
Anthony Luis Laureanodisla, 25
Jean Carlos Mendez Perez, 35
Franky Jimmy Dejesus Velazquez, 50
Amanda Alvear, 25
Martin Benitez Torres, 33
Luis Daniel Wilson-Leon, 37
Mercedez Marisol Flores, 26
Xavier Emmanuel Serrano Rosado, 35
Gilberto Ramon Silva Menendez, 25
Simon Adrian Carrillo Fernandez, 31
Oscar A Aracena-Montero, 26
Enrique L. Rios, Jr., 25
Miguel Angel Honorato, 30
Javier Jorge-Reyes, 40
Joel Rayon Paniagua, 32
Jason Benjamin Josaphat, 19
Cory James Connell, 21
Juan P. Rivera Velazquez, 37
Luis Daniel Conde, 39
Shane Evan Tomlinson, 33
Juan Chevez-Martinez, 25
Jerald Arthur Wright, 31
Leroy Valentin Fernandez, 25
Tevin Eugene Crosby, 25
Jonathan Antonio Camuy Vega, 24
Jean C. Nives Rodriguez, 27
Rodolfo Ayala-Ayala, 33
Brenda Lee Marquez McCool, 49
Yilmary Rodriguez Solivan, 24
Christopher Andrew Leinonen, 32
Angel L. Candelario-Padro, 28
Frank Hernandez, 27
Paul Terrell Henry, 41
Antonio Davon Brown, 29
Christopher Joseph Sanfeliz, 24
Akyra Monet Murray, 18
The post #LGBTQ: These Are the Names & Faces of the People Murdered at Pulse appeared first on The WOW Report.
Writer/director/producer Sinakhone Keodara has started an IndiGoGo page to help fund his short dramatic film Where Our Worlds Meet, about a gay man who struggles with the death of his fiancé and decides to become a Buddhist monk to help his partner cross over.
He writes:
The story is inspired by a personal tragedy where I wasn’t allow to visit the love-of-my-life when he died of AIDS in the hospital in Atlanta, GA in 2005. His family shut me out of the ICU so I never had closure. This film is my goodbye love letter to him.
The screenplay was a finalist in the 2015 Austin Film Festival Screenwriting Competition. The last LGBT feature film I helped produced (Associate Producer) I LOVE YOU BOTH (2016) won the New Vision Award at Cinequest and is currently doing the festival circuit. In 2014, I was chosen as one of the fellows to attend a two day workshop at FUSION: Outfest.
He’s hoping to raise $43,000 over the next 3 weeks. Go here to help him out.
Watch the trailer below:
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1) What inspired you to write Where Our World’s Meet?
This story is inspired by a personal tragedy where I wasn’t allowed to visit the love-of-my-life in the ICU when he died from AIDS-related complications in the hospital in Atlanta, GA in 2005. His family shut me out so I never had closure. I didn’t know what to do with the grief. I wrote some feelings down on paper as sort of a goodbye love letter that became the impetus for a screenplay for this film. In 2007, I sat down to try to write a screenplay because I felt that our story needed to be told but I had to put it away because it was too painful. It wasn’t until 2013 when I took a directing class and I wanted to pitch this story as my thesis film that I completed the script.
2) A lot of writers struggle with making art out of such personal and painful moments, did you have any reservations or obstacles in sharing this story? How did you overcome them, or did you?
For the rest of my life, I’ll never know what it was like to be by my partner’s side, holding his hand, whispering into his ears telling him I love him during his transition to the next realm. Writing this script has been a gut-wrenching and emotionally exhausting experience. Each draft of the script was brutal. Those wounds hadn’t healed. I still cry one of those deep, ugly, painful cries every time I read through the script. In 2013, I launched a failed Kickstarter campaign so my hope was crushed and I had to focus on survival and took my first industry job and put off this project but it kept coming up so I’m back to it. I decided to revamp the story and not make it completely biographical and dramatized a lot of the scenes but kept the essence of what happened and gave myself creative freedom to create a script that is both cinematic and dramatic and fosters a lot of Lao culture. In some ways, in rewriting the script, I gave myself a happy ending in my movie that I wasn’t afforded in real life. I had some reservations about the privacy of his family so I changed the race of my partner from white to Latino. I also decided to do a scene that dealt with the violence committed against gay men by straight Latino men because I wanted to shine light on homophobia within the Latino community. I had some reservations about that because I’m an outsider to the Latino community. However, after some reflection, I am an artist, it’s my job to push the envelope and so it goes.
3) How did you get into the industry? Did you always want to write and direct movies?
I came to Hollywood in 2006 to pursue my dream of becoming an actor and I started doing background work with Central Casting for a couple of years and tried the actor’s life but found that there is a lack of roles for Asian actors and I gave up acting to find a “real” job. When I took the leap of faith and jumped on that greyhound bus with two suitcases and my dreams, I had no inkling that I wanted to be a writer or director or any position behind the camera. I came to Hollywood to be a star (like everyone else…lol) and wanted to be in front of the camera. While on set I was introduced to Joseph Campbell’s book “The Power of Myth” and one thing lead to another and I decided to pick up a copy of Julia Cameron’s “The Artist Way” book and took the workshop of the same name with venerable teacher Kelly Morgan and I discovered my hidden talent of writing. Writing was the last thing on my mind because I avoided English classes to save my life. English is a hard language to master especially grammar and being that English is my second language I just never imagined I wanted to be a writer because I struggled in High School and College in English and Literature classes.
I fell into directing almost by accident. Back in 2008, post-Prop 8, I was one of many LGBT activists fighting to win back our civil rights that was stripped from us by the voters of California. A group of us LGBT activists organized an event called the Revolution at the West Hollywood Auditorium and I decided to tape a “Take A Vow” video of attendees making a vow of commitment to win back our rights and I found that I really enjoyed being behind the camera and was moved to tears by these strangers who were pouring their hearts out on camera. I was hooked on being a midwife to the magic that happens between the camera and her subject and I had a little voice in my head telling me that I was good at connecting with people and that I should go to school to become a film a director. I was reluctant because I didn’t think that I had it in me to be a film director. It just seems like such an overwhelming task. But then during a Day of Decision rally that LGBT activists put together as a vigil to send a message to the Supreme Court of California in May of 2009, I heard Cheryl Lee Ralph up on stage singing a song at the rally that imparted the wisdom of the power of the pen, which was my call to adventure. It was one of those moments when things clicked and I felt my Higher Power was communicating to me so I resolved that in order for me to have any kind of opportunities in Tinsel Town as an Asian gay actor, I would have to create it for myself. So that’s how my long and winding journey into becoming a filmmaker began. I have Cheryl Lee Ralph to thank for it. She is such a fierce and powerful spirit, and she oozes charisma and inner beauty, besides the fact that she’s physically beautiful.
4) Lately campaigns like #whitewashedOUT have highlighted the lack of PoC, specifically Asian, representation in media. Clearly there are a lot of stories to tell, why do you think the representation is still so small?
I’m so glad you brought that up. It is deep rooted in systemic racism and a culture of white supremacy. I give Ming-na Wen and Constance Wu and Margaret Cho a lot of credit for jumpstarting this revolution by starting the conversation on whitewashing that led to the #whitewashedOUT movement. Ming-na Wen and Constance Wu will always go down in my book as the heroines of this movement because they stood up for all of us risking their careers. It is groundbreaking and there has been a shift of consciousness. There is no going back. And to quote British actress Gemma Chan, “the drumbeat is getting louder.” Hollywood will be shamed into changing and the studios will have to take actions to change the status quo. To be frank, I’d always been frustrated with why for so long popular Asian actors and directors have not used their platform earlier and been more vocal on this issue. But, timing is now ripe so it was music to my ears to see actresses Lucy Liu, Sandra Oh and director Ang Lee and Producer Janet Yang et al take the Academy to task for making fun of Asians at our kids’ expenses at the Oscars this year, which, I believe led to us having more courage to speak up. I love seeing my Asian sisters leading this revolution. That is something that is both powerful and ironic because Mother Culture have put them in the servile and subservient category but they’ve proven that they are fierce warriors. We can never thank them enough! I’m a Ming-na Wen and Constance Wu fan for life. I will do anything for those ladies. In fact, a sci-fi script that I’ve written titled Frog Eats Moon have them in mind for the two leads. But first things first. LOL. I gotta get this movie made. To get back to your question, I believe this all goes back to propaganda and a culture where the only images of beauty, of heroes and of historical figures that are great have been forced fed to us to be white people. It’s in the textbooks that we studied, the novels that we read, magazines that we perused, movies that we watched, music that we listened to and the scientists and geniuses that have been recorded or afforded face time in our educational videos and documentaries have mainly been white people. It’s subconscious. We’re subliminally taught that white people are superior to everybody else and that is a lie. We are all great in our own right. Greatness exists in every race and creed. We are all divine spiritual beings having a human experience. How I see race is like this, each race is like a flower decorating this beautiful garden called earth. We compliment each other. No race is better or worst than the others. Period.
5) WOWM is definitely a-typical in regards to Asian representation in the media. Do you think there is an additional hurdle for LGBTQ Asians? What is it? And why?
Thank you for this question. There definitely is additional hurdle for being LGBTQ of Asian descent. It’s both sexual orientation and race. We face sort of a double-whammy of hurdles. We experience discrimination from within our community of origin (for being gay) and within the LGBTQ community for being Asian so there is this crisis of self-esteem for my Gaysian brothers and sisters. We don’t feel good about who we are as gay people because we’re being discriminated against by our gay brothers and sisters for being Asian and we can’t feel good about our Asianess because our family of origin don’t understand what gayness is and there isn’t a lot of support in the beginning of our coming out. But I do see PSAs now coming out where we see Asian parents—specifically East Asians–speaking out proudly about loving and accepting their gay children so that is progress. My family have come full circle from thinking that I am gay because of bad karma from a past life (it’s a Buddhist thing) to now accepting me fully. I bring all my ex-boyfriends home for the Holidays. I wouldn’t have it any other way and they’ve learned to deal with it. All my nieces and nephews have called all my exes uncle. But, when I was newly out, this is about 21 years ago, my family don’t have any information on gay issues so when I go home it becomes uncomfortable around the dinner table. There is still a lack of education in SE Asian communities on gay issues and the major LGBTQ organizations don’t dedicate resources to translate literature into Southeast Asian languages, especially not Lao. Not to my knowledge at least and I called around and couldn’t find much. As recently as last year, I had a dear Lao friend contact me on Facebook frantic about her nephew and his struggles of coming out and how his parents don’t know how to deal with their son being gay. We searched high and low and finally found one PFLAG pamphlet in the Lao language about gay people that is incoherent that no one knew about or uses. In order words, if you’re gay and SE Asian, or, specifically, if you’re gay and Lao, good luck with your coming out process. You’re fucked because you’re left to fend for yourself and deal with your coming out on your own. I don’t recall ever seeing the gay press cover an Asian gay man or woman coming out. They’ve all been about everybody else, but mainly white gay men. But, I’ve not yet seen one gay media coverage of an Asian person’s coming out story because to the LGBT press, it seems, our stories don’t matter because we don’t matter to them. They don’t see us. We’re even more invisible in the LGBT community as Asians. It’s worst than the straight world. There is a lot of work to be done on that front. The LGBTQ media don’t cover LGBTQ of color, especially Asians, unless we’re someone already famous like George Takei, Alec Mapa or BD Wong so it’s harder for emerging Asian LGBTQ artists to even get press on our creative endeavors let alone representation in the media. Prime example was an HBO show Looking about a group of gay men in SF and how they managed to not cast one gay Asian man in that series. They had one black and one Latino male leads and a stereotypical—if token—straight Asian nerd but no Gaysians are to be found and there was a big uproar and a boycott from the community because we’re talking about SF and a 3rd of the population is Asian. The show eventually got canceled. Gay white men are taught by the same media, which emasculates Asian men, dehumanizing us by making us the butt of jokes, because—apparently—we’re made to be freaks that is somehow weirdly socially acceptable to be made fun of even in 2016. We only have to look at the Oscars telecast for confirmation. So to see Asian American members of the Academy stand up and unequivocally demand, “No more! Enough! We’ve had enough,” is empowering. I’ve been trying on several of my projects to get coverage of my project by the gay press but none has been given so far. In my first Award-Winning feature film that I helped associate produced (I LOVE YOU BOTH, 2016) we got press from Australia, New Zealand and the UK but none from the US. It was laughable actually. But, I take heart in seeing more gay Asian filmmakers making their art and distributing it online. In my line of work, what I’m trying to bring attention to is how lonely it is to be an LGBTQ of Asian descent. How we have to deal with our own coming out on our own because our families of origin don’t know how to embrace us for being gay and when we turn to the white LGBTQ community whom we thought would embrace us for being gay, but some—mostly gay men—reject us because we’re Asian.
6) While Asian representation is still struggling, do you think that LGBTQ representation has taken strides recently? Why/why not?
Yes, most definitely. Shonda Rhimes (she’s a Goddess) and Lee Daniels have really pushed the envelope in presenting gay leads in their shows in a non-stereotypical and unapologetic way. And I want to continue following in their footsteps in telling Asian gay stories for the big and small screens. Full disclosure, I don’t watch much TV (Empire is the only TV show I watched in the past year and that was because I was briefly Lee Daniel’s assistant) but I do read about it in the trades. I have a suspicion that if I consume too much TV it’ll mess with my own creative output.
7) Of the shows that do feature prominent gay characters, most of them are white. Do those representations help/hurt non-white gay representation (or is it neutral)?
It’s never neutral. Both those identities are an intrinsic part of who we are. We can’t choose our gay identity any easier than our racial/ethnic identity. But, this is exactly the same issue that we’re dealing with in the overall Hollywood whitewashing of Asian roles issue. When you have TV shows and movies featuring gay people as being only white, it invalidates us LGBTQ people of color. It’s the same tired white man standing in for all of humanity again, gay or straight being irrelevant. Last year Roland Emmerich whitewashed his epic gay historical film Stonewall by casting Jeremy Irvine (a straight white actor) to play the lead of that movie about the gay revolution and cast aside transwomen of color. In that film, Roland made Jeremy threw the first brick when in reality it was a Latino transwoman named Silvia Rivera who threw the first heel. Roland’s excuse for rewriting LGBTQ history and giving the credit to white people instigating the Stonewall riot (when it was drag queens and transwomen of color who rose up first that night) was because he believed straight white people in Middle America can relate better to a white gay man than a transwoman of color. The community was up in arms and we boycotted that movie which tanked.
8) At this blog, I try to focus on writing craft. A big hot topic is writing the “other,” often meaning white people writing PoC characters. Do you think that non-PoC writers should be doing that? Do you have any advice on how they should go about it?
This is a little tricky. I do think it comes down to perspective. A non-POC writer could never have the experience, cultural context and perspective of someone who is a POC but I don’t believe in censoring what people write. In my script, I researched the Latino characters to death and workshopped what I wrote with my Latino classmates and colleagues just to make sure I got it right. So, my advice for white writers writing PoC characters is to hire cultural consultants, which brings to mind a #whitewashedOUT discussion where several activists suggested that movie studios (and TV studios for that matter) hire POC consultants. And I do think that Hollywood TV studios need to open up their writer’s room to a more diverse group of writers. My believe is when we erased any group of people from the media and discount their voices, the whole world loses out on the contributions and gifts from those people’s experience, strength and wisdom.
9) Do you count those stories (PoC characters written by non-PoC writers) as part of the solution to the representation problem? Why/why not?
No. That’s an easy way out. It’s a way to keep the status quo. That’s like saying white actors can play Asian people better than Asian actors can play ourselves. It’s offensive. PoC writers can write ourselves better than white writers can ever attempt to write us. The gatekeepers, the movie studios and the producers and directors want to keep it that way because it serves them. Hollywood is run by the (to use the words of Ava DuVernay) “white patriarchy” and they’ve been doing things the usual way for as long as Hollywood has been in business. There really isn’t any excuses left—not that there were any to begin with—to explain whitewashing of ethnic roles in 2016? I’ve seriously been told in a room full of people at a film festival last year by literary managers and agents that they don’t sign PoC writers because our skills are not up to par (presumably to our white counterparts) and because PoC writers only write niche stories and these lit agents and manager’s conventional wisdom inform them that ethnic stories don’t sell. Yep. They said it in a room full of people. I was livid and let them have it. Some of them defended their indefensible position on video. I reminded them that I was a finalist in a screenwriting competition at that film festival.
10) What advice would you give another PoC filmmaker trying to make their way through the industry?
I haven’t made it yet so I can’t really give any advice on that front. I’m still trying to make it. This is my first film. Ask me after I get this film made and after I get to direct my three features (two written and the feature version of this film to be written) I have waiting in the wings. But, one thing I do have to offer emerging PoC filmmakers, especially those that are opinionated and are passionate about social justice issues: keep your mouth shut. Keep a low profile. Put your nose to the grind and do your thing. Don’t rock the boat until you get into the boat and have leverage to rock that Goddamn boat. Otherwise, you run the risk of alienating people, even your own ‘peoples’ who disagree with your position. People will only back people that don’t ruffle any feathers. Strangely, even the people who are on the same side as you will turn against you if you don’t fit into their worldview of how they think you should operate. People will only follow and back those who they see as leaders who can bring people together and create alliances and not people who have ‘controversial’ views and a big mouth—except if you’re Donald Drumpf. Once you have the mic then you can use that platform to voice your concerns to your hearts content…and be sure to turn the volume all the way up then. Otherwise, you’re just making it harder for yourself to get your foot in the proverbial door. The silver lining though, is that that door is cracked wide-open due to new media platform but you still need to connect with your audience and you still need people’s support in the form of eyeballs and funds to create your works of art. Don’t make it harder on yourself. Keep your mouth shut until you make a name for yourself!
The post IndieGoGo OTD: “Where Our Worlds Meets,” the Love Story a of Gay Man Who Becomes a Buddhist Monk to Help His Dead Lover Cross Over appeared first on The WOW Report.
Season 5 queen Detox, who grew up and lived in Orlando before moving to Los Angeles, is releasing an #ORLANDOSTRONG t-shirt with the help of Thread Me Up and donating 100% of the profits to benefit the victims of the Pulse nightclub shooting with Equality Florida.
From Detox’s Facebook:
In wake of the abhorrent act of violence at @pulseorlando @threadmeup has released this #OrlandoStrong t-shirt.
I will be donating %100 of the profits of this beautiful shirt to @equalityfl’s @gofundme.
This hits entirely too close to home. Pulse was a home away from home for myself and many young Central Floridians. It helped shape me into the person I am today, and I’ve shared this sacred place with countless friends and family.
I can’t even begin to find the words to express my sincerest condolences to my entire family at Pulse, my LGBTQ brothers and sisters in Orlando, our allies, and especially the victims and families of the victims of those affected and those we’ve lost.
My heart breaks for you, but know this. I will now and will forever stand with you. We, as a community, are unbreakable.
#OrlandoStrong
#PulseStrong
#ForeverStrong❤️
❤️
❤️
The post Detox Releases #ORLANDOSTRONG T-Shirt & 100% of the Proceeds Go to Victims of Pulse appeared first on The WOW Report.
This asshole, Omar Mateen, shot and killed 49 people at Pulse in Orlando. Mateen’s father says his son had been angered by the sight of two men kissing in Miami. Gawker says according to witnesses, Mateen was also a regular at Pulse and exchanged messages on a gay dating app. Chris Callen, who performs under the name Kristina McLaughlin. He told the Canadian Press,
“It’s the same guy. He’s been going to this bar for at least three years.”
Ty Smith, who also goes by the name Aries, also said he’d seen Mateen being escorted drunk from the club on many occasions. Smith told the Orlando Sentinel,
“(He’d get) really, really drunk… He couldn’t drink when he was at home—around his wife, or family. His father was really strict… He used to bitch about it.
Sometimes he would go over in the corner and sit and drink by himself, and other times he would get so drunk he was loud and belligerent. We didn’t really talk to him a lot, but I remember him saying things about his dad at times… He told us he had a wife and child.”
Both Callen and Smith say they stopped speaking to Mateen after he threatened them with a knife, after someone made a joke about religion. Callen said,
“He ended up pulling a knife. He said if he ever messed with him again, you know how it’ll turn out.”
MSNBC host Chris Hayes also says he spoke to a man who claims both he and a friend received messages from Mateen via a gay dating app. The full story is set to air Monday night on Hayes’ show, All In.
(via Gawker)
The post #Orlando: Shooter on Gay Dating App & Frequent Patron to Pulse Nightclub appeared first on The WOW Report.
As the world mourns and bleeds for Orlando, so are our RuPaul’s Drag Race queens. You’ve already read our first round, our second round, and now here’s our third round-up of RDR queens’ thoughts on their Facebooks, Twitters, and Instagrams…
1) Detox is putting her fashion into action:
2) Roxxxy Andrews reflects on her experience with Pulse Nightclub:
3) Ivy Winters shares some sweet words:
4) Temptest DuJour shared her touching sentiments:
5) Like the rest of us…Robbie Turner is still in shock.
6) Jade Sotomayor shares overwhelmingly emotional picture on her Instagram of her fallen cousin Eddie:
7) Darienne Lake shares tear-jerking post about Orlando:
8) Laganja Estranja shares her intimate thoughts on the tragedy:
9) BeBe Zahara chimed in on the horrifying news:
10) Michelle Visage and the entire Bots cast made sure to share their love through song last night in Minneapolis:
The post RDR Queens React To Orlando Shooting Part Three appeared first on The WOW Report.
