Via The National Gallery, London

Georges Seurat is famous for the painting techniques known as Pointillism, although he falls under the label of French Neo-Impressionist. He is best known for the iconic A Sunday On La Grande Jatte (1884), so fascinating that Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine wrote a musical about it. But, the beautiful Bathers At Asnières, has a rich history also.

The oil on canvas painting was the first of his large-scale compositions. Though it would take decades for the world to catch up with his innovative style, Seurat created this career-defining work at 24-years-old.

Bathers At Asnières (1884) captures the working-class in a moment of well-deserved rest along the Seine. Leisure time for the working-class was a relatively new concept, and Seurat was innovative in portraying men in a peaceful moment of quiet dignity.

The bowler and straw hats and their casual posture are clues to the men’s class status. The smokestacks in the background are a reminder that they will have to return to work tomorrow.

Pointillism was Seurat’s method of using millions of dots to create people and places in his paintings. Bathers At Asnières dabbles in the still evolving technique. Crosshatch brushwork blends with his patches of dots.

Measuring 6.5 feet by 10 feet, Bathers at Asnières is a size that was usually used for paintings of great historical scenes. Using such a large canvas to display anonymous men lounging around, confounded the critics at the time.

Bathers At Asnières was rejected for the esteemed Paris Salon exhibition, so the disappointed Seurat joined a group of artists to found Groupe des Artistes Indépendants, who held their own show that summer. Unfortunately, Seurat’s work didn’t make much of an impression, and Bathers at Asnières’ placement in the event’s beer hall didn’t help.

In 1886, it was shown at the National Academy Of Design in NYC, where Bathers At Asnières befuddled the viewers.

The critic of the NYC newspaper The Sun wrote:

“This is a picture conceived in a coarse, vulgar, and commonplace mind; the work of a man seeking distinction by the vulgar qualification and expedient of size. It is bad from every point of view, including his own.”

From Wikimedia Common

In 1889, Seurat passed away of unknown causes. He was just 31-years-old. He never lived to see Bathers At Asnières embraced by art lovers. Today, it is recognized as a masterpiece.

The bathers now live at London’s National Gallery where they are much loved, still enjoying their day off in the 21^st Century. It’s one of my favorite paintings and for me it evokes the real meaning of America’s Labor Day, honoring the contributions that workers make for our nation by giving them a long three-day weekend to lounge around.

The post #ArtDept: Georges Seurat’s “Bathers At Asnières” appeared first on The WOW Report.

Walter Becker, guitarist, bassist and co-founder of band Steely Dan, died today. Co-founder, Donald Fagen promised,

“I intend to keep the music we created together alive as long as I can with the Steely Dan band.”

Becker’s official site announced the death; no cause of death or other details were provided. Fagen wrote in a tribute to Becker,

“Walter Becker was my friend, my writing partner and my bandmate since we met as students at Bard College in 1967. He was smart as a whip, an excellent guitarist and a great songwriter. He was cynical about human nature, including his own, and hysterically funny.”

According to Rolling Stone, Becker and Fagen first became collaborators when they were both students at New York’s Bard College. After working as songwriters the duo moved to California in the early 70s to form Steely Dan – named after a sex toy in William S. Burroughs‘ Naked Lunch – alongside guitarists Jeff “Skunk” Baxter and Denny Dias, drummer Jim Hodder and singer David Palmer.

Following the release of their debut 1972 LP Can’t Buy a Thrill, which produced the hits Reelin’ in the Years, Dirty Work and Do It Again. For 1975’s Katy Lied, the now-duo – with Becker also picking up guitar duties – surrounded themselves with a team of expert studio musicians.

When asked by Time Out in 2008 about Deacon Blues sneaking onto classic rock radio, Becker said,

“That’s sort of what we wanted to do, conquer from the margins, sort of find our place in the middle based on the fact that we were creatures of the margin and of alienation, and I think that a lot of kids our age were very alienated. To this day when I read some text that somebody writes about alienation, I always think to myself, ‘Gee, they make it sound like it’s a bad thing!’ So yeah, I think that’s great. Naturally that’s very satisfying to us to hear that something has slipped through the cracks.”

In 2001, Steely Dan was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Moby said in his induction speech for the duo,

“The musical tradition that Steely Dan represent is certainly one that’s more cerebral and intellectual and beautiful as well. Although they always seemed to approach popular culture with a certain sense of irony and distaste, they also clearly have a love for beauty and beautiful music.”

Becker and Fagen used their Rock Hall acceptance speech to take questions from the crowd, below.

Walter Becker was 67.

(Photo, YouTube screen grab; via Rolling Stone)

The post #RIP: Steely Dan Co-Founder, Walter Becker appeared first on The WOW Report.

25 years ago, Boyz II Men’s song End Of The Road rode their group’s huge popularity to a then-record breaking 13 weeks at Number One on Billboard’s Pop and R&B charts, breaking a decades old record held by Elvis Presley.

The act featured sweet harmonies mixed with smooth R&B and New Jack Swing. By September 1992, they had already had two smash singles: the up tempo Motownphilly that soared to Number Three, and an a cappella ballad It’s So Hard to Say Goodbye which peaked at Number Two for four weeks. Both songs were from Boyz II Men’s debut album, Cooleyhighharmony (1990), which spent an astonishing 133 weeks on The Billboard Top 100 Chart.

The then-quartet: Michael McCary, Nathan Morris, Wanya Morris and Shawn Stockman made history with this mega-hit song. Just one of the tunes from the soundtrack of Eddie Murphy’s film Boomerang, End Of The Road topped the Hot 100 in mid-August of 1992. By the time this hopeful ballad with its tight-harmonies ended its run as Number One 13 weeks later, it stood as the longest-leading Number One in the chart’s history. It beat the 10-week Number Ones of Debby Boone’s You Light Up My Life (1977), and Olivia Newton-John’s 1981 huge workout anthem Physical.

Boyz II Men had four more Hot 100 Number One Hits during the next five years. After Whitney Houston had 14 weeks at Number One in early 1993 with I Will Always Love You, the Boyz II Men double-powerhouse Mariah Carey duet One Sweet Day (1995), gave back Boyz II Men the record for longest-running Number One that still stands: 16 weeks. The group is the only act with three Number Ones that were Number One for at least 13 weeks.

Boyz II Men is among the music biz elite when it comes to time spent at Number One, with 50 cumulative weeks, ranking fourth behind Presley, The Beatles, and Carey. Plus, when On Bended Knee took the number one spot away from I’ll Make Love to You, Boyz II Men became only the third artists ever (after The Beatles and Presley) to replace themselves at the top of the Billboard Hot 100.

Boyz II Men were influential in shaping the sound of the 1990s with their complex harmonies mixed with hip-hop, and they are still among the biggest names in a cappella and R&B. With what used to be called called “crossover appeal”, Boyz II Men were responsible for a big part of the 1990s movement to take R&B back into the mainstream, like it was in the 1970s.

Boyz II Men, became a trio when McCary left in 2003. They reached the Billboard 200’s Top 40 as recently as November 2014, when their 11th studio release, Collide, was ranked Number 37. They have sold more than 50 million records worldwide.

They continue to perform as a trio. In 2016, the trio appeared in Grease: Live as The Teen Angels, singing Beauty School Dropout. Their new album, Under The Streetlight is dropping next month.

The post #FlashBack92: 25 Years Ago, Boyz II Men Break All Records with “End Of The Road” appeared first on The WOW Report.

Beyonce
Carter Jenkins
Damon Wayans
Dave Salmoni
Dr. Drew Pinsky
Ione Skye
Jason David Frank
Judith Ivey
Khandi Alexander
Lucie Silvas
Mark Ronson
Mickey Cottrell
Mike Piazza
Mitzi Gaynor
Wes Bentley
Whitney Cummings

A post shared by Beyoncé (@beyonce) on Oct 15, 2016 at 10:23pm PDT

The post September 4th: It’s YOUR Birthday, Bitch! appeared first on The WOW Report.

September 4, 1920– Craig Claiborne:

”Man was meant to eat.”

Tellingly, three gay guys, Richard Olney, Portland’s James Beard, and Craig Claiborne, changed how we approached and wrote about modern food in 20^th Century USA.

Claiborne was an important restaurant critic, food writer and cookbook author. He was born in Sunflower, Mississippi, and was raised on Southern Cuisine in the kitchen of his mother’s boarding house, where he hung out with the African-American staff. It was a dark, disturbing childhood; he was bullied by his schoolmates, and his mother was difficult, if doting (Claiborne didn’t attend her funeral). He was openly molested by his father.

He went on to the University of Missouri, where he majored in Journalism. After serving in the Navy during WW II and the Korean War, he realized that his passion was cooking, and he used his G.I. Bill benefits to enroll in famed École Hôtelière de Lausanne in Switzerland.

When he returned home, Claiborne worked in public relations, first in Chicago and then in NYC. He went to the best restaurants when taking clients out to lunch, but his meager salary found him cooking for himself at home. Claiborne:

”I decided that if I wanted to eat good food, I’d have to cook it myself. The more I tried, the more hooked I became, and it’s never worn off.”

Claiborne wrote articles for Gourmet Magazine before becoming the Food Editor of The NY Times in 1957, a post usually filled by a woman. At The NY Times (this was before it was failing, he created the four-star rating system for restaurants that is still used today, and set a protocol for reviews that involved visiting a restaurant at least three times with three or four other people, anonymously whenever possible. He wrote about a chef’s cooking in detail, rating the restaurant rigorously on its food, ambience and service.

He brought a genteel, yet authoritative, style to restaurant reviewing that was never harsh or mean spirited. Claiborne created a new template for food writers, applying the rules of journalism: objectivity, transparency, professionalism. He wrote about food trends, profiles of chefs, and he had an elegant way with recipes. He introduced the notion of food and cooking as a lifestyle. His columns were immensely popular and helped open Americans to ethnic cuisines, especially Asian and Mexican food. Before Claiborne became the food editor of The NY Times, the food section was mostly Easy Desserts and Quick Recipes For The Busy Wife, provided by the giant food corporations like General Mills, or submitted by readers in weekly contests.

Claiborne thought of food as a serious intellectual pursuit and an expression of culture and an art form. For years, he was The NY Times’ only food writer. Astonishingly, he did it without any of his bosses telling him what or how to do it.

He championed unknown writers like Marcella Hazan and Julia Child. He was the first to bring attention to Paul Bocuse and French Nouvelle Cuisine, and Alice Waters and the rustic menu at Chez Panisse. He had a long-time professional partnership with the French chef, writer and television personality Pierre Franey, collaborating on a series books and culinary projects. Their partnership included seven books and numerous projects for The NY Times, including Franey’s 60-Minute Gourmet column.

In 1964, he edited and annotated The New York Times Cook Book; it sold over a million copies. In 1972, when Americans were dining on chop suey, Claiborne published The Chinese Cookbook along with chef Virginia Lee.

Claiborne’s laconic and diffident countenance hid a natural flamboyant, whimsical spirit. He gave extravagant birthday parties for himself on ocean liners and in restaurants; and he frequently held lavish dinner parties at his home for celebrities and notables.

Claiborne’s most notorious column about his $4,000 dinner in Paris, in November 1975, the result of a winning bid on a television fund-raiser. He wrote about the 31-course meal for two (he took Franey). A report of the meal was printed on the front page of The NY Times, cementing his reputation for audacity and panache. Reader response was angry. More than a thousand letters to the editor expressed outrage that anyone could spend thousands of dollars on dinner when people all over the world faced starvation. The Vatican said it was ”scandalous”. Claiborne’s stamina was legendary; when they left the restaurant, Franey asked him to sum up the experience. Claiborne replied:

”You know what was so amazing about that meal? ‘I don’t really feel that stuffed.”

Claiborne worked in the enormous kitchen at his home in East Hampton home, often with Franey, who died in 1996. In the late 1970’s, Claiborne was told by his doctor that he had to limit fat and salt in his diet, and readers followed his progress as if it were a soap opera. His book Craig Claiborne’s Gourmet Diet introduced the new concepts of low-sodium and low-fat cooking to millions of Americans.

Claiborne was a gay man who lived and worked in a time when it was professional suicide to be out of the closet. He was out to most of his friends and colleagues, but he was conflicted about his gayness. Like so many other gay guys in the 1950s and 1960s, Claiborne put himself out there as a ”Confirmed Bachelor”. He also drank too much.

Besides the cocktails and the loneliness that came with being a public figure, he had to cruise for sex the old-fashioned way, in bars that were frequently raided by the police and in public parks. This was before hook-up apps or even personal ads.

Claiborne finally had enough food and gave up on this world in January 2000. He left his books and papers to the Culinary Institute Of America and personal items to friends. However, he bequeathed the house in The Hamptons, his apartment in NYC and everything else not specifically named in his will to his married lover, James Dinneen. According to The Man Who Changed the Way We Eat: Craig Claiborne And The American Food Renaissance (2012) by Thomas McNamee:

“The two were strolling past each other in Manhattan when they locked eyes, and it was love at first sight. Dinneen was married, with six children, and living in Florida. Yet in Claiborne style, the two had countless trysts over the next two decades in choice hotels throughout the world and dined exquisitely until age and illness parted them. Dying nearly a decade later, Dinneen left behind no acknowledgment of their even having met.”

The post #BornThisDay: Food Writer, Craig Claiborne appeared first on The WOW Report.

Remember that strange laying on of hands prayer circle with Trump in the Oval Office? Well, several of Trump’s advisers who were present have signed a letter which states that “homosexual immorality” and “transgenderism” are sinful.

It was signed by 150 Christian leaders, including five members of Trump’s evangelical executive advisory board. Texas pastor Jack Graham was one those in the circle, along with Ronnie Floyd, Richard Land, James Dobson, founder of Focus on the Family, James Robison, who created Life Outreach International. (Robison lost his TV preaching spot in Dallas after he said homosexuality was a sin in a sermon.)

The Nashville Statement, which was signed by leaders at a national meeting of The Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood in Nashville, Tennessee says,

“We deny that sexual attraction for the same sex is part of the natural goodness of God’s original creation. We deny that adopting a homosexual or transgender self-conception is consistent with God’s holy purposes in creation and redemption.”

The letter declares,

“the goodness of God’s design in our sexuality and in creating us as male and female” and that God “enables sinners to forsake transgender self conceptions.”

Oh, and it is HELPFUL too, it says it can lead these “sinners” to accept,

“the God-ordained link between one’s biological sex and one’s self-conception as male or female.”

How do they feel about same-sex marriage? Guess? It says

“We deny that God has designed marriage to be a homosexual, polygamous, or polyamorous relationship.”

John Piper, co-founder of the ridiculously named Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood, referred to the statement as a “Christian manifesto” on human sexuality.

“It speaks with forthright clarity, biblical conviction, gospel compassion, cultural relevance, and practical helpfulness.

It will prove to be, I believe, enormously helpful for thousands of pastors and leaders hoping to give wise, biblical, and gracious guidance to their people.”

Trump’s America marches on, backwards, into the night.

(Photo, YouTube; via Pink News)

The post Trump’s Religious Advisors Just Signed the Anti-LGBT “Nashville Statement”. Here’s What it Says… appeared first on The WOW Report.

Horrifically, Aaron Joel Mitchell, 41, ran into the Burning Man festival’s signature burning of a towering effigy and was pulled back out of it. He was airlifted to a hospital, where he later died.

Other photos showed the man in the fire as well as rescuers running toward it in an attempt to save him. According to USA Today, Mitchell broke through two safety perimeters at and into the flames of the massive burning effigy last night.

Outlets have reported that Mitchell was not under the influence of alcohol at the time of the incident, but toxicology tests are pending.

(Photo, Twitter, via CNN)

The post #Breaking: Man Rushes Into Flames at Burning Man & Dies appeared first on The WOW Report.

Trump’s most humiliating secret is about to be released. According to The Palmer Report, it’s not the pee tape, although Trump is surely afraid of his sexual fetishes being exposed. (Remember he called up then-FBI Director James Comey specifically to insist that he hadn’t done ANYTHING with “Russian hookers.”)

It’s not simply collusion with the Russians to smear Clinton and steal the election. What’s the thing that Trump fears getting out more than anything? Something he was willing to risk losing the election just to keep secret?

He’s not a billionaire.

We know he’s been audited so many times over the years that if he were cheating, he’d have been caught by now. Instead, what he’s trying to hide (besides deals with Russians) is his net worth, or lack thereof. There are many signs that Trump went flat broke after the 2008 crash.

He went bankrupt and begin selling off his casino company in 2009 and that’s when he stopped donating to his own foundation according to its tax records. His income was so upside down, there was no need to continue generating write-offs. He started borrowing from foreign banks, because all of his American banking partners knew he was finished.

Just watch, Robert Mueller will expose that Trump’s debts are so large, that he’s not a billionaire by a long stretch. For Trump, that’s a worse fate than everything else that might, should and hopefully WILL happen to him. (Photo, YouTube; via The Palmer Report)

The post Robert Mueller Is Going To Expose Trump’s Most Shameful Secret (& It Is EMBARRASSING!) appeared first on The WOW Report.

A New York Times profile on EJ Johnson puts the gender fluid style-star forward as a boundary buster and “not just some other rich girl.”

Since he was outed by TMZ in 2013, Johnson, 25, has claimed his spot as pop-culture’s red carpet gender fucker, mostly as a fabulous dresser. His style is “ostentatiously androgynous”: fur shawls, ankle boots, diamond chokers, sheer tops, draped on a frame nearly as tall as that of his 6’9″ Dad, Magic.

The Times says,

“Today we are talking about breaking boundaries,” EJ Johnson declared from the stage of Beautycon, a two-day cosmetics festival held in August at the Los Angeles Convention Center. The 25-year-old son of Magic Johnson was moderating a panel called “The Gender Revolution,” and he was dressed for the part: black silk pants, crop top, sleeveless duster.

“We are talking about people who are not afraid to live their truth,” he continued, in a white armchair flanked by neon palm trees. “That is what beauty is all about, because it is in the eye of the beholder, honey.”

He introduced the panelists: young beauty “influencers” who, like Mr. Johnson, belong to a generation whose vocabulary for gender and sexual identity has stretched to include every conceivable hue. One of them, a gender-fluid 17-year-old YouTube star named Brendan Jordan, said, “I get asked if I’m a boy or a girl a lot. I’m just like, ‘Yes.’”

Mr. Johnson nodded and added: “That’s just the way we’re moving in the world, where everyone’s just going to be one big gray area.”

Like his gender-diverse wardrobe, his brand of fame is quintessentially modern: celebrity scion turned reality TV star turned Instagram self-chronicler. (His 631,000 followers had a virtual seat on his family’s summer yacht trip through Europe.)

EJ’s public life began when he was still in the womb. On Nov. 7, 1991, Magic Johnson made the announcement that he was H.I.V. positive and was retiring from the Lakers. At the time, H.I.V./AIDS was still widely thought to be a “gay disease,” a fallacy that Mr. Johnson’s case helped dispel.

EJ he was unaware of his father’s H.I.V. status until elementary school, when he was assigned a book report and found a book about his father in the library. He said,

“The school called my mom and was like, ‘We don’t know if you want him to do the book report, because it talks about the H.I.V.,’ I think it was at that point that they told me that he had been sick and he’s a lot better.”

When he was 15, his mother spied him staring at boys on a vacation in Hawaii and started a conversation, but EJ was still figuring out his sexuality. It wasn’t until three years later, when he was about to leave for New York University, that he came out decisively to both parents.

The matter was made public in 2013, when EJ was leaving a club on the Sunset Strip holding hands with a male friend. A TMZ reporter ambushed him with a camera, assuming he was out with his boyfriend. Mr. Johnson, who was 20, shrugged the whole thing off. Back at N.Y.U., he tried to ignore the online commotion.

“Everybody was texting me. And I’m just like, ‘Yo, what?’”

But he welcomed the opportunity to step into the spotlight, saying,

“I’m reveling in it, and I’m making it work to my advantage.”

Within weeks, he had a manager and was shopping a reality show to MTV and Bravo.

“I would watch the Kardashians and think, I could do that.”

Then his friend Dorothy Wang (daughter of the billionaire Roger Wang) invited him to a pool party being filmed for her own reality show.

EJNYC, which followed EJ’s adventures in NYC (duh) lasted six episodes. But he was not happy with how the show portrayed him.

“I don’t even recognize that person. It was sad. It was, like, this is supposed to be my show and my moment, and it wasn’t what I wanted at all. I mean, I looked good, but that was just me doing me.

Everyone was just worried about me being ‘relatable,’ and even that word made me want to gag.”

Now that reality stardom is behind him (for now), he’s taking acting lessons and contemplating starting a fashion line.

“I don’t think the fashion world has made any type of major huge strides, where we need to start commending anybody yet. They should probably start highlighting people who are doing it in the streets, as opposed to whatever celebrity they’re putting in a skirt for five seconds just for publicity.”

Was that shade to Jaden Smith? Maybe, but point taken

Maybe he’s “relatable” after all.

Black widow #vma2017 #teamthis

A post shared by EJ Johnson (@ejjohnson_) on Sep 2, 2017 at 7:16pm PDT

Take notes #teamthis

A post shared by EJ Johnson (@ejjohnson_) on Aug 9, 2017 at 10:49pm PDT

Just went platinum #teamthis

A post shared by EJ Johnson (@ejjohnson_) on Jul 7, 2017 at 8:57pm PDT

(Photos, Instagram; via NY Times)

The post #LGBTQ: EJ Johnson Is Breaking Boundaries as Part of “The Gender Revolution” appeared first on The WOW Report.

Kick out your Labor Day with this bitchy new track by Adam Joseph featuring the always quotable (and now DANCEABLE) Michelle Visage.

“You are not Madonna, gurl!”

You can get your own copy by donating to Adam’s music video fundraiser. (Although the one below is a pretty hilarious start…)

Listen and put it on repeat.

The post #WorldPremiere: Adam Joseph’s “Not Madonna” Feat. Michelle Visage. Listen appeared first on The WOW Report.

RuPaul’s DragCon NYC is finally THIS WEEKEND!

AHHHHHHH! Can you even handle the excitement? You’ve gotten your tickets, right? Phew. Great. You should also snatch up your tickets to the Friday and Saturday night parties for some extra after-hours fun at DragCon NYC!

Now that THAT is out of the way, we’ve got some absolutely AHHHMAZING tips about New York City courtesy of one of the queens who lives there… Miss Thorgy Thor!

We spoke with the Brooklyn queen about places to catch a drag show, the best boy watching spots, and SO MUCH MORE!

So, check out our interview with the one and only Thorgy Thor about all things New York City below and start planning the best. weekend. EVER!

The post Thorgy Thor Talks Hot Spots, Boy-Watching & MORE For RuPaul’s DragCon NYC 2017 appeared first on The WOW Report.

September 4, 1972 – Mark Spitz becomes the first competitor to win seven medals at a single Olympic Games.

At the start of the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City, Mark Spitz was already the holder of ten world records. He bodaciously predicted to the press that he would win six Gold Medals at this Olympics. However, he only won two Golds, both in team events: the 4×100-Meter Freestyle Relay and the 4×200-Meter Freestyle Relay in 7:52.33. He did take home the Silver Medal in the 100-meter butterfly, after being beaten by fellow American Doug Russell by a half second, despite holding the world record and having beaten Russell the previous ten times they had swum against each other that year. Because he lost to Russell, Spitz did not get to swim in the 4×100-meter medley relay, which gave Russell a second Gold Medal and the USA team another world record performance.

Disappointed, Spitz decided in 1969 to attend Indiana University to train with legendary swimming coach Doc Counsilman, his Olympic coach in Mexico City. While at Indiana U, Spitz won eight individual NCAA championships. In 1971, he won the James E. Sullivan Award as Best Amateur Athlete in the USA. Spitz also set world records during the U.S. Olympic Swim Trials in early 1972. He earned the nickname “Mark The Shark” by his teammates.

At the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, Spitz again set a goal of six Gold Medals. But, he did even better, winning seven Olympic Gold Medals, the first competitor to win seven medals at a single Olympic Games. Even better, Spitz set a new world record in each of those seven events. Spitz had been reluctant to swim the 100-meter Freestyle fearing a less than Gold Medal finish. Just minutes before the 100-Meter, he confessed on to ABC Sports reporter Donna de Varona:

“I know I say I don’t want to swim before every event but this time I’m serious. If I swim six and win six, I’ll be a hero. If I swim seven and win six, I’ll be a failure.”

Spitz won by half a stroke and set a new world record.

Spitz is one of five Olympians to win nine or more career Gold Medals: Russian gymnast Larisa Latynina, Finnish runner Paavo Nurmi and American track and field star Carl Lewis also have nine. Michael Phelps has won the most with 18. Spitz’s record of seven Gold Medals in a single Olympics was not surpassed until Phelps won eight at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.

During the Munich Massacre in the Olympic Village by Palestinian terrorists at the 1972 Olympics, Israeli racewalker Shaul Ladany awakened and alerted the American track coach, who called for the U.S. Marines to come and protect American Jewish Olympians Spitz and javelin thrower Bill Schmidt.

Photograph from Wikimedia Commons

Following the Munich Olympics, Spitz retired at just 22-years-old. He is ranked 33 on the list of ESPN’s 50 Greatest Athletes, the only aquatic athlete.

When he was 41-years-old, Spitz decided on a comeback at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona after filmmaker Bud Greenspan offered him one million dollars if he qualified. In front of the documentary cameras, Spitz did not beat the qualifying limit, despite his time being better than his medal-winning times from 20 years earlier. He was two seconds slower than the requisite qualifying time.

In an era when swimmers, male and female, shaved their body hair, Spitz famously kept his mustache. He said he grew the mustache as a rebellion against the clean-cut look imposed on him. Spitz:

“It took a long time to grow. When I went to the Olympics, I had every intention of shaving the mustache off, but I realized I was getting so many comments about it, everybody was talking about it, that I decided to keep it. I had some fun with a Russian coach who asked me if my mustache slowed me down. I said, ‘No, as a matter of fact, it deflects water away from my mouth, allows my rear end to rise and make me bullet-shaped in the water, and that’s what had allowed me to swim so great.’ He’s translating as fast as he can for the other coaches, and the following year every Russian male swimmer had a mustache.”

The poster with Spitz wearing a red, white and blue Speedo and his Olympic medals is an all-time bestseller and was on the bedroom wall of many a gay boy in the 1970s.

National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, photographer unknown

The post #OnThisDay: 45 Years Ago, Mark Spitz Wins Seven Olympic Gold Medals appeared first on The WOW Report.

Photograph: © Photoshot, PacificCoastNews

September 5, 1946– Farrokh Bulsara:

“I always knew I was a star and now, the rest of the world seems to agree with me.”

The Freddie Mercury Memorial Concert For Aids Awareness held at Wembley Stadium and broadcast on April 20th, 1992, featured performances by David Bowie, George Michael, Elizabeth Taylor, Guns n’ Roses, Metallica, Elton John, and Annie Lennox. It was watched by more than a billion people worldwide, about 25 percent of the population of the planet, including me and the husband.

Most music fans and critics agree that Queen’s gig at Live Aid in 1985 was the best live performance in the history of Rock n’ Roll. Queen spent more weeks on the UK charts than any other band, including The Beatles and The Rolling Stones.

I think Freddie Mercury’s voice is probably the finest instrument ever to sing Rock Music; it is truly operatic and astonishing in its range and power. Bohemian Rhapsody and We Are The Champions are two of the greatest Rock compositions of all time. Queen has sold more than 450 million albums. They are campy, theatrical and electrifying.

Mercury could be, at moment’s notice, tender and reaching, aching and pained, upbeat and confident. The voluminous discography of Queen’s 20-year career (1971-1991) features songs with elements of each: You’re My Best Friend, Spread Your Wings, Under Pressure, Who Wants To Live Forever?, Another One Bites The Dust, Bicycle Race, I’m Going Slightly Mad.

Growing up, Mercury liked singing Blues, but his influences were much broader: Noël Coward, Frédéric Chopin and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Dick Powell and Ruby Keeler, Robert Plant, Aretha Franklin, they all had an impact, plus the over-the-top emotionalism of his two favorite stars, Jimi Hendrix and Liza Minnelli loomed large in his own style.

It was Mercury who insisted on the name Queen when the band first formed. Mercury:

“It’s ever so regal. It was a strong name, very universal and very immediate. It had a lot of visual potential and was open to all sorts of interpretations, but that was just one facet of it.”

More important, the band’s lead singer also got a new name. He was no longer Fred Bulsara. He became Freddie Mercury, a reference to the Roman messenger of the Gods. Queen guitarist Brian May:

“I think changing his name was part of him assuming this different skin. I think it helped him to be this person that he wanted to be. The Bulsara person was still there, but for the public he was going to be this different character, this god.”

Although nearly everything about Queen was gay, including the band’s name, Mercury never admitted to being gay and he hid his HIV status. He even denied his ethnicity (Mercury’s parents were Parsi Zoroastrian, Persians who immigrated from Iran to India in order to escape persecution by Muslims).

Mercury was a curious man, with a brash and brazen personality long before he accepted that he was gay. He had a girlfriend, Mary Austin, when he was a youth. He continued to call her the great love of his life, even after he was in a longtime relationship with another man. He left his estate and his ashes to her. When Mercury told her he was bisexual, Austin replied: “No Freddie, you’re gay”.

You have to remember, mercury became famous in the 1970s and 1980s, two decades when Britain and the USA were not welcoming to gay people, and with the new plague emboldening the religious right-wing crazies.

After he was diagnosed as HIV+ in 1987, Mercury hid the results from nearly everyone and he basically went into seclusion. When asked by the press, he denied that he was sick. In November 1991, Mercury finally issued a statement admitting his condition:

“Following enormous conjecture in the press, I wish to confirm that I have been tested HIV-positive and I have AIDS. I felt it correct to keep this information private in order to protect the privacy of those around me. However, the time has now come for my friends and fans around the world to know the truth, and I hope everyone will join with me, my doctors and all those worldwide in the fight against this terrible disease.”

Mercury was just 45-years-old when he was taken by the plague. At his funeral, Aretha Franklin sang, and soprano Montserrat Caballé performed a Verdi aria. He was cremated and the location of his ashes has never been disclosed.

Cover Photo from Parlophone/Hollywood Records

My boo, Gavin Newsom, California’s Democratic Lt. Governor, was just a bit unhappy when that orange vulgarian’s campaign used We Are The Champions at the RNC’s fun-filled convention in Cleveland last July:

“His music was played at a convention where the most anti-LGBT policy platform was adopted. His music, which he famously labored over, which was intricate and complex, was played at a convention where Mike Pence, a man who has spent his political career actively looking for opportunities to pass laws that would give others the legal framework to discriminate against LGBT people, sat comfortably in a VIP box. I’m not sure what Freddie Mercury would think of his music being played at the RNC convention, but I do know that if he weren’t a famous rock star, he would have probably been greeted by a wall, a really high wall, because he represented everything that Pence and Donald Trump are scared of.”

The 11-minute operatic Bohemian Rhapsody has been covered by artists as diverse as Elton John, Axl Rose, and Panic! At The Disco, and it is on most Greatest Songs Of All Time lists. It was inducted into the Grammy Hall Of Fame in 2004. Other Mercury songs have been covered by Metallica, Nine Inch Nails, My Chemical Romance, Linda Ronstadt, Michael Bublé, Elaine Paige, Flaming Lips, Smashing Pumpkins, Chris Isaak, Dwight Yoakam, Stone Temple Pilots, David Bowie, Jay Z, Annie Lennox, Lil’ Wayne, and Shirley Bassey.

As early as 2010, a long-planned Mercury biopic starring Sacha Baron Cohen was in the works. In 2013, it was announced that openly gay actor Ben Whishaw, best known for playing Q in the James Bond films Skyfall and Spectre, would replace Cohen as Mercury. Now, it looks like a go again, with talented Rami Malek, Emmy Award winner for Mr. Robot, as Mercury, and Ben Hardy (X-Men: Apocalpyse), Gwilym Lee (The Hollow Crown) and Joe Mazzello (The Social Network) as the members of Queen. The film, is now titled Bohemian Rhapsody, and despite openly gay Bryan Singer directing, my sources tell me that Mercury’s story has been de-gayed and will leave out the HIV part. I am not certain how that will be possible.

Maybe we will have to skip it, and instead, check out the excellent documentary Freddie Mercury: The Untold Story By Those Who Knew Him Best (2006).

Mercury would have turned 71-years-old today. If he had survived, I believe he would still be touring, recording and still wowing his fans. If that seems improbable, just ask The Rolling Stones, Cher, Robert Plant, Bette Midler, Paul McCartney, Debbie Harry, or my husband about putting out after 70.

Theatrical, brilliant, excessive and doomed; I still miss him to this very day.

The post #BornThisDay: Freddie Mercury appeared first on The WOW Report.

In news that will come as no surprise to his legion of adoring fans, it was revealed that Harry Styles‘ face is absolute perfection. Apparently, the proportions of his face closely correspond to the ancient Greek measurement for perfect beauty i.e. the Golden Triangle, in which the eyes, nose, and mouth are in perfect proportion. And that’s… wait for it… what makes him beautiful.

Via NME:

The report published by The Centre For Advanced Facial Cosmetic and Plastic Surgery looks at The Golden Ratio (known as Phi) and how the symmetry of celebrities’ faces can be used to rank them in order of attractiveness. Nobody expects you to understand why you would want to do this but the quest for knowledge does not discriminate.

Turns out that Styles has both the most handsome eyes. Supposedly, the distance between the eyes, divided by the length of the eye should equal 1.618 (known as Phi). Styles’ peepers are 98.15% of that perfect ratio.

His chin is even closer to perfect status. For maximum attractiveness, the width of the chin at the mid point where it goes in the most should be 1.618 times the length of the lip. Styles’ chin is 99.7% of this ratio.

Watch him react to the news below.

(featured image via Youtube)

The post Science Reveals Harry Styles Is the Most Handsome Man on the Planet (But Then You Knew That Already) appeared first on The WOW Report.

It’s the mashup from Hell: Trumplethinskin “singing” Swift’s petty ode to revenge, using various video clips of our petulant president strung together and auto-tuned to make it look like he is singing. Watch the editing wizardry of YouTuber Maestro Ziikos below.

(top photos via MediaPunch)

The post Absolutely Terrifying: Trump Sings “Look What You Made Me Do” appeared first on The WOW Report.

Thursday night! September 7th! It’s THE fashion event of the season! All you favorite models – Amanda Lepore! Bebe Zahara Benet! Bradley Miller! Gia Gunn! Milk! Vander Von Odd! Laganja Estranga! Carmen Carrera! Detox! Mad Hatter! Mikayla! and J (aka CallMeJ)! – gather at the Intrepid museum to strut their stuff for Marco Marco. It’s the first of three shows (LA is on Sunday, October 15, with a Palm Springs date still to come). The theme of Part One is Night, Part Two is Day, Part Three is Play. What could that even mean? Get your tickets here and find out!

The post Tickets Are Now Available for the Marco Marco NYC/Style Fashion Week Show! appeared first on The WOW Report.

Ginger Minj stops by Hey Qween with Jonny McGovern and Lady Red Couture for a supersized HEY QWEEN interview and LOOK at HUH segments. 

In Part 1, Ginger talks growing up in Leesburg, Florida, touring and children!

In Part 2, Ginger talks about  being on RuPaul’s Drag Race, the fandom’s hysteria through waiting for Season 7 to air, loss, her relationship before RuPaul’s Drag Race stardom and her current beau!

In Part 3, Ginger talks about the girls from RuPaul’s Drag Race season 7 and answers questions from Reddit.

Ginger also joins Jonny McGovern on a super-duper sized edition of LOOK at HUH ( it’s the longest I’ve ever seen), so you know it’s going to be full of piping hot T!

In Part 1, Ginger talks about Alaska 5000, Trixie Mattel, Tatianna, Jiggly Caliente, Sasha Velour, Katya, Kandy Ho & Roxxxy Andrews!

In Part 2, Ginger talks about Sasha Belle, Alyssa Edwards, Rusty Faucet, Violet Chachki, & Pearl!

In Part 3, Ginger talks about Detox and  Phi Phi O’Hara!

The post GINGER MINJ on HEY QWEEN and LOOK at HUH with Jonny McGovern and Lady Red Couture! appeared first on The WOW Report.

Those fabulous Beekman Boys are back again with their fourth cookbook, A Seat at the Table, which launches today. It features their most personal recipes and writing to date which they created and co-wrote with their Sharon Springs’ neighbor, Rose Marie Trapani.

…A Seat at the Table is all about our community of Sharon Springs’ neighbors and artisans. In addition to hundreds of recipes, we feature profiles and stories about our great town. It’s truly a love letter to a community that gave two outsider city guys a place at their table…

…With mouth-watering photography by Christian Watson, this is our most personal book yet. And of course, anyone who’s followed us for awhile knows our co-author, Rose Marie Trapani. Not only is she the most amazing cook in our village, she’s one of the most amazing cooks we’ve ever met. (And we’ve met a lot of famous chefs…)

…And unlike most cookbooks, this one was created, cooked and shot right here in Sharon Springs. While most cookbook shoots occur in an NYC photo studio, Rose Marie, Megan, Brent & Josh cooked everything for the shoot themselves. And then shared all of the dishes with the community at the end of each day…

…We hope you think it’s as special as we do. It took us over two years to create, and every single page is our favorite…

…Come take a seat at our table!

Check out some of the mouthwatering images below.

Autographed copy available today for immediate shipment. Get yours here.

The post Mmmmm! The Beekman Boys Have a New Cookbook Out (and Somebody Better Make Me that Peach Tart ASAP!) appeared first on The WOW Report.

Ah love. Princess Mako, the eldest grandchild of Japan’s Emperor Akihito, officially confirmed over the weekend that she will give up her royal status to marry the man of her dreams, a commoner, 25 year-old cutie-patootie Kei Komuro. The couple met as students in 2012 at Tokyo’s International Christian University.

Under Japanese law, female members of the Imperial family must relinquish their royal status if they marry a commoner.

“I was aware since my childhood that I’ll leave a royal status once I marry,” Princess Mako told reporters at a press conference in Tokyo. “While I worked to help the emperor and fulfil duties as a royal family member as much as I can, I’ve been cherishing my own life.”

Komuro told reporters that he proposed in December 2013, though reports that they were planning to announce their engagement first surfaced in May.

“I was first attracted to his bright smiles that seemed like the sun,” the princess said. “It would be nice to have a warm and comfortable household with Mr. Komuro, so that we can make a family full of smiles.”

Awww.

Komuro described Princess Mako as someone

“who has been quietly watching over me like the moon,” and said he wanted to “build a relaxed and peaceful household.”

I’m not crying. Shut up. YOU’RE the one crying.

The 83-year-old emperor has officially approved their engagement, kicking off a lengthy engagement process before the wedding can take place, probably in 2018.

Watch the press conference below.

(The top photo is a screen grab; via Time)

#New Princess Mako (Emperor Akihito’s eldest granddaughter) and her fiance Kei Komuro, during a press conference to announce their engagement (3rd September) . Japan’s Princess Mako and her fiancé (a commoner) announced their engagement, a match which will cost the princess her royal status according to a law that highlights the male-dominated nature of Japan’s monarchy #japanimperialfamily #japaneseimperialfamily #princessmako #royalcouple #engagementring #instaroyals #royalnews

A post shared by Royal Addicted (@royaladdicted2) on Sep 3, 2017 at 6:23am PDT

The Imperial Household has officially announced the engagement of Princess Mako and Mr. Kei Komuro. The wedding is planned to be held next year. #japan #princessmako #royals

A post shared by World’s Royals (@worldsroyals) on Sep 4, 2017 at 9:45pm PDT

The post Japan’s Princess Mako Gives Up her Royal Status to Marry a Commoner “and Make a Family Full of Smiles” appeared first on The WOW Report.

Queen frontman Freddie Mercury is iconic. Rami Malek is well aware. Malek says, recalling his first time in hair and makeup as the singer,

“When you’re able to open your eyes and see a different person staring back at you in the mirror, it’s a very affirming moment.”

Here’s the first photo of Malek as Mercury just released today, on what would have been the singer’s 71st birthday.

Malek is preparing to play Mercury in Bohemian Rhapsody the Bryan Singer-directed film that chronicles Queen from 1970, when Mercury teamed with Brian May and Roger Taylor, until the band’s performance at Live Aid in 1985, six years before the singer died of complications from AIDS.

The film that will utilize either Malek’s own voice or recordings of Mercury, with a sound alike filling in the gaps,

“We’re going to use Freddie as much as possible and use myself as much as possible. I’m in Abbey Road [Studios] right now if that should say anything to you. I’m not working on my acting.”

Singer says about the biopic,

“It won’t just be the dark Freddie story, but that being said, that also will be honored. It’s about collaboration. It’s a celebration.”

Bohemian Rhapsody is out Dec. 25, 2018. Since there’s nothing to see of the film and it not out for over a year, let’s look at some vintage Queen, queens.

Watch.

(Photo, via Entertainment Weekly)

The post #FirstLook: Rami Malek IS Freddie Mercury in the Upcoming Biopic “Bohemian Rhapsody” appeared first on The WOW Report.