Francesco Mangiacapra

Cardinal Crescenzio Sepe said none of the identified priests worked in Naples. But he said he decided to forward the file to the Vatican because

“there remains the gravity of the cases for which those who have erred must pay the price, and be helped to repent for the harm done.”

It contains WhatsApp chats and other evidence, compiled by the onpenly gay escort who told the Italian media that he outed the priests because he could not stand their hypocrisy any more. According to NBC News, Mangiacapra said in the statement,

“We’re talking about sins, not crimes.“

But there are crimes and it’s a lot more complicated than that. This scandal involves threats, fraud, drugs, embezzlement, extortion and money laundering.

Fr. Luca Morini

According to Church Militant,

The diocese only acted once it found out that national broadcast show Le Iene was after the priest, so the bishop suspended him from his activities ‘due to sickness’ and then transferred him to a €200,000.00 house, bought especially for him (monthly utility bills and maid included). These were allegedly obtained from the bishop of Massa Carrara-Pontremoli, Giovanni Santucci, through blackmail, as Morini had

‘threatened to expose to the public eye unpleasant facts about many diocesan priests.’

Bishop Santucci also gave Don Euro €4,500,00 from his own personal bank account, as well as €1,000.00 from diocesan funds. The bishop is also currently under investigation.

The episode aired by Le Iene shows footage of Fr. Morini snorting cocaine and parading in the company of several male escorts, as well as interviews with many of the parishioners, who testify that the priest was constantly pestering them for money, even during confessions.

One of the priests interviewed by Le Iene declared that Morini,

‘arrived to the point of blasphemy: He would choose a member of the faithful and tell them he had seen Padre Pio in the Host, and that Padre Pio had mentioned that person by name. … He would then request thousands of euros from that person, promising that the offer guaranteed Padre Pio’s protection.’

Another diocesan priest wrote an anonymous letter to the show’s staff:

‘It hurts me to say that Fr. Morini has behaved this way for approximately 20 years, stealing and deceiving the elderly and those most in need, all seemingly under the protection of the powerful.‘

When the investigation was concluded last June, the police managed to trace to Fr. Morini €700,000 in cash and €150,000 in diamond investments. He was known in the best restaurants, resorts and five-star hotels in Rome and in Tuscany, and would always provide the drugs.

‘The cocaine was always Morini’s. I’m an escort, I’m not a drug dealer.‘

Wow, right? Before this all came out, Mangiacapra was not unknown. He wrote a book, Number One: Confessions of a Male Escort, but no names were mentioned. He got an anonymous death threat early this year which made references to the book. (Has Ryan Murphy bought the movie rights to it yet?)

Mangiacapra said,

“I am worried because the letter arrived at my home address, which is not public. I am reporting it to the police, because if others letters were to arrive, we can take action.“

That might not be the last letter as it says,

“Your popularity makes you very traceable, as you can see now, and will see again in the future.“

Mangiacapra said,

“The goal isn’t to hurt the people I’ve mentioned [in the dossier], but to help them understand that their double life … isn’t useful to them or to the people who rely on them for guidance. Their behavior is, in many cases, a result of the impunity that the high hierarchy of the Church has made habitual: that unjust tolerance that feeds the idea that it is possible to separate that which is lived from that which is professed, as typical of those who have a schizophrenic, double morality.”

#WhatHeSaid

(Photos, Instagram, screen grab; via NBC News, Church Militant)

Hush, puppy: Trump’s aka, “David Dennison” is unsigned

Just days before the 2016 election, Stephanie Clifford (aka Stormy Daniels) signed both the agreement and a side letter agreement using her professional name on October 28, 2016. Cohen signed it on the same day.

The “hush agreement,” as it’s called in the suit, refers to Trump throughout as David Dennison, and Clifford as Peggy Peterson. The side letter agreement reveals the real identities of the parties as Clifford and Trump and each includes a blank where “DD” is supposed to sign. Neither blank is signed.

The agreement said that $130,000 would be paid into the trust account of Clifford’s then-attorney and in return, Clifford was not to disclose any confidential information about Trump or his sexual partners to anyone. Except for those people she’d already blabbed to.

The suit says that Trump KNOWS that Cohen is trying to keep Stormy quiet. Rules for the New York bar, of which Cohen is a member, require him to keep his client informed at all times.

“[I]t strains credulity to conclude that Mr. Cohen is acting on his own accord and without the express approval and knowledge of his client Mr. Trump.“

The suit also alleges that Cohen tried to keep Clifford from talking about the relationship as recently as late last month, Feb. 27, 2018. The suit says,

“To be clear, the attempts to intimidate Ms. Clifford into silence and ‘shut her up’ in order to ‘protect Mr. Trump’ continue unabated. On or about February 27, 2018, Mr. Trump’s attorney Mr. Cohen surreptitiously initiated a bogus arbitration proceeding against Ms. Clifford in Los Angeles.“

Clifford and her attorney, Michael Avenatti, are asking the L.A. County Superior Court to declare that both the hush agreement and the side agreement,

“were never formed, and therefore do not exist, because, among other things, Mr. Trump never signed the agreements. In the alternative, Plaintiff seeks an order of this Court declaring that the agreements in the forms set out in Exhibits 1 and 2 are invalid, unenforceable, and/or void under the doctrine of unconscionability.“

You can read the entire hush agreement here.

Trump has never addressed the alleged relationship publicly. White House spokesperson Raj Shah said he had never asked the president about the alleged relationship. (Don’t ask, don’t tell.) Cohen has acknowledged the payment, but has repeatedly declined to say what the payment was for.

This is the perfect move by Stormy’s lawyer because it essentially traps Trump. If he ignores the suit, and says he doesn’t know her, she’s free to talk. If he disputes it, then he’s admitting publicly to the agreement, the pay-off and the affair.

On The Rachel Maddow Show, Monday night Rachel was introducing a segment about Stormy saying,

“However titilating the Stormy Daniels story is… I’m sorry I just said ‘titilating’.“

The oddest (saddest) and most frustrating thing about this whole Stormy affair is that, because the Trump White House is in such chaos, this it isn’t even the top news story.

But satirist Andy Borowitz, as usual, nails it, so to speak;

“Trump denies having sex with Stormy Daniels citing boner spurs.“

See you in a few days NY! Feb 22 only!

A post shared by stormydaniels (@thestormydaniels) on Feb 18, 2018 at 3:03pm PST

(Photo, Instagram; via NBC News)

Nixon at the 2017 IFP Gotham Awards, New York City, November, 2017

Cuomo was caught by surprise Tuesday, after several people close to the governor said that Nixon was getting more serious.

A popular two-term big-state governor from a political dynasty (his father was governor) with a long record make him a natural presidential front-runner. But his personal spats have pissed off an activist base that’s becoming more liberal. They might be ready to sign up for party infighting with a star from outside of politics.

National operatives already talk regularly about how they don’t like Cuomo or that they know enough other people who don’t. Cuomo’s 2014 primary challenger, Zephyr Teachout, won more than a third of the vote — without Nixon’s star power said on Tuesday,

“What we saw was with a weird name and basically no money or name recognition, almost immediately when I started running, people came out of the woodwork in various communities saying they felt betrayed, he wasn’t supporting Democrats or addressing the real issues. The core dissatisfaction has not only remained, but it’s grown.”

Since Teachout’s 2014 challenge, though, Cuomo has moved considerably to the left. He banned natural gas hydrofracking about a month after the election. (I live in upstate New York and am grateful to Cuomo for banning fracking. It was coming to our area and would have ruined it.)

Cuomo defenders are puzzled by all of the ill will. Of all the prospective Democratic presidential candidates, he has one of the biggest records of progressive accomplishments, legalizing gay marriage early in 2011 (Nixon who is gay and married, has benefited personally from this, btw.) Cuomo also passed significant gun laws in 2013 after the Sandy Hook shooting and just announced the States for Gun Safety coalition to combat the gun violence epidemic along with New Jersey, Connecticut and Rhode Island.

But then there’s his nonstop grudge match with New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio. One person who’s spoken to Nixon about a possible run said,

“For eight years, this guy has governed as a Republican in New York, literally empowering a Republican state Senate, bashing Democrats, putting forward a centrist agenda and coasting on his last name. Add to that the fact that his administration is perpetually mired in corruption and the subways don’t work. The guy’s got real problems.”

Christine Quinn, the former New York City council speaker and state Democratic Party vice chair, pointed out that Cuomo has already been endorsed by the Human Rights Campaign and others. She said,

“The guy’s record, from a left perspective, is flawless. It’s just flawless.

You need to run for a reason. And you need to run not just because of your own desire, your own ‘calling.’”

Cuomo pollster Jef Pollock also dismissed Nixon for waging “a vanity run.” Pollock argued, Nixon is the wrong type of celeb,

“Let’s not overstate the name ID of Cynthia Nixon statewide. It’s not that high, and in a primary electorate in New York state that is far more demographically attuned to ‘60 Minutes’ more than ‘Sex and the City,’ I wouldn’t think that Nixon or the characters she has played have the kind of broad recognition one would need to run in New York state.”

But on Tuesday Cuomo chose not to engage on the topic of any potential challengers,

“On people who may or may not run for governor on both sides of the aisle, that’s up to them, and we’ll deal with it as the campaign progresses.”

Well, if she does run, she’ll bring back some integrity to the tarnished political name, Nixon.

Happy #pride everybody! I take it as a sign of progress that a lot of people at my theater don't even know what this shirt means :-)

A post shared by Cynthia Nixon (@cynthiaenixon) on Jun 25, 2017 at 10:43am PDT

Trump's first year in office has been a dark time for America. But the good news is this is still a democracy, and we can hold our leaders accountable. The state of our union is up to us. It's time to take our government back. Check out my piece for CNN Opinion – link in bio.

A post shared by Cynthia Nixon (@cynthiaenixon) on Jan 30, 2018 at 10:21am PST

On subway on our way to the #WomensMarchNYC #HearOurVote #PowerToThePolls

A post shared by Cynthia Nixon (@cynthiaenixon) on Jan 20, 2018 at 10:39am PST

She meant Richard, but I'll take it. #HearOurVote #PowerToThePolls #WomensMarchNYC

A post shared by Cynthia Nixon (@cynthiaenixon) on Jan 20, 2018 at 11:23am PST

(Photo, Pacific Coast News, via Politico)

Barbra Streisand‘s recent interview with Variety had one tiny bit of info that went around the world. She cloned her dog to make two new ones.

Streisand has since explained her reasoning to The New York Times,

“I was so devastated by the loss of my dear Samantha, after 14 years together, that I just wanted to keep her with me in some way. It was easier to let Sammie go if I knew I could keep some part of her alive, something that came from her DNA.

A friend had cloned his beloved dog, and I was very impressed with that dog. So Sammie’s doctor took some cells from inside her cheek and the skin on her tummy just before she died.“

While she waited to see if the cells would take at ViaGen Pets in Texas, Samantha’s breeder gave her another Coton de Tulear, whose mother was named Funny Girl.

“It felt like fate, as if it was meant to be. How could I refuse that little girl? So I took her, too, and named her Miss Fanny.“

The cells did take and made four dogs, one of which died soon after birth and another she gave to a friend. She kept two, and named them Miss Violet and Miss Scarlett.

“You can clone the look of a dog, but you can’t clone the soul. Still, every time I look at their faces, I think of my Samantha…and smile.”

I’ve seen comments of people aghast and disgusted at Babs doing this. On her Instagram some dick commented,

“Anyone who supports her doing this are just heartless assholes. Straight up.“

Heartless? Firstly, is this a dog person? My dog, Lamonte is now 13 and the thought of him not being here makes me beyond depressed. People replace their beloved pets all of the time. Second, are those people so concerned with animals, meat eaters? Hunters? (I’m not.)

Some have said that Barbra should have gotten a rescue. She’s Barbra FUCKING Streisand, she can do whatever the hell she wants. I got news for you, she might be a legend and an icon, but she’s now also an old Jewish lady who loves her dogs. Any person who is so militant about people getting rescues (which is admirable, but NOT mandatory) I’ve got an idea, YOU get a rescue, donate and volunteer at the ASPCA and let Barbra have her damn clones if it makes her happy.

That said, even if you are sympathetic, cloning your pet is NOT for everybody –just rich people. For $1600 you can preserve your pets DNA, but the cloning itself costs $50,000! You can read more about it here on ViaGen’s website.

For the love of Sammie… (Link in profile). : @russelljames

A post shared by Barbra Streisand (@barbrastreisand) on Mar 2, 2018 at 4:09pm PST

Happy New Year from my three girls… Pink, Blue & Violet.

A post shared by Barbra Streisand (@barbrastreisand) on Jan 1, 2018 at 6:34pm PST

Our new basket of adorables

A post shared by Barbra Streisand (@barbrastreisand) on Dec 25, 2017 at 11:25am PST

Missing my girl Samantha. Look at those eyes… the depth in them. Her Mom xo.

A post shared by Barbra Streisand (@barbrastreisand) on Nov 29, 2017 at 2:04pm PST

With dear little Sadie in 1974. #tbt

A post shared by Barbra Streisand (@barbrastreisand) on Oct 26, 2017 at 8:59am PDT

(via Billboard)

John Irving Via YouTube

Today’s quote is from The World According To Garp (1978) Roberta was the former Robert Muldoon, a tight end for the Philadelphia Eagles. She was known for her “quick hands” and strength during her American football career. She is six-foot-four and weighs 180 pounds, though she was 235 while playing football.

Roberta is a close friend of T.S. Garp and his mother, Jenny Fields. She had sex reassignment surgery after reading Jenny’s book, ‘A Sexual Suspect’, which prompted her to contact Jenny.

Not all of Roberta’s life has improved from the surgery: Roberta receives hate mail from football fans for her choice. One fan letter remarks that he hopes Roberta gets “gang-raped by the Oakland Raiders”. Fans of the Eagles switch teams and other tight end players change positions to avoid a transgender stigma. There is also controversy surrounding her possible employment as a sports announcer. Networks agree not to hire her even though she has full football knowledge. Roberta rarely pays attention to the drama, though, and allows Garp to look at her hate mail more than she does.

She becomes a mother figure to many younger transwomen, one of whom marries Garp’s son.

The 1982 film version has John Lithgow in the role of Roberta Muldoon. He was nominated for an Academy Award. He won Best Supporting Actor from the New York Film Critics Circle Awards and the Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards for the role.

Lithgow as Roberta with Robin Williams as Garp, 1982, Warner Bros via YouTube

Irving is the best ally the LGBTQ community has in a literary giant. The acclaimed novelist and Academy Award winning screenwriter, adapting his own The Cider House Rules (1999) for the screen, is the very definition of ”straight, but not narrow”.

His first bestseller, The World According To Garp, features a comic but heartfelt and humane portrait of a transgender person, probably the first I had ever encountered in literature. Since then, he has explored gay and transgender themes in The Hotel New Hampshire (1981) with a gay brother, A Son Of The Circus (1994) with gay twins, and several other novels including gay characters and themes.

In the summer of 2013, I read his terrific novel, In One Person. Irving puts gayness as the center theme in the novel. Bisexual Billy Abbott, is the book’s hero, the story takes him from his upbringing through the AIDS crisis in NYC and beyond. Irving proves that despite his tough-guy writer image, his compassion for sexual minorities is real and deep.

Irving has been open about the influence of gay authors on his writing. He lists Edmund White among his inspirations. He also has a gay son.

Irving:

”I can’t accept that Gay Rights, or the rights for people who are Bi, or the rights for Transgender people, are as ‘hotly debated’ as they say. I think those people who can’t accept sexual identity as a civil rights issue, are moral and political dinosaurs. Their resistance to sexual tolerance is dying; those people who are sexually intolerant are dying out, they just don’t know it yet.”

In 1979, after I finished reading The World According To Garp, I thought it was a very angry novel, and the subject of intolerance toward sexual differences upset me, although I found it thrilling. Garp is a radical novel, in a political and violent sense. A man is killed by a woman who hates men; his mother is murdered by a man who hates women. It is also very funny and heartwarming. Irving:

”Sexual assassination was a harsh view of the so-called sexual liberation of the sixties; I was saying, So why do people of different sexual persuasions still hate one another? ”

Drag Race season 10 CR: VH1

New season, new queens and YAS, a new Werk Room.  The Werk Room got an extreme makeover since All Stars 3, kitty girl.  Check out these sexy, siren red walls that all 14 contestants will break in on RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 10. 

Drag Race season 10 CR: VH1

Drag Race season 10 CR: VH1

Drag Race season 10 CR: VH1

That’s not all! Drag Race now has 10 season under it’s tuck meaning there’s a lot to celebrate.

RuPaul will additionally welcome several queens from prior seasons back to the show in celebration of a decade of Drag Race across the season premiere, including Bob the Drag Queen, Jinkx Monsoon, Kim Chi, Adore Delano, Laganja Estranja, and current All Stars 3competitors Morgan McMichaels and Trixie Mattel.

A new decade of Drag Race deserves a Werk Room with a facelift! When Mama Ru looked back on 10 seasons she realized,

“While preparing for season 10, I realized that one of our contestants was 11 years old when we first launched Drag Race,”

Drag Race season 10 CR: VH1

Drag Race season 10 CR: VH1

Drag Race season 10 CR: VH1

Want a chance to strike a pose in the new digs?

The Werk Room is coming to DragCon LA!! Grab your most sickening looks and squirrel friends and get ready to WERK the Werk Room.  So snatch your tickets for May 11, 12, & 13th, OKUR?!?

RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 10 premieres March 22 at 8/7 c on VH1!

(Photos via VH1 & Entertainment)

“If Cinderella’s shoe fit perfectly then why did it fall off?”

Living the dream

Garfield as a baby

Once You Pop… THAT’S GREAT! from r/funny

Once you pop … That’s great … bahahaha

A post shared by The Tasteless Gentlemen Show (@thetastelessgentlemen) on Mar 5, 2018 at 4:34pm PST

Wait for it …

When it’s your first time at a festival from r/WatchPeopleDieInside

But why are they doing interviews at urinals?

Best selfie ever. from r/funny

Legend has it this is not photoshopped.

Till Friday! Skittles xoxoxo!

Tell me lies, tell me sweet little lies, HONEYYYY.

Tonight on The Trixe & Katya Show with Bob the Drag Queen the queen partake in your favorite childhood game.  Let’s see how close the girls truly are and who is full of shit.

Let’s see the queens go at the art of deception! Did Bob have sex more than once in a dumpster? Does Trixie have a third nipple? Do they suck at lying? You be the judge.

The Trixie & Katya Show is on VICELAND at 10:30 p tonight. Don’t miss it, girl!

RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars 3 queen and Season 1 winner Bebe Zahara Benet took Instagram by storm with her #JungleKittyChallenge.

Remember her Jungle Kitty bodysuit from the Drag Up Your Life number last week?? Well, Bebe turned to the internet asking for fans to send in their inner jungle queens and lip sync to her verse!

The best one by far comes from Cats the musical!! (Yes, THOSE cats!)

Take a look …

I’ve been getting hundreds of these and they all put a huge smile on my face! I love you all for embracing your inner Jungle Kitty and being fierce without apologies. @eopeters, @brodytom, @graweaver, @alexbartlesuk, @benaholtzman, @leeslo + @scottiesutra, @missspng, @the_noa_noe_spirit, @rupaws_drag_race, @george_garaway, @mr_cooper_nichol, @jackthemerman, @queerballcomedy and @fransquishco + @djdumpling, you absolutely slayed it!!! #JungleKittyChallenge

A post shared by BeBe Zahara Benet (@bebezahara) on Mar 6, 2018 at 11:43am PST

LOL!!!!

I can’t wait to see who else sends in their jungle kitty!

Mary Ann Heagerty
Aidan Quinn
Boris Kodjoe
Camryn Manheim
Carole Bayer Sager
Freddie Prinze Jr.
Gary Numan
Hines Ward
James Van Der Beek
Kat Von D
Kathy Ireland
Lester Holt
Micky Dolenz
Nick Zano

Time Magazine, 1970:

”If the situation of the homosexual is ever to be understood by the public, it will be because of the breakthrough made by this humane, moving movie.”

The movie was The Boys In The Band, released in March 1970. It is one of the first American films to focus on gay characters.

Adapted from the 1968 Off-Broadway play by Mart Crowley, the film is an unflinching look at urban gay life in the 1960s, an era when being queer meant being an outsider and feeling deeply despondent. Though the characters are unabashedly campy, their humor is a survival strategy used to disguise the pain of being different and despised. In 1968, The NY Times refused to use the word ”gay”, sodomy was a crime, dancing with someone of the same sex could get you arrested, and the Stonewall Riots were still a year away.

A 50th-anniversary revival of the play is opening on Broadway in April with Jim Parsons, Zachary Quinto, Andrew Rannells, and Matt Bomer, directed by two-time Tony winner Joe Mantello and produced by Ryan Murphy, all happily openly gay men.

In case you don’t know, The Boys In The Band is about a birthday party for Harold, an acerbic gay guy who seems to have it all. The party brings together a group of gay clichés: the flamboyant interior designer, the self-loathing alcoholic, the bitchy queen, the tense longtime couple, the flamboyant sissy, the straight man who might not be so straight, the obligatory black guy, and the paid-for stud, all gathered for an evening of truth-telling. Throw in an emotionally devastating phone game, a lot of drinking, mixed it all together to create plenty of drama and tension with characters that you will either love or hate, though you will probably hate them.

The film version of The Boys In The Band (1970), starring the play’s original cast, is also a landmark in the history of gays in film. It now serves as an important historical artifact. The film’s significance cannot be denied, and its wicked wit still sticks with you.

The film is directed by William Friedkin, who did The French Connection (1971) and The Exorcist (1973). He was the choice of Crowley, who had admired Friedkin’s film version of Harold Pinter‘s play The Birthday Party (1968). Crowley wrote:

“I thought, well, anybody who has this gift of imagery within such enormous confines of a play with so much verbiage and can still make some film imagery and get some movement and action out of it, then this is it.”

Friedkin smartly avoided “opening up” the play, only using the opening credits sequence to establish the details of the characters’ outside lives but confining the rest of action to the events at the party. Crowley insisted on using the play’s original cast for the film.

The Boys In The Band was revolutionary at the time it was released, when it was given an R rating from the Motion Picture Association of America. Earlier, The Killing Of Sister George (1968) and Midnight Cowboy (1969) both received X ratings simply because there were gay characters in the films.

Friedkin went out of his way to describe the film as “…not about the gay world, but about human problems”. That qualification probably seemed necessary at the time. Just days before the film started shooting, the Stonewall Riots occurred, and overnight, The Boys In The Band and its miserable gay men became a period piece. Later, Friedkin became the focus of protests by the gay community because of his lurid film Cruising (1980) set in the gay S&M club scene.

Cinema Center Films via YouTube

The Boys In The Band was made before the plague, making it even more of a relic. From the film’s cast: Kenneth Nelson, Leonard Frey, Keith Prentice, Frederick Combs and Robert La Tourneaux, would all die from HIV/AIDS.

In The Celluloid Closet (1980), Vito Russo‘s important book about gay images in film, he writes:

“The internalized guilt of eight gay men at a Manhattan birthday party formed the best and most potent argument for gay liberation ever offered in a popular art form.”

In the play and film, Michael says: ”Show me a happy homosexual and I’ll show you a gay corpse”, proving The Boys In The Band is no longer relevant. Yet, it is entertaining, and its durability is a testament to the well-constructed script, crisp, hilarious dialogue, and the performances of the actors, frozen in time.

The film has a 100% positive rating from Rotten Tomatoes. Friedkin says that it is one of his favorites of all his films. On the occasion of the release of the 2008 DVD for the movie, Friedkin said:

“It’s one of the few films I’ve made that I can still watch.”

Brooklyn-based alternative/pop/R&B…basically…you can’t box Punk Adams in. He is a queer artist, in a I’m putting my shit out there way, that defies categorization…living in his light. Check out his latest missive Corner Store (producer Austin Marc)- his narrative of a ‘tug and pull relationship’, inspired by the consanguinity with his father.  (above pic by Javrey)

In a world full of nines, be a ten!

No truer words from Mama Ru in the season 10 trailer for RuPaul’s Drag Race!

Season 10 is SICKENING! There’s a new Werk Room, new queens, Christina Aguilera, Courtney Love , Andrew Rannells and more.  All these queens are 10s but who will be #1 ?

Don’t forget all 14 of the new queens including Asia O’Hara, Aquaria, Blair St. Clair, Dusty Ray Bottoms, Eureka O’Hara, Kalorie Karbdashian-Williams, Kameron Michaels, Mayhem Miller, Miz Cracker, Monét X Change, Monique Heart, The Vixen, Vanessa Vanjie Mateo and Yuhua Hamasaki.

Untucked will air directly after every episode of season 10 as well!

RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 10 Returns Thursday March 22 at 8/7 C on VH1.

Drag Race season 10 CR: VH1

The star studded roster is ready to dish critiques and cheer on the Queens on season 10 of RuPaul’s Drag Race!

As you already know, the season will kick off with Christina Aguilera at Mama Ru’s side, but who else is on the list?

EVERYONE. I mean we’ve got Shania Twain, Lena Dunham, Broad City‘s Abbi Jacobson and Ilana Glazer! There will be Academy Award-nominated screenwriters of The Big Sick Kumail Nanjiani and Emily V. Gordon. Comedian Billy Eichner will also serve on the panel of judges.

We know you are gagged but there is more! Kate Upton, Halsey, Padma Lakshmi, Courtney Love, Nico Tortorella, Audra McDonald, Ashanti, Logan Browning, Tisha Campbell-Martin, Carrie Preston, Andrew Rannells, Miles Heizer, Todrick Hall and Lizzo. In addition, Stephen Colbert, Andy Cohen, and Cheyenne Jackson will treat the queens to special guest appearances.

Get ready for the most SICKENING season yet!

RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 10 Returns Thursday March 22 at 8/7 C on VH1.

American Samoa, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, Finland, Germany, Guam, Hungary, Ireland, Israel, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Puerto Rico, Sweden, Switzerland,  UK, US, Virgin Islands US. 

Head over to WOW Presents Plus to watch the fourth episode of RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars 3!

Guess what, kittens? The Seventh episode of RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars 3 is now LIVE  on WOWPresents Plus. In this episode the remaining All Stars participate in ‘My Best Squirrelfriend’s Dragsmaids Wedding Trip’ who will rise and who will sashay away from RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars 3?

Check out the sneak peak!

Check it out on WOW Presents Plus!

(excluding the following: American Samoa, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, Finland, Germany, Guam, Hungary, Ireland, Israel, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Puerto Rico, Sweden, Switzerland,  UK, US, Virgin Islands US.)

Photo from Columbia Masterworks via YouTube

March 9, 1910– Samuel Barber:

“I was meant to be a composer. Don’t ask me to try to forget this unpleasant thing and go play football, please.”

Samuel Barber was born to a distinguished and wealthy Irish-American family in Pennsylvania. His father was a doctor and his mother a pianist. He began composing music seriously when he was just a teenager. While studying Composition and Theory at Philadelphia’s The Curtis Institute, he met and fell madly in love with Gian Carlo Menotti, who became his partner in music and life. They became inseparable.

You might think that you have never heard of him, but Barber’s most famous composition Adagio For Strings is familiar to almost everyone in Western Civilization. It was written while he and Menotti spent a summer in a rented house near Salzburg in 1936. This eight-minute piece was meant to be the second movement of a string quartet. Menotti sent a version he had arranged for string orchestra to conductor Arturo Toscanini, who championed it two years later. It is now one of the most familiar popular Classical Music pieces. It is the perpetual most downloaded classical piece on iTunes.

While a student at The Curtis Institute, Menotti spent a lot of time at the Barber family home. After graduation, the two men bought a house together in Mount Kisco, NY. They named the place “Capricorn” and shared it for more than 40 years. Capricorn had two independent studios, one for each of the composers. They were connected by a central room used for living and entertaining. This has long been the living arrangement and dream for me and the husband.

Menotti (L) and Barber from the documentary “Samuel Barber: Absolute Beauty” (2017)

Barber and Menotti were both very handsome men, especially Menotti with his classic Italian looks. Barber was a clean cut, and a slightly preppy All- American type, right out of a Calvin Kline ad.

Over the decades, Menotti’s romantic interest in Barber began to slip away. From what I have read about Barber, Menotti was that charming combination of saint and devil, capable of great kindness, but at other times full of intrigue. He was a flamboyant, extravagant man, who collected houses in the USA and Europe.

They broke up in 1973 over Menotti’s interest in guys half his age. The end of their relationship contributed to the decline in Barber’s health. In 1974, Menotti surprised everyone by adopting his boyfriend Francis Phelan, an American actor and sometime figure-skater, as his son.

Barber was badly affected by the criticism of his later compositions and spent many years in isolation as he grew older, suffering from depression. He was humiliated to see Menotti in relationships with men half his age.

Barber was taken by that damn cancer in 1981, at 71-years-old. Menotti had stayed by Barber’s side during the last stages of his cancer and was Barber’s greatest advocate until his own death. Barber is buried in Westchester with an empty plot next to his grave that was reserved for Menotti. But, when this former lover left this world in 2007, he was buried at one of his many houses, this one in Scotland.

Photo from Spoleto Festival

Spoleto Festival USA was founded in 1977 by Menotti, creating an American counterpart to his annual Festival Of Two Worlds in Spoleto, Italy. It is one of the planet’s leading festivals, presenting more than 200 world premieres, including Peter And Wendy by Lee Breuer, Creve Coeur by Tennessee Williams, The American Clock by Arthur Miller, Empty Places by Laurie Anderson, and Hydrogen Jukebox by Philip Glass and Allen Ginsberg. Many notable artists performed at the festival early in their careers, including: Renée Fleming, Emanuel Ax, and Joshua Bell.

Well into his 80s, Menotti had a handsome, young driver in Charleston, SC, for the duration of the Spoleto Festival, as befitting its founder. When the driver was replaced one year by someone less blessed by pulchritude, Menotti threw a hissy fit, insisting that his former driver be found immediately.

Phelan appeared in non-singing roles in several of Menotti’s operas. He took the last name of Menotti when he was adopted. Phelan was 36-years-old when they became a couple; Menotti was 63-years-old. To make the story even nuttier, Phelan married a woman, even though the two men were still together. Menotti and his adopted actor ice-skater son had a reputation for being nearly impossible to work with as directors of their international music festivals.

Menotti left this world in 2007 at 95-years-old. Now, he is not nearly as remembered while Barber’s star shines bright.

Barber was twice awarded the Pulitzer Prize, for his opera Vanessa (1956–57) and Concerto For Piano And Orchestra (1962). At the time of his death, all his compositions had been recorded.

Barber’s Antony And Cleopatra (1966), on which he collaborated with Franco Zeffirelli, and not Menotti, was a critical failure with an enduring legacy. It was the inaugural production for the Metropolitan Opera House’s at Lincoln Center, an overproduced retelling of a Shakespearean story, and a gaudy, unwelcoming mess. It was canceled after a single performance at the Met. Barber blamed creative differences between himself and Zeffirelli.

Coda: Even Classical Music fans may not know that Barber himself arranged his Adagio For Strings for chorus (1967) under the title Agnus Dei. The composition, in both instrumental and vocal forms, is often performed during funerals. It was played live at the services for Franklin D. Roosevelt, Princess Grace of Monaco, and Albert Einstein. Jacqueline Kennedy arranged for it to be played by The National Symphony Orchestra on Monday after John F. Kennedy’s murder. They played to just Jackie and an empty hall, but it was broadcast on radio.

Barber:

“They always play that piece. I wish they’d play some of my other pieces.”

Samuel Barber: Absolute Beauty (2017), a documentary film by H. Paul Moon, is a smartly done exploration of his music and melancholia. Now streaming on Video On Demand.

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It’s hard to imagine now, with Season 10 premiering on March 22, but the first two seasons of Drag Race judges, there was no Michelle Visage at RuPaul‘s side. She chatted with New York magazine’s E. Alex Jung and answered a range of questions about Ru and their unbreakable bond how they first met 30 years ago and more.

When did you meet RuPaul?
1987, ’88. We can’t really pin it down. I was voguing with my kids. I was the first biological female to vogue in the ballroom scene and compete.

Susanne Bartsch found me with the queens that I vogued with at the club. She came over and said,

‘Darling, I want you to vogue at my parties.‘

Ru would work the Susanne Bartsch parties, and I would always see him and it was kind of like a

‘Hey, girl, Hey, girl.‘

Then post Seduction, we’re doing a new music seminar in New York City together, and I see Ru in the greenroom. I walk over and I go,

‘I don’t know if you remember me.‘

And he was like,

‘Bitch, I have been watching you for years…. You are a fucking superstar, of course I know who you are.‘

Why were you not on the first season of Drag Race? I read that there was something about a contract.
I was signed to a five-year deal with CBS Radio in West Palm Beach. When you sign a contract, as you probably know, I’m liable if I break the contract. It was year one, my husband is a stay-at-home dad, I’m the sole provider for a family of four. World of Wonder called me. They told me,

‘It’s not going to be a lot of money, but we think it’s going to be a game changer.’

And I said,

‘I’ll do anything that Ru does. You know that, anything.‘

I go to my boss the next day — this was a new boss — and he says no immediately. I said,

‘Why not?‘

And he said,

‘Honestly, I don’t think it’s the right look for our radio station.‘

And I went,

‘Where’s the camera? Am I being Punk’d? What are you, homophobic?‘

And he’s like,

‘No, I just don’t think it’s our listenership.‘

And I went,

‘Oh my god, you don’t like gay people.‘

I was so offended that I had to call Ru and tell him. And there was disdain. He was upset, and I was upset. He wasn’t mad at me. He understood. But this show was conceptualized with me next to him, and he’ll be the first one to tell you that. So then I sat there and watched the first two episodes, and I was like,

‘I can’t watch.‘

It was painful. Later, I started this event to raise money for breast-cancer awareness called Pretty in the City. It was a really fun night for girls and gays. It made a shit ton of money. My boss then said,

‘Do you think RuPaul would perform at the next one?‘

And I went,

‘Absolutely not.‘

So then season two came and I emailed Ru and I was like,

‘I’ll do whatever it takes. I want to do this.‘

He was like,

‘Baby, the formula works. We can’t change it.‘

I was devastated, but I understood.

How did you come on for season three?
I get a call from World of Wonder and they said,

‘Ru really wants you for season three.’

And I was like,

‘Okay. I’m going to do whatever I can do to get on the show.‘

I asked my boss. He said no. I called Leah Remini, this is no joke, lamenting to her. She goes,

‘Give me the number of the president of CBS Radio.‘

And I said,

‘No, mom, you’re not calling CBS Radio for me.‘

She was on King of Queens at the time, which is CBS. She goes,

‘Michelle, you are a star.‘

I said,

‘Leah, I’m in market 47. They have no idea who I am.‘

She goes,

‘If you don’t do it, I’m going to fucking call Les Moonves. They do not drop TV shows in people’s laps. I don’t care if it’s on Logo. You need to do this.‘

And I was like,

‘Okay.‘

So I picked up the phone and I called the vice-president because I knew him, and he said,

‘I absolutely have no problem with you doing it.‘

And I said,

‘By the way, this guy doesn’t want me to do it because it’s a gay TV show.‘

A week later, the boss was fired. Now, I don’t know if me saying that did it or if it was the nail in the coffin because our cluster had dropped a lot financially.

Then when I was able to do season three, I sat next to Ru, he looked at me, and he goes,

‘Now we can start.‘

And it was a moment of, Oh my god, this is it, this is where I was meant to be.

Do you have a favorite season?
It’s season three. And the reason it’s my favorite season is because it’s where the magic started for me, for Ru, and for the journey. Season four changed the game. Season three is when it started to turn.

What about a favorite lip sync?
There are so many brilliant ones. It’s hard to do just one. Roxxxy Andrews, ‘Whip My Hair‘ with the wig reveal was definitely one of my favorites. Latrice, ‘Natural Woman.‘ Manila and Delta, ‘MacArthur Park.‘ Dida Ritz, Natalie Cole. Jinkx with that ‘Malambo.‘

Do you think you’re too tough?
I am tough, but I’m tough for a reason. I’m not Paula Abdul, and I love Paula Abdul. I don’t even know if there’s one of those on our panel. I think everybody’s really honest. Me pushing them to be the best they can be is not going to benefit me. I don’t get a cut of their money when they leave the show. I’m doing it to benefit them, so they can make the most money they can make in the next year, because the year that you leave the show is your money year. I want them to get the most money. What if they’re actors?

Let’s use Jinkx for an example. If Jinkx stayed the way that she was, Jinkx Monsoon won the fifth season of Drag Race and was known as the lovable weirdo who could do comedy, but was often critiqued for not being able to show “glamour.” Maybe casting directors wouldn’t have put her on Blue Bloods. I knew that there was more in her, and I wasn’t buying what she was selling, so I pushed, pushed, pushed, and she delivered. And she’s to this day one of my favorites.

This might be editing, but it feels like glamour has more weight for you than other kinds of looks.
I’ve heard people say that before.

Do you think that’s true?
No, I don’t agree, because if you are giving me glamour, then I want it to be the glamour. And if you’re giving me camp, then I want it to be campy. But if you’re just going to be sloppy, then it’s sloppy.

So it is important to you that they can do glamour.
Correct. They don’t have to do it. Let’s say you’re on there and you’re a glamorous girl and I go,

‘I want to see something other than pretty.‘

It’s not that I want to change you. RuPaul can do everything and has done everything. I want to see other sides to your personality. I know that you’re going to show me what you do best most of the time. But what else can you do? Let’s use Christina Aguilera for example. How many times have your eyes rolled when she does that [vocal run sound] again and again and again? And then when she sings the song straight, you go, Oh my god, that’s why I fell in love with you. Even when she changed her hair to red, I was like, Oh my god, this is amazing. I was so sick of seeing the white hair with the red lip. It’s about switching it up.

Do you think that there will be a winners’ season?
No, I don’t. I’ve seen that before, and the idea is titillating. I just think there are too many people who have too many things going on and wouldn’t want to do it again. There are hard-core egos at play here. But you never know.

It would be exhausting, but it would be great television. I also like the idea of villains versus congeniality. Body queens versus big girls. Pageant queens versus camp queens. Of course, a U.K. season. I like the idea of a season made up of the first queens sent home [during their seasons].

How do you think the show is changing drag culture?
Listen, it has changed drag culture. There’s no doubt. And there’s a lot of bitter, older people who think it’s ruining drag. Let me just say that I do get both sides. Let’s say you’re in Key West and some tourists go in because they see there’s a drag show, and none of the people look like the contestants on RuPaul’s Drag Race. They’ll just say it’s shitty, sloppy drag when that’s not true. What that is is true local drag. And I encourage people to not just like Drag Race when it comes to your local bar — go get to know your local queens who are working their asses off every night of the week and they’re amazing. And maybe they don’t even want to be on Drag Race. Maybe they’re happy just the way they are.

With that said, I think what Drag Race is doing for drag culture is a positive thing. Mainstreaming is happening, but we’ll never be mainstream. We are a queer-centered show. At its core, we’ll always super serve the queer community. The fact that there’s more cisgender, heteronormative young girls relating to it, I understand, because I was that girl who self-harmed, who didn’t believe in myself, who didn’t fit in, and maybe if I had had a show like Drag Race, I wouldn’t have had an eating disorder and I would’ve loved myself more, and I would’ve known that I wasn’t alone.”

This is just a excerpt, there’s lots more. She talks about how she got started in the club scene at 17, her self-image, labels in the LGBT universe, and even what she thought of BenDeLaCreme‘s shocking departure. It’s a great interview. Check it out in the latest issue of New York here.

Tonight! Me and my bae @adamlambert judge side by side on an all new @rupaulsdragrace #AllStars3 on @Vh1

A post shared by Michelle Visage (@michellevisage) on Mar 1, 2018 at 12:54pm PST

(via New York)

“Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I’m not sure about the universe.” Albert Einstein

Please let me in…

This special breed of vampire dog needs an invitation.

via GIPHY

When I work for 12 hours and the sink is full of dishes. The struggle is real.

The baffling thing is she seemed to enjoy it. White people …

So Your Cat Wants A Massage? from r/funny

Yaaaaaas! I know what I’m doing this weekend!

Kate Winslet really let herself go … “I’ll never let go, Jack … *blows whistle*”

Have a great weekend everybody! xoxoxo