This is a horrific thing to report on a Sunday morning…

According to The New York Times,

The remains of the lawyer, David S. Buckel, 60, were found near Prospect Park West in a field near baseball diamonds and the main loop used by joggers and bikers.

Mr. Buckel left a note in a shopping cart not far from his body and also emailed it to several news media outlets, including The New York Times.

Mr. Buckel was the lead attorney in Brandon v. County of Richardson, in which a Nebraska county sheriff was found liable for failing to protect Brandon Teena, a transgender man who was murdered in Falls City, Neb. Hilary Swank won an Academy Award for her portrayal of Mr. Teena in the 1999 movie Boys Don’t Cry.

While serving as marriage project director and senior counsel at Lambda Legal, a national organization that fights for the civil rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people, Mr. Buckel was the strategist behind important same-sex marriage cases in New Jersey and Iowa.

Friends said that after he left the organization, Mr. Buckel became involved in environmental causes, which he alluded to in his note as the reason he decided to end his life by self-immolation with fossil fuels.

In his note, which was received by The Times at 5:55 a.m., Mr. Buckel discussed the difficulty of improving the world even for those who make vigorous efforts to do so.

In his suicide note, Buckel said privilege was derived from the suffering of others,

“Pollution ravages our planet, oozing inhabitability via air, soil, water and weather. Most humans on the planet now breathe air made unhealthy by fossil fuels, and many die early deaths as a result — my early death by fossil fuel reflects what we are doing to ourselves.”

Buckel wrote that donating to organizations was not enough. He said that he himself he was privileged with

“good health to the final moment.”

He wanted his death to lead to increased action.

“Honorable purpose in life invites honorable purpose in death.”

The police said Buckel was pronounced dead at 6:30 AM.

Susan Sommer, former attorney for Lambda Legal, is now the general counsel for the Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice, said Buckel was

“one of the architects of the freedom to marry and marriage equality movement.

He deserves tremendous thanks for recognizing this was in many ways at the heart of what it meant to be gay for many Americans and making it a priority. I learned so much from him about the emotional center of what it means for a gay person not to be able to have all the protections for the person they love and that it’s worth fighting for.”

Camilla Taylor, acting legal director at Lambda Legal said that one of the cases Buckel spearheaded, Nabozny v. Podlesny, was the first time a federal court ruled that schools have an obligation to prevent the bullying of gay students.

I know people who know this man. As as a gay man, I know his efforts in his life have benefitted myself and others so, he deserves my gratitude. Rather than dismissing this as a shocking and horrific last act, I’m going to consider his words,

“Many who drive their own lives to help others often realize that they do not change what causes the need for their help.“

I’m going to consider my own selfishness, privilege and inaction.

And at the same time, I’m also going to celebrate and be happy I’m alive. Life is short, and the world can be an awful place. But it is also beautiful.

Hilary Swank won an Oscar for her portrayal of Brandon Teena in “Boys Don’t Cry” in 1999.

(Top photo, YouTube; via NY Times)

Kelly Dirck
Amory Peart
Douglas Spain
PJ Raval
Alice Braga
Claudia Cardinale
Danny Pino
Dara Torres
Eliza Doolittle
Emma Thompson
Emma Watson
Jason Sehorn
Linda Bloodworth- Thomason
Linda Perry
Maisie Williams
Roy Clark
Samantha Fox
Seth Rogen
Susan Ward

Photo via YouTube

Today’s quote is from For What It’s Worth, written by Stephen Stills, preformed by Buffalo Springfield in 1967, the Summer Of Love.

It was recorded on December 1966 and released as a single in January 1967. It peaked at Number Seven on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. For What It’s Worth is Number 63 on Rolling Stone Magazine’s ”The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time”.

For What It’s Worth is thought of as an anti-war song, yet Stills was inspired to write the track because of the Sunset Strip Curfew Riots, a series of counterculture-era clashes that took place between police and young people on the Sunset Strip in Hollywood, beginning in mid-1966, the same year Buffalo Springfield became the house band at the club Whisky a Go Go on the Sunset Strip. Local residents and businesses had become annoyed by the crowds of young people going to clubs and music venues along the Strip. The city to passed ordinances stopping loitering and enforced a strict curfew on the Sunset Strip after 10pm. The young music fans felt the new laws infringed upon their civil rights.

On Saturday, November 12, 1966, fliers were distributed along the Sunset Strip inviting people to join demonstrations later that day. Several radio stations also announced a rally outside Pandora’s Box, a club at the corner of Sunset Boulevard and Crescent Heights. That evening, more than 1,000 demonstrators, including young Jack Nicholson and Peter Fonda were handcuffed by police. The protests began peacefully, but trouble eventually broke out. The riots continued the next night, and then periodically for the next two months. It was against the background of this civil unrest that Stills recorded For What It’s Worth.

Photo via YouTube

There is even a film about it; Riot On Sunset Strip (1967), a counterculture-era exploitation flick starring Aldo Ray. All I remember about it was that it taught us drugs are bad and make you horny.

Stills said that the name of the song came when he presented the demo to the record company executive Ahmet Ertegun, and said:

“I have this song here, for what it’s worth, if you want it.”

For What It’s Worth quickly became an essential protest song. It has been covered, sampled, and referenced by all sorts of musicians including: David Cassidy, Stevie Nicks, The Staple Singers, Cher, Queensrÿche and Public Enemy.

For What It Is Worth

There’s something happening here

What it is ain’t exactly clear

There’s a man with a gun over there

Telling me I got to beware

I think it’s time we stop, children, what’s that sound

Everybody look what’s going down

There’s battle lines being drawn

Nobody’s right if everybody’s wrong

Young people speaking their minds

Getting so much resistance from behind

It’s time we stop, hey, what’s that sound

Everybody look what’s going down

What a field-day for the heat

A thousand people in the street

Singing songs and carrying signs

Mostly say, hooray for our side

It’s time we stop, hey, what’s that sound

Everybody look what’s going down

Paranoia strikes deep

Into your life it will creep

It starts when you’re always afraid

You step out of line, the man come and take you away

We better stop, hey, what’s that sound

Everybody look what’s going down

Stop, hey, what’s that sound

Everybody look what’s going down

Stop, children, what’s that sound

Everybody look what’s going down

Stills Has a Message for Trump. His 2016 song Look Each Other In The Eye, rails against the president and his vanity and hatred.

SNL presents Meet The Fockers, 2018. Ben Stiller and Robert De Niro appeared as Trump’s personal attorney, Michael Cohen and the dreaded Robert Mueller.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions (Kate McKinnon) and VP Mike Pence (Beck Bennett) trade notes on yet another nutty week in D.C. when Cohen (Stiller) storms in and weighs in on what the FBI raid might have found.

“I’m Donald Trump’s lawyer. I got a whole hard drive that’s just labeled ‘Yikes!‘”

Cohen is sent off to be grilled by Mueller, played by none other than Stiller’s former co-star in Meet the Parents, none other than Bobby D.

The sketch quickly turns into a recreation of the famous lie detector scene in the movie and De Niro even gets a chance to quote one of his signature lines,

“I have nipples, Mr. Cohen. Can you milk me?”

Weekend Update featured even more Trump/ Cohen news.

Watch.

(Photo, NBC; via NBC News)

The Pentagon announced Saturday that after the U.S. and allies attacked Syria on Friday in response to chemical weapons attacks on its own people, there’s been a a huge upsurge in Russian trolls promoting fake news. Spokeswoman Dana White said in a press conference.

“As Secretary Mattis said last night, the Russian disinformation campaign has already begun. There has been a 2,000 percent increase in Russian trolls in the last 24 hours. Therefore, we will keep you all abreast of the facts moving forward.”

Secretary of Defense James Mattis announced the press briefing would be held Saturday for the specific reason of dispelling false information about the strike coming from Russia. Russian is a key ally of President Bashar al-Assad’s regime.

“Based on recent experience, we fully expect a significant disinformation campaign over the coming days by those who have aligned themselves with the Assad regime.“

Lieutenant General Kenneth F. McKenzie said the U.S. does not seek conflict with Syria but

“cannot allow such grievous violations of international law” and attacks on innocent Syrians. We will not stand by passively while Assad, backed by Russia and Iran, ignores international law. We call upon Russia to honor its commitment to ensure the Assad regime dismantles its chemical weapons program and never uses chemical weapons again.”

McKenzie said America had no coordination or agreements with Russians before the strike,

“We’re not cooperating with them in Syria. We don’t want to get into a fight with them, they don’t want to get in a fight with us.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin called strike an “act of aggression against a sovereign state” and claimed they went against the United Nations charter.

Twitter’s @TheTweetofGod has a slightly different view of the reasoning behind the bombing…

(Photo, YouTube; via Newsweek)

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that 432 Park Avenue’s newest residents are power-couple Jennifer Lopez and beau, Alex Rodriguez.

The two closed on a three-bedroom, four and a half bathroom apartment in February using an anonymous LLC. The apartment takes up a half of a floor in the tallest residential building in the world and includes a library, dressing room and his and her bathrooms.

The 4,000-square-foot apartment has spectacular views of Central Park and beyond. The living room, a breakfast bar overlooking the park, and corner master bedroom with a separate dressing area look toward the river.

Lopez listed her 6,540-square-foot penthouse in October, when rumors began to emerge that the couple were house hunting. That apartment, that sits atop Nomad’s boutique condo The Whitman. Residents there include NASCAR driver Jeff Gordon and Chelsea Clinton & her husband. JLo sold the sprawling apartment for $27 million, so the $15+ million the couple paid for their new pad is a relative bargain.

Honestly, this seems like a rather modest apartment for the two considering how large they seem to live. We’ll see if they ever move in.

Happy Sunday everyone… . :@lacarba

A post shared by Jennifer Lopez (@jlo) on Feb 25, 2018 at 10:08am PST

(Photos, Street Easy; via NY Curbed)

Charles Bell (1935 – 1995) had no formal training as an artist. He claimed that he was inspired by the work of painters Richard Diebenkorn and Wayne Thiebaud.

His subject matter was mostly vintage toys, pinball machines, gumball machines, marbles, and dolls and action figures, arranged in imaginary scenes and dynamic compositions, cast in dramatic studio lighting. Bell wanted to bring majesty and wonder to the mundane. His work, done mostly in oil paint, is noted not only for their glass-like surface, but also for their significant scale.

In 1995, he was included in the exhibition titled American Masters at the Museu d’Arte Moderne in São Paulo, along with Robert Indiana and Andy Warhol, two artists Bell admired.

“The Judgment Of Paris”, 1986

Bell helped popularized the “Photorealism” movement. He embraced a photo-based technique in his work in a way that shows imperceptible details, photographing his subjects in still-life compositions and painting from his image.

Bell transformed his everyday subject matter by enlarging ordinary objects to an unusually grand scale, denying narrative readings of his work. He described his approach to selecting subject matter as more of an emotional than intellectual process. The hyperrealistic precision of his technique, combined with the exaggerated scale, produces a sensation that, for me, moves between familiarity and mystery.

Born and raised in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Bell earned a degree in Business from the University of Oklahoma in 1957, then served for two years in the U.S. Navy. After the navy, like so many other sailors of the era, Bell landed in Francisco where he began to paint. He moved to NYC in 1967 and set up a studio on Lower Broadway. Bell worked as an accountant for the International Nickel Corporation by day, until 1980, after which he made enough money from sales of his paintings to give up his day job.

Bell left this world in 1995, taken by the plague at just 60-years-old. His partner of 22 years, interior decorator Willard K.H. Ching (1942 -1992), had been taken by AIDS three years earlier. They are buried together at Diamond Head Memorial Park, Honolulu.

Bell’s works can be seen in collections at The Metropolitan Museum of Art (MoMa), Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, and the Hiroshima City Museum of Contemporary Art, and his home gallery Louis K. Meisel Gallery in NYC, among many others.

“Untitled” 1990

“Ta-Daa”, 1985

“Paragon”, 1988

“Oh Boy”, 1990

“Gumball II, 1973

“Circus World”, 1989

Photograph from Titanic Historical Society

April 15, 1912 – That famous luxury liner hit that damn iceberg 106 years ago, spawning: Atlantik (1929), a British early talking film starring Madeleine Carroll; a 1943 German propaganda film titled Titanic (1943), commissioned by Nazi Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels to show how British and American capitalism was responsible for the disaster; one sober and sad film, Titanic (1953) starring Clifton Webb and Barbara Stanwyck; the historically honest and compelling A Night To Remember (1958); and, for me, and seemingly me alone, the nearly intolerable, but extremely popular award winning film in 1997. Plus, a Broadway musical from the same year that admonished: ”In every age mankind attempts / to fabricate great works at once / magnificent and impossible”.

On every anniversary, the International Ice Patrol, founded in response to the sinking, drops a memorial wreath on The Titanic’s last reported position. The world will just will not stop remembering.

Ned Parfett, the young newspaper seller who appeared in one of the most famous pictures related to The Titanic, lost his life just six and a half years later at 22-years-old, while serving in France during WW I.

Photo from Titanic Historical Society

There were 12 canines on the doomed ocean liner, three survived. One of the survivors was Lady, a Pomeranian. Lady’s owner was Margaret Hays of NYC, who wrapped her in a blanket and carried her on to a lifeboat.

Also living to enjoy another biscuit: Sun Yat-Sen, a Pekingese belonging to Henry and Myra Harper of Harper & Row Publishers, and another Pomeranian, belonging to a Rothschild.

The nine dogs confined to the on-board kennel, walked, fed and cared for by the crew, all died. A pair of dogs belonged to American coal magnate William Carter, who reassured his worried children that their pets were safe as they clambered into their lifeboats, also perished. His daughter Lucy Carter was later compensated $100 by Lloyds Of London for her King Charles Spaniel, while her brother received $200 in insurance money for his Airedale.

The other dogs that drowned in the icy waters included a pair of Airedales owned by John Jacob Astor IV, a Fox Terrier named Dog, a Poodle belonging to Helen Bishop, and Gamin De Pycombe, a French Bulldog.

The Astors with their dog, Dog

The Titanic’s Captain John Smith with his Russian Wolfhound, Ben

There was a Great Dane owned by Ann Elizabeth Isham, who visited her dog at the ship’s kennel daily. When she was evacuating, she begged to take him also. When she was told the dog was too large, she refused to leave without him and got out of the lifeboat. They were found floating days later, Isham still clutching her beloved large canine.

The crew of working vessels usually had at least one cat on board each ship to help deal with the rat population. There was a cat with young kittens aboard The Titanic, but when the ship arrived in Southampton from Belfast, she was seen disembarking the ship. Up and down the gangplank she went, retrieving one kitten at a time and then depositing them on the dock. She and the kittens quickly disappeared. It has been supposed that the mother feline had a premonition that the voyage wasn’t going to be a smooth sailing.

Beyoncé made a historic return to the main stage at Coachella to close out the 2nd night of the festival. Just hours before, Bey took to Facebook to giver her fans the inFORMATION.

“I am so excited to see the BeyHive tonight at Coachella. We have been working hard and have a special show planned for you so please be safe and stay hydrated. We need your energy! There will be an hour intermission before my performance, so mark your spot, charge your phones, grab your drinks. Can’t wait to see y’all at 11:05pm!“

The speculation and rumors were not rumors. In two-hour set, a tiered set of bleachers, a brass band and dozens of dancers was a backdrop for what was the most stunning performance of the weekend. Bey reunited with Destiny’s Child and they performed some of their classics to an ecstatic crowd. And as they say, the rest is HerStory.

Hubby JAY-Z and sister Solange also joined her on stage.

Watch.

Destiny's Child reunion full #Beychella pic.twitter.com/QtAGo8qRdM

— TheHippyera (@TheHippyera) April 15, 2018

Jay Z joins Beyonce at Coachella pic.twitter.com/c1xBITjc4w

— Brand New Hip Hop (@brandnewhiph0p) April 15, 2018

(via Billboard)

Laue, left; Boselli, right

Three years ago Pietro Boselli was introduced to the world and #ManCrushMonday as the world’s hottest math teacher. We follow him here at The Wow Report and he never fails to get our abacus spinning.

Now there’s a new hottie in town, University of Texas engineering student Keith Laue and he could be Boselli’s younger bro, no? But is he good at math? Who cares?

Just add up the sexy shots on his Instagram and get back to me.

I’m watching the Truman show right now and that movie is so trippy!! Anyway, hope y’all have a great weekend! I’ll b at a robotics competition with my little brother tomorrow. wish us luck! Photo by @kevinhwangphoto Makeup by @narribeauty #model #malemodel #fitness #fit #abs #robotics

A post shared by Keith Laue (@keith_laue) on Apr 6, 2018 at 8:24pm PDT

Another amazing shot by @kevinhwangphoto with the help of @narribeauty! Y’all r awesome! On a completely different note, for all u fellow anime fans out there, u need to watch 7 Deadly Sins! Im working my way through it for the 4th time and it’s def my fav anime #keithlaue #model #malemodel #fit #austin

A post shared by Keith Laue (@keith_laue) on Apr 4, 2018 at 8:32pm PDT

Looking to the future or something like that? Photo by @kevinhwangphoto Makeup by @narribeauty #malemodel #model #mural #abs #fit #keithlaue

A post shared by Keith Laue (@keith_laue) on Apr 2, 2018 at 8:31pm PDT

Had a fun time working with @boxmenswear and @treysphotostudio on these! #model #malemodel #boxmenswear #abs #fit

A post shared by Keith Laue (@keith_laue) on Mar 31, 2018 at 7:25pm PDT

I had a great time modeling @boxmenswear with the goofy and love-able @treysphotostudio this week! Just did a Spartan Race with my family and some friends. What do y’all think of obstacle course races? #model #malemodel #tanning #pool #modeling #abs #fitness #underwearmodel

A post shared by Keith Laue (@keith_laue) on Mar 24, 2018 at 8:35pm PDT

Been gone for a bit but I’m back! This week has been a bit off not entirely sure why. Anyway I’m bouta go to breakdancing practice for the first time this semester so that should b fun Photo by the amazing @codykinsfather

A post shared by Keith Laue (@keith_laue) on Feb 22, 2018 at 5:47pm PST

My boi @codykinsfather put me in touch with @johnconroy007 recently. John is a really cool dude with some amazing stories plus an amazing photographer.

A post shared by Keith Laue (@keith_laue) on Jan 27, 2018 at 5:40pm PST

Happy New Years y’all! I’ll refrain from talking about how I’m looking forward to 2018 or how I thought 2017 was a great year Photo by @treysphotostudio

A post shared by Keith Laue (@keith_laue) on Dec 31, 2017 at 5:31pm PST

Here’s another by the great @codykinsfather Just finished up the last day of classes now on to finals I want to begin to incorporate some of my other talents into this. Lemme know what y’all would like to see. More editorial stuff or more candid stuff? Would u like to see more of my art as well?

A post shared by Keith Laue (@keith_laue) on Dec 11, 2017 at 5:54pm PST

Hey y’all! I’ve decided to go ahead and start to chronicle my journey through these posts. I want to be as transparent with y’all so that y’all can learn through my experiences a little more about me and about what it’s like to reach for your dreams. Even if I don’t become a “big time” model, I’m planning on enjoying every step of the way. My boi Emmanuel over @lightupfotos hit me up over Instagram a couple weeks ago. He's been GREAT! I'm brand new to this whole modeling thing and he has been guiding me through, both in front of and behind the camera. Aside from his amazing photos, he's been a blessing because he’s been coaching me through poses and been reminding me to know my worth. He’s looking for local models, so if you’re looking to build your resume, hit him up!

A post shared by Keith Laue (@keith_laue) on Nov 2, 2017 at 9:51pm PDT

I think this pic perfectly sums up my personality On a completely different note, I’ve really gotten back into audiobooks. For those of y’all who love reading, do u use audiobooks or physical books more? Photo by @treysphotostudio

A post shared by Keith Laue (@keith_laue) on Jan 22, 2018 at 6:48pm PST

(via Queerty)

You know what makes Mondays better? Finding out that Drag Race Thailand is going to be available to watch on WOW Presents Plus (in the US) WITH SUBTITLES! So don’t fret if you don’t speak Thai, we have you covered!

World of Wonder co-CEO Fenton Bailey told Entertainment Weekly:

“We were fortunate enough to be on set for some of the taping of Drag Race Thailand, and we were left breathless! Be prepared to gag!”

Get ready to see these Thai queens serve the fiercest lewks, throw some shade and compete to see who will be Thailand’s Drag Superstar! Watch the trailer below and get ready for more Drag Race premiering May 4th on WOW Presents Plus!

Drag Race Thailand is the second international version of RuPaul’s Drag Race. The first original international version was The Switch Drag Race which premiered in Chile in 2015. You can watch the first episode of season one of The Switch Drag Race on WOW Presents Plus right now with episodes dropping every Monday!

Watch Gia Gunn, who is on season 2 along with Kandy Ho, talk about season 1 and go watch it NOW!

Subscribe to WOW Presents Plus for $3.99/month or $39.99/year and catch the premiere of Drag Race Thailand on May 4th!

“If I wanted to kill myself I would climb your ego and jump to your IQ.”

“What is this foreign object you’re inserting into my mouth?” ―Cat

WTF?!?

My dog is dignified. My wife’s dog, doesn’t know the meaning of the word. from r/funny

Hello Clarice …

Waking up in the morning.

It’s me in the morning! I really am an otter, daddy!

Somethings are just destined to happen. from r/funny

the Best in Show/Waiting For Guffman crossover preview.

“On that day he fought 6…maybe 7 babies…totally nude…and saved the town” from r/funny

IN 1793, THIS FLACCID MAN FOUGHT OFF A HOARD OF ZOMBIE BABIES TO SAVE THE HUMAN RACE. In a world full of fake news … Why not give ourselves this as well?

Love you mean it! Xoxoxo

Neil Tennant, Dusty Springfield and Chris Lowe, via YouTube

In the 1960s, Dusty Springfield became an expert in all aspects of music recording. The male dominated industry resented having a young woman who seemed to know it all. She had a sharp ear for quality and a perfectionist approach to making records. During her era, women were simply not allowed to use the mixing equipment or to commandeer the production booth. She gained a reputation for being difficult and eccentric. Her headstrong personality and working knowledge of the technical aspects of recording did not endear Springfield to the professional music community, but she certainly enchanted her fans.

In 1964, while on tour in South Africa, and with no prior interest in politics, Springfield found it abhorrent that it was illegal to perform a concert to a mixed audience. But, there was a loophole in the law that allowed live performances for mixed-race audiences if they were in a movie theatre. Springfield booked the biggest film house she could find and played to a large black, brown and white audience. When she arrived back at her hotel, Springfield and her entourage were placed under arrest and deported. Back in England the public loved her for it. She was hailed as an anti-apartheid hero.

Springfield was at her apex in the mid-1960s. She had hit albums and her own television show. She is credited as the woman who brought Motown to the UK. But in the early 1970s, just when I was digging her the most, the kids who bought records pushed against Springfield’s style, preferring songs with a strong political message. Her love songs and throaty, jazzy vocals began to lose popularity.

At a loss, Springfield was sucked into a spiral of drink, drugs and all-night parties. She abused a variety of substances daily. The pressure of a closeted life manifested itself in depression and a desire to avoid the spotlight. An album she had started to record for Atlantic Records was shelved due to her ”poor mental health.”

Ashamed by the abandoned album, Springfield moved to Los Angeles and dropped deeper into drugs and booze. She spent most of the 1970s living late nights of partying. She sometimes woke up in a hospital.

Late in the 1970s, Springfield began to speak openly about being bisexual, although she was never known to have had a boyfriend. The bad publicity devastated Springfield. She came out of the closet to her parents, but far from being outraged; they did not take her seriously. This hurt her even more deeply.

In the early 1980s, she had a sort of marriage with wild, lanky, and vivacious actor Teda Bracci, who she had met at Alcoholics Anonymous. Bracci was a popular fixture on the L.A. Sunset Strip rock music scene in the 1970’s, often headlining at famous clubs like The Troubadour and the Whisky-A-Go-Go. But, the relationship only lasted two years and at the end of the decade she moved first to Amsterdam and then back to Britain.

By then, Springfield’s drug abuse was at an all-time high. She continued to have a string of short-lived love affairs with women. Her recordings had low sales. She was often between stays in rehab and hospitals.

Salvation came in 1987 when her longtime fans, Pet Shop Boys, asked her to collaborate on a project. The resulting record was What Have I Done To Deserve This?. It was a world-wide smash hit and one of my favorite singles of all time. Suddenly, the fading Springfield was among the smart set once more. Pet Shop Boys produced an entire album for her. At 48-years-old, her life started to get better. She gave up drugs and partying. More hit singles followed.

In 1994, just as Springfield’s career was back on track and a new generation was embracing her sound, she was diagnosed with that damn cancer. She received treatment, but remission was short lived. She spent her final years fighting cancer. Springfield moved in with her lifelong friend, back-up singer Simon Bell, who took care of her.

On New Year’s Day 1999, Springfield was awarded an Order of the British Empire for her contribution to music. Too sick to attend the ceremony, her longtime manager, with permission from Queen Elizabeth II, picked up the award on her behalf. It was carried directly to Springfield in hospice and given to her in front of a small gathering of friends, plus her Oncologist. On the very day when Springfield would have officially received the award, she lost her battle with cancer.

Her memorial was attended by thousands of mourners including Elvis Costello, Lulu, Elton John, and Pet Shop Boys. 10 days after her death, her friend Sir Elton inducted Springfield into the Rock ‘N’ Roll Hall of Fame, stating:

”She was the greatest white singer of all time.”

If she had made it, Springfield would have celebrated her 85th birthday today.

Conchita Wurst, winner of the 2014 Eurovision Song Contest, announced that she is HIV positive, saying she was blackmailed into making the news public.

“An ex-boyfriend is threatening me to go public with this private information,” Mr. Neuwirth wrote on Instagram, “and I will not give anyone the right to frighten me and affect my life in the future.”

In the statement on Instagram, she went on to say she had been receiving treatment, and that his virus levels were now undetectable.

“I hope to show courage and take another step against the stigmatization of people with HIV,” she added.

heute ist der tag gekommen, mich für den rest meines lebens von einem damoklesschwert zu befreien: ich bin seit vielen jahren hiv-positiv. das ist für die öffentlichkeit eigentlich irrelevant, aber ein ex-freund droht mir, mit dieser privaten information an die öffentlichkeit zu gehen, und ich gebe auch in zukunft niemandem das recht, mir angst zu machen und mein leben derart zu beeinflussen. seit ich die diagnose erhalten habe, bin ich in medizinischer behandlung, und seit vielen jahren unterbrechungsfrei unter der nachweisgrenze, damit also nicht in der lage, den virus weiter zu geben. ich wollte aus mehreren gründen bisher nicht damit an die öffentlichkeit gehen, nur zwei davon will ich hier nennen: der wichtigste war mir meine familie, die seit dem ersten tag bescheid weiss und mich bedingungslos unterstützt hat. ihnen hätte ich die aufmerksamkeit für den hiv-status ihres sohnes, enkels und bruders gerne erspart. genauso wissen meine freunde seit geraumer zeit bescheid und gehen in einer unbefangenheit damit um, die ich jeder und jedem betroffenen wünschen würde. zweitens ist es eine information, die meiner meinung nach hauptsächlich für diejenigen menschen von relevanz ist, mit denen sexueller kontakt infrage kommt. coming out ist besser als von dritten geoutet zu werden. ich hoffe, mut zu machen und einen weiteren schritt zu setzen gegen die stigmatisierung von menschen, die sich durch ihr eigenes verhalten oder aber unverschuldet mit hiv infiziert haben. an meine fans: die information über meinen hiv-status mag neu für euch sein – mein status ist es nicht! es geht mir gesundheitlich gut, und ich bin stärker, motivierter und befreiter denn je. danke für eure unterstützung!

A post shared by conchita (@conchitawurst) on Apr 15, 2018 at 12:01pm PDT

Translation:

Today is the day I’m freeing myself from a sword of damocles for the rest of my life: I have been HIV positive for many years. This isn’t relevant for the general public, but an ex-boyfriend is threatening to go public with this private information, and in the future I don’t want to give anyone the right to instill fear in me and control my life in such a way. Ever since getting the initial diagnosis, I’ve been in medical treatment, and for the past few years, I’ve consistently been under the limit of detection, meaning I’m unable to pass the virus on. There are several reasons I didn’t want to make this public: First and foremost my family, who has known about it from day one and supports me unconditionally. I would’ve liked to spare them the attention focused on the HIV positive status of their son, grandson, and brother. My friends have also known about it for a long time and I wish everyone affected would be treated with the same lightheartedness*. second of all, it’s information that is relevant mainly for people with whom I might have sexual contact. Coming out is better than being outed by a third party. I hope to give courage and take another step against the stigmatization of humans, both the ones whose own actions led to an HIV infection and the ones with no fault.

(via New York Times; photo: Pacific Coast News)

And the dots are back! Along the Janet Jackson hat! Yass queen! Season 10 fan fave and all-around cutie-patootie Dusty Ray Bottoms just released an early aught pop punk anthem “Neva Luvd Yah,” that is one part Avril Lavigne, one part blink 182, and one part Adore Delano – and the crowd is going bananas! Watch below!

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Remember the 23rd episode of The Simpson‘s third season that originally aired on May 7, 1992, in which  Milhouse fell in love with the new girl in school, Samantha Stanky? And when they spent all their free time together, Bart felt jealous and excluded? So, in order to ruin their relationship, Bart told Samantha’s strict father about it and as a punishment, Samantha was sent to an all-girls Catholic school, while Milhouse was left behind heartbroken? Yeah, me neither. But Lucien Hughes created this Simpsonwave clip for the Goody Grace track “210 Lilac Sky” and it’s really sweet and unexpectedly sad.

Watch below:

(via boing boing)

Woke rapper and all-around pretty boy Kendrick Lamar just won the 2018 Pulitzer Prize in music for his album DAMN. The award was announced this morning with the board committee calling it

“a virtuosic song collection unified by its vernacular authenticity and rhythmic dynamism that offers affecting vignettes capturing the complexity of modern African-American life.”

The honor made Lamar the first non-classical or jazz performer to win the prize, which has gone in the past to such notables as Bob Dylan, George Gershwin, Thelonious Monk, John Coltrane, Hank Williams and Duke Ellington.

via CBS News:

That makes Lamar’s win that much more important: His platinum-selling major-label albums — “good kid, m.A.A.d city,” ″To Pimp a Butterfly” and “DAMN.” — became works of art, with Lamar writing songs about blackness, street life, police brutality, perseverance, survival and self-worth. His piercing and sharp raps helped him become the voice of the generation, and easily ascend as the leader in hip-hop and cross over to audiences outside of rap, from rock to pop to jazz. He’s also been a dominator on the charts, having achieved two dozen Top 40 hits, including a No. 1 success with “Humble,” and he has even collaborated with the likes of U2, Taylor Swift, Imagine Dragons, Rihanna and Beyonce.

His music, with songs like “Alright” and “The Blacker the Berry,” have become anthems in the wake of high-profile police shootings of minorities as the conversation about race relations dominates news headlines. He brought of dose of seriousness to the 2015 BET Awards, rapping on top of a police car with a large American flag waving behind him. At the 2016 Grammys, during his visual-stunning, show-stopping performance, he appeared beaten, in handcuffs, with chains around his hands and bruises on his eyes as he delivered powerful lyrics to the audience

Along with the prize, he wins $15,000.

The New York Times and The New Yorker were also awarded prizes for their reporting on Harvey Weinstein that put the #MeToo movement in the national spotlight.

(Photo: Pacific Coast News)

A new Clearisil commercial has raised a few hackles for featuring what appears to be a flamboyant gay teen as a pimple that must be eliminated before the prom.

In the ad, “Pimples Makes Terrible Prom Dates,” two high school girls are in a bathroom discussing the upcoming prom.

“If this turns into a pimple,” one of them says, motioning to her forehead, “I will literally die.”

The camera zooms in on her pore, where the pimple turns out to be a mincing young queen in a hot pink suit who says:

“Who wouldn’t want to go to prom with this?”

POW! The effeminate dancing zit is then destroyed by Clearasil’s Daily Clean Wash. The girl goes on to dance the night away with her handsome date at the prom.

Commenters were quick to point out the implied homophobia.

Why are you using an anti-gay stereotype to sell your product? This looks like something that was written in the 1960s. Shameful. I think many young people are offended by this kind of thing these days.

An offensive stereotype of a gay man as a pimple? All decked out in pink and whining like a big queen? Really? Why not cast a black man as a blackhead? Are you getting the point?

This is so offensive. Such a terrible anti-gay message using a typical stereotype, I wonder if people would object if they cast an African American man dressed in a black suit to play the role of a blackhead?

Watch below.

Imagine the marketing department brainstorming this @Clearasil commercial. ‘Let’s make the pimple an extremely gay guy in a pink suit and then we’ll kill it so the girls can go to the prom!’ hahaha. https://t.co/HBMQg3YrzJ

— Darren Hayes (@darrenhayes) April 10, 2018

#SpottySkinTip: Don’t use offensive gay stereotypes to sell beauty products to girls, @clearasil, because #LETSBECLEAR – their GBF’s will have them switching to @Neutrogena or @Clinique and the next thing you’ll be selling is your @ss on the street. https://t.co/ai0cS4yBfh pic.twitter.com/e6HInODguh

— Michael Williams (@MyLifeInPlastic) April 13, 2018

Interesting how the annoying, irritating pimple in the new @clearasil commercial is portrayed as an effeminate gay man who no one wants to take to the prom. Is it funny or homophobic? Food for thought. #LGBTQ https://t.co/d2K6wiwX9V

— Darren Stewart-Jones (@D_S_J_) April 13, 2018

Claire Sweeney
Henry Ian Cusick
Jennifer Garner
Kimberly Elise
L. Scott Caldwell
Lela Rochon
Liz Phair
Maynard James Keenan
Monet Mazur
Nick Hornby
Olivia Hussey
Redman
Rooney Mara
“Rowdy” Roddy Piper
Sean Bean
Tami Roman
Victoria Beckham
William Mapother

Our Town, in case your local community theatre passed on producing it, is best known for its bare set, its plain folksy dialogue, and its simplistic lessons about life. Yet, when the dead Emily Gibbs asks the character of the Stage Manager if anyone appreciates the daily mundane aspects of life, his answer is devastating. 80 years after it debuted, it is believed that not a day goes by that Our Town is not being performed somewhere in the world. It has been adapted for film, radio and television, and in the lead role, at different times: Paul Newman, Hal Holbrook, Spalding Grey, Helen Hunt and Frank Sinatra. It has been made in to a musical three times, plus an opera and a ballet. Our Town has been translated into more than 70 languages. The 1940 film version features today’s #BornThisDay figure, William Holden.

Martha Scott and William Holden in “Our Town” (1940, via YouTube

Near the end of Our Town, the character Emily Gibbs, now dead, says:

“Goodbye world, goodbye Grover’s Corners, good-bye Mama and Papa, goodbye taste of coffee, goodbye new ironed dresses goodbye clocks ticking and hot baths, goodbye sleeping and waking. Oh life, oh life, you’re too wonderful. Why don’t we realize?”

She then turns to the stage manager and says:

“Does anybody do it? Does anybody really notice?”

The Stage Manager answers:

“Some do… Poets, saints, artists, but very few.”

I love this play so much. For no reason at all, in the summer of 2012, I took my copy of the script off the shelf and reread it in a single sitting. I cried buckets that afternoon to the alarm of my two terriers. I never really got Emily’s speech until now, in my 60s. The play moved me in ways that it never could when I was in my 20s, 40s or 50s.

Our Town even has a gay character, Simon Stimson, the church organist, who is a sort of stand-in for the author.

Painting by Michael J. Deas

Thornton Niven Wilder (1897 – 1975) was an American playwright and novelist, and he gave us Our Town, which won the Pulitzer Prize. He was awarded two more Pulitzers, for the novel The Bridge Of San Luis Rey (1927) and for the play The Skin Of Our Teeth (1942).

The great theme of Wilder’s works is the lack of awareness about the daily comforts and tribulations of the short time we have on our pretty, spinning, blue orb. Put down your devices and recognize the beauty of all those tiny moments in life that are being passed by.

Wilder never publicly addressed it, but his gayness was a well-known secret in theatre circles. He was discreet and passed himself off as “a confirmed bachelor”. His longtime lover was Samuel Steward who wrote very famous and well-received gay erotica under the moniker Phil Andros. Andros’ books seem tame now, but in their time they were scandalous stuff.  Wilder was introduced to Steward by their mutual friend Gertrude Stein who had a correspondence going with both men (and they were all from Oakland/Berkeley).

Wilder had the coolest friends. He hung out with Dorothy Parker, Willa Cather, Harpo Marx, Tallulah Bankhead and Montgomery Clift. Today is Wilder’s 121st birthday; I would like to have been at that party.