Wednesday, September 30, 2015

Classic Television - Prime Time

Love on a Rooftop
Original channel
ABC
Original run
September 6, 1966 – April 6, 1967
Starring
Pete Duel
Judy Carne
Love on a Rooftop was an American sitcom about a newlywed couple, Dave and Julie Willis, and their humorous struggles to survive in San Francisco on Dave's apprentice architect's salary of $85.37 a week. Matters were complicated by the fact that Julie's rich father did not approve of their less than luxurious lifestyle and often took it upon himself to try to improve it, much to Dave's chagrin.
The series was produced by Screen Gems, the production company behind shows such as Gidget, Bewitched, and I Dream of Jeannie. It premiered on September 6, 1966 on ABC and stars Pete Duel, credited at the time as Peter Deuel, and Judy Carne in the leads. Also in the regular cast were Rich Little and Barbara Bostock as the Willis’ neighbors, and Herb Voland and Edith Atwater as Julie's parents. All thirty episodes of the series were filmed in color.
Despite having better ratings than That Girl, another ABC series that premiered that year and went on to have a five-year run, Love on a Rooftop was cancelled at the end of its first season. However, both Judy Carne and Pete Duel continued with their television careers - she, as a regular on Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In, which ended when she left the series in late 1969 - and he co-starring in Alias Smith and Jones, which ended shortly after his death in 1971.
During the summer of 1971 (when Duel was starring in Alias Smith and Jones), ABC re-broadcast Love On a Rooftop. However, the series was never sold into syndication and has not been seen on television since. It has been cited as an influence on 1990's sitcom Dharma and Greg.

How Pope Francis Undermined the Goodwill of His Trip and Proved to Be a Coward

From: Huff Post
After first refusing to confirm nor deny it, the Vatican has confirmed that Pope Francis met with the Kentucky clerk Kim Davis at the Vatican Embassy in Washington, where Davis' attorney -- who made the news public after the pope's trip ended -- said Francis told her to "stay strong." And that simple encounter completely undermines all the goodwill the pope created in downplaying "the gay issue" on his U.S. trip.

The pope played us for fools, trying to have it both ways. As I noted last week, he's an artful politician, telling different audiences what they want to hear on homosexuality. He did that in Argentina as a cardinal -- railing against gay marriage when the Vatican expected him to do so -- and he's done that since becoming pope, striking a softer tone on the issue after Benedict's harsh denunciations were a p.r. disaster for the Catholic Church in the West. But this news about Kim Davis portrays him as a more sinister kind of politician. That's the kind that secretly supports hate, ushering the bigots in the back door -- knowing they're an embarrassment -- while speaking publicly about about how none of us can judge one another.

I would have more respect for the pope if he had publicly embraced Kim Davis and made an argument for her, as he did in his visit with the Little Sisters of the Poor, who are battling against filling out a form to exempt themselves from Obamacare's contraception requirement, claiming that even filling out the form violates their religious liberty -- even though I vehemently disagree with the pope on that issue. I'd have more respect if he boldly, explicitly made a public statement (not the vague, general statement he made on his plane on the way home only in response to a reporter's question about Davis), as he did in trying to stop the execution of a Georgia inmate who was put to death this morning. But by meeting with Davis secretly, and then at first having the Vatican neither confirm nor deny the encounter -- and now having the Vatican say it "won't deny" the meeting while it still won't offer any other details -- the pope comes off as a coward.

He shows himself to be antithetical to much of what he preaches and teaches. He talks about dialogue and having the courage of one's convictions and the courage to speak out. But he swept this Davis meeting under the rug, seemingly ashamed and certainly not wanting to broach the subject. Even Davis's supporters should find that insulting to them.

We all knew Francis was playing a p.r. game, and we were fine with that. He was focusing on climate change, immigration and other issues passionate to him -- and certainly I, and I hope everyone, still welcome whatever influence he can have on those issues. And it appeared he viewed the LGBT rights debate as a distraction from a focus on those causes. He even told U.S. bishops in a meeting during his trip that they should stop complaining about it and turn their attention to other issues. The sense was that he was probably not passionate about gay rights, but not passionate about attacking them either.

But by telling Davis that she should "stay strong" -- if her attorney's account of the encounter is to be believed -- the pope is only encouraging the bigots, even if he's doing so quietly. We don't know all the details yet regarding how Davis came to meet Francis -- if, for example, it was one of the more vocally anti-gay U.S. Catholic Church leaders who brought her along, or if the Vatican invited her.

But the optics of it are bad no matter what. Rather than moving us forward on LGBT rights ever so slightly, as many viewed the pope as doing, he now, with this meeting, emboldens the haters in the church who will be pushing to make sure church doctrine continues to call homosexuality "intrinsically disordered." And it sends a message to all those people who've experienced anti-gay discrimination -- like the Catholic school teachers fired from their jobs in the U.S. simply because of who they are -- that this pope is not going to end that discrimination any time soon. Rather than stopping that discrimination, he welcomed, with open arms in the Vatican's own embassy, the bigots who promote that discrimination but who've turned themselves into the victims.

Hotel In Thailand, House In Virginia

From: Boy Culture
Sean Crumpler, who owns a hotel in Thailand, stands accused of opening his U.S. home to young gay male runaways (some underage), from whom he exacted sex in exchange for housing. He apparently staged orgies, let his friends in on the action, and allegedly may not have told all of his young, er, guests that he was HIV positive.


I know the LGBT community is up in arms over current laws that criminalize the knowing transmission of HIV, and I'm on board when it comes to something like a person with HIV not telling a sex partner with whom anal sex is not involved, but I wonder if a case like this at least spurs some of those who are so big on personal responsibility to at least stop and revile the accused, presuming he is actually guilty?

So many of these cases involving guys with HIV who have unprotected anal sex with others without telling them, or even telling them specifically that they do not have HIV, result in LGBT commenters reverting to the personal-responsibility argument, as if the guy spreading the virus intentionally is well within his right to do so and is doing nothing wrong. HIV is no big deal, right?

That outlook has to change, even if the way the laws are written also has to change. (Guys going to prison for decades for not disclosing their status even when using condoms???)

Demonizing people with HIV is something to avoid, but so is shrugging off the personal responsibility of the guys deliberately spreading it, no?

Happy Birthday Ezra Miller! Charting His Evolution

Let's celebrate his 23rd birthday with a look at how he became "Ezra Miller"
From: NewNowNext
 Queer actor Ezra Miller had been acting steadily since 2008 (including five episodes of the TV series Royal Pains), but it was performance in 2011’s We Need To Talk About Kevin that thrust him into the spotlight in a big way. Add his absolute triumph in 2012’s The Perks Of Being A Wallflower, and it’s obvious that Ezra’s star is on the rise

The screenplay reading of “Casa Grande” on May 12, 2008 
 That star is sure to skyrocket in the coming years, with his role as Cadence in the adaptation of J.K. Rowling’s Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them, and the big-screen version of The Flash.


With Addison Timlin and Jeremy White
at the “Afterschool” premiere at Cannes on May 18, 2008 
 But he’s also made his mark with his own individual sense of style, and since today is his 23rd birthday, let’s take a look back at how he evolved into the fabulous bohemian thrift store force of nature he is today.


The premiere of “City Island” during the
2009 Tribeca Film Festival on April 26, 2009 
 The Ezra Miller evolution.
With Zoe Kravitz at the Ziegfeld Theater
on December 15, 2009

At the Tribeca Film Festival
 on April 23, 2010

At the premiere of “Every Day”
on April 24, 2010

At the “Another Happy Day” premiere
on January 23, 2011

“Higher Ground” premiere on August 15, 2011

“We Need To Talk About Kevin” Toronto
premiere on September 9, 2011

At Cannes on May 18, 2012

At the “Savages” New York Premiere
 on June 27, 2012

“The Perks Of Being A Wallflower”
Press Conference on September 7, 2012

At the 39th Ghent Film Festival on October 18, 2012 

The premiere of “The Great Gatsby,” May 2013 

Salt Lake City, January, 2015 

Speaking about “The Stanford Prison Experiment,” July 2015 

Happy birthday, Ezra!

Gay Teen Reflects On Being Disowned By His Family One Year Later

"I feel like I saw this on the news about someone else."
From: NewNowNext

 Last August, a video of teen Daniel Pierce being disowned by his family went viral. The video, titled “How not to react when your child tells you that he’s gay” currently has over 8 million views.


“You go by all the scientific stuff you want to; I’m going by the word of God,” Daniels’ stepmom told him in the video. “Since you have chosen that path, we will not support you any longer. You will need to move out and find wherever you can to live and do what you want to because I will not let people believe that I condone what you do.”


 The video culminates with screaming and a physical confrontation.

One year later, his life has changed drastically. Though he has not reconciled with his family, not returning home after that night, he’s found something better: inner peace.

“I feel like I’m talking about someone else. I feel like I saw this on the news about someone else,” he tells WXIA Atlanta.


He started by renting his own place. He paid for it thanks to thousands of dollars raised via a GoFundMe campaign set up by his boyfriend. He also landed a job at an Atlanta Law firm to help pay his bills including the cost of hearing aids after his family discontinued his health insurance.

Though he used a sum of the money, he also gave thousands away to Lost-n-Found Youth, a shelter for homeless LGBT children. Now he’s on the board of directors.


“We got a huge wave of kids because gay marriage got passed, and they had the guts to come out. They told their family,” he said. “That night I lost five family members. I gained hundreds of thousands of people that are just like ’we love you.’ People I will never meet.”

10 Queer Films That Will Teach You More LGBT History Than 'Stonewall'

From: Mic.com
3. 
Paris Is Burning
 (1990) 
Depicting the underground drag-ball culture of New York City in the late 1980s, Jennie Livingston's documentary, which she began shooting while in New York City for a summer course, has since influenced the queer community and academia in ways she may never have anticipated. Livingston spent seven years attending the balls and interviewing many prominent members of the houses, including Pepper LaBeija. The film details not only the elaborate house balls but the houses themselves as alternative families and is full of deft observations about race, sexuality, gender, poverty and the AIDS epidemic.

Much of the slang we use today comes from drag culture, and this film shows drag queens using these terms as industry jargon almost two decades before mainstream culture began to appropriate them. 

Film critic Emanuel Levy wrote that the film shows how black cultural expression is co-opted and diluted for mass consumption and that the movie, which was released out after Madonna's iconic "Vogue" video but was produced before her video's release, shows how much these queer people of color were exploited. "It also reiterated the failure of mainstream culture to even acknowledge the creative black genius it eagerly exploited," he wrote.

The shade of it all. 


Former Astro Joe Valentine Stands With Houston’s LGBT Rights Ordinance

Last week former Astro outfielder Lance Berkman declared the bill would allow "troubled men" to enter women's bathrooms.
From: NewNowNext
 Last week, former Houston Astro Lance Berkman made some ugly comments regarding Houston’s Equal Rights Ordinance (HERO), which protects LGBT people from discrimination.


 Calling it a “bathroom bill,” the former outfielder declared it would allow “troubled men” to enter women’s restrooms.

“I played professional baseball for 15 years, but my family is more important. My wife and I have four daughters. Proposition 1, the bathroom ordinance, would allow troubled men to enter women’s public bathrooms, showers and locker rooms. This would violate their privacy and put them in harm’s way.”

Thankfully not everyone in Major League Baseball thinks that way: Joe Valentine, a former pitcher for the Astros and Cincinnati Reds—an an ambassador with Athlete Ally—shared his support for HERO.


“I’m the father of two wonderful little girls and spent years as a major league pitcher. As a Dad, I would do anything to protect my daughters. As a major league ball player, Lance Berkman does not speak for me, or any of the other fair-minded guys in baseball. Berkman’s comments don’t reflect the facts. Proposition 1 will not allow men in women’s bathrooms. It simply allows everyone to work hard and be treated fairly, no matter who they are—and that includes transgender people.”

Voters will go to the polls in November to vote on Proposition 1, which determines whether HERO remains law or is repealed.

The Weekly ShoutOUT™

This week we give a ShoutOUT™ to … Peter Allen
From: NewNowNext

Peter had another huge songwriting hit with “Don’t Cry Out Loud,” which would become one of Melissa Manchester’s biggest hits. Here’s Peter’s version.


Peter had his one and only Hot 100 chart hit in the U.S. in 1981 with the fabulous “Fly Away,” which peaked at #55

Darren Criss Rocks “Aladdin” And “Mulan” Covers At Outdoor Showtunes Festival

The man has reached peak boyfriend material
From: NewNowNext
Darren Criss filled that Disney prince-sized hole in our heart at Elsie Fest Sunday night, singing “A Whole New World” from Aladdin alongside Lea Salonga, the actress who sang Jasmine’s songs in the iconic 1992 film.

Criss headlined the Elsie Fest, described as “Coachella for showtunes,” at New York City’s Pier 97 on Sunday along with fellow Broadway veterans Aaron Tveit, Laura Osnes, Leslie Odom Jr., and Lea Salonga, among others. Surprise performances included out rocker Tyler Glenn from Neon Trees and the Grammy award-winning duo A Great Big World.

Criss’ closing set included hits from his days on Glee and, most notably, a Harry Potter spoof that payed homage to the YouTube video that made him famous. “Darren Criss is exactly what today’s Broadway needs,” Broadway dot com raved.

Below, check out Criss’ most memorable numbers from the evening, as well as Aaron Tveit’s too-good covers of Justin Bieber’s “Boyfriend” and Taylor Swift’s “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together”:









DANCING IN THE STREETS

From: Manhunt Daily
Let me just say that Dancing in the Streets is one of my all-time favorite music videos; one of the goofiest yet sexiest performances by Mick Jagger and David Bowie. The raw attraction between the two of them on camera is palpable!

It’s awesome to know now that Jagger and Bowie were engaging and engorging in between the sheets with each other. At least that’s what I heard and I think the real proof is in the fun loving freedom that they are expressing in that music video.

It’s just fucking magnetic when they look into each other’s eyes and I wish I could’ve been a fly on the wall for one of their nights together. Two of the biggest icons in American music casting off hetero expectations and giving in to one another’s sex appeal.

What’s your favorite music video?

The 100 Greatest Lost Hits of The 80’s Part 2: The New Batch

From: NewNowNext

#98 
“Guaranteed For Life” 
Millions Like Us
British duo John O’Kane and Jeep MacNichol released one album in late 1987, which peaked at #171 on the album chart, and the only charting song, the Michael McDonald-esque “Guaranteed For Life” peaked at #69 on the Hot 100 in December. Okay, so millions didn’t like them, but I bought the cassingle.


Allen Lovell Is FTAPE’s First Nude Obsession

From: Homorazzi
 It’s been a while since FTAPE.com published a new installment of their Obsession series. Number 12 was definitely well worth the wait.


 Typically, photographer Daniel Jaems snaps his subjects wearing snug-fitting underwear. Not so in model Allen Lovell’s case. The 5’11” stud is nude with just shadows and some mesh fabric covering up his naughty bits.


 “Anyone that knows my work will understand that i’m obsessed with skin so eventually I knew I would shoot a nude for this series, it was inevitable. This being my first nude, I was naturally nervous, it requires a huge sense of responsibility in building trust with my models. Lovell is a fantastic model, in many ways he was the one who made ME feel comfortable on this shoot. A learning experience for us both. I wanted to convey Lovell’s masculinity, vulnerability and natural beauty. The Obsession shoots are an intense exploration of male beauty. The extra step of removing the distraction of clothing was a wonderful additional element to the series and the result is in this set of images” – Daniel Jaems



 



 





Man Buns-Explained

From: Vox
Leonardo DiCaprio with a man bun in July.
3)
 Did celebrities make the man bun a hit hairstyle?

That's debatable. Early man bun journalism often pointed to bunned celebrities, who no doubt influenced its popularity. Notable evangelists included Jared Leto, Joakim Noah, Chris Hemsworth, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Orlando Bloom.

But others credit lower-profile sources of inspiration, including Brooklyn bartenders and other garden-variety hipsters. As with all fashion, tracing the exact lines of influence can be difficult.