Wednesday, March 2, 2016

ABC’s ‘The Real O’Neals’: A Queer Teen Debuts Tonight On TV And He Isn’t Closeted!

From: Gaily Grind
 Tonight on ABC, The Real O’Neals mede its grand debut, a comedy about an Irish Catholic family and all their foibles.

At its center is – Gasp! – a homosexual teen named Kenny O’Neal – played by 20-year-old Noah Galvin, who is also gay, and who is neither friendless, closeted, repressed, deviant or loveless.


 What makes this so revolutionary is that ABC, for all its LGBTQ inclusion, rarely portrays us as anything but.

The show is loosely based on sex columnist and gay rights advocate Dan Savage’s experiences but, as the show’s co-creators Casey Johnson and David Windsor pointed out to Slate, “the Savage connection doesn’t go much deeper than that.”

But first, a brief history. ABC is far and away the most aggressive commercial network in terms of LGBTQ representation. Starting in 1975 with Norman Lear’s short-lived TV comedy Hot l Baltimore – it ran for only one season – the show featured George and Gordon, America’s first and only openly gay couple.


 But it wasn’t until 1977 when Billy Crystal debuted as Jodie Dallas on the critically acclaimed Soap, did America get its first chance to see ‘us’ on a daily basis. It was truly groundbreaking for any number of reasons but especially because show creator Susan Harris treated Jodie equally to the other characters on the show.

Fifteen years would pass before another groundbreaking TV moment would occur, and again, ABC was there. It was the kiss heard around the world between Roseanne and Mariel Hemingway on ABC’s hit comedy of the eponymously named Roseanne. Then, again, ABC broke new ground by featuring the first open-mouthed kiss on Relativity in 1997.


 At the same time, things started getting very queer at ABC. After Ellen DeGeneres came out to her shrink played by Oprah Winfrey – remember, she was closeted up to that point – ABC bowed to the pressure and outrage – also remember, this was 1997 – and placed a parental advisory on every episode thereafter. (DeGeneres complained publicly that ABC did not have her back after that and was largely responsible for the show’s demise.)


After that it was nothing but stereotypes and ‘oversights.’ Cam and Mitchell never once kissing during the first season of Modern Family, Mark Deklin as a closeted gay man in the short-lived GCB, ditto for Will Lexington on Nashville, ditto for Nolan Leslie Ross on Revenge, ditto for Justin Suarez on Ugly Betty, etc., etc. (Granted, it was a comedy but could Michael Urie’s Marc St. James be any over the top? For the record, he was the reason I tuned into the show.)

Even American Crime – which is one of the best written shows on TV – deals with its gay characters as long suffering homosexuals, victims or, worse, self-loathing ones. (“I’m gay. I’m not a faggot!”)

I guess my whole point is that there is absolutely nothing wrong with sensitive portrayals of the LGBTQ community because, yes, there are closeted gay men whose careers would be derailed if they came out and there are flamboyant queens and there is gay date rape. But we are long past the point where those portrayals are the whole of our existence.

Hopefully, ABC has a chance with The Real O’Neals to steer the public conversation away from our pathologies and, like their trailblazing past, move is forward with a new dialog.

Watch the trailer below.

Here Are The Top 20 Bootylicious Stories Of 2015

From: Gaily Grind
20. 
Brazilian Soccer Hunk Posts Nude Pic On Instagram, Much To The Delight Of Fans
A photo posted by Paulo Roberto Prestes Jr. (@mtv_prprestes) on


Professional football defender of the Tupi-MG, Paulo Roberto Junior, is causing quite a stir online after sharing a revealing photo on Instagram showing his incredible bubble butt. 

11 Times Playing Queer Paid Off For Straight Actors At The Oscars

From: NewNowNext
5
Charlize Theron
“Monster” 
2003

Theron turned to two tried-and-true methods to get Oscar gold—playing a tragic gay character and uglying herself up—as convicted serial killer Aileen Wuornos in Monster.

10 Hottest Asses in Men's Tennis

From: kenneth in the (212)



Even ESPN magazine celebrated Stan Wawrinka's fat behind ...

8 Ways Bernie Sanders Has Stood Up For LGBT Equality

From: NewNowNext
5
He asked and he told.

Sanders opposed President Clinton’s Don’t Ask Don’t Tell policy, which put gay service members in a kind of limbo. In a 1995 debate, he called out an opponent for saying he didn’t want “homos in the military.”

“Was the gentleman referring to the many thousands and thousands of gay people who have put their lives on the line for countless wars defending this country? Is that the group of people the gentleman was referring to?” he asked. “You have insulted thousands of men and women who have put their lives on the line!”

8 Times Hillary Clinton Was A Champion Of The LGBT Community

From: NewNowNext
6
Her vow to fight for an end to violence against trans people.

Clinton addressed the trans community in 2015, during a HRC board meeting. “We’ve got to address the crisis of transphobic violence. 2015 has seen the murder of at least 19 transgender women, primarily women of color. And nobody knows how much violence goes unreported or ignored,” she stated.

“We need to say, with one voice, that transgender people are valued, they are loved, they are us. They desire to be treated fairly and equally.”

6 Queer Films That Should Have Been Nominated For Oscars This Year

From: NewNowNext
5
“Best of Enemies” 
for 
Best Documentary Feature

The televised debates between conservative pundit William F. Buckley and gay leftie Gore Vidal changed television forever. These intellectual titans went for the jugular in explosive exchanges that put ABC News on the map and launched the modern pundit-fest we have today.

At one point, Vidal branded his opponent a “crypto-Nazi,” and an enraged Buckley replied, “Now you listen, you queer, stop calling me a crypto-Nazi or I’ll sock you in your goddamn face and you’ll stay plastered.”

The film made many Oscar short lists, and Variety called it “a thoroughly engrossing and surprisingly entertaining documentary,” but the Academy snubbed it.

Scream, Queens! The Top 40 Horror Films of The 80’s!

From:  The Backlot
  
#33
I, Madman

Director Tibor Takacs followed up his surprise hit The Gate with this sadly overlooked, well-crafted slasher, written by David Chaskin (who wrote A Nightmare On Elm Street 2: Freddie’s Revenge, which we’ll see much later). Sadly, there’s no gay subtext in this one, but it does have Jenny Wright as the plucky heroine, and 80′s favorite Clayton Rohner as her boyfriend, as they deal with a mad killer who has sprung to life from the pages of the pulp novel she’s reading.

Porn-Free Fap February Day 27: I Watched Porn


From: Fleshbot
 I failed.


 But it wasn't 100% my fault!

I know what you're thinking: "OK Garridan. You just randomly typed in Men.com without knowing that it was a porn site, and you just happened up on the play button? Likely story."

And that's exactly how it happened. 

Jokes aside, this is what happened.

Over the weekend, I took a trip to Texas to visit. An old fuck bud got word, and he decided to come to my hotel to see me. As we were making plans to meet and a time to see each other, I got this text message:


 He gets a little excited, and likes to go the whole nine yards with sex, with porn, tons of poppers, and some toys. So when he asked about porn on the iPad, I should have said no. I should have denied him. But...my answer?


 In my defense, I had just done my first workout in two months, so I was feeling loopy. I was also running late and trying to rush to get ready for him. But I know what you're thinking:

Garridan. You had ONE job. And you failed. You failed miserably. I'm very disappointed in you.
I know. I'm very disappointed in myself. I should have said "No, friend. I'm taking a break from watching porn in the month of February. I'm trying to get right with the porn lord. If this were March 1, yes. Since it isn't? No.

So we watched porn. 

He's into interracial, and had already queued up a scene of Tate Ryder getting fucked by the pool by a huge BBC. (BTW, the scene has a pretty hilarious blooper, where Tate is getting fucked so hard, he loses his balance and falls into the pool.)


The sex was also good - he was excited to see me and hadn't had any since the last time we met, at the end of last year.

When I look back at last month, I didn't make it the full 31 days with my detox diet - I made it 29. I made it 27 days without watching porn to get off. 

Maybe a month is too long for a detox plan. Maybe the saying "it takes 21 days to break or start a new habit" is on to something.

Or maybe I've been too ambitious in my plans for detox, and in my next one, I should account for margin of error.

Either way:

I tried so hard, and got so far. But in the end? It doesn't even matterrrrrr...

Tom Robinson

From: NewNowNext
Tom Robinson and one of his songs in particular gave me the fighting spirit necessary to come out and to get involved in gay activism. 

Tom (born in Cambridge/1950) to middle class parents, realised that he was gay at the age of 13, when he fell in love with another boy at school. Being gay would still be illegal for 4 more years. At 16 he attempted suicide and he was institutionalized for the next 6 years. He then went to London, where he became involved in the emerging gay scene and embraced the politics of gay liberation, which linked gay rights to the wider issues of social justice.

He formed the Tom Robinson Band, which was highly political. In 1977 they released the single “2-4-6-8 Motorway,” which alludes to a gay pick-up between a hitch-hiker and a truck driver (Little young Lady Stardust hitching a ride). It went Top 5.



In February 1978, the band released the live EP Rising Free. The main track was “Glad To Be Gay.” A song originally written for the London gay Pride Parade of 1976. This was the song that I mentioned in the beginning: a sarcastic anthem of protest and empowerment: the first verse begins with “The British Police are the best in the world” and then goes on to list cases of police brutality. The second verse deals with the double standard found in the press: “Pictures of naked young women are fun… There’s no nudes in Gay News our one magazine, but they still find excuses to call it obscene.”

The third verse deals with bullying: “You don’t have to mince or make bitchy remarks to get beaten unconscious and left in the dark.” Finally the fourth and final verse deals with our own apathy and our closeted self-hatred: “Lie to your workmates, lie to your folks, put down the queens and tell anti-queer jokes. Gay Lib’s ridiculous, join their laughter, ’The buggers are legal now, what more are they after?'”

The song, although banned by the BBC, made the Top 20 and has since become a seminal song of the genre. Over the course of his solo career, Tom Robinson has performed the song with its lyrics updated to reflect current events. There have been ten versions officially released.

This version was recorded in Manchester, 1977.

Another great version:



This EP also includes my favorite bromantic song, “Martin.” This version is from 1979:



Their first LP, Power In The Darkness (May 1978), was a kickass political dynamite. It included “Long Hot Summer,” a song about Stonewall:



The title track is a manifesto, which begins with the liberal pov and ends with the pov of the extreme right. A Brechtian writing style, that brings the message home much more effectively.



Finally for today, a song from TRB Two, the band’s second album from 1979. The album is as political as the first. “Black Angel” dealt with a white guy who falls in love with a black guy. The song appropriately came with a fake-gospel chorus. Here it is:

Classic Television - Prime Time

The Marty Feldman Comedy Machine

Original channel
ITV (UK)
ABC (USA)

First shown in  
October 1,  1971 (UK)
 April 12, 1972 (USA)

Starring
Marty Feldman
Spike Milligan
John Junkin
Hugh Paddick
Frances de la Tour
Barry Levinso

The Marty Feldman Comedy Machine was a 1971 comedy-variety sketch show starring British comedian Marty Feldman. Co-produced by ATV in the UK and ABC TV in America, and was filmed at Elstree Studios. It featured opening and closing credits by Terry Gilliam, as well as featuring guest appearances by Spike Milligan, John Junkin and Frances de la Tour. It also featured sketches written by Barry Levinson and Larry Gelbart.

Matthew Broderick, Nathan Lane Star In Trump-Themed ‘Producers’ Sequel: “Trumped”

From: Gaily Grind
From the producers who brought you “The Producers,” #Trumped is a new musical starring Matthew Broderick, Nathan Lane, Cloris Leachman and the unlikely candidate himself, Donald Trump.

The Producers-themed spoof imagined a dystopian future-past in which the former Apprentice host was a legitimate front runner for president.

Check out the hilarious sketch below:

INSTAGRAM. Meet Argentinian male model Gus Boeing.

A photo posted by Gus Boeing (@gusboeing) on

Man Who Believes George H.W. Bush Was ‘Homosexual Pedophile’ Elected GOP Chair in Texas

From: Towleroad
Austin is Texas’ weirdest and most liberal city, so perhaps it’s only fitting that Travis County’s newly elected GOP chair is completely insane.

Anti-Clinton author Robert Morrow (left) has been cooking up political conspiracy theories for years — many involving gay sex — and detailing them in emails to Texas journalists.




On Super Tuesday, Morrow was elected chairman of the Republican Party in Travis County, home to the state capital, beating out incumbent James Dickey.


Not surprisingly, the vice chair of the party immediately vowed to block Morrow from assuming the post, given his penchant for sexist, racist, anti-gay and otherwise just plain lewd posts on social media. Morrow’s Facebook page, for example, features dozens of photos of scantily-clad, large-breasted women. In other words, he’s pretty much Donald Trump on steroids.




Morrow’s election as Republican chair of the fifth-largest county in Texas left several members of the Travis County GOP, including vice chair Matt Mackowiak, apoplectic. Mackowiak, a Republican strategist, immediately announced over social media that he would do everything in his power to remove Morrow from office.


“We will explore every single option that exists, whether it be persuading him to resign, trying to force him to resign, constraining his power, removing his ability to spend money or resisting any attempt for him to access data or our social media account,” Mackowiak told the Tribune. “I’m treating this as a coup and as a hostile takeover.”


“Tell them they can go fuck themselves,” Morrow told the Tribune.




As votes rolled in Tuesday, with Morrow ultimately beating out incumbent James Dickey with about 55 percent of the vote, the new leader of the Travis County Republican Party spent election night tweeting about “Rick Perry’s rampaging bisexual adulteries” and how “much of the Bush family should be in jail.”


Morrow, 51, is a self-employed investor and political activist who ran ads in 2011seeking evidence to support hisaccusation that former Gov. Rick Perry is gay. Morrow has published a book about the Clintons and is a self-professed expert on the JFK assassination. He owns about 400 books on the subject and believes that former President Lyndon B. Johnson had Kennedy killed, he said. He emails media outlets daily on these subjects and others.


In an interview with the Statesman’s Ken Herman in 2011, Morrow talked about his political research into allegations of criminal activity by Hillary Clinton and Perry’s sexuality.


“I’m a truth seeker and a truth teller. Even if it’s the ugly truth,” he told Herman.


There’s no word on whether Morrow believes President Barack Obama worked as a male prostitute in his 20s. But another conspiracist Texas Republican who espouses that theory, Mary Lou Bruner, was the top vote-getter in a state school board race on Tuesday, advancing to a runoff for the GOP nomination.


Check out a few of Morrow’s tweets below.













Hartland Wins Its First State Title

From: kenneth in the (212)


From an eagle-eyed reader:

News from Michigan: 







Hartland won the wrestling championship this weekend .....always did like wrestling :)......this also proves the statement you made couple of weeks ago....Midwest white boys are indeed circumcised ! You picked a great time for your West Coast trip....hope you had fun.

"Stump"

STUMP

25 Times White Actors Played People Of Color And No One Really Gave A S**t

From: Huffington Post

Ben Affleck 
as 
Antonio J. Mendez

Film
 "Argo" (2012) is based on the real-life work of top-level CIA operative Antonio J. Mendez, who helped orchestrate the rescue of six American hostages in Iran in 1980. The film won The Academy Award for Best Picture. 

Character's Background
Antonio J. Mendez was born in Nevada and is Mexican-American.

Actor's Background
Ben Affleck is not Latino. He is of mixed-European descent.

11 Ways To Prepare For The “RuPaul’s Drag Race” Super-Marathon

Get ready for Logo's "Runway to 100" marathon of every single episode of "Drag Race" EVER, starting March 3.
From: NewNowNext
 Stop the presses: Logo running a RuPaul’s Drag Race super-marathon of every single RPDR episode ever.


 Beginning March 3 at 7 pm, see every queen, every runway look, every challenge. This is the stuff Drag Race dreams are made of!


 But the “Runway to 100” marathon requires planning: You don’t just plop down to watch 99 episodes of Drag Race. Fortunately, we’re here to help with a handy guide to preparing for the ultimate binge-watch experience.

Cancel your plans


Channel your inner Bianca, and say, “Beat it, Queen!” Use a personal day. Don’t call in sick, call in sickening.

‘The Real O’Neals’ Is Imperfectly Charming

From: Towleroad
 If you’re tuning in tonight to see what all the controversy is over ABC’s new sitcom The Real O’Neals, prepare to be a bit let down. The family-friendly half-hour isn’t nearly as salacious as its executive producer and inspiration Dan Savage, but its top-notch cast and creative asides lend the new series plenty of charm.

Very loosely inspired by Savage’s own upbringing, the show follows the family foibles of the titular clan as they shed their seemingly perfect Irish Catholic image. It all comes out in one extraordinarily awkward church bingo night where it’s revealed that the parents are on the road to divorce, the kids are dealing with eating disorders and thieving, and youngest son Kenny is gay.


 Those who have grown accustomed to ABC’s lineup of black-ish, Fresh Off the Boat or The Goldbergs, will find The Real O’Neals fitting right in. Perhaps a little too well. Despite all the outrage from conservative groups, the series plays it pretty safe, sticking to the typical sitcom conventions. Some surreal, Scrubs-esque, fantastical asides add a little freshness, but the real reason to check out The Real O’Neals is its cast.

Newcomer Noah Galvin showcases some expert comic timing and the perfect sitcom sensibility. As a smart, young gay man figuring things out seemingly without any models or mentors, Galvin’s Kenny is a perfectly balanced combination of adolescent awkwardness, naïveté and excitement. He’s not some kind of sissy caricature, but the show also isn’t afraid to have a little fun at his expense. Sure there are more nuanced portrayals of gay teens out there today, but, in a sitcom world, where everyone is an exaggerated archetype of some kind, having a complex young gay character that’s treated with respect and not overly earnest kid gloves still feels a little like progress. Perhaps the fact Galvin himself is gay helps contribute to the character’s well-roundedness. Regardless, he’s a joy every time he’s on screen.


Similarly, the dependably excellent Martha Plimpton is a scene stealer, keeping Eileen O’Neal’s wide-eyed, manic energy simmering beneath her composed church lady exterior. As the matriarch of a collapsing clan, we’re supposed to enjoy watching the cracks develop in her perfect facade. Plimpton pulls it off without making audiences feel like they’re rooting against her, because she has a knack for tempering her toughness with the right amount of heart.

Filling out the ensemble, Bebe Wood plays Kenny’s sister Shannon in a similarly smarter-than-her-age style as she did on The New Normal, and it’s just as effective here. Older brother Jimmy is the family dunce, but Matt Shively makes sure he’s a lovable dunce at least. Finally, The O’Neal patriarch is brought to life by Jay R. Ferguson (Mad Men) as a typical sitcom dad buffoon.


Many of the funnier plot points from the pilot are going to feel familiar to anyone who’s been following the promos for the series. It saps some of the spark from the first 30 minutes, but the subsequent three episodes screened for critics continue to improve. What these first four episodes lack in big belly-laugh moments, the series compensates with lots of quick bon mots and zingers delivered by Galvin, Plimpton and, to a lesser extent, Wood. Despite the big controversy, it’s these small moments that illustrate the potential The Real O’Neals has to grow.

Sure it might not be the most innovative new show out there, but if The Real O’Neals taught us anything so far, it’s that, hey, nobody’s perfect.

You can see the first two episodes of The Real O’Neals tonight at 8:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. Eastern on ABC.