Portugal. The Man Joins HRC’s Equality Rocks Campaign

American alternative-rock band Portugal. The Man has joined HRC’s Equality Rocks campaign.

The group originally formed in Alaska in 2004 and released their first studio album “Waiter: You Vultures!” in 2006. They have since released six more studio albums, and their eighth album “Woodstock” will be released in June 2017.

In their most recent single “Feel it Still”, the band sends a message of resistance to its followers, giving them tools to fight oppression. The interactive video includes 30 “Easter eggs” with tips on how to resist during our current political climate. HRC was featured in one of the eggs, encouraging followers to “stand up for equality”. Other tips include knowing your protest rights and contacting representatives in Washington, D.C.

“[The band is] trying to write music that would help people feel they’re not alone, even if they’re angry or feeling lost,” singer John Gourley said of the new song. “This video is our way of saying that we’re all in this together.” This unique video not only points out flaws in society, but also urges people to do something about it.

The Equality Rocks campaign is sparking a conversation about love, fairness and equality around the globe. To join, visit www.hrc.org/EqualityRocks.

To tune into the artists who rock for equality, including the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Florence and the Machine, Phoenix, Sara Bareilles, Tegan and Sara, Sleater-Kinney, and Animal Collective, follow HRC on Spotify now.

 

American alternative-rock band @portugaltheman joined HRC’s Equality Rocks campaign! Tap twice to thank them for supporting #LGBTQ #equality. #EqualityRocks #HumanRightsCampaign #LGBT #

A post shared by Human Rights Campaign (@humanrightscampaign) on Apr 21, 2017 at 5:56pm PDT

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Patrick Smith Is Leaving Marks on Kink Culture

Mr. International Leather 2015 wants to show you the ropes with the first online BDSM database.

www.advocate.com/sexy-beast/2017/4/21/patrick-smith-leaving-marks-kink-culture

We need to talk about the latest addition to “Dancing with the Stars”
Major babe alert. The end.

www.queerty.com/need-talk-latest-addition-dancing-stars-20170421?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+queerty2+%28Queerty%29

North Korea: Pity the Pyongyang Residents Who Wake Up to This Horror Show Every Day: VIDEO

North Korea’s capital Pyongyang is a run down, depressing, staged pretense of a normal city and this eerie music used to wake up residents every morning can’t help.

As the city in parts resembles the sets of horror film Chernobyl Diaries – actually made in an abandoned Soviet barracks – the whiny ambient-gone-bad music is fitting.

According to Good, the song is called “Where Are You, Dear General.”

Have a listen below.

(Photos: Michael Fitzgerald)

The post North Korea: Pity the Pyongyang Residents Who Wake Up to This Horror Show Every Day: VIDEO appeared first on Towleroad.

North Korea: Pity the Pyongyang Residents Who Wake Up to This Horror Show Every Day: VIDEO

'Fire Island' Cast Responds to Critics: 'We're Not Harming Anyone'

Members of the Logo reality show’s cast and a few vets from MTV’s Jersey Shore clapped back against those who say they are exploiting stereotypes.

www.advocate.com/television/2017/4/21/fire-island-cast-responds-critics-were-not-harming-anyone

Ex-NFL star Aaron Hernandez reportedly left a suicide note for his gay prison lover
The 27-year-old former Patriots star was serving a life sentence for the 2013 murder of semi-pro football player Odin Lloyd.

www.queerty.com/ex-nfl-star-aaron-hernandez-reportedly-left-suicide-note-gay-prison-lover-20170421?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+queerty2+%28Queerty%29

Scientists Discover First Living Three-Foot-Long Giant Shipworm: VIDEO

Although its existence has been known for centuries thanks to fossil records, scientists have for the first time found a living giant shipworm.

Discovered in the Philippines, the mud-dwelling organism lives head down in a tusk-like tube.

Dan Distel of Northeastern University’s marine science centre and co-author of a study published in the journal PNAS described the specimen as “a very mysterious organism.”

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“We think, among living biologists, anyway, our group are probably the only group that has seen living specimens,” said Distel.

He added: “To me it was almost like finding a dinosaur – something that was pretty much only known by fossils.”

Distel’s team stumbled across the ship worm’s’ whereabouts thanks to a Philippine television news report on YouTube. The location remains a secret to prevent the site being disturbed by shell collectors.

The Guardian reports:

With the Linnaean classification Kuphus polythalamia, the creature lives in the mud inside a long tube made of calcium carbonate secreted by the animal. The tube forms a casing for the beast, including its head. “If they want to grow, they have to open that end of that tube, so somehow dissolve or reabsorb that cap on the bottom, grow, extend the tube down further into the mud, and then they seal it off again,” said Distel.

The end of the tube, adds Distel, is Y-shaped and surrounds two siphons – water is drawn in through one, pushed through the creature’s gills, then expelled through the other.

Despite being known as a shipworm – a nod to its relatives’ diet of submerged wood – the animal is actually a type of clam. It has a modified version of two clam shells at its head, while the body stretches out behind. “Its body has been stretched out through evolution so that it no longer fits between the two shells,” said Distel.

Distel explained that the discovery “sheds light on the evolution of symbiotic relationships between sulphur-oxidising organisms and other creatures, and backs up the possibility that sunken wood might have played a role in how such species ended up in locations such as deep sea hydrothermal vents.”

TV presenter and president of the Ugly Animal Preservation Society said:

“It might well be monstrous, but that does not mean that it isn’t marvellous.

“If you are down living among murky dirt, then aesthetics are surely not your number one priority.”

Watch a report on the discovery below.

The post Scientists Discover First Living Three-Foot-Long Giant Shipworm: VIDEO appeared first on Towleroad.

Scientists Discover First Living Three-Foot-Long Giant Shipworm: VIDEO

Top U.N. Expert on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Meets with Leading LGBTQ Advocates

Post Submitted by HRC Global Deputy Director Jean Freedberg

On Monday, Vitit Muntarbhorn, the United Nations’ (U.N.) newly appointed Independent Expert on Protection against Violence and Discrimination based on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity, met with 30 leading LGBTQ advocates. He discussed the challenges and opportunities he faces in monitoring the rights of LGBTQ people around the world today. HRC was proud to co-host this event with its partners Outright Action International and Open Society Foundations.

This was Muntarbhorn’s first visit to the U.S. since he took office in September and it was his first chance to meet many of the advocates in the room. Later in the day, he delivered the keynote address at the HRC’s 2017 Corporate Equality Index (CEI) Awards, which honors the more than 500 leading employers that earned 100 percent on HRC’s 2017 CEI.*

The position of Independent Expert was created by the U.N. Human Rights Council last June, and then survived a succession of efforts to undo it at the U.N. in New York.  Mary Beth Maxwell, HRC’s Senior Vice President for Programs, Research and Training paid tribute to all those, including Outright and others in the room, who had fought so hard to secure the position, one of the most hotly debated at the U.N. to date.

In his remarks, Muntarbhorn stressed the independent nature of his position, and committed himself to being an objective voice, grounded in international law, on violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. He reiterated the pillars that his work would rest on, including decriminalization and non-discrimination, destigmatization, status recognition, especially on the basis of gender identity, and socio-economic and cultural inclusion.

Most importantly, Muntarbhorn emphasized the role that advocates and allies can play in supporting his work. He addressed the business community specifically, and said they had a special role to play in leading on inclusion.

All the participants in the conversation were encouraged by Muntharbhorn’s vision, enthusiasm and commitment. They were also inspired by the ever-increasing global recognition of the rights and dignity of LGBTQ people and what this position signifies.

*The CEI evaluates corporate policies and practices regarding their LGBTQ employees.

www.hrc.org/blog/top-un-expert-on-sexual-orientation-and-gender-identity-meets?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed