HRC Names JoDee Winterhof Vice President for Policy and Political Affairs
Today HRC announced veteran political strategist JoDee Winterhof as the organization’s new Vice President for Policy and Political Affairs
HRC.org
Category Archives: NEWS
'American Horror Story: Freak Show' RECAP – 'Tupperware Party Massacre' [Spoilers]
'American Horror Story: Freak Show' RECAP – 'Tupperware Party Massacre' [Spoilers]
Now that was more like it! Not a perfect episode, but the latest installment of AHS: Freak Show, “Tupperware Party Massacre” had a few things really going for it.
For starters, it upped both the blood and guts, as well as the body count. It may sound macabre, but for a show with “horror” in the title, they’ve got to bring the darkness. Our villains — Stanley and Dandy — are also becoming more legitimate threats. They still lack the menance of Twisty or the Rubber Man, but now they’ve got larger plans at play to drive us toward a high stakes conclusion to their arcs.
Plus, we got to see Evan Peters’ and Finn Wittrock’s butts. No complaints here.
Let’s discuss what went down in last night’s episode, AFTER THE JUMP …
Dandy (Wittrock) has a lot of feelings he needs to work through, so he turns to Maggie (Emma Roberts) for a little spiritual guidance. He’s been so busy killing his mother and that nice Avon lady who stopped by (and then sewing the latter’s head onto the former’s body in a weird homage to the Tattler sisters), he just hasn’t really had the time to reflect, you know? Luckily, Maggie/Esmerelda eases his worried mind by reassuring him that #ItGetsBetter. He tips her a Benjamin, and whistles on out the door.
That’s when he catches the attention of Jimmy (Peters), who has been mourning the loss of his mother over a bottle or 10 of booze. He hears Dandy whistling away on the campgrounds and runs to confront him. Unfortunately, he’s a stumbling, stammering mess of a woo-girl wasted. When he goes to take a swing at Dandy, he misses and crumbles to the ground. That’s where Dandy leans in to tell him that he will get his revenge, before leaning in to kiss him passionately on the mouth. (Just kidding on that last part.)
Step one on Dandy’s plan is to take down Jimmy’s army of skanks alternative source of revenue. When Jimmy’s too drunk to service the housewives at the Tupperware party, Dandy steps in, faking car troubles. This, predictably, does not end well for the ladies. The hostess’ hubby comes home to find the whole party floating in a bloody swimming pool. It is an unpleasant sight, to say the least.
The convenient thing about being a psychopath fixated on bathing in blood who just happened to slaughter an entire Tupperware party is that there are plenty of containers to take home leftovers. Dandy packed up a few pints of blood to take home and fill the tub, but, as he drew his bath, Regina (Gabourey Sidibe) arrives. She tells him that she has gone to the police and they will find Patti LaBelle. Dandy assures her that they will definitely not, since he killed her. And his mother. And a bunch of other ladies. Not crazy enough? Well, wait until you hear him wax poetic about how he’s a god and living his destiny. And one more thing, why don’t you jump in the bath with him? He tries to tell her that she is the only one worthy to keep him company, but, when she’s less than comfortable with all this new information, he lets her go. Bold move, Dandy.
Regina, of course, returns with the cops. That’s no trouble for Dandy, who launches into quite a little speech about how he is filthy, filthy rich and will pay that cop a cool million smackers to work for him right now. Without hesitation, the cop turns and shoots Regina right in the head. I’m sure Ryan Murphy would love viewers to extrapolate some kind of social commentary out of all this, but, I’m sorry, that is a much more serious conversation fit for a much, much better television show than this hot mess. R.I.P., Regina! Say hi to Patti LaBelle for me!
While Regina was busy searching for Patti LaBelle, the rest of the performers were still searching for Bette and Dot (Sarah Paulson). Maggie and Desiree (Angela Bassett) go traipsing around the tents, where first they encounter Des’s old beau Angus (Malcolm Jamal Warner, a.k.a. Theo Huxtable) and then Jimmy giving the business to Ima Wiggles (Chrissy Metz). Maggie does not take this well.
Then there’s Dell (Michael Chiklis). He’s still mourning the loss of his love, Andy (Matt Bomer). On top of that, he’s still feeling guilty about offing Ma Petite (Jyoti Amge), and Stanley (Denis O’Hare) is still blackmailing him. Well, not just blackmailing him. He also confronts Dell late at night and masturbates in his general direction. We see Stan whip it out in front of Dell, much to Dell’s surprise and apparent disgust. Most folks are assuming Stanley’s absurdly hung, but I feel there’s a lot more wonder/surprise in people’s reactions for it just to be that. (You’d think they’d just be like “#blessed.”) Anyway, this is pre-Internet and therefore I guess folks have seen a lot fewer massive members, so who knows.
Overcome with all these feelings, Dell attempts to take his life. Haunted by the ghosts of Ma Petite and Ethel (Kathy Bates), he attempts to hang himself, only to be saved by Desiree.
That Stanley has been awful busy. When he wasn’t waving his willy at Dell, he was convincing Elsa (Jessica Lange) to go find and separate those twins. He explains to her that if they get their wish to be separated, they won’t be of interest and thus will no longer be competing with her for attention. They find the twins at a motel and tell them they’ve contacted a doctor to perform the surgery. They’ll just have to hang out at this totally legit and not at all suspect barn for a few days. Cool? Cool.
That Stanley though always has a plan. He’s not planning on separating them. He’s planning on having his trick pretend he’s the surgeon and then, instead of knocking them out for the procedure, they’ll just go ahead and euthanize them. Easy peasy.
Exceeeeeept, the sisters have a little heart to heart. Bette talks about how they’ve overcome so much together and loved each other so much and if they have to pick one of them to live, she wants them to pick Dot. Then Dot’s heart grows three sizes and she realizes she doesn’t want to risk losing her sister, even if it means losing her freedom.
The sisters make their way back to the campground from the sketchy barn and wait in Jimmy’s trailer. Once he stumbles in, Dot makes her pitch about loving him and giving him two wives for the price of one and how they understand each other, etc. and so on. Through tears, they explain that Bette can close her eyes and sort of disappear while Jimmy and Dot make with the topless kissy. But before things get too hot and heavy, Jimmy tells them that he’s in love with someone else.
As if it couldn’t get any more complicated for darling Jimmy Darling, Dandy’s cop and his fellow officers show up to arrest Jimmy for murdering all those Tupperware ladies. You think he’ll have more luck than Meep?
What did you think of last night’s episode?
Bobby Hankinson
Gay Christian 'kidnapped, attacked by fellow churchgoers to rid him of demons'
Gay Christian 'kidnapped, attacked by fellow churchgoers to rid him of demons'
Church members, including his mother and brother, have turned against the young gay man
joem
www.gaystarnews.com/article/gay-christian-kidnapped-attacked-fellow-churchgoers-rid-him-demons111214
Married Gay Man To Unmarried Gay Men “You’re All A Bunch Of Teenagers!”
Married Gay Man To Unmarried Gay Men “You’re All A Bunch Of Teenagers!”
It all started when another gay man told Lee Suckling and his fiancé: “You’re so brave. I can’t imagine why two men would want to get married.”
“It took my husband and I a while to figure out what he meant,” Suckling writes in a recent op-ed titled Why do gay men act like teenagers? published by the New Zealand Herald. “Why wouldn’t two men want to get married?”
We can think of a number of reasons why, but our readers are probably already aware of them.
Suckling continues: “In the lead up to my wedding, I’d started to realize there was a certain adolescence I was letting go of. What I didn’t quite comprehended, until I thought that older gentleman’s comment through, was that such an adolescence isn’t something a lot of gay men want to let of go of.”
What follows next is an assault of outdated stereotypes and generalizations about gay men and their “Peter Pan syndrome.”
“Our culture permits — even encourages — an eternal Peter Pan syndrome whereby we can choose to remain young and free at heart,” Suckling writes. “And we do the best we can to keep our physicality in such a state too.”
He cleverly refers to this “eternal Peter Pan syndrome” as “gaydolescence.”
“For the most part, the gaydolescence comes from being denied a legitimate adolescence in our teenage years,” he theorizes. “The consequence of this is often young gay men don’t partake — and actively distance themselves — from the adolescent experiences of teenage love, sex, even good friendships.”
Maybe for some people. But these days, more and more LGBT youth are coming out at a younger and younger age.
“The fall out effect of this becomes apparent when we accept who we are, at 18, 22, or sometimes 30 or older, and then we become 16 year old boys all over again,” Suckling continues. “Sex drives ramp up. We join a party culture that doesn’t stop for anything. We date around and finally get the sexual education we missed out on (and then some).”
Oh, but it doesn’t stop there. Suckling continues: “It’s obvious that gaydolescence extends to some gay mens’ physical appearance, too.”
They do this, he says, by getting “buffed up” at the gym, paying more attention to their “skincare and hair regimes,” and wearing “hi-tops and tank tops at 38.”
“For some guys, the gaydolescence never really ends,” Sucking writes. “Others might drag it out until their mid-40s when they realize a the benefits of a prolonged adolescence are no longer outweighed by the effort it takes.”
“But for the gay men coupling up and getting married early-ish in life (myself included),” he says, “our gaydolescence isn’t even going to last into our 30s.”
So there you have it, fellas. Lee Suckling is better than you because he decided to get married and stop being a “gaydolescent.” Now you can either follow his lead or grow into one of those tired, old 40-something gay men wearing a tank top at a gay bar on a Saturday night. Your choice.
Related stories:
If You’re Over 40 You Should Stay Out Of Gay Bars, Says Ageist Blogger
Are Hookup Apps Destroying Gay Culture? This Guy Thinks They Perpetuate Stereotypes
Graham Gremore
Everything You Need to Know Now About Marriage Equality in Arkansas
Everything You Need to Know Now About Marriage Equality in Arkansas
Updated December 11: Arkansas is making strides toward equality, with rulings expected any day now.
Matt Baume
20 Fearless Gifts for Your Favorite Adventurer
20 Fearless Gifts for Your Favorite Adventurer
Whether he’s heading out to the jungle or just sunning by the pool, there’s something for everyone on this list of goodies for open-minded, travel-centric types.
Diane Anderson-Minshall
Kim Kardashian Meets Larry Kramer: PHOTO
Kim Kardashian Meets Larry Kramer: PHOTO
At tonight’s 19th annual ACRIA Holiday Dinner in New York City, activist, playwright, and author Larry Kramer and photographer Bruce Weber were honored for their commitments to the fight against AIDS.
Judith Light presented the award to Kramer. Kim Kardashian presented the award to Weber.
ACRIA (The AIDS Community Research Initiative of America) was founded in 1991 to provide community based clinical drug trials for people living with AIDS.
photo: Vincent Gagliostro for Towleroad.
Andy Towle
www.towleroad.com/2014/12/kim-kardashian-meets-larry-kramer-photo.html
'American Horror Story: Freak Show' Episode 9 Recap: Murder At A Tupperware Party
'American Horror Story: Freak Show' Episode 9 Recap: Murder At A Tupperware Party
*** WARNING: Contains spoilers! Please do not read on unless you’ve seen Episode 9 of “American Horror Story: Freak Show,” titled “Tupperware Party Massacre.” Or if you don’t mind spoilers, go right ahead! ***
Before I get into this week’s recap, I want to say sorry for missing last week — I was on vacation and away from all computers. Apologies. Of course I missed a major one! RIP Gloria. Not so much Ethel.
Ah, Tupperware. Who would’ve thought that the stuff we so nonchalantly use to pack our lunches and keep our food fresh in the fridge could possibly be used as a metaphor on “American Horror Story: Freak Show”? Strong yet weak, transparent and when not in use, empty. Even things safely contained within Tupperware also eventually rot. It perfectly coincides with many characters’ storylines and the keeping of secrets, especially Dell, who ghost Ethel sums up so nicely (“You were never strong”). For a show that many people scoff at, “AHS” sometimes nails it with these things.
If nothing else, “AHS” should at least be praised for its mastery of the opening scene. The Puppet Mother was hands-down one of the more disturbing things I’ve seen on the show; it’s stuff like this that keeps me coming back. That poor Avon lady had no idea what she was walking into, then bam! Dandy with the candlestick in the foyer — it’s like our own version of Clue. He tries to have Maggie/Esmerelda set things right by reading his fortune, but since we know she’s a fraud, of course it’s ineffective. And so his God Complex and killing spree begin.
On the other end of the spectrum, Jimmy is at an all-time low. Heavy into the sauce, he’s taken to engaging in dirty food-sex talk with the newest recruit, Ima Wiggles, and having what looks like incredibly uncomfortable intercourse with her. This sudden “sex with anything that moves” attitude from Jimmy and everyone else seems a bit tacked on, since just last week he was in love with Maggie/Esmerelda. If it’s meant to show his descent into vice and self-destruction, then OK. But still, it’s a little weird. He’s so drunk he can’t even perform at the Tupperware party, and is kicked out by the horny housewives.
Dandy shows up and turns it into a pool party. A bloody one. What a fantastic, disgusting scene. While the housewife’s husband walks in and discovers the carnage, I could only sit there and imagine how impossible it would be to digest what you saw in front of you. I don’t even think a scream would be possible.
I did let out a loud internal scream when a drunken Dell, unable to write suicide letters to Desiree and Jimmy, encounters Stanley on the dirt road. Stanley shows him his “appendage” and then starts masturbating. The sounds and the visual were just too much for me. I love Denis O’Hare, but blech. It may have been his twitching while he did it, I don’t know. Regardless, it seems like Dell and Stanley end up doing something, but we don’t see it. I’m thankful for that. (In case you’re keeping score, I called that these two would hook up a long time ago.) Dell’s suicide is foiled by Desiree, who cuts him down at the last moment. It was morbidly cool to see it all from Dell’s perspective; dark, dark stuff.
Bette and Dot are also contemplating something dark: getting surgery to separate from each other. Elsa and Stanley concoct a plan to trick the twins and euthanize them. Elsa has reservations, but Stanley brainwashes her into going along with the scheme. He almost succeeds in fooling the twins, too, but ultimately they decide they need each other. When Dot professes her love to Jimmy and takes off their (?) shirt, I thought that Jimmy had it made. But nope, he’s in love with Maggie/Esmerelda (c’mon, it can’t be Ima), and he rejects the twins outright. Ouch. But hey, I hold out hope. Dandy seemed quite interested in Maggie/Esmerelda’s powers, so he might still kill her, leaving Jimmy free to love Bette and Dot.
Despite Regina’s attempts, Dandy manages to escape persecution by bribing the Jupiter cop with $1 million. Out of nowhere, the cop shoots Regina in the head. While ridiculous, it’s also not totally out of the question that someone would take that much money in a pinch. I mean, it is the 1950s. Imagine what $1 million was like back then?! Fully in control, Dandy frames Jimmy with that goddamn glove — I wondered where that thing went — and is off scot-free. What is it with Evan Peters’ characters getting wrongly accused and/or arrested? There’s a trend here.
A lot of people are dying now, at a pretty steady clip. You know what that means: this season is nearing its end. Who will emerge the ultimate victor? Will anyone survive? I feel like the whole freak show is going to go up in flames before this series is through.
Freak Of The Week: Can we include Dandy? I’m including Dandy. Can this guy steal a scene or what?
Random Thoughts:
- Malcolm Jamal-Warner. What the hell was that? Care to elaborate, “AHS”? You introduce a character for one minute and that’s that?
- There’s such a lack of Gloria quotes now. It’s so noticeable when I write out the random thoughts!
- How did I never make the connection with the last name Mott? Does Motts know that their name is being used by a fictional deranged psychopath? I can just imagine the angry emails being composed right now.
- Man bum x 2 tonight. Ryan Murphy certainly knows what the show’s fans want.
- You know what they say about the circus and the show: it ain’t over til the fat lady sings, which means a song by Ima will most likely close out this season.
- Ghost Ma Petite: “Sign it!” That was actually kind of scary.
- Ghost Ethel talking about giving birth to Jimmy by “squatting by an oak tree” was another gross moment. Not as gross as seeing O’Hare masturbate, but a close second.
- Sarah Paulson deserves some sort of award for this season. Someone please give one to her.
“American Horror Story: Freak Show” airs on Wednesday nights at 10 p.m. EST on FX and FX Canada.
Episode 7 Recap
Episode 6 Recap
Episode 5 Recap
Episode 4 Recap
Episode 3 Recap
Episode 2 Recap
Premiere Recap
Celebrate the Holidays with Heart in Palm Springs
Celebrate the Holidays with Heart in Palm Springs
VNA California will host their inaugural Holiday Spectacular Concert on Monday, December 15, with proceeds benefiting the organization’s LGBT community Outreach programs. Get your tickets here.
Advocate.com Editors
www.advocate.com/travel/2014/12/10/celebrate-holidays-heart-palm-springs
Male Organ News
Male Organ News
Tom Ford is selling one for your neck for $800, Harpers Bazaar reports:
“It comes in three sizes, small, medium and large—so at the risk of offending anyone, we’d argue this is no time to get frugal. Large it is, for anyone on your Christmas gift list from the Samantha of your group, as a fertility talisman to the lady in your life looking to procreate, to your tongue-in-cheek Tom Ford-loving gay bestie or to that man who is proud as a peach with what he’s working with.”
Lance Bass and Michael Turchin had a themed bachelor party at The Abbey in L.A.: ” In addition to lap dances from hunky male dancers, Bass and Turchin celebrated with lots of penis-shaped party favors, including X-rated cups, straws and dirty necklaces.
And there’s a new 16,000 word oral history of Boogie Nights which includes gossip about Mark Wahlberg’s prosthetic:
“The model itself was made of plaster, with a little public merkin specially made to match Mark Wahlberg’s hair color. (The team also created a special bulge for his pants, “a woman’s stocking knee filled with birdseed.”) After the team tested some prototypes, the final penis ended up being a little smaller than Diggler’s oft-mentioned 13 inches: “We sculpted a version that was 12 inches long, and we tested it, and it was just way too big,” special-makeup-effects coordinator Howard Berger told Grantland.”
Andy Towle
