Wes Anderson, Orlando Cruz, Rosie O’Donnell, Beme, Skating, Frozen Fish, Trump Tower: HOT LINKS

WE APPROVE. Obama approval rating hits new high: “American voters approve 50 – 43 percent of the job President Barack Obama is doing, his highest score since a 53 – 40 percent approval rating December 6, 2012, right after he won reelection, according to a Quinnipiac University national poll released today. President Obama has been a “great” president, 22 percent of voters say, while 33 percent say he has been a “good” president, the independent Quinnipiac (KWIN-uh-pe-ack) University Poll finds. Another 23 percent say “not so good” and 22 percent say he has been a “bad” president.”

WHITE HOUSE NORTH. The nonsense New Yorkers will have to put up with having Trump live in their midst: “In addition to whatever fortifications and personnel the Secret Service deploys but doesn’t talk about, the city has assigned 50 additional traffic agents and police officers to manage flow, and has posted surveillance officers on elevated platforms and rooftops. Bomb-sniffing dogs and plainclothes police officers patrol the vicinity, and heavy-weapons teams are nearby, according to the police chief, Carlos M. Gomez. ”

DRAIN THE SWAMP? Trump’s administration could be worth $35 billion: “Beyond Trump himself, who claims a net worth of more than $10 billion, the president-elect has tapped businesswoman Betsy DeVos, whose family is worth $5.1 billion, and is said to be considering oil mogul Harold Hamm ($15.3 billion), investor Wilbur Ross ($2.9 billion), private equity investor Mitt Romney ($250 million at last count), hedge fund magnate Steven Mnuchin (at least $46 million) and super-lawyer Rudy Giuliani (estimated to be worth tens of millions of dollars) to round out his administration. And Trump’s likely choice for deputy commerce secretary, Todd Ricketts, comes from the billionaire family that owns the Chicago Cubs.”

ORLANDO CRUZ. Boxer attacked by Tyson Fury’s uncle and trainer after losing world championship fight. “Cruz suffered an eight round TKO in Cardiff as Terry Flanagan retained his WBO lightweight title. Peter Fury, uncle and trainer to troubled former world heavyweight champion Tyson Fury, hit Twitter with: ‘That’s the difference between real men and half of something else.’”

PHILADELPHIA. Transgender person followed out of bar and shot: “Around 11:15 p.m., officers responded to the 1200 block of Atwood Road, where they found the 21-year-old victim with a gunshot wound. The victim told investigators he was in a bar at 66th and Lansdowne Avenue. When he went to leave the bar, two men followed him out. About two blocks away at the intersection of 66th and Malvern Avenue, Chief Inspector Scott Small said one of the men opened fire, hitting the victim.”

AUTISM. Rosie O’Donnell under fire for tweet speculating about Barron Trump.

Barron Trump Autistic? if so – what an amazing opportunity to bring attention to the AUTISM epidemic t.co/Acgy1Qxyqi via @YouTube

— Rosie (@Rosie) November 22, 2016

Responds with poem:

what we see – what we say t.co/7DiYG4aSzh#Autism #Focus #TRUTH

— Rosie (@Rosie) November 27, 2016

BEME. CNN acquires app created by vlogger Casey Neistat: “CNN announced on Monday that it had agreed to acquire the technology and talent behind Beme, the social media app built and started by Mr. Neistat and Matt Hackett, a former vice president of engineering at Tumblr. Beme’s 12 employees will join CNN as part of the deal, the terms of which were not publicly disclosed.”

RUSSIA. Holocaust-inspired skating routine by wife of Putin’s chief spokesman sparks outrage: “Tatiana Navka, a former Olympic ice dancer who is married to Dmitry Peskov, Putin’s powerful press secretary, performed the routine on Saturday night for a show on Russia’s main state network, Channel 1. Navka and her dance partner, Andrei Burkovsky pirouetted and smiled while wearing the striped uniforms of concentration camp prisoners, including the paper yellow Stars of David that Jews were forced to wear by the Nazis.”

 

JAPAN. Animal rights groups outraged after 5,000+ fish are frozen into a skating rink. “Space World said the fish were purchased from a fish market, and were dead before the water was frozen. The operator plans to hold a memorial service for the fish once they’re taken out of the ice.”

Japanese skating rink with 5,000 dead fish frozen into ice forced to close after animal rights outrage (pic via @SpaceWorld_info) pic.twitter.com/etWQZAE3VT

— CCTVNEWS (@cctvnews) November 28, 2016

IN FORMATION. Jetmen Yves Rossy, Vincent Reffet and Fred Fugen fly with French fighter jets.

COME TOGETHER. Wes Anderson’s new short film for H&M.

MONDAY MUSCLE. Dong Jang.

 

 

 

 

The post Wes Anderson, Orlando Cruz, Rosie O’Donnell, Beme, Skating, Frozen Fish, Trump Tower: HOT LINKS appeared first on Towleroad.

Wes Anderson, Orlando Cruz, Rosie O’Donnell, Beme, Skating, Frozen Fish, Trump Tower: HOT LINKS

Hairspray's Cast Rehearses Music, Dance, and Racial Healing

The producers and cast members of NBC’s Hairspray Live! reflect on how the period musical’s message of acceptance is needed now more than ever.

www.advocate.com/arts-entertainment/2016/11/28/hairsprays-cast-rehearses-music-dance-and-racial-healing

10 Things You Can Do About The Horrible Election Results Other Than Just Vent

A majority of voting Americans woke up the morning after the election with the political equivalent of a hangover. None worse than for Tom D’Angora (middle, top row), a New York theater producer (The Marvelous Wonderettes, NEWSical, Naked Boys Singing). For the past 19 months (576 days), Tom worked on a voluntary basis for Hillary for America as the LGBT Outreach National Grassroots Coordinator, pouring his heart in the campaign with 40 to 90 hours per week, traveling to nine key states. After spending nearly a week mourning the shocking loss, he’s back devising a post-election strategy and already thinking about the mid-term elections, not to mention 2020.

Here are Tom D’Angora’s ten things you can do right now about the election results…

1.Demand the vote be audited

When all is said and done, Hillary Clinton will have won the popular vote by over two million votes, an unprededented amount. We now know that there was a historic discrepancy between the exit polls in many states and the election night results. We know there are some numbers not adding up in key states. There is no reason why a limited audit of the closest states can’t be done. It is easy and should be the standard in any close election. There are things you can do right now that won’t take more than a minute.

• Call to the Department of Justice and leave a message respectfully demanding an audit of the vote in MI, WI, FL, PA, and NC. Call 212-514-2000 and when you here the recording, you press 4 and leave a message.
• Sign and share this petition: www.change.org/p/demand-an-audit-of-the-2016-presidential-election
• Keep the hashtag #AuditTheVote trending.2.

2. Hold the presumptive president elect responsible for every single thing

Here is the bottom line. Trump is masterful at manipulating the news cycle to divert attention. We refuse to fall for it. America is a personality obsessed nation and we liberals need to make sure we are policy obsessed. Just look at the past week. After Donald Trump settled his Trump University fraud case and then acknowledged wrong doing at the Trump Foundation, two things unprecedented for a President Elect, he launched a tweet storm, attacking the Broadway show Hamilton and SNL. We took the bait. All weekend the internet, including Twitter, obsessed over Mike Pence at Hamilton and Trump vs. Alec Baldwin. Trump’s most effective tool is the manipulation of the media and changing the narrative to suit his interests. Let’s take that tool from him.

3. Call Speaker of the House Paul Ryan and demand that his party maintain the Affordable Care Act

Call (202) 225-0600. There will be a period of silence before you hear a recorded voice. The press 2; you will hear an incredibly partisan message which discusses Paul Ryans plan to gut the ACA. Next, you will have a chance to share your opinion with the press of a button.

Press 1 if you support Obamacare, 2 if you oppose it. It’s easy breezy! 20 million Americans who did not have health coverage eight years ago have it now. It would be heartbreaking–let alone terribly unfair–to have coverage denied now.

4. Demand that the presumptive president elect remove Steve Bannon as chief strategist

Call your Senator or Representative, especially if you live in a GOP leaning state. Let them know you would like to be added to the tally of names that opposes Bannon and that they should refuse to work with anyone who has a history of treating minority groups differently.

5. Help Forest Campbell win the December 10th runoff for U.S. Senate in Louisiana

We have a glimmer of hope in Forest Campell. If Forest Campell wins on December 10th, we are in a better position to handle the curve balls of the next four years. If Forest Campell wins the senate seat, we will be 49 Dem vs. 51 GOP. That is a hell of a lot better than 48 Dem, 52 GOP. This could be our Hail Mary. Campell needs money and volunteers.

Please go to www.fostercampbell2016.com to learn more and to get involved.

6. Start prepping for the mid-term elections now 

2018 is our next chance to make a difference. Donate your money and time making calls or canvassing. We need to do everything we can to win back the majority in the House and Senate in 2018. There are far too few Democratic state govs. We should also be jumping into our local elections. This means everything from county clerk to school board to city council. Every one of these is important. This is not the time to sit on the sidelines.

7. Speak out against any and all kinds of hate, bigotry and discrimination

It’s normal to feel demoralized after a loss like this one. We just saw our historic candidate win the popular vote by a record- breaking margin and still not take office. We just saw a man spend 17 months saying the kind of hateful things that would get us expelled from our schools, fired from our places of employment, thrown out of any civilized establishment. Instead, this awful man was rewarded as the most job on earth. No matter the outcome of 2016, we have to always remember that Love does Trump Hate and we have to continue to scream it from the roof tops.

8. Allow yourself to mourn

I’m not exactly sure how the tens of millions of Hillary supporters in the country feel right now. I will confess, I am not alright. I can’t sleep, I am pretty much on an all carb diet and the passion and determination that has guided my whole life is lost. After Hillary called Donald Trump early on November 9th, I put my head down and slept for 48 hours straight. After those 48 hours, I still couldn’t find the strength to face the world, so I pretty much stayed in bed for a week. There were woman fighting for Hillary who were born before woman even had the right to vote. These women believed they were finally going to see a female President before they died. Instead, they got a man who does not respect women. The only thing I can say about this with absolute certainty, is that no one can tell you what Hillary’s candidacy meant to you and no one can tell you how to mourn. Turn away if someone tells you to “get over it” or calls you a “cry baby” or “sore loser.” You are allowed to mourn.

9. Request that the members of the Electoral College do something about this mess

This is a long shot and unprecedented. However, in an election year where nothing makes sense and everything is unprecedented, I say lets give it the old (electoral) college try. The Change.org petition already has more than 4.5 million signatures. Since  November 9th, Donald Trump has already made unprecedented missteps. So in a year where everything is unprecedented, I suggest signing the petition and calling for an unprecedented Electoral College vote December 19th.

10. Stay Proud

As the rhetoric dies down and the fake scandals subside, we need to be proud that we supported one of the world’s most dedicated public servants. We supported the most qualified person for President in modern history. She was not a flawed candidate; she was a strong and noble candidate. She fought tirelessly for all Americans and never once let us down.

You never know what the future holds but I love this slogan: Hillary For President Because Hindsight Is 20/20.

Visit Tom @ www.facebook.com/tom.dangora.9?fref=ts & www.tomdangora.com

www.queerty.com/10-things-can-horrible-election-results-just-vent-20161128?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+queerty2+%28Queerty%29

Chatroulette Users Shocked and Delighted by Steve Kardynal’s ‘Let It Go’ Performance: WATCH

Apparently people still spend time on Chatroulette, and YouTuber Steve Kardynal is one of them. He surprised users again over the holiday with another one of his lip-sync performances.

This time it was an uplifting rendition of “Let It Go” from Frozen complete with soapsud machines.

Watch:

The post Chatroulette Users Shocked and Delighted by Steve Kardynal’s ‘Let It Go’ Performance: WATCH appeared first on Towleroad.

Chatroulette Users Shocked and Delighted by Steve Kardynal’s ‘Let It Go’ Performance: WATCH

What Could a Gay Utopia Teach Urban America?

A fascinating workshop asked queer Angelenos to imagine the perfect LGBT-friendly city.

www.advocate.com/commentary/2016/11/28/what-could-gay-utopia-teach-urban-america

Fidel Castro Leaves Legacy of Oppression, Say Many LGBT Cubans

Many point to the placing of gay men in labor camps and people with HIV in quarantine, while others say some of Castro’s policies benefited the nation.

www.advocate.com/world/2016/11/27/fidel-castro-leaves-legacy-oppression-say-many-lgbt-cubans

Gay Man Attacked by Store Manager, Customer in Front of 4-Year-Old Son: ‘The Faggot Who Voted for Hillary’

James Shawlin and his 4-year-old son were shopping at Floor and Decor in Highlands Ranch, Colorado on Friday when he says they were verbally assaulted by a store manager who called him “the faggot that voted for Hillary,” and by another customer who overheard the manager and interjected, “what are these faggots going to do to this child?”

Shawlin said he had returned to the store complaining about some damaged stone slabs he had bought for an interior renovation when the alleged assault happened, 9 News reports:

“I was a little firm with him, and I just told him, ‘hey, you know, my husband and I spend a lot of money here. We’ve been using you guys for ten years. We have $3,000 worth of stone.’” Shawlin said. “And [the manager] goes, ‘oh, that explains it now. The faggot that voted for Hillary.’”

Shawlin said another customer in the aisle who’d overheard the exchange expressed his support for Donald Trump. Shawlin said the same customer followed him outside and used a derogatory term.

“He basically said, ‘what are these faggots going to do to this child?’” Shawlin said.

Shawlin posted about the incident on Facebook, but has now taken his story to local media in hopes of raising awareness about how customers are being treated at the store.

Floor and Decor, an Atlanta-based company with 75 stores nationwide, told 9News it is taking Shawlin’s complaint “very seriously” and will be conducting an investigation.

Watch an interview with Shawlin and report from 9News Denver:

The post Gay Man Attacked by Store Manager, Customer in Front of 4-Year-Old Son: ‘The Faggot Who Voted for Hillary’ appeared first on Towleroad.

Gay Man Attacked by Store Manager, Customer in Front of 4-Year-Old Son: ‘The Faggot Who Voted for Hillary’

Lady Gaga Visits LGBT Youth at Ali Forney Center for Black Friday

Gaga brought gifts, performed “Million Reasons,” and led a group meditation.

www.advocate.com/youth/2016/11/27/lady-gaga-visits-lgbt-youth-ali-forney-center-black-friday