Saturday, 28 April 2012
Man uninvited to speak at brother’s graduation for being gay
[Source]
Man uninvited to speak at brother’s graduation for being gay
A man from Michigan has recorded a video venting his frustration after an invitation to speak at his brother’s graduation was withdrawn, when school staff found out he was gay.
Stacey Cosens
Saturday, 28 April 2012
A man from Michigan has recorded a video venting his frustration after an invitation to speak at his brother’s graduation was withdrawn, when school staff found out he was gay.
Dominic Sheahan-Stahl was due to be keynote speaker at a graduation ceremony on May 20 at Catholic school Sacred Heart Academy in Mount Pleasant, Michigan.
But the school withdrew the offer when they found out via Facebook that Mr Sheahan-Stahl was gay.
Principal Denny Starnes contacted Mr Sheahan-Stahl’s mother to break the news that due to the fact Mr Sheahan-Stahl was gay and “had a picture and a status on Facebook that says so”, he was no longer welcome to speak.
In his YouTube video he said: “My mother kept asking why and what does his sexual orientation have to do with giving a graduation speech.
“She cried and didn't sleep at all that night. My poor brother, whose graduation it is, couldn't even be in the room when my mum had to tell me. Even my sister cried herself to sleep that night.
“My mum has always taught us to love unconditionally. I am lucky that at 32 this is the first time I've truly been discriminated against, but some kids go through this day in and day out.
“I want those kids to know that they are loved and that the world needs what they have to give.”
Man uninvited to speak at brother’s graduation for being gay
A man from Michigan has recorded a video venting his frustration after an invitation to speak at his brother’s graduation was withdrawn, when school staff found out he was gay.
Stacey Cosens
Saturday, 28 April 2012
Dominic Sheahan-Stahl was due to be keynote speaker at a graduation ceremony on May 20 at Catholic school Sacred Heart Academy in Mount Pleasant, Michigan.
But the school withdrew the offer when they found out via Facebook that Mr Sheahan-Stahl was gay.
Principal Denny Starnes contacted Mr Sheahan-Stahl’s mother to break the news that due to the fact Mr Sheahan-Stahl was gay and “had a picture and a status on Facebook that says so”, he was no longer welcome to speak.
In his YouTube video he said: “My mother kept asking why and what does his sexual orientation have to do with giving a graduation speech.
“She cried and didn't sleep at all that night. My poor brother, whose graduation it is, couldn't even be in the room when my mum had to tell me. Even my sister cried herself to sleep that night.
“My mum has always taught us to love unconditionally. I am lucky that at 32 this is the first time I've truly been discriminated against, but some kids go through this day in and day out.
“I want those kids to know that they are loved and that the world needs what they have to give.”
Friday, 27 April 2012
Never changes
[Source]
Roman Catholic Church asks UK schools to sign petition against same-sex marriage
The Roman Catholic church has written to all its secondary school pupils asking them to sign a petition against gay marriage.
Peter Lloyd
Saturday, 28 April 2012
The Roman Catholic church has written to all its secondary school pupils asking them to sign a petition against gay marriage.
Almost 400 secondary schools across England and Wales were contacted by the Catholic Education Service in a correspondence which claimed that that Catholics have a "duty to to ensure that the true meaning of marriage is not lost for future generations".
As part of the move, the CES also asked students to consider signing the Coalition for Marriage petition, which wants to maintain marriage as opposite-sex.
Almost 500,000 have already pledged their support to the petition.
Speaking to The Guardian in justification of the request, a CES spokeswoman said: "We said that schools might liketo consider using this [letter] in assemblies or in class teaching. We said people might want to consider asking pupils and parents if they might want to sign the petition. It's really important that no school discriminates against any member of the school community.
"Schools with a religious character are allowed to teach sex and relationships –and conduct assemblies – in accordance with the religious views of the school. The Catholic view of marriage is not a political view; it's a religious view."
But the actions of the CES have angered atheists and equality activists.
Terry Sanderson, president of the National Secular Society, also told The Guardian: "This is a clear breach of the authority and privilege that the Catholic Education Service has been given in schools.
"Surely it is no part of its remit to promote a specific political campaign from this purely sectarian viewpoint. It is disgraceful that children are being encouraged into bigotry when they are attending a state school paid for by taxpayers."
Roman Catholic Church asks UK schools to sign petition against same-sex marriage
The Roman Catholic church has written to all its secondary school pupils asking them to sign a petition against gay marriage.
Peter Lloyd
Saturday, 28 April 2012
Almost 400 secondary schools across England and Wales were contacted by the Catholic Education Service in a correspondence which claimed that that Catholics have a "duty to to ensure that the true meaning of marriage is not lost for future generations".
As part of the move, the CES also asked students to consider signing the Coalition for Marriage petition, which wants to maintain marriage as opposite-sex.
Almost 500,000 have already pledged their support to the petition.
Speaking to The Guardian in justification of the request, a CES spokeswoman said: "We said that schools might liketo consider using this [letter] in assemblies or in class teaching. We said people might want to consider asking pupils and parents if they might want to sign the petition. It's really important that no school discriminates against any member of the school community.
"Schools with a religious character are allowed to teach sex and relationships –and conduct assemblies – in accordance with the religious views of the school. The Catholic view of marriage is not a political view; it's a religious view."
But the actions of the CES have angered atheists and equality activists.
Terry Sanderson, president of the National Secular Society, also told The Guardian: "This is a clear breach of the authority and privilege that the Catholic Education Service has been given in schools.
"Surely it is no part of its remit to promote a specific political campaign from this purely sectarian viewpoint. It is disgraceful that children are being encouraged into bigotry when they are attending a state school paid for by taxpayers."
Thursday, 26 April 2012
An article from AfterElton
[Source]
Zach Wahls is No "Straight Ally"
Posted by Christie Keith on April 26, 2012
When
the right to marriage equality in Iowa was threatened by a proposed
constitutional amendment last year, a 19-year-old University of Iowa
engineering student named Zach Wahls stood up in front of the legislature and told them not to allow discrimination to be written into the state's constitution.
In three minutes of testimony that went on to earn millions of views across the Internet and turned Zach into a media celebrity, he told them Iowa needed to protect its families, not denigrate them. He said he'd been raised by two moms, and he'd turned out pretty well – Eagle scout, excellent grades, making something of his life. "If I was your son, Mr. Chairman, I believe I'd make you very proud," he told the state's top lawmaker that day.
So how did Zach grow up to be an adult who makes not only his native state of Iowa but the whole LGBT community proud? That's the story he tells in his just-released book, My Two Moms: Lessons of Love, Strength and What Makes a Family.
AfterElton spoke with Zach on the eve of the book's release, and he said he wrote it for the same reason he testified in front of the legislature: to help people understand that families with same-sex parents are the same as other families, and shouldn't be treated differently by our nation's laws. The most powerful tool he has to make that happen, he said, is to help them get to know his family.
"People’s minds or attitudes change when they meet people like me or my moms," he said. "They learn they don't have anything to be afraid of from us. Because it's fear, at the most fundamental level, that enables and perpetuates negative attitudes toward LGBT people. And fear changes when they meet real people like my moms, and can connect the idea with a real face and a real story. They learn we're more alike than different."
Since the video of his testimony want viral, Zach has been spreading that message in appearances on talk and news shows, including high-profile ones like The Ellen DeGeneres Show and The Late Show With David Letterman.
"The presence of LGBT people in mainstream culture is transformative," he said. "Most people in my generation can't remember a time when Ellen wasn't out, or Neil Patrick Harris wasn't awesome.... Because they're familiar to us, we gain the understanding that LGBT people are just that – people – and with that understanding comes freedom from the fear that has for so long been responsible for inequality."
While it's true, he said, that most young people aren't as fearful of gay people, and don't have the same degree of prejudice that older people often do, equality isn't a "slam-dunk" simply because of that fact.
"Seventy percent of college students support full legal equality," he said, "but words like 'fag,' 'queer,' and all the rest are still pervasive in junior high and elementary schools."
He gave a recent example of how devastating such bullying and anti-gay slurs can still be. "Kenneth Weishuhn, a 14-year-old boy in Iowa, very popular, came out to his family and friends, and three weeks later, took his life because of the reaction he got from his peers. And right around the time of my testimony, we were in the middle of a string of youth suicides in our community. So I'm very sensitive to the epidemic that is still going in our school system."
But even that, he says, is a legacy of an earlier era. "A very real part of the reason this harassment exists is that it's enabled by teachers who are not part of the younger generation. But more importantly, as long as discrimination is codified by our governments, by laws like DOMA, and in the 32 states that have constitutional amendments, we are still in a place where people conflate illegality and immorality. Addressing that disconnect is incredibly important."
Hence My Two Moms
and his hope that it will inspire greater awareness and activism on the
part of the LGBT community and its allies. "The future is going to get
better, no doubt in my mind, but it won't get better on its own," he
said. "To use an engineering metaphor, the road may be paved, but the
lines haven't been painted yet, and they won't paint themselves."
Zach doesn't think of himself as a straight ally. "I'm part of the LGBT community, too," he said. "I was born into it. I think you'll find the same feeling with other children of gay parents."
That said, he continued, "Unlike the civil rights movement, where the affected minorities were in the forefront, straight allies are unusually important in the struggle for LGBT rights. That's because there is this pervasive myth about gender identification and sexual orientation, that they are choices.
"Straight allies completely devastate the notion that in order to support LGBT rights you have to 'choose' to be LGBT yourself. Of course we know that's not how it works, but if someone isn't sure one way or the other, and is conflicted about the issue of homosexuality or gender identification, seeing allies stand up is incredibly important."
When he stood up in front of the Iowa State Legislature, Zach was carrying on in what he says is a noble tradition. "Iowa has long history of social progressivism," he said. "It was one of first states to say that any slave who set foot there was free. It was the first state in the country to allow women into law school."
Iowa's roots as a progressive state grow out of its "live and let live" mentality, as well as its agrarian heritage. "If you have a bad snow storm come through, it doesn't matter if that neighbor down the way is black or white, or Protestant or Catholic, or straight or gay," he said. "You have to have each other's backs. And you figure out what is and isn't important."
Above all, he said, Iowa's symbolic value as America's heartland is huge. "If you can show that the values that define LGBT families are no different than the values that define straight families in Iowa, you can do it anywhere," he said.
Unlike many political memoirs, My Two Moms is as engaging and strongly written as Zach's powerful public appearances would suggest. It's also funny, opening with a caution that "if you really do believe homosexuality is a greater threat to our country than terrorism, you should probably put the book down."
What he's really aiming at, he said, is the "moveable middle," people who are not sure what they think about gay rights, and who could benefit from learning more about LGBT families.
In
the book, he tells the story of a cab driver from Latin America who was
uncomfortable with homosexuality personally, but still supported
equality for LGBT people. "To him, America is the land of freedom, this
beautiful place where you have liberty and protections," Zach said. "And
even though he's not going to be getting gay-married himself, he
respected those values, which America is known for all over the world."
If that sounds like something a Boy Scout would say, there's a reason for that. In My Two Moms, Zach talks a great deal about his experiences in the Boy Scouts, and the values he learned there. But, he said, there's a dark side to the organization, underscored by the recent expulsion of lesbian pack leader Jennifer Tyrrell.
"The Boy Scouts of America celebrates religious diversity, and we're taught not to value one religious belief over another," he said. "But as we saw in Ms. Tyrell's case, that policy of diversity is pushed aside, and fear rises to the top."
The problems with the organization are, he said, at the national, not local, level. "Every person involved with (Tyrrell's) pack was 100 percent supportive," he said. "The fear was advanced on the council level, by people who didn't know her or her pack. Their decision was enabled by fear and homophobia."
Still, Zach continues to support scouting. "This problem is codified into BSA laws, just as it's been codified into our government. I'm not going to emigrate from the U.S. because I disagree with its policies, even if those policies are very important to me and my family. It's the same with the Scouts, because the vast majority of my scouting experience was overwhelmingly positive, and instrumental in shaping my character."
How does Zach feel about being a poster boy for LGBT families? "On the downside, I've been accused of being assimilationist and heteronormative from people in our own community, and it's frustrating at times. And this is certainly not something I signed up to do, or was prepared for. But once the video got rolling – well, here we are."
It's not in his nature to avoid a challenge, but he still says he wishes he'd never had to take on this battle in the first place. "None of this would have happened if they hadn't put forth a constitutional amendment in the Iowa legislature," he said. "As long as the other side insists on politicizing my moms and our family, I'm definitely going to be a part of the conversation and offer up my own testimony."
My Two Moms: Lessons of Love, Strength and What Makes a Family is available in bookstores now.
Zach Wahls is No "Straight Ally"
Posted by Christie Keith on April 26, 2012
In three minutes of testimony that went on to earn millions of views across the Internet and turned Zach into a media celebrity, he told them Iowa needed to protect its families, not denigrate them. He said he'd been raised by two moms, and he'd turned out pretty well – Eagle scout, excellent grades, making something of his life. "If I was your son, Mr. Chairman, I believe I'd make you very proud," he told the state's top lawmaker that day.
So how did Zach grow up to be an adult who makes not only his native state of Iowa but the whole LGBT community proud? That's the story he tells in his just-released book, My Two Moms: Lessons of Love, Strength and What Makes a Family.
AfterElton spoke with Zach on the eve of the book's release, and he said he wrote it for the same reason he testified in front of the legislature: to help people understand that families with same-sex parents are the same as other families, and shouldn't be treated differently by our nation's laws. The most powerful tool he has to make that happen, he said, is to help them get to know his family.
"People’s minds or attitudes change when they meet people like me or my moms," he said. "They learn they don't have anything to be afraid of from us. Because it's fear, at the most fundamental level, that enables and perpetuates negative attitudes toward LGBT people. And fear changes when they meet real people like my moms, and can connect the idea with a real face and a real story. They learn we're more alike than different."
Since the video of his testimony want viral, Zach has been spreading that message in appearances on talk and news shows, including high-profile ones like The Ellen DeGeneres Show and The Late Show With David Letterman.
"The presence of LGBT people in mainstream culture is transformative," he said. "Most people in my generation can't remember a time when Ellen wasn't out, or Neil Patrick Harris wasn't awesome.... Because they're familiar to us, we gain the understanding that LGBT people are just that – people – and with that understanding comes freedom from the fear that has for so long been responsible for inequality."
While it's true, he said, that most young people aren't as fearful of gay people, and don't have the same degree of prejudice that older people often do, equality isn't a "slam-dunk" simply because of that fact.
"Seventy percent of college students support full legal equality," he said, "but words like 'fag,' 'queer,' and all the rest are still pervasive in junior high and elementary schools."
He gave a recent example of how devastating such bullying and anti-gay slurs can still be. "Kenneth Weishuhn, a 14-year-old boy in Iowa, very popular, came out to his family and friends, and three weeks later, took his life because of the reaction he got from his peers. And right around the time of my testimony, we were in the middle of a string of youth suicides in our community. So I'm very sensitive to the epidemic that is still going in our school system."
But even that, he says, is a legacy of an earlier era. "A very real part of the reason this harassment exists is that it's enabled by teachers who are not part of the younger generation. But more importantly, as long as discrimination is codified by our governments, by laws like DOMA, and in the 32 states that have constitutional amendments, we are still in a place where people conflate illegality and immorality. Addressing that disconnect is incredibly important."
Zach doesn't think of himself as a straight ally. "I'm part of the LGBT community, too," he said. "I was born into it. I think you'll find the same feeling with other children of gay parents."
That said, he continued, "Unlike the civil rights movement, where the affected minorities were in the forefront, straight allies are unusually important in the struggle for LGBT rights. That's because there is this pervasive myth about gender identification and sexual orientation, that they are choices.
"Straight allies completely devastate the notion that in order to support LGBT rights you have to 'choose' to be LGBT yourself. Of course we know that's not how it works, but if someone isn't sure one way or the other, and is conflicted about the issue of homosexuality or gender identification, seeing allies stand up is incredibly important."
When he stood up in front of the Iowa State Legislature, Zach was carrying on in what he says is a noble tradition. "Iowa has long history of social progressivism," he said. "It was one of first states to say that any slave who set foot there was free. It was the first state in the country to allow women into law school."
Iowa's roots as a progressive state grow out of its "live and let live" mentality, as well as its agrarian heritage. "If you have a bad snow storm come through, it doesn't matter if that neighbor down the way is black or white, or Protestant or Catholic, or straight or gay," he said. "You have to have each other's backs. And you figure out what is and isn't important."
Above all, he said, Iowa's symbolic value as America's heartland is huge. "If you can show that the values that define LGBT families are no different than the values that define straight families in Iowa, you can do it anywhere," he said.
Unlike many political memoirs, My Two Moms is as engaging and strongly written as Zach's powerful public appearances would suggest. It's also funny, opening with a caution that "if you really do believe homosexuality is a greater threat to our country than terrorism, you should probably put the book down."
What he's really aiming at, he said, is the "moveable middle," people who are not sure what they think about gay rights, and who could benefit from learning more about LGBT families.
If that sounds like something a Boy Scout would say, there's a reason for that. In My Two Moms, Zach talks a great deal about his experiences in the Boy Scouts, and the values he learned there. But, he said, there's a dark side to the organization, underscored by the recent expulsion of lesbian pack leader Jennifer Tyrrell.
"The Boy Scouts of America celebrates religious diversity, and we're taught not to value one religious belief over another," he said. "But as we saw in Ms. Tyrell's case, that policy of diversity is pushed aside, and fear rises to the top."
The problems with the organization are, he said, at the national, not local, level. "Every person involved with (Tyrrell's) pack was 100 percent supportive," he said. "The fear was advanced on the council level, by people who didn't know her or her pack. Their decision was enabled by fear and homophobia."
Still, Zach continues to support scouting. "This problem is codified into BSA laws, just as it's been codified into our government. I'm not going to emigrate from the U.S. because I disagree with its policies, even if those policies are very important to me and my family. It's the same with the Scouts, because the vast majority of my scouting experience was overwhelmingly positive, and instrumental in shaping my character."
How does Zach feel about being a poster boy for LGBT families? "On the downside, I've been accused of being assimilationist and heteronormative from people in our own community, and it's frustrating at times. And this is certainly not something I signed up to do, or was prepared for. But once the video got rolling – well, here we are."
It's not in his nature to avoid a challenge, but he still says he wishes he'd never had to take on this battle in the first place. "None of this would have happened if they hadn't put forth a constitutional amendment in the Iowa legislature," he said. "As long as the other side insists on politicizing my moms and our family, I'm definitely going to be a part of the conversation and offer up my own testimony."
My Two Moms: Lessons of Love, Strength and What Makes a Family is available in bookstores now.
Tuesday, 24 April 2012
End Marriage Discrimination
clip: mikebuonaiuto
Please share this with friends and people you love.
Sign petition: http://www.C4EM.org.uk
Directed by Mike Buonaiuto http://www.MikeB.co.nr
Music: 'Fingers Crossed' by http://www.megalithmusic.co.uk
Cast: Lew Smart | James William Knight | TJ Resendes
Producer: Amber Christina Phillips @MissAPhillips
Executive Producers:
Conor Marron | James Lattimore
http://www.C4EM.org.uk
Stephen Pomeroy
http://www.RemarkableGroup.co.uk
Behind The Scenes: Leighton Cox
http://www.LeightonCox.co.uk
After Effects: Scott Gordon, Los Angeles, USA
http://moshn.wordpress.com/
Photography: Ellie Rose Kynaston
Online Marketing: Lee Washington
http://www.viralseeding.com
Sunday, 22 April 2012
Norton finds love again
[Source]
Norton finds love again with new partner Trevor
And the pair are getting along so well they decided to jet off for a holiday to the paradise islands of the Maldives to celebrate Norton's 49th birthday.
The couple spent almost two weeks at the One & Only Reethi Rah resort in the Indian Ocean before returning so Norton could get back to work on his show.
The resort, which is renowned for the privacy it affords its celebrity clientele, is set on one of the largest islands in North Male Atoll, and is adorned with endless white sand coves and turquoise bays. The couple's luxury villa was the pinnacle of tropical luxury and they were afforded their own private beach.
For such an extrovert TV personality, the Cork-born personality has managed to keep his personal life off the radar, dividing his time between his homes in Wapping and Co Cork, and walking his dogs, Bailey and Madge.
But romantically, things haven't always been so good.
When he first moved to London he met an Australian called Ashley, who had such an effect that the star didn't fall in love again for seven years.
Then he bought a house in Bow with American Scott Michaels but that fizzled out just as Norton found fame.
Norton says the relationship was a success in his eyes because it lasted five years -- the longest he has ever stayed with anyone -- but afterwards it compelled him to stay single.
Speaking at the time he said: "I came out of it thinking: I'm quite bad at relationships and I'm probably better off not being in one. I'm sure I'll change my mind if I meet someone, but I do quite like living alone."
Finally there was 24-year-old Kristian Seeber, who moved to Britain to be with him. They split in 2006.
Now a source says Patterson really caught Norton's eye and his good looks, easy going nature and sense of humour have stolen the broadcaster's heart.
"The pair are getting on really well, they have been out to parties around London, on holidays together and things are moving really fast.
"Trevor has a playful sense of humour and is young at heart which suits Graham perfectly. I think this one could go the distance," the source said.
Norton has previously talked about his difficulties with relationships saying: "When they're good they're great; when they're not, they're unbearable."
He added: "Movies end, books stop, songs finish, but you've got to keep going. And no one wants to think about the bickering at the end of When Harry Met Sally, or him f***ing somebody else. Why would they?
"But there's a lot to be said for having your other half," Norton continued.
"It's the difference between going on holiday with someone or going by yourself. It's all about how an experience shared is an experience enhanced. You've got to believe that sharing your life is worth it in some way."
The star, who has won several Baftas and an International Emmy, hosts The Graham Norton Show on BBC 1, which has a heady mix of prank calls, audience interaction and A-list celebrity guests.
Norton finds love again with new partner Trevor
 |
| LOVE IN THE SUN: Graham Norton on holiday with partner Trevor Patterson. The couple are believed to have met before Christmas and celebrated Norton's 49th birthday with a trip to the Maldives |
NIAMH HORAN – 22 April 2012The popular television presenter is head over heels for Trevor Patterson -- who he is said to have met before Christmas.
Irish-born chat show host Graham Norton has found love again -- with a tall, dark and handsome businessman.
And the pair are getting along so well they decided to jet off for a holiday to the paradise islands of the Maldives to celebrate Norton's 49th birthday.
The couple spent almost two weeks at the One & Only Reethi Rah resort in the Indian Ocean before returning so Norton could get back to work on his show.
The resort, which is renowned for the privacy it affords its celebrity clientele, is set on one of the largest islands in North Male Atoll, and is adorned with endless white sand coves and turquoise bays. The couple's luxury villa was the pinnacle of tropical luxury and they were afforded their own private beach.
For such an extrovert TV personality, the Cork-born personality has managed to keep his personal life off the radar, dividing his time between his homes in Wapping and Co Cork, and walking his dogs, Bailey and Madge.
But romantically, things haven't always been so good.
When he first moved to London he met an Australian called Ashley, who had such an effect that the star didn't fall in love again for seven years.
Then he bought a house in Bow with American Scott Michaels but that fizzled out just as Norton found fame.
Norton says the relationship was a success in his eyes because it lasted five years -- the longest he has ever stayed with anyone -- but afterwards it compelled him to stay single.
Speaking at the time he said: "I came out of it thinking: I'm quite bad at relationships and I'm probably better off not being in one. I'm sure I'll change my mind if I meet someone, but I do quite like living alone."
Finally there was 24-year-old Kristian Seeber, who moved to Britain to be with him. They split in 2006.
Now a source says Patterson really caught Norton's eye and his good looks, easy going nature and sense of humour have stolen the broadcaster's heart.
"The pair are getting on really well, they have been out to parties around London, on holidays together and things are moving really fast.
"Trevor has a playful sense of humour and is young at heart which suits Graham perfectly. I think this one could go the distance," the source said.
Norton has previously talked about his difficulties with relationships saying: "When they're good they're great; when they're not, they're unbearable."
He added: "Movies end, books stop, songs finish, but you've got to keep going. And no one wants to think about the bickering at the end of When Harry Met Sally, or him f***ing somebody else. Why would they?
"But there's a lot to be said for having your other half," Norton continued.
"It's the difference between going on holiday with someone or going by yourself. It's all about how an experience shared is an experience enhanced. You've got to believe that sharing your life is worth it in some way."
The star, who has won several Baftas and an International Emmy, hosts The Graham Norton Show on BBC 1, which has a heady mix of prank calls, audience interaction and A-list celebrity guests.
Friday, 20 April 2012
Anglican priest sparks controversy by claiming Jesus was gay
[Source]
Anglican priest sparks controversy by claiming Jesus was gay
In a controversial comment in today’s Guardian, an Anglican priest claims Jesus was probably gay.
Rachael Healy
20 April 2012
In a controversial comment in today’s Guardian, an Anglican priest claims Jesus was probably gay.
Paul Oestreicher, chaplain at the University of Sussex and Canon Emeritus of Coventry Cathedral, said Jesus’s intimacy with his disciple John suggests a gay relationship between the two.
Oestreicher preached on the subject at a Good Friday service in Wellington, New Zealand. He revisited the sermon in the Guardian, saying: “Suffering was my theme. I felt I could not escape the suffering of gay and lesbian people at the hands of the church, over many centuries.”
He highlights the fact that John was the only man present at the crucifixion of Jesus, and that Jesus asked his mother Mary to take John into her home as her son. Oestreicher said: “John becomes unmistakenly part of Jesus’ family.”
Ostreicher notes that Jesus was a Hebrew rabbi, and would have been expected to marry. Yet there is no Biblical evidence of his involvement in heterosexual relationships.
He continues: “Had he been devoid of sexuality, he would not have been truly human. To believe that would be heretical.
“Heterosexual, bisexual, homosexual: Jesus could have been any of these. There can be no certainty which. The homosexual option simply seems the most likely.”
Oestreicher believes the subject had to be broached, “as an act of penitence for the suffering and persecution of homosexual people that still persists in many parts of the church.”
Acknowledging that his theory will shock many conservative Christians, Oestreicher writes that Jesus’s sexuality makes no difference to his significance in the church: “Spiritually it is immaterial.”
He urges the church to reconsider traditional views on sexuality, saying there would be “many more disciples” if Christianity was more open and loving.
Oestreicher is only the latest member of the clergy to claim Jesus may have been gay.
In 1967, in a lecture to Somerville College, Oxford, the Reverend Hugh Montefiore suggested that, because Jesus had remained unmarried – a social abnormality for a Jewish man at that time – he may have been homosexual.
Anglican priest sparks controversy by claiming Jesus was gay
In a controversial comment in today’s Guardian, an Anglican priest claims Jesus was probably gay.
Rachael Healy
20 April 2012
Paul Oestreicher, chaplain at the University of Sussex and Canon Emeritus of Coventry Cathedral, said Jesus’s intimacy with his disciple John suggests a gay relationship between the two.
Oestreicher preached on the subject at a Good Friday service in Wellington, New Zealand. He revisited the sermon in the Guardian, saying: “Suffering was my theme. I felt I could not escape the suffering of gay and lesbian people at the hands of the church, over many centuries.”
He highlights the fact that John was the only man present at the crucifixion of Jesus, and that Jesus asked his mother Mary to take John into her home as her son. Oestreicher said: “John becomes unmistakenly part of Jesus’ family.”
Ostreicher notes that Jesus was a Hebrew rabbi, and would have been expected to marry. Yet there is no Biblical evidence of his involvement in heterosexual relationships.
He continues: “Had he been devoid of sexuality, he would not have been truly human. To believe that would be heretical.
“Heterosexual, bisexual, homosexual: Jesus could have been any of these. There can be no certainty which. The homosexual option simply seems the most likely.”
Oestreicher believes the subject had to be broached, “as an act of penitence for the suffering and persecution of homosexual people that still persists in many parts of the church.”
Acknowledging that his theory will shock many conservative Christians, Oestreicher writes that Jesus’s sexuality makes no difference to his significance in the church: “Spiritually it is immaterial.”
He urges the church to reconsider traditional views on sexuality, saying there would be “many more disciples” if Christianity was more open and loving.
Oestreicher is only the latest member of the clergy to claim Jesus may have been gay.
In 1967, in a lecture to Somerville College, Oxford, the Reverend Hugh Montefiore suggested that, because Jesus had remained unmarried – a social abnormality for a Jewish man at that time – he may have been homosexual.
The church should welcome gay marriage, says Archbishop of Wales
[Source]
The church should welcome gay marriage, says Archbishop of Wales
The Archbishop of Wales, Dr Barry Morgan, has said that the church should welcome the concept of same-sex marriages.
Peter Lloyd
20 April 2012
The Archbishop of Wales, Dr Barry Morgan, has said that the church should welcome the concept of same-sex marriages.
The assertion came in an address to the Church in Wales' governing body, during a meeting in Llandudno, Wales.
Referring to same-sex marriage, he said: "There are no easy simple answers to complicated ethical problems, nor is there a straightforward single Christian perspective on it, in spite of what some people may think. "If the legislation to allow civil marriage is passed, I cannot see how we as a church, will be able to ignore the legality of the status of such partnerships and we ought not to want to do so.
"Very often homosexuality is talked about as if real people were not involved, and gays and lesbians complain of being talked about rather than talked to in church.
"The real question is, how do we hold together faithfulness to Scripture and tradition with the wider New Testament call to love our neighbour?"
The church should welcome gay marriage, says Archbishop of Wales
The Archbishop of Wales, Dr Barry Morgan, has said that the church should welcome the concept of same-sex marriages.
Peter Lloyd
20 April 2012
Referring to same-sex marriage, he said: "There are no easy simple answers to complicated ethical problems, nor is there a straightforward single Christian perspective on it, in spite of what some people may think. "If the legislation to allow civil marriage is passed, I cannot see how we as a church, will be able to ignore the legality of the status of such partnerships and we ought not to want to do so.
"The question then as now is,
will the church protect and support pastorally, faithful, stable,
lifelong relationships of whatever kind in order to encourage human
values such as love and fidelity and recognise the need in Christian
people for some public religious support."
The comments come shortly after the UK government launched a three-month consultation on the matter in March.
"Gays and lesbians claim
they are still treated as second-class citizens, tolerated at best and
vilified at worst," Morgan added."Very often homosexuality is talked about as if real people were not involved, and gays and lesbians complain of being talked about rather than talked to in church.
"The real question is, how do we hold together faithfulness to Scripture and tradition with the wider New Testament call to love our neighbour?"
Wednesday, 18 April 2012
An article from PinkPaper.com
[Source]
Canadian gay rights activist killed outside bar
A popular Canadian gay rights activist has been beaten to death in what may be a homophobic attack outside a bar in his hometown of Halifax.
Rachael healy
Wednesday, 18 April 2012
A popular Canadian gay rights activist has been
beaten to death in what may be a homophobic attack outside a bar in his
hometown of Halifax.
Forty-nine year-old Raymond Taavel (pictured) was leaving local gay bar Menz in the early hours of Tuesday morning when a man shouting homophobic remarks attacked Taavel’s friend.
Stepping in to break it up, Taavel was then set upon by the assailant.
Wolf Engelberg, whose house overlooks the scene of the incident, told CTV Atlantic: “He was consistently using the word faggot. That’s what drew my attention to the situation in the first place. There was a blatantly homophobic slant to the things which he was saying and it was very clear that his primary issue was one with the man’s sexuality.”
The suspect, now identified as psychiatric patient Andre Noel Denny, 32, fled the scene. Police dogs later found him in a nearby alley.
Police officers had been searching for Denny, a patient at the East Coast Forensic Unit, after he failed to return from a one-hour, unsupervised leave earlier that evening.
Denny is expected to appear at Halifax provincial court today, charged with second-degree murder.
Kevin Kindred, Taavel’s close friend and spokesperson for the Nova Scotia Rainbow Action group, told CTV: “I certainly think that people are going to continue to exercise caution and be looking out for their personal safety.
“On the other hand, it’s also a lot of people talking today about reclaiming our right to feel safe on the street.”
Businesses in Halifax displayed rainbow pictures in their windows, and flags were hung along in the street as a tribute to Taavel.
Yesterday, hundreds of people attended a candlelit vigil on the street where Taavel was murdered. Friends shared memories of the well-known campaigner with the gathered crowd.
Photo from Facebook.
Canadian gay rights activist killed outside bar
A popular Canadian gay rights activist has been beaten to death in what may be a homophobic attack outside a bar in his hometown of Halifax.
Rachael healy
Wednesday, 18 April 2012
Forty-nine year-old Raymond Taavel (pictured) was leaving local gay bar Menz in the early hours of Tuesday morning when a man shouting homophobic remarks attacked Taavel’s friend.
Stepping in to break it up, Taavel was then set upon by the assailant.
Wolf Engelberg, whose house overlooks the scene of the incident, told CTV Atlantic: “He was consistently using the word faggot. That’s what drew my attention to the situation in the first place. There was a blatantly homophobic slant to the things which he was saying and it was very clear that his primary issue was one with the man’s sexuality.”
The suspect, now identified as psychiatric patient Andre Noel Denny, 32, fled the scene. Police dogs later found him in a nearby alley.
Police officers had been searching for Denny, a patient at the East Coast Forensic Unit, after he failed to return from a one-hour, unsupervised leave earlier that evening.
Denny is expected to appear at Halifax provincial court today, charged with second-degree murder.
Kevin Kindred, Taavel’s close friend and spokesperson for the Nova Scotia Rainbow Action group, told CTV: “I certainly think that people are going to continue to exercise caution and be looking out for their personal safety.
“On the other hand, it’s also a lot of people talking today about reclaiming our right to feel safe on the street.”
Businesses in Halifax displayed rainbow pictures in their windows, and flags were hung along in the street as a tribute to Taavel.
Yesterday, hundreds of people attended a candlelit vigil on the street where Taavel was murdered. Friends shared memories of the well-known campaigner with the gathered crowd.
Photo from Facebook.
Tuesday, 17 April 2012
Love Is a Four Letter Word - Jason Mraz
- Freedom Song
- Living In The Moment
- The Woman I Love
- I Won t Give Up
- 5/6
- Everything Is Sound (La La La)
- 93 Million Miles
- Frank D Fixer
- Who s Thinking About You Now?
- In Your Hands
- Be Honest (feat. Inara George)
- The World As I See It
I'm not an expert, but I probably expected from a new album too much. Comparing to last three albums, this is a little weak for me. Still it sounds nice though. They are all Jason Mraz's colour. At the moment, I like "I Won't Give Up" best.
Monday, 16 April 2012
"RJ Berger" Star Comes Out, Tops "Kenzie's Scale"
[Source]
"RJ Berger" Star Comes Out, Tops "Kenzie's Scale"
Posted by Jamie Maurer on April 16, 2012
As you may have heard by now, Paul Iacono of The Hard Times of RJ Berger will be playing a gay character in an upcoming MTV show, and he's taken the opportunity to come out of the closet himself. Says Iacono, "I am attracted to girls, I'm just attracted to guys much more."
Iacono's new show, now in development, has been described as Will and Grace for a younger crowd, an analogy which may or may not interest you depending on how you feel about Will and Grace. Iacono plays Cole, a college student who reevaluates his sexuality after moving to New York with his girlfriend Kenzie. Judging from the title, it seems likely that Kenzie will be a focal point of the series, but it also seems like the show is designed to explore an entire spectrum of sexuality: gay, straight, and everything in between.
Iacono comments that “the whole reason we came up with Kenzie's Scale is to give young gays characters to look up to. It's great that we have Chris Colfer, but we need more characters.”
It certainly sounds as though Cole will be a major part of the show, and for a teen-targeted sitcom to have a lead gay character is kind of a big deal (even for MTV). And since MTV isn't one to shy away from risque behavior (blurred out on a reality show or otherwise), it seems likely that Cole will have a visible dating and sex life right off the bat (unlike Will of Will and Grace).
We can't do much more than speculate for the time being, but Kenzie's Scale seems like it has the potential to be pretty groundbreaking. Of course, given MTV's track record with scripted series (Skins anyone?), it might not last long. Let's hope that we can enjoy it while it lasts.
And a hearty congrats to Iacono for his coming out. His candor makes him an excellent role model for the LGBT community. Here he is speaking to MTV news about his decision to come out...
"RJ Berger" Star Comes Out, Tops "Kenzie's Scale"
Posted by Jamie Maurer on April 16, 2012
Iacono's new show, now in development, has been described as Will and Grace for a younger crowd, an analogy which may or may not interest you depending on how you feel about Will and Grace. Iacono plays Cole, a college student who reevaluates his sexuality after moving to New York with his girlfriend Kenzie. Judging from the title, it seems likely that Kenzie will be a focal point of the series, but it also seems like the show is designed to explore an entire spectrum of sexuality: gay, straight, and everything in between.
Iacono comments that “the whole reason we came up with Kenzie's Scale is to give young gays characters to look up to. It's great that we have Chris Colfer, but we need more characters.”
It certainly sounds as though Cole will be a major part of the show, and for a teen-targeted sitcom to have a lead gay character is kind of a big deal (even for MTV). And since MTV isn't one to shy away from risque behavior (blurred out on a reality show or otherwise), it seems likely that Cole will have a visible dating and sex life right off the bat (unlike Will of Will and Grace).
We can't do much more than speculate for the time being, but Kenzie's Scale seems like it has the potential to be pretty groundbreaking. Of course, given MTV's track record with scripted series (Skins anyone?), it might not last long. Let's hope that we can enjoy it while it lasts.
And a hearty congrats to Iacono for his coming out. His candor makes him an excellent role model for the LGBT community. Here he is speaking to MTV news about his decision to come out...
Get More: Music News
Friday, 13 April 2012
Victor Garber on success, family and friends
[Source]
Victor Victorious: Victor Garber on success, family and friends
By Hal Drucker
April 13, 2012
From Godspell to Alias, Canadian Victor Garber has had decades of success in all media, but he’s most proud of his family and relationships
My introduction to the two charitable causes that animate Canadian actor Victor Garber came about by accident.
I was thumbing through magazines in my doctor’s office and ventured upon an interview by writer Karen Doss Bowman with an actor whom I have admired for his versatility in serious drama, comedy and musicals: Victor Garber. What struck me was that he lost both parents to Alzheimer’s disease. In reading on, I saw that Garber, now 62, has had Juvenile Diabetes since age 13 and is as much of an advocate on behalf of the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation as he is for Alzheimer’s research.
A lifelong love of the theatre began for Victor Garber in London, Ont. as a nine year-old when with diminutive steps he strode the boards of the Grand Theatre. He started with children's shows but, shortly after, it became apparent to his drama coaches that the young actor would do just fine in mainstage productions of the company.
“My parents were of Russian-Jewish descent.” Garber told me in a recent interview. “My mother Hope was a singer and had her own television show, At Home with Hope Garber, in London. She was a local celebrity who was supportive of my decision to pursue show business."
“As a Jewish parent, my father Joseph was a little less enthusiastic because he worried I wouldn’t be able to make a living. But I could count on him to send me a cheque when I was living on my own in Toronto.”
In 1964, when only 16 years old, Garber left his hometown and went to Toronto, to study acting in an intensive summer course at the University of Toronto's Hart House Theatre. There then began a detour from stage aspirations to a musical career with The Sugar Shoppe folk rock group, which recorded an album for Columbia Records and appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show. After Sugar Shoppe disbanded in 1972 he was cast as Jesus in a Toronto production of the off-Broadway musical Godspell, with its now-legendary cast that included Eugene Levy, Andrea Martin, Gilda Radner, Dave Thomas and Martin Short; the show's musical director was David Letterman’s music director Paul Shaffer. Garber’s impressive performance earned him the same role in the film version of the play, in 1973.
Garber’s Godspell performance catapulted him to a fruitful stage career in the U.S., where he became an accomplished and respected Broadway actor who garnered four Tony Nominations.
In reviewing Victor Garber’s career, from the lens of an inveterate theatregoer, I’m intrigued by the almost limitless array of roles he has played in all media: movies, theatre, TV, Direct TV and cable; high drama, comedy and musicals. Two roles pop into my head as mirror opposites: Christian, the fumbling young lover in Rostand’s Cyrano De Bergerac (in 1973) and president-elect John P. Wintergreen in the 2006 Encores production of the Gershwins’s Of Thee I Sing.
I asked him the first movie he can recall seeing.
“I remember seeing Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim’s West Side Story as a kid. I thought Robert Wise’s direction and Jerome Robbins’s dance numbers were a glorious expression of what I wanted to do.”
And what was the first Broadway show?
“It was either Hair or Stephen Sondheim’s Follies in 1971. I loved Follies and its unusual and brilliant cast. I was young, and I sat in the front row, which I don't think is the best vantage point, but I just recall being blown away by it.”
A six-time Emmy Award-nominated actor, Garber became familiar to a new audience playing Jack Bristow, a double agent in the television series Alias (2001-2006). “You never know when you step into something what the outcome will be, of course, but I think it broke ground for television. They got Jennifer Garner, who became a huge star, and I think that's why the show stayed on the air for so long.”
Garber’s had an amazing run of co-stars in his career and the string continues. When Laura Linney returns in the Showtime’s The Big C on April 8, Garber is among the slate of guest stars for the upcoming third season, and he'll make his appearance during the opener.
As for Glenn Close, she returns as the steely malfeasance lawyer Patty Hewes on Damages. “I like the show, this being the final season,” says Garber. “As a guest, I’m glad to be in the company of such actors as Judd Hirsch and Janet McTeer. They don’t tell us in advance what will happen. It’s very well done and Glenn’s fantastic in it."
Garber will also be guesting on NBC’s new series “Smash, which premiered in February. It’s all about The Great White Way and Broadway backstage – something Garber knows all about.
Aside from his theatrical successes, Garber was asked, what is his proudest achievement?
“My relationships with my family and my friends. My companion Rainer Andreesen and I have been together almost 13 years in Greenwich Village. We both love New York.”
I hesitated to ask, but is he Jewish?
“No, but he is Canadian.”
Victor Victorious: Victor Garber on success, family and friends
By Hal Drucker
April 13, 2012
 |
| Victor Garber was back on the big screen in 2010 in Disney’s You Again, co-starring Billy Unger, James Wolk and Jamie Lee Curtis (Disney Enterprises) |
From Godspell to Alias, Canadian Victor Garber has had decades of success in all media, but he’s most proud of his family and relationships
***
My introduction to the two charitable causes that animate Canadian actor Victor Garber came about by accident.
I was thumbing through magazines in my doctor’s office and ventured upon an interview by writer Karen Doss Bowman with an actor whom I have admired for his versatility in serious drama, comedy and musicals: Victor Garber. What struck me was that he lost both parents to Alzheimer’s disease. In reading on, I saw that Garber, now 62, has had Juvenile Diabetes since age 13 and is as much of an advocate on behalf of the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation as he is for Alzheimer’s research.
A lifelong love of the theatre began for Victor Garber in London, Ont. as a nine year-old when with diminutive steps he strode the boards of the Grand Theatre. He started with children's shows but, shortly after, it became apparent to his drama coaches that the young actor would do just fine in mainstage productions of the company.
“My parents were of Russian-Jewish descent.” Garber told me in a recent interview. “My mother Hope was a singer and had her own television show, At Home with Hope Garber, in London. She was a local celebrity who was supportive of my decision to pursue show business."
“As a Jewish parent, my father Joseph was a little less enthusiastic because he worried I wouldn’t be able to make a living. But I could count on him to send me a cheque when I was living on my own in Toronto.”
In 1964, when only 16 years old, Garber left his hometown and went to Toronto, to study acting in an intensive summer course at the University of Toronto's Hart House Theatre. There then began a detour from stage aspirations to a musical career with The Sugar Shoppe folk rock group, which recorded an album for Columbia Records and appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show. After Sugar Shoppe disbanded in 1972 he was cast as Jesus in a Toronto production of the off-Broadway musical Godspell, with its now-legendary cast that included Eugene Levy, Andrea Martin, Gilda Radner, Dave Thomas and Martin Short; the show's musical director was David Letterman’s music director Paul Shaffer. Garber’s impressive performance earned him the same role in the film version of the play, in 1973.
Garber’s Godspell performance catapulted him to a fruitful stage career in the U.S., where he became an accomplished and respected Broadway actor who garnered four Tony Nominations.
In reviewing Victor Garber’s career, from the lens of an inveterate theatregoer, I’m intrigued by the almost limitless array of roles he has played in all media: movies, theatre, TV, Direct TV and cable; high drama, comedy and musicals. Two roles pop into my head as mirror opposites: Christian, the fumbling young lover in Rostand’s Cyrano De Bergerac (in 1973) and president-elect John P. Wintergreen in the 2006 Encores production of the Gershwins’s Of Thee I Sing.
I asked him the first movie he can recall seeing.
“I remember seeing Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim’s West Side Story as a kid. I thought Robert Wise’s direction and Jerome Robbins’s dance numbers were a glorious expression of what I wanted to do.”
And what was the first Broadway show?
“It was either Hair or Stephen Sondheim’s Follies in 1971. I loved Follies and its unusual and brilliant cast. I was young, and I sat in the front row, which I don't think is the best vantage point, but I just recall being blown away by it.”
A six-time Emmy Award-nominated actor, Garber became familiar to a new audience playing Jack Bristow, a double agent in the television series Alias (2001-2006). “You never know when you step into something what the outcome will be, of course, but I think it broke ground for television. They got Jennifer Garner, who became a huge star, and I think that's why the show stayed on the air for so long.”
Garber’s had an amazing run of co-stars in his career and the string continues. When Laura Linney returns in the Showtime’s The Big C on April 8, Garber is among the slate of guest stars for the upcoming third season, and he'll make his appearance during the opener.
As for Glenn Close, she returns as the steely malfeasance lawyer Patty Hewes on Damages. “I like the show, this being the final season,” says Garber. “As a guest, I’m glad to be in the company of such actors as Judd Hirsch and Janet McTeer. They don’t tell us in advance what will happen. It’s very well done and Glenn’s fantastic in it."
Garber will also be guesting on NBC’s new series “Smash, which premiered in February. It’s all about The Great White Way and Broadway backstage – something Garber knows all about.
Aside from his theatrical successes, Garber was asked, what is his proudest achievement?
“My relationships with my family and my friends. My companion Rainer Andreesen and I have been together almost 13 years in Greenwich Village. We both love New York.”
I hesitated to ask, but is he Jewish?
“No, but he is Canadian.”
Thursday, 12 April 2012
Interview: Matt Bomer on AfterElton
[Source]
Interview: Matt Bomer on "Glee", "8", Channing Tatum and Darren Criss
Posted by Jim Halterman, Entertainment Reporter on April 12, 2012
Whether you’re a Glee fan or not, this week's “Big Brother” episode was a don’t-miss, primarily because of a guest starring role for the handsome and much in demand actor Matt Bomer. He played Cooper, the arrogant mini-celebrity brother of Blaine (Darren Criss).
Not only did the Brothers Anderson look great side by side, but the show wisely let Criss and Bomer show off their nicely matched vocal talents in a Duran Duran mash-up of “Hungry Like The Wolf” and “Rio” as well as a heartfelt rendition of Gotye’s “Somebody That I Used To Know.”
After shooting his Glee episode and appearing as Matthew Morrison’s lover in the LA reading of Dustin Lance Black’s 8 play, Bomer went back to New York City to begin filming new episodes of his USA series White Collar. But the actor still managed to find a few minutes after shooting White Collar scenes to check in with us after his Glee episode aired. Of course, he also talked up Magic Mike and his co-star Channing Tatum, his part in 8 and what fans can expect with the upcoming new season of White Collar.
AfterElton: I was watching your Glee episode, and I thought ‘Is there anything Matt Bomer can’t do?’ So I need you tell me one thing you cannot do.
Matt Bomer: [laughs] You know, Jim, without the smoke and mirrors of Hollywood there are many, many things that I cannot do. I will tell you that on set I do tend to trip a lot. In real life, you don’t get to call ‘cut!’
AE: How are you feeling the day after the Glee episode aired and the buzz has been out there?
MB: I thought the whole episode was a lot of fun, and I was really proud to be a part of it.
AE: Did you have a hand at all in who Cooper Anderson was or was that pretty much on the page already?
MB: It was pretty much on the page when I got to set, and it was just such fun material that Ian [Brennan], Michael [Hitchcock] and Ryan [Murphy] came up with. It was fun to get to play in their sandbox for a little while.
AE: Neal Caffrey [Bomer’s White Collar character] and Cooper are very, very different. How did it feel to step into Cooper’s shoes?
MB: I think that’s why you become an actor is to get to hopefully play a variety of different roles, and it was fun to live in someone else’s skin besides Neal for a little while. And, you know, it was fun to be a part of a different environment. I think everybody who works on a different show should have to guest on another show. You get an appreciation for home base. I had a blast at Glee but it also made me appreciate White Collar more, because when you get to go off to do some other parts it makes it more fun to come back home.
AE: I know Glee shoots very fast especially with all the material they work with, but how was it to jump into that and be a part of a different kind of race?
MB: For the most part, the script we got way ahead of time, but it was the recording and definitely the choreography we had a little less lead time. I think we got the choreography the night before we filmed it, so I definitely went to bed sweating that night.
AE: Did you know Darren before any of this with Glee came about?
MB: We hadn’t met, so we had dinner before we started working together, and we really hit it off. He’s really a creative soul and really amenable to doing the homework and getting to know me. And I think that really helped us out when we got to set and were brothers. It’s difficult to play a complicated history like that if you don’t have some knowledge of the other person.
He’s just great. He’s a fantastic artist and I’m glad I got to work with him. We also had really masterful direction from Eric Stoltz. I really count myself blessed to get to work with him. He’s a fantastic director. He’s a real rarity in that he’s incredibly technically proficient but also wonderful at being actor-friendly. He helped to navigate us for some waters that might have been trickier in other hands.
AE: I’m guessing if Glee wanted you back and it worked out schedule-wise that you’d be open to it?
MB: Yeah, that would be great! That would be a blast. I had a great time with everyone there. I’m just completely blown away by all the young actors and artists on the show. They were so professional and it’s truly amazing what they put together on a weekly basis at such a high quality. I’m really flattered that I got to be a very tiny part of that show. Anytime they want me, I’d be there.
AE: The Transformers audition video that came out after the episode was hilarious!
MB: Thanks, that was just something that we came up with on the spot and we thought it would be fun to be able to see the audition for Transformers 4. Cooper wouldn’t be auditioning for a very big role ? maybe 2 or 3 lines - so we had a lot of fun with it.
AE: Watching the 8 reading here in LA, I was really struck by all the great talent on the stage, but how was the experience for you?
MB: I had done it in New York. We did it one night on Broadway and there were a lot of amazing artists on stage that night too, like Morgan Freeman and John Lithgow, so that helped soften the blow, but the LA production was just a nebula of both creative talent and people I’ve admired and respected as artists for years. I think something that really helped me sort of take it in stride is that it was a really fast process. We did one rehearsal and then we did it, so when you just are thrown into it like that there’s not lot of time to appreciate the surreality of it. But I think for the next couple of days after the reading was finished I was definitely still reeling from being surrounded by so many talented people. I’m one of those weird people where I get more star struck by directors and directors of photography and things like that than I do with actors. Maybe because I understand the actor’s process a little more.
AE: Magic Mike will be coming out soon but how are you feeling about that?
MB: I’m really excited for people to see it, especially for Channing [Tatum]. The work I saw him do in this film was so amazing and unique and I’m really excited for people to see what he does with this role. And I think Steven [Soderbergh, director] is such a master of his craft that I think he’ll surprise people with what they expect. Hopefully it will fulfill people’s expectations and surprise them with some different direction, as well.
AE: Have you had a chance to see a cut of the film yet?
MB: I haven’t been able to get a day off to see it but I’ve talked to some people who have but I’m one of those people who tries not to have any expectations so I can go in and be surprised.
AE: How long have you been back filming White Collar?
MB: We’re about to start episode four. We had the luxury of beginning the season in Puerto Rico, which was quite nice.
AE: That doesn’t sound awful!
MB: It was pretty great. It was a real treat.
AE: I know it’s early but what can you tease at this point about the new season of the show?
MB: It’s difficult to say because it’s so early on…but obviously I am returning to the show so I can give you some subjective things that I can discuss. You definitely get to delve into Neal’s history a little bit more. In no time we’re back in the familiar, typical sort of Howard Hawks-ish pitter-patter and procedural banter that we do all the time but there are a lot of new developments in terms of the overall mythology and the character relationships. It’s been a lot of fun to play so far. I think it’s going to be a lot of fun and we had a really, really great time shooting in Puerto Rico. We got to shoot a lot of fun stuff that we don’t usually get to do on the show so we shoot on the beach and a small town and get that kind of island feel was a real departure in a very fun way.
AE: How have you been able to juggle everything? I’m guessing between White Collar and Glee and 8 last month…are you able to keep it all straight in your head or do you just ride the rollercoaster that you’re on?
MB: Well, I don’t like to get ahead of myself in any way but I’m just trying to roll with the punches and enjoy every aspect of everything I’m lucky enough to be a part of and I try to be present and in the moment for each of those opportunities and have fun in all of them. But, sure, it’s definitely been a cycle of going from one to the next to the next but I think that as an actor that’s sort of what you dream about and that’s what you work really hard for years and years to build up to so I’m really grateful to be working on fun stuff as an actor and to have a great family and as an artist, hopefully, that’s what you work towards so I’m really grateful. When you lose that sense of gratitude that’s when you’re in trouble.
White Collar returns with new episodes this summer. To download the songs from last night’s Glee, go to ITunes. Magic Mike takes it off in theaters June 29th.
Interview: Matt Bomer on "Glee", "8", Channing Tatum and Darren Criss
Posted by Jim Halterman, Entertainment Reporter on April 12, 2012
After shooting his Glee episode and appearing as Matthew Morrison’s lover in the LA reading of Dustin Lance Black’s 8 play, Bomer went back to New York City to begin filming new episodes of his USA series White Collar. But the actor still managed to find a few minutes after shooting White Collar scenes to check in with us after his Glee episode aired. Of course, he also talked up Magic Mike and his co-star Channing Tatum, his part in 8 and what fans can expect with the upcoming new season of White Collar.
AfterElton: I was watching your Glee episode, and I thought ‘Is there anything Matt Bomer can’t do?’ So I need you tell me one thing you cannot do.
Matt Bomer: [laughs] You know, Jim, without the smoke and mirrors of Hollywood there are many, many things that I cannot do. I will tell you that on set I do tend to trip a lot. In real life, you don’t get to call ‘cut!’
AE: How are you feeling the day after the Glee episode aired and the buzz has been out there?
MB: I thought the whole episode was a lot of fun, and I was really proud to be a part of it.
AE: Did you have a hand at all in who Cooper Anderson was or was that pretty much on the page already?
MB: It was pretty much on the page when I got to set, and it was just such fun material that Ian [Brennan], Michael [Hitchcock] and Ryan [Murphy] came up with. It was fun to get to play in their sandbox for a little while.
Bomer and Darren Criss (right) play brothers on Glee
AE: Neal Caffrey [Bomer’s White Collar character] and Cooper are very, very different. How did it feel to step into Cooper’s shoes?
MB: I think that’s why you become an actor is to get to hopefully play a variety of different roles, and it was fun to live in someone else’s skin besides Neal for a little while. And, you know, it was fun to be a part of a different environment. I think everybody who works on a different show should have to guest on another show. You get an appreciation for home base. I had a blast at Glee but it also made me appreciate White Collar more, because when you get to go off to do some other parts it makes it more fun to come back home.
AE: I know Glee shoots very fast especially with all the material they work with, but how was it to jump into that and be a part of a different kind of race?
MB: For the most part, the script we got way ahead of time, but it was the recording and definitely the choreography we had a little less lead time. I think we got the choreography the night before we filmed it, so I definitely went to bed sweating that night.
AE: Did you know Darren before any of this with Glee came about?
MB: We hadn’t met, so we had dinner before we started working together, and we really hit it off. He’s really a creative soul and really amenable to doing the homework and getting to know me. And I think that really helped us out when we got to set and were brothers. It’s difficult to play a complicated history like that if you don’t have some knowledge of the other person.
He’s just great. He’s a fantastic artist and I’m glad I got to work with him. We also had really masterful direction from Eric Stoltz. I really count myself blessed to get to work with him. He’s a fantastic director. He’s a real rarity in that he’s incredibly technically proficient but also wonderful at being actor-friendly. He helped to navigate us for some waters that might have been trickier in other hands.
AE: I’m guessing if Glee wanted you back and it worked out schedule-wise that you’d be open to it?
MB: Yeah, that would be great! That would be a blast. I had a great time with everyone there. I’m just completely blown away by all the young actors and artists on the show. They were so professional and it’s truly amazing what they put together on a weekly basis at such a high quality. I’m really flattered that I got to be a very tiny part of that show. Anytime they want me, I’d be there.
AE: The Transformers audition video that came out after the episode was hilarious!
MB: Thanks, that was just something that we came up with on the spot and we thought it would be fun to be able to see the audition for Transformers 4. Cooper wouldn’t be auditioning for a very big role ? maybe 2 or 3 lines - so we had a lot of fun with it.
AE: Watching the 8 reading here in LA, I was really struck by all the great talent on the stage, but how was the experience for you?
MB: I had done it in New York. We did it one night on Broadway and there were a lot of amazing artists on stage that night too, like Morgan Freeman and John Lithgow, so that helped soften the blow, but the LA production was just a nebula of both creative talent and people I’ve admired and respected as artists for years. I think something that really helped me sort of take it in stride is that it was a really fast process. We did one rehearsal and then we did it, so when you just are thrown into it like that there’s not lot of time to appreciate the surreality of it. But I think for the next couple of days after the reading was finished I was definitely still reeling from being surrounded by so many talented people. I’m one of those weird people where I get more star struck by directors and directors of photography and things like that than I do with actors. Maybe because I understand the actor’s process a little more.
(L-R) Bomer, Matthew Morrison, George Clooney attend the one-night reading of "8"
Bomer (right) with Channing Tatum (center) in a scene from Magic Mike
AE: Magic Mike will be coming out soon but how are you feeling about that?
MB: I’m really excited for people to see it, especially for Channing [Tatum]. The work I saw him do in this film was so amazing and unique and I’m really excited for people to see what he does with this role. And I think Steven [Soderbergh, director] is such a master of his craft that I think he’ll surprise people with what they expect. Hopefully it will fulfill people’s expectations and surprise them with some different direction, as well.
AE: Have you had a chance to see a cut of the film yet?
MB: I haven’t been able to get a day off to see it but I’ve talked to some people who have but I’m one of those people who tries not to have any expectations so I can go in and be surprised.
AE: How long have you been back filming White Collar?
MB: We’re about to start episode four. We had the luxury of beginning the season in Puerto Rico, which was quite nice.
AE: That doesn’t sound awful!
MB: It was pretty great. It was a real treat.
AE: I know it’s early but what can you tease at this point about the new season of the show?
MB: It’s difficult to say because it’s so early on…but obviously I am returning to the show so I can give you some subjective things that I can discuss. You definitely get to delve into Neal’s history a little bit more. In no time we’re back in the familiar, typical sort of Howard Hawks-ish pitter-patter and procedural banter that we do all the time but there are a lot of new developments in terms of the overall mythology and the character relationships. It’s been a lot of fun to play so far. I think it’s going to be a lot of fun and we had a really, really great time shooting in Puerto Rico. We got to shoot a lot of fun stuff that we don’t usually get to do on the show so we shoot on the beach and a small town and get that kind of island feel was a real departure in a very fun way.
Bomer and co-star Tim Dekay (right) on the set of White Collar
AE: How have you been able to juggle everything? I’m guessing between White Collar and Glee and 8 last month…are you able to keep it all straight in your head or do you just ride the rollercoaster that you’re on?
MB: Well, I don’t like to get ahead of myself in any way but I’m just trying to roll with the punches and enjoy every aspect of everything I’m lucky enough to be a part of and I try to be present and in the moment for each of those opportunities and have fun in all of them. But, sure, it’s definitely been a cycle of going from one to the next to the next but I think that as an actor that’s sort of what you dream about and that’s what you work really hard for years and years to build up to so I’m really grateful to be working on fun stuff as an actor and to have a great family and as an artist, hopefully, that’s what you work towards so I’m really grateful. When you lose that sense of gratitude that’s when you’re in trouble.
White Collar returns with new episodes this summer. To download the songs from last night’s Glee, go to ITunes. Magic Mike takes it off in theaters June 29th.
An article from PinkPaper.com
[Source]
Anglican leader claims gay people can be trained to suppress sexual desires
A highly-positioned member of the Church of England has caused controversy by claiming that gay people can be counselled to suppress their desires.
Laura Reynolds
Thursday, 12 April 2012
A highly-positioned member of the Church of England has caused controversy by claiming that gay people can be counselled to suppress their desires.
Glynn Harrison is one of sixteen people on the Crown Nominations Commission, which has the job of recommending someone to replace Rowan Williams as Archbishop of Canterbury.
Harrison, a lay member of the commission, has written “there is evidence that some people with unwanted same sex attractions can achieve significant change”, and refers to gay relationships as “fall[ing] short of God’s purpose in creation”.
An article co-written by Harrison in 2011 ?published by the Christian Medical Fellowship- reads: “People with unwanted SSA [same sex attraction] who seek to live in conformity with their beliefs should be free to receive appropriate and responsible practical care and counsel...Others may wish to explore the possibility of achieving some degree of change in the strength or direction of unwanted sexual interests.”
Harrison is reportedly also on the board of the True Freedom Trust, -a charity which encourages Christians to turn “towards God” by turning from homosexuality to heterosexuality.
The claim has caused split opinions within the Church of England, the Guardian has reported.
Supporters of Harrison’s stance have argued that, as a member of the Crown Nominations Commission, his views should be regarded as representing the views of a large proportion of the Anglican population, around 50 million people worldwide.
Rev Peter Ould - who previously identified himself as gay before he “left homosexuality behind”- supports Harrison’s work, saying that “a conservative perspective on matters of human sexuality needs to be represented on the CNC.”
However, more liberal members of the Church of England are worried that someone with such traditional views has a role in shaping the future of the church.
Chairman of the Inclusive Church movement, Canon Giles Goddard, has reportedly labelled Harrison’s suggestions as “dangerous”.
The Anglican Church has already been divided by opinions relating to the consecration of gay bishops and gay civil ceremonies being held in church.
Harrison, emeritus professor of psychiatry at Bristol University, has refused to comment on the issue personally. However, in a statement from the Anglican Church, he is reported to have said that he himself has never offered a “gay cure” in the form of counselling or therapy.
Anglican leader claims gay people can be trained to suppress sexual desires
A highly-positioned member of the Church of England has caused controversy by claiming that gay people can be counselled to suppress their desires.
Laura Reynolds
Thursday, 12 April 2012
Glynn Harrison is one of sixteen people on the Crown Nominations Commission, which has the job of recommending someone to replace Rowan Williams as Archbishop of Canterbury.
Harrison, a lay member of the commission, has written “there is evidence that some people with unwanted same sex attractions can achieve significant change”, and refers to gay relationships as “fall[ing] short of God’s purpose in creation”.
An article co-written by Harrison in 2011 ?published by the Christian Medical Fellowship- reads: “People with unwanted SSA [same sex attraction] who seek to live in conformity with their beliefs should be free to receive appropriate and responsible practical care and counsel...Others may wish to explore the possibility of achieving some degree of change in the strength or direction of unwanted sexual interests.”
Harrison is reportedly also on the board of the True Freedom Trust, -a charity which encourages Christians to turn “towards God” by turning from homosexuality to heterosexuality.
The claim has caused split opinions within the Church of England, the Guardian has reported.
Supporters of Harrison’s stance have argued that, as a member of the Crown Nominations Commission, his views should be regarded as representing the views of a large proportion of the Anglican population, around 50 million people worldwide.
Rev Peter Ould - who previously identified himself as gay before he “left homosexuality behind”- supports Harrison’s work, saying that “a conservative perspective on matters of human sexuality needs to be represented on the CNC.”
However, more liberal members of the Church of England are worried that someone with such traditional views has a role in shaping the future of the church.
Chairman of the Inclusive Church movement, Canon Giles Goddard, has reportedly labelled Harrison’s suggestions as “dangerous”.
The Anglican Church has already been divided by opinions relating to the consecration of gay bishops and gay civil ceremonies being held in church.
Harrison, emeritus professor of psychiatry at Bristol University, has refused to comment on the issue personally. However, in a statement from the Anglican Church, he is reported to have said that he himself has never offered a “gay cure” in the form of counselling or therapy.
Wednesday, 11 April 2012
Tuesday, 10 April 2012
Monday, 9 April 2012
Wednesday, 4 April 2012
An article from actup.org
[Source]
UK – ‘The Church should beg society’s forgiveness for its treatment of gay people’ (Matthew Todd)
Apr 04 2012
In 1992, when I was 17, two years before Attitude magazine was started, a
vicar came to give a talk on sexual morality to our small Christian
Union lunchtime club at my school in South London. I went along with my
only gay friend – a chap in the year below me who had turned up at the
dodgy local youth group run in a man’s bedsit, a few months after me. We
weren’t out at school (we didn’t want to have our heads kicked in), so
we acted as if we were just interested in theological debate. At the end
my friend asked what the Church would say to young people who were gay.
“We’d recommend they have counselling”, was the reply. As we stormed out to the tuck shop, my friend dropped his disguise by yelping, “Can you believe that?! He said we should have counselling!”
Well, irony of ironies, that vicar was right. Both my friend and I have ended up having counselling in the years since – not to try to turn us straight as was suggested, but to deal with the aftermath of the horrific messages that we, and every LGBT person of our generation, were bombarded with as we grew up. You know, the usual: it’s unnatural, immoral, evil, causes AIDS, would mean we would be lonely and could never have relationships, etc. All that nice stuff.
Years later, despite all the advances of the past 20 years, it is the Christian Church that still cannot give up its perverse obsession with gay sex. Scotland’s Cardinal Keith O’Brien recently denounced the governments proposals to allow same-sex couples to marry as grotesque; last week the Archbishop of Canterbury described gay rights as a threat to society, and on Newsnight last month Coalition for Marriage spokesperson Sharon Jones suggested that birth rates dip in the countries that allow same-sex marriage. Its website claims we could see a threat to jobs, to the adoption of children, virtually to the future of all humanity. I wouldn’t be surprised if they blame us for the price of petrol next week. Sounds crazy but Stephen Green of Christian Voice, a charming man whose ex-wife claims he beat her, also said last week that the infestation of mice that recently shut a branch of Tesco was because of its occasional support of gay causes. (Church mice, one gay website suggested). They do, if I may so, talk like crazy people.
I am an adult now and the Church’s words bounce off me. I have no respect for them whatsoever. But I find myself more enraged than ever before about its irresponsibility in spouting the same old nonsense into the ears of young people growing up and realising through no choice of their own, that they may be gay, bisexual or transgender. It’s not an easy time and what these kids need is understanding, love and support. Instead, they get condemnation of biblical proportions. And it does have an affect. It may sound brushoffable but you try growing up being told that you may be a threat to society. For many, the words do sink in. We know that adult gay people have higher rates of depression, suicide and anxiety – not all, but significantly higher numbers – and it is because of the damning cultural atmosphere whipped up by these leaders, who are truthfully leaders in nothing but hypocrisy, and in the Catholic Church’s case, the massive global sexual abuse of children. Really, enough is enough. Of all the countless lives ruined, these repressed, sexually dysfunctional people should not be allowed to determine the course of anyone else’s future. Even in this past week, we have seen reports of a Catholic priest in Northern Ireland accidentally projecting (gay) sex images into a classroom wall in front of kids from a parish memory stick, and news was reported that boys in the care of the Dutch Catholic Church in the 1950′s were surgically castrated if they were suspected of being homosexual.
In our new, 18th birthday issue of Attitude we show the reality of our apparently Armageddon-inducing relationships – public servants such as soldiers, fire fighters, two 21-year-olds recently engaged and one couple in their late forties who have been together for more than 20 years. One was a trainee priest, the other played in the choir. Both of them were committed Church goers who were embraced by the local parish and community but ultimately driven away from the Church by its obsession with attacking gays. And it is not just driving away gay congregations. After O’Brien’s letter of condemnation was read out in mass two weeks ago, I have heard of mothers of gay kids being reduced to tears and reasonable straight folk who refused to sign their petition getting into rows with their priests. The sad thing is that there are a huge amount of gay people who do have a faith and wish to play an active part. The Church has no idea how much damage it is doing to itself before an entirely new generation that is too young to remember the explicit hatred I and my generation lived through.
Like David Cameron’s rebranding of the Conservative Party with ‘the gay issue’, the same is being done in reverse for the Church. It should be begging forgiveness from society because of the LGBT people whose lives it has diminished over the millennia. It should be doing all it can to nurture and help all young people into becoming the upstanding, caring citizens they can be, unfettered from sexual shame and dogma, and it should be taking pride in an inclusive, embracing attitude that celebrates all loving relationships, which are the fundamental essence of God. Instead in 2012, as the social fabric of this country is feeling more and more unstable, the Church has created a fierce battle over something that will not harm, hurt or even affect anyone except the couples who wish to marry. In doing so it has again shown itself as being run by sexually obsessive, hard hearted, fear mongers. I pray their God forgives them. A generation will not.
Matthew Todd
Editor of Attitude magazine & Stonewall Journalist of the Year
Matthew Todd: God Forgive Them
UK – ‘The Church should beg society’s forgiveness for its treatment of gay people’ (Matthew Todd)
Apr 04 2012
“We’d recommend they have counselling”, was the reply. As we stormed out to the tuck shop, my friend dropped his disguise by yelping, “Can you believe that?! He said we should have counselling!”
Well, irony of ironies, that vicar was right. Both my friend and I have ended up having counselling in the years since – not to try to turn us straight as was suggested, but to deal with the aftermath of the horrific messages that we, and every LGBT person of our generation, were bombarded with as we grew up. You know, the usual: it’s unnatural, immoral, evil, causes AIDS, would mean we would be lonely and could never have relationships, etc. All that nice stuff.
Years later, despite all the advances of the past 20 years, it is the Christian Church that still cannot give up its perverse obsession with gay sex. Scotland’s Cardinal Keith O’Brien recently denounced the governments proposals to allow same-sex couples to marry as grotesque; last week the Archbishop of Canterbury described gay rights as a threat to society, and on Newsnight last month Coalition for Marriage spokesperson Sharon Jones suggested that birth rates dip in the countries that allow same-sex marriage. Its website claims we could see a threat to jobs, to the adoption of children, virtually to the future of all humanity. I wouldn’t be surprised if they blame us for the price of petrol next week. Sounds crazy but Stephen Green of Christian Voice, a charming man whose ex-wife claims he beat her, also said last week that the infestation of mice that recently shut a branch of Tesco was because of its occasional support of gay causes. (Church mice, one gay website suggested). They do, if I may so, talk like crazy people.
I am an adult now and the Church’s words bounce off me. I have no respect for them whatsoever. But I find myself more enraged than ever before about its irresponsibility in spouting the same old nonsense into the ears of young people growing up and realising through no choice of their own, that they may be gay, bisexual or transgender. It’s not an easy time and what these kids need is understanding, love and support. Instead, they get condemnation of biblical proportions. And it does have an affect. It may sound brushoffable but you try growing up being told that you may be a threat to society. For many, the words do sink in. We know that adult gay people have higher rates of depression, suicide and anxiety – not all, but significantly higher numbers – and it is because of the damning cultural atmosphere whipped up by these leaders, who are truthfully leaders in nothing but hypocrisy, and in the Catholic Church’s case, the massive global sexual abuse of children. Really, enough is enough. Of all the countless lives ruined, these repressed, sexually dysfunctional people should not be allowed to determine the course of anyone else’s future. Even in this past week, we have seen reports of a Catholic priest in Northern Ireland accidentally projecting (gay) sex images into a classroom wall in front of kids from a parish memory stick, and news was reported that boys in the care of the Dutch Catholic Church in the 1950′s were surgically castrated if they were suspected of being homosexual.
In our new, 18th birthday issue of Attitude we show the reality of our apparently Armageddon-inducing relationships – public servants such as soldiers, fire fighters, two 21-year-olds recently engaged and one couple in their late forties who have been together for more than 20 years. One was a trainee priest, the other played in the choir. Both of them were committed Church goers who were embraced by the local parish and community but ultimately driven away from the Church by its obsession with attacking gays. And it is not just driving away gay congregations. After O’Brien’s letter of condemnation was read out in mass two weeks ago, I have heard of mothers of gay kids being reduced to tears and reasonable straight folk who refused to sign their petition getting into rows with their priests. The sad thing is that there are a huge amount of gay people who do have a faith and wish to play an active part. The Church has no idea how much damage it is doing to itself before an entirely new generation that is too young to remember the explicit hatred I and my generation lived through.
Like David Cameron’s rebranding of the Conservative Party with ‘the gay issue’, the same is being done in reverse for the Church. It should be begging forgiveness from society because of the LGBT people whose lives it has diminished over the millennia. It should be doing all it can to nurture and help all young people into becoming the upstanding, caring citizens they can be, unfettered from sexual shame and dogma, and it should be taking pride in an inclusive, embracing attitude that celebrates all loving relationships, which are the fundamental essence of God. Instead in 2012, as the social fabric of this country is feeling more and more unstable, the Church has created a fierce battle over something that will not harm, hurt or even affect anyone except the couples who wish to marry. In doing so it has again shown itself as being run by sexually obsessive, hard hearted, fear mongers. I pray their God forgives them. A generation will not.
Matthew Todd
Editor of Attitude magazine & Stonewall Journalist of the Year
Matthew Todd: God Forgive Them
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