The Artist is Present

Here's a film tip. Those of you in New York City should make a point to check out Marina Abramovic: The Artist is Present, which premieres tomorrow at Film Forum.

The film documents Abramovic's physically and mentally-daunting three-month retrospective at the MOMA and the months leading up to it and is a beautiful and gripping look inside the mind of a performance artist and the world she inhabits.

Check out the trailer HERE.

Those of you not in NYC but with HBO can catch it starting on July 2.

UPDATE: Last night it just won the Audience Prize at the inaugural Champs-Elysees Film Fest in Paris.

Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX) Says ENDA is 'War on Religion', Rips Those Who Ignore 'Plumbing God Created': VIDEO

Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX) had a chat with Family Research Council hate group leader Tony Perkins today, and Perkins asked Gohmert about the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), which had a hearing today in the Senate, Right Wing Watch reports.

Asked Perkins:

"What this would do is give special employment benefits and protections based upon their sexual behavior and orientation. What do you see as the outcome of this? I mean, are you concerned increasingly that this is a way to essentially punish religious freedom in the business environment, in the business sector?"

Replied Gohmert:

"It continues to be part of this administration’s ongoing war on religion, on particularly Judeo-Christian values. But of course this is one that even is extremely contrary to the Muslim religion as well. I mean, Islam, Judaism, although there are plenty of people in Judaism and Christianity who think despite the plumbing that God created, that as the Iowa Supreme Court said, there is no biological evidence of a preference for a man and a woman being married as opposed to a man and a man...It also means that Christian schools will be forced to hire openly homosexual individuals, and it’s kind of tough to teach biblical principles in Romans 1 in a school if you are of the persuasion of being homosexual."

Listen, AFTER THE JUMP...

Betty White Talks About Her Meeting with Obama, Gay Marriage

(official White House photo by Pete Souza)

Here's the most circulated photo of the day. Betty White had a meeting with Obama:

“I didn’t say anything at all,” said White. “He was charming and wonderful and I got a kiss on the cheek.”

White said that Obama extended her an invitation, a follow up to the 90th birthday video that he sent the television star, joking that he didn’t believe she was that age and asking her for her birth certificate.

“I stay away from politics,” said White, declining to tell Speakeasy any specifics about her political views. “That’s everybody’s personal business,” she added, “I’m not that deep or that bright.”

The HuffPost's Chris Harnick spoke with her shortly after the meeting:

Said White: "It was a thrill to be with Mr. Obama, but the big thrill was being with Bo, their dog. He's the cutest guy you've ever seen in your life. I spent a half-hour with him on my lap."

She was also asked about being a gay icon:

Oh! I didn't know I was a gay icon. I get a lot of mail -- but I don't get many bad letters -- but I got a woman the other day that was so upset with me because they said, "How do you feel about the gay marriage thing?" and my answer to that is, "I really don't care with whom you sleep, I just care what kind of a decent human being you are." I figure all the rest of it is your business and not mine. And not hers, incidentally.

Jenna Bush Interviews Former President George H. W. Bush on His 88th Birthday: VIDEO

The 41st President reflects on aging, his time as President, his legacy, his loss to Bill Clinton in 1992, Barbara Bush, revisiting the White House, his socks, Justin Bieber, and mortality.

Watch, AFTER THE JUMP...

Towleroad Guide to the Tube #1143

JUMPING THE SUBWAY: Don't try this at home.

RICE AND BEANS: The latest from Cazwell (work-unfriendly).

THE 90's: A set of a cappella covers.

EXTREME ZIPLINE: This is how they do it in Nepal.

For recent Guides to the Tube, click HERE.

News: Morrissey, Bear, Milo Ventimiglia, Octopus, Sean Maloney

New Jersey AFL-CIO passes resolution supporting marriage equality.

NME apologizes for calling Morrissey a racist in 2007: "The NME and publisher IPC apologised in a joint statement, adding: 'We do not believe [Morrissey] is a racist.' An NME spokeswoman said the magazine was "pleased it has buried the hatchet" with the singer."

Police capture Cape Cod bear.

Charlize Theron now nearly bald.

My Big Fat American Gypsy Wedding celebrates incest, shuns lesbians: "The juxtaposition between the kissing cousins whose status was vaguely threatened by their temporary living in sin, and the lesbians who were largely shunned by Ana's Gypsy family, provided a telling map of what read as contradictory cultural priorities within the Romani culture."

Mitt Romney's deeply dishonest web video hitting Obama on jobs.

Scientists discover two new moons around Jupiter, bringing its total known number of satellites to 67.

Bill Clinton backs gay former aide Sean Patrick Maloney in New York congressional race: "Sean worked closely with me in the White House to create jobs, grow our economy and balance the budget.  It’s time to bring a common sense approach back to Congress, and Sean Patrick Maloney is the right Democrat to help restore the economy and get people back to work in the Hudson Valley."

Median net worth of U.S. families plunges.

116 of Paramount Pictures' "greatest talents" gather for group photo.

VIDEO: Fiona Apple sports octopus hat.

Romney confirms he'll deny insurance to people with pre-existing conditions who aren't already insured if Obamacare is struck down.

VIDEO: Rare tornado strikes Venice, Italy.

Florida middle school teacher resigns after students see gay adult video on his laptop: "Rosario-Gonzalez taught 9th grade history at Taylor Middle-High School. In mid-May he hooked up his laptop to a projector in class and was scrolling through videos marked at his favorites to find history-related content.However, as he was scrolling through he passed a video titled "Gay Sex Threesom." Word got around, and eventually a parent contacted the school to complain..."

Anti-gay Muslim preacher to speak in Calgary, Canada.

VIDEO: Shahs of Sunset's Reza Farahan expounds on his mustache.

Milo Ventimiglia: That's My Boy.

Anti-gay marriage group in Minnesota exploits loophole to keep its donor names secret: "This loophole means that proponents of ballot initiatives can legally launder money through non-profit groups, as long as the non-profit group does other things beyond just fighting for that particular ballot initiative. Because the Minnesota Family Council has taken other right-wing positions over the years — including opposing anti-bullying protections for LGBT students and regulation of pre-school programs — it can raise and spend as much money as it wants to this year to support the amendment and voters will have no opportunity to know who is paying for their advertising and other campaign efforts."

Pokemon community Bulbagarden announces  policy against discrimination, hatred and intolerance of LGBT people: "Our new policy is about the teenagers and young adults who begin to realize they're "different". The ones who are afraid anyone will find out what they are, because they live in a place where being what they are can get them shrugged, beaten, and even killed. The ones who have already lost their family, or fear they will lose their family. The ones who can't bear to go to school anymore. The far too many who have been driven to end their lives because of this intolerance."