Witnesses to Tell the Story of NYC's Legendary Continental Baths: VIDEO

Director Malcolm Ingram (Small Town Gay Bar, Bear Nation) is at work on his next project, a documentary on NYC's most iconic late 1960's, early 70's bathhouse, which was housed in the former site of the Ansonia Hotel.

Writes Ingram on his Kickstarter page:

The Continental Baths was a seminal gay New York City hotspot that existed from the late sixties to 1974. The baths themselves were a lavish Roman style affair, which were opened in the late 60’s in a newly post-stonewall NYC. Owner Steve Ostrow wanted to create a decadent and luxurious clubhouse where newly liberated men could explore with wanton abandon.

Along with the baths, The Continental was home to glamorous shows that attracted first class performers such as Cab Calloway, Peter Allen, Wayland Flowers, Patti Labelle and a then unknown Bette Midler, who (with her piano player Barry Manilow) became ringmaster to the revelry.

Ingram's looking for some funds to wrap it up, and he's almost there, so if you're interested in hearing the stories, help him out.

Watch him talk about the film, and see a few brief clips from his interviews,
AFTER THE JUMP...

White House: Obama Opposes Boy Scouts' Ban on Gays

The White House said today that President Obama opposes the Boy Scouts of America's policy banning gays, the Washington Blade's Chris Johnson reports:

“The President believes the Boy Scouts is a valuable organization that has helped educate and build character in American boys for more than a century,” White House spokesperson Shin Inouye said in the statement. “He also opposes discrimination in all forms, and as such opposes this policy that discriminates on basis of sexual orientation.”

In a follow-up email, Inouye said Obama won’t resign or relinquish his position as honorary president of the Boy Scouts as result of this position.

Boy Scouts spokesperson Deron Smith responded to the statement:

“The Boy Scouts of America respects the opinions of President Obama and appreciates his recognition that Scouting is a valuable organization,” Smith said. “We believe that good people can personally disagree on this topic and still work together to accomplish the common good.”

This is one issue on which Obama and Mitt Romney agree. A Romney aide said over the weekend that his position on the issue remains as it was in 1994, when he said:

"I support the right of the Boy Scouts of America to decide what it wants to do on that issue. I feel that all people should be able to participate in the Boy Scouts regardless of their sexual orientation."

GLAAD President Herndon Graddick responded to the Obama statement:

"Our nation’s leaders from across religions and political persuasions have joined hundreds of thousands of Americans in speaking out against the blatant discrimination that the Boy Scouts of America teaches young adults today. It’s clear that this outdated policy will be changing in the future. How long will the Boy Scouts continue to bully young gay Americans into hiding who they are and hurt children of gay parents by denying their parents an opportunity to participate in their children's lives?”

Eagle Scout and LGBT advocate Zach Wahls, who has been active in the campaign to get the BSA to drop its policy, responded as well:

"I couldn't agree more with President Obama about how important the BSA is to this country's young men and am proud to have his support. The fact that the Presidential candidates of both major American parties have come together to oppose the BSA's anti-gay policy in the most polarized political climate since Reconstruction speaks volumes about both the moral validity and critical importance of ending the ban. It's no surprise that the leader of the free world is willing to advocate for a little more freedom within the BSA."

Towleroad Guide to the Tube #1183

GOBBLE, GOBBLE: Turkeys play follow their leader, hilariously.

GAYS WITNESS A FIRE: And it's raining.

THIS IS 40: Paul Rudd wants to know where his starfish went.

DAVID GUETTA AND SIA: She Wolf (Falling to Pieces).

For recent Guides to the Tube, click HERE.

News: Matt Bomer, Woolworth, Randy Travis, General Mills

Montauk is being overrun with hipsters.

Pastor on trial in Vermont custody case; Lisa Miller still AWOL with child.

Woolworth: Soon to be New York's most coveted residential address? "The world’s tallest building when it opened in 1913, the Woolworth Building was called the “Cathedral of Commerce,” its copper-domed tower soaring 792 feet into the skyline. Now, in a $68 million deal made final last week, the tower will be turned into about 40 luxury apartments, including a five-level penthouse in the cupola."

Singer Randy Travis arrested drunk, naked.

Jared Polis wins House Democrats social media contest. “House Democrats acquired over 139,000 new Facebook fans, Twitter followers, and YouTube subscribers, which surpasses last year’s total by 82,000."

Hairy new web series: Where the Bears Are.

Wisconsin Sikh Temple shooter killed himself: "A white supremacist who killed six people at a Sikh temple in Wisconsin died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head after he was shot by a police officer, the FBI said on Wednesday."

Cristiano Ronaldo is looking finer than ever.

Joss Whedon signs on to the Avengers sequel.

Chick-fil-A drive-thru worker Rachel speaks out about Adam Smith: "I appreciate that he came forward, but I'm definitely interested in speaking with him...I'd really like to know if he could separate the issue from me and the company. The workers have nothing to do with the political beliefs with people in the corporation."

FOX News shifting on gay issues?: "But like the Republican Party, whose leaders have begun to step away from anti-gay positions that are deeply unpopular with younger voters, Fox appears to be feeling pressure both from its younger staff and key audience segments to reflect what polls suggest is a rapidly shifting consensus."

Travis Wall talks to GLAAD about his new dance reality show All The Right Moves: "I never thought I was in the public eye enough to ever make a statement that 'Oh, Travis Wall’s gay.'  I live my life the way I live it, and everyone who’s known me knows I’ve never been in.  There’s never been a moment where I have been pretending to be straight or anything like that.  I just didn’t know that I was that big of a draw or that I should have made a statement.  So, when I unconsciously was like, 'Oh, I have a boyfriend, and I’m so excited,' and I started tweeting it, everyone was like, 'Oh, Travis Wall just came out,' and I’m like, 'Oh wait, I came out? When was I in?'  I never knew that, you know, that was the situation."

It's a new preview for the upcoming X-Factor with Britney Spears.

The General Mills arsonist was fired.

Jacques Rosas exhibit opens in New York.

NOM claims that General Mills new website, Live Better America, in cooperation with America Online and Everyday Health, is a cover for the frightening homosexual agenda.

Little Britain's Matt Lucas joining Community: "Lucas will appear in multiple episodes as a history professor who used to teach at Oxford and whose commitment to academic rigor is a challenge to the community college’s learning environment."

Bret Easton Ellis thinks Matt Bomer's too gay to play Christian Grey.

David Halperin: How to be Gay. “Gayness,” Mr. Halperin declares, “is not a state or condition. It’s a mode of perception, an attitude, an ethos: in short, it is a practice.” The great value of traditional gay male culture, he further posits, perhaps even more challengingly, “resides in some of its most despised and repudiated features: gay male femininity, diva worship, aestheticism, snobbery, drama, adoration of glamour, caricature of women and obsession with the figure of the mother.”

'American Family Association' Mouthpiece Bryan Fischer Endorses Kidnapping of Children from Gay Parents

In two tweets last night, AFA radio host Bryan Fischer suggested that children of gay parents should be kidnapped for their own protection.

Zack Ford at Think Progress has more:

In one tweet  he was referring to the sad story of Lisa Miller, who, after declaring herself ex-gay, kidnapped her daughter away to Central America to prevent her former partner from having any custody. (She is still being tracked by federal agents as a fugitive of the law.)

In the other tweet, Fischer referred to the testimony of a individual named Robert Oscar Lopez, who blames all of his social problems on being raised by his mom and her lesbian partner.

Ford adds: "And yet, Bryan Fischer believes it to be the perfect example of why the children of same-sex parents should be kidnapped away for their protection — that they are the equivalent of slaves who need to be rescued. This is incredibly dangerous rhetoric that has the potential to do great harm. How much destruction could self-declared “Harriet Tubmans” do to same-sex families, motivated by Fischer’s claims? More than ever, the “culture war” is a direct attack on the lives of LGBT and their families."

Adds HRC: "LGBT families are not a new phenomenon. There are over 650,000 same-sex couples raising nearly 250,000 childen, according to the 2010 U.S. Census data. Fischer’s call for kidnapping children from same-sex partners is not only offensive, but a harmful mischaracterization of families that struggle daily to provide loving and safe home environments despite significant legal, financial and dignitary inequality."

Sitges, Spain Shows Off Its Orgullo: VIDEO

Sitges, Spain (just south of Barcelona) held its third Gay Pride this year.

Its tourism bureau flexes its muscle, AFTER THE JUMP...