Towleroad Guide to the Tube #1404

MARRIAGE NEWS WATCH: "We won."

DAVID BOWIE: "Valentine's Day".

GORILLA ENCOUNTER: Sit still, everyone.

SHIA LABEOUF: Capable of a good staredown.

For recent Guides to the Tube, click HERE.

News: Pandas, Bradley Manning, Sinn Fein, William Blake, T Rex

Lindsay Lohan signs $2 million deal for Oprah OWN network reality show.

Giant panda gives birth to twins at the Atlanta zoo. First born in the U.S. since 1987.

Kanye West sells plain white t-shirt for $120.

T Rex tooth found embedded in prey: "This is unambiguous evidence that T rex was an active predator," the authors write in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. "Such evidence is rare in the fossil record for good reason – prey rarely escapes."

Darren Criss honors Cory Monteith with black ribbon.

Michelangelo Signorile moves from SiriusOutQ to launch new "Progress" channel: "I'm ecstatic about expanding my show and moving to the new SiriusXM Progress channel. We’ll inform and inspire listeners on all the big issues progressives care about, from the environment to gun violence, from immigration to the economy. And as always, I will take every opportunity to confront all forms of discrimination and give listeners the tools they need to fight back.”

Call her maybe, but not to pitch.

Pet Shop Boys 12 greatest collaborations.

William Blake's cottage is for sale: "The poet who wrote "The Tyger" and the collections "Songs of Innocence" and "Songs of Experience" lived in the brick and stone cottage from 1800-1803."

Is Mister the grown-up Grindr?

Alaskan volcano screams before erupting.

Sinn Fein criticizes Russina government over anti-gay law. "The Russian government has tried to justify this draconian legislation by stating that it will protect minors. This is completely misguided and based on the incorrect premise that someone’s sexuality can be taught."

VIDEO: 15-year-old Temar Boggs tells story of how he saved an abducted girl.

Terry McAuliffe up 4 on Ken Cuccinelli in Virginia.

Dutch football to participate in Amsterdam's Gay Pride parade for first time: "This year's main attraction during the boat parade through Amsterdam's canals, one of Europe's most important gay and lesbian events, will be an orange launch emblazoned with the letters KNVB, the abbreviation for Koninklijke Nederlandse Voetbal Bond, or Royal Dutch Football Association. The most prominent person on board will be Louis van Gaal, the coach of the Dutch national team. The decision of Van Gaal, the former coach of FC Bayern Munich, to take part in the colorful gay and lesbian parade in early August sends a clear signal."

Jake Gyllenhaal is taken again.

Maggie Gallagher defends "ex-gay" therapy.

8 more straight white House Republicans sign on to renewed attempt at Federal Marriage Amendment.

Bradley Manning's attorneys make one last attempt to have "aiding the enemy" charge dismissed: "Addressing the judge in a military court in Fort Meade, Coombs said that "no case has ever been prosecuted under this type of theory: that an individual, by the nature of giving information to a journalistic organisation, would then be subject to" a charge of 'aiding the enemy'. Conviction of such an office would bring 'a hammer down on any whistleblower or anybody who wants to put information out'.

Lightning strikes woman in supermarket checkout line: "Brooks was paying for her items about 2 p.m. when a flash of lightning hit her inside the store at 561 Grand Caillou Road."

Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan won't run for governor: "Ms. Madigan, 46, will instead seek a fourth term as attorney general. Her decision will help narrow the Democratic field in the governor’s race for William M. Daley, a former chief of staff to President Obama who is expected to oppose Gov. Pat Quinn in a primary."

New Study Touts Importance Of Parental Harmony Over Sexual Orientation

In the wake of the DOMA and Prop 8 decisions, gay families are becoming an increasingly popular topic of conversation. Recently, the children of gay parents have become their biggest advocates, and now, research is cranking up as well. A new study is helping to reinforce the legitimacy of same-sex parenthood.

Think Progress reports:

The study, conducted by researchers at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and University of Virginia, compared gay couples, lesbian couples, and heterosexual couples who had all adopted a child within the first few weeks of life after they’d been parenting for three years. It did observe differences in terms of how the couples divided labor: heterosexual couples assumed more traditional divisions of labor, with mothers doing more parenting work than fathers, while same-sex couples were more likely to equally share childcare tasks. This distinction, however, did not have any impact on children’s behavioral problems.

Though the division of labor was more even for same-sex couples, the most important parental attribute is, well, getting along.

...it was the parents who were most satisfied with their arrangements with each other who had children with fewer behavior problems, such as acting out or showing aggressive behavior. It appears that while children are not affected by how parents divide childcare tasks, it definitely does matter how harmonious the parents’ relationships are with each other.

A study released last week similarly found that when parents were better prepared for their adoption and had less symptoms of depression, their children fared better. These two studies join the many others that have found that sexual orientation does not have an impact on outcomes for children. Instead, it seems, good parenting is just good parenting.

New Mexico Teen Commits Suicide, Blames Anti-Gay Bullying in Note Left on Twitter: VIDEO

Carlos Vigil, a 17-year-old New Mexico teen took his own life this week after leaving a suicide note on Twitter, the Latin Post reports:

"I'm sorry to those I offended over the years. I'm blind to see that I, as a human being, suck. I'm an individual who is doing an injustice to the world and it's time for me to leave," read a post on Vigil's Twitter account, continuing: "The kids in school are right, I am a loser, a freak, and a fag and in no way is that acceptable for people to deal with. I'm sorry for not being a person that would make people proud."

"We found out three years ago that he was going through this stuff and we've been trying to help him every day since," said Vigil's father. "We realize he's been going through it every day since he was in the third grade, that's a long time for a child to hold that within himself."

KRQE reports:

Carlos’ dad rushed home when he heard about [the post on Twitter], but it was too late. Carlos was going to be a senior at Valley High — a school he transferred to last year to escape bullying at Los Lunas High School. He was picked on for everything from his weight and acne to his glasses.

His mom said it started when he was at least 8 years old.

“He had this lunchbox, a smiley face lunchbox, and people thought it was the funniest lunchbox ever, and they made fun of him for it,” Jacqueline said. “They grabbed it on the school bus and just threw it on the floor and broke it. It's just little things like that.”

The Latin Post reports that Vigil's family took him off life support on Sunday evening while KRQE reports he is still on life support and that the family plans to take him off after his organs are donated.

In any case, another life has been tragically lost to bullying.

Watch KRQE's report, AFTER THE JUMP...

Bullying victim attempts suicide

Stephen Colbert Rips KTVU for Misreporting on the Asiana Pilots: VIDEO

Stephen Colbert returned from vacation yesterday and took San Francisco news station KTVU to task for its misreporting the names of Asiana pilots involved in the crash over the 4th of July weekend.

Watch, AFTER THE JUMP...

The Colbert Report
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Pet Shop Boys, Stuart Price Go Behind-the-Scenes on the Making of the New Album 'Electric': VIDEO

In a 25-minute EPK released today to accompany their new album Electric, the Pet Shop Boys talk about their body of work and the making of the new album. Also interviewed is the album's producer Stuart Price.

Check it out, AFTER THE JUMP...