Dogs React to Magically Levitating Wiener: VIDEO

We started today with a dog video, so what better way to end the day than with another.

Magician and mentalist Jose Ahonen found out what happened when dogs encountered a levitating wiener. Some dogs are confused, some curious, and others just plain hungry. Luckily all the dogs got to eat the wiener in the end. 

Watch, AFTER THE JUMP...

 

New Look at 'Pride' - The True Story of LGBT Support for Striking Miners in 1980s Wales: VIDEO

A new trailer has been released for Pride - the upcoming film that tells the true story of gay activists who supported workers during the 1984 National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) strike.

Big Gay Picture Show has the synopsis:

It’s the summer of 1984, Margaret Thatcher is in power and the National Union of Mineworkers is on strike, prompting a London-based group of gay and lesbian activists to raise money to support the strikers’ families. Initially rebuffed by the Union, the group identifies a tiny mining village in Wales and sets off to make their donation in person.  As the strike drags on, the two groups discover that standing together makes for the strongest union of all.‘

The film, starring Bill Nighy, Imelda Staunton, Dominic West, and Sophie Evans arrives in theaters September 12. 

Watch, AFTER THE JUMP...

And if you missed the first trailer, you can watch it HERE. 

Gay Iconography: Andy Cohen's TV Legacy

If you were to ask folks to name the most powerful people in television today, one name sure to pop up would be Andy Cohen. The openly gay television personality has left an indelible mark on the pop culture landscape behind the cameras, as well as in front.

A savvy producer, Cohen’s name is synonymous with Bravo’s transformation in the early ‘00s from a performing arts-focused network to the home of reality programs, like Project Runway, The Real Housewives and Millionaire Matchmaker. With the addition of his late night talk show, Watch What Happens Live, the dapper host elevated the stars of these programs into “Bravolebrities,” with their own legions of fans alongside his famous friends and guests.

Let’s raise a glass and extend a Mazel to Andy with some of our favorite clips, AFTER THE JUMP …

 

After helping to mastermind the transformation of Bravo into a pop culture hub, audiences got to know Cohen in front of the camera as the ringmaster of Real Housewives reunion specials. It’s not a workplace without its hazards. In the clip above, Real Housewives of New Jersey castmember Teresa Giudice throws Andy aside after being set off by a comment from former cast-mate Danielle Staub.

 

It’s not always fun and games for Andy. Between the shouting, weave-pulling and tears trickling down Botox-hardened cheeks, occasionally Cohen slips in a few life lessons. Watch him school Joe Giudice on his usage of homophobic slurs above. He’s also spoken out against anti-gay policies in Russia when he refused to host the Miss Universe pageant hosted in Moscow last year.

 

In 2009, Cohen became the first openly gay host of a late night TV host. His show, Watch What Happens Live, is a breezy, boozy 30-minute gabfest that brings together some of Hollywood’s biggest stars alongside “Bravolebrities.” For better or worse, there’s nothing else like it on television. One of our favorite episodes, above, featured a very tipsy talk with Jackée Harry and Regina King.

 

Cohen truly has the gift of gab. His enthusiasm and charm enable him to get celebrities to share things they wouldn’t normally share on camera. Check out some highlights from “Plead the Fifth,” a game that asks three questions of a guest and they can only pass on one. It’s just one of the many games Andy likes to play with guests. (Another favorite indulgence was when he made Liam Neeson and Ethan Hawke re-enact a moment from The Real Housewives of New Jersey.)

 

Cohen’s smirking visage graces more than Bravo programming (and promotional items). He’s co-hosted The View and Live! with Kelly, as well as appearing on Today and Morning Joe. He’s even been the face of God (or a god, at least) in Lady Gaga’s “G.U.Y.” video, above.

Are you an Andy Cohen fan?

Benham Brothers: 'Satan Run' LGBT Movement Seeks to 'Rob, Kill, and Destroy' - VIDEO

Would-be HGTV hosts David and Jason Benham have been gearing up for their headline appearance at an anti-LGBT 'family' summit today by making the rounds on right-wing Christian radio programs sharing their thoughts gays - such as how the battle against LGBT rights is a really just a battle against a "parallel kingdom run by Satan." that seeks to "rob, kill, and destroy."

You know, the usual right-wing nuttery... 

Speaking to The Family Leader's Tamara Scott, David Benham said the following:

"If my son throws food across the table and I say, 'Bailey, stop throwing food' and he says 'I'm sorry Dad, I'm just a food-thrower.' It's like no you're not, your behavior is not you. It doesn't define you. So its very important that we speak to the fact that homosexuality is a sin that can only be redeemed by God when we repent. But the idea of a 'homosexual agenda' that seeks to capture the nation and capture children's curriculum and capture television and entertainment and laws - that is an idea that is evil and wrong and needs to be dealt with." 

Listen, AFTER THE JUMP...

The Family Leadership Summit - the annual summit of Iowa's leading anti-LGBT group The Family Leader led by Bob Vander Plaats takes place today in Ames, Iowa. Other guests include Sen. Ted Cruz (and his insane pastor father), failed Virginia gubernatorial candidate Ken Cuccinelli, Mike Huckabee, Bobby Jindal, Rick Perry, Rick Santorum, and many, many more..

Stay tuned today and tomorrow for more from the anti-gay extravaganza. 

Meet Chris Cheng, a Gay Gun-Rights Activist Changing the Face of the NRA: VIDEO

Chris Cheng, a former Googler and winner of the History Channel’s fourth season of Top Shot, is an openly gay man on a mission to change the face of gun rights activism. Profiled in the Atlantic this week, Cheng reflected on how going public with his long-time passion for firearms gave him the push to officially come out in hopes of beginning a conversation about queer proponents of the Second Amendment.

Following his Top Shot win Cheng signed on as an NRA news analyst, solidly orienting his career towards gun advocacy.

"I think that this is an opportunity for the NRA and our community to accurately portray the diversity that already exists in the community,” Cheng explained.  "We've allowed some prevailing stereotypes to take hold, and we're not challenging them."

The conversation around gay gun rights activists is a complicated one. Organizations like The Pink Pistols blur the line between a  conservative defense of the Second Amendment, a social club, and a movement designed to empower gay individuals to fight homophobia by arming themselves. By and large the march of progress for LGBTQ rights has been powered by activism on the left, while gun advocacy is grounded firmly on the right. Cheng, whose Wikipedia page claims that he has expressed interest in pursuing public office, has staked out a spot for himself that, aside from his views on guns, is politically neutral.

“I do plan on advocating for gay rights.” Cheng told Guns.com late last year. “Rights are rights, and the concepts of liberty and freedom equally apply to gun and gay rights in my book. I do not expect people to agree with my positions on either, but I do expect the freedom to exercise my rights as an American, in the pursuit of happiness.”

Watch Chris Cheng’s first appearance as an NRA commentator AFTER THE JUMP...

 

Florida Church That Cancelled Gay Man's Funeral Receives Swift Internet Backlash

On Friday, we reported on the small Tampa-area church that hastily cancelled funeral arrangements for Julion Evans last month after discovering he was gay and married to another man. The pastor of the church made the abrupt announcement to Evans' mother the day before the funeral, with the pastor saying it would have been "blasphemous" for a gay man's funeral to take place inside the church. 

Since news broke, the church, New Hope Missionary Baptist, has been forced to take town their website and contact information following a flood of negative comments and reviews.

Included in the set of 281 one-star reviews on Facebook:

• Disgraceful. Utterly disgraceful and unforgivable. There are no "Christians" attending or acting as Pastor at this church. To cancel a man's funeral, simply because you and your "flock" do not agree with or like Homosexuals is beyond evil. A persons life before they have died has no baring on their right to a funeral. Do you refuse to hold funeral services for murderers? Adultors? Unwed mothers? People who have pre-maritial sex? All of these are also "sins" in the Bible but you don't refuse to grant these people a funeral at your church. You are all hypocrites and you disgust me. 
• Christian = Christ like; There is nothing Christ like about what this Church just did. I am appalled that this should occur in a place were the compassion of Christ should be seen most. Shame on this place!
• True evil. So glad that I don't call myself a christian anymore, because churches like yours that are so exclusive and show none of God's love.

[via The New Civil Rights Movement]