James Franco and Zachary Quinto Show Off Laid Back New Looks for Upcoming 'Ex-Gay' Film 'Michael'

James Franco and his Michael co-star Zachary Quinto debuted via Instagram this week their new looks for the upcoming film about 'ex-gay' activist Michael Glatze. 

Franco now sports the 90s blonde look of Glatze, while Quinto shows off some bangs and more in an XY t-shirt. XY was the (now shuttered) gay twink magazine founded by Glatze back in 1996.

Wrote Franco: 

Let's Party! Blondes have more fun!! But do you respect me?????

Wrote Quinto:

a little xy trailer time (with early 2000s bangs) after my pretend beebee@jamesfrancotv told me to put my salmon lips on his bagels.

Quinto will reportedly play the former boyfriend of Glatze in the film. 

Think these two are pulling off the 90s/early 2000s look?

Minnesota Vikings And Chris Kluwe Reach Settlement In Homophobic Coach Investigation

Chris Kluwe and the the Minnesota Vikings have reached a settlement following Kluwe’s pursuit of a lawsuit against the football franchise. After being let go from the Vikings, Kluwe made headlines accusing Viking management of explicit homophobia, which he claims ultimately led to his termination.

In response to Kluwe’s allegations, Vikings management initiated an internal review of events focusing on special teams coach Mike Priefer. Were the team’s investigation not to result in swift punishment for Priefer, Kluwe warned, he would file a formal lawsuit. The Vikings ultimately suspended Priefer for three games and fined him $100,000 to be paid to LGBT organizations, penalties that Kluwe felt were not enough.

“The parties intend to hold a joint press conference early next week to make public the terms of a settlement arrived at late last night,” Kluwe’s lawyer Clayton Halunen told USA Today.

HIV Testing During Dental Visits Could Become Effective New Way to Stop Virus's Spread

The next big step in combating the spread of HIV could come from your dentist’s office. Testing and knowing one’s HIV status are crucial components to curtailing HIV, but oftentimes there exists a significant social stigma that comes with requesting a test from one’s primary physician. Dentists offices, according to University of Chicago Center for Health Administration Studies Faculty Chair Dr. Harold Pollack, provide the perfect setting for making HIV testing de rigueur. Unlike clinics geared towards sexual health, which can be few and far between depending on one’s community, dentists’ offices are widespread and more easily accessible.

In the same way that pharmacies offer tests for cholesterol, blood pressure, and vision, dentists offices could branch out their services offered. A visit to the dentist could begin with a quick swab one’s cheek and end with HIV test results without any blood work necessary.

“We don’t need anything from our primary-care physicians,” Pollack explained to Ozy. “We want nice-looking white teeth with no cavities.”

Generally speaking people visit the dentist more frequently than they do their doctors, according to Pollack’s research. He estimates that nearly 70% of high-risk individuals schedule annual dental appointments, whereas most people only go to the doctor when they are certain that something is wrong.

Dentists in Canada, Mexico, and South Korea have begun administering HIV screenings as a part of a regular checkup. In the U.S., the practice is not nearly as common, and not without significant hurdles. For all of their scarcity, HIV clinics are more than merely a place that will administer health screenings and medication. Clinic staff are trained to handle and  share kinds information that dentists don’t have to deal with very often. But Pollack is certain that HIV testing deserves to a feature of modern dentistry.

“In the U.S., we’ve done a bad job of carving oral health out, having separate insurance plans.” He insisted. “We need to have a mentality that really grasps that oral health is part of health.”

'Arrow' Star Stephen Amell Gets Wet and Shirtless for Charity: VIDEO

Arrow hunk Stephen Amell is the latest star to strip down and take the ice bucket challenge helping to raise awareness for ALS, often referred to as Lou Gehrig's disease. 

Check him out, AFTER THE JUMP...

And be on the lookout for videos of Flash star Grant Gustin, fellow Arrow star John Barrowman, and Supernatural star Jared Padaleck - as Amell named all three as future ice bucket challengers.

 

Towletech v.119: Robin Williams Zelda Petition, QR Graves, Interstellar, Robot Butlers

BY KYLER GEOFFROY

A weekly round-up of the best tech, science, and geek-related news from around the web.

 Robin Williams fans are petitioning Nintendo to have the comedic actor memorialized in the next Legend of Zelda video game. Williams was a long-time fan of the game series and even named his daughter after the franchise's titular princess. He also appeared in a series of Nintendo ads a few years back for the franchise. 

 Amazon jumps into the mobile card reader field - hoping to knock out Square and PayPal with lower flat charges.

 Anchorage city council has voted to let families place QR codes on gravestones -  giving families and visitors an interactive obituary for departed loved ones. 

This Doctor Who fan-made opening shown below is so amazing that showrunner Stephen Moffat plans on using it as the basis for the actual opening credits for the upcoming 8th season. 

 

 Interactive yoga mats are in the works - which can track progress, provide feedback, and help perfect your downward dog.

 New images of Matthew McConaughey and Anne Hathaway in Chris Nolan's upcoming sci-fi blockbuster Interstellar.

 Comcast and Time Warner have backed out of a combined $132,000 in spending to honor the FCC Commissioner Mignon Clyburn following pressure from net neutrality advocates and a DC-based watchdog group. The FCC is also giving people until September 15th to weigh in on net neutrality.

 Actor Michael Cera releases lo-fi indie folk album True That.  

 The team behind Apple's Siri is building a new artificial intelligence that will be able to teach itself and do anything you ask. Hmm..

 5G network coverage might begin its rollout by decade's end.

 Harvard researchers have developed mass-manufactured 'Kilobots' that can self-assemble in some impressive thousand-robot swarm formations.

 Check out "Humans Need Not Apply" a video about the coming reality of technological unemployment. “Just as mechanical muscles made human labor less in demand, so are mechanical minds making human brain labor less in demand.”

 

 New details emerge about Star Wars: Episode VII's rumored Sith villains.

 Want a streaming device but don't know the difference between Roku, Amazon Fire TV, or Chromecast? IGN has you covered with a comprehensive breakdown of each devices' pros and cons.

 A Palo Alto hotel is rolling out two robotic butlers ("Botlrs") for room service requests. "When a guest calls down and asks for a toothbrush or extra towels, hotel employees simply load up the robot with the requested items, dial in the room number, and the Botlr handles the rest."  

 A new app can tell you which other apps are sapping your phone's battery life. Perhaps one of them is Tom Hanks' new typewriter app?

 "I'm sorry," says Ethan Zuckerman, the man who invented pop-up ads. 

 Apple CEO Tim Cook takes the ice bucket challenge. 

 Twitter suspends the account of hactivist group Anonymous after it falsely identifies a Missouri man as Darren Wilson, the Ferguson cop who shot and killed 18-year-old Michael Brown. 

 The internet is now officially more popular that cable in the U.S.

Got something you think would be cool for the round-up? Tweet me @kylergee

Gay Iconography: Happy Birthday, Madonna

Fifty-six years ago today, in Bay City, Michigan, Madonna Louise Ciccone came into this world. More than half a century later, the pop landscape is forever changed.

The Queen of Pop’s legacy extends beyond the more than 300 million records she’s sold worldwide. She’s appeared in films (with varying degrees of success), written children’s books and inspired an entire generation of pop stars. But what makes Madonna so iconic — worthy of not just a college class devoted to her impact, but to an entire academic field of study — is her mastery of multimedia, sexual defiance and ceaseless reinvention.

Friends with Keith Haring and a member of the 1980s New York downtown arts scene, Madonna grew out of a heavily queer community. (She’s even attributed her initial push to pursue stardom to her gay ballet teacher.) Madonna’s sound and image pulses with queer sensibility, from the gay ballroom culture referenced in “Vogue” (or “borrowed,” if you’re being kind; “misappropriated” if you’re being serious) to the sweaty rhythms ripped from the clubs. She’s loudly championed equality, spoke out on the AIDS crisis, and, though her track record is far from flawless, she’s driven a huge amount of conversation about queer issues into the mainstream consciousness.

Don’t just stand there, let’s get to it: Celebrate the birthday [material] girl with some of our favorite clips, AFTER THE JUMP …

 

MTV’s Video Music Awards have yet to create a more memorable performance than Madonna’s rendition of “Like A Virgin” at the very first show in 1984. The scene is etched in the collective consciousness: A young Madonna, clad in a wedding dress, descends a massive wedding cake and writhes on stage. It was a definitive moment for Madonna, the network and American pop music.

 

Madge inked a sweet endorsement deal with Pepsi in 1989 before dropping the video for “Like A Prayer.” The video for the Madonna classic provoked the ire of the Vatican for its controversial use of Catholic symbolism. Eventually the uproar from the religious community forced Pepsi to cancel her contract, but the song reached number one on the Billboard 200 and sold 15 million copies worldwide.

 

Her music has crossed many genres, including disco, dance and hip-hop. (Let’s not talk about the rapping.) A constant chameleon, one example of Madonna’s stylistic shifts was her interest in ‘90s dance and rave music, which she incorporated into her album Ray Of Light in 1998.

Get More: Miley Cyrus, Miley Cyrus: Unplugged, Full Episodes

Pop stars who grew up watching Madonna dance and “sing” into a headset mic are still overtaking the charts today. Sure, there was Britney and Christina (whom Madonna famously kissed at the VMAs in 2003), but also Katy Perry, P!nk and, of course, Lady Gaga. The list goes on and on. You can see her duet with another Madonna-inspired star, Miley Cyrus, in the clip above.

 

For as much carrying on as folks do about Madonna’s controversies and image, it’s easy to overlook her very real talents. No one is going to argue she’s a powerhouse singer, but she is a skilled lyricist and songwriter. As just one example, she received praise from fellow pop-songwriting masters ABBA on her track “Hung Up,” which samples ABBA’s “Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight).” They called it “a wonderful track - 100 percent solid pop music.” 

With someone as prolific (and divisive) as Madonna, there’s always lots to discuss. We've only barely touched on why Madonna matters. Share your thoughts in the comments.