Ellen DeGeneres Gives Commencement Address at Tulane University

Ellen DeGeneres gave the commencement speech at Tulane University over the weekend in which she talks about her girlfriend who was killed in a car accident when she was 19, her stand-up comedy path, coming out as a lesbian, and living one's life with integrity.

Amazing speech!

Watch it, AFTER THE JUMP...

Gay Louisiana Couple Files Suit Over Denial of Marriage License

Kristoffer Bonilla, 33, and John Thomas Wray, 18, a gay New Orleans couple, have filed suit because they were denied a marriage license in Louisiana.

 Via NOLA.com: "he men filed the lawsuit against several state and local officials on April 2, the same day they said they were denied a marriage license. It claims the state's marriage amendment violates the First Amendment 'by curtailing the right to marry based upon a religious interpretation of the nature and purpose of marriage itself...By failing to articulate a legitimate, compelling and secular interest for the restriction on marriage, the state has necessarily established a wholly religious civil institution,' it says. Bonilla, who said he graduated from a New Orleans law school but isn't a practicing attorney, drafted the lawsuit before they applied for the license."

The case is the first of its kind in Louisiana.

(image via facebook)

Stunning Pink Dolphin Photographed in Louisiana

Check out these photos of an albino bottlenose dolphin with a pink rather than white skin pigmentation. The dolphin lives in an estuary in Louisiana. It's unclear if this photo is recent — as the dolphin has been photographed before — but it's definitely gorgeous.

Said Charter boat captain Erik Rue, who shot the photo: "The dolphin appears to be healthy and normal other than its coloration, which is quite beautiful and stunningly pink. The mammal is entirely pink from tip to tail and has reddish eyes indicating it's albinism...I have personally spotted the pink dolphin 40 to 50 times in the time since the original sighting as it has apparently taken up residence with its family in the Calcasieu ship channel. As time has passed the young mammal has grown and sometimes ventures away from its mother to feed and play but always remains in the vicinity of the pod. Surprisingly, it does not appear to be drastically affected by the environment or sunlight as might be expected considering its condition, although it tends to remain below the surface a little more than the others in the pod."

UPDATE: Just found some video of the pink dolphin, captured in Cameron, Louisiana in late October. Watch it, AFTER THE JUMP...

Video: Josh Brolin Played 'Kissy' with Jeffrey Wright After Arrest

New video shot in the police car following the July arrest of Josh Brolin and Jeffrey Wright at the wrap party for W, shows Brolin in a 'relaxed state,' discussing the arrest (in which Brolin was pepper-sprayed and Wright tasered), and trying to comfort Wright by giving him kisses and at one point, leaning over and putting his head in Wright's lap.

In the video, Brolin says it's his seventh time being arrested: "My wife's gonna be so happy."

Watch the video here.

Previously
Video Reveals Chaotic Arrest of Josh Brolin and Jeffrey Wright [tr]
George W. Bush and Colin Powell Actors Arrested in Bar Fight [tr]

Video Reveals Chaotic Arrest of Josh Brolin and Jeffrey Wright

Charges against Josh Brolin and Jeffrey Wright over a bar fight in Shreveport, Louisiana in Julywill be dropped providing the actors pay their court costs of $130 each, following a court hearing today:

"The actors were with crew members from the Oliver Stone movie 'W.' about President George W. Bush. Police arrived after one crew member caused a fracas and was asked to leave. Police pepper-sprayed both Brolin and Wright, while Wright was also hit with an electric shock from a Taser weapon, Berk said. Prosecutors were not immediately available to comment."

A video also emerged today shot by a bystander outside the Stray Cat bar where the altercation took place showing Brolin reacting to pepper spray before being arrested, and Wright tasered while held down by officers in the street.

Watch it, AFTER THE JUMP...

Previously
George W. Bush and Colin Powell Actors Arrested in Bar Fight [tr]

Court: Louisiana Must List Both Adoptive Dads on Birth Certificate

The state of Louisiana has been ordered by a federal court to list the names of both adopted fathers on a boy's birth certificate, a decision with strong emotional implications as well as practical ones such as insurance and travel safety:

"The facts are so clear that no trial is needed, U.S. District Judge Jay Zainey wrote. 'What a great Christmas present for these guys!' said Kenneth D. Upton Jr. who represented Oren Adar and Mickey Ray Smith of San Diego. In his ruling Monday, Zainey said Louisiana's Office of Vital Records must give full faith and credit to the New York State court in which Adar and Smith adopted the boy, he ruled Monday. The office had refused to issue a birth certificate listing both as the boy's legal parents. Upton, reached at home Saturday evening, said he hopes to get a birth certificate in the coming week but doesn't know whether the Louisiana Attorney General's Office — which is in charge, although a state health department attorney argued the case — will decide to appeal. The attorney general's office will look into the matter next week, said Tammi Arender Herring, spokeswoman for Attorney General James 'Buddy' Caldwell. Upton, of Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund Inc. of Dallas, said it is the fourth case of its kind that he knows of. Cases in Oklahoma, Virginia and Mississippi also were decided in the parents' favor — the Mississippi case decided at trial about a month ago, he said."

Plenty of other issues will be affected as well: "Adar also said the family often travels, and because the boy is black and they are white, an airline worker once stopped them, thinking they were kidnapping the child. 'Every time we fly, we fear this could happen again,' he wrote."