Towleroad Guide to the Tube #545

LOVE SONG: Made at the Apple Store, Fifth Ave, NYC.

GREATEST HITS: The 100 greatest hits of YouTube in 4 minutes.

I'VE GOTTA FEELING: 172 students, 1 shot.

THE OBAMA SMILE: 130 photographs, 1 smile. Larger version and explanation here.

For recent Guides to the Tube, click HERE.

When Viral Value Trumps Copyright: The Miley Cyrus Gay Video

Disney executives saw $$$ in the potential expansion of Miley Cyrus's tween audience to include gay men, and let the fan-made Fire Island "Party in the USA" video take off on YouTube rather than pull it over copyright issues, the NYT reports:

"'I assumed it would be taken down pretty much immediately, particularly because of the music rights issue,' said David Fudge, a 27-year-old marketing executive at Esquire who made the video, titled 'Party in the Fire Island Pines.' But Disney left the ditty alone and it soon exploded in an underground way, collecting 200,000 views in just three days. Disney employees started e-mailing it to each other, and before long Mr. Fudge’s office telephone rang. On the other end: Rich Ross, the president of Disney Channels Worldwide. 'I was like, who?' Mr. Fudge said. 'He just said that he loved it and wanted to tell us that. He was extremely nice.' Mr. Ross declined to comment, but another Disney executive noted that the video (and the reaction to it) demonstrated how Ms. Cyrus was broadening her fan base beyond little girls."

Bill O'Reilly Discovers 2006 'Weatherman vs. Cockroach' Video

It's three years old and already been seen by 1.5 million people, but it is an opportunity to mock an effeminate black man using a high pitched voice, so Bill will use it to demonstrate how butch (and behind-the-times) he is!

Watch, AFTER THE JUMP...

News: YouTube Porn, Atlanta, Francis Bacon, Illinois, Cher

Illinois to pass civil unions next week?

Congressman Howard Berman, who said earlier this week that he expected action soon on LGBT issues within the State Department, suggests that more is to come from the White House in June: "I think the White House is preparing to make an announcement on a number of issues. I’m predicting here, not informing, that by the Stonewall anniversary we will have a very clear picture of what the administration is doing.

Tim Gunn makes leap to comic books.

Cher and Christina Aguilera to star in film together?

Openly gay activist and lobbyist Pat Steadman wins Colorado state senate race: "The special election was open only to members of the Colorado Democratic Party. The vacancy came after openly lesbian Senator Jennifer Veiga resigned the seat to move to Australia with her partner and her partner's family. Veiga was the first openly gay member elected to the Colorado General Assembly, and Steadman is now the first openly gay man to serve in the Colorado State Senate."

Tom Cruise and son appear in public together.

Bordeaux: short film features 15,000 still images of Zachary Quinto.

Prominent Canadian architect Arthur Erickson has died at 84. He came out in 2006 in this profile.

Dead finback whale washes ashore in Provincetown.

New Hampshire marriage equality all about compromise: "Rep. Jim Splaine, prime sponsor of the main gay marriage bill, said Thursday that advocates will use the next two weeks to educate lawmakers about the religious protections Lynch wants. 'The governor's made it clear he wants to stick to the core principles he's offered,' said Splaine, D-Portsmouth. 'We can do this.'"

Mariah Carey announces the name of her new album on Twitter.

Retrospective: If paintings had voices Francis Bacon's would shriek. "Bacon specialized in blur and atmosphere; he captured the tumult of homosexual sex in motion by borrowing from photographs, film stills or images of other art, conveying a sense of athleticism and sweat, violence and tenderness, furtiveness and shame. Homosexual sex was a criminal act in Britain, where he lived most of his life, well into the 1960s."

ABC News picks up story of Miss California Carrie Prejean's lesbian mom.

Gay rights group says Catholic Diocese of Maine is violating tax laws by funding anti-gay campaign.

YouTube hit by porn attack: "Video-sharing website YouTube has removed hundreds of pornographic videos which were uploaded in what is believed to be a planned attack. The material was uploaded under names of famous teenage celebrities such as Hannah Montana and Jonas Brothers. Many started with footage of children's videos before groups of adults performing graphic sex acts appeared on screen. YouTube owner Google said it was aware and addressing the problem."

Former spokesman for Portland Mayor Sam Adams talks about why he left.

Disney World to feature animatronic Obama.

A lusty gallery of Kellan Lutz photos.

Zona Rosa: Gays find acceptance in Mexico City. "It's really hard to be gay in the smaller, more conservative states within Mexico. I moved to Zona Rosa not just for my career but also for a chance to finally try and be accepted within my community."

Picking up dog crap makes George W. Bush realize he's a real person again.

Atlanta mayoral candidates speak to LGBT voters: "The candidates gathered for a forum of about 150 people held at the Amsterdam Cafe in Midtown. Mayor Shirley Franklin, a two-term incumbent, is prohibited from running for a third consecutive term. Several candidates stressed their past achievements and support for the city’s gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community. One out of every seven Atlantans is gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender, community advocates say. The community has become an influential force in city politics, particularly in neighborhoods near downtown."

Best Gay Anti-Hate YouTube Collaboration Ever

Organized by YouTuber Stevie Bee Bishop as a reaction to all the hate (particularly hate directed towards LGBT people) on the internet,  this video features 23 YouTubers lip-syncing to Lily Allen.

Watch it, AFTER THE JUMP...

News: Humpback Whale, Simpsons, Outrage, Scottish Male Barbie

Kirby Dick's Outrage hopes to shake anti-gay Republican hypocrisy to its core.

Father and Son: "My life has been redefined by this statistic, 'The odds of getting pregnant from a one-time sexual encounter are about 11%.' I often think if it can happen, yes, it will happen to me. Now, I’m a single gay dad under thirty, that didn’t adopt, didn’t get married and isn’t bisexual, and inadvertently ends up with a best friend getting pregnant from the solitary experience."

The #1 male Barbie of Scotland.

Not a clue: "Here is another great moment in A.P. history. In its quest to become the RIAA of the newspaper industry, the A.P.’s executives and lawyers are beginning to match their counterparts in the music industry for cluelessness. A country radio station in Tennessee, WTNQ-FM, received a cease-and-desist letter from an A.P. vice president of affiliate relations for posting videos from the A.P.’s official Youtube channel on its Website."

Humpback whale spotted in Hudson River near Manhattan.

Madonna donates $500,000 to Italian earthquake victims.

Speculation over a city council run for openly gay Fox 2 anchorman Charles Pugh has Detroit buzzing.

New Hampshire House passes anti-discrimination bill extending protections to transgender persons, by one vote: "The House debated more than three hours before voting 188-187 to send it to the Senate. Republicans call it the 'bathroom bill' based on the argument it would open all bathrooms to both men and women." 

Anybody need a Brazilian?

Napa's neighbor Yountville, California passes resolution opposing discrimination of any kind, including the prohibition of same-sex marriage.

Tell your Coming Out story to Showtime.

Bono checks for crabs.

Ken Blackwell and Christopher Hitchens spar over the end of Christianity in America.

The Simpsons to get their own postage stamps.

Polish sausage bitten off: "Horrified Marian Milczarek, 53, from Lesna in south west Poland, was attacked following a row with his friend - apparently over borrowing a trailer. 'He began hitting me with a chain and then pulled down my trousers and started biting. It was agony,' he said. Police and medics could find no trace of Marian's missing genitalia, and believe his attacker Wojciech Sowinski - now facing 10 years in jail - may have eaten it. 'If we'd had the other bit of his penis we could have sewn it back on,' said Dr Adam Domanasiewicz from the hospital in nearby Trzebnica, where Marian is recovering."

Stonewall Library & Archives to have grand opening in Fort Lauderdale on April 23. you may remember that moving SLA to this new space became a national story during the anti-gay campaign of Fort Lauderdale’s former mayor, who opposed a city building, which is leased by Broward County, providing space to the library. The move required the approval of the Fort Lauderdale City Commission and the Broward County Commission.