Queer Film Spotlight: ‘August’

August is a new film by Eldar Rapport that’s making it’s way through the gay film festival circuit. It’s a feature length extension of Rapport’s award-winning short Postmortem. The feature stars Murray Bartlett, Daniel Dugan and Adrien Gonzalez in a steamy gay love triangle.

August will be hosting it’s New York premiere at NewFest July 22-23 (the festival runs July 21-28), one of the country’s most popular queer film festivals. Here’s a short synopsis of the film from the NewFest Web site:

Years after dumping Jonathan and moving to Spain, Troy returns to Los Angeles and tries to make amends, but nostalgia for their failed relationship hints that feelings may still be there. The only catch? Jonathan is now happily dating Raul, a gorgeous Argentinean immigrant who, unlike Troy, seems to have his life together. Eschewing the typical love triangle, the story instead delves into the men’s lives while exploring the way lives are dictated by choices playing out over time.

I hope this movie gets a DVD release soon. I’d love to see it. It definitely seems a little melodramatic and it doesn’t look like it’s breaking any new ground with the gay love triangle story line, but I’ve seen a couple of Rapport’s shorts and his film’s are never what they seem. Check out his other award-winning short film Steam and you’ll see what I mean.

Watch the August trailer below:

Queer Corner Quickie #21: Kylie Minogue, NY victory, Glitterati, Rise Against, Chicago Cubs, Raja

A quick roundup of this week’s gay happenings…

Video of the Week: Kylie Minogue gave a fan the opportunity to propose to his boyfriend at her packed concert in Perth. The emotional video has gone viral. I heart Kylie

Of course the big news this week is that New York’s Senate voted to legalize gay marriage, making it the six and largest state in the nation to do so.

History was also made at the U.N. last week when the United Nations Human Rights Council passed a resolution supporting equal rights for all regardless of sexual orientation.

The President has been getting a lot of flack (and rightfully so) from the press lately about his position on same-sex marriage. Many believe (and I agree with this assessment) that he refuses to come out officially for gay marriage because he’s up for re-election soon. He recently appeared at a gay right’s organization’s fundraiser for his campaign and gave a painfully democratic response to the marriage equality vote in NY. In this NYT article Maureen Doud takes him to task for being bi (as in binary). Get it together Obama.

Darian Aaron from the popular blog Living Out Loud with Darian has recently released When Love Takes Over: A Celebration of SGL Couples of Color, a book profiling 18 gay couples of color.

Rachel E.B. Lang and Nick Espinosa want you to join the Glitterati.

Gay Bashings Report: California man charged with hate crime for hanging noose at gay rights event | Vandals slash tires of 30 Chicago Pride floats | New York gay bar suspiciously raided during celebration of marriage equality vote

Rock band Rise Against’s new album, Endgame, features the song “Make It Stop (September’s Children)” which is a tribute to the eight kids who committed suicide in the month of September last year becaues of anti-gay bullying. The song and the music video are benefiting the It Gets Better Project. The video features stark images of gay youth dealing with bullying and contemplating suicide. It’s extremely powerful and definitely a must-watch. The band’s lead singer talked with MTV about the video and the IGB campaign.

It’s being reported that government officials in Hong Kong’s Social Welfare Department have hired a a psychiatrist who claims he can “cure” homosexuality. Gay activists have protested the department’s offices. “This could be the world’s first government-sponsored training session on gay conversion therapy,” reports the AFP.

Comedian Bryan Safi does spoof of NBA hurt speech PSA.

The Chicago Cubs released an It Gets Better video.

The Glee Project is my new obsession. This week the theme is vulnerability and out contestant Alex uses the assignment to shine light on the oppression faced by LGBT people.

RuPaul’s Drag Race reining champ Raja released the music video for her coronation song, Diamond Crowned Queen.

Photo of the Week: Patrik-Ian Polk Tweeted out this photo of himself, Darryl Stephens and Wilson Cruz on the set of his new film The Skinny. Love, love, love these three men and so can’t wait to see this movie!

Gay marriage legalized in New York!

NY Governor Andrew Cuomo signs gay marriage bill into law.

The media and the rest of the world have been enthralled by the nail-biting gay marriage debates happening in New York over the past few weeks. The heated debate came to an end last night when the NY Senate voted 33-29 in favor of legalizing gay marriage. This makes New York the sixth — and largest — state to legalize gay marriage in the union.

Check out video of NY Governor Andrew Cuomo’s pro-equality speech and his official singing of the bill into law below:

Same-sex couples will officially be able to begin receiving marriage licenses in 30 days. Happy Pride! This is a big win for the gay rights movement!

Ohio Queers: McConnelsville hate crime victim needs your help!

Remember the anti-gay arsonist attack near Zanesville kills 8 horses a few months ago? (If not, refresh you memory here.)

Equality Ohio just put out an e-blast that is asking people to help the farmer affected get back on his feet and help the McConnelsville police find the people who did this.

The Fiberglas Federal Credit Union has set up two funds, a reward and a rebuilding fund. They are being handled by the branch manager Luke Skellet.

Here is the address and phone number:

215 Deo Drive, Newark, OH 43055
Phone: 740-788-3571

If you would like to contribute, make a check out to “Whitehouse rebuild fund” or “Whitehouse reward fund” (or both) and send to the address above care of Luke Skellet.

Ohio Queers: Athens City Council passes domestic partner registry and local hate crimes law

There’s a lot of gay love happening in the city of my alma mater. (Go Bobcatas!) It appears at that the Athens City Council has passed laws protecting same-sex partners and a hate crimes law has also recently come down the pike.

Here’s a few more details from Equality Ohio:

The Committee to Move Athens Forward has worked hard for over a year with City Councilmembers in Athens, Ohio to pass local legislation that is in line with the city’s efforts to support and protect all its citizens.  Both ordinances passed with the full support of Council and the Mayor.  We particularly want to thank Councilmembers Bill Bias, Elahu Gosney and Jim Sands for their courage and hard work.  Contact the City of Athens for more information or to register your domestic partnership.

Broadway Bares 21: ‘Masterpiece’ [PHOTOS] [VIDEOS] NSFW

This past Sunday Broadway Bares/Equity Fights AIDS had their 21st annual utlra-burlsesque show/fundraiser in New York City. They ended up raising over $1 million for AIDS organisations around the country. The show was packed and featured numbers based on the theme of “masterpiece.” Each number focused on a famous artists or work of art.

For those unaware, Broadway Bares is an organization that’s run by members of Broadway community. They do many events throughout the year to raise funds for various AIDS organizations for HIV/AIDS research. But their annual fundraiser every June in NYC raises the most money. It’s an extravagant Broadway style strip show featuring lots of nudity. Most of the dancers are currently preforming on Broadway and there a host of celebrity appearances. This year David Hyde Pierce, Jim Parsons, recently Tony-nominated Rory O’Malley and Judith Light were just a few of the celebs in attendance this year.

Here’s some rehearsal footage and interviews with some of the organizers from AfterElton.com, for a bit of background and history on the show.

And here are a bunch of not-safe-for-work photos and videos from the crazy night. (God, how I wish I lived in NYC, lol.)

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Ohio Queers: Columbus Pride Festival 2011 [PHOTOS] [VIDEO]

This year the Columbus Pride Festival celebrated it’s 30th year and took on the theme “Trailblazers,” honoring those who came and fought the fight for equality before us. The grand marshals at the parade were 70 lgbt seniors over 70. The 2-day festival at Goodale Park this year was also headlined by Chely Wright, a country music star and budding gay rights activist who came out in a very public way last year.

For me, this was definitely my best experience at Pride yet. I marched in the parade with the Kaleidoscope Youth Center right behind the Trailblazers float that led the parade (the order was a where-we’ve-been-where-were-going kind of thing). I also helped out at the KYC and the AIDS Resource of Ohio (formerly the Columbus AIDS Task Force) booths and of course partook of the following festivities in the Short North. It was definitely a weekend to remember.

In case you missed it, here are some photos and video from the parade, festival and the 5k Jaeger Run for Pride.

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Photos from various accounts on Flickr.com. 

Head to the comments and leave a thought on your 2011 Columbus Pride experience!

Queer Corner Quickie #20: Prop 8, Gay Marriage in New York, David Tyree, Eddie Long, ‘The Bus,’ Lady Gaga

A quick roundup of this week’s gay happenings…

Video of the Week: This wasn’t the most popular video of the week, but it must be featured. Darryl McDaniels Run D.M.C did a photo shot for the popular NOH8 campaign and has issued a call-to-action from the hip-hop community to stop the homophobic hate. D.M.C., Russel Simmons, 50 Cent, and now Soulja Boy. When did mainstream rappers become so homo-friendly?

Columbus Pride 2011 is this weekend! If you’re in Central Ohio, show your Pride and join in on the festivities! Get all the info at ColumbusPride.org.

Tracy Morgan is still on the back-peddling train. He recently met with youth at The Ali Forney Center in NYC (a center for homeless LGBT youth). And he’s also heading back to Nashville to personally apologize to the audience members that were offended by his homophobic rant. I hate to be so pessimistic, but I still think he’s just doing all this at the beckoning of NBC for 30 Rock’s hordes of gay viewers. I appreciate the effort, but he’s been saying stuff like this for year’s and just because he’s been caught in a big public way, now he’s had a change of heart. It just all rings false to me.

A judge in California threw out the motion by Prop 8 opponents to void an earlier ruling because of Judge Walker’s sexuality so fast that the bigots’ heads are still spinning.

My jaw literally dropped when I read this story, about a two mentally handicapped gay men being kicked out of a public pool in Kentucky “because of the Bible.” Gays and gay allies came out strong and have been calling the pool and the city’s mayor expressing their complaints around the clock. The mayor has issued an apology. I personally don’t think it’s enough. Someone needs to be fired. It’s a f—king public pool!

The big gay marriage news this week comes out of New York. The state’s House passed a gay marriage bill Wednesday by a vote of 80-63. It now heads to the NY Senate and then hopefully to the governor’s desk for a signature. It looks like it may come down to one vote in the Senate.

Former NFL player David Tyree recently became the new spokesperson for the anti-gay National Organization for Marriage. In a hateful interview with the organization he spews a serious of homophobic remarks about gay marriage. A backlash ensued (as it should have), which lead to CNN’s Kyra Phillips beautifully confronting the brute on national television, making him look like the neanderthal he is.

Last week the White House hosted the first ever Federal LGBT Youth Summit. Here’s a story from CNN about the historic event.

One good thing that came out of the summit was this: U.S. Department of Education says Gay-Straight Alliances are equal to other student clubs. Hopefully this will be helpful when students have to go up against bigoted school boards to get their GSAs started.

Bishop Eddie Long’s wife leaves him. That’s telling. Anyone still think he’s innocent?

Gay  Bashings Report: Stone-throwing extremists disrupt gay pride march in Croatia’s coastal town of Split

Dan Savage was honored at the 2011 WebbyAwards for his work with the It Gets Better Project.

A while back, legislators in Tennessee passed a law that keeps cities there from passing their own non-discrimination ordinances. Now a group of  gays and gay allies in the state are suing the government in response. It’ll be interesting to see if they get their day in court. I hope so.

Jack in a Box is my new obsession, and should be yours too.

Half-Share is a new series about Fire Island that’s getting some major buzz and it’s about to hit the gay film festival circuit.

At the Tony’s Whoppi Goldberg made a joke about Broadway turning all her movies into musicals (The Lion King, Sister Act). Next up is Ghost the Musical, which saw a popular run in London and may be heading to the states soon. My only question. Was this really necessary?

Gay film festival darling Judas Kiss has finally got a full trailer. The DVD is also already available for pre-order through Wolfe Video. The DVD release is scheduled for sometime this fall.

The creators of the Off-Broadway hit The Bus (about an unlikely gay romance that develops on a small town church bus) would like to take their show to the Westboro  Baptist Church, or as close as they can get. Good luck.

As someone who grew up in (and was shunned by) the church, this news report definitely hit close to home. In Omaha, Neb. this week, over 100 pastors, from various religious backgrounds, came together to publicly unveil a proclamation calling for an end to religious and civil discrimination based on sexual orientation. (I have to admit, a few tears were shed.)

Here’s a pretty interesting anti-homophobia PSA from the U.K. Not sure what to think. Maybe you can make heads or tails of it.

This article in The Grid called “Dawn of A New Gay” has been causing some major drama within the gay community. I personally think we have more important things to worry about than a bunch of young gays who think they’re better than all the old gays. The Grid recently ran a followup explaining why they published the story in the first place.

Lady Gaga recently released the music video for “Edge of Glory.” IMHO it’s extremely anticlimactic. Is it supposed to be  a tribute to NYC outer-burroughs’ architecture or something? But I’m pretty sure this was shot on a Warner Bros backlot. Anywho, apparently there was some major behind-the-scenes drama over the video, with Gaga ditching an original big-budget concept two days into shooting it.

Photo of the Week: Macy’s has always been a proud supporter of LGBT rights and this year they’ve released these Calvin Klein underwear ads just in time for Pride.

Ohio Queers: Columbus Pride 2011!

The Midwest’s largest Pride celebration is finally here!

For Columbus Pride’s 30th anniversary Stonewall Columbus is going big this year. Kicking off today and running through Sunday, the headlining act is country superstar Cheryl Wright. She recently came out, causing a firestorm of controversy within the country music industry. Cheryl will take the stage Saturday at 6 p.m..

Here’s a list of all the performances:

Friday June 17th:

GAZEBO STAGE

music starts at 5:00

5:00 Pride Karaoke Idol hosted by Stawn

7:15 DJ Tony C

8:00 Namoli Brennet

8:45 DJ MrNiceCub

9:30 Steve Reeder

10:15 DJ Tony C

SHELTERHOUSE STAGE
music starts at 5:00

5:00 World Famous Weed Eaters

6:10 Diana Chittester

6:45 Columbus Community Drummers

J.A.N. Dancers

7:05 Unecc with Kei Mari

7:40 Eric Himan

Gaye Adegbalola teaser

8:25 Katie Todd Band

Wayne Smith as Cher

9:10 Levi Kreis

10:00 Bitch

Emcee: Sile

Sat. June 18th:

GAZEBO STAGE
music starts at 12:30

12:30 ChelseaMae

1:00 Illicit Kitty

2:10 Columbus Women’s Chorus

2:35 Columbus Gay Men’s Chorus

3:00 Columbus Stompers

3:25 Chicago Spirit Brigade

3:45 Capital Pride Band

4:10 Vanity Theft

4:45 Hunter Valentine

5:30 HITM ENT presents Homage to HipHop

SHELTERHOUSE STAGE
music starts at 11:30

11:30 DJ Sean

1:00 Rachael Sage

1:45 Namoli Brennet

2:25 Gaye Adegbalola and Roddy Barnes

3:10 Eric Himan

3:50 Zrazy

4:35 Fabulous Johnson Brothers

Nina West

5:20 Katie Todd Band

Wayne Smith as Cher

6:00 Chely Wright with Band

Times Subject to Change

Don’t forget about the big Pride Parade tomorrow! It steps off at noon and runs down High Street from Broad to Goodale. (Look for yours truly! I’ll be marching with the Kaleidoscope Youth Center.) There’s also going to be a 5k Run tomorrow morning at Goodale Park, where all of the festivities will take place.

The weekend is packed with a ton of events all over the city. Check out ColumbusPride.org for the full schedule. Pride in Columbus pretty much shuts down the city. I’ll be sure to post lots of pics on Monday. But to wet your appetite here are a few photos from last year.

Here’s a list of some other 2011 Pride Festivals around Ohio:

Cleveland Pride - June 25

Dayton Pride Dinner – June 25

Cincinnati Pride Equinox Parade & Festival - July 7-10

Toledo Pride – Aug. 27

Youngstown Pride Festival & Picnic - Aug. 28

Cincinnati Pride Night at Kings Island - Sept. 9

Ohio Queers: ‘I Was Born This Way’ Flash Choir at Columbus Commons [VIDEO]

As promised, The Harmony Project took over the Columbus Commons Tuesday as hundreds poured into the park to sing Lady Gaga’s hit “Born This Way.” The local news also migrated en mass to cover the event.

The Columbus Dispatch has a video of compiled moments from the event and an interview with Harmony Project director David Brown. ABC6 and Columbus Alive (see videos below) also covered the event.

The festivities were sponsored by Equality Ohio, Outlook Media, Stonewall Columbus, The Creative Good, Ozone Studios, Ares Sportswear, 10Tv, The Columbus Dispatch, Alive! and Jeni’s Splendid Ice Cream.

In case you missed it, below are a few videos of the flash choir from onlookers and various news outlets. The first is an official video from The Harmony Project, in conjunction with 10TV. (You can also find more on the event’s Facebook page.)

Tony Awards 2011 recap: ‘Broadway, it’s not just for gays anymore!’

Neil Patrick Harris during opening number.

Dare I say, best Tony Awards ever?

The Book of Mormon took home the most awards with nine wins and War Horse (a musical I need to pony up on, pun intended) took home five awards, making them both the night’s big winners, but Neil Patrick Harris stole much of the show with his indelible charm as the night’s hostest with the mostest.

NPH took back the reigns, hosting for a second time, and I am so glad he did. Some highlights? He began with the hilarious “It’s Not Just for Gays Anymore,” pointing out the many “straight” qualities of this year’s nominees. He and three-time Tony host Hugh Jackman battled it out in song and dance, singing through famous Broadway tunes from West Side Story, A Chorus Line and others, changing the lyrics for comedic effect.  And he ended by literally rapping through a recap of the night. (Fun Fact: the rap was written by Lin-Manuel Miranda, multiple Tony winner for creating In the Heights.)

Broadway may not just be for gays anymore, but the show Tony organizers put on definitely was. From Neil’s opening number to the impromptu Larry Kramer tributes after The Normal Heart’s big wins (Actor/Actress in Featured Role in a Play, Revival of a Play) to the legendary Martha Wash’s surprise appearance during Priscilla Queen of the Dessert’s rendition of “It’s Raining Men.” It was a gay ol’ time, to say the least. Casey Nicholaw even gave a shout out to his partner during his acceptance speech after The Book of Mormon won Best Direction of a Musical. (I’m actually surprised we didn’t see more of this.)

For more on this year’s Tony’s head over to Twitter. Queer Corner live-tweeted the entire show! Go follow @QueerCorner and peruse the feed for more on the night’s shenanigans. And for a host of photos from Tony’s 2011 head over TonyAwards.com.

Here’s a full list of the Tony Awards 2o11 winners (from The Associated Press):

Best Play: “War Horse.”

Best Musical: “The Book of Mormon.”

Best Book of a Musical: Trey Parker, Robert Lopez, Matt Stone, “The Book of Mormon.”

Best Original Score (Music and/or Lyrics) Written for the Theatre: Trey Parker, Robert Lopez, Matt Stone, “The Book of Mormon.”

Best Revival of a Play: “The Normal Heart.”

Best Revival of a Musical: “Anything Goes.”

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play: Mark Rylance, “Jerusalem.”

Best Performance by an Actress in Leading Role in a Play: Frances McDormand, “Good People.”

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical: Norbert Leo Butz “Catch Me If You Can.”

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical: Sutton Foster, “Anything Goes.”

Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Play: John Benjamin Hickey, “The Normal Heart.”

Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play: Ellen Barkin, “The Normal Heart.”

Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical: John Larroquette, “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying.”

Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical: Nikki M. James, “The Book of Mormon.”

Best Direction of a Play: Marianne Elliott and Tom Morris, “War Horse.”

Best Direction of a Musical: Casey Nicholaw and Trey Parker, “The Book of Mormon.”

Best Choreography: Kathleen Marshall, “Anything Goes.”

Best Orchestrations: Larry Hochman and Stephen Oremus, “The Book of Mormon.”

Best Scenic Design of a Play: Rae Smith, “War Horse.”

Best Scenic Design of a Musical: Scott Pask, “The Book of Mormon”

Best Costume Design of a Play: Desmond Heeley, “The Importance of Being Earnest.”

Best Costume Design of a Musical: Tim Chappel and Lizzy Gardiner, “Priscilla Queen of the Desert.”

Best Lighting Design of a Play: Paule Constable, “War Horse.”

Best Lighting Design of a Musical: Brian MacDevitt, “The Book of Mormon.”

Best Sound Design of a Play: Christopher Shutt, “War Horse.”

Best Sound Design of a Musical: Brian Ronan, “The Book of Mormon.”

___

Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre: Athol Fugard, Philip J. Smith.

Regional Theatre Tony Award: Lookingglass Theatre Company (Chicago)

Isabelle Stevenson Award: Eve Ensler.

Special Tony Award: Handspring Puppet Company.

Tony Honors for Excellence in the Theatre: William Berloni, The Drama Book Shop, Sharon Jensen and Alliance for Inclusion in the Arts

Queer Corner Quickie #19: The Mini Warbler, Tracy Morgan, AARP, Ann Coulter, Modern Family, Gay Christmas

A quick roundup of this week’s gay happenings…

Video of the Week: Four-year-old Kellen Mirador Sarmiento took over YouTube this week when his parents posted a video of him performing the Glee version of “Teenage Dream” by The Warblers, complete with custom Warbler jacket and tie, made by his grandmother (see vid below). Many are saying this is a publicity stunt and the parents are exploiting their child, but in this interview with Kellen and his parents it looks like  the kid just really loves him some Glee and is a genuine fan of Darren Criss, nothing more nothing less.

This week Tracy Morgan caused an uproar  in the gay community when he went on a homophobic rant during a stand-up performance in Nashville, in which he allegedly said he’d stab his son if he told him he was gay. GLAAD jumped right on it and called for Morgan’s apology, which he did. And even CNN reported on the outrage, and got an interview with the gay man in the audience who broke the story on his Facebook page.

Now GLAAD is calling for Morgan to meet with youth and families who are victims of vicious anti-gay bullying. I’m not surprised by what he said and I’m pretty sure the apology was bogus. This isn’t the first time Morgan has made homophobic statements. And, personally, I think we’re wasting our time trying to reform this imbecile. By the way, Tina Fey and 30 Rock producer Bob Greenblatt have also issued comments condemning Morgan’s homophobic remarks.

The AARP has launched a new Web site dedicated to senior LGBT Americans.

In related news, the President recently signed into law a declaration that extends protections to same-sex couples under medicaid. Now if a same-sex couple is living together and one of the partners is admitted to a nursing home the other is legally entitled to the home they shared. This is a big win for LGBT senior citizens.

Progress: Portland City Council unanimously passes transgender-inclusive healthcare benefits for city employees

Anti-gay NY Senator Ruben Diaz Sr.’s grand-daughter, Erica Diaz is an out lesbian and pens an amazing editorial in the New York Post condemning her grandfather’s homophobia.

Could someone please explain to me why Ann Coulter is relevant? I’ve never quite understood. She’s making waves again lately for statements she made about the possibility of her having a gay kid. First she dodged the question and then when asked again she gave this ridiculous quote: “I’d tell him he was adopted, ask for some help redecorating the dining room.”

Gay Bashings Report: Man calls beating outside California bowling alley a hate crime | An Australian man claims he bludgeoned his gay roommate to death with a platypus statue because he made an unwanted advance | In Peurto Rico, 3 gays killed in three days last week; brings number to 18 gays killed in 18 months | Model in gay activist lover’s NYC hotel castration slay, likey to use insanity defense

With Glee taking over the world, the logical next step would be a series featuring all gay high school characters, right? Well, the new web series Fabulous High doesn’t necessarily feature a all gay cast, but it is advertising itself as a show that focuses on LGBT themes. They recently met their fundraising goal on Kickstarter. No word on when the show will air, or where for that matter. But I must say, I’m definitely looking forward to the final product.

Speaking of Glee, Oxygen’s new reality competition The Glee Project premieres this Sunday. Here’s a preview video featuring the final 12 singing Katy Perry’s “Firework.” (Loving it!) The winner will be awarded a multi-episode, guest-starring role on Glee’s third season.

Toronto’s gay rugby team recently put out this interesting recruitment mockumentary called The Gay Who Wasn’t Gay Enough. Inspired by the players’ true stories, it’s about one man’s quest to find himself.

Apparently YouTube celebrity Chris Crocker is trying to be a singer now. Personally, I think he’s taking his Britney obsession a little too far. It just sounds like a male version of Ms. Spears to me.

Entertainment Weekly has some footage of the hilarious Inside the Actors Studio featuring the Modern Family cast. If you do a little digging, you can watch the full episode on YouTube.

This ad from the organizers behind Toronto’s Pride Festival is causing a stir in the gay community. Gay publication Toronto Life took it to task for pushing the gay rights movement back 10 years. It is ridiculous, but I wouldn’t go that far. What do you think?

HIGH-larious!: Biebershop Quartet. It’s Lesbians Who Look Like Justin Bieber taken to a whole new level.

It was just a matter of time.

It’s kids like this that give me hope for the future.

HRC release a list of the worst companies for LGBT workers.

Gay Christmas, I mean the Tony Awards are this Sunday! Here’s a preview vid of host Neil Patrick Harris getting ready for the big night.

Photo of the Week: This safe-sex ad was taken down in Asutrailia after complaints came in from the religious group Australian Christian Lobby. After the company who took the ad down learned that all 50 of the complaints came from ACL they reinstated the campaign. I personally don’t see the problem, they’re not even nude!

WATCH: CNN’s coverage of ‘The Sissy Boy Experiment’ [PARTS 1, 2 & 3]

CNN confronts Dr. George Rekers, creator of 'The Sissy Boy Experiment'

Earlier this week I posted that Anderson Cooper 360 was going to air a 3-part report on “The Sissy Boy Experiment,” Dr. George Rekers damaging treatment to change boys from feminine to masculine. Most of the experiments were done in the ’70s, but his “research” is still used as a credible source by ex-gay ministries around the country today. What many don’t know is the main patient he sites in his research committed suicide because of its damaging effects.

You can watch the full 3-part series below:

Ohio Queers: ‘I Was Born This Way’ Flash Choir takes over Columbus Commons Tuesday

The Harmony Project, a mulitcultural philanthropy-based choir based in Columbus, Ohio, is partnering with the local community to present a unique twist on the flash dance at the new Columbus Commons downtown on Tuesday.

Instead of the choreographed flash dances that have taken over YouTube and were recently featured on Glee and Modern Family, The Harmony Project is just asking its 150-member choir and the outlying community to meet them at the Commons to join in song. According to the Flash Choir’s Facebook page, their expecting 1,000 participants.

They’ll be belting the country version of Lady Gaga’s hit song “Born This Way” and afterwards the regular dance version will play and participants are invited to freestyle dance to the music.

The event is being sponsored by Equality Ohio, Outlook Media, Stonewall Columbus, The Creative Good, Ozone Studios, Ares Sportswear and Jeni’s Splendid Ice Cream. The event will be video recorded and 10TV will also be flying above the park to get aerial shots of the crowd. The first 1,000 participants will receive a free t-shirt and Jeni’s will be passing out free ice cream sandwiches.

The Flash Choir kicks off at 6 p.m. Tuesday, June 14. Participants are asked to arrive between 5:30 and 5:55. You don’t have to know the words to the entire song to participate, but the organizers would like you to know the chorus. (See video below.) The event’s organizers are also promising that the video recording will be available the same night and is encouraging everyone to share it on YouTube, Facebook, Twitter or any other social media, to promote acceptance and individuality and the city of Columbus.

The Harmony Project operates on the motto “Sing. Serve. Share.” and has become a philanthropic force in Columbus. They’re mostly known for their sold-out concerts at the Lincoln Theatre, but they’ve also raised thousands of dollars just over the past couple years for various local organizations including the Mid-Ohio Food Bank, City of Columbus,  Columbus Hope for Haiti and the FCCS Holiday Wish Program just to name a few. Their last concert, “Lift Every Voice,” was in May and was aimed specifically at raising funds to end homelessness in Columbus. The Harmony Project’s directors say the “I Was Born This Way” Flash Choir is “about lifting your voice, making a statement, and encouraging others to celebrate individuality and common ground.”

Anderson Cooper takes on ‘Sissy-Boy Experiment’

George Rekers

Tonight AC360 will begin a three-part special report on “The Sissy Boy Experiment,” an experimental psychotherapy to rid boys of “feminine attributes.” The procedure is said to be what led one it’s patient’s, Kirk Murphy, to suicide.

The family speaks out in the report and over the series Cooper will also look into the background of Dr. George Rekers, the creator of the therapy, who was recently in a sex scandal when he was caught vacationing with a male escort.

The first segment airs tonight at 10 p.m. on CNN. Here’s a preview featuring Kraig’s mother and siblings.