GAYLETTER

When Irish actor Rory O’Neill (who is also known as the drag performer Panti) was interviewed on a popular Irish talk show about his experience with homophobia, specifically in certain Irish newspapers and on the Internet, the last thing he expected was to be then lambasted by the media as a homophobe himself. Rory’s comments were pretty tame, and certainly justified, yet that didn’t stop the TV station from removing the segment and making an apology.

“The only place that you see it’s OK to be really horrible and mean about gays is on the internet in the comments and people who make a living writing opinion pieces for newspapers,” he said and then when on to name a few columnists he believed had written homophobic things in the past.

What happened after the interview is truly bizarre. The Irish media utilized a trick often employed by the fuck faces over at Fox News. It’s truly brilliant and horribly evil. They responded with mock horror and great offense at being labelled homophobic and instead claimed that Rory is the one who is intolerant. He is the one who can not accept their bigoted opinions, he is the name caller, the bully, the homophobe, and it is they who are the victims of oppression.

Rory addressed the controversy the other night at The Abbey Theater after a performance of The Risen People. I’m aware this story is unlikely to garner much press in the US, however Rory’s speech speaks to the experience of all oppressed people and is well worth a watch. …

There’s a baby going around and scaring people in NYC. When I heard all about it, I was like babies are scary anyways, so that’s pretty funny… Well this baby takes it a step forward, he really is trying to scare people. He’s a mean baby.

Aparently to promote the horror film ‘Devil’s Due‘ which I am definetly not going to see — they have created this video ‘Devil Baby Attack.’ The baby is going around New York inside his remote-controlled stroller acting crazy and frightening people. The reactions are hilarious…

Watch the video below:

 …

Billy Eichner is a New York based comedian who’s show on Funny or Die is one of my favorite things in the whole wide world. He is so over the top and hilarious it’s impossible not to watch his show without cracking up.

Here is an episode featuring Amy Poehler, wherein the two ambush people on the streets of New York City and force them to sing Christmas carols.

Watch the video below…

 …

I live for podcasts. I listen to about 15-20 each week as I ride my bike to and from work (although I woke up this morning to find my bike was stolen, so I guess I’ll be doing more walking from now on). One of my favorite podcasts of the moment is The Read.

It’s a pretty simple format — hosts Kid Fury and Crissle basically spend each episode talking smack about the latest developments in hip hop and popular culture. The only people they won’t read are Beyonce and Blue Ivy Carter (they love B so much they devoted a whole show to her new album; literally going track to track through it). Crissle and Kid Fury are full of both indignation and unbridled energy, and when they’re funny they’re really funny.
Free, Subscribe here.  …

It’s a story most postgrad millenials can easily identify with: taking low-paying, thankless jobs where you can find them, scraping together rent money with the roommates you sometimes get along with, and, of course, losing plenty of sleep in the process. Adam Goldman, writer and director of last year’s often-hilarious and often-heartbreaking web series The Outs, certainly seems familiar with this particular set of metropolitan struggles. In his latest series, Whatever this is, Goldman has crafted one of the most well-shot, engrossing web series currently in production. Not only is the show whip-smart and packed with a talented group of actors (including an amazing one-episode guest appearance by Alan Cumming), it also happens to boast more LGBT series regulars on its roster than the meager 3.3% that GLAAD attributed to this past year’s season of broadcast TV.

Last night, the cast and crew of Whatever this is premiered the sixth and final episode of the season to a packed crowd of coiffed boys and girls at the Knitting Factory in Brooklyn, and, if you haven’t seen it yet, let me be the first to tell you: it’s another heartbreaker. All episodes are available to stream starting today on their website, and with running times lasting half an hour at most, now is definitely the time to start your requisite binge-watching. …

Every queer’s favorite app now as an 8 part web-series! The Grindr Guide “delves into the private lives of Sydney’s Grindr users.” This light-hearted exploration of the unfortunately iconic app covers multiple aspects of Grindr such as the meticulous selection of the profile picture, racism and the potential for love versus the potential for a rim job. The series documents the Grindr experiences of various gay men in Sydney through interviews and video diaries that bring up some surprisingly cerebral insights on topics like body image, love and human decency.

I’ve never really been big on Grindr (or Twitter or Instagram or Vine or the next one). I’ve only smiled once while using it — a few years ago I was offered $350 for sex with a relatively good-looking guy in his late 40s. I was pretty broke and seriously considering it. He scrapped the offer because I took too long to give him an answer…or perhaps the face to the right of me was better suited for him.

It’s a shame that this web series isn’t longer. I suppose I’ll have to wait for director Damien Dunstan’s upcoming documentary Monogamish — which in in the early production stages.

Watch episode one here.

  …