Alright. First up, here’s the roundup of Superbowl commercials. I loved the ones from GM, Paramount+ (even if we don’t need yet another streaming service), Bud Light lemons, Fivr, Klarna (just because Maya Rudoulph) and of course, the beautiful, beautiful, Michael B. Jordan for Alexa:
Clue, which had at one point been adapted into a comic series, is not becoming an animated show. We’ll have to see how this goes.
In politics, the GOP is spending its time, across the country, trying to restrict voting. Because that’s the only way they win (but they are very, very good at this, and this is a huge threat).
In exciting news, John Fetterman is running for Senate!
And lastly today, a new preview for The Nevers, which looks like a neat Victorian era Magicians, kind of. I’m excited for it!
There were so many things I loved about Mayor Pete (and of course, things I didn’t), but his representation matters so, so much. Here is just one example of it, something I would have never dreamed of seeing growing up.
Alright, catching up on a bit of a backlog in addition to some current items, but let’s see what we have today. First up, a favorite web comic/series, Surviving the World is returning with classic reposts! Here’s where he ended it. Class Dismissed.
Science news you can use: don’t drink your whiskey ‘neat’:
The United Methodist Church is splitting over gay issues. As someone who has come out of that on the other side, hey welcome, it’s a bumpy ride. Sorry you have to do this, it’s painful.
This fight (is still going on all across the country) happened in September in Arizona. Their GOP governor said they don’t need to extend non-discrimination protections to gay people, and their supreme court said businesses can deny service to gay people. The fight continues, and is seemingly never ending.
I wrote earlier about my displeasure at Marvel (and Star Wars) for LGBT erasure. The upcoming film, The Eternals, will, for the first time, feature a gay superhero (and kiss). Yes, it’s progress. Should it have taken 11 years? No.
In other movie news, the trailer for the new Wes Anderson film looks amazing:
The Catholic bishops in Texas have blasted their governor (who is Catholic)over his rule to not accept refugees. I’m highly, highly critical of the Catholic Church, so I have to give them points when it’s appropriate. Good for them.
Disney is announcing more details of their immersive Star Wars hotel for their resorts, and it looks amazing and I can’t wait to go!
Google pretty much hit it out of the park with their Superbowl ad:
Speaking of Pittsburgh, there is going to be a Mr. Rogers biopic! I am so, so excited about this!
My favorite Super Bowl ads were from Tide:
Philadelphia Eagles flocked to a bar called ‘The Eagle’ due to its name. Here’s a hint, if there’s a bar named ‘The Eagle,’ chances are it’s a gay leather bar.
The Olympics may be over, but this video will be with us forever:
I’m calling bullshit on the ‘gay Porgs’ in Star Wars. The fact that this is a multibillion dollar franchise so embedded into our culture and we get gay background animals if we squint and know some obscure fact, instead of actual representation is humiliating. LucasFilm and Disney can do better.
Trulia now shows you the rights you’ll have as a queer person when looking at homes on the market. Our rights are a patchwork and it can be really confusing remembering what rights I have where, so this is a really nice feature, but so sad that it’s needed.
A California court has sided with an anti-gay baker. I will remind you that this is not really about cake. It’s about basic human dignity. And the fact that I have to worry about what hospital and doctors I see, because they can turn me away. It’s about the fact that funeral homes can turn loved ones away all by citing religious freedom. It’s about bigotry.
Alright, big update today, let’s see what we have.
So in outrageously offending news, the defense in the PA marriage equality trial are seeking the complete sexual history of those challenging the ban. So no matter how bad your day has been, at least the state isn’t asking for all the details of your sex life to continue denying you your rights. Sigh.
Want to see what it’s like to go ski jumping? Of course you do:
The divorce rate of evangelicals is higher than the general population. But even if you’re not and evangelical, if you live in a heavily-populated area, you have a bigger risk of getting divorced.
The rumor was that AHS was going to be subtitled “Circus” next season, but maybe not?
Remember the 14th Amendment? The one that says we all should have equal rights? Well, the OK attorney general says that it doesn’t apply to gay people.
If you haven’t seen the new Duracell commercial, you should:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u2HD57z4F8E
As a reminder, when you operate a business, you can’t discriminate against a population. If you set out a sign saying you would not serve African Americans, it’s the same as saying you won’t serve gays. Not a hard concept (except when legal loopholes get involved). Or you can Arizona which is trying to make it legal to discriminate against the LGBT community because of religion.
I love the Muppets, even if they did get snubbed at the Golden Globes:
A great clip from Louisiana where a trans woman dared a bigoted city council member to put his money where his mouth was and stone her to death. He recalled his bill moments later.
The beginning of the year-end round-ups (I’ll have a special post later, still waiting for one more video to be released), but here are 45 of the most powerful images of the year.
Alright, let’s see what we have today. First up, seriously, it’s not hard. With very few exceptions, there is nothing, absolutely nothing that your brand can add to the 9/11 conversation. Every marketer should memorize this immediately:
It’s a scary and bad situation, but it really does look like Mt. Doom in the SF Bay area:
The head of the Sochi Olympic Games has asked the new head of the IOC for help stopping the criticism of Russia’s anti-LGBT laws, which means, at least I think, they’re starting to feel pressure.
A drone’s view of Burning Man 2013:
That’s it for now, short update today. Have a great one!
Alright, let’s see what we have today, first up, this amazing ad from Guinness:
Also in the world of advertising, this guy spend over $1,000 on Twitter ads because an airline lost his luggage and he wanted them to actually do their job.
Russia is now moving towards forcibly taking children away from LGBT parents. At the end of the G-20 summit, when Obama met with Activists, they begged him to help get them out of the country. Things are only going to get worse as we head towards the Olympics.
Utah follows in Florida’s idiotic footsteps. Again, for those keeping score: those on public assistance are far less likely than the general public to be on drugs, stop wasting money.
And finally, a great idea for a public service campaign:
Alright, let’s see what we have today. First up, the new trailer for Kick Ass 2 (NSFW):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nje6dcArZrI
A Firefly MMO has been announced, although it appears to be exclusively for mobile phones. Will be interesting to see what it’s like, but it may be too late.
A great ad campaign which uses national flags. Very well done.
Alright, let’s see what I have going on today. First up, before the Windsor and Perry rulings by SCOTUS, the Voting Rights Act was gutted. Justice Ginsberg summed it up well:
Also in the news, was Wendy Davis, who, with the help of other Democrats and the citizens of Texas, filibustered an anti-choice bill in Texas. And while I think that so many of the “three strikes” used to stop her filibuster were Republicans stretching the rules, they still (generally) played by the rules, except for not voting on the third and then trying to change the congressional record to show they voted before midnight. But my favorite moment of the night was the fifteen minutes of the citizens screaming nonstop to stop the bill. Check out Slog’s coverage here.
A great ad via Norway (it’s okay if you only speak English):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gBiW5WGtcTI
The ad campaign from Italy for their alzheimer’s foundation, brilliant and moving.
And what is being called the best coupon in history. If I wasn’t lactose-intolerant, I would agree.
A few more follow-ups from the DOMA and Prop 8 cases. YouTube put together their #ProudToLove campaign:
Dan Savage hits it out of the park with a few articles. First up, “I Can Die Now,” which gets to the heart of why the Windsor case was so important, and what people take for granted.
And while they didn’t lose a single thing, we can celebrate what we’ve won, including a man, thirty minutes after the rulings came out that was saved from being deported:
At 10:30 a.m. EDT this morning in a New York Immigration Court, attorneys from our law firm (Masliah Soloway) requested and were granted a continuance in removal (deportation) proceedings for a Colombian gay man married to an American citizen for whom we had filed a marriage-based green card petition last year. A copy of the 77-page Supreme Court decision in United States v. Windsor was delivered to the court by our summer intern, Gabe, who ran five blocks and made it in time for the decision to be submitted to the Immigration Judge and to serve a copy on the Immigration & Customs Enforcement Assistant Chief Counsel. DOMA is DEAD and it had its first impact on a binational couple within 30 minutes of the Supreme Court ruling.
And of course, if you haven’t heard yet, Brian Sims, who was trying to speak on the Pa. House floor about the rulings, was silenced by the representative from Cranberry. He’s garnered national attention for “speaking against God’s will” as the bigot from Cranberry said. He keeps pushing for a non-discrimination ordinance and marriage equality, we’ll see how far he can get.
Garfunkle and Oates are back with “The Loophole.” Sadly, this is a real thing, and they are of course, pointing out the absurdity of it. Not at all safe for work, or for easily offended eyes. But wroth it if you get to the end to see the list of other rules they ignore:
That’s it for today, but I’ll be back soon with more. Have a great one!
