When Exactly Was America Great?

The Daily Show asked Republican National Convention attendees to define the time period referred to in Trump’s slogan “Make America Great Again.”

www.advocate.com/comedy/2016/7/23/when-exactly-was-america-great

Inspired by Trump, Former KKK Leader Runs for Senate

David Duke is so “overjoyed” with the Republican presidential nominee’s recent speech that he has decided to run for office.

www.advocate.com/politicians/2016/7/23/inspired-trump-former-kkk-leader-runs-senate

When It Comes To Roommate Hookups, LGBTQ People Seem To Do It Better

Photo by Torsten Seiler, CC 2.0.

What is it like to hook-up with your roommate? Basically, it’s all the feels.

Vice wanted to know what the realities of look like when you, as they put it, “swapping spit with the same people with whom you split the cable bill,” so they found people who had tried it and asked them to report their experience.

Related: “Straight” Dude Walks In On Gay Roomie And Realizes He, Too, Is Homosexual

Since, as they point out, more young people are living with others due to a more difficult financial landscape than that of their parents’ generation, they had no trouble finding individuals who had made the transition from roommates to roommates with benefits, including two members of the LGBT community. Below we highlight those stories.

Notably, they were the only two who had overall happy experiences to share.

Heath, 25 

At 19 Heath moved from Kentucky to Portland and used the gay hookup app Scruff to meet people. One of those people ended up being Chris, a man 26 years older than Heath.

When we first hooked up, I wasn’t experienced, so we just made out and went slow. At the time, he was partnered to a guy named Lance, and the three of us messed around together. Then they told me, “This home is your home too.”

Eventually, Lance left him, and I ended up moving in with Chris. I’ve been living in his house in a separate room for almost five years. We don’t have sex anymore—we stopped three years ago. But we have a lot in common.

I’m transgender and transitioned freshman year of high school. I faced hardcore bullying. My hair was set on fire. I was punched in front of teachers who did nothing. Death threats galore. I needed a safe space, and Chris provided one. Chris just got married less than three months ago, and we’re all looking for a house with a basement I can live in. He still wants me in his life. I grew up with a single mother, so he’s like the dad I never had.

Heath is working on getting a bachelor’s and has started dating, this time more with an eye toward a peer with which to grow old.

Related: Guy Realizes His Roommate Is Actually His Boyfriend In Most Adorable Way

Scott, 50

Scott also took to a gay dating app, in his case Grindr, to connect with others. He met someone and they hooked up. Scott wanted to date the man, but he wasn’t interested. Instead, Scott ended up with a new friend and roommate for six months after he learned that his new acquaintance needed a place to stay.

Once he moved in, we agreed the fooling around had to end.

He was from Pakistan, and he cooked delicious meals almost every day, which was certainly nice for me. After dinner, I would make us a pot of English tea, and we’d watch his Pakistani soap operas on YouTube. I couldn’t understand a word, but I knew exactly what was going on. Then I would give him a foot massage, and he’d be off to bed. In some ways, we were like a married couple, without the sex. It was a sweet, nice relationship, but without sexual tension or any stress.

On the whole, I really enjoyed it, and I miss him today. Once he moved away, I went back to living alone. It was one of those rare, special experiences that occasionally come along in life. I gained a lovely friend—we still stay in touch and have warm memories of our time together.

Related: 10 Signs Your Roommate Might Actually Be Your Boyfriend

h/t: Vice

feedproxy.google.com/~r/queerty2/~3/sbw3DLfeiNg/comes-roommate-hookups-lgbtq-people-seems-better-20160723

‘Looking’ Star Raul Castillo Came Out as a Straight Man to Co-Star Jonathan Groff ‘Trepidatiously’

Ahead of the premiere of the movie-length season finale of Looking, Towleroad brought you an exclusive interview with Murray Bartlett and Frankie J. Alvarez, stars of the HBO series about a group of gay friends living in San Francisco who shared their experiences on the show.

Last week, Raúl Castillo talked to the New York Times and shared his experience about being one of the few straight actors in the series. Castillo played the part of Richie, a Mexican-American barber and the love interest of Patrick Murray, played by Jonathan Groff.

In an interesting role reversal of what most gay men have to go through in their lives, Castillo said he was apprehensive when he had to come out as a straight man to Groff, who’s openly gay.

“We were talking about a love affair, or at least the beginning of a love affair between these two guys,” he recalled, “and I brought up meeting my girlfriend for the first time. But I did so trepidatiously, because I didn’t want to spoil any kind of chemistry that was beginning to happen.”

He didn’t.

The hot chemistry between both actors was evident in the many steamy sex scenes in the show, and it was also one of the reasons why The New York Times referred to Castillo as “arguably the breakthrough star of the series,” and talked about his “heartthrob” status.

When he started shooting, however, he felt nervous. “I always felt like I was going to lose my job,” he said adding that he “learned a lot about gay male intimacy on the show.” And, contrary to the fear that many actors who play gay roles share — one of being typecast — the 38-year-old resident of the gayborhood of Hell’s Kitchen in Manhattan said that playing gay actually helped his career.

“Early on, people would ask me if I thought playing a gay character would pigeonhole me,” Castillo said. “If anything, because the character had the profile that he did, it’s opened up more doors than anything.” Castillo has since starred in Netflix’s Special Correspondents,  Fox’s Gotham and the upcoming film adaptation of Justin Torres novel, We the Animals.

The heartthrob status probably comes from his huge gay following, and all the flirting that comes with it, especially in Hell’s Kitchen: “In some ways, it’s the closest I’ll ever come to knowing what it is to be a woman in the straight world,” he said of the attention he gets.

You can read the full interview here. 

Looking: The Movie premieres Saturday on HBO.

The post ‘Looking’ Star Raul Castillo Came Out as a Straight Man to Co-Star Jonathan Groff ‘Trepidatiously’ appeared first on Towleroad.

feeds.towleroad.com/~r/towleroad/feed/~3/vmNiQfY8Y_4/

Which Show Are The Stars From ‘Looking’ Are Obsessed With?

Queerty was on the Looking movie red carpet in San Francisco for the premiere to talk with all of your favorite cast members. In the exclusive clip above, Frankie Alvarez reveal what shows they are currently obsessed with!

RELATED: How “Looking” Helped Jonathan Groff Love Being Gay

feedproxy.google.com/~r/queerty2/~3/GHQy9Jz2P0k/show-stars-looking-obsessed-20160723