Popular Web Series ‘My Gay Roommate’ Launches Kickstarter to Fund TV Pilot – WATCH

Towleroad readers are likely familiar with Noam Ash and his über popular web series, My Gay Roommate. The series about two college roommates, one gay and one straight, who end up becoming best friends has just launched a Kickstarter campaign to help expand the show into a full-blown sitcom.

Over three seasons, My Gay Roommate (MGR) has racked up over 5.6 million YouTube views, nearly 58,000 subscribers, and coverage from prominent LGBT press (including Towleroad) along with notice from The New York Times and Vanity Fair, who featured Ash and his collaborator, director Austin Bening, in their Hollywood Issue last year. 

The goal of Ash’s Kickstarter campaign is to raise enough money ($65,000 to be exact) to produce a half-hour pilot episode of a re-imagined and expanded version of the web series with new characters and storylines.

More on what to expect in the new MGR from the show’s Kickstarter:

Nick and Max are roommates at Tuffet University, a classic liberal arts college complete with battalions of student groups, over-achieving freshmen, upperclassmen burnouts and the self-righteous indignation that characterizes Northeastern academia.

Nick Cohen is a newly out Jewish boy with OCD tendencies, while his roommate Max Finnegan is a broad-shouldered slob who may or may not have peaked in high school. Our unlikely duo takes on a freshman year full of firsts with a rascally band of suitemates: Rupert (an effeminate ladies man), his roommate Dom (the star linebacker) and Ernie (a techie Japanophile). They are joined by Sloane, Max’s no-bullshit upperclassman love interest, and her misanthropic roommate Mildred who become part of the crew.

Far from relying on traditional tropes used to portray gay characters and college life, MGR hopes to present a fresh, more ‘2016’ take on being gay and on undergraduate life in general. In the world of MGR, “being gay is not an issue.” As for stereotypes about popular kids and losers, on the show, “the football players are the underdogs while the a capella singers are the popular kids, the frat boys are the tame and rule-abiding students while the Women’s Rugby Team is the drug dealing muscle.”

Said Ash, “The show moves past the cliche gay-best-friend-side-kick and homophobic-straight-man relationship we see so often. My Gay Roommate presents a way of life that’s a little more 2016 – where a gay guy and straight guy are just friends. Best friends.”

Ash and the show’s creators have partnered with NY-based Ish entertainment to help keep production costs low. But they still need your help.

Watch a Kickstarter video from Noam Ash, below. And consider supporting the project HERE.

Watch, below.

The post Popular Web Series ‘My Gay Roommate’ Launches Kickstarter to Fund TV Pilot – WATCH appeared first on Towleroad.

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ACC Follows NCAA Lead in Moving Championship Games Out of North Carolina Over Anti-LGBTQ HB2 Law

Today, HRC and Equality NC, the statewide organization working to secure equal rights and justice for LGBTQ North Carolinians, hailed the Atlantic Coast Conference’s decision to stand up for the safety of its employees, players, and fans by moving championship games out of North Carolina due to the state’s anti-LGBTQ HB2 law.

The ACC announced: “As members of the Atlantic Coast Conference, the ACC Council of Presidents reaffirmed our collective commitment to uphold the values of equality, diversity, inclusion and non-discrimination. Every one of our 15 universities is strongly committed to these values and therefore, we will continue to host ACC Championships at campus sites. We believe North Carolina House Bill 2 is inconsistent with these values, and as a result, we will relocate all neutral site championships for the 2016-17 academic year. All locations will be announced in the future from the conference office.”

“In standing up for LGBTQ equality, the ACC, the NCAA, and the NBA are all standing on the right side of history. Governor McCrory and state lawmakers should work swiftly to repeal HB2 and bring back championship games to North Carolina,” said HRC President Chad Griffin. “The fact that Governor McCrory and other lawmakers continue to play politics with discrimination is inexcusable, enormously costly, and simply wrong. The people of North Carolina deserve better and have a chance to make their voices heard November 8.”

“On Monday it was the NCAA. Last month it was the NBA. Today, the ACC – home conference to many of our beloved teams – will take their marquis events out of North Carolina,” said Equality NC Executive Director Chris Sgro. “It has never been more clear than it is right now – HB2 is hurting our state every minute that it remains law. It’s hurting our people, our reputation, and our economy. I’m calling on Pat McCrory today – accept responsibility for the legislation you signed. It’s crystal clear that HB2 is bad for us. Stop playing the blame game and clean up this mess you’ve made of our state, because we cannot afford to wait any longer.”

The ACC announcement today follows the NCAA’s decision on Monday to stand up for LGBTQ equality by moving all 2016-2017 championship events out of the state of North Carolina due to HB2. Since the NCAA announcement, Town of Cary officials have estimated the Governor’s refusal to repeal HB2 will cause them to lose out on $2 million in direct visitor spending in Cary alone. In their decision for the move, the NCAA cited their commitment to an “inclusive atmosphere for all college athletes, coaches, administrators and fans.”  Citing the hostile environment created by the anti-LGBTQ law, the NBA also previously announced it is moving the 2017 All-Star Game out of the state because, costing North Carolina an estimated $100 million in All-Star Game related profits.

Recognizing the importance of creating a positive and conducive environment for business, in February, the Charlotte City Council passed city-wide non-discrimination protections for LGBTQ people. While city leaders sent a clear message that discrimination has no place in Charlotte, in response, Gov. McCrory and state lawmakersrammed HB2 into law and doubled down on discrimination.

The North Carolina General Assembly adjourned its short session in July after refusing to repeal HB2, and it is not scheduled to reconvene until January — leaving tens of thousands of people at risk for discrimination and harm over the months to come. Lawmakers made only one tweak to the deeply discriminatory law, restoring the right to sue in state court based on the limited number of characteristics that were already protected by state law. Despite widespread opposition to HB2, the General Assembly has been unwilling to even consider repealing the substance of the discriminatory law, including its ban on transgender people accessing restrooms consistent with their gender identity in government offices and schools, and its removal of municipalities’ ability to pass LGBTQ-inclusive nondiscrimination laws and minimum wage ordinances.

The economic fallout from HB2 continues to mount as companies concerned with protecting their consumers and employees have moved conventions, trainings, operations, and productions out of state. In the more than five months since Gov. McCrory and state lawmakers rammed HB2 into law, the outcry has continued to grow:

• More than 200 major CEOs and business leaders signed an open letter calling for full repeal of HB2 — including many of North Carolina’s largest employers.
• Major film studios and corporations, from PayPal to Deutsche Bank, have stopped investments in the state because of the new law’s threat to employees and consumers. Conventions have withdrawn from the state, taking substantial revenue with them.
• Prior to the NBA, NCAA, and CAA decisions, the Tar Heel State had already taken a hit of at least $329.9 million in lost business, and in taxpayer money used to defend the measure — including funding Gov. Pat McCrory’s road trips to explain why he signed discrimination into law.
• Artists including Beyoncé, Bruce Springsteen, Dead & Company, and Cyndi Lauper have spoken out.
• In May, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) filed suit in federal court, stating that HB2’s state-mandated discrimination against transgender people, including government workers and students, violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1965, Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, and the Violence Against Women Act of 2011.
• Joined by 68 major companies, HRC filed an amicus brief in support of DOJ’s effort to block some of the most egregious and discriminatory components of HB2.
• Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski called the bill “embarrassing” and North Carolina State coach Mark Gottfried said it “appalled” and “embarrassed” him.

www.hrc.org/blog/atlantic-coast-conference-moves-championship-games-out-of-north-carolina?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed

VIDEO: Hannah Hart accepts the Davidson/Valentini Award at the 2016 #glaadgala San Francisco

www.glaad.org/blog/video-hannah-hart-accepts-davidsonvalentini-award-2016-glaadgala-san-francisco

Pulse Survivor Chris Brodman Found Dead At Birthday Party

Pulse survivor Chris Brodman, 34, has died, just three months after the mass shooting in Orlando, News 6 reports. The Hillsborough County Medical Examiner’s Office confirmed his death on Tuesday. Friends had been posting about his death since as early as Sunday.

Related: Orlando Shooting Survivor Surprised By Katy Perry On “Ellen”

Authorities say they responded to reports of an unconscious man at a private home in the Tampa area at about 1:50 a.m. Sunday morning. The cause and manner of death are still under investigation. They added that his body showed no signs of physical violence.

News 6 conducted an interview with Brodman in June, in which he talked about the night of the shooting.

“Last call. We went out to the patio to have a cigarette, and we were out there when the shots started to be fired,” said Brodman. “I said, ‘Run. Just run, run, run.’ And we all just ran out the bar.”

Related: Orlando Hospitals Won’t Charge Pulse Survivors

The news station also recorded Brodman receiving a Pulse tribute tattoo.

“It’s unfortunate this had to happen to someone that is just so sweet and nice and didn’t deserve it, like anybody else,” said fellow Pulse survivor Orlando Torres.

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Ellen DeGeneres And Michelle Obama Cause Mayhem In A CVS Together

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Dr. Oz, Uber, Ryan Seacrest, Polar Bears, Trump’s Health, Colin Kaepernick, Colin Powell, Airpods: HOT LINKS

CORRUPT POLITICS. New Clinton ad hits Donald Trump on Trump Foundation. “The ad specifically refers to the $2,500 fine Trump paid to the Internal Revenue Service after it was revealed that a $25,000 donation from the foundation was made in 2013 to Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi as her office considered whether to pursue a fraud investigation into Trump University, the real-estate seminar program that the ad refers to as a ‘sham university.’”

ON THE TRAIL. Michelle Obama to campaign for Clinton.

PROGNOSIS. Nate Silver calls the election “highly competitive”, says Trump has 1 in 3 chance of winning.

Trump has a 1 in 3 chance of winning the election. It’s highly competitive, folks. t.co/IDN3p4wsz4 pic.twitter.com/hIcskC1rGX

— Nate Silver (@NateSilver538) September 14, 2016

COLIN POWELL. Former Secretary of State calls Trump a “national disgrace” in emails: “In an Aug. 21 email from Powell to Miller, he blasted Trump for embarking on a “racist” movement that believes President Obama was not born in the US. ‘Yup, the whole birther movement was racist,’ Powell wrote. ‘That’s what the 99% believe. When Trump couldn’t keep that up he said he also wanted to see if the certificate noted that he was a Muslim.’ Powell told BuzzFeed News, ‘I have no further comment. I’m not denying it.’”

DR OZ. Trump scraps plan to discuss medical exam with Dr. Oz: “Instead, Mr. Trump, 70, will appear on the “Dr. Oz Show,” but the two men will have a general discussion about health and wellness, not one anchored to the fitness of one of the two major candidates for president.”

BIGGEST QUACK ON TV. Trump and Dr. Oz are made for each other: “Over the course of those 500 episodes, Oz has spoken about health issues ranging from insomnia to cancer. But he has also peddled questionable (at best) and misleading (at worst) health advice: he has extolled the benefits of homeopathy (which several scientific megastudies have found to be no more effective than placebo), suggested that children are being poisoned by aresnic in apple juice (also not true), and peddled weight-loss cures like green coffee bean and Garcinia cambogia extract as “simple solutions” and “miracle pills” (they are neither and also potentially dangerous). Eventually, Oz was brought before Congress to testify about the scientific-basis of many of the claims he had made on his show.”

DAVID PLOUFFE. Trump is the heaviest presidential candidate since Taft.

TRUMP’S HEALTH. It’s “unbelievable” according to Ivanka.

WATCH: “His health is unbelievable.” @IvankaTrump on her father’s health and the release of his medical records. t.co/xTKGXBErvK

— Good Morning America (@GMA) September 14, 2016

CHICAGO. 89-year-old popsicle vendor will get to retire after GoFundMe campaign raises money: “As I was driving down 26th st in the Little Village area in Chicago where I was born and raised. I saw this elderly man struggling to push is paleta cart (Popsicle cart). It broke my heart seeing this man that should be enjoying retirement still working at this age. I had to pull over and took this picture.”

SCOTUS. ACLU asks Supreme Court not to review Virginia case protecting transgender student’s restroom access: “We are filing our brief early so that the Supreme Court can consider the request for review as soon as possible,” said Joshua Block, a senior staff attorney with the ACLU’s LGBT Project. “We hope the Supreme Court rejects the school board’s request to hear the case and that Gavin will finally be able to attend high school without being singled out and stigmatized every time he has to do something as basic as using the restroom. Every day that the stay remains in effect, Gavin loses another day of his senior year that he will never get back.”

I SIT WITH KAEPERNICK. Posters by artist Jeff Rothberg spring up around Brooklyn. “Rothberg said he put up the posters in Flatbush, Crown Heights, Prospect-Lefferts Gardens, Prospect Heights, Bedford-Stuyvesant and Williamsburg between 1 and 5 a.m. Sunday morning to prep for the start of the regular professional football season.”

HEINOUS REP. STEVE KING. Colin Kaepernick is helping ISIS: “I understand that he has an Islamic girlfriend that is his fiancée and that this has changed him, has taken on some different political views along the way, this is activism that is sympathetic to ISIS,” he told host Steve Malzberg. “For me, if I’m the coach, I would say, ‘You’re done. Until you take a knee and beg forgiveness from the American people, you’re not going to set foot out on this field again.’”

TIM COOK. The Airpods won’t fall out of your ears. “In a wide-ranging and exclusive interview with ABC News’ “Good Morning America” set to air on Wednesday, Cook told Robin Roberts that he had used the new headphones in a number of scenarios without incident, including on a treadmill and while dancing.”

RUSSIA. Scientists at remote arctic outpost trapped by polar bears: “We have issued a recommendation for the station’s personnel to use extreme caution, not to leave the station without a serious need and continue only with possible meteorological observations”, Shevchenko said. “Instructions were given to the Mikhail Somov expedition vessel, that will reach the station in about a month, to deliver dogs, as one of the station’s canines was killed by a bear, and also flares and other pyrotechnical devices needed to scare the animals away.”

OREGON. Police defuse encounter between Benson High School students and anti-gay protesters: “…students took signs from the protesters and that sandwiches were thrown during the encounter. He didn’t know whether the protesters or students threw the sandwiches. No one was arrested, and police didn’t know of any injuries, Price said.”

MH370. Scorched debris suggests missing plane caught fire. “Fragments of what appear to be burnt debris found on a beach in Madagascar could lead to a breakthrough in the case to solve how Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 vanished more than two years ago. Discovered by American independent investigator Blaine Gibson – who has previously found other parts that were confirmed to be from MH370 – the material is the first to show signs of exposure to heat or fire.

NEW COUPLE ALERT. Ryan Seacrest and Adriana Lima are dating.

FLASHBACK. Does This Video Show Britney Spears Realizing Ryan Seacrest Isn’t Gay? – WATCH

ON THE ROAD. Behind the wheel of Uber’s first self-driving car.

HUMP DAY HOTTIE. Andreas Drakis.

The post Dr. Oz, Uber, Ryan Seacrest, Polar Bears, Trump’s Health, Colin Kaepernick, Colin Powell, Airpods: HOT LINKS appeared first on Towleroad.

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Gay Men Could Have Babies Together with Both Men’s DNA According to Breakthrough Skin Cell Research

New research has opened the door to the possibility that gay men could one day soon have children using just sperm with no need for a female donor egg. In a stunning breakthrough, scientists have created embryos from non-egg cells in mice, and believe they could recreate the process one day in other species.

The AFP explains:

There are two types of cell: “meiotic” reproductive cells (eggs and sperm), and “mitotic” cells which include most of the tissues and organs in our bodies.

Mammal reproduction requires a sperm and egg to fuse, creating an embryo. But instead of using a meiotic egg cell to produce their mouse pups, the researchers used a type of mitotic cell called a parthenogenote. These are very early-stage, single-celled embryos that form without fertilisation — in this case by chemically activating a mouse egg.

Just before the parthenogenotes divided into two cells, they were injected with sperm nuclei to fertilise them. The resulting pups’ survival rate was a quarter that of other mice. Though these are early days, the feat suggested that other types of mitotic cell, such as skin cells, may one day be used to create offspring.

This could open up the possibility for gay men, older women or infertile couples to have children with both parents’ DNA.

The research was undertaken by scientists from the Department of Biology & Biochemistry at the University of Bath, in England:

Molecular embryologist Dr Tony Perry, senior author of the study, said: “This is first time that full term development has been achieved by injecting sperm into embryos.

“It had been thought that only an egg cell was capable of reprogramming sperm to allow embryonic development to take place.

“Our work challenges the dogma, held since early embryologists first observed mammalian eggs around 1827 and observed fertilisation 50 years later, that only an egg cell fertilised with a sperm cell can result in a live mammalian birth.”

The idea was the brain child of Dr Toru Suzuki in Dr Perry’s team in the University of Bath’s Laboratory of Mammalian Molecular Embryology, who performed the study together with team member Dr Maki Asami and colleagues from the University of Regensburg and the Fraunhofer Institute for Toxicology and Experimental Medicine in Germany.

The baby mice born as a result of the technique seem completely healthy, but their DNA started out with different epigenetic marks compared with normal fertilisation.  This suggests that different epigenetic pathways can lead to the same developmental destination, something not previously shown.

They add:

The discovery has ethical implications for recent suggestions that human parthenogenotes could be used as a source of embryonic stem cells because they were considered inviable. It also hints that in the long-term future it could be possible to breed animals using non-egg cells and sperm. Although this is still only an idea, it could have potential future applications in human fertility treatment and for breeding endangered species.

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69-Year-Old Woman Punched in Face by Trump Supporter Speaks Out as Assault Aftermath Video Emerges: WATCH

69-year-old Shirley Teeter was punched in the face on Monday by a Donald Trump deplorable at a rally in Asheville, North Carolina.

The Citizen Times reports:

Teeter lives downtown and went to protest against the Republican candidate during his rally at the U.S. Cellular Center, where 7,000 attended and hundreds more protested. She has chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and relies on an oxygen tank to help breathe, and after the punch Teter ended up in the hospital until 2 a.m. Tuesday, she said.

“People need to know what state of agitation he puts people in,” she said of Trump.

The Trump campaign did not respond to questions Tuesday about the incident with Teter or other violent encounters between protesters and supporters caught on video or reported by witnesses.

An arrest warrant has been issued for Richard L. Campbell of Edisto Island, S.C.: “Police told the Citizen-Times they did not make an immediate arrest because they had not witnessed the incident.”

Warrants were taken out last night on Richard L. Campbell for Assault on Female. t.co/wHUmnInIRV

— Asheville Police (@AshevillePolice) September 13, 2016

The assault on Teeter happened at the same rally where a Trump supporter assaulted three other protesters inside the arena.

The L.A. Times adds:

“Shirley Teeter told a local ABC News affiliate that she attended the event in Asheville, N.C., to protest Trump. She recalls telling supporters outside the rally that they should start learning Russian — alluding to Trump’s admiration for Russian President Vladimir Putin. Then, she said, a man in front of her turned around and punched her in the jaw, knocking her down onto her backpack containing her metal oxygen tank.”

“He turned around and just cold-cocked me,” she said.

Video has emerged of the aftermath of the assault during which protesters try to chase down the man who punched Teeter:

Teeter spoke about the incident in an interview with ABC News 13:

The post 69-Year-Old Woman Punched in Face by Trump Supporter Speaks Out as Assault Aftermath Video Emerges: WATCH appeared first on Towleroad.

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