2017 Outfest Fusion Festival announces lineup, tickets available now

www.glaad.org/blog/2017-outfest-fusion-festival-announces-lineup-tickets-available-now

Almost everything you need to know to get the most out of fabulous Las Vegas

Yes, there are people who have never been to Las Vegas–or at least not in a while. With the plethora of great choices, every Las Vegas first-timer needs a guide to the best and brightest. Want to try the casinos, shows, and nightlife but don’t know where to start? Just walking down Las Vegas Boulevard the first time presents a lot of opportunities for intense experiences, and the first-time visitor may not always know where to turn.

Queerty compiled an easy user’s guide to making the most of your Las Vegas holiday…

1. The City

Las Vegas is basically divided into three areas: The Strip, Downtown, and surrounding city. The section of Las Vegas Blvd. with the largest casinos runs generally from Mandalay Bay at the southern end and to The Stratosphere at the northern end.

The big-name resorts are packed along the four miles of this strip, although a few popular spots (Rio, The Palms, Hard Rock) are a block or two back from Las Vegas Blvd. itself. This is the Las Vegas everyone has heard about: the dancing fountains of Bellagio, the High Roller observation wheel at The Linq, the Forum Shops at Caesars. Walking up and down Las Vegas Blvd. is an entire day’s activity all on its own, from window shopping and people watching to taking in the sights and architecture of the lavish hotels with neon lights ablaze.

2. Downtown

Downtown is the classic side of the city, where bikers park their choppers in front of Hogs and Heifers Saloon and the hotels and casinos are still drenched with the glitz and glam of vintage Las Vegas. The Fremont Street Experience, a pedestrian mall lined with casinos and bars, runs through downtown beneath a metal canopy, which echoes the roar of the crowd and music from the free live entertainment. If you’re lucky, you may catch an Elvis impersonator, and don’t bother trying to pretend you don’t think he’s great, because they always are. Keep walking down Fremont, a little bit east, and the retro vibe gives way to a hipster wonderland: coffee houses, quirky shops, and eclectic cafes that have popped up in this new neighborhood, adding another side to the multifaceted Las Vegas identity.

3. Surrounding LGBTQ City

Beyond the district, Las Vegas is a thriving metropolis, with a wonderful symphony orchestra, Whole Foods and all the amenities of urban life. It’s no wonder the local LGBTQ community thrives in Las Vegas, in part thanks to the many who moved here to work in the hotels, casinos and shows, in addition to enjoying the fabulous nightlife scene. These residents have created a vibrant community, and the city in turn has created a safe and friendly atmospher for all things LGBTQ both from the perspective of a resident and visitors. A cluster of gay bars known as The Fruit Loop sit a mile east of Mandalay Bay, but numerous popular bars and clubs dot the metro area. Here visitors can find a local guy to show you the city lights.

4. Where To Stay

Las Vegas offers a stunning array of places to stay, from boutiques to some of the world’s most luxurious and magnificent hotels and resorts. The variety is so great it can be difficult to even know where to begin to look. So think about what category you want? Lounging by the hotel pool? A great spa? View? Bar & Restaurant? Close to The Strip? Many of course have all of these advantages and much more, composing their own private oasis, but think about the kind of experience you want before you start your hunt. Online reservations are a great place to start (try LasVegas.com, which is easy to navigate and lists all the options), but it never hurts to actually call a hotel once you have picked a favorite and get even more info on everything from rates to amenities. The reservation clerks are known for their knowledge and can suggest special events for your trip and rates, such as the discounts that come along with signing up for the casino Player’s Club. They can also recommend which rooms in the hotel are considered quiet, have the best views or have been updated most recently. Downtown hotels can be less expensive than hotels on The Strip. But you may not want to go to bed any earlier than you absolutely have to: Fremont Street parties til the wee hours of the morning, and you will likely not want to miss out on the fun–or at least witness it from the comfort of your view from your luxury abode. Room service can provide the rest of the celebration.

5. What To Eat

In recent years, the hotels of The Strip have filled up with celebrity chef restaurants, and fine dining has become an extraordinary experience. Most casino hotels are host to that Las Vegas legend, the buffet, where “all you can eat” is an art form. Gayot (pronounced Guy-oh, it’s not gay) ranked the Top 10 best buffets in the Las Vegas area, and made some very good choices. Budget travelers, fret not: many hotels also have food courts, the multitudes of shopping centers have counter service eateries, and even the most upscale resorts usually have a deli tucked away in a corner hidden from view, where sandwiches can be devoured for under $10. But don’t forget Downtown: Eggslut at the Cosmopolitan, 800 Degrees as SLS Las Vegas, Beach Café at Tropicana are fantastic.

6. What To See

Going to Las Vegas and not seeing a show is like going to the beach and not sticking your toes in the water. You will remember a lot of the performances for the rest of your life. The Las Vegas stage is as important to the city’s history as are casinos, and due to the lucrative funding and scale of production, the shows here are some of the best in the world. Cirque du Soliel® alone produces eight incredible shows, each with a unique identity and style but all featuring famed acrobats and contortionists. The various Vegas pop star residencies (Britney Spears, Jennifer Lopez, Celine Dion, Ricky Martin, Elton John) to name just a recent few, are the best anywhere in the world.

To see the endless array of possibilities, check ticket options here.

Related: 10 Amazing LGBTQ Friendly Headliners To Catch In Las Vegas

Photos courtesy LasVegas.com

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Kellyanne Conway, Daft Punk, Under Armour, Stanley Bard, Chris Hemsworth, Harrison Ford: HOT LINKS

KELLYANNE CONWAY: Morning Joe bans her. “I don’t believe in fake news.”

ENEMIES LIST. Omarosa tells journalist Trump is collecting negative information on her: “Ryan also said Manigault made verbal threats, including the assertion that Ryan was among several journalists on whom Trump officials had collected “dossiers” of negative information.”

MITCH MCCONNELL. No evidence voter fraud changed outcome of election: “There’s no evidence that enough votes were stolen to change the outcome of the election.”

HIV. U.S. infection rate falls after two decades of stagnation: “The estimated annual number of new HIV infections in the United States fell 18 percent between 2008 and 2014. Stagnant at about 45,000 to 50,000 per year since the mid-1990s, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) estimate of HIV incidence fell from 45,700 to 37,600 during this recent six-year period.”

UNDER ARMOUR. CEO Kevin Plank prints full page in Baltimore Sun walking back comments praising Trump but doesn’t mention Trump’s name.

Under Armour CEO Kevin Plank prints full-page ad in today’s Baltimore Sun to clarify POTUS comments; doesn’t mention Trump by name pic.twitter.com/TWk40PydRg

— Sara Germano (@germanotes) February 15, 2017

RIP. Chelsea Hotel proprietor Stanley Bard: “During Bard’s tenure, the hotel not only housed, at one time or another, scores of rock stars (Patti Smith, Madonna, Iggy Pop, Bette Midler, Jimi Hendrix, Joni Mitchell, among many others) and actors (Uma Thurman, Michael Imperioli, Jane Fonda, Edie Sedgwick), but itself became a presence in film and on TV. Mainstream America probably first saw its interiors when Lance Loud lived there during the early-’70s filming of PBS’s landmark An American Family, while more specialized audiences knew it from, among others, Andy Warhol’s underground films, 1996’s Party Monster: The Shockumentary, Hawke’s 2001 Chelsea Walls and Abel Ferrara’s 2008 doc Chelsea on the Rocks.”

CLOSE CALL. Harrison Ford pilots plane over the top of a 737 carrying 116 passengers. “Was that airliner meant to be underneath me?”

DAVID BARTON GYM. Under fire for stiffing prepaid members.

INDIA. New Delhi restaurant under fire for turning away gay couples.

HB2. Jason Collins proud of NBA for moving All-Star Game from North Carolina.

KEY WEST. City to outlaw gay conversion therapy for minors: “The LGBTQ youth are born perfect and they all deserve to grow up knowing they are celebrated and valued for exactly who they are,” Weekley said Wednesday before the commission voted 6-0 on the proposed law’s first of two required readings. “We don’t know what tomorrow’s going to bring,” Weekley said. “It’s the moral and ethical correct thing to do.”

THOR. Would you put up with Chris Hemsworth as your roommate? I think yes.

NYC. Trump-Putin mural projected on building.

Where Brooklyn at? #LOVETHROUGHHATE pic.twitter.com/SFQuFPROLe

— Hater (@LoveThroughHate) February 15, 2017

BATH SALTS? Naked man bites another man at NBC News Washington bureau.

THEATER. Torch Song Trilogy to get fall revival starring Michael Urie: “Torch Song Trilogy opened on Broadway at the Little Theatre (now the Helen Hayes Theatre, which is owned by Second Stage and is being upgraded and refurbished) on June 10, 1982. It won Tony Awards for Best Play and Best Actor in a Play (Fierstein) and ran 1,222 performances. It also was turned into a 1988 film, starring Fierstein, Matthew Broderick and Anne Bancroft, directed by Paul Bogart. Prior to Broadway, the show ran off-Broadway at the Richard Allen Center, produced by the Glines, and also at La Mama and the Actor’s Playhouse.”

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE. Google DeepMind AI system opts for “highly aggressive” strategies to ensure that it comes out on top.

FLYNNED. Was Pence in or out of the loop?

INSTAGRAM UPDATE. Trevor Donovan, Jeremiah Brent, Lenny Kravitz, Tom Daley, and more.

DIFFERENT FROM THE OTHERS. The tragic lessons of cinema’s first gay love story: “Their alliance, a perfect meeting of passion and pedagogy, seems indivisibly strong—but, by the end of the film, we have learned otherwise, owing to the self-hatred and cruelty that homosexual love can inspire, even in Weimar Berlin.”

DAFT PUNK. Inside their L.A. pop-up shop.

MUSIC VIDEO OF THE DAY. Erika Jayne “Xxpen$ive”.

HUMP DAY HOTTIE. Erwin Castro.

The post Kellyanne Conway, Daft Punk, Under Armour, Stanley Bard, Chris Hemsworth, Harrison Ford: HOT LINKS appeared first on Towleroad.

Kellyanne Conway, Daft Punk, Under Armour, Stanley Bard, Chris Hemsworth, Harrison Ford: HOT LINKS

Celebrate Black History Month with these LGBTQ-inclusive films and documentaries streaming now

www.glaad.org/blog/celebrate-black-history-month-these-lgbtq-inclusive-films-and-documentaries-streaming-now

WATCH: The first full trailer of Ryan Murphy’s ‘Feud’ is a real bitch

They taunted us with the opening sequence last week. Now, the puppet-masters behind FEUD: Bette and Joan are gracing us with the first full trailer for Ryan Murphy’s upcoming FX series, which premieres March 5.

Related: WATCH: New trailer for Ryan Murphy’s ‘Feud’ has lots of hidden clues

Starring Jessica Lange as Joan Crawford and Susan Sarandon as Bette Davis, the series focuses on the filming of What Ever Happened To Baby Jane? and features everything you can imagine: the scheming moguls, the catlike machinations, the backbiting and backstabbing, the fading glamour, the rancor, the…

And the…

Not to mention the…

And lest we forget, the…

Watch the full trailer here:

www.queerty.com/watch-first-full-trailer-ryan-murphys-feud-real-bitch-20170215?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+queerty2+%28Queerty%29

20 House Dems: Flynn Needs to Testify Before House Foreign Affairs Committee

Twenty House Democrats led by Rep. David Cicilline have called for the House Committee on Foreign Affairs to investigate National Security Advisor Michael Flynn’s affairs with Russia in a letter to Chairman Ed Royce.

Read the letter HERE.

The Hill reports:

“We believe General Flynn must appear before the Committee, under oath as soon as possible,” they wrote Tuesday in a letter released Wednesday.

“General Flynn’s resignation leaves many unanswered questions about his and President Trump’s ties to Russia and whether America’s national security and intelligence operations have been compromised,” they added.

“Our country’s national security, independence, and democratic institutions are at stake. As the body within the House with jurisdiction over U.S. foreign policy, we would be negligent if we left the questions about this incident unanswered.”

Wednesday’s letter was signed by Democratic Reps. David Cicilline (R.I.), Brad Sherman (Calif.), Gregory Meeks (N.Y.), Albio Sires (N.J.), Gerald Connolly (Va.), Theodore Deutch (Fla.), Karen Bass (Calif.), William Keating (Mass.), Ami Bera (Calif.), Lois Frankel (Fla.), Joaquin Castro (Texas), Robin Kelly (Ill.), Brendan Boyle (Pa.), Dina Titus (Nev.), Norma Torres (Calif.), Thomas Suozzi (N.Y.), Adriano Espaillat (N.Y.), Ted Lieu (Calif.), Bradley Schneider (Ill.) and Tulsi Gabbard(Hawaii).

Meanwhile Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.) has launched a working group to review how Trump can be removed from office via the 25th Amendment:

“Like many people, I’ve noticed renewed interest in the 25th Amendment, as we’ve seen erratic behavior out of the White House and inability of Donald Trump to even tell whether it rained on him during his inaugural speech and repeating false statements that are demonstrably wrong,” Blumenauer said in a House floor speech.

The 25th Amendment, established 50 years ago after President Kennedy’s assassination, states that the vice president assumes the Oval Office in the event that the president is removed from office, resigns or dies.

It stipulates that the vice president and a majority of Cabinet officers may declare the president unfit to serve. The vice president would then take over as president.

If a president refuses to step down from office, two-thirds of both the House and Senate must then agree in order to force the president out.

Blumenauer was skeptical, however, that the procedure would work in cases of mental or emotional incapacity, especially in the modern, highly polarized political environment.

The post 20 House Dems: Flynn Needs to Testify Before House Foreign Affairs Committee appeared first on Towleroad.

20 House Dems: Flynn Needs to Testify Before House Foreign Affairs Committee

Queer Appalachia Says Y'all = All (Photos)

www.advocate.com/photography/2017/2/15/queer-appalachia-says-yall-all-photos

PHOTOS: Is the former White House photographer for Obama totally trolling Donald Trump?

On Inauguration Day 2017, the former chief official White House photographer, Pete Souza, deleted his old Instagram account and began a new one charting The Way We Live Now.

Related: Moby claims to have highly sensitive info on Trump, and he just let it all out on Facebook

And, as New York Magazine notes, Souza appears to be doing so in a particularly sly manner that’s probably all but lost on the current administration.

So far, this new account is focused on posting old photos from the Obama years that stand in marked contrast to the trajectory of current events in 2017.

Related: Kellyanne’s latest humiliating interview will almost make you feel bad for her. Almost.

As you’ll see below, most of the photos feature Obama paired up with the same world leaders Trump is busy meeting, albeit without all the conspicuous eye-rolls and vividly awkward handshakes.

Here are some highlights.

White House light switches; a casual primer. Trump’s staff was reportedly baffled by those darn switches, holding meetings in dark rooms: 

Those damn lights 😉

A post shared by Pete Souza (@petesouza) on Feb 6, 2017 at 7:33am PST

A not-so-subtle statement on the lack of women in Trump’s top administration roles: 

Meeting with top advisors. This is a full-frame picture. I guess you’d say I was trying to make a point.

A post shared by Pete Souza (@petesouza) on Feb 6, 2017 at 9:29am PST

Compare and contrast to Trump signing an anti-abortion order surrounded by men:

Prime Minister Abe Shinzo meets with Obama without rolling his eyes: 

With Prime Minister Abe after visiting Pearl Harbor last December.

A post shared by Pete Souza (@petesouza) on Feb 11, 2017 at 5:38am PST

Compare and contrast:

Prime Minister Trudeau comes to the White House and things aren’t awkward:

Allies.

A post shared by Pete Souza (@petesouza) on Feb 13, 2017 at 12:50pm PST

Compare and contrast:

Obama discussing national security in a makeshift tent specifically constructed to discuss sensitive information: 

When we were on the road, national security discussions and head of state phone calls were conducted in a private, secure location set up onsite. Everyone had to leave their Blackberry outside the area. In this photo, which was taken in March 2011 and subsequently released, the President holds a discussion in El Salvador following a conference call with his full national security team.

A post shared by Pete Souza (@petesouza) on Feb 13, 2017 at 1:39pm PST

Compare and contrast to this recent scene at Mar-a-Lago:

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