Jakk Fynn, Impeachment, Narwhal, Dolly Parton, ‘Friends’ Reunion, Greta Thunberg, Niall Horan: HOT LINKS
IMPEACHMENT HEARINGS. Opening statements from Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) (read it) and Rep. Devin Nunes R-CA), deputy assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian affairs George Kent, top U.S. diplomat to Ukraine Bill Taylor.
MICK MULVANEY. Trump aides begging president not to fire him during impeachment hearings: “Senior advisers have cautioned Trump that removing Mulvaney at such a sensitive time could be perilous, the people said — both because Mulvaney played an integral role in the decision to freeze the aid, and because of the disruption that would be caused by replacing one of Trump’s most senior aides.”
NARWHAL. Adorable puppy with extra tail on its face goes viral.
FRIENDS. Reunion special in the works: “Talks are currently underway for an unscripted reunion special that would feature Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, Matthew Perry and David Schwimmer, as well as series creators David Crane and Marta Kauffman. Sources caution that a deal is far from done and agreements with cast and creatives still need to be hammered out.”
MATTHEW SHEPARD. Washington National Cathedral to get plaque marking his remains: “Soon after last year’s ceremony, cathedral representative Kevin Eckstrom said it became very apparent that Matthew was one of the most important of the 200 people buried in the cathedral, in addition to Hellen Keller and former President Woodrow Wilson. He said visitors came from across the country wanting to pay respects, leave flowers and letters, and light a candle. In conjunction with the foundation, the church raised $30,000 for a permanent marker at the burial site through GoFundMe.”
GRETA THUNBERG. The young climate activist has found her ride to Europe: “Greta Thunberg will hitch a ride with two Australian sailing YouTubers on her low-emissions voyage from America to the UN climate change conference in Madrid. The 16-year-old Swedish climate activist had initially been stranded in the United States after the location of the conference was abruptly changed from Chile to Spain at the last minute.”
GAY GAMES. Organizers committed to 2022 event in Hong Kong despite unrest: ‘A joint statement from the FGG and the Hong Kong organisers said they recognised that troubles in Hong Kong continue, but asserted the Games would be a “spectacular sports and cultural event that will kickstart and foster LGBTQ+ connections among our communities in the city and region”.
MUSIC VIDEO OF THE DAY. Jakk Fynn “Fire”. Jakk describes the video as “an artistic statement on how society imposes gender constructs and sexual identities on its members, but this motif is applicable to all marginalized groups.” He adds, “It is a post-apocalyptic assembly line with an unknown force assigning rigid identities to its inhabitants. The repercussion is a lack of individuality and a colorless society.”
COVER OF THE DAY. Niall Horan covers Post Malone’s “Circles” (and “Pumped Up Kicks”).
VIRAL VIDEO OF THE DAY. Bachelor contestant dragged because she can’t pronounce gnocchi.
TRAILER OF THE DAY. Dolly Parton Heartstrings.
HUMP DAY HOTTIE. Fuentes by Pedro Pereira for Made in Brazil’s Sambazine.
South Korean LGBTQ Activists Demand Marriage Rights and More
A coalition of advocates presented a human rights body with a petition bearing 1,000 names calling for relationship recognition and other moves toward equality.
American tourist arrested after going on crazy homophobic rant in the streets of Thailand
An American tourist was caught on tape having a homophobic meltdown outside of a restaurant in Thailand.
Daniel Franckowiak, a plumber and electrician from Bismark, North Dakota, was filmed yelling racist and homophobic slurs and making death threats in front of a crowd of onlookers.
The rant happened earlier this week outside of a restaurant in Chiang Mai. According to witnesses, the outburst was completely unprovoked.
“I kill people, I rape children, I kill f*ggots!” 46-year-old Franckowiak can be seen shouting in the video. “I’m real! I’ll f*cking kill and rape you, too!” He then goes on to call a woman a “coward ch*nk bitch” and tells another man his skin looks like “the ass of a f*cking cow.”
“I don’t drink,” he raged. “You know why I drink? To f*ck you kooks up. I don’t drink to be happy. I drink to destroy you! You’re going to get destroyed!”
Eventually police arrive at the scene. As he was being arrested, Franckowiak screamed, “Put me on YouTube and make me famous!”
Soooo that’s what they did.
The video was uploaded to YouTube earlier this week, where it was shared and re-shared and re-shared over and over again, as well as reported on by several online media outlets.
Franckowiak was eventually released from police custody after being charged with criminal damage for breaking the window of a business. He is scheduled to appear in court next month.
Laughter Erupts as Peter Welch Drops Mic on Trump Ally Jim Jordan in Impeachment Hearing: WATCH
Rep. Jim Jordan appeared self-satisfied after delivering a lengthy rant complaining about the fact that the Ukraine whistleblower, who is protected under federal law, wouldn’t be testifying at the impeachment hearings, but his ass was handed to him by Rep. Peter Welch (D-VT).
Whined Jordan: “There’s one witness, one witness that they won’t bring in front of us, they won’t bring in front of the American people, and that’s the guy who started it all, the whistleblower.”
Replied Jordan to cackling from the audience: “I say to my colleague, I would be glad to have the person who started it all come in and testify. President Trump is welcome to take a seat right there.”