Greg Louganis, living with HIV since 1988, offers Charlie Sheen advice and support

This week, actor Charlie Sheen became one of the most famous persons in America living with HIV.

Olympic diving legend Greg Louganis has been doing it for 27 years.

The winner of four Olympic gold medals in diving went public with his HIV status in 1995 upon the release of his autobiography Breaking the Surface. He watched this week as Sheen went public with his status during an interview on The Today Show Tuesday (17 November).

‘This is such a wonderful, teachable moment because we have gotten complacent about HIV-AIDS,’ the 55-year-old Louganis tells Entertainment Tonight.

The HIV-AIDS activist and actor is still involved in US diving as a mentor and says he would love to sit down with Sheen soon.

‘I’m most concerned for him because I suffered from depression and was treated for it,’ he says. ‘Those are issues that can really inhibit your health and well-being. You realize, “Ypu know what? This is just a part of my life and as long as I take care of myself then I can be here for a long time.’

At the time Louganis was diagnosed in 1988, the disease was an almost certain death sentence and it would be eight more years before life-saving drugs became available to the public. Louganis kept his diagnosis secret and went on to compete in his third Olympics coming away with his third and fourth gold medals.

Louganis, who had suffered from depression even before his diagnosis, now uses yoga and meditation to stave off the darkness and has been off of psychiatric medications for 15 years now.

If he does meet with Sheen, Louganis says the first thing he would do is give him a hug and say that ‘I’m here.’

The post Greg Louganis, living with HIV since 1988, offers Charlie Sheen advice and support appeared first on Gay Star News.

Greg Hernandez

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Tucson Names Openly Gay Police Chief

Earlier this week, Tucson, Arizona, announced the city’s new police chief, Christopher Magnus, who is openly gay.
HRC.org

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Ellen’s Blond Gardener Billy Reilich Is Now A Dark Brown Bodybuilding Hulk

We’ve had our eyes on Billy Reilich for some time now. He first came to our attention as Ellen DeGeneres’ frequently-shirtless gardener on her daytime show. She helped him land a blink-and-you-miss-it cameo in the Magic Mike sequel. Of course, as a rite of passage these days, there were also leaked nude selfies. But lately we’ve noticed something very unusual about the mild-mannered young man. He’s slowly evolved into an incredible self-tanned, body-building hulk. Please don’t make him angry!

Scroll down to see Billy’s evolution.

You guys should watch Ellen every day, but today and tomorrow you might see a familiar face if you time in at 4 ? #IcookIclean #ITrimTheHedges

A photo posted by Billy Reilich (@billreilich) on Sep 9, 2014 at 8:24am PDT

Love is in the air!!! Who is going to be my Valentine today?? A photo posted by Billy Reilich (@billreilich) on Feb 14, 2014 at 5:15am PST

Just the bare essentials, no flashes, no makeup, just sunlight and a backdrop. (Black and white for a little effect haha) but I love this photo so much!!

A photo posted by Billy Reilich (@billreilich) on Feb 23, 2014 at 5:21pm PST

Is it getting hot out here? Or is it just me?? Love this photo! Thank you to the wonderful, amazing, talented woman that shot this! So excited to get some summer pics in the next few months! A photo posted by Billy Reilich (@billreilich) on Apr 5, 2014 at 11:31am PDT

On my Bruce Banner flow, “you wouldn’t like me when I’m HUNGRY” #hulk #smash #ifbb #npc #crab

A photo posted by Billy Reilich (@billreilich) on Apr 8, 2014 at 5:55pm PDT

They say “curls get the girls”, but let’s face it, nothing turns heads like a Marine! I wish I had the strength and dedication to become a Marine, but for the time being, I’m just a big supporter! A photo posted by Billy Reilich (@billreilich) on Jun 4, 2014 at 6:42pm PDT

#tbt to 3 years ago. The skinniest I’ve ever been (6’2, 220 in this pic) I’ve never craved a Bill’s Donut so much!

A photo posted by Billy Reilich (@billreilich) on Sep 4, 2014 at 4:34pm PDT

Someone told me I HAVE to be on steroids because of my muscle definition. My response: “thank you, I work my tail off for what I have” (ps still steroid free) photo cred- Vic Bena @powerhouse A photo posted by Billy Reilich (@billreilich) on Mar 4, 2015 at 4:22pm PST

First off, I understand mirror selfies are taboo. But I had to make it known that my roommate has the best bathroom lighting on the face of the earth

A photo posted by Billy Reilich (@billreilich) on Aug 20, 2015 at 7:09pm PDT

Smiling on the inside, I promise. Training at Gold’s in SoCal makes me happy A photo posted by Billy Reilich (@billreilich) on Sep 1, 2015 at 1:27pm PDT 

Worked on posing with my lifting buddies today! Sorry for not posting on here as often as usual, promise cool things to come soon! A photo posted by Billy Reilich (@billreilich) on Nov 4, 2015 at 4:59pm PST

So I got a spray tan today…. ??

A photo posted by Billy Reilich (@billreilich) on Nov 14, 2015 at 12:39pm PST

I’ve been training with my buddy Bob (@bddesignssocal ) for a few months now. Tonight we both competed in our first physique shows. Bob (51 years old) competed in the 40+ class and took 5th! I competed in the 6 foot and up, Open Class and took 1st! This is a day that will not soon be forgotten! (Yes the tans look ridiculous, they look better under the bright lights though) A photo posted by Billy Reilich (@billreilich) on Nov 14, 2015 at 7:35pm PST

Here’s a shot from the competition I did over the weekend! Such a fun time being out on stage!

A photo posted by Billy Reilich (@billreilich) on Nov 17, 2015 at 12:02pm PST

Jeremy Kinser

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Adele Delivers Stirring Tribute to Paris with Performance of ‘Hometown Glory’ – WATCH

Performing at New York City’s Radio City Musical Hall last night, Adele delivered a special performance of her song “Hometown Glory” dedicated to the city of Paris and those who lost their lives in Friday night’s terrorist attacks.

As Adele began her performance of the song from her debut album 19, images were projected behind her showing a view outside an airplane window of clouds covering the earth below. Clouds soon gave way to an aerial view of the Eiffel Tower and the beautiful sights of Paris.

The crowd cheered when the Eiffel Tower came into focus and again when Adele sang the lyrics “Shows that we ain’t gonna take it. Shows that we ain’t gonna stand sh[*]t. Shows that we are united.”

The projections were lit up with the French tricolor.

Adele’s famous video for her song “Someone Like You” was shot on the streets of Paris.

Watch Adele’s moving tribute to the city of light, below:

The post Adele Delivers Stirring Tribute to Paris with Performance of ‘Hometown Glory’ – WATCH appeared first on Towleroad.

Sean Mandell

Adele Delivers Stirring Tribute to Paris with Performance of ‘Hometown Glory’ – WATCH

Words Of Wisdom From Mr. Rogers For All Of Us After The Paris Tragedy

It’s in times of great catastrophe and heartbreak that we need our friends the most. So in the wake of the attacks on Paris and violence in many other parts of the world, we’re turning to our favorite neighbor, Mr. Fred Rogers, for a bit of advice. 

“My mother used to say, a long time ago, whenever there would be any… catastrophe that was in the movies or on the air, she would say, ‘Always look for the helpers. There will always be helpers. Even just on the sidelines,'” Rogers said in an interview with the Archive of American Television. “Because if you look for the helpers, you’ll know that there’s hope.”

Rogers’ timeless words were meant to help parents who are struggling to explain tragic events to their children. But they’ve also been a source of comfort for adults, often resurfacing on social media during atrocities, such as the Boston Marathon bombing, as a reminder that there will always be good people in the world who are willing to risk their own lives to help.  

The “helpers” weren’t hard to find in Paris — from the man who pulled a pregnant woman to safety, to the concertgoers and restaurant workers who dragged injured victims away from the scene. Daniel Psenny, the LeMonde journalist who captured the dramatic footage of people fleeing the Bataclan, eventually turned off his camera and rushed outside to help. He was shot in the arm, but managed to pull a victim inside his building. 

Another journalist, Sylvain Lapoix, created a hashtag that told stranded Parisians where they could find safe lodging. 

And in the days after the attack, we saw Parisians waiting in long lines to donate blood. Others rallied to express their support for French Muslims, who still fear an uptick in misguided, anti-Muslim acts.

According to Yale psychologist David Rand, the altruistic instinct that emerges in times of tragedy may actually be built into human nature. In lab experiments, he found that the less time people had to think, the more they were willing to be kind and generous.

“When forced to make rapid, intuitive decisions, we tend to act the most selflessly,” he told the BBC. “Our default is to cooperate.”

Check out the video for Mr. Rogers’ words of wisdom on how to find hope in the middle of tragedy.

Also on HuffPost:

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#AM_Equality Tip Sheet: November 18, 2015

HRC Releases First International CEI; LGBT Equality Caucus Announces Bipartisan Trans Equality Task Force; Indiana Republicans Propose LGBT Protections Bill With Religious Carve Outs; And more.
HRC.org

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The Hidden History of Gay Purges at Colleges

For many people, graduating high school and going away to college presents a first opportunity to come out in a nurturing environment, but there is a largely unknown history of being gay on college campuses that mirrors America’s mistreatment of LGBTQ people over the decades.

Related: College Guy Realizes His Best Friend Might Be His Boyfriend In The Most Adorable Way Possible

A new research paper sheds light on a particularly bad time to be queer on campus — in the 1940s, when schools purged students and faculty they believed to be gay.

The paper, titled An Indelible Mark”: Gay Purges in Higher Education in the 1940s, details incidents at the University of Texas, the University of Wisconsin and the University of Missouri, where students and teachers’ personal lives were turned upside-down for suspected “homosexual activity.”

At two of the schools — Wisconsin and Missouri — special committees were formed to track expelled people’s future endeavors to ensure they didn’t find success elsewhere.

Related: You’ve Heard Of Stonewall, But How About These Four Other LGBT National Landmarks?

“In LGBT history, very little attention is paid to anything before the Stonewall riots in 1969,” said Margaret Nash, an associate professor at UC Riverside’s Graduate School of Education and a co-author of the paper. “When people do take note they say, ‘Oh, that’s part of McCarthyism.’ But, in these cases, it wasn’t. These cases preceded McCarthyism. Who knew?”

Below are some details about the three cases the paper focuses on. (The authors used pseudonyms for some people named in the paper to protect their privacy and the privacy of their families.)

In 1944, the Texas Regents dismissed University of Texas President Homer Rainey. Rainey had previously been the subject of controversy for opposing to fire faculty for their political views and opposing to censor literature. To further bolster the case against him, the Regents contended he had not taken swift or severe enough action against gays on campus.

In 1948, four University of Wisconsin students pleaded guilty to engaging in homosexual activities and were given one year’s probation and a warning from the judge that they had caused an “indelible mark” to be placed against them. Two years later, one of those students, “Keith Pritchett,” who was about to graduate at the time he was given probation, asked the university to grant his degree. The World War II veteran expected to be called back to active duty because of the Korean conflict and wanted the degree so he could be promoted. Despite positive recommendations from military officials, the university denied his request.

Also in 1948, a tenured journalism professor who had worked at the University of Missouri for 24 years was dismissed for being the principal leader of a purported ring that was said to include homosexual students, faculty and community members. “Richard Jackson,” a student at the university, was one of the students administrators said was part of the homosexual ring. A group called the Committee on Discipline expelled Jackson in 1949 despite clearly saying they did not have any solid evidence that Jackson was homosexual or had engaged in homosexual acts. Instead, they said Jackson’s unacceptable actions were that “he associated frequently if not exclusively with homosexuals and persons believed to be homosexuals, and attended their ‘gay’ parties.”

Nash plans to take the research further by examining purges in more recent years, and how the universities’ antigay policies informed one another.

Dan Tracer

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This Sailor Moon-Inspired Music Video Is Totally Not Gay: WATCH

Italian musician Paolo Tuci has created his own take on the theme song from the popular manga series Sailor Moon.

In a new video titled “Sailor Moon e il Cristallo Del Cuore,” Tuci plays the role of Sailor Moon while three other shirtless hunks play the roles of Mercury, Venus, Mars and Jupiter. However, the video begins with an ominous warning that reads: “Warning: This Is Not A Gay Video.”

That’s ironic, right? Seriously,“Sailor Moon e il Cristallo Del Cuore” is a gender-switched, shirtless man-candy filled, bedazzled neon dance celebration of Sailor Moon’s theme song mashed up with Madonna’s “La Isla Bonita” that includes an almost-make-out-session between a mustachioed man and a masked man after a gay tango.

RELATED: Sailor Moon Reboot Returns With LGBT Storylines Intact: VIDEO

Totally not gay.

Watch below:

[h/t Kotaku]

The post This Sailor Moon-Inspired Music Video Is Totally Not Gay: WATCH appeared first on Towleroad.

Sean Mandell

This Sailor Moon-Inspired Music Video Is Totally Not Gay: WATCH