DOJ Fights Marriage Ban
According to recent comments by Attorney General, Eric Holder, the DOJ plans to urge SCOTUS to uphold a lower court ruling that keeps states from banning game sex marriage. This all stems from what’s been happening in Utah…attempts to keep the bans on same sex marriage in place.
Last month, a federal appeals court ruled that a state ban on gay marriage, approved by Utah voters in 2004, was unconstitutional, finding that states cannot keep two people from marrying simply because they are of the same sex.
Now the state of Utah is asking the Supreme Court to weigh in, as several other federal appeals courts across the nation consider similar cases that could make their way to the Supreme Court.
If SCOTUS takes these cases the DOJ will actively support same sex marriage.
Gay Torso Pics
There’s a documentary by Tim Marshall called, Torso. It is focused on the dynamics behind gay online dating through how gay men reveal themselves with photos of their torsos. It goes much deeper, though. Marshall will also get into breaking body image stereotypes.
TORSO” started in Sydney, Australia in 2013 and continued shooting throughout 2014 in Reykjavik, Iceland and, recently, Los Angeles. The Sydney series is available for viewing online and the Los Angeles series will premiere as an interactive installation in July as part of Outfest Los Angeles.
There is a full interview with Marshall about the project here. One of the things I found interesting is how he went from being a snob about online connections to understanding how so many men these days actually form lasting online relationships and life long friendships. It’s significant simply because so many who don’t understand the Internet are always so quick to judge online friendships, and discard them as if they mean nothing. Those of us who have been working online for years now understand how important online connections can be.
This was interesting, too.
I was pleasantly surprised by the honesty of the individuals I interviewed. People were willing to be so candid with me about their experiences. I think the anonymity of the project helped with this.
Amazon’s Transparent
For those who don’t know, Amazon has been creating streaming TV. One of the pilots that they claim stands out the most is a show called Transparent. It’s created, directed, and written by Jim Soloway who did Six Feet Under (one of my all time favorite TV shows.)
I thought this was interesting.
Soloway wants to subvert the Disney trope of a parent dying.
The death of a parent is a big theme in Disney movies, but Soloway’s idea for “Transparent” was driven from her desire to subvert this with a new concept: the birth of a new parent. “The idea of replacing a wounded father by blossoming femininity would be an interesting source of comedy,” Soloway said.
In this case, the parent is transgender…hence the title. Wiki…
Transparent is an American comedy-drama web video series created by Amazon Studios that debuted on February 6, 2014.[1] The series was created and directed by Jill Soloway. The story revolves around a Los Angeles family and their lives following the discovery that their father (Jeffrey Tambor) is transgender.[2] It was picked for a full season by Amazon Studios on March 12, 2014.[3]
There’s more here. We’re going to seriously have to rethink how we are watching TV now…Tony and I. This one looks interesting.
Small Town Romance Writer
by Ryan Field
