Adam Sandler
Afrojack
Angela Cartwright
Constance Marie
Damien McGinty
Dave Stewart
Eric Stonestreet
Goran Visnjic
Haley Reinhart
Henry Thomas
Hugh Grant
Hunter Hayes
Julia Sawalha
Julie Gonzalo
Michael Buble
Michelle Williams
Rachel Hunter
Sylvia Miles
Tom Wopat
Topol
Yung Berg

The post September 9: It’s YOUR Birthday, Bitch! appeared first on World of Wonder.

September 9, 1949– On a winter evening in 1976, millions of people watched John Curry skate to Olympic glory. Overnight he became one of the most famous men on our pretty planet & he changed ice skating from negligible sport to high art.

The Husband & I have been fans of figure skating on TV for decades. We have our favorites, & we also get chuckles watching skating’s insular world, with all of its rules, regulations, costumes, & the denial that there is anything intrinsically gay about figure skating.

We enjoy a good game of inventing names for the various positions & moves: The Double Nipple Of The Party Boy, The Death Spiral Camel Toe, The Triple Axle Rose, The Fruit Loop-Lose Your Cherry Flip, Kiss The Nun, & the Hair Bending Junior Swish Swizzle. Whenever I have put on a pair of skates & hit the ice, I look like a newborn fawn standing up for the very first time.

We were admirers of good-looking, charismatic John Curry, an elegant British Olympic Champion who infused figure skating with the possibilities of dance. As an athlete, Curry was visionary, defining his sport with balletic sophistication. He became one of the first athletes to speak openly of being Gay & HIV Positive.

Dick Button, the Men’s Olympic Champion in 1948 & 1952:

“Curry was the finest & most intelligent all-around skater I’ve ever seen. He skated with a combination of superior athleticism, solid technique, classical line & musical sensitivity. He was choreographically inventive.”

Curry was born in 1949, in Birmingham, England. He wanted to become a ballet dancer, but was forbidden by his abusive, alcoholic father. He turned to the expressiveness of skating, which came close to being dance.

By 1970, he had become the British National Champion. Curry found the training facilities inadequate in England, & in 1973 he moved to Colorado to train with Carlo Fassi who had coached Peggy Fleming, 1968 Olympic champion.

At the 1976 Winter Olympics in Innsbruck, Curry faced tough competition from Vladimir Kovalev of the USSR, Canadian Toller Cranston , & skepticism from the Eastern Bloc judges who preferred athleticism over artistry.

In the short program, Curry removed a planned spread-eagle flourish from his approach to a double-axel jump. The East European judges apparently appreciated that he did not embellish on what was required. In the long program, Curry balanced his refined style with vaulting jumps to receive higher marks than Kovalev, the silver medalist, from 8 of the 9 judges.

Peggy Fleming:

“I think he brought the purest form of ballet to the ice. He was a real purist, totally devoted to the art of skating. He also had the technique & athleticism to make that art look effortless. It was a wonderful blend of art & sport.”

Just hours after receiving his 1976 Olympic gold medal, Curry inadvertently disclosed his gayness to a reporter, thinking he was speaking off the record:

“I just accept being gay as the way I am. I don’t think of it as being bad or wrong or to do with any form of illness. I never pretended not to be gay, ever. I think the more open people are, the easier it gets for everybody else because it demystifies it. I don’t want others to be frightened like I was”

After the Olympic Games, no longer bound by amateur rules, the professional Curry continued to explore different forms of skating, bringing his acclaimed Ice Dancing show to Broadway in 1977-78 & later touring with his own John Curry Skating Company. He did not go for glitzy Ice Capades shows. Curry:

“I never could see the point of spending 12 years training to go dress up in a Bugs Bunny suit. I was brought up on the Royal Ballet, & I hope it shows in my work.”

Curry directed a 1980 West End revival of the Lerner & Loewe musical chestnut Brigadoon & found work as an actor, appearing in the Roundabout Theatre’s 1989 revival of Privates On Parade, Peter Nichols‘ 1977 farce about a fictional, mostly gay, WW2 military entertainment group.

Alan Bates had seen Curry on stage & became a big fan. A married father of teenage twin boys, the actor was at the height of his own fame. He was famous for that notorious hot scene in Ken Russell‘s film Women In Love (1969) where wrestles naked with Oliver Reed. Secretly, Bates had enjoyed many liaisons with other men for decades. Curry was just one. But, for almost 20 years they shared an intense & intriguing romance.

In 1987, Curry was diagnosed with HIV. He later stated that he felt “ashamed” for having contracted an STD. His first lover, skating coach Heinz Wirz claims Curry sought extreme, sometimes violent sexual experiences, but his affair with Bates seems to have been tender & genuine.

During a 1993 vacation, Curry confided in Bates that he never wanted to have a long life, to grow old. What mattered to him was a life lived well in the present & to have mattered. He told Bates that he was ashamed of being broke & was afraid that he had accomplished little during his life.

On a spring day in 1994, Curry left this world while in the arms of Bates. He was 44 years old. Curry’s athleticism & aesthetic grace had thrilled audiences. He transformed skating into a dazzling art.

The post #BornThisDay: Figure Skater, John Curry appeared first on World of Wonder.

Prepare to be amazed! Back by popular demand, the gleaming beauty that is the Guinness World Record breaking earth’s “Largest Disco Ball” will take pride of place at the UK’s Bestival’s Summer of Love this coming weekend on the Isle of Wight.

Standing a magnificent three storeys high at 10.33 metres and covered in two and half thousand mirrored tiles, Disco Ball (modelled here by reformed popster Nile Rodgers) is world renowned and truly a sight to behold.

Not content with big balls, Bestival 2015 is set to break the world record for the “Largest Number of Buskers in One Place”. Because naturally this is the one record any decent festival would want right? WOW Report is going to be there with our harmonica and tambourine to cheer them on.

If that wasn’t enough, which it really is, Duran Duran and The Jacksons are dusting off their cobwebs to join Missy Elliott getting her freak on and electronic gurus Chemical Brothers.

If dressing camp and camping is your thing be sure to find out more from Bestival.

The post World Record Breaking Mirrorball Returns to Bestival appeared first on World of Wonder.

Stephen Colbert delivered on his first show out of the gate. He got George Clooney to admit he is a mere trophy husband as he made his big debut.

Colbert said:

“What is it like to be the arm candy in a relationship, because she’s the very serious person? She must say like, ‘We’re going to meet extremely intelligent people tonight – these are not show folk. Just be shiny and pretty.'”

George admitted;

“That’s mostly what I do.”

Colbert began his tenure as host of the CBS Late Show last night with a tribute to his predecessor, David Letterman, had a brief conversation with new rival Jimmy Fallon and a surprise cameo from Comedy Central buddy Jon Stewart. Clooney, who several months ago handcuffed himself to Letterman in a joking attempt to get him to stay, was given a Tiffany paperweight engraved with “I don’t know you” as a wedding present.

Colbert talked with POTUS candidate Jeb Bush about how to restore civility to politics. At one point, Bush said,

“I don’t think Barack Obama has bad motives. I just think he’s wrong on a lot of issues.”

Colbert kidded him saying;

“Oh, you were so close to getting them to clap! You were THIS CLOSE!!”

The guest list for Colbert’s first week shows that he plans to go beyond the typical show biz talking heads of some talk shows. Vice President Joe Biden will visit Thursday and the CEOs of Tesla Motors and Uber also will make appearances. Comic Amy Schumer, actress Scarlett Johansson and author Stephen King also are on the schedule.

(via CBS News)

The post #LateShow: Clooney Is Colbert’s First Guest, Admitting He’s a Trophy Husband; “That’s Mostly What I Do” appeared first on World of Wonder.

THE LEGENDARY Lauren Foster was one of the first trans women featured in a 5-page spread for Vogue Mexico, as well as the first transgender cast member on The Real Housewives of Miami. Now she’s putting her fame name on a new project, her own website Just Another Girl– providing info for the trans community, including legal advice, medical referrals, beauty tips, and spiritual guidance with help from her close friend and mentor, New York Times best-selling author Marianne Williamson.

“She had the courage to take on this challenge when it was exceedingly rare; if  anybody knows the ropes, she does. There are a lot of life issues  that will be easier for people because her site exists.”

Herndon Graddick, President of GLAAD says;

“Before most people had even heard of the transgender community, there was Lauren in the pages of Vogue, already reshaping what it means to be a beautiful woman. Lauren Foster continues to be a remarkable trailblazer on the path to equality and I am humbled and honored to call her my friend.”

Check out Lauren’s site and a snippet from her forthcoming memoir, also called Just Another Girl, HERE!

The post #MakingHerstory: Trans Activist Lauren Foster Launches “Just Another Girl” appeared first on World of Wonder.

George Boateng has said that he would have all gay people killed by firing squad if he’s elected. The Ghanaian presidential hopeful has already delivered some frighteningly brutal homophobic promises to the people of Ghana saying it was now time to “eradicate” homosexuality from the country – by seeking out, arresting and executing members of the LGBT community.

“There is too much indiscipline in Ghana, under my presidency when a corrupt person, gay or lesbian are arrested the law will make it possible for the courts to sentence the offender to death by firing squad.

It will be a public event to be witnessed by all to serve as a deterrent. There must be a house cleaning exercise to clear all such terrible acts from the society.”

Same-sex sexual activity between men (what about women?) is illegal in Ghana with those found guilty facing up to three years in prison. A prominent lecturer in Ghana preached earlier this year that churches risked “being dominated by homosexuals” if the clergy failed to stage a “blistering crusade” against same sex marriage in the country.

Law lecturer Moses Foh-Amoaning said the “dormant posture” of the Ghanaian clergy and will see the “houses of God being ruled by evil homosexuals”.

Speaking on what was supposed an educational Ghanian radio programme, the lawyer used the platform to express regarding “gayism” in country.

“Why is the clergy mute? I do not like the situation [where] our pastors are mute about gayism.

If they do not take care, their big cathedrals, churches and other places of meeting will be filled with homosexuals.”

What year is it? (via Pink News)

The post #LGBT: Ghanaian Presidential Candidate Wants To “Eradicate Gay People By Firing Squad” appeared first on World of Wonder.

There are so many dating apps nowadays, it’s honestly hard to keep track. After the launch of Tinder in 2012, a new slew of dating apps soon to followed. There’s Raya (Tinder for rich people), Bumble (feminist Tinder), Hinge (Tinder for friends of friends), Mix’d (Tinder for people who have the same taste in music), and the app that really started them all, Grindr (for gay, bisexual and bi-curious men).

One of the most recent, is Bristlr, a.k.a. Tinder for beards. Their tagline is;

“Connecting those with beards to those who want to stroke beards”

Sounds kinda gay, right? Gay men already have that app. It’s called Scruff. But it turns out that Bristlr is being used mostly by WOMEN hoping to meet bearded men –but they estimate that between 2- 4% of users are gay. And some men supposedly use the app simply to meet other men who they can share beard-grooming tips with. (That sounds REALLY gay…)

The idea actually started out as a joke but quickly gained traction in the media, resulting in more than 100,000 registered users in less than four weeks. John Kershaw, a 28-year-old freelance developer in Manchester, England, first built the website for fun after suggesting the idea on Facebook and receiving a positive response from his friends.

“When I posted the question on my Facebook page, my friends said they thought it was a really good idea,” Kershaw says. “So I made this fake landing site where people could sign up to this app that didn’t really exist, just because I was curious to see how far people would go with it. After 100 people signed up in four days, I thought there must be some scope.

It’s lighthearted, you can’t take it too seriously, which I think is really appealing to people. I think it’s the fact that instead of it being this serious business like, ‘Hey, if you click this button, we’re going to do this serious thing,’ it’s more like, ‘Hey, I like your beard.'”

In an attempt to keep things light, the site requires minimal information from users. The app does, however, keep track of users who have beards versus users who love beards—and the current ratio is almost 50:50.

“We don’t track whether people are male or female. Just whether or not they have a beard or they are looking for someone with a beard. We track the important stuff.”

Last Saturday must have been like Christmas on the site. It was World Beard Day.

(via Details)

The post #Bristlr: Tinder For Beards Is Here! (But It’s Not What You Think…) appeared first on World of Wonder.

Check out the latest videos from our WOWPresents Network! Mike Diamond, Mikey & Teddy, Daniel Nakamura, Sir Jet, Sarahh Rush and SO MANY MORE all have new videos from the WOWPresents Network!!! Watch all these and more right now on the WOW Report!

Here are the latest videos from our fabulous partners! Make sure you subscribe to their channels for new videos!

The post Watch New Videos From the WOWPresents Network! New Videos From Mike Diamond! Mikey & Teddy! Daniel Nakamura! Sir Jet! Sarahh Rush! appeared first on World of Wonder.

Researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison are challenging the ‘gaydar myth’ in a new paper published in the Journal of Sex Research saying it’s is not only inaccurate, it also promotes homophobic stereotypes. William Cox, (Cox! j/k) the lead author of the new study says;

“Most people think of stereotyping as inappropriate. But if you’re not calling it ‘stereotyping,’ if you’re giving it this other label and camouflaging it as ‘gaydar,’ it appears to be more socially and personally acceptable.”

Cox proved the theory by splitting the study’s participants into three groups. One was told that gaydar is real, another that gaydar is stereotyping, and gaydar was not defined at all for a third group. Then they were all shown photos of men with a statement about their interests.

The group that was led to believe gaydar is real were more like to make assumptions based on stereotypes, such as ‘he likes shopping.’

“If you tell people they have gaydar, it legitimizes the use of those stereotypes.”

Another reason gaydar is WRONG more often than not, Cox said, was because that gay people make up such a small percentage of the population – 5% or less in the US.

“Imagine that 100% of gay men wear pink shirts all the time, and 10% of straight men wear pink shirts all the time. Even though all gay men wear pink shirts, there would still be twice as many straight men wearing pink shirts.

So, even in this extreme example, people who rely on pink shirts as a stereotypic cue to assume men are gay will be wrong two-thirds of the time.”

So just throw out that “gayer” idea… is is permanently broken because NO one can tell who is gay, lesbian, bi or even transgender not these days, so why even try. It makes cruising more confusing, but life in general less judgmental and a lot more exciting! (via Gay Star News)

The post #LGBT: Is Your “Gaydar” Working? Study Shows, That’s Homophobic! appeared first on World of Wonder.

Tis the season WOWers…the kids are heading back to school and for us werkin’ girls, we have to accept the fact that our three (and sometimes four) day weekends have come to an end as we schlep back to the cubicle life (and count down the days til Martin Luther King Jr. Day, amirite ladies?!)

Other than the golden fashion rule of not wearing white after Labor day…

(I mean…in the words of Cher Horowitz, “Ugh, as if! THIS is Los Angeles, not Kentucky” – so I’ll DEFINITELY be rocking white ALL year…)

…I wanted to find some business women inspo for getting back into the work-world (wo)mentality…

So I turned to the celebrated 80’s feminist classic “9 To 5″…

BECAUSE OF THIS (Obviously):

AND because I came away with 5 things we can do to turn our work lives, into WERK life from revisiting this superb film!

5) ROZ

Although she was sort of the Professor Umbridge of Consolidated Companies, you gotta give it up to her monochromatic fashion game. AND, it wasn’t JUST limited to her solo color coordination looks, her hair matched too! Pick a day this week and dress in all one color. It will make you the Solange Knowles of your office, I guarantee!

4) KIMONOS

When in doubt, kimono it out! Lily Tomlin found a way to incorporate beautiful silk kimonos into all her day-to-night (or day-to-stealing-dead-bodies-at-the-hospital-at-night, rather) looks and SO CAN YOU.

3) BUTCH COLLARS

Need I say more?

2) DOLLY EVERYTHING

Rewatching this movie reignited the adorable-ness that makes up Dolly‘s entirety.

First things first, NEVER deny a lunch invitation from her…

Especially, if you’re wearing THIS:

Can we just not? Because I can’t.

If Dolly taught us one thing from this movie, it’s if you’re NOT wearing acrylics, you are NOT doing office drag.

1) SISTERHOOD 

Lastly, this movie was not only about undermining an “egotistical, sexist, bigot”, but it was truly about putting job titles aside (and putting on the shoulder pads) and getting to WORK (while making friends in the process!)

The post Post-Labor Day Inspo: 5 Things We Learned From “9 To 5″ appeared first on World of Wonder.

(Photo: KING – TV)

An employee of Bremerton Bug Museum in Bremerton, WA was bitten by a Burmese python named Stella on Monday after she decided to feed the snake on her own without permission or going through the proper training. Christopher Jones, who owns the museum said:

Stella is a very docile snake. I’m normally the only person who feeds her.

The employee was bitten on the leg by the snake while she was preparing it’s usual meal of frozen rats. Jones thinks the snake must have been excited or confused when she smelled the thawing rats. The employee has is doing fine and has returned to work.

The post Blake’s Snake of the Day: Woman Bit by Burmese Python in Washington State appeared first on World of Wonder.

Amy Irving
Big Daddy Kane
Bill O’Reilly
Chris Columbus
Coco Rocha
Colin Firth
Guy Ritchie
James Duval
Joe Perry
Johnathon Schaech
Jose Feliciano
Karl Lagerfeld
Kate Burton
Matthew Followill
Mikey Way
Philip Baker Hall
Ryan Phillippe
Sanjaya Malakar
Siobhan Fahey

The post September 10: It’s YOUR Birthday, Bitch! appeared first on World of Wonder.

September 10, 1918– Born on a battlefield in World War 1, Rin Tin Tin went on to be a big American film star & Gay Icon. Rin Tin Tin is credited with saving Warner Brothers Studios from bankruptcy in the 1920s. At the apex of his popularity, Rin Tin Tin received more than 20,000 fan letters a week, that’s 140,000 a week in dog years.

In late summer of 1918, Corporal Lee Duncan had discovered a bombed out German war dog station while on a scouting mission. Inside he found a shell-shocked mother German Shepherd & her 5 puppies.

Not wanting to leave them alone & helpless, Duncan brought them back to his base where he took care of them. When he returned home to California, Duncan brought Rin Tin Tin with him. Rin Tin Tin was named after the small dolls that French soldiers carried for good-luck.

Duncan settled into his home in LA & he became interested in the new film industry. Knowing his dog was special, he made the rounds of the studios, but they showed little interest in a canine movie star.

Finally Duncan & Rin Tin Tin got their big break when they came upon a crew shooting a scene with a wolf. Asking for the chance to show what he had, Rin Tin Tin performed a feat in a single take that had frustrated the director crew trying to make the scene work with the real wolf.

In 1922, Rin Tin Tin (his friends called him “Rinty”) made his debut in a low budget western called The Man From Hell’s River. He did all his own stunts & learned his dialogue phonetically.

Rinty’s charisma, good-looks, athleticism, fearless stunt abilities & acting talent attracted the attention of the struggling Warner Brothers. Together they made 24 films that helped establish the studio & made Rin Tin Tin a household name, fashion icon & magazine cover boy. In 1929, Rin Tin Tin received the most votes for the first ever Academy Award for Best Actor, but the Academy determined that a stupid human should win.

At the height of his celebrity, Rinty earned a salary of $1000 a week, had his own production unit, a chauffeur driven limousine, a personal chef, a Pilates coach, lawyer, life-coach, & a diamond studded collar. Not much is known about his personal life, but Rinty was spotted at several underground gay spots around Hollywood including gay director George Cukor’s infamous Sunday afternoon pool parties. Although he was quite a stud, siring 48 pups, including a favorite named Junior, Rin Tin Tin was known to hump male stunt dogs & was very probably bisexual.

In 1930, in an ungrateful gesture, Warner Bros. released Rinty from his contract. He was forced to work low budget serials. He admitted to a Milk Bone addiction & went into rehab. After 40 films, Rin Tin Tin retired in 1931.

Surrounded by family & friends, human & canine, Rin Tin Tin took his final bow in winter 1932. Millions of fans grieved at his passing. Rumors abounded & the fan magazines reported that Rinty died on the front lawn & in the arms of actor & blond bombshell Jean Harlow who lived on the same street.

In a private ceremony, Duncan buried Rin Tin Tin in a bronze casket in his own backyard with a plain wooden cross to mark the location. Duncan suffered the financial effects of the Great Depression & could not afford a better burial. Eventually Duncan grew unable to even keep his own house, which he sold, & quietly arranged to have Rinty’s body returned to the country of his birth for re-burial in the Cimetière des Chiens et Autres Animaux Domestiques, the famous pet cemetery in the Paris neighborhood of Asnières-sur-Seine.

Rin Tin Tin’s son Junior continued to work in serials & radio. Junior made a single film opposite a young Robert Blake, The Return Of Rin Tin Tin (1947). Junior also assisted Duncan in the training of more than 5,000 dogs for the WW2 war effort.

Rin Tin Tin’s grandson, Junior Jr., appeared in a TV series in the 1950s, The Adventures Of Rin Tin Tin, where I first fell in love with him, & I fell hard. I had a Rin Tin Tin lunch box & a series of books.

Several of Rin Tin Tin’s children & grandchildren were adopted by movie stars including Greta Garbo, Katherine Hepburn & Clark Gable.

No canine star ever again matched Rin Tin Tin’s  very special magical brand of screen charisma, star power or talent, especially that bitch Lassie.

The post #BornThisDay: Actor, Rin Tin Tin appeared first on World of Wonder.

Photo, Adrian Boot

“Yes, from the mouth of Miss Grace Jones come more of her frank and self-congratulatory words. Our second except comes from Time Out and here, Grace COMES for the young Divas and wannabes.

“I come from the underground. I am never comfortable in the middle of the stream, flowing in the same direction as everyone else. I think people assume that’s where I want to be, famous for being famous, because as part of what I do there is a high level of showing off. But my instinct is always to resist the pull of the obvious. It’s not easy.

Trends come along and people say, ‘Follow that trend’. There’s a lot of that around at the moment: ‘Be like Sasha Fierce. Be like Miley Cyrus. Be like Rihanna. Be like Lady Gaga. Be like Rita Ora and Sia. Be like Madonna.’ I cannot be like them – except to the extent that they are already being like me.

I have been so copied by those people who have made fortunes that people assume I am that rich. But I did things for the excitement, the dare, the fact that it was new, not for the money, and too many times I was the first, not the beneficiary.

I remember when one of the singers on the list of those who came after me first said that she wanted to work with me. Everyone around me is going:

‘You have to do it, it will be so good for you, it will introduce you to a whole new audience, you will make a lot of money’.

No! It will be good for her; she will draw from everything I have built and add it to her brand, and I will get nothing back except for a little temporary attention. No one could believe that I said no, but I am okay on my own. I am okay not worrying about a new audience. If the fuck don’t feel right, don’t fuck it.

With this one, who I will call Doris, I thought she was trying on other people’s outfits: she’s a baby in a closet full of other people’s clothes, a little girl playing dress-up, putting on shoes that don’t fit. I could see what she wanted to be when I watched her doing something when she started out that was starker and purer. Deep down, she doesn’t want to do all the dressing-up nonsense; she loses herself inside all the play-acting.

The problem with the Dorises and the Nicki Minajes and Mileys is that they reach their goal very quickly. There is no long-term vision, and they forget that once you get into that whirlpool then you have to fight the system that solidifies around you in order to keep being the outsider you claim you represent. There will always be a replacement coming along very soon – a newer version, a crazier version, a louder version. So if you haven’t got a long-term plan, then you are merely a passing phase, the latest trend, yesterday’s event.

They dress up as though they are challenging the status quo, but by now, wearing those clothes, pulling those faces, revealing those tattoos and breasts, singing to those fractured, spastic, melting beats – that is the status quo. You are not off the beaten track, pushing through the thorny undergrowth, finding treasure no one has come across before. You are in the middle of the road. You are really in Vegas wearing the sparkly full-length gown singing to people who are paying to see you but are not really paying attention. If that is what you want, fine, but it’s a road to nowhere.

I look at Doris and I think: Does she look happy? She looks lost, like she is desperately trying to find the person she was when she started. She looks like really she knows she is in Vegas, now that Vegas is the whole entertainment world filtered through the internet, through impatient social media. I don’t mind her dressing up, but when she started to dance like Madonna, almost immediately, copying someone else, it was like she had forgotten what it was about her that could be unique. Ultimately, it is all about prettiness and comfort, however much they pretend they are being provocative.

This is what I would say to my pupil: you have become only your fame, and left behind most of who you were. How are you going to deal with that? Will you lose that person forever? Have you become someone else, without really knowing it? Do you always have to stay in character for people to like you? Do you know that you are in character?

Doris, I would say fame is all well and good if you want to take it to another level. If you have some greater purpose. Me, I am just a singer, on one sort of stage or another, who likes to have an audience, but not all the time. Listen to my advice; I have some experience. In a way, it is me being a teacher, which is what I wanted to be. I still feel I could go into teaching. What is teaching but passing on your knowledge to those who are at the beginning? Some people are born with that gift. With me, the teaching side morphed into the performing side. It’s in there. And these are my pupils: Gaga, Madonna, Annie Lennox, Katy Perry, Rihanna, Miley, Kanye West, FKA Twigs and… Doris.

Photo, Lawrence Watson

(Via Time Out)

The post #Excerpt: Grace Jones Trashes Her “Pupils”: Gaga, Madonna, Katy Perry, Rihanna, Miley & Kanye in Her New Memoir appeared first on World of Wonder.

Really good stuff in today’s celebrity roundup: Willow Smith has a nutty new look, Lady Gaga give Gothic glamooooooooour on the beach in Santa Monica, ’90s teen sensation Matthew Lawrence (‘member him?) is shirtless while walking his dog, and look! Something is different about Katy Perry. What is it? Check out all the latest pics after the jump.

Lady Gaga plays the role of countess on the set of American Horror Story while filming on the beach in Santa Monica, California. It’s our Hot Look of the Day.

Legendary actress Ann-Margret looks radiant in a pink dress and floral crown while shooting a wedding scene on the sets of Going in Style. Good to see her again!

Katy Perry at the premiere of Jeremy Scott: The People’s Designer, and something looks… off. And it’s not just this pic. I saw a dozen pics and they all look…. weird. Just puttin’ it out there. Something’s different with Katy.

Willow Smith features a fetching new yellow monobrow look at the Jeremy Scott premiere.

Dita Von Teese arrives at the premiere of Jeremy Scott: The People’s Designer in a lovely studded gown. Always on point, that Dita.

’90s sensation Matthew Lawrence goes shirtlesss he walks his dog in Los Angeles. STILL LOVE HIM SO MUCH.

Angélique Morgan AKA Frenchie seen outside Craig’s in West Hollywood. I’m told she is some sort of reality star. And I think I love her.

“Um, I’ll take the stairs, thank you.” Internet sensation and singer, Kristina Karo attempts to break the world record with the release of her new single ‘Elevator’ performing it for 28 hours in an elevator at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas.

Bob Geldoff at the GQ Men Of The Year Awards at The Royal Opera House in London. And talk about a coup de vieux – when the hell did he/we get so old?

Yummy Jack O’Connell at the GQ Men Of The Year Awards. So when does he become a bigger star?

Ivana, still the most fabulous former Mrs Donald Trump, wears a tropical print dress at Le Bilboquet restaurant in Midtown, New York.

(Photos: Pacific Coast News)

The post Celebrity Roundup: Willow Smith’s New Mono-Brow, Gaga Gives Gothic Beach Glamour, and Katy Perry Looks… Different appeared first on World of Wonder.

What is a Wowl? It’s the World of Wonder Owl. These charming critters will bring you wealth and good fortune beyond your wildest dreams. Probably not, but they can at least serve their made-for purpose of hiding hairspray, deoderant or whatever 8″ plus sized thing you have lying around. They were rescued from languishing in some warehouse somehwere by Brian Heinberg and now enjoy living at World of Wonder. But we feel they need to spread their wings and fly from our basement to your penthouse. When you purchase your WOWL, you can choose either a Green, Red, or Yellow one.

WOWL from World of Wonder Productions, Inc

The post Get Your Own WOWL! appeared first on World of Wonder.

NBC Nightly News posted this picture on their Facebook page of a rainbow rising from the Southern tip of Manhattan.

They wrote:

On the eve of the 14th anniversary of the September 11 terror attacks, a rainbow appeared to emerge from One World Trade Center in downtown Manhattan.

(via The DW)

The post Poignant Pic OTD: A Rainbow Rises From Ground Zero on the Day Before September 11 appeared first on World of Wonder.

If you’re anything like me, you were anxiously awaiting Justin Bieber‘s performance this morning on The Today Show. And I’m ecstatic to report that it did NOT disappoint. Biebs performed three songs (despite the rain) AND debuted a perfect new hair color—PLATINUM BLONDE. That’s right, Justin is now a blonde bombshell.

Thankfully, Twitter user (and presumably class-A Belieber) Amanda was there to capture the moment he pulled off his hat for the big reveal:

The reveal of @justinbieber's new hair #BieberTODAY pic.twitter.com/SrZr2S1dtC

— amanda ✨ (@LifeWasRadical) September 10, 2015

And someone perfectly captured the gorgeousness of the back of his newly-platinum head:

Obviously this was a huge moment for TV when the Today Show hosts stopped to admire the new hairdo with the Beliebers:

And apparently they were so impacted by the platinum that they had to Instagram it:

I have to admit, I had just started to miss Justin’s recent man-bun and the 90s boy-band hairstyle that came after, but now that he DAZZLED me with this whole new concept, everything makes sense in the world again!

The post Justin Bieber Proves Once Again His Hair Game Is Completely Ahead Of Its Time appeared first on World of Wonder.

Amy Madigan
Ariana Richards
Ben Lee
Brad Fischetti
Brian De Palma
Cameron Richardson
Charles Kelley
Elephant Man
Elizabeth “EG” Daily
Harry Connick Jr
John Hawkes
Kristy McNichol
Lola Falana
Ludacris
Maria Bartiromo
Mike Comrie
Moby
Paul Heyman
Richard Ashcroft
Taraji P. Henson
Ted Leo
Tyler Hoechlin
Virginia Madsen

The post September 11: It’s YOUR Birthday, Bitch! appeared first on World of Wonder.

This post isn’t really about Kristy McNichol, the popular actor who starred with Tatum O’Neal in Little Darlings (1980). She came out of the closet in 2012, although we always knew she was gay. She deserves the #BornThisDay treatment, but I have something else on my mind today.

On September 11, 2001, 6’4’’ & 225 pound Mark Bingham was the last person to board United Flight 93, having arrived late & nearly missing the flight.

Bingham was openly & proudly gay. He was well known & much loved in San Francisco’s gay community. He was a public relations executive, a graduate of UC Berkeley, an athlete with a very considerate, chivalrous, caring & creative personality. He has become perhaps the first openly gay, great American patriotic figure & an idol for the gay community.

Andrew Sullivan:

“The media portrayal of gays (lots of it by gays themselves) is as effeminate etc., as well as my personal experience with gays my age, most of whom seemed little interested in military service or aggressive pursuits in general… Mark Bingham could cut it. He’s a hero, plain & simple. I simply can’t say to myself any more that gays have no place in the military.”

Bingham’s friend Hani Durzy says he once fought off a mugger with a gun:

“Mark knew how to use his size & would get into situations without thinking about it – which used to amuse us and scare us. I think he knew himself that was not anyone’s idea of a typical gay man”.

Bingham’s friend & roommate Per Casey:

“He didn’t politicize his sexuality at all. It’s ironic that in death he is being celebrated for something he did not think was worth politicizing, & that’s lucky for all of us, & unlucky for people who are biased against us. What he did is both inconceivable & great.”

Durzy:

“My feeling is that if told he would become a gay icon he would laugh. Then he would sit back & think: ‘but if this is going to do some good for the gay community, then so be it… good’.”

Bingham had overslept on the morning of September 11th & the friend with whom he had been staying, Matthew Hall, drove as fast as possible to get him from Manhattan to Newark, screeching to a halt outside the terminal at 7:40am. Bingham jumped from the car, slinging his canvas duffel bag. He ran to the gate, down the ramp, boarded the Boeing 757 & sat down in seat 4D, first class, just behind the cockpit. Then he called Hall: “Hey, it’s me. Thanks for driving to get me here. I’m in first class, drinking a glass of orange juice.”

United Flight 93 was scheduled to take off at 8.01am. It pulled away from the gate, but was a delayed for 41 minutes, leaving the passengers to sit & wait before taking off on what should have been a 6 hour flight across the USA to San Francisco.

2 men aboard had stayed at the Marriott at Newark’s Liberty International Airport, paying cash for their rooms & expensive meals: Ahmed al-Haznawi, a student from Saudi Arabia & Ziad Jarrah from Lebanon. They also sat in first class, with a colleague, blending in, as they had been trained to do.

After 41 minutes of sitting, waiting & complaining, United Flight 93 moved down the runway, light with passengers & heavy with fuel. The view of lower Manhattan would have been dazzling with the World Trade Center Towers glimmering in a blue September sky. Coffee & breakfast were served.

At 9.30 am, 3 men with red bandannas suddenly rushed towards the cockpit & air traffic controllers in Cleveland picked up this message: “Hey, get out of here!” The end had begun. Cleveland could hear an announcement, probably from one of the terrorists having flipped the wrong switch, with a message he thought he was delivering over the PA: “There is a bomb on board, we are meeting their demands. We are heading back to the airport.” The airplane began to climb.

The tape recording from the cockpit is a half hour loop, beginning with screaming, & someone pleading not to be hurt or killed. Shortly afterwards, both pilots were seen lying motionless on the floor just outside the first-class curtain, with their throats cut, according to a passenger. United Flight 93 had changed course & was heading for Washington DC.

Final words of love & goodbyes were sent, with passengers passing their phones to strangers. Through these calls those aboard learned what had been happening that morning.

The first call answered was by Deena Burnett, wife of Tom Burnett, the man sitting next to Bingham. Deena Burnett:

“Are you okay?”

Burnett:

“No, we’ve been hijacked. They’ve knifed a guy; there’s a bomb on board; tell the authorities, Deena.”

Bingham’s call was to his mother was oddly succinct:

“This is Mark Bingham. I love you.”

Bingham’s friend & former employer Holland Carney, has said that his economy of language as the first indication of revolt aboard United Flight 93:

“If I know Mark, he would not have said anything about what he intended to do. I remember him coming to work one day with a huge black eye. I asked what had happened. He said 2 guys had jumped him & he had fought them off. I said that was dangerous, better to give them the money, but he would have none of it. That would have been him on the plane. He was not someone afraid to act.”

Burnett made another call, by which time his wife was watching the World Trade Center Towers collapse on TV news. Burnett: “Are they commercial planes?”

Deena Burnett:

“From that point, he said he was going to have to go out on faith because they were talking about jumping the guy with the bomb. He was still holding the phone, but he was not talking to me, he was talking to someone else & I could tell he had turned away. He said: ‘You ready? Okay, let’s roll’.”

The terrorists had formidable opposition: one passenger was a 6’1″ Judo champion, Bingham was a rugby player. Burnett had been a college quarterback. Among the other passengers, there was a weightlifter & a former paratrooper.

No one will ever know how the plan to attack the terrorists was hatched, except that experts listening to the tapes agree that the scuffle began not at the back of the plane but at the front, where Bingham was sitting.

Denna Burnett: “Tom, sit down. Don’t draw attention to yourself.”

Burnett: “If they’re going to run this plane into a building, we’re going to do something.”

The cockpit recorder picks up the sounds of fighting: the crash of trolleys, dishes being smashed. The terrorists scream at each other to hold the door against what is obviously a siege from the cabin. A passenger cries: “Let’s get them!” &  then there is more screaming.

Across Somerset County, Pennsylvania, farmers & commuters watched a plane rock & sway in the sky & then crash to earth.

Bingham, Burnett & the others saved many lives & probably our country’s Capitol building. But the richness of Bingham’s part in the tale is that he so narrowly failed to save himself & the other passengers. Carney:

“I can so much more easily imagine Mark bouncing out of the wreckage of the plane punching a high five & saying: ‘we got the bastards’.”

The Husband & I had stood on the very top of one of the World Trade Center Towers on our 20^th anniversary, a gorgeous October evening in 1999, watching the skyscrapers of Manhattan turn pink in the sunset. I thought of that day as we watched the TV news from our Seattle bungalow on 9/11. We actually saw the second jet fly into a tower.

We would leave Seattle after 20 years & move to our new home in Portland just a few weeks after the towers fell. It was an unsettling time with so much to be afraid of, a new world, a new city, a new home, a new start. I would read the daily special section of the NY Times with the photos & short biographical sketches of the victims. I cried every day for weeks. The day I read about Bingham, I was transformed by grief. I had lost one of my own. The more I discovered about him, the more I felt that I had my own personal Gay Hero: gay, a bear, a good guy, a brave man.

The first tree that I planted in the garden of my new home was a small graceful Japanese maple. I dedicated the tree to Bingham. I prayed for the first time in years. I cried as I said:

“God bless my big gay hero Mark Kendall Bingham.”

Bingham:

“We have the chance to be role models for other gay folks who wanted to play sports, but never felt good enough or strong enough. This is a great opportunity to change a lot of people’s minds, & to reach a group that might never have had to know or hear about gay people. Let’s go make some new friends…& win a few games.”

The post #BornThisDay: Kristy McNichol, Not Really appeared first on World of Wonder.