Filipinos Revere The Black Nazarene
Black Nazarene devotees cheer from rooftops during the 406th feast of The Black Nazarene on January 9, 2013 in Manila, Philippines.
Devotees march barefoot as a sign of sacrifice during the procession as the Black Nazarene is carried in turn through Manila’s thoroughfares. The dark wood sculpture of Jesus was brought to the Philippines in the 1600s by Spanish missionaries from Mexico to the Philippines and is revered by Catholic devotees who claim the statue possess miraculous powers.
Security authorities monitoring the day long procession estimated the crowd at around 2 million people at its peak.
Photo by Dondi Tawatao/Getty Images
The number of gay and bisexual characters on scripted broadcast network TV is at its highest-ever level in the season ahead, according to the [17th-annual “Where We Are on TV” report released Friday by the] Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation. The total on cable television is also going up…
The study reviewed 97 scripted TV programs scheduled to air in the upcoming season on the broadcast networks, counting a total of 701 series regular characters. The study found that 31 of them are LGBT characters.
ABC has the highest amount with 10 out of 194, or 5.2 percent, of their regular characters identified as LGBT.
After leading last year, Fox ranks second with six LGBT characters out of 118 total series regulars, or 5.1 percent.
Study finds rise in gay characters on network TV
The rankings for the broadcast networks are (in order) ABC, Fox, the CW, NBC, and CBS. For cable networks, Showtime leads the pack, but HBO’s “True Blood” leads among all shows as it features six LGBTQ characters. Download the report as a PDF here.
(via diadoumenos)
Thanks goodness. (h/t valerieagotlib)
The Secret Service says the guy on the hill behind Obama in this picture was tending to “official business,” thank you very much.
The Honey Boo Boo Boom
How does a show that draws so much negative commentary online draw such a massive television audience?
I talked to Rich Juzwiak, staff writer at Gawker about the phenomenon of ”Here Comes Honey Boo Boo” and how negative online buzz often means positive ratings.
Oxford University students will no longer have to wear gender-specific academic clothing after concerns it was unfair to the transgender community.
It will mean men can attend formal occasions in skirts and stockings and women in suits and bow ties.
The new rules come after a motion by the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Queer society (LGBTQ Soc) was passed by the students’ union earlier this year.
The changes, to start from 4 August, have now been agreed by the university.
Norway remembers victims of bomb, shooting attacks
Norway on Sunday paused to commemorate the 77 victims of a bomb and gun massacre that shocked the peaceful nation one year ago, a tragedy that the prime minister said had brought Norwegians together in defense of democracy and tolerance.
Anders Behring Breivik, a 33-year-old far-right fanatic, has admitted to the July 22, 2011, attacks: a bombing of the government district in Oslo, killing eight, and a shooting rampage that left 69 dead at the left-wing Labor Party’s youth camp on Utoya island.
In a wreath-laying ceremony at the bomb site, Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg said Breivik had failed in his declared goal of destroying Norway’s commitment to being an inclusive, multicultural society.
