Quote Of The Day - Henry Rollins

"In a nation of hundreds of millions of people, there is one man born to lead. A man who stands head and shoulders above the rest. A lone alpha who burns incandescent in a vast wasteland of darkness. When asked to serve in Vietnam, he said no and took a deferment. He took a few of them, actually, because he is his own man. He got married. The merger didn’t work. She was fired. So was the next one. It’s business, not personal — like America! He has overcome adversity. Like bankruptcy. And with an almost Michelangelo-like genius, he conquered the K2 challenge of his hair. He is what America needs. A man with so much self-confidence that, if you put him in the Oval Office, some of it will no doubt trickle down to you. Who is this man who will put all other world leaders in their place? The same man who just read a cellphone number, allegedly Lindsey Graham’s private line, out loud so the world could hear. (Hey, I laughed.) This man is America. So bend over, relax and hold onto something solid, because here he comes — here comes Donald Trump 2016. And when he puts it in, you’ll know who your daddy is." - Henry Rollins, writing for LA Weekly.

Quote Of The Day - Henry Rollins

"I am hoping that, in time, Obergefell v. Hodges will be seen in the same way as Loving v. Virginia - inevitable and a sign of social evolution in America. I bet two people of the same sex who want to get married don’t think they are going to have a 'gay wedding.' By wanting to get married in the first place, they show their dedication both to each other and to tradition. Wanting to get married is a freakin’ billboard for normality and inclusion. I wish the 'You lost! Deal with it!' talk would stop. I can understand where it comes from but it doesn’t make anything better. There were no losers, in my opinion. To those who disagree with same-sex marriage because it offends their faith, I would say your beliefs are still yours to have. The wisdom, peace and clarity that faith has allowed you to have are still intact. No word of any religious text has been changed or its power reduced. There is a lot of room in America; it allows all to move freely. All the wedding photographs popping up on the Internet should be enough to convince anyone that this was a great decision. Take Jack Evans and George Harris, for example — together for 54 years, in Texas of all places, finally able to get hitched. I am looking at them now. The skies have not darkened with locusts and tomorrow there will be traffic. I do believe we will be OK." - Henry Rollins, writing for LA Weekly.

RuPaul Drives Henry Rollins Part 2

Henry Rollins On Duck Dynasty

"One of you supremely talented graphic artists should start a comic book series starring the Duck dudes as homosexual bears. Talk about crossover potential. The thing writes itself. At the next major gay pride event, there should be hard-bodied men in camo hot pants, ridiculous beards pasted to their chins, blowing through duck calls. Dick Dynasty is a gay porn series just waiting to happen. Just remember: When you see the DD men all decked out in their camo gear, they look pretty bitchin' and rugged -- but keep in mind that they wear these garments to help them hide from ducks. It's a comedy show, right?" - Henry Rollins, writing for LA Weekly. (Via Towleroad)

RuPaul Chats With Henry Rollins

Stereogum recaps:

Any RuPaul fan worth his or her salt knows that for years his tagline has been “If you can’t love yourself, how in the hell you gonna love somebody else?” But that’s not the only love-related advice he’s proffering. In a recent episode of webseries RuPaul Drives…, in which the drag pioneer gives rides in L.A. to hitchhikers, friends, and celebrities, Henry Rollins is the passenger. Ru beseeches him to open himself up to love, suggesting that he give romance a shot even though Rollins considers himself a failure at it for “not trying hard enough.”

Henry Rollins On DOMA

"Bad News for the Haters Dept.: You realize that all those obnoxious 16-year-olds you see everywhere, texting their friends who are standing next to them, will be able to vote in the 2016 elections. Do you think you will be able to sell them on your anti-gay/anti-woman/anti-brown/black platform? Do you think they want to end up like you? I bet they don't. Gov. Bobby Jindal said that you all have to stop being the stupid party. I don't think you can do it. How did equality become political? Because you can't handle science, change or the truth. America is on the move, you are not." - Henry Rollins, writing for LA Weekly.

Quote Of The Day - Henry Rollins

"Hats off to Washington state where, recently, hundreds of same-sex couples were legally married. I am elated as much as I am frustrated by why this country refuses to wake up and smell the 14th Amendment of the Constitution. I feel for everyone who wanted to get married for so long and were made to feel so bad about who they are. I feel worse for all the Americans in the large number of remaining states still waiting for their turn to enjoy the freedoms and protections bestowed upon them by their very citizenship.

"There is still a long way to go. Marriage equality is a term so ridiculous on its face that when you hear it mentioned, you would think you were in Riyadh. Years from now, perhaps we can lose the equality part, the same-sex part and call it what it is -- marriage. As much as the homophobes, an ever-thinning herd, whines and screeches, the earth is shifting underneath their feet and things are getting better all the time. This is going to be an incredible century. Didn't get off to a very good start but we are making some bold and exciting strides forward." - Henry Rollins, writing for LA Weekly.

Quote Of The Day - Henry Rollins

"Of course same sex marriage is constitutional! The right to be yourself, to pursue life, liberty, and property, is protected several ways over several amendments. John Boehner should know this. If only he read the Constitution as often as some of us do, he wouldn’t have bothered to lower himself to this time-wasting, pathetic attempt to invigorate his base of supporters.

"Damn, congressman, we’re trying to get up the road here. Either lay out a plan for job creation for all of us to see or get out of the way. You are the Speaker of the House. Scratching around in the ancient dirt of repellent prejudice instead of tackling the real issues is amateur hour. You have a plan? Now’s the time." - Henry Rollins, writing for Vanity Fair.

Broadway Friday

-Steve Hayes (Tired Old Queen At The Movies) stars with playwright Bradford Scobie and drag legend Murray Hill in Moisty The Snowman Saves Christmas, now running Off Broadway at Dixon Place. Get tickets here.

- Michael Urie (Ugly Betty) will replace Christian Borle as Prior Walter in the critically raved Off Broadway revival of Tony Kushner's Angels In America. Urie steps in on February 2nd, the production has been extended until March 27th.

- Whoa. Jackie Hoffman (love her!) is talking serious trash about her role in The Addams Family. "We're the only musical that doesn't appeal to gay people." But it has Nathan Lane and (JMG reader/Tony nominee) Kevin Chamberlin in it!

- Henry Rollins brings his one-man show to Joe's Pub for a week beginning February 8th. It's his 50th birthday celebration and you know you're going.

- Beginning previews Off Broadway on December 22nd is Richard Skipper As "Carol Channing" In Concert. Get tickets here.

- Oscar winner Halle Berry makes her Broadway debut this fall in Katori Hall's The Mountaintop opposite Samuel L. Jackson. Last year the play won the Olivier Award for its West End run.

- ABC is developing a drama for Tony winner Idina Menzel (Wicked), who will play a single mom who sings at weddings and bar mitzvahs to pay the rent. Menzel makes her debut with the New York Philharmonic on February 5th.

TRAILER: Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark. Still in heavily-laden with tech glitches previews.

Friendly Voices - Henry Rollins

"Let the record speak for itself. The Catholic Church does not approve of homosexuality; their position on pedophilia, however, is not as clear. I am sure most Catholics do not approve of pedophilia, but the executive branch of Catholicism seems to have difficulty convincing some of us that they are willing to do what is necessary to make sure that the members of their staff who are active sexual predators are brought to justice.

"I can't see any sane person not wanting someone who harms innocent children taken out of circulation as soon as possible. Relocating them is tantamount to enabling them further. Maybe there should be a television show called To Catch A Priest. I'll watch. I think the expulsion of this child from the Sacred Heart of Jesus Catholic School is the best break the parents could have hoped for. Children should be raised in an environment of kindness and encouragement, not discrimination and ignorance." - Henry Rollins, in a Vanity Fair essay saying that those protesting the explusion of the children of gay parents from Catholic schools are "wasting their time" and that the kids shouldn't be there in the first place.

(Tipped by JMG readers JW Swift and BStewart23)

Tonight: Henry Rollins Guest Judges On RuPaul's Drag Race

Even if you aren't a regular viewer of RuPaul's Drag Race, you may want to set your DVR for tonight's episode when Henry Rollins guest judges.

80's Flashback

Black Flag, TV Party, 1982. I never got into very many American punk bands other than the original, The Ramones. (Unless you consider X to be punk.) But the presence of Henry Rollins made Black Flag a notable exception, especially for their funnier numbers like TV Party. I love the roll call of 80's television shows: That's Incredible! Hill Street Blues! Dallas! Anybody remember Emilio Estevez singing TV Party in Repo Man?