Open Thread

Tampa’s CBS News affiliate reports: Robert Wayne Miller of Zephyrhills, Fla., was arrested Sunday around 9 p.m. for disturbing the peace with his lawn mower, according to a Pasco County complaint affidavit. He faces misdemeanor charges of disorderly conduct and resisting arrest. In body-camera footage obtained by WFLA, Miller’s lawn mower can be heard idling in the background as Deputy …

Billboard Magazine reports: It’s beginning to look a lot like… a black metal Christmas. The Sock Puppet Parody folks are back again this year with another dose of bizarre holiday cheer courtesy of a very dark take on “Frosty the Snowman.” With music supplied by Rivethead, “Immortal Christmas VI” takes the beloved story of everyone’s favorite snow person and turns …

Like yesterday, there will be a smattering of posts later in the day and Blue Bear will appear at the usual weekend time of 7PM Eastern. But in the meantime, tell us about your holiday meal specialties and favorites. And don’t leave out the disasters.

Deadline reports: For a second year in a row, Kevin Spacey posted a video on his YouTube page on Christmas Eve his House of Cards character Frank Underwood. The latest, titled “KTWK,” shows Spacey as Underwood in a holiday sweater sitting by a fireplace stoking the flames. “You didn’t really think I was gonna miss the opportunity to wish you …

Rather obviously, today is a slow news day. I’ll be posting more items and Blue Bear will appear at the weekend time of 7PM. But in the meanwhile, tell us about your holiday traditions with your biological family and with (as Armistead Maupin calls it) your logical family.

Longtime JMG favorite Tired Old Queen At The Movies returns today with a timely look back: Steve Hayes celebrates the Holidays with his signature humor and insight as he presents a ten year retrospective of his favorite Christmas movies.

Billboard Magazine reports: “All I Want for Christmas Is You,” which Mariah Carey co-wrote with collaborator Walter Afanasieff, has topped the Hot 100 for the first time thanks to the annual (and growing) spike in streaming it receives around the holidays. It is Carey’s 19th No. 1 single on the chart — the most among solo artists in history — …

Playbill reports: Hot on the kitten heels of the release of the Cats movie, Jennifer Hudson goes from Grizabella’s torn garb to the glitz of Aretha Franklin. Watch the teaser for the Oscar winner’s star turn as the Queen of Soul in the biopic Respect below. The first look offers a taste of Hudson’s knockout rendition of the title anthem. …

Newsweek reports: A Florida man has been arrested and charged with domestic battery after allegedly angrily throwing a Pop Tart toaster pastry at his wife’s head. Police took Brandon Sutherland, 36, into custody on Sunday night after the alleged incident, according to Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office documents obtained by The Smoking Gun. Florida man arrested for domestic battery after throwing …

Playbill reports: The cast of the Cats movie dropped by The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon to sing a remix of “Memory” using classroom instruments. Check it out as Jennifer Hudson, Taylor Swift, James Corden, Jason DeRulo, Francesca Hayward, Fallon, and The Roots jam out. The performance is the latest in a string of press appearances for the Jellicle phenomenon …

New from our pal and culture critic Matt Baume: Ah, Dr. Frasier Crane. A man who wears short shorts to a gay bar, who has gay friends and coworkers, who enjoys stereotypically gay hobbies. But how’s his gaydar? Well, it turns out that’s a bit of a blind spot for him, which is how, in 2003, he wound up dating …

Playbill reports:  A new pocket-sized hardback selection of lyrics from Stephen Sondheim will be published by Alfred A. Knopf. Sondheim: Lyrics, due March 3, 2020, will feature some of Sondheim’s most beloved and memorable lyrics, from such musicals as West Side Story, Gypsy, Company, Follies, A Little Night Music, and Sweeney Todd. The release coincides with Sondheim’s 90th birthday, which …

ABC News reports: A Florida man is facing charges for having a gun illegally after he shot himself in the leg while playing cowboy, according to the sheriff’s office. Matthew Noffsinger Jr., 36, was arrested on Friday after Pasco County Deputies visited him in the hospital. He was being treated for the gunshot wound. Noffsinger told deputies he was shot …

“So, I’m gay I’ve felt a lot of guilt about it for a long time. I grew up with the idea that there was something wrong with gay people. I wasn’t allowed to watch Glee because it had gay characters in it. “My grandfather, way later in his life, when he was almo”st in a retirement home, came out as …

Playbill reports: John Mulaney is being very selective about who can appear in his upcoming Netflix special The Sack Lunch Bunch. In the promo below the Broadway alum puts hopefuls through a rigorous audition process reminiscent of the opening scene of Bob Fosse’s All That Jazz. Not content with adults who showed some some serious dance skills and jazz hands, …

Billboard Magazine reports: When John Cameron Mitchell joined indie rock darlings Eyelids on stage for a special performance this last August, they decided to do something different. Sure, the group performed a track from the former’s iconic smash-hit musical Hedwig & the Angry Inch, but they also gave the audience something much more unexpected: a cover of Lou Reed’s “Turning …

The Smoking Gun reports: The deceased Florida Man whose partially eaten body was discovered in the mouth of an alligator actually died from a meth overdose before the 11-foot reptile discovered him in a canal in Polk County, according to an autopsy report. In a related development, voting has closed for the 2019 Floridian of the Year award. In late-June, …

Playbill reports: Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS’ annual fall fundraising efforts crossed the finish line with its annual celebration, the Red Bucket Follies, December 9 and 10 at the New Amsterdam Theatre. Check out highlights from the show in our memorable moments roundup. A total of 58 Broadway, Off-Broadway, and touring productions took part, raising a collective $5,631,888. Each season, shows …

Billboard Magazine reports: It’s been a stunning year for pop phenomenon Sam Smith. Along with releasing their latest pop-driven singles like “Dancing With a Stranger” (with Normani) and “How Do You Sleep,” Smith also managed to finally express their truest self by coming out as non-binary and officially changing their pronouns to “they/them.” But in a new interview with SiriusXM …

Playbill reports: Ron Leibman, who won a Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play in 1993 for originating the role of Roy Cohn in Angels in America: Millennium Approaches, died December 6; he was 82. Mr. Leibman was well-known in the theatre community and Hollywood for his turns in shows like Friends (playing Rachel’s father, Dr. Leonard Green) and …