Open Thread

Playbill reports: Multi-award-winning singer-actor-director Barbra Streisand will play New York City’s Madison Square Garden for the first time in 13 years. The internationally acclaimed artist will perform in concert August 3 at 8 PM. Tickets will go on sale June 17 at 9 AM ET via Ticketmaster. “There are no fans like New York fans!” said Streisand in a statement, …

Buzzfeed reports: A charter-boat captain in Sarasota, Florida, was arrested Sunday for boating under the influence. But after police interviewed several witnesses, they quickly pieced together a horrifying narrative of a boat ride that allegedly involved alcohol, cocaine, gunshots, manhandling, and a hostage situation. Records provided to BuzzFeed News by the Sarasota Police Department detailed written statements from at least …

Newsweek reports: A Florida man was arrested over the weekend after he allegedly covered his sleeping girlfriend in ketchup because he thought she was having an affair. Peter Wagman, 37, from Pinellas Park, was charged with domestic battery for pouring a large quantity of tomato sauce on his 41-year-old girlfriend after the couple had “been in arguments over infidelity by …

Playbill reports: Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS annual Broadway Bares Fire Island fundraiser returned to the Pines June 1. Directed and choreographed by Michael Lee Scott, the 2019 event raised a record $78,227. The Fire Island adaptation of the annual New York City fundraiser featured Bares dancers performing steamy production numbers based on Broadway productions including The Cher Show, On The …

Billboard Magazine reports: Dressed like a rainbow with all of the colors, Taylor Swift used her platform on iHeartRadio’s Wango Tango stage to perform several of her hits and to show support to the LGBTQ community. “It’s wonderful to be spending this particular evening with you because today is the first day of Pride Month,” she told Saturday night’s (June …

Dammit, I meant to repost this gem yesterday: As June 1 rolls around, theatre aficionados enthusiastically share an easily searchable video of Leslie Uggams performing Carousel’s “June Is Bustin’ Out All Over” on the Capitol lawn in Washington, D.C. The Tony winner makes her way through the song, but not without adding her own gibberish lyrics. “Well, it poured like …

Tampa’s Fox affiliate reports: A Florida man who told deputies he broke into a home because he was being chased by alligators is now behind bars. Deputies responded to a break-in at a home on Emilia Lane in the Verona Walk community on Tuesday evening. That’s where the homeowner says he found 30-year-old Bryan Berkley in the kitchen. When questioned, …

New today from our pal Matt Baume: On an early-70s episode of Maude, Bea Arthur is eager for everyone to see that she has a new gay best friend. But despite the friendship, she might harbor some bigotry that she wasn’t even aware of — just like the rest of the country, which was at the time just starting to …

The Bradenton Herald reports: A Florida man is facing charges after deputies say he claimed to be intoxicated when he allegedly tried to break into a couple’s home while holding a hatchet. The couple called 911, saying a man tried to forcibly enter their home, according to a probable cause affidavit. Deputies with the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office went to …

First Coast News reports: A Florida man has been arrested on multiple charges after deputies say he fled a traffic stop and then called to brag about it. Nicholas Jones, 19, was arrested on May 5 for reckless driving, fleeing and eluding, misusing 911 and violation of probation after doing a ‘burnout’ during a traffic stop and then calling to …

Tampa’s ABC affiliate reports: A Florida man got a rude surprise from his toilet over the Memorial Day weekend. Baltazar Jimeno lifted the seat early Sunday morning when a snake “rose up and bit him” on the arm, a police report said, the South Florida Sun Sentinel reported. It turned out to be a nonvenomous 4-foot-long ball python. Jimeno was …

CBS News Miami reports: A Florida man with quite a lead foot ends up jail after speeding past a Florida Highway Patrol trooper at more than 140 miles per hour and it was caught on the trooper’s dashboard camera. Florida Highway Patrol Trooper Jessica Sabo just finished writing a seatbelt citation for a pickup truck driver near Hawthorne when a …

The Orlando Weekly reports: On Thursday Gov. Ron DeSantis signed into law legislation that bans the sale or possession of child-like sex dolls after it unanimously passed the Florida Legislature. SB 160, sponsored by state Sen. Lauren Book, D-Plantation, “prohibits a person from knowingly having in his or her possession, custody, or control an obscene, child-like sex doll.” While supporters …

The Florida Daily News reports: A video of a now-former Wendy’s employee bathing in an industrial sink at the franchise’s Milton location has gone viral overnight. The owners of the Wendy’s in Milton provided a statement about the incident Wednesday afternoon. Mike Johnson, director of marketing for the company, would not comment further. “We are taking this incident seriously and …

NBC News reports: Police in Connecticut say a fugitive has so far failed to honor an agreement to surrender once enough people responded positively to his wanted poster on social media. Torrington police say Jose Simms has seven arrest warrants and is being sought as a fugitive after failing to appear in court on charges that range from breach of …

JMG reader DJ Rotten Robbie writes: I went to see out gay Tony winner Ben Platt in concert in SF tonight. Halfway through the show he brought out gay church janitor and American Idol contestant Jeremiah Lloyd Harmon. Ben said he stalked the hell out of him on social media until he agreed to sing with him. They did Bob …

Orlando’s NBC affiliate reports: Newly released footage shows a Florida man stealing a Florida Highway Patrol trooper’s patrol car and then weaving through traffic. At times, the chase reached nearly 150 miles per hour. Shane Jensen, 22, is accused of stealing the Florida Highway Patrol trooper’s car on May 2. It started with a trooper noticing a shirtless man, who …

Orlando’s ABC affiliate reports: A Florida man is in trouble after he threatened to behead numerous police officers and then eat their eyes and tongues. Ken Freeman, 50, was arrested and charged with six counts of threatening death or serious bodily harm of a law enforcement officer. Freeman and another man were making obscene hand gestures at each other while …

The Pensacola News Journal reports: A Florida man was arrested for allegedly exposing his genitals and scooting toward women while riding a Walmart in-store scooter. Kejuan Mccants, 27, was arrested Thursday and charged with indecent exposure. He was booked into the Escambia County Jail on a $10,000 bond. Police responded around 5 p.m. May 4 to the Walmart on Creighton …

My apologies for the prolonged downtime. As part of our work to thwart a persistent and insanely aggravating malware attack that was affecting some mobile users, JMG has been moved to an upgraded server and new security defenses have been added. That took quite a bit longer than I expected, mostly because JMG has 15 years of archives. Big thanks …