Ellen, Billie Lourd, Hayden Christensen, Kenobi, Alexander Leon, Steve Grand, Scot Patrick is Dead, GLAAD Awards, a Massive Harry Potter Store is Coming to NYC, and MORE: #GAYNRD DAILY

Savas Abadsidis January 9, 2020

PHOTO OF THE DAY by @fabiock_ on Unsplash.

SCOTT PATRIC IS DEAD According to Heavy, “the makeup artist on Project Runway All-Stars, has died,” his representatives said in a statement. Contact NYC said that Patric was found unresponsive at home on January 9. The statement read in full, “It is with a heavy heart that I can confirm makeup artist Scott Patric has passed. He was found today in his bed after not responding to calls. His talent, creativity and warmth were limitless. He will be greatly missed.”

A MASSIVE Harry Potter store is coming to Manhattan. According to The NY Daily News, “A Hagrid-sized superstore based on the boy wizard’s world is set to open next to Manhattan’s Flatiron Building this summer, Warner Bros. announced Thursday. It’ll be the world’s first official Harry Potter flagship store, and the biggest dedicated to the brand, according to the entertainment company. The shop, housed at 935 Broadway, will hawk everything from personalized witch and wizard robes to “magic” wands that are exclusive to this location and, of course, Bertie Bott’s Every Flavor Beans, candies inspired by the franchise that can already be scored elsewhere. “The store will house the largest collection of Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts products in the world under one roof,” according to Warner Bros.

KENOBI is the next Star Wars series coming to Disney+.

The rumor is that Hayden Christensen and Liam Neeson might reprise their roles in this Star Wars series, but this has not yet been confirmed.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B6vwJELJxan/?utm_source=ig_embed

FRIES NOT CHEESE are the hot new entertaining craze of 2020. According to New Food Ideas, “Fries Boards are emerging as the hot new entertaining craze of 2020, with people all over putting together amazing grazing platters featuring chips, chips and more chips! That’s right, the boards includes fries and potato snacks of all shapes and sizes – including crinkle cut chips, French fries, waffle fries, seasoned fries, beer battered chips, sweet potato fries, potato gems and of course wedges. And to finish off the platters? A selection of dipping sauces, including tomato, mustards, aioli, guacamole and sweet chilli – whatever your heart desires.

ALEXANDER LEON an Australia-based writer and activist who works at the LGBTQ rights organization Kaleidoscope Trust, went viral on Twitter Tuesday, with more than 42,000 retweets as of this posting. If you haven’t yet seen it, we’re sharing it with you. “Queer people don’t grow up as ourselves, we grow up playing a version of ourselves that sacrifices authenticity to minimise humiliation & prejudice. The massive task of our adult lives is to unpick which parts of ourselves are truly us & which parts we’ve created to protect us.”

Leon, continues, “It’s massive and existential and difficult. But I’m convinced that being confronted with the need for profound self-discovery so explicitly (and often early in life!) is a gift in disguise. We come out the other end wiser & truer to ourselves. Some cis/het people never get there. All of this is to say – be kind to yourself. Discovering who you really are is an enormous task it doesn’t happen overnight, nor does it happen without some hiccups along the way. Be patient, be compassionate, be vulnerable and exist loudly. And most of all – be proud!”

It's massive and existential and difficult. But I'm convinced that being confronted with the need for profound self-discovery so explicitly (and often early in life!) is a gift in disguise. We come out the other end wiser & truer to ourselves. Some cis/het people never get there.
— Alexander Leon (@alexand_erleon) January 7, 2020

“This has blown up unexpectedly and I’m very humbled. If this meant something to you & you are able I’d really appreciate any donations to help families affected by the Australian bushfires. I am Australian and seeing my country burn is heartbreaking.”

This has blown up unexpectedly and I'm very humbled ❤️ If this meant something to you & you are able I'd really appreciate any donations to help families affected by the Australian bushfires. I am Australian and seeing my country burn is heartbreaking.https://t.co/AWeUgit7Jl
— Alexander Leon (@alexand_erleon) January 7, 2020

THAT ELLEN MONTAGE from The Golden Globes is worth another watch.

GLAAD announced 176 nominees in 30 categories, including the returning category for Outstanding Broadway Production. Says Deadline, “The 31st Annual GLAAD Media Awards nominees were published, released, or broadcast between January 1 and December 31, 2019. The GLAAD Media Awards ceremonies, which fund GLAAD’s work to accelerate LGBTQ acceptance, will be held in New York at the Hilton Midtown on Thursday, March 19, 2020 and Los Angeles at the Beverly Hilton on Thursday, April 16, 2020. Yesterday, GLAAD announced that Taylor Swift will receive the Vanguard Award and Janet Mock will receive the Stephen F. Kolzak Award at the 31st Annual GLAAD Media Awards in Los Angeles. Special honorees for the 31st Annual GLAAD Media Awards in New York will be announced in coming weeks.”

SHORT TREKS teases major Easter Eggs for Star Trek: Picard coming January 23rd to CBS All Access. In the short Children of Mars we follow the story of two young students Kima (Ilamaria Ebrahim) and Lil (Sadie Munroe), who both have parents who work on Mars. Meanwhile in the background we witness an attack on Mars that did not come from Romulans or Borg. It came from “Rogue Synths,” which can only refer to synthetics, which has to mean artificial life. So, now, as Children of Mars illustrates, an A.I. revolt actually creates the backstory of whatever happens in Star Trek: Picard.

BOARD GAME cafes have come to Brooklyn. Take your nerd game to the next level. Park Slope’s only board game cafe celebrated its grand opening last week, giving gamers young and old a chance to sip espresso as they play any one of more than 200 titles, according to the owner. “We realized that Park Slope didn’t actually have a space where people could work and study in the morning hours while having a board game option at night,” said Jonathan Li, owner of Sip ‘N’ Play. The neighborhood is already home to the Brooklyn Game Lab, but Li, 22, says the Seventh Avenue establishment is targeted towards youngsters, whose parents want them to harness the educational benefits of board games, as opposed to strategists of all ages looking for nothing more than a good time.

MEME OF THE DAY

BILLIE LOURD PLAYED HER MOM Carrie Fisher in the Jedi training flashback scene in The Rise of Skywalker. Says Entertainment Weekly, “There’sone Leia moment in The Rise of Skywalker that required a little more digital manipulation, and an assist from Fisher’s family. About halfway through the film — mild spoiler alert — there’s a brief flashback scene of Luke training Leia with lightsabers, as the princess studies to become a Jedi. In an interview with Yahoo Entertainment, ILM visual effects supervisor Patrick Tubach confirmed that Luke is played by a digitally de-aged Mark Hamill, while Fisher’s daughter, Billie Lourd, stepped in for her mom.”