"Joy and pleasure are as real as pain and sorrow and one must learn what they have to teach. . . ." -- Sean Russell, from Gatherer of Clouds

"If you're not having fun, you're not doing it right." -- Helyn D. Goldenberg

"I love you and I'm not afraid." -- Evanescence, "My Last Breath"

“If I hear ‘not allowed’ much oftener,” said Sam, “I’m going to get angry.” -- J.R.R. Tolkien, from Lord of the Rings

Friday, December 06, 2013

Celebrity News

Let's face it, we live in a world where what celebrities do is news -- even if their claim to fame is merely that they're "celebrities" of some unspecified nature. (I think you can come up with some names that fit that category.) The latest example of that is Tom Daley's "coming out" and the speculation on who his boyfriend is.

Now, this is the sort of thing I usually ignore -- there are a lot of things happening in the world that are way more important, but this one has some meat to it, starting with Daley's manner of revealing his current status -- in his own words, in his own time, and eschewing any labels or specifics. One of the few news sources I've seen that has displayed any integrity in this whole thing is Pink News, which had this to say about why they are not repeating the speculation about the lucky man:
Many reports have taken speculation about who Tom Daley is dating as gospel, and some have gone further to bring up old issues over past private issues.

Until one of the pair decide to confirm reports, and make a statement about their relationship, PinkNews will not report or speculate about it, in the same way that (after some lessons quickly learned) we would not apply a label to his sexuality.

Working in this industry it is easy to lose track of things, or make snap decisions in following a big story (trust me, I’ve had to make a few), but what this comes down to is that Tom Daley is a 19-year-old dealing with coming out, with the added pressure of attention from the world’s media.

I commend him for making the decision to publicly reveal that he is dating a man, but who that man is is only his business, unless an announcement is made.

My sentiments exactly. Otherwise, you turn into Drudge or Politico. Or Fox News. (Benghazi!!1!)

And yes, I included a picture of Daley because he is just plain cute.

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