Yaaas, party, read, listen, wherq, and watch with the 7 things that are everything this week.
Gay of Everything
Gay hairstylist Jonathan Van Ness has become an Internet celebrity with his Game of Thrones recaps, perfectly titled Gay of Thrones. In these Funny or Die videos, Van Ness gives viewers a seat in the styling chair, dishing the gossip from each episode with sass and hilarious nicknames for each character (we're looking at you, Cersei Lannister, a.k.a. blond Cher). This week, Van Ness brings his distinctive knack for breaking down complex plots to the real world. Gay of Everything, a new YouTube Web series, tackles everything from the crisis in Syria to the entertainment compeition between Netflix and HBO. Watch the first episode below.
Cyndi Lauper & Friends: Home for the Holidays
Hear great music while benefiting a great cause at the fifth annual Cyndi Lauper & Friends: Home for the Holidays concert, supporting the True Colors Fund's work to end homelessness among LGBT youth. As many as 40 percent of homeless youth in this country identify as LGBT, and most of them become homeless due to family rejection. The True Colors Fund is seeking solutions to this problem through a variety of advocacy efforts, and the Home for the Holidays event is one of its key sources of funding. This year's lineup is starry as ever, including Lauper, Boy George, Natasha Bedingfield, Keb' Mo', Judy Gold, Sharon Osbourne, Richie Sambora, and many more; Carson Kressley will host. It happens Saturday at 8 p.m. at New York City's Beacon Theatre; find tickets and more info here.
Shonda Rhimes, Year of Yes
Shonda Rhimes, a fierce ally to the LGBT community, is a powerhouse showrunner whose hit programs like Grey's Anatomy, Scandal, and How to Get Away With Murder have redefined the standards for quality entertainment and diversity in Hollywood. In her new memoir, Year of Yes, Rhimes recounts a year in which she said "yes" to everything that scared her -- the opposite of what had been the norm before -- and how this new mind-set changed her life. Learn how an open mind and heart can change your life too in this intimate new book.
Troye Sivan, Blue Neighborhood
After hitting a home run with his second EP, Wild, and moving the needle forward for LGBT visibility with his "Blue Neighborhood" trilogy of music videos featuring the love story of two boys who grow up to lead very different lives, out music artist Troye Sivan knocks it out of the park with his debut LP. Released today, the deluxe version of Blue Neighborhood features the six tracks previously released on the Wild EP alongside 10 new songs, including standouts such as "Youth," "Blue," and the heartbreaking "Talk Me Down."
America's Next Top Model: Series Finale
Remember where you were on May 20, 2003? That's when ANTM first aired and changed reality history with Tyra Banks's campy speeches, ridiculous challenges, and insane (probably because they were starving) constestants. After 22 "cycles," this Drag Race inspiration calls it quits Friday night, when the final male and female top models are chosen. We're not sure the winners will ever grace the cover of Vogue, but that was never the point.
Bette Midler, A Gift of Love
The Bette fan in your life will flip for this 18-track collection of the star's best love songs, out now. Spanning her 40+ year career, A Gift of Love includes classics like "The Rose," "Wind Beneath My Wings," and "From a Distance" but also dips back to 1976 for "Let Me Just Follow Behind" and comes around to the present, with "Talk to Me of) Mendocino" from her recent tribute to female groups, It's the Girls. We all love Bette's Twitter prowess, but let's not forget what made her a legend in the first place.
Transparent, Season 2
The Pfefferman family returns for a second season of tribulations in what the Los Angeles Times calls "one of the richest and most ambitious half-hour comedies ever." Maura (Jeffrey Tambor) is deep into her gender transition but finding that some other things haven't changed, and daughter Sarah (Amy Landecker) is marrying her college girlfriend, Tammy (Melora Hardin); their wedding opens the season's first episode. Out actress Cherry Jones guests as a feminist poet, and flashbacks to 1920s Berlin provide some backstory on the Pfeffermans. You can stream all the season's episodes on Amazon Prime beginning December 11; watch a trailer below.
