Joyful Noises

After posting the sad news yesterday, I went looking and found some things a bit more uplifting, some 'Joyful Noises' if you will, to share with you today.  First up, the National Public Radio's program Snap Judgement presents 'storytelling with a beat'.  Snap Judgement has joined in a new partnership with The Huffington Post to feature performances from the nationally syndicated show.  The first of this series of stories features 15 year old slam poet Noah St. John as he tells his story about his two moms.  Watch with me as Noah with live accompaniment from Alex Mandel and the Snap Judgment Playaz, Tim Frick and David Brandt performs "The Last Mile:

On December 2, 2012 The Trevor Project Live at the Hollywood Palladium featured popular singer Katy Perry (Firework).  Katy not only sings but as an ally for the LGBTQ community, Katy has supported equality and the freedom to marry. Through her video "Firework," she inspires LGBT youth to find their spark, and in all things, Katy strives to let young people know they have value, and by being themselves, they can be anything.

Katy has been involved with The Trevor Project for two years. She has dedicated songs and performances to LGBT youth in crisis, and inspires LGBT youth to be proud of who they are. Most recently, Katy spent Transgender Day of Remembrance with Trevor staff and volunteers to learn more about the unique challenges faced by transgender and gender non-conforming youth. It's not only what she has done to inspire and empower, but her commitment to being a better, stronger ally for LGBT youth that makes Katy Perry a Trevor Hero.  Watch her inspiring acceptance speech with me:

Then from BuzzFeed.com comes these 60 Reasons to be Proud in 2012, followed by this bit of humor I found on FaceBook:

In Marriage Equality news, Washington State and Maryland have begun issuing Marriage Licenses to same sex couples in anticipation of the the day when the laws making Marriage Equality legal takes effect so that they may wed.  Among the first to register in Washington was Dan Savage and his husband Terry Miller of  the It Gets Better Project.   However the photograph of long time couple Larry Duncan and Randy Shepherd below is the one that went viral and has become the face of Marriage Equality in Washington:

For your aural pleasure today here is the video made from this 2005 CD which is a compilation of various performances in the 90's by Cellist Steven Isserlis of works for Cello and Orchestra by Camille Saint-Saens.  The Cellist is joined by The London Symphony Orchestra conducted by Michael Tilson Thomas for some performances and by the NDR Sinfonie-Orchester conducted by Cristoph Eschenbach for others.  He is joined by Violinist Joshua Bell in the performance of La Muse et le Poete.  The full play list is as follows:

Cello Concerto 1 in A Minor, Opus 33
Cello Concerto 2 in D Minor, Opus 119 18:44
La Muse et le Poète, Opus 132 36:59
Suite for Cello & Orchestra, Opus16 52:50
Prayer, Opus 158 1:10:01

Finally today to get you in the weekend state of mind comes the regular Friday feature here at Nichevo of hard bodied hunks and lithesome lads who are completely Naked or Nearly So for your visual appreciation.  Thanks for spending some time with me today, see you tomorrow for this week's photo review of the Best of the Web This Week.  Until next time as always, Enjoy!