Auto news on Youtube Oct 27 2017

Welcome party-people to our special episode, Matt here and today´s topic is the creepiest

time of the year: Haalloweeeeen!

The date of Halloween – 31th of October – marks the line between fall and winter,

life and death, making party and the walk of shame...

But moreover, it is the time for superstition!

It is also the time of candies, costumes – the sexy ones – ohhh man look at her!

Hui… - but also the scary ones!

And last but not least the pumpkin…

AH COME ON, not that one! maaan, these guys scare really the shit out of me…

But I was talking about this kind of pumpkin…

Anyway.

These are the typical things which we connect with Halloween, but what else do we know about

this day?

Why do we celebrate Halloween ? And why do we dress up in costumes thatare kind of shit?

If you want to know, keep watching - ClueTube has it covered for you.

Alright folks, let's start at the beginning…

Halloween goes back to the ancient Celtic festival Samhain or pronounced "sow-in".

Who were the Celts?

Well, these badasses over here!

The Celts were an ancient tribe who lived 2000 years ago in the areas that we know as

Ireland, the United Kingdom and northern France.

They also really liked to go for a long-distance walk – a fact, that other cultures like

the Romans and ancient Greek did not like so much...

But this - this is another story…

Just saying you could find these guys creeping around in some other areas as well in later

years…

Let's get back to our story.

The Celts celebrated their new year on the 1st of November.

Not just by accident, no man – that date marked the end of summer and the harvest.

It was also the beginning of the winter which meant cold and dark days… that again went

hand in hand with death, because we are talking about survival of the fittest kind of shit

here.

The Celts – as superstitious as they were – believed that on the night before New

Year the boundaries between the worlds of the living and the dead became blurred…

That is why they celebrated Samhain on October 31st, believing that the ghosts of the dead

come back to earth at that night…

I mean that was considered to be a sure thing.

During the celebrations the Celts wear costumes consisting of animal heads, skins and some

other nasty shit.

These guys knew how to party – you have to give them that...

Later around 43 A.D. the Roman Empire kicked some Celtic asses and took over most of their

territory and ruled it for 400 years.

During that time the Celtic festival Samhain was combined with two Roman festivals.

The first was Feralia, where the Romans remembered the dead, and the second was a day to honor

Pomona, the Roman god of fruits and trees.

The symbol of Pomona was an apple and it is probably the explanation for the tradition

of "bobbing apples" which is still practiced on Halloween today…

Yeah kids, now you know why you get healthy apples instead of candies… say thank you

to Pomona!

Later – on May 13, 609 A.D. to be exactly – Pope Boniface IV established the Catholic

feast of All Martyrs Day in the Western church.

Pope Gregory III later expanded the festival to include all saints as well and moved the

date of celebration from May 13 to November 1.

By the 9th century, the Celtic Islands and their rites were highly influenced by the

Christianity, and the church declared November 2 as the day to honor the dead – calling

it the All Souls´ Day.

Similar to Samhain the day was celebrated by dressing up in costumes, but as saints,

angels or devils…

Sounds lame?

What do you expect when the church takes over and runs the par-tey?

Anyway, the intention of the church was probably to substitute the Celtic festival with a related

but church-sanctioned holiday.

Sneaky bastards…

The All Saints Day celebration was also called All-hallows, or All-hallowmas which came from

the Middle English, meaning All Saints´ Day.

That is why the night before – the traditional night of Samhain, began to be called All-hallows

Eve and, finally, Halloween.

Now you already got a lot of input, but all that took place in Europe.

Why then is it so famous and spread widely in America?

The celebration of Halloween was indeed extremely limited in colonial New England but still

much more common in Maryland and the southern colonies.

An American version of Halloween began to emerge, where neighbors would share stories

of the dead, dance and sing together.

When America was flooded with new immigrants in the second half of the nineteenth century,

the celebration of Halloween and the tradition to dress up in costumes got popularized especially

by the millions of Irish immigrants.

And that is why Halloween became one of the most celebrated festivals in the USA my friends.

Now you know and you are ready to get liquored up… sponsored by ClueTube…

No-no-no-NO!!!!

I mean don´t drink alcohol, be careful out there and catch some healthy apples…

THAT… is sponsored by ClueTube… forget the shit before and sign up for this channel.

For more infomation >> Why Do We Celebrate Halloween? | The History of Halloween | SPECIAL EPISODE - Duration: 5:12.

-------------------------------------------

Why do PILOTS DEICE? Explained by CAPTAIN JOE - Duration: 9:05.

Dear friends and followers, welcome back to my channel. Today's video is an important topic, especially when it comes to cold weather operation.

Why do airplanes have to be de-iced?

So let's get started!

If you're a plane spotter or a pilot or just an aviation enthusiast, build your own website with Squarespace

at www.squarespace.com/captainjoe

They are today's sponsor of this video.

Now, I'm sure many of you have experienced this before: You get onto your flight home (during Christmas time, maybe),

you get pushed back, you taxi near the active runway, and then the captain announces...

[Captain: Uh, ladies, gentlemen and children, very good morning, ### we're on de-icing treatment ###]

Sounds familiar? A minimum of fifteen minutes delay, guaranteed.

So you might ask, why is it so important to remove the snow and ice from airplanes?

The critical surfaces on an airplane, such as the wings and control surfaces (like the slats and flaps and ailerons,

and horizontal and vertical stabilizers) have to be free of any contamination.

Because even minor levels of contamination will have a negative impact on aerodynamic performance,

frost, ice or snow accumulation with a roughness of equivalent to medium sandpaper can reduce the lift by much as

30% and increase drag as much as 40%.

Therefore, the changes in lift and drag significantly increase the stall speed and lower the angle of attack,

reduce controllability, and result in a major impact on the airplane's flight characteristics.

To make matters worse, most airplanes have stall speed warnings, which come active at a preset speed or angle of attack,

meaning in case of ice on the wings, the crew might not even receive a stall warning at all. So any kind of

contamination of the critical surface needs to be thoroughly looked at during the outside check, and there are

many different types of icing which can be found on the airplanes. For example,

overnight frost, very similar to what you remove off of your car for the freezing night;, clear ice

which can be difficult to detect as it is transparent

and it is a result of frozen water patches or snow which is melted and froze up again;,

rime ice is mostly experienced during climb and approach phases;

mixed ice, seen when planes are parked outside for long periods where various ice forms freeze,

and then slightly melt and up again.

So how would you deal with ice that has accumulated on your wings before the flight? Now the outside check is

absolutely mandatory, as

contamination could have damaged sensitive instruments like the pitot tubes, the static port, and angle-of-attack instruments.

You might even have to ask for mobile stairs to get a close look of the upper wing

surface. So once you've completed your outside check and have notified the pilot flying about the contaminated wings

et cetera, you want to contact your ground operator to sign you up for airplane de-icing.

You'll then be put on a waiting list and start up your engines

accordingly. Now during taxi, it is standard procedure to extend your flaps and perform a flight control check.

But all standard procedures and checklists shall be on hold until the de-icing of the airplane is completed.

So no flight control inputs or flap extensions shall be made, as the contamination of snow and ice could

potentially damage the flight controls.

Imagine your windscreen

wipers frozen to the windshield of your car, and as soon as you flip the switch, the chance of breaking your wipers is pretty high.

So prior to reaching the de-icing pad, you perform the de-icing

anti-icing procedure on ground checklist. Now as you see here, the checklist

demands engine bleed 1 & 2 off, such as the APU bleed off.

Why is that so? Now the engine bleed system, generated by the engine compressor stage,

partly provides bleed air for the air conditioning system, so in case some of the de-icing fluid (which is primarily a propylene

glycol based fluid, which is fairly toxic) could get sucked into the engine intake and end up in the passenger cabin.

Therefore, you turn off the engine and APU bleed air to reduce the chance of that happening.

Also the ditching push-button comes to on, which has the function that all exterior Inlet and outlet

valves get closed, in case the plane ditches in water (so to say, sealing the aircraft). Now for instance, the big

outflow valve at the rear part of the fuselage

closes, because you don't want de-icing fluid running into the airplane. Once the checklist is completed, the airplane is ready for spraying

operation. You then notify the de-icing crew via radio communication

which areas of the plane you want to get de-iced, and then they get started. [Radio communication: Okay,

681, brakes are set; we are ready. 681, good morning.

We copy that. It's gonna be wings and tail, Type I. We begin de-icing right now.]

The fluid sprayed unto the wing is also known as a

freezing point depressant. These fluids are most effective when the fluid is thermally heated and sprayed onto the wing with a high pressure.

Now, these fluids can come in various mixtures and are categorized in fluid types

which have different effect once they are applied to the airplane.

Type I is primarily used as a

de-icing agent to remove ice, frost, or snow from the aircraft surfaces, and is applied hot, and it's usually dyed orange.

Type II is often applied in a two-step process. The first application is a

heated de-icing fluid to remove most of the

contamination, and the second step is the same fluid but non-heated,

and it acts as an anti-icing agent. Then there's Type III fluid which is a compromise out of the Type I and II,

which is generally applied to turboprop aircraft, as they have a lower lift of speed than jet-propelled airplanes.

And I'm sure many of you have seen Type IV fluids, as they have this green jelly look-alike texture.

Type IV is very often used in collaboration with either Type I and II fluids

which remove the contamination, and then a green layer of anti-icing Type IV fluid is applied to

significantly increase the hold over time. Type II, III, and IV

fluids all have anti-icing properties such that, when applied to a clean surface,

they are designed to protect the aircraft from ice accumulation for a

predicted length of time (the so-called holdover time). The ground crew will inform you about the type and mixture

they have used and when the spraying operation has started. You then open up the holdover time table to check how long the

application will "hold over" until your takeoff.

Let's quickly take a look at the holdover time table. The METAR indicates light snow showers.

The reported temperature is -4 degrees.

Reading down from the conditions and across from temperature, you derive a holdover time for undiluted

Type IV fluid of 30 to 55 minutes. So once the spraying operation is

completed, you perform the "Upon completion of spraying operation"

checklist. You then make sure that all the ground equipment is removed with confirmation of the ground crew, and then resume the normal

operation and perform the checklist leading up to the takeoff roll, such as flight control checks and flap settings.

Please take my advice -- do not underestimate even minor ice patches on your airplane's critical surfaces. Very

often it's difficult to determine if there is ice or not, especially in low-light conditions.

Also, keep in mind airplanes are built out of alloy and composite materials

which react differently to ice. So sometimes one surface seems clean, but the other might be contaminated.

So be wise and get rid of your ice. Please be aware

this is just a basic explanation of the de-icing and anti-icing operation.

There is so much more to learn, trust me. So next week

we'll talk about how airplanes deal with ice within flight. Thank you very much for your time.

Please perform a touch-and-go at my Instagram account

(de-iced planes only please), and don't forget to hit the Subscribe button plus the notification bell

so you won't miss out on upcoming videos. All the best. See you next week, your Captain Joe.

I want to give out a big shout-out to Squarespace for supporting this video.

I recently started to do speaking appearances at events and I'm really enjoying it, and therefore

I'm building a brand new website, just for that, and I'm building it with Squarespace.

You don't need to know code or need to be a web design expert or whatever.

It's pretty easy to use and it makes things look

beautiful. If any of you guys want to create your own website,

whether to showcase your photos from plane spotting, or blog or whatever it is go, to squarespace.com/captainjoe

to get a free trial and 10% off for your first purchase.

For more infomation >> Why do PILOTS DEICE? Explained by CAPTAIN JOE - Duration: 9:05.

-------------------------------------------

Why do Kurds want to Break Iraq? - VisualPolitik EN - Duration: 12:26.

Have you ever heard of Erbil?

Despite threats from Baghdad, it seems probable that geography students will soon have to

learn the name of this capital city as well as its new country: Iraqi Kurdistan.

The 25th of September this year was a historical moment for the more than 5 million Kurds who

currently live in this autonomous community in the north of Iraq.

And why was this?

Well, that's because after decades of unfulfilled promises and ethnic repression, they had the

opportunity to vote in a referendum organized by the Regional Government of Kurdistan.

Since 2005, and according to the Constitution of Iraq, Kurdistan is an autonomous region...

but this area worked, essentially, almost as a totally independent country.

And the result of this was that the population really wanted to be fully independent.

The day of the referendum, Kurds show up en-mass at the polling stations.

Even speakers at mosques encouraged voters to go to the polls.

Well, the final results showed the referendum was a complete success…

More than 7 out of every 10 Kurds went to vote.

That almost 3.1 million votes.

The victory was overwhelming for those who supported independence, obtaining 92.73% of

the vote.

And you know what, this triumph is totally understandable, because we are talking about

some of the most ill-treated people in history.

And that's even though the Kurds are, according to many experts, the most ancient people in

the entire region.

It is estimated that their culture, their language, theirs rituals, essentially everything

that could define them, have been in this part of the world (Upper Mesopotamia) for

more than 4,000 years...

In fact, many of these experts consider the city centre of Erbil, the capital, as the

oldest human settlement to be continuously inhabited on the planet.

In other words, the Kurds are older than the Persians or the Arabs.

However, they have suffered from all kinds of persecution.

See, the total number of Kurds is around 30 million, spread across, mainly, four countries:

Turkey, Iran, Syria and Iraq.

Well, in all these places the Kurds have suffered the consequences of nationalism that has tried

to make them disappear as a community.

They have tried to end their culture, their language, as well as trying to close down

their media outlets.

Between 1986 and 1989, Saddam Hussein launched the "Anfal Campaign" and estimations are

that between 50,000 and 180,000 Kurds died as a result of this campaign.

And as you might imagine, this cannot be easily forgotten.

"My grandfather had a good sense of humor.

He used to say he was born a Kurd, in a free country.

Then the Ottomans arrived and said to my grandfather, "You're Ottoman," [...] At the fall of the

Ottoman Empire, he became Turkish.

The Turks left and he became a Kurd again.

[...] Then the British arrived, so my grandfather became a subject of His Gracious Majesty.

The British invented Iraq, so my grandfather became Iraqi, but [...] to his dying breath

he was never proud of being Iraqi.

Hiner Saleem, "My father's rifle : a childhood in Kurdistan".

Considering the history, it is no surprise that the Kurds want, once and for all, to

make the dream of having their own state come true.

And if we add up the fact that the Iraqi Kurdistan is quite a rich area in terms of oil and natural

gas (as well as fresh water, by the way) we can understand even more why they want independance.

So, to sum up, the Kurds want, and are able, to build their own country.

And it is beneficial for them, so, well, they did that.

THE REFERENDUM

As we have said, Kurdistan is almost an independent country already… they even have their own

army of more than 200,000 soldiers: the Peshmerga, who have (by the way) been the main defiance

to Islamic State in Iraq.

Do bear this in mind because the government of Kurdistan is a close ally of Washington.

Maybe their most loyal ally in the area actually.

Because of this, the US has trained, financed and armed their army.

Some even say that the Kurds are as pro-American as Texans!

So, after many difficult years of intense fighting against Islamic State, it has been

clear for the Kurds that there are almost no advantages in remaining in Iraq.

And the government of Erbil took advantage of these battles to integrate Kurd areas into

their political space.

For example there is the province of Kirkuk, who had a majority of Kurds but was not within

the autonomous region of Kurdistan.

Kirkuk is something of a "crown jewel" and one of the main reasons for conflict with

the Iraqi government, who by the way has not hesitated to send their troops over to recover

this settlement.

"Iraqi Forces Sweep Into Kirkuk, Checking Kurdish Independence Drive"

So why is this territory so valuable?

Well, that's Because Kirkuk is the province that contains the most oil in Kurdistan...

In fact, it is estimated that around 10% of all Iraqi oil reserves are concentrated here,

in Kirkuk, and nobody wants to let them go...

In 2007, a referendum should have been conducted to incorporate (or not) the Autonomous Region

of Kurdistan… but voting never took place.

So when the Peshmerga occupied the city in order to protect it from Islamic State since

the Iraqi army had literally run away… the Kurd Government had, de facto, annexed the

territory.

So, with these conditions and with constant negotiations between Baghdad and Erbil (and

with a growing disconnect between both territories) they eventually got to the referendum.

"This is the first time in history that the people of Kurdistan will freely decide

their future.

After that we will start talks with Baghdad, to reach an agreement over borders, water

and oil".

Mr Barzani, president of Iraqi Kurdistan.

Now, the government of Iraq opposed this referendum in every way and the Constitutional Court

of Iraq even outlawed it.

Parliament asked for many things including: the withdrawal of diplomatic representation

in Erbil, a border closure, and even army deployment…

In Kirkuk there was also prosecution of the organizers of the referendum and, of course,

parliament tried their best to remain in control of all the oil.

But...even with this kind of action by the Iraqi government, the Kurds didn't really

care.

And that's only logical, because despite the progress of the Iraqi army,  the risk

for Kurdistan is probably not in Iraq, but rather is with the international community.

You see, Turkey and Iran don't even want to hear about an independent Kurdistan.

That might give the Kurds in their territories an idea to replicate this success.

Turkey, for instance, has been at war with the Kurds for decades, but that's a story

for another day...

The thing is these countries have allied with Iraq to defy the referendum:

Turkey's military has confirmed that Turkey and Iraq will conduct joint military drills

in Turkey, along an area bordering Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdish region.

Iran's semi-official ISNA news agency reported that on Sunday that the Supreme National Security

Council closed Iranian airspace to the Iraqi Kurdish area at the request of the central

government in Baghdad.

And no, it's not just about the possibility of conflict...

After all, it is likely to be the result of fear tactics (which are very usual in this

kind of situations) and they rarely work, by the way.

Remember Kurdistan is a close ally of the USA and they have an experienced and well

trained army...

No, the bigger issue might be that Kurdistan needs their neighbours...

This territory is landlocked and they are very dependent on Turkey: both to export their

oil to and to import anything they might need...

So, a trade blockade would be a serious threat for this territory.

"The KRG's economy depends on one pipeline that sells oil to international markets and

the pipeline goes through Turkey.

You shut down that pipeline, you choke the Kurdish economy," Bilal Wahab, analyst at

the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.

But there is more to it than their neighbours.

Nobody wants any more tension with this part of the world so, .internationally speaking,

the referendum didn´t get much support.

The US has opposed it, and Antonio Guterres, Secretary General of the UN has described

it as "dangerous and potentially disruptive".

Today, only Israel clearly supports the independence of this country.

The future doesn't look very good then, does it?

Well, wait, because despite all this, it is likely that Kurdistan will achieve independence

sooner or later...

THE REASONS FOR A NEW COUNTRY

Iraqi Kurdistan has many issues, however they have managed to become the region that functions

the best in Iraq.

They are the safest and wealthiest area.

"I've been to Iraqi Kurdistan a number of times.

It's safer than Kansas [...] If you're coming from Baghdad or Mosul, it's practically

Switzerland".

Michael J. Totten.

American journalist.

Check this out: In 2014, before the IS offensive, this region was turning into the most relevant

financial and tourist spot in Iraq - an oasis for many businessmen, both local and foreign...

Skyscrapers, malls, and mansions, were spreading like mushrooms after the rain…

That was until the war broke out in Iraq against the Islamic State.

Then, most of this development had to stop.

Now, after some awful years of war, in 2017 the numbers are bouncing back…

And remember that this area is oil rich.

Some estimations calculate the oil reserves of Kurdistan as 45 billion barrels!

To put it into words, Kurdistan would be among the 15 oil richest countries on Earth.

And this is in a country with little more than 5 million inhabitants.

But there is still so much more…

Iraq´s Kurdistan is quite business friendly.

Indeed, they like private initiatives… something uncommon in this part of the globe.

Taxes are also attractive and bureaucracy is not excessive either.

Unfortunately though, there is still plenty of corruption.

"The Kurdistan Government will do its best to help the private sector and have them invest

here.

[...] I invite all local and foreign investors here to take advantage of our laws and offers,

and invest".

Masoud Barzani, president of Iraqi Kurdistan.

The thing is that this region has enough going for it to make Kurdistan a prosperous country...

They have fertile land, high levels of safety, and natural resources.

Further, their geographical location is beneficial: a place between Turkey, Iran and Iraq.

But, on top of that: This new country is only… well… fair...

The Kurd people, and especially Iraqi Kurds have been deported, attacked with chemical

weapons, and have suffered all sorts of social engineering in order to strangle their culture.

And now they have an opportunity to build their own country.

Further, the rest of us could also benefit from a more moderate, prosperous and free

country than the ones around it...

The Middle East would certainly be better for it.

Are what about the problems in today's Iraqi Kurdistan, are there any?

Well, of course there are, but that is no excuse to not make this happen.

First, because these problems exist now (with them still being a part of Iraq), and second:

because they are less serious problems than the ones in the rest of the country.

So, is there corruption?

Yes, totally.

Is there oil dependency?

Yes indeed.

Debt?

Oh yes, that too...

But this is totally normal in this part of the world…

The rest of Iraq is in a much worse situation for sure.

Well, anyway, we just wish that Baghdad's response does not turn this situation into

a military conflict.

That would be a terrible scenario for everyone, and would be also one of those situations

where political interests prevailed above the people's.

But now it's time for your opinion: do you support the independence of Kurdistan?

Well, leave your answer in the comments as well as in the survey.

Don't forget to subscribe to our channel for brand new videos every Monday and Thursday.

Also, don't forget to check out our friends at the Reconsider Media Podcast - they provided

the vocals in this episode that were not mine!

And as always, thanks for watching!

For more infomation >> Why do Kurds want to Break Iraq? - VisualPolitik EN - Duration: 12:26.

-------------------------------------------

Why do gay men hate Sam Smith? - Duration: 6:16.

Why do gay men hate Sam Smith?

Your mother loves him. Your grandmother loves him. Blige and Gladys Knight love him. The whole world loves him, recently sending him to number one on Spotify's Global Top 50. But there's one exception to the rule.

OK, not all gay men. But enough of them. Most I know roll their eyes at the mere mention of his name. We see it every time we write about him on Gay Star News. The hostility is fierce.

'Pathetic attention whore,' said one non-fan when we reported on Sam's new new romance this week.

'I can't stand this ex-fat and his "sad declarations,"' elaborated another. 'He only wants attention, and believe[s] he's the only gay guy in the world. When he doesn't understand, even gay guys we can't stand him.'. Ouch.

Sam's believed to be dating 13 Reasons Why star Brandon Flynn. I must admit, he's picked a convenient time to speak about it for the first time – the week before his new album comes out. And on Ellen's sofa no less.

The news coincides with his – I think, brave – revelation about gender fluidity, that he's 'as much a woman as I am man', in the Sunday Times. Once again, there were negative reactions. Others were misogynistic, transphobic and abusive.

At this point I ask: how much more of this is he meant to take?.

He's one of the most talented and successful gay men of his generation, but his peers want to take him down. Why? The inconvenient truth is, we're jealous of him.

'I too have struggled to warm to him – he annoyed me when he waited to come out'

Of course, there are legitimate reasons to not like him. I too have struggled to warm to him – he annoyed me by waiting a few years into his career to come out publicly, surprising absolutely no one.

(But as I always remind myself, I've no right to dictate when someone does, even if they're rich, famous and privileged.).

That same year, he deigned to question app culture. 'No offence to people who go on Tinder but I just feel like it's ruining romance, I really do,' he said.

'We're losing the art of conversation and being able to go and speak to people and you're swiping people. […] Stop Tinder and Grindr!'.

His comments prompted the still-irresistible Gawker headline 'Sam Smith's fucked up gay conservatism' and the pulverising line: 'I wonder if Smith leaves his shirt on during sex because he needs to keep his heart on his sleeve.

Worse still was the fall-out from that acceptance speech. Last year, he referred to himself as the first gay man to win an Oscar, inspiring the wrath of Dustin Lance Black and many others.

(The song itself, a middling Bond theme, Sam wrote 'in about 20 minutes.').

'He risked everything by disappearing for a staggering 18 months'

He swiftly apologised, temporarily quit Twitter, and risked everything by disappearing for a staggering 18 months – almost unheard for a star of his stature. For some it wasn't enough.

OK, he's made some mistakes. But it's easy to forget just how young Sam Smith is, old soul or not. He was 23 at the time of the Oscars gaffe. Who hasn't said something as stupid, or worse, aged 23 and beyond?.

We drag Sam like we drag Tom Daley for not living up to expectations. But there's no 'correct' way for a gay man to be, famous or not. All Sam has to do is sing. All Tom has to do is dive.

Not everyone has to be endlessly politicized and outspoken – there is such a thing as free will. (Although to his credit, Sam spoke out in support of Australian marriage equality recently).

Furthermore, while we dismiss elements of Sam's image as 'safe' and straight-baiting, misogynists might condemn the same as traditionally feminine and overly emotional.

Most notably in his biggest hit Stay With Me, in which he desperately begs his one night stand to be tender with him. (Who hasn't been there? More to the point, who's willing to admit it?).

But he isn't compromising. His new songs Too Good At Goodbyes and Pray are as emotional and navel-gazing as ever. Millennial gay men were all over it when Adele took the same course two years ago.

'He's finding he doesn't need the gay community's support to be a star'

There is something subversive about Sam's femininity. It's not a parody – he's not 'sashaying away' – and it's not a huge political statement, either.

He's just being himself. And in doing so, selling millions of records, making millions of dollars and the cherry on top: he's found a boyfriend.

He's rich, famous and, ironically, quite happy, and he's not had to feign masculinity, invent an activist persona or in any way change who he is to get there.

In fact, he's evolving, speaking out about tricky gender questions in an entirely personal way. And that, I think, is a tough pill for some of his peers to swallow.

But what does it matter? Evidently, Sam doesn't need the gay community's support to be a star. It's a shame gay men aren't more behind a member of their own tribe. But conversely, maybe there's a silver lining there.

We've long idolized straight pop stars and claimed them as our own. Maybe the opposite being true of Sam and his straight fans indicates a levelling of the playing field. I say good luck to him.