PhoboQuotable - Paul Cameron

"The child will disproportionately associate with homosexuals – who are as a class considerably more apt to have STDs and a criminal history, be interested in sex with children, involved in substance abuse, etc." - Dr. Paul Cameron, Chairman, Family Research Institute, and Bush/Cheney croney, from a press release speaking out against Mary Cheney's unborn child. (How ya like yer ole buddy now, Dick?)
(via - Proceed At Your Own Risk.)

Now go check out Dan Savage's brilliant point-by-point refutation of Cameron's statement.

By the way, if you'd like to give "Dr." Cameron a ringy-dingy, his personal cell is 303-886-1947. It's the weekend, put it in your cell now. Cuz, tomorrow night? DRUNK DIAL CITY!

Cuz It's E-colicious

I could really go for some Taco Bell right now. Stupid news.

Queer Of The Year Readers Poll

Nominations begin today in the Queer Of The Year Readers Poll. Please submit your answer to this question:

"Which queer person most advanced the state of the gay rights movement in 2006?"

Nominations will close on Friday, December 15th. That weekend, a small group of judges will cull the list of nominees and present five finalists for open voting, which will begin Monday, December 18 and end on Sunday, December 31st. The winner will be revealed on Wednesday, January 3rd, 2007.

2006 has been a fascinating, maddening, heartening year. Many (some would say, most) of the highest profile queer news events have arisen from scandal. You are welcome to consider whether the persons involved in these scandals may have unwittingly or unwillingly contributed to the advance of gay rights by exposing hypocrisy, cynicism, or discrimination.

The QOTY Poll judges are a handful of dedicated queers whose vocations or avocations involve a passion for gay rights activism. They are male and female, gay and bisexual. They include writers, a civil rights activist, and an academecian. I am not a judge.

Bloggers are welcome to present this poll to their readers. Nominations will be collected here, for the convenience of the judges, but when voting begins I will provide the poll coding to anybody that wants to run the poll on their own sites. Give me a heads-up if you post about QOTY and I will link back to you here.

Now let's have some fun!

Blogs joining in: Real Ethical Slut, The Brother Love, AOL Worth Repeating, Center Of Gravitas, High Maintenance Hags, Lexx's Nexus, Ham & Cheese On Wry, Pam's House Blend, Troubled Diva, Page One Q, Uffish, Confessions Of A Southern Boy, Proceed At Your Own Risk, Queer Beacon, Chris Tuttle, Oh My Charlotte.

HomoQuotable - Michael Musto

"Leaving her out is like advertising a sandwich with "Lettuce! Mayo! Salt!" - Michael Musto, complaining that posters for Dreamgirls feature Beyonce', Jamie Foxx, and Eddie Murphy, but not the film's showstopper, Jennifer Hudson, whose performance is apparently so thrilling that it inspired a MID-screening standing ovation at Tuesday's premiere in NYC.

However, before you show-queens get too aquiver regarding Miss Hudson, know that she is a born-again Christer who feels that homosexuality is a sin, an opinion she glibly glosses over with, "No sin is greater than another", cuz hey, she IS the headliner at a New Year's Eve $ircuit party here in NYC. Kah-ching!

RELATED: An interesting debate re Hudson is going on at Towleroad, where Hudson has released a statement, outing her sister. The statement definitely makes me rethink the above paragraph. (Tip via Chris @ Boy's Briefs).

The Jesus And Mary Cheney

Man, how I wish I'd thought of the above headline myself. Wonkette, I bow to you.

Wing Nuts Daily

I love WorldNetDaily. The headlines are high-larry-us!

Is carrying firearms 'Christian'?
New book offers biblical justification for packing heat
It's right there in the Book Of Uzi, people.

Doctors: Kids see too many anti-impotence commercials
Warn 'ads for erectile dysfunction drugs ... make sex seem like a recreational activity'
Cuz fucking is work. Punch in, punch out.

Terrorists rejoicing over new Iraq 'plan'
Reaction to Study Group: 'Allah and his angels' responsible, 'era of Islam and of jihad' declared
Fact: Christers love scare quotes.

Regular reading of WND would lead one to believe that:
a) Christians are *this* close from being herding onto railcars.
b) The world is *this* close to coming to an end.
c) It will be fantastic when the world comes to an end.

Of course, you're not meant to make note of the logical disconnect between daily hysteria about the imminent end times and the fact that ALL of the advertising on the site (most of which is brazenly posted as news items) are about retirement funds, long-term annuities, and loads of anti-aging and longevity snake oils.

Seriously, folks. You need to bookmark World Net Daily right next to The Onion.

Squeal When You're Pinned, Boy!

A South Dakota high school wrestler has been accused by his teammates of rape and attempted rape for acts that took place before the start of practice and on the school bus. Members of the Parker High School wrestling team claim that Jerome Hunt, 17, penetrated them "through their clothing in the rectum area with fingers." According to Hunt's attorney, the acts were actually a nationally recognized wrestling move called "skinning". Assistant wrestling coach Ned Beatty confirmed this to a grand jury, saying, "Skinning is just like most wrestling moves, only a little more anal rape-y."

Open Thread Thursday

There's a lot of hot new shit out right now. What do you want for xmas?

And let's keep it to things that you actually, really, might get from somebody you know. Anybody that says "world peace" or "the pure love of a true man" automatically loses the thread.
.

Evening View - 7:14PM

FriendSpace

For the first time in about a year, I remembered I have a Friendster account. While cleaning out the piled up emails (mostly from 19 year old girls with webcams who live Right! Down! The Street!), I found that I've been friended by Sen. Russ Feingold. Huh? Oh, wait. It's a Fakester. Are people still doing that? From Friendster, I skipped over to my MySpace account, where unsurprisingly, I had emails from 19-year old girls with webcams. Them bitches love me, apparently.

Kid, Gloves

I left the house this morning rather impressed with myself, as I realized that I still have the same leather gloves I bought before Xmas last year. Hanging on to a pair of gloves (hat, umbrella, etc) for a full year is an unprecedented accomplishment for me. A couple of years ago, I almost made it through the winter with the same pair of gloves, but I dropped one on the subway platform and just as I reached for it, a passing train blew it onto the tracks. I stood up and cursed and threw its companion after it, scaring the lady next to me.

So my mood unreasonably elevated by my triumphant glove-having, I left the apartment and fell into step behind a nanny walking an unreasonably perky 5-year old girl. The girl was holding the nanny's hand as she skipped down 68th Street, calling out to everything she passed by.

"Hello Mr. Bus!"

"Hello Mr. Garbage Truck!"

"Hello Mr. Mailbox!"

At the corner of Third Avenue, I stepped into the street next to the kid. She looked up at me and beamed.

"Hello Mr. Daddy Man!"

Clearly, this kid has been to the Eagle.

Boy Culture

For a much more thorough take on the movie than I provided, check out Boy Culture's review of Notes On A Scandal. He loved it. (Me, not so much.) While you're over there, check out the rest of his blog, the guy is a fantastic writer.

Morning View - Village Pier

The view looking downtown from the Christopher Street Pier. In the distance, the Woolworth Building. Embiggen makey pretty.

Lesbaby For Cheney

Mary Cheney is pregnant. A spokesman for the Vice President said, "The Vice President and Lynne Cheney are looking forward with eager anticipation to the arrival of their sixth grandchild." There's no word on how Cheney and her partner, Heather Poe, achieved the pregnancy.

It will be interesting to read the White House reaction to the birth announcement. What do you suppose Dubya will say?

Nanny State Rises... Deliciousness Plummets!

The New York City Board Of Health voted today to ban all trans-fats from city restaurants.

I weep for the future. And for doughnuts.

Stocking Stuffer

Worried about polonium 210? Tired of dragging that clunky Geiger counter onto the subway? Wanna know about nuclear attacks and stay trendy too? Nukalert is smart, portable and it chirps loudly when it encounters lethal doses of radiation. Forget dirty bombs, get back to dirty thoughts! And for your favorite nuke-conscious hipster, ask about the new blinged-out Dolce & Gabbanalert!

Mind The Gap

Monday, 11pm, The Townhouse

Bartender: I told him no way, cuz he's like half my age, right? And he goes, "But I have a really big cock!" I was like, "Honey, unless it's big enough to bend time, it ain't happening."

I hear you, my brother.

Notes On A Scandal

Last night, with some other bloggers, I attended a screening of Notes On A Scandal, starring Judi Dench, Cate Blanchett, and Bill Nighy. The entire cast was brilliant, and I fully expect that Dench will justifiably receive her umpteenth Oscar nomination for her disturbing, yet riveting potrayal of a manipulative, delusional, treacherous closeted-lesbian school teacher. It's a performance that will stay with me a long time. And Cate Blanchett's child-molesting, philandering, priviledged novice art teacher will surely earn her rave notices.

That said, I hated Notes On A Scandal.

Oh, it's a brilliant "art" movie. Without revealing the plot, I'll grant that the film is gritty, it's realistic, and that the characters behave illogically and against their better interests, just like people do in real life. But as is often the case in real life, there was not one likable character in the movie, save perhaps Nighy's cuckolded husband. They were all dreadful people doing dreadful things to one another. My companion, Aaron, thought the movie trod the familiar British obsession with class distinctions, something he thinks Americans pretend not to notice. I just sat there wishing the worst on each character, and cringing from the crashing, relentless, nerve-wracking Phillip Glass score which only abated during Dench's voiceovers, which go on for about half of the film.

Incidentally, some critics have called this Dench's Whatever Happened To Baby Jane role, as she unvainly allows herself to be filmed without make-up, with ratted hair, and in stodgy schoolmarm costumes. I'm still digesting my opinion about Notes On A Scandal, and perhaps that's the hallmark of a well-made film, but for now I'll stick with what I said upon exiting the screening, "I'd pay to get OUT of a theatre playing that movie."

Notes On A Scandal opens nationwide December 27th. Watch the trailer here.

Civil Unions Gifts: Paper Or Plastic?

One year after gay civil unions became legal in the UK, over 15,000 gay couples have become legal partners there. Interestingly, in England male couples getting civil unions are outnumbering female couples, 62% to 38%, almost the reverse of what we've been seeing in Massachusetts. I wonder if this has something to do with the "marriage" vs. "civil union" condundrum? And do the normal gifting rules apply for civil unions?

Gah. Feh.

Reference the gossip blogs mentioned below, should we care that Reichen Lehmkuhl and Lance Bass have split up? Why is this even newsworthy? And note that People uses the archaic and offensive expression that Bass had "admitted" he was gay. Gah. And I certainly hope those two return their oh-so-richly deserved HRC Visibility Award. Feh. Somebody call quality control at Role Model Manufacturing.

Special note to People Magazine: We shouldn't have to tell you this in 2006, but instead of "admitted", try one of these: disclosed, confirmed, revealed, declared. And stay the fuck away from "confessed."

Poz Visitors Get Temp U.S. Visas

In a policy statement laughingly titled, "The President Is Dedicated To Ending Discrimination Against People Living With HIV/AIDS", the White House today announced a lessened restriction upon HIV positive persons wishing to visit the United States. Under the old rules, an HIV positive person had to apply for a visa waiver, then be interviewed in person at the U.S. embassy. THEN, if approved, the passport was permanently stamped "HIV+". This policy is now waived (apparently) for those wishing to enter the U.S. under a student, tourist, or business visa, with a limit of a 60-day visit. HIV positive persons remain banned from consideration for permanent immigration, a lasting gift from former Senator Jesse Helms, who, when asked to comment on these changes, asked the reporter, "Are you my mommy?"

The Other Blogging Shoe Finally Drops

Gay gossip blogger Mario Lavendeira, aka Pezen Hilton, is being sued for $7.5 million in a copyright infringement case filed by a top celebrity photo agency, with several more agencies said to be in the process of filing similar suits. In the suit, reported upon by Entertainment Tonight and Access Hollywood, the photo agency X17 contends that Lavendeira is personally profiting from the work of others, via his site advertising, where ads have been going for as much as $16,000/week. This suit has prompted one top NYC gay blogger, Richard Rothstein, author of Proceed At Your Own Risk, to immediately pull all advertising from his site.

I have been expecting these lawsuits for years and quite frankly I think the only reason they are finally coming now is the enormous money that sites like Perez Hiltion and Pink Is The New Blog are now making. Commentary on news stories, using proper attribution via links or text, is fine. But the wholesale lifting of the work of others? Not so much. Here at JMG, most of my photos are original, other than those sent me by publicists. But now I must rethink even the rare occasions when I use photos such as the one I took from Ruth Brown's obituary.

Terrence Comments

Terrence emailed me to respond to the comments from last week's 23-year old spring break picture: "Tell that guy that thought Fort Lauderdale was sooo straight back then, that in 1983 you were gay until proven straight. I was never in a place where I felt so free to be me. That was my first experience in a total gay immersion and I will never forget that feeling. It was amazing. At least at our end of the beach, every man was gay."

Terrence also included the track listing from the cassette I made for that trip, saying, "This was the first of many, many mix tapes you made for me. It still remains my favorite to this day. I still have it and strangely it still plays. The only player I have now is in my Mercedes. I don’t know what I will do when it bites the dust."

SIDE A
1) I’m Gonna Get Your Love - Jade
2) I Eat Cannibals - Toto Coelo
3) Babe, We're Gonna Love Tonight - Lime
4) Don’t Stop - Sylvester
5) Knockout -Margie Joseph
6) Heartbeat - Taana Gardner
7) In The Name Of Love - Sharon Redd
8) Let Me Go - Heaven 17
9) Native love - Divine

Side B
1) Sex (I'm A ...) - Berlin
2) Best Part Of Breaking Up - Roni Griffith
3) Got You Where I Want You, Babe - Stereo Fun, Inc.
4) Miami Heatwave - Love Twins
5) Jump Shout -Lisa
6) Die Hard Lover - Loverde
7) One More Shot - C-Bank
8) Hungry Like The Wolf - Duran Duran
9) She Blinded Me With Science -Thomas Dolby
10) I feel love (Patrick Cowley Remix) -Donna Summer

I'd have to agree with Terrence, but I also understand that our misty water-colored memories are heavily shaded by the exhuberance of youth and of having never really experienced the sort of totally-out, thriving gay culture that Fort Lauderdale provided in the early 80's. It was glorious to us. I think that in the last few years Fort Lauderdale has recaptured the "it factor" that AIDS and South Beach robbed from the city in the late 80's and early 90's.

BBC World Poll: Teens Nix Gay Rights

The BBC World Service has just released the results of a worldwide poll that posed a wide variety of questions to young people aged 15-17 in London, New York, Rio, Delhi, Moscow, Cairo, Baghdad,, Lagos, Nairobi and Jakarta. Topics covered included terrorism, climate change and homosexuality, the last one revealing that almost half of teens worldwide do not believe gays deserve equal rights.

Rio has the highest support for gay rights, with 74% of teens there saying they backed equal rights for homosexuals. Next up was New York with 67% and Delhi with 51%. In Africa, things are much, much worse, with Lagos (86%) and Nairobi (81%) teens overwhelmingly stating opposition to gay rights.

I continue to be impressed with Brazil, where the government's progressive gay-positive media campaign can be at least partially credited here. As for Africa, I'd be interested in seeing a comparison between these opinions and relative levels of education in the other cities.

Monday Monday

Argh. My night was spent punctuated by a dozen little feverish dreams in a theme I've come to call "travel panic". Examples: I'm getting out of the taxi at JFK when I realize my flight is actually out of Newark. Or the plane is pushing back when I realize that I've left my laptop in the airline lounge. Or I'm at the gate realizing that I left my boarding pass on the table in the food court. (That one, I've done.) I have no pending travel until Xmas, so what's the deal with the nightmares? Argh.

What's After Platinum?

I'd have to defer to those more expert than myself, but I *think* that with Thursday night's attendance at The Drowsy Chaperone, my FOURTH musical in 11 days, I have pushed my Gay Card into platinum status. As proof, David and I sat in the fifth row (!) and almost squealed to realize that the entire original cast would be appearing. (David prays a little mantra before he opens his Playbill: "No little slips. No little slips.") The show was fantastic of course, and Bob Martin, the theatre queen "Man In Chair" who leads the audience through his memories, was charming beyond belief. And the icing on the cake was David getting a sweet kiss at the door from Drowsy's Tony winning Beth Leavel, as she collected donations for Broadway Cares / Equity Fights AIDS.