Friday, September 07, 2007

Annie Lennox - Dark Road


Magical.

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Newlybears

Andrew Sullivan married his boyfriend in Provincetown. More photos here.

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California Approves Gay Marriage. Again.

For the second time, today the California legislature approved same-sex marriage. And Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is expected to veto the gay marriage bill as he did in 2005. He has until October 14th to sign or veto. California presently permits same-sex couples to register as domestic partners.

Equality California Executive Director Geoff Kors said, "We call on the governor to rise above right-wing ideology, as he has on many other issues, by signing this bill. By a new Legislature passing this bill with an even larger margin than in 2005, our elected representatives have shown that the people of our state strongly support equality and fairness. The governor should keep up with the will of the people and show the kind of bold bi-partisan leadership on this issue that will define his place in history."

The bill was authored by Assemblyman Mark Leno (D-SF), who is openly gay.

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Tomorrow: Blowoff NYC

Justice, MSTRKRFT, SebastiAn, and Van She are among the cutting edge dance artists you'll hear tomorrow night when Bob Mould and Rich Morel at long last bring Blowoff, their smash monthly dance party, to NYC's Highline Ballroom.

After years of blowing the roof off DC's cavernous 9:30 Club, the party's highly-anticipated NYC debut has Gotham buzzing. It appears that every gay man I know in NYC plans on attending, judging by the pre-Blowoff cocktail party invites.

If you don't have your tickets yet, I strongly suggest doing so today. For an idea of what to expect at Blowoff NYC, head over the LOGO's NewNowNext blog for a great interview with Mould & Morel.

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Broadway Friday

- NY Times former theater critic Frank Rich, once known as the "Butcher of Broadway", will appear on David Letterman tonight to promote the paperback release of his hit book, The Greatest Story Ever Sold: The Decline and Fall of Truth in Bush's America. For better or worse, Rich is "credited" with bringing Disney to Broadway, after his column "The Hit That Got Away" inspired the mouseheads to turn Beauty & The Beast into a Broadway musical.

- Expect mayhem on 42nd Street on Monday morning when the Hilton Theater box office begins its lottery for $25 front-row seats for Young Frankenstein. Special "prime center section" seats will also be sold for $120 at the box office only. Expecting folks to line up long in advance of the 10am box office opening, the 42nd Street mega-McDonald's will be offering free coffee and donuts to those waiting. Winners of the $25 ticket lottery will be announced at 7pm. Young Frankenstein begins previews on October 11th.

- Gay playwright Paul Rudnick's latest work, The New Century, will open at Lincoln Center's Newhouse Theater in the spring of 2008, with cast and dates to be announced. The New Century is a series of four short plays.

- Celia, a musical about the late queen of salsa, Celia Cruz, opens Off-Broadway on September 26th at the New World Stages. Xiomara Laugart Sánchez, former lead singer of Yerba Buena, plays the title role. The show has been in previews since August 28th, but the opening was pushed back two weeks.

- Xanadu stars Cheyenne Jackson, Jackie Hoffman, Mary Testa, and Tony Roberts join others on Monday, September 10th for a benefit performance of Celebrity Autobiography: In Their Own Words at the Zipper Factory. Proceeds go to the Actors Fund.

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Talkin' About The Car Wash

This Sunday beginning at 2pm, the New York boys of Leather will stage their annual car wash on Chelsea's W.28th Street in front of the Eagle. Put some bling back in your hooptie and help benefit the National Coalition For Sexual Freedom. Plus you'll get to ogle all dem wet leather boys. There ain't no tellin' who you might meet. A movie star or maybe even an Indian chief.

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Thursday, September 06, 2007

Federal Judge Weakens Patriot Act

Portions of the Patriot Act were struck down as unconstitutional today. U.S. District Judge Victor Marrero ordered the FBI to cease issuing the "national security letters" [NSL's] used to secretly demand customer information from internet providers, banks, and phone companies - demands made without a court order or subpoena.

In his 106-page ruling, Marrero says the letters violate both the First Amendment and the Constitution's separations of powers provision, as there is inadequate judicial supervision of the issuing of NSLs. Marrero said those letters represent "the legislative equivalent of breaking and entering, with an ominous free pass to the hijacking of constitutional values."

Today's ruling comes courtesy of the hard-working good people at the ACLU, who filed a suit on behalf of a "John Doe", an internet service provider who is prohibited by law from revealing having received an NSL.

Feds To Approve New Merck HIV Med

Federal advisers have cleared the way for the FDA to approve Merck's latest HIV medication, Isentress, which works by attacking integrase, one of the three enzymes used by HIV to replicate and infect cells. Isentress was created for patients who have developed resistance to other drugs and will be the first of a new class of meds called integrase inhibitors. The largest breakthrough in HIV/AIDS treatment came just over ten years ago when medications were crafted to attack the other two HIV-related enzymes, protease and reverse transcriptase.

For once, I actually like the name of a new drug. Isentress. Who guards our castle? "It is I, Sentress!" (Program note: the role of Sentress will be played by Lee Meriwether.) Still, Isentress is a awfully close to the name of the last HIV med approved, Celsentri. For awhile, HIV meds sounded like inner-city schoolgirls: Kaletra, Truvada, Lexiva. Now they've gone all Dungeons & Dragons.
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He Means It This Time, Probably

Larry Craig sent word today that he will be resigning after all, this time for real real. His "top spokesman" (hah!) said today, "The most likely scenario, by far, is that by October there will be a new senator from Idaho." The spokesman also said that the only circumstances in which Craig might try to complete his term would require a prompt overturning of his conviction for disorderly conduct in a men’s room at the Minneapolis airport, as well as Senate GOP leaders’ agreement to restore Craig’s committee leaderships posts taken away this week. The spokesman added, rather unnecessarily, that those scenarios are unlikely.

Open Thread Thursday

What's your favorite off-the-beaten-path place to take visitors to your town?  I like to walk my visitors around the perimeter of Roosevelt Island.  What's your favorite free or cheap thing to do with guests? For folks visiting Manhattan, I think nothing beats the Staten Island Ferry.

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Wednesday, September 05, 2007

Wingnuts: Them Dems Got Good Gaydar

I yoinked the above from WingNutDaily, who are losing their shit that Larry Craig might un-resign. Today Craig's lawyers delivered a letter to the Senate Ethics Committee saying his arrest was "wholly unrelated to his Senate duties" and therefore they should reject the complaint against him. GOP honchos were caught completely by surprise with Craig's announcement that he might not resign after all. A top Senate aide said, "You can't make this up even if you are heavily medicated. The American people heard from Larry Craig that he would resign, and using the word "intent" as a back door doesn't work with them." Heh. Back door.

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U.S. Flies Nukes Cross-Country BY MISTAKE

This has got to be the craziest shit I've heard in ages:
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Six nuclear warheads on cruise missiles were mistakenly carried on a flight from North Dakota to Louisiana last week, prompting a major investigation, military officials have confirmed. "This is a major gaffe, and it's going to cause some heads to roll down the line," said Don Shepperd, a retired Air Force major general and military analyst for CNN. The warheads should have been removed from the missiles before they were attached to the B-52 bomber, according to military officials.

The crew was unaware that the plane was carrying nuclear weapons, the officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the extraordinary sensitivity and security surrounding the case.

Your crack military in action. Or rather, your ON crack military in action. "Nukes? We had nukes on board? SIX of them? Really? Get outta here!" Oh, the egg that would have been on their faces, had that plane crashed in the heartland.

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Rep. Paul Gillmor, 68

Holy cow! This has been a tough couple of weeks for the right-wing. This morning 10-term Ohio Congressman Paul Gillmor (R-OH) was found dead in his Washington, DC apartment. Gillmor had a zero rating from most progressive watchdog groups as he supported a ban on gay adoptions, supported a constitutional amendment against gay marriage, supported school prayer and supported the Patriot Act. Gillmor opposed stem-cell research, opposed abortion rights and fought key environmental legislation. Gillmor was the senior Republican on several key House committees.

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Rev. D. James Kennedy Dies

Rev. D. James Kennedy, head of the Fort Lauderdale-based massive evangelical church, Coral Ridge Ministries, died in his sleep this morning at 76. He had retired as head pastor of Coral Ridge Ministries just last week.

Kennedy was one of the most notorious rabidly anti-gay fundamentalists in the nation, regularly ranting against gay rights in his weekly tv and radio shows, which reached millions. In 2004, he co-wrote a book called, What's Wrong With Same-Sex Marriage? Kennedy also produced a television documentary which claimed that Charles Darwin's theory of evolution influenced Adolf Hitler and caused the Holocaust. Two months ago, Kennedy sent 33,000 petitions to Congress to fight the Matthew Shepard Act.

Some choice quotes from Kennedy:

"Not all the educators in our public schools and universities are deliberately deceitful, not all of them want to destroy this nation, but many do. The major teachers' unions certainly do."

"Christians did not start the culture war but...we are going to end it. That is a fact, and the Bible assures us of victory."

"Tolerance is the last virtue of a depraved society. When you have an immoral society that has blatantly, proudly, violated all of the commandments of God, there is one last virtue they insist upon: tolerance for their immorality."

"If you discuss atheism with an atheist, you are finding fault with that man and criticizing his views. You can’t separate the two. If you find fault with a thief and criticize his stealing, you are finding fault with him, not merely what he does. The same thing is true of a homosexual. You cannot have a rational discussion of the rightness or wrongness of homosexuality."

I have always found it interesting that before Kennedy became a fundie, he was a dance instructor. Ahem.

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Mike Rogers On Hannity & Colmes


Last night, Mike Rogers appeared on Hannity & Colmes to defend his actions. Below is a rerun of a post I wrote when the Larry Craig story first appeared on Rogers' BlogACTIVE last year. The responses were somewhat varied one year ago. I'd be interested to see how opinions may have changed in light of the latest Craig revelations.

Case Studies

Senator Jones (R-Your State) is married with children. Senator Jones is a strident anti-gay activist who consistently authors, backs, and votes for legislation denying gay people to right to marry and the right to equal protection from discrimination in the workplace. He votes against adding sexual orientation to hate crimes legislation. Senator Jones secretly meets men in public places for anonymous sex.

Do we out Senator Jones?

Senator Smith (R-Your State) is unmarried. Although he rarely speaks out against gays, Senator Smith votes however he feels his constituents will approve, which typically is against gay interests. He votes against gay marriage. He votes against adding sexual orientation to job discrimination protections. Senator Smith and his boyfriend are well known on the gay DC social scene.

Do we out Senator Smith?

Senator Brown (D-Your State) is married with children. He is a tireless advocate for gay causes. He consistently votes in the favor of gay interests. He has a high rating from the Human Rights Campaign and is loathed by the Christian Coalition. He and his wife socialize with prominent gay activists. Senator Brown enjoys meeting men through the internet and using gay phone-sex lines.

Do we out Senator Brown?

John Doe is a highly placed staffer in a prominent Republican senator's office. Doe's boss is virulently anti-gay publicly, even though he graciously hosts Doe and his boyfriend at dinner parties in his home. Doe is dedicated and skilled and with the help of his expert advice, Doe's boss successfully thwarts numerous gay-friendly bills and positions himself as a "pro-family" advocate.

Do we out John Doe?
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ENDA Hearings Today

Via HRC's Backstory:
The Health, Employment, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Subcommittee of the U.S. House Education and Labor Committee will hold a hearing on the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), H.R. 2015, at 10:30 in 2175 Rayburn House Office Building on Capitol Hill.

The hearing will take place in two sections. The first will feature the testimony of Congressman Barney Frank (D-Mass.), Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisc.), and Congressman Emanuel Cleaver (D-Missouri) who will speak in support of the bill. Congresswoman Deb Pryce (R-Ohio) may also testify in favor of the legislation.
In the second half of the hearing, the subcommittee will hear from eight witnesses, six in favor and two opposing ENDA's enactment. No word on whether CSPAN will cover the proceedings. I'll update if they do. The webcast is here.

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Fish Sandwich

I am a bad New Yorker. Last night I was walking past the Lenny's Deli at 1st & 69th and there.he.was. Abe Vigoda, Fish himself, sitting in the window. I backpedaled five steps to make sure I was right and he totally busted me. Waved at me over his sandwich. I still don't have the knack of seeing-but-not-seeing famous people. Maybe I never will. By the way, Lenny's rocks. I recommend Lenny's Combo #1: Hot pastrami and corned beef with swiss cheese, coleslaw and Russian dressing. Heaven.

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Morning View - Requiem Bench

Most of the benches in Central Park have a memorial plaque of some sort. Some just contain names, or a short "In Memory Of..." message. But others have gut-wrenching, mini-stories. I hate them, but I can't help reading them. This shot is pretty blurry, I didn't have my glasses.

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Tuesday, September 04, 2007

Jerry Lewis Apologizes, GLAAD Accepts

Jerry Lewis handled his "illiterate fag" dust-up perfectly, issuing a complete admission and apology immediately. Lewis: "I obviously made a bad choice of words. Everyone who knows me understands that I hold no prejudices in this regard. The success of the (telethon) and all the good that will come from it shouldn't be lost because of one unfortunate word. I accept responsibility for what I said. There are no excuses. I am sorry."

GLAAD accepted Lewis' apology, saying, “GLAAD thanks Jerry Lewis for his swift and direct apology for this incident. We join millions of Americans in applauding the important work of the Muscular Dystrophy Association and wish MDA and Mr. Lewis much continued success in their efforts.”

And that, ladies and germs, is excellent crisis management. Within about 12 hours, the story is effectively dead.

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Craig Considers Un-Resigning

Sen. Larry "Wide Stance" Craig is now backpedaling from his Saturday press conference where he said it was his "intention" to resign on September 30th. The wiggle room offered by "intention" was noted by many. Today his spokeman said, ''It's not such a foregone conclusion anymore, that the only thing he could do was resign." After getting a phone call from Sen. Arlen Spector (R-PA), who urged Craig not to resign, Craig is reviewing his options.

I'm happy about this, actually. I'd love to see the GOP burdened with Craig's presence for a couple more years.

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HomoQuotable - Mike Rogers

"When those private lives are in direct conflict with the public policy that these officials espouse, I think it's fair game that their private lives be brought into this. And I have to blog to do that with. Here's the question: What community is expected to protect its own enemies? Don't beat up the gay community, and then expect us to protect your secrets and your double life. It's just not right." - Mike Rogers, serial outer of closeted political hypocrites, in today's Washington Post article titled The Most Feared Man On The Hill?

The WaPo article notes that Rogers' work is not universally supported by gays, some of whom call him a "pariah" whose outings do more harm than good and who complain that Rogers is no respecter of privacy. Of course, I disagree. Yes, the stories of Larry Craig and others present a seamy side of gay cruising for public scrutiny - a public that has little knowledge or interest in how few or how many self-identified gay men may actually take part in such antics. But it should be obvious to Rogers' detractors that the legislative damage inflicted upon LGBT people over decades-long careers by these closeted self-hating legislators far, far exceeds a week or two of naughty, embarrassing-to-some headlines. Rogers says he's got more revelations to come. Personally, I can't wait.

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Hillary On Ellen Today: Does Not Rule Out Obama As VP

Hillary Clinton appears on today's season opener of the Ellen Degeneres show. Aside from another restating of non-support for same-sex marriage, which Degeneres lets slide without challenge, Clinton does a sit-down bit with Ellen at The Flame, a Hells Kitchen diner, in which Ellen directly asks about a potential Clinton-Obama ticket. Very interestingly, Clinton does not rule it out. She doesn't rule out anybody at all, but still. You can catch the video over Queerty.

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Caption This

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"Strange Male Ass"

You'll have to embiggen it to be able to read the text of this cartoon I found on Free Republic, where I often lurk on their "Homosexual Agenda" threads. They do almost as good a job of ferreting out news of gay interest as some mainstream gay media sites.

Although the cartoon is intended to be mean-spirited, the author inadvertently endorses Andrew Sullivan's contention that it is homophobia that sends many closeted gay men trolling in search of tea-room lovin'.

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Smart In Spanish

Manhattan, Eagle roof-deck, Sunday 9pm

Guy 1: Man, is Alan's new boyfriend dumb or what? What a box of rocks!

Guy 2: I don't know, maybe it's just his accent.

Guy 3: I agree. He could totally be smart. In Spanish.
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Morning View - MiniStorage Poll

My buddy Carl was in town this weekend and snapped this pic on the subway. I've blogged about Manhattan Mini-Storage's provocative anti-Bush and pro-choice ad campaigns and the pressure they are feeling from conservatives to stop. Now the company has launched a poll asking if they should back down from the right-wing. You know what to do.

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Jerry Lewis Drops Gay F-Bomb Live On TV?

In the 18th hour of this weekend's Labor Day Muscular Dystrophy telethon, host Jerry Lewis appears to say "illiterate faggot" while live on the air. Unbelievable. Was Jerry Lewis ever funny? The gaffe was caught by eagle-ears over at After Elton and many other blogs and news sources, a few of whom say Lewis said "fatty", not "faggot." What do YOU hear? Lewis will probably "apologize" and blame sleep-deprivation.

UPDATE: GLAAD is asking Jerry Lewis to apologize. Via CNN: "Jerry Lewis' on-air use of this kind of anti-gay slur is simply unacceptable," GLAAD President Neil G. Giuliano said in a statement posted on the group's Web site. "It also feeds a climate of hatred and intolerance that contributes to putting our community in harm's way." CNN quotes Lewis as indeed saying "fag" and reports that Lewis' manager has no comment on the quote. Giuliano is seeking a meeting with Lewis, saying, "We want to sit down with him, help him understand why these words are so hurtful, and give him an opportunity to raise public awareness about the destructive impact of these kinds of anti-gay slurs, even more so in attempted humor."

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Amy, Amy, Amy

Sighing from the extra work, Lady Randomocity had to spin her wheel twice in one week, after last week's Swag Tuesday winner was unresponsive to his email. However, spin #2 landed on the lovely Amy of Brooklyn, who immediately and succinctly reacted with a single, "YAY!" Amy gets the giant hardbook Playbill Broadway 2006-2007 Yearbook, now available on Amazon. New rule: winners have 72 hours to respond to their winning notification or Lady R spins again.

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Captain, I'm Picking Up A Distress Signal

Once or twice I've made mocking posts about all the Lt. Uhurus running around with those ridiculous blinking Bluetooth earpieces, but this new "invisible" in-ear receiver seems a slight improvement. According to the linked Gizmodo article, this radio frequency receiver is "capable of receiving transmissions from mobile phones, walkie-talkies and specialized transmitters, with a range of 250 meters." I suppose the wire serves both as an antenna and a handle for getting the dang thing out of your ear. Of course, now you will really look like a crazy person talking to himself. Coming soon to Secret Service and Starfleet personnel near you.

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Swag Tuesday

Courtesy of Showtime, this week's Swag Tuesday haul is the 4-disc box set of the first season of Dexter, their critically raved and deeply strange series about a police detective who moonlights as a serial killer.

Dexter is based on the compelling novel "Darkly Dreaming Dexter" by Jeff Lindsay. Orphaned at the age of four and harboring a traumatic secret, Dexter Morgan (Dexter Morgan, Emmy® and Golden Globe® nominated actor Michael C. Hall from "Six Feet Under") is adopted by a police officer who recognizes Dexter's homicidal tendencies and guides his son to channel his gruesome passion for human vivisection in a constructive way - by killing those heinous perpetrators that are above the law or who have slipped through the cracks of justice. A respected member of the police force, a perfect gentleman and a man with a soft spot for children, it's hard not to like Dexter. Although his drive to kill is unflinching, he struggles to emulate normal emotions he doesn't feel, and to keep up his appearance as a caring, socially responsible human being.

Included in Showtime's prize package is a copy of Jeff Lindsay's novel, Dearly Devoted Dexter and a Dexter t-shirt. You can catch up on the first season by downloading episodes from any of Showtime's online partners, including iTunes. The first season box set of Dexter is available now. The second season of Dexter begins on Showtime on September 30th.

Enter to win today's Swag Tuesday prizes by commenting on this post. Only your first comment counts and please remember to leave your email address. Publicists: if you'd like to take part in Swag Tuesday on JMG, please email me.

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Monday, September 03, 2007

32 Busted In Raid At Mr. Black

Popular Manhattan gay nightclub Mr. Black was raided and temporarily closed early yesterday morning. Police arrested three patrons for sales and 12 for use and possession of marijuana, cocaine and ecstasy. Swooping in at 4:35am, vice cops described the scene as an "open-air drugs market."

Also busted: 17 nightclub staffers were arrested under a charge of "criminal nuisance", meaning that they knew about the drug sales and usage, but did nothing about it. Gossip site GaySocialites is reporting that the employees will not be charged. I guess the cops just wanted to teach them a lesson.

I've been hearing for some time that the drugs were out of control at Mr. Black. Back when the place first opened to rave reviews of the DJs, I had a mild interest in stopping by, but never got around to it. I wonder what their famous bottom-less waiter, Mr. Ass, will do now?

UPDATE: Seems the raid busted up a budding romance. From Craigslist: "andrew its me tony. we just about to exchange phone numbers and the all those police walked in. you were doing email list wearing a jersey...jets i think. anyway we were seperated during the raid and want to know when i can see you agian. want to take you out. i was wearing black tank. big arms. bald guy. contact me if you see this. and was that messed up or what?" Thanks to JMG reader Juan for sending that in.

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Morning View - Central Park Boathouse

Lakeside brunch at Central Park's Boathouse is a little pricey, but it's a classic Manhattan experience.

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HomoQuotable- Jim McGreevey

"My gut wrenched when I read of Sen. Larry Craig's bathroom arrest. I remembered my own late-night encounter with the law at a Garden State Parkway rest stop following a political dinner in north Jersey. I pulled into the rest stop, parked my car, flashed my headlights, which was "the signal," and waited. Glancing in my rearview mirror, I saw a state trooper approaching. I desperately tried to convince the trooper of my innocence, showing him my former prosecutor's badge, a gift from the office when I left. The trooper radioed his office and returned. "I never want to see you here again," he said. I survived for another day." - Seminary student and former New Jersey governor Jim McGreevey, telling his own tearoom tale.

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Saturday, September 01, 2007

Craig Resigns

As expected, Sen. Larry Craig resigned today, saying, "The people of Idaho deserve a senator who can devote 100 percent of his time and effort to the critical issues of our state and of our nation. Therefore it is with sadness and deep regret that I announce that it is my intent to resign from the Senate, effective September 30th."

Craig added that he intends to work to have his disorderly conduct conviction expunged, saying, "We'll fight this like hell." Idaho Governor Butch Otter (really) is expected to appoint another Republican to replace Craig.

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Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa-Fashion

"When you look at this recent photo of Britney Spears, are you thinking what I’m thinking? I mean, that’s an awesome handbag, am I right?" - Leigh Ann Wilson on Lock The Bedroom Door.

I don't usually make these kind of posts, but Wilson's quote was irresistible.

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