Planet Homo

You might have missed.....

Kid Rock has informed the world that twittering is "gay", but it didn't stop Lenny Kravitz from posting some intimate photos to his twittering account in May. If this sets your heart a twitter, visit http://twitter.com/lennyKravit.

Odd Fashion

From Trendhunter.com: If you’ve ever wondered what a male model’s life is like, John Tan Casting’s ‘The Heat is On’ will give you a glimpse. This shoot places models Aiden Andrews, Jake Madden and CJ Hancock throughout New York City in swimwear and other summer gear.

‘The Heat is On’ is styled by John Tan and photographed by Andrew Burmeister. 

Indeed, if the models are sixteen and are prone to lounging about in their underwear eating McDonald's.

"Art-if nothing else -should be assessable"

In the latest example of fashion getting political, gay designer Marc Jacobs has unveiled two new T-shirts demanding equal rights.

Both designs feature the phrase, "I pay my taxes, I want my rights." The first shirt features a dollar sign and the American flag. The second shirt features a lesbian couple and their child.

Both shirts are available at Marc Jacobs stores for $24.

End of story, right? Not a chance in an era where EVERYONE gets to be a critic and have a published opinion. At The Advocate, which one would assume has some intelligent readers, the comments about this subject go like this:

"What a poor pair of designs. The two females with child looks like a bad tracing of a poorly posed photograph, and the text is reminiscent of the 1960s "Bless the Beasts and the Children" shirt designs. Quite frankly, while I like the slogan, I'll never purchase nor wear these t-shirts. It's a shame when the political message is considered so important that criticism of the execution is stifled" ...this from Armando in Austin Texas, who is not afraid to let us know that he recalls a T-shirt from the 60s.

Armando received a reply from someone with the unlikely name of Wyatt Christianus Hilby, who clearly does not have grip on the English language, assessable? : "As an individual whom first began studying Art at the San Diego Museum of Art - under the tutelage of the amazing Dr. Phillips when he was 10 and has continued to do so for the last 30 years - I disagree. The color and content are balanced and the image does not outshine the message. Please be reminded that Art - if nothing else - should be assessable. One of the hallmarks of great design is this: As an image takes shape and it’s affect ( yes - that’s affect with an “A” ) is considered - the process itself becomes invisible. Here -this has in fact been achieved. So - Mr. or Mrs. Atlanta - your failure to appreciate the restrained use of green on the first Tee - and perhaps your lack of insight with regard to the subtle use of line which allows Tee number two to be broadcast with a more significant purpose - is pedestrian. Much has been considered with regard to these images and the proof of this? Your misplaced observation." Oh my.

To read all the opinions, visit The Advocate

http://www.planethomo.com/

UNDERWEAR EXPOSED!!

"Though more resilient than clothing, 2009 will be challenging for underwear retailers - for the first time since our records began in 1988, underwear expenditure growth will be negative (-0.8%), as the recession forces consumers to be more frugal."
Gay men wear briefs, straight men wear boxers is the common belief. There is a deep fascination with underwear on the part of gay men; the ads dollars alone support a host of magazines and blogs and the images are rampant in a world already dizzy with erotic saturation.
But first, a little history:
Briefs were first sold on 19 January 1935 by Coopers, Inc., in Chicago, Illinois. They dubbed the new undergarment the "Jockey" because it offered a similar degree of support as the jockstrap (one style of which is also called Jock brief or Support briefs). Thirty-thousand pairs were sold within three months of their introduction. In North America, "Jockey shorts" or "Jockeys" is often used as a generic term for men's briefs.

In Australia, Y-front briefs are referred to as "jocks", but should not be confused with jockstraps (more specifically used by athletes) which expose the buttocks. Australians generally use the word briefs to refer to the bikini-style underwear for men, which do not have the Y-front opening.
Dazzling!
Which means, there are people who actually design underwear for a living. Picking the band color, applying a logo to the waistband...which has always seemed, why someone else's name? Shouldn't someone invent a way for my name to appear on the underwear?
In the email comes this notice from IQONIQ, a company based in the Netherlands. We have no idea what IQONIQ means, iconic? We couldn't tell because with the image we were sent, the model is checking himself out in the mirror, which means the logo is backwards. The underwear are nice. They have colored ribs and large colored bands with an extremely large logo. Putting your name on underwear started with Calvin Klein, who practically invented underwear as a gay magnet. For the most part, underwear have little visibility other than those twenty seconds undressing in the gym, though we have seen some men stretch the moment. Underwear, by and large, are not cheap, especially if someone's name is on it. ICONIQ underwear are $16 each, Calvins cost $24 for one pair.
Andrew Christian has elevated underwear to an art and he charges $34 for underwear with a flag of your favorite country. We have no idea if the cotton is better, so we assume you are paying for the privilege of wearing their name around your waist.
The basic underwear, the Hanes, the Fruit of the Looms are considerably less, though they may indicate frugality when seen by the public. We researched the market for underwear that didn't cost a fortune and yet felt and looked like an expensive pair. The answer: Merona underwear to be found at Target. The cotton is thick, there is happily no logo and the fit is, snug. The cost $8 dollars for three. In this economy, cheap underwear might be the start.

The Random of the Day

1) Why do most songwriters attribute their songs to a dream or god? The noticeable and wonderful exception being Leonard Cohen.
2) "People's use of the Internet is an extension of who they are offline. The interests they pursue offline will be what they seek online as well."  Jackie Rousseau-Anderson
3) The Senate Fiance Committee considers imposing a 10% excise tax on...deep breath...plastic surgery.
4) It has been a no-brainer from the beginning: Dr. Conrad Murray gave Jackson the lethal injection of Propofol. Why are the toxic reports taking over a month?
5) Joan Rivers turns out to be humorless
6) Most iphone apps are useless after the initial flirtation. Grindr is a gay app for meeting someone on the run.
7) Soon, we will have the ability to remove our "footprints" from our various walks in the Internet woods.
8) Obituaries are fascinating, too bad we never get to read our own.
9) Hopefully there are days without news, blogs, facebooks or digital devices of any kind.
10) There is no end to the news.

Stuff

BROADWAY MAKING MONEY

Buoyed by reliable cash-cow productions like Wicked and West Side Story, Broadway’s latest season raked in record revenues, prompting speculation over whether the theater world would break the $1 billion mark in the near future.

According to the Broadway League, the official trade association for the commercial theater industry, box office sales totaled $943 million for the 2008–2009 season, a slight uptick from revenues of $938 million in the previous season.

Once wary of the recession’s potential effect on tourists filling theater seats, Broadway producers have brightened their outlooks on the upcoming season, Variety reports. “It feels like there’s a lot of excitement early,” Broadway League executive director Charlotte St. Martin said.

SOURCE

Interview with Nurse Jackie creators Linda Wallen and Liz Brixius: "We were girlfriends, we broke up, but we stayed together writing and it’s a perfect partnership." Read the interview here.

Exorcising the Gay Demon: A number of fundamentalist Christian churches in Britain are thought to be performing 'exorcisms' on gays and lesbians to cure them of homosexuality.

In June, a video of a 16-year-old boy in America being "exorcised" of gay demons appeared on the internet. It provoked calls for a police investigation. Story here

The Random

1. It's hard to take Sarah Palin seriously, when she speaks.
2. Is there one conspiracy theory that has been proven?
3. A congressman will present a resolution to Congress for Obama to apologize to Cambridge police, but no one has asked George Bush to apologize for starting a war with a lie. Strange.
4. There is a growing impatience with Barack Obama.
5. Weeks later, listening to Michael Jackson sing, "You Are Not Alone", can be devastating.
6. Bruno certainly came and went.
7. Does anyone know what the number one song in the country is?
8. When will a UFO become identified?  
9. Who decided the two day weekend?
10. Merce Cunningham is dead at 90.

Rating the Networks

The Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) has released a list of the top US television networks for the representation of gay and lesbian characters.

The third annual Network Responsibility Index found that HBO, which airs True Blood, The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency and Entourage, came out top for representation among the 15 networks surveyed.

ABC came out top of the broadcast networks for LGBT inclusion. Of its 1,146.5 total hours of primetime programming, 24 per cent were representative of LGBT people, including nine per cent which were trans-inclusive.

Fox, which received a failing grade last year, has risen to third out of the five broadcast networks, with 11 per cent of its programming being representative. However, GLAAD suggested that it had aired some "problematic" representations.

CBS came bottom, with just five per cent LGBT-inclusive content.

Among the ten cable networks, TBS came bottom with just half an hour of LGBT-inclusive broadcasting. A&E aired two hours.

GLAAD reviewed 4,901 hours of primetime broadcasting for inclusion of LGBT characters or issues on the five major networks (ABC, CBS, The CW, Fox and NBC) between June 1st, 2008 to May 31st, 2009.

It also examined all original primetime programming - 1,212.5 hours - on ten cable networks (A&E, FX, HBO, Lifetime, MTV, Showtime, Sci Fi, TBS, TNT, and USA).

Each network was given a grade of excellent, good, adequate or failing.

Among the five broadcast networks, ABC and The CW ranked first and second respectively, as they have done since the index began.

Dr. Joel D. Weisman dies at 66; among the first doctors to detect AIDS

Obit here.

American Apparel Vandalized

The clothing store American Apparel has had its shop in Washington DC vandalised today for displaying 'Legalize Gay' t-shirts, and telephoned a follow up threat to another store.

According to the Washington City Paper, the glass windows were smashed at around 5 a.m. at the Silver Spring store, but nothing was stolen.

The 'Legalize Gay' t-shirts are a play on Legalize LA, a previous campaign for immigration reform. The latest t-shirts call for Proposition 8, which banned gay marriage in California, to be repealed.

Kassandra Powell, the store manager, said that t-shirts were being displayed on the opposite side of the glass.

Later in the morning, at around 10:30 am local time, the American Apparel store in Georgetown received a phone call from a man, who spoke in an "enraged" tone and asked whether he had reached the Silver Spring location.

When he was told that he was speaking to a different store, he mentioned the t-shirts with the 'Legalize Gay' slogan in the window display, saying that he found them offensive and he threatened that he and his friends would break the window unless the they were removed..

The store at Silver Spring has "temporarily" removed the t-shirts from their display. Powell said: “I took it down because of the threat."

In a statement following the vandalism, American Apparel has said that the incidents would "only strengthen its marriage equality efforts in DC".

The company said it will “continue to run Legalize Gay advertisements in papers across DC-Metro area," adding, “We’ll also send Legalize Gay t-shirts to any group in Washington DC that is fighting for gay rights.”

Shirts can be bought here.

SOURCE

Design is Back, Wait..It Never Left?

If you've never seen the digital version of V magazine online, you should. It is the best example of how to embed a magazine online. It feels like a magazine although there is no faint whisper as you turn pages. But you will be turning pages as this V magazine delivers on great editorial design and photography.
Co-created by Stephen Gan in 1991 using $7,000 he'd saved up to print 1,000 copies of his first issue. Details, where he'd been an editor-writer-photographer-designer, had just gone glossy and mainstream. "I was 25, and I'd been at Details for almost four years," Gan recalls. "I didn't really know what to do next. I couldn't see myself as an editor or as a writer or as a stylist or as an art director. All the jobs out there were - well, you did one thing." Gan has proven you can be hyphenate as he has creative directed Harper's Bazaar, VMAN and Visionaire.
With the exception of the New York Times Style, no one has quite figured out how to translate print into digital media with the same finesse as V. Coming very close and creating a hybrid all its own is Fantasticmag, a so-called "web-glog". All of these possess one thing that marks them for praise and distinction: they understand and possess the ability to design great editorial.
As we learned yesterday the magazine business is not doing well. A friend recently remarked that he didn't miss print—he felt like it was an expense in this day in age and he didn't mind getting all information online. I couldn't disagree more, even if its only from a design point of view. Print, which began in 1440 with the Gutenberg Bible has served humanity well. It's hard to imagine a time when print will not exist; the experience, the tangible experience of reading cannot be duplicated online. We are reminded of a time when the film industry didn't see the writing on the wall, which was television. Film, which went through quite a few adjustments (oh Technicolor!) but has managed to survive and actually is one of the few profitable businesses. Television and film learned to get along and we're hoping that print and the digitalworld will do the same. Meanwhile, it is best to experience and enjoy the talents of those creative individuals who organize images and words in such luscious, compelling arrangements called design.

Savage Garden Singer on Gay Media Sterotypes

Darren Hayes, the former singer of Savage Garden, has complained about the mainstream media "dumbing down" homosexuality.

He told Gay Times: "I have a whole issue about mainstream pop and certainly television culture, and how damaging that is in terms of dumbing down being gay."

"All those clichés about being gay I think are really limiting whereas in reality it's just a trait, it's like eye colour or hair colour, it's a physical trait.

"Being gay is somehow an indulgent choice? It infuriates me. You're either Graham Norton or George Michael getting arrested in parks and I'm neither of those things."

The singer, who tied the knot with his civil partner Richard Cullen in 2006, also singled out US TV show Will & Grace for perpetuating stereotypes.

"I think it appeals to the lowest common denominator that basically there are two types of gay men, the slut, or there's the straight acting guy," he said.

"Neither of these things have anything to do with penises, or cocks in mouths or any of the things that are related to being gay."

SOURCE

Media Slump

Remember when the September issues of a fashion magazines were heavy? Physically heavy with ads and editorial, September was thought of as being the best month in publishing for fashion and beauty titles....no more. And this bad news doesn’t apply to only Conde Nast.
"Ad pages in Hachette Filipacchi's September issue of Elle fell 21% short of last September. Harper's Bazaar, part of Hearst, said its September issue will arrive down 23% to 26%. Hearst's Cosmopolitan is estimating 150 ad pages will run in its September issue, down 18% from last year's total if you include a Cosmo Style & Beauty supplement last year that carried 9 ad pages; excluding that supplement, Cosmo's September ad pages fell 14%. Marie Claire, another Hearst title, said its September ad pages fell 20%. Essence, part of Time Inc., will run 16% fewer ad pages in September. The big outlier so far appears to be Time Inc.'s InStyle, which said Tuesday its September issue will actually run 2% more ad pages than last September.

SOURCE

All in Good Fun

Gay groups are outraged over a video game where the object is to shoot gay men before they 'rape' the player.

The game, called 'Watch out behind you, Hunter' and created by Frenchman Stéphane Aguie, is hosted by a Georgian website called Uzinagaz and was actually launched in 2002.

It is banned in France, but it is not banned in the ex-Soviet country where it is hosted, or in the UK. It involves going through the jungle and shooting any nudists who come out of the bushes. If they are to reach you before you shoot them then they rape you, an act which is shown on the game.

The gay group Gay Armenia said it was "completely disgusted" by the game, adding that it was created by "those religious-minded people in Tbilisi, Georgia… who constantly cite Bible to ‘justify' their homophobia and hatred.

A post on the gay group's blog added: "Is this their ‘orthodox' way of bringing up children by creating an image of an enemy and teaching them how to deal with it?"

The website's owner, Jean Christophe Calvet, has rebuked claims of prejudice, saying that he "really didn't understand why the association was attacking us" . He told news site France24.com: "The guy who came up with the game, Stéphane Aguie, wanted to mock hunters and rednecks, not gay men".

He continued: "Our games are not politically correct. They're aimed at teenagers and it's true that they're of a juvenile humour".

Mr Calvet said that while the game was removed from French websites after legal action from gay rights groups, it is "impossible to wipe it from all foreign sites too".

He added: "Incidentally, not everyone in the gay community was supportive of banning the game.

"I realise now that this one in particular could be found shocking, but I believe that you should be able to make this kind of joke in the name of freedom of speech."

The site has faced backlash for its games before. In 2001 it was criticised by American groups for a game entitled 'New York Defender' where the object was to protect the Twin Towers from plane attacks.

Mr Calvet also commented that the site was attacked over its depiction of Jean-Marie Le Pen, the leader of the French National Front. He took the creators to court after the game involved users throwing axes at his face. He was not the only celebrity depicted in the game, but for him, the axes were changed to swastikas.

He added: "In the end, its all a bit of fun.

SOURCE

Walter Cronkite dies at 92

Walter Cronkite, the former CBS news anchor whose steady baritone informed, reassured and guided the nation during the tumultuous 1960s and 1970s, died today, the network announced. He was 92. Full obituary here.
For those of an age who remember, Cronkite walked us through history, lending assurance in the uneasiest of times. Beginning with  the Kennedy assassination, it was his confidant though occasionally emotional voice that we heard from 1962 to 1981 on CBS, that become the voice of reason and respect.
And that's the way it was.

Hold it, Like Beckham

Out of the Woodwork

Jackson was unable to have children because he was sterile, it has been alleged.

 The late pop icon - who has three children, Prince Michael I, 12, Paris, 11, and seven-year-old Prince Michael II, who is also known as 'Blanket' - reportedly confided in his physician Dr. Arnold Klein that he was left infertile from vicious beatings handed out by his father Joe Jackson when he was younger.

 Arnold's former lover Paul Gohranson alleges Joe repeatedly kicked his son in the testicles - ruining his chances of having a baby naturally.

 Paul also claims dermatologist Arnold, who was a close friend of the 'Thriller' singer, donated his sperm to Michael - who repeatedly claimed his dad physically abused him throughout his childhood - so he could have a family.

 He told RadarOnline: "He told Dr. Klein that he thinks that's where the damage was done because he said his testicle was never the same again.

 "He said it was enlarged and was always painful. So that's why he said Arnold donated his sperm because he didn't have the ability to even donate sperm, he wasn't producing it anymore."

 Paul is adamant Arnold is the biological father of Prince Michael I and Paris.

 Michael's ex-wife Debbie Rowe, who worked for Arnold, is the biological mother of the two kids.

 Paul also claims Debbie had no idea her former employer had donated his sperm, but eventually discovered the truth during her marriage to Michael.

 He added: "According to Arnold, Michael and Debbie had come to a business agreement, the marriage was supposed to be the cover to have the children. As far as what I understand Debbie was never meant to know who the sperm donor was, she was supposed to believe that Michael donated the sperm because, apparently, he hadn't shared with her that he couldn't have kids."

 The pair lived together in Klein's Los Angeles home for four months in 2006, having met a year prior via online chatting on gay men's dating site Bear411.com.

The Day Lady Died

      

The Day Lady Died

It is 12:20 in New York a Friday
three days after Bastille day, yes
it is 1959 and I go get a shoeshine
because I will get off the 4:19 in Easthampton
at 7:15 and then go straight to dinner
and I don't know the people who will feed me

I walk up the muggy street beginning to sun
and have a hamburger and a malted and buy
an ugly NEW WORLD WRITING to see what the poets
in Ghana are doing these days
I go on to the bank
and Miss Stillwagon (first name Linda I once heard)
doesn't even look up my balance for once in her life
and in the GOLDEN GRIFFIN I get a little Verlaine
for Patsy with drawings by Bonnard although I do
think of Hesiod, trans. Richmond Lattimore or
Brendan Behan's new play or Le Balcon or Les Nègres
of Genet, but I don't, I stick with Verlaine
after practically going to sleep with quandariness

and for Mike I just stroll into the PARK LANE
Liquor Store and ask for a bottle of Strega and
then I go back where I came from to 6th Avenue
and the tobacconist in the Ziegfeld Theatre and
casually ask for a carton of Gauloises and a carton
of Picayunes, and a NEW YORK POST with her face on it

and I am sweating a lot by now and thinking of
leaning on the john door in the 5 SPOT
while she whispered a song along the keyboard
to Mal Waldron and everyone and I stopped breathing

Frank O'Hara

Johnny Depp

There a few like Johnny Depp. In a recent interview with U.K.'s Mirror, Depp confessed:
"My dream role would be to play music legend Carol Channing in a biopic of her life," he said. "I love her, I really do. She's amazing. With all the digital technology these days, I could probably pull it off."
The Tony Award winner is 88 years old!
He jumps even further off the deep end when he adds, "I'd have a go at playing a 12-year-old girl if they asked me to."."

Burn, Baby Burn

The new release of Michael Jackson catching on fire during the filming of a Pepsi commercial is horrific. We are told on, on good authority, that at the time Michael was asked not to use any gels or inflammable liquids on his hair...this he did not do.

Michael Stipe Scandal Brewing

From the strangest of places comes this little story about REM singer Michael Stipe, who is being twittered, so to speak, by QueerClick. Stipe has apparently been hooking up via his iphone and sharing the images. QueerClick has been chronicling the story as if it were of interest, but actually, it’s the graphics that are the most fun. Boys in underwear has become a giant cliché and we won’t be surprised if these images make into the advertising scheme of some underwear company (hint!). Needless to say, one should not click on QueerClick unless you are completely ready to digest some male appendage.

From QueerClick:
Alright junior detectives... grab Scooby and the gang because the mystery surrounding Michael Stipe's pics on GuysWithiPhone continues. Last time we checked, Stipe had his boyfriend and a third mystery guest/hooker over in his bathroom for some naughty camera fun. Then, most recently, Perez Hilton took a closer look at two photos recently posted on the site and found that one of the new pics is in fact Andy LeMaster, the openly gay-singer of the band Now It's Overhead (and he's packin' heat in those Superman underoos... oh yes).

The View Reviews Bruno

Notes on a commercial

Grainy to a fault, this commercial is currently being shown in theaters across America. At first view is it is difficult to grasp the significance of "Go Forth" a commercial directed by Cary Fukunaga for Wieden+Kennedy, Portland using a poem by Walt Whitman and photographed by Ryan McGinley. The opening image appears to be a sunken, flickering America in either pre-dawn or post nuclear attack. Ryan McGinley goes the way of O. Winston Link, using stark black and white images pitched against a grainy recording of Walt Whitman reciting his poem. The cumulative effect is one of one of despair as children watch the fourth of July in black and white. We can applaud the efforts to be bring something different to the advertising table, but this commercial is nothing less than spooky. In a moment where, for the first time in reality, there is uncertainty about the future, this commercial only reinforces doubt.

Curious Moment

The Other Man in the Mirror: Bruno

Bruno: Delicious Journeys Through America for the Purpose of Making Heterosexual Males Visibly Uncomfortable in the Presence of a Gay Foreigner in a Mesh T-Shirt. That is the complete name of the film and it should be noted because the film does very much that: it makes heterosexuals uncomfortable, unless, of course, you're in a gay-friendly neighborhood. And that would seem to be besides the point and not who is the intended audience. Much has been made of gay organizations being critical of the film. As The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation said Friday, "Bruno," the new film starring Sacha Baron Cohen, reinforces negative stereotypes and "decreases the public's comfort with gay people." Now, as you all know that is the purpose of these organizations: To make the country comfortable with homos. Bruno instead acts as a mirror on  culture, as uncomfortable as it is, that reveals a deep distaste for most things homo, and that may be the films greatest objection: no one wants to be reminded that you are disliked.
What has essentially escaped the attention of the lighthouses of gay righteousness is that the movie is not about being gay. Objecting to this film is a bit like objecting to an interview with Nick Verrios (who curiously did raise an objection) or asking Carson Kressley to reign it in.
You have to understand this about gay life: we are asked to be comfortable about so many things that we really don't understand. We are asked to be proud of our transgendered and bisexual friends, although for the most part we haven't a clue what that life is like or about. But Bruno comes along, who seems familiar, and suddenly the gay elite is up in indignant arms.
What makes Bruno different is that  Sacha Cohen gave Bruno a penis, literally. Seeing a penis onscreen is unsettling; we are so used to seeing it in the boxed privacy of our computer screen. From the first strains of "circuit" music, Bruno, the film takes us on such a silly, dirty flight of sexual acts, its hard to not understand this is parody. But as the title suggests, it frightens straight people, and maybe some gay people.
Bruno is essentially a cultural mirror held up to a society that tries, for the most part, to be polite, but despite itself, it has a moral core. Bruno takes on and parodies many "celebrity" affectations, such as the adoption of children from countries like Africa. There has been objection to the photoshopping of baby OJ into Bruno's hot tub sexual situations, but barely a whinny about the parents of children who are willing to liposuct their children "to get the job". Strange country.
What Bruno ultimately reveals is what most gay people suspect: you can loved and respected but please, please don't get physical in front of us. This would, as GLAAD puts it, decrease the public's comfort. But Bruno is unapologetically gay, oblivious to his near riot-inciting behavior among the more aggressive heterosexuals. This is not a film that will do well in the South.
Much as been discussed of the movie's now famous guerrilla tactics. Yes, an unsuspecting Paul Abdul does use a Mexican gardener as a seat, but fortunately, she flees as she quickly senses the absurdity. The same can not be said of former  presidential candidate Ron Paul, who Bruno mistakenly thinks is Ru Paul. In a candid camera moment, Ron Paul calls Bruno, "a queer and crazy" as he leaves in a huff. It is an uncomfortable scene yet once again, Cohen reveals what is likely at the heart of many Americans.
Comedy can be mindless, crude or enlightening. Comedian, social critic and satirist Lenny Bruce, who shares a birthday with Baron Sacha Cohen was arrested in 1961 for  using the word "cocksucker".  Comedy can make some people uncomfortable. Bruno will make straight people very uncomfortable because it is they who are most revealed as reaction after reaction is caught on camera. For gay people, if Bruno makes you uncomfortable, think of him as your most effeminate friend who makes   you laugh so hard, you could cry.

Chris and Don

An improbable love story, Chris and Don steals from the heart and delivers a message that is undeniable: love is all you need. With a thirty year age difference, the unlikely couple, who grew up in completely in different environments, maintained a life long relationship that was utterly brave in its time. Christopher Isherwood was a writer from England who had created a stir with his novel, "I am a Camera", which later became the basis for the movie, Cabaret. Isherwood moved to the United States in 1948 (with friend, W.H. Auden) and finally settled on southern California where he joined the ranks of expatriate writers who wrote for Hollywood. On Valentine's Day in 1953, a 48 year old Isherwood meets a very young Don Bachardy, who is rumored to be 16, but looks even younger. Don and his brother Ted would frequent Will Rogers State Beach, as it was known to be the "gay beach". The archival footage of Don and Ted is enough to understand why Isherwood eventually slept with both of them. But it was Don, who in time, became Isherwood's lover for over thirty years. No relationship is without its struggles and certainly Chris and Don had more than their fair share. Here was a prestigious older writer accompanied by his elfin-looking beautiful boy, who were adamant about their love and would not compromise their relationship, despite what many in Hollywood at the time thought (an overheard conversation with actor Joseph Cotton in particular). They also endured the normal periods of adjustment where they tried on other skins, but it was to be a mortal lock. The first half of the film is about beauty, and the second death. Not just physical death, but the unstoppable passage of time called growing older. Bachardy, who is now 75, is the embodiment of that beauty we all knew or even were in the past. He mentions that losing one's beauty is not easy, and on film, it is even harder. Isherwood becomes ill and we watch him slowly die. Bachardy has become an artist himself and his unflinching portraits of a his dying lover are painful to watch. The music, composed by Miriam Cutler is the perfect accompaniment to this for the most part, charmed life. As a documentary, Guido Santi and Tina Mascara have captured not only a great love story, but something about art, sex, love and southern California in its most interesting cultural period.

Is this really news?

Swedish scientists have suggested that brains of gay people may share similar physical attributes to those of the opposite sex. Previous research has found differences between men and women in the extent to which they employ the brain’s hemispheres in verbal tasks, while other studies have suggested that gay people people may exhibit the tendencies of the opposite sex in brain behavior unrelated to sexual activity. In this study, Ivanka Savic and Per Lindström, of the Department of Clinical Neuroscience at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden, say they believe the brains of heterosexual men and lesbians are slightly asymmetric, with the right hemisphere larger than the left. However, the brains of gay men and straight women were found to be symmetrical. The study, which analysed the brains of 90 subjects through MRI and PET scans, also found that in connectivity of the amygdala (which is used for emotional learning), lesbians resemble straight men, and gay men resemble straight women. The authors suggested that one reason for the connectivity pattern in straight men and lesbians could be that the amygdala is wired for a greater fight-or-flight response. Last year, another study found that the brains of gay men and women have structural and functional differences from those of their straight counterparts. The Wellcome Trust Centre for neuro-imaging at University College London used MRI scans to look into the brains of 80 men and women, including 16 gays and 15 lesbians. They found that lesbians have a "male-like" proportion and distribution of grey matter in their brain when compared with heterosexual women.

What's Next?

It comes down to this: TMZ is back to reporting about Larry King outraged over a panhandler's second request, the whereabouts of Michael Jackson's body are still unknown and in the aftermath of yesterday's news hoopla, today is a slow, slow news day. So we wait, because that is what we now do. We wait for the next big story (NBS) and in the meantime, we have Facebook, where anybody can become a star, of sorts.
Facebook has done wonders in bringing people together. Friends, long thought missing in action resurface, family members are discovered and new friends are added on a daily basis. All the while, people feel the need to comment on their every action and thought as though they were of some universal importance. People announce where and who they are having dinner with (almost as if inviting the rest of along) and where. In an age of celebrity, the Internet has afforded all of us a sense of celebrity: the smallest detail of our daily lives is revealed. This used to be called journaling, but it has moved way beyond that for even among the most Thomas Wolfeian among us, the details are staggering. A soured economy could be to blame—people have a lot of time on their hands. On certain socio-political blogs, it is not uncommon to find the same people commenting day in and day out. They are professional commentors, people who on a daily basis comment on every story. These "discussions" usually end in a bitchy crossfire of accusations and threats directed towards someone in particular, because if the truth be told, no one wants to muddle through a series of comments where the reality is NO ONE IS LISTENING.

Facebook may be killing the blogs
We used to wake and read the newspaper, watch the morning news and then move to our computers to read our favorite blog. Nowadays, we wake to FB because if anything of any importance is happening, people will surely be remarking about it. Instead, for the most part, we find out what our friends are eating for breakfast, what their day look likes and "what is on their mind". It's almost like living together.
This too will grow tired in time, and a new kind of stimulation will be required. It's most likely form will be video. That's right, instead of just being able to comment on your life, you will be able to reveal it, visually. We won't just read about your walk with the dog in the park, we will be able to experience it. Every leg lifting moment will be recorded via your cell phone as the gentle sounds of the park can be heard in the background. People will become in essence, broadcasters. Marketing companies will shortly take notice and the more popular of the broadcasts will have commercials. The economy and the Internet in particular will restore itself to pre-Obama greed levels and America and the world will experience a blush of good times.
It is bound to happen. Technology abhors stagnation, it doesn't sell. And with any new thing, its novelty wears off in timetime. We will be seeing you, soon enough.

Notes on a Funeral

The funeral of Michael Jackson. Watching it from numerous points of view, it was interesting to follow some thoughts on Facebook, as Brooke, Magic, Smokey, Jermaine and the child scored points while Al Sharpton seemed to annoy everyone. Perhaps it was the hour, it was morning and everything seemed oddly out of place. Mariah Carey sang what felt like a raw voice. One half expected commercials. Salon did a great job in having Mary Elizabeth Williams write a minute-by-minute account of the show:

2:35 p.m. John Mayer does Lite FM guitar version of "Human Nature." Eyes closed.

Jackson rolls over in coffin.

2:30 p.m. Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan offer a dignified reminder of Jackson’s charity work, and assure his children they’ll always have family.

As they depart the stage, let us take a moment to note that we will likely not see another lineup of grieving brothers in sunglasses and single, sparkly gloves in our time.

Unless it catches on.

Read it all here.

Gay Comic Kiss

X-Factor's 45th issue shows characters Rictor and the previously-possessed Shatterstar sharing a kiss after years of sexual tension and ambiguity.

The title was written by Peter David, who won a GLAAD award in 1999 for his work on Supergirl and Madrox, both of which explored gay and bisexual issues.

Writing on his blog, David thanked readers who praised his courage for introducing same-sex romance in his work.

He said: "Thank you. And no, it’s not a fake out. A number of people seem to be concerned that Star is still under Cortex’s control. Or that Rictor is going to freak out the next panel and say, 'Dude, what the hell?'
.
"That would be cheap. I don’t do cheap. Okay, sometimes I do, but not this time. I’m not interested in having people say, 'Peter David introduced this and then chickened out'."

The Email of Rejection

It's this or pay $25,000 and pray they don't really ask for an ID. Michael Jackson Memorial tickets are the hottest ticket in town. With over a million and a half people entering the contest, it could be argued that many will most likely not arrive in Los Angeles on time. And with the scalpers currently asking ridiculous prices, it should  noted that identification is required, so those tickets many end up being bogus. It will end up a circus, but indeed, a once in a lifetime circus. So far, Mariah Carey and Debbie Rowe are the two people confirmed to be present.

Important Holiday Information

Final Rehearsal

India Court Rules on Gay Sex

The Delhi High Court today ruled that a ban on gay sex between adults violates India's constitution.

Section 377 was enacted in 1860 under the British Raj, in line with the anti-sodomy laws in England at the time.

It punishes anyone who "voluntarily has carnal intercourse against the order of nature with any man, woman or animal" by imprisonment and criminalises a whole range of sexual acts from mutual masturbation, to fellatio and anal sex.

Chief Justice A P Shah and Justice S Muralidahr said the ban violated fundamental human rights.

The ruling said: "In the Indian Constitution, the right to live with dignity and the right of privacy both are recognised as dimensions of Article 21. Section 377 IPC denies a person's dignity and criminalises his or her core identity solely on account of his or her sexuality and thus violates Article 21 of the Constitution. As it stands, Section 377 IPC denies a gay person a right to full personhood which is implicit in notion of life under Article 21 of the Constitution."

The decision was made in response to a case filed by Naz Foundation India. The ruling can still be opposed by the government.

The health ministry has called for the ban to be scrapped, saying it hampered efforts to fight the spread of HIV/AIDS in the country. However, the home ministry opposed the move, saying that gay sex is the product of "a perverse mind".

Human Rights Watch has welcomed the decision. LGBT director Scott Long said: "This legal remnant of British colonialism has been used to deprive people of their basic rights for too long. This long-awaited decision testifies to the reach of democracy and rights in India."

SOURCE

Notes on a Private Moment of a Public Death

  Michael Jackson dead at fifty. There are so many shocks contained in that statement: when did he become fifty? With no disrespect Jerry Lee Lewis is 73, Little Richard is reportedly 76, Eric Clapton is a surprising 64, Brian Wilson is 67. It is largely the improbability of the event that is the most shocking. As the circus winds its way up to Neverland or the Staple Center, the story itself is on the verge of exhaustion. Air travel is a great time to reflect and listen and I did coming back from Mexico City.

It must be noted that as to question of where were you when you heard the news of Michael Jackson’s death, it is a strange story. In the sub-tropical jungle of Alta Vista in Mexico, a location known as a highly spiritual junction with ancient petroglyph markings, a guide who spoke very little English broke the news as we headed down an extremely long road.  For over two hours the question lurked in every step: was this real? Only upon arrival in the Puerto Vallarta, did verification come from a somewhat lackadaisical hotel manager.

Celebrity deaths affect us in different ways. Farah Fawcett, who died the same day, did not provoke the same disbelief and sadness, perhaps because we were much better prepared for her departure. Jackson’s death seeped into dreams and it has taken days to accept. There was and is, something astonishing about his death. Where were the psychics? (LeToya Jackson claims to be psychic.)

Michael Jackson had a fierce, gifted energy, and though I cannot claim to own any CDs (ironically, I do now) I was in many ways a fan. It began for me on that night in 1982, when on television, live from the Apollo Theatre Michael took the stage and the world by storm. It was as if he had come out of nowhere at least for me. I was never a fan of the Jackson Five, the music, the songs, even Michael voice just  seemed adolescent. And it was. That night at the Apollo was Michael’s coming out party; he made the transition from boy to star in three short minutes. And it remained that way: we always had to watch, no matter what, Michael was a star, in so many ways. He was compelling as public figure: a changing face and image, court battles, peculiar marriages and always, his stage presence. There was only one Michael Jackson.

Musically, Michael’s music was driving, kinetic and relentlessly rhythm driven. His songs were operatic moments. What I always remember about listening to Michael Jackson was that his sound was the best in the world: the best producer, musicians, engineers and songwriters that money could buy. The production values were and still are are, simply the best. And then there was the voice,  His singing voice was the polar opposite of his speaking voice. The speaking voice was always demure, shy, slightly feminine and predictably young. The singing voice was defiant,  aggressive and confident. For some curious reason, I t was hard to believe Michael Jackson in interviews. His speaking voice seemed disingenuous. But the singing voice, even if if it was singing about a loving a girl or saving the world, somehow, you believed every second of it.

As a songwriter, it was difficult to understand his process He was not known to play piano or guitar, although he was rumored to play bongos as a child. And yet he managed some of the greatest pop songs ever written, though unlike most pop songs, they are not particularly karaoke-kind. His songs were ultimately written for his unique voice and talent, even when he wasn’t the songwriter. The other factor, which mentioned is usually mentioned in a casual way is the Michael’s producer on his major hits was the legendary Quincy Jones. Without Quincy, one can seriously doubt we would have been so moved by his music.

 Michael Jackson was in the end, that thing that celebrity becomes—­aloof, eccentric and unwilling to see the rules that most of us play by. His sexuality, which has been discussed very little in the press, should have been something detected in his music. Maybe it was. “Remember the Time” is an urgent, passionate song. It is laced with numerous “girl” as are almost all Jackson songs. But biographical? One wonders.

That Jackson was a kind of pederast is not in doubt. To what extent, we may never know. What is certain is that in his lyrics, one never suspects adult love. It was part of his persona, one that he created, of never growing up. What has escaped the public’s attention in this tragedy is Michael Jackson’s responsibility in creating it. Diprivan? His superstar appetite wouldn’t allow for a normal sleeping pill?

I am going to confess that I cried at times, and I’m not sure why. Walking through the parks in Mexico City, people would have televisions playing his videos, with small groups huddled watching. It was just sad, completely, painfully sad. For most us, he represented an era, a time, and a sound.  Yet he came and went with a larger message.  A message about celebrity, the unrelenting desire to change one’s appearance (where were these so-called good friends?) because being genuine was never part of his personality in his later years. There has been a chorus recently of  “leave him alone”, which suggests that we end speculation and investigation into his life as we mourn his death. Why should he get off so easily? It wasn’t as first reported, a heart attack. It was a man, apparently deep into drugs most of us have never even heard have. So yes, while we mourn, we should not forget this was not an act of God, no matter what anyone thinks.

HX Magazine Sold

From the Advocate: Putting to rest rumors that long-running New York-based HX Magazine was on its way out, New York Press confirmed with owner-founder Matthew Bank on Tuesday that the magazine had been sold. 

Bank, who built the magazine from a publication he distributed for free into a multimillion-dollar business, released the following statement to New York Press:

"HX Magazine and the website hx.com have been sold. The new owners of HX Magazine will be releasing details and information on their plans for the future of the title shortly. In the meantime, Bank and HX Magazine publisher Gary Lacinski will be assisting them in the transition. HX Magazine issue 931 dated July 10th, which will be released on July 3rd, will be the last one produced by HX Media and its staff.

"We've had an incredible time creating what we feel is the best local gay magazine the world has ever seen," says Bank, "and I am proud that even in this difficult economy we were able to ensure that this magazine that is dear to the hearts of so many readers will be able to continue under capable new ownership."

The terms of the transaction remain confidential.

HX Media LLC still owns and operates the New York Blade newspaper and its Expo division, which produces the HX Gay and Lesbian Travel Expos, HX Gay Life Expo, and HX Gay Erotic Expo. These businesses were not part of the sale.

In addition, it is now reported that Window Media proprietor David Unger has resigned his role with Avalon Equity.

 

From Salon: Gay Men Go to Hell

At a time when legal gay marriage is spreading across the country and when "American Idol's" Adam Lambert's coming out on the cover of Rolling Stone elicits not a gasp but a shrug, it's easy to forget just how shameful and bewildering being gay in America can be. Just last week, a reminder of that came in the form of a jaw-dropping video from a Connecticut church that showed an apparent "gay exorcism" -- a preacher grabbing hold of a teenage boy and trying with every ounce of his fearsome, trembling baritone to shock the gay devil out of the kid.

It's a scene that could almost have been lifted from "God Says No," the first novel by James Hannaham, about a closeted black man trying to navigate the opposing forces of his faith and his desire. Protagonist Gary Gray grows up in the hell-and-brimstone black churches of Charleston, S.C., and marries a sweet Samoan woman from his Christian college in central Florida, but that's not enough to keep him from hungry grope-and-pokes in the Waffle House bathroom with anonymous men, followed by prayer on bended knee. As familiar as this setup might seem from a dozen shame-drenched political press conferences, Hannaham shifts the trajectory in an unpredictable story that zigzags from the Atlanta avant garde theater scene to a religious reparative therapy program called Resurrection Ministries, where men like Gary struggle to purge their sinful desires.

Read the entire review here.