The Best Is Yet To Come

I consider myself a spiritual person, but not necessarily a religious one. The past year has brought me new friends, exciting experiences, and the ability to share my thoughts, photos, interests, and imagination with many people through the magic of the internet. I believe our ability to connect as people is what brings us closer to the higher power at the heart of our existence. As such, Towleroad this year has been something of a religious experience for me.

This is a photo of Cloud Gate, a sculpture known more affectionately to Chicagoans as "The Bean". Its inspiration was liquid mercury, and like that substance it has fluidity because its surface consists of the moving reflections of the city around it. As a piece of public art it functions in a way I've hoped this blog might function — as a fun, ever-changing creation which people might like to visit, and while here leave a bit of themselves, or perhaps look into and see a common segment of humanity looking back.

2004 has brought both advances and defeats for gay people, and has brought war and unfathomable natural disasters to the world at large. In 2005 I pray for peace and further advances towards equality for the disadvantaged and the disenfranchised around the world. I want to thank everyone for visiting Towleroad this year and thank the sponsors for their support as well as those whose contributions have made this site a lively entity.

Most of all, I wish you health, happiness, success, and lust for life in 2005.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Andy Towle

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Concrete TV

Via Fleshbot comes a late night video-edited mash-up that's made for those lost hours between midnight and 5 am watching late night Manhattan cable access. Concrete TV keeps your senses engaged while your brain takes a vacation.

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Gay marriage opponents want to recall California judge who upheld domestic partner laws. California Association of Judges President Mize: "The justice system as we know it would be destroyed [if McMaster is removed]. Honorable judges who make rulings appropriately based on law would eventually all be recalled. The only ones left would be those very, very few who are willing to make their decisions based on public opinion." California grants sweeping rights to domestic partners beginning Saturday.

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ABC World News Tonight

Was Elizabeth Vargas trying to make up for that Matthew Shepard debacle or is there a Towleroad reader embedded within the ABC organization? In any case, thanks to ABC for the split-second moment of screen time for Towleroad in their "People of the Year" bloggers story. It was just enough time to get a glance of that god-awful Versace ad again. If I had to give that award it would be to all the readers that make writing this site worth it for me. Aww...group hug everybody!

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Montana court rules that the state constitution's guarantee of equal protection extends to gays.

A blog has been set up to relay information regarding the still missing Fernando Bengoechea and Nate Berkus. Additionally, I've changed the link in the tsunami disaster relief blogad in the adstrip to the right to point to rainbowfund.org, an LGBT organization dedicated to providing disaster relief to all in need.

Seems everyone is interested in used underwear, particularly if it's been used by Cristiano Ronaldo.

Slain Nebraska man met his killer on Gay.com. The photograph police provided of the victim matched one in his Gay.com profile. Terry Graham was stabbed to death late Sunday night in a hotel room. He was 52 and married.

BFT reports on the Orange Bowl beach party. Guess I missed that one. He also provides us with a shot of the party's saving grace which we thank him for: shirtless Ting twins!

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Bruce Weber in Stern

For those of you who just can't get enough of Bruce Weber's hairless men with dogs in lakes, there's a 76 page issue of the German magazine Stern on its way out with a preview online. Although it seems to me I've seen these images over and over and over again, I guess naked men never go out of style. As my correspondent Kim who notified me of its existence said, "Not really news (other than the continual slow leaking of his very private stash of naked Carlson twins pictures) but pretty."

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