10/16/2006
News: iPod vs Zune, Mr. Gay Sacramento, Friendster's Demise
Mozambique plans to launch gay rights movement: "If the Ministry of Justice says it's unconstitutional, then we'll ask them to show us where such associations are banned in the constitution."
Sacramento's Grant Ermis not your typical Mr. Gay, he says: "A typical schedule for Ermis might have him up at 6:30 a.m. tending the farm's flock of about 160 sheep before heading to campus for classes, and then to another job at a local harvesting company. Ermis doesn't want to feed into the fact that there is a stereotype, but said his days as the manager of breeding and genetics at the farm's sheep unit are filled with tasks that the general public probably wouldn't associate with a gay man."
How Friendster missed the boat. At one point, Friendster's founder Jonathan Abrams was offered $30 million by Google for the at-the-time leading social networking service, but turned it down to wait for a higher offer that never came: "Many people working at Friendster sneered at MySpace. The holy grail at Friendster — and the cause of most of its technical problems — was its closed system: users at Friendster could view only the profiles of those on a relatively short chain of acquaintances. By contrast, MySpace was open, and therefore much simpler from a technological standpoint; anybody could look at anyone else’s profile."
Gay man claims discrimination in effort to set up home-based massage therapy business in Manassas, Virginia.
Gay ex-cop in Monrovia, California files suit claiming he was harassed and then fired because of his sexual orientation. Mike Solarez: "After I got outed by the chief, my career was a target. I was a target for them. Everything I did was a target."
The Devil Wears Prada being developed for TV. I'll take Ugly Betty, thanks...
Steve Jobs doesn't expect the iPod to be hurt by Microsoft's Zune because its wireless capabilities are lacking: "It takes forever."
The Catholic Church in Scotland is upset that a gay group has been put in charge of anti-bullying programs in schools there. Director of the Scottish Catholic Education Service: "It is a little disturbing that LGBT Scotland has been asked to do some of this work because its research, also funded by the executive, recommended discussing issues of homophobia in primary school which we feel is inappropriate and not what parents want. It seems strange when there is so much other bullying, such as that prompted by racism, that this group has been given another opportunity to promote its own particular interests."
Posted 6:00 PM EST by Andy Towle in Apple, California, Gay Rights, Mozambique, News, Religion, Sacramento, Scotland, Television, Virginia | Permalink
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I love "Ugly Betty." Her nephew Justin is hilarious.
Posted by: 3fr3n | Oct 16, 2006 6:25:30 PM
I love Justin's line in the episode when Betty asked how he knew what 'the book' was... "Hello... I saw Prada like 7 times"
Posted by: Jake | Oct 16, 2006 6:52:22 PM
I love Ugly Betty too! Glad to see it was picked up by ABC for a full season.
Posted by: Dave | Oct 16, 2006 6:54:36 PM
I thought Ugly Betty was the TV version of The Devil Wears Prada
Posted by: Erik | Oct 16, 2006 7:37:17 PM
Grant Ermis is beautiful.
Posted by: gwyneth cornrow | Oct 16, 2006 7:56:21 PM
ERMIS/ENNIS hmm... a little weird. I hope he does well.
Posted by: Anon | Oct 16, 2006 10:58:10 PM
I don't why so many people didn't like Devil wears prada
I thought it was an excellent movie
and Ugly Betty looks good (not yet in Australia)
Posted by: steve | Oct 17, 2006 7:06:48 AM
Thank God that gays like Ermis are becoming more visible. I have friends who are gay cowboys, boxers, soldiers, even football players. They are the "normal people" bigots never seem to meet. That does not mean that we should not respect our more flamboyant bretheren. I also cherish my gay friends who are ballet dancers, hairdressers, and art directors. Gays have much to offer our country as upstanding committed citizens. Change is slow but it is coming. Congrats Ermis!
Posted by: rudy | Oct 17, 2006 7:54:37 AM
Zune, oh the wireless DOES take forever, don't do it, you'll feel like a Zune-Tard.
Posted by: Jocko | Oct 17, 2006 9:02:54 AM
devil wears prada was half-ass... ugly betty is quarter-ass.
Posted by: A.J. | Oct 17, 2006 10:14:27 AM
This "not your typical" gay boy grew up on a farm in Mississippi. No sheep but every other farm animal that one can imagine.
"Up at 6:30?", are you kidding me? I could count on one hand how many times, in 18 years, I got up that late.
As for "not typical", I have a feeling that we are more typical than most might think. People's (gay and straight) preconceived notions and stereotypes of gay men just don't consider that we exist in any great numbers.
Don't forget, sexual orientation is inborn and not learned.
There is the same percentage of gay country mice as there are gay city mice.
They are just more likely to be subtle and/or closeted. It’s time for more of us gay country mice to stand up and testify!
In my opinion, it’s Ermis’ guts and not his profession that sets him apart, makes him special and makes him so damn sexy.
And you know Ermis, the sheep rancher, had to wonder where Annie Proulx got her inspiration for Ennis when she wrote Brokeback Mountain. Like ANON, that was the first thing that popped into my mind.
Posted by: Zeke | Oct 17, 2006 11:44:35 AM
Zeke, I wanted to re-post the comment below from our previous discussion. I think it is germane since we are posting about non-traditional gays. More importantly, thanks for reinforcing my will to continue to fight for the basic human right to have our marriages regarded as such.
Zeke, Absolutely agree with you Bud. But a man can still window shop and dream even if he aint buying. As tempting as it sounds for you to throw your boots in the back of my pickup, I do not think that I could do better than what I have. (But dayum you sound perfect for me!) The hubby grew up on a dairy farm, I grew up on a cattle ranch. We met in New York City when he attended the ballet where I was performing. Now we're both lawyers. It does not get more compatible than that. His parents and mine refered to us as "partners" from Day One. Where else could I find a husband to take to Lincon Center on Saturday and help brand cattle on Sunday? We are culturally, politically, familialy, and sexually so compatible that it is sometimes hard to distinguish one from the other. Moreover, I have long maintained that after this marriage I will "take the veil". Although he maintains that the Church would not take me! More to the point, I am undoubtedly several years older than you. Would not want to re-ignite the just cooled cinders of the old man/young man "debate".
Posted by: rudy | Oct 17, 2006 12:21:37 PM
Before anyone takes any of that out of context I just want to make it clear that we were kidding around on the other thread.
My boots are stayin right where they are. :)
Posted by: Zeke | Oct 17, 2006 6:40:39 PM
Gays come in all types, races and beliefs just like the straight world. Ermis may be different from the "typical" but that is because there is only one media portrayal of gays. It is the same with every other aspect of society. Let a tornado rip through the richest of suburbs in Atlanta and the news crew will ALWAYS find the ONE toothless, uneducated trailer dweller to put on camera. It makes for "good" journalism?!
We need to work towards getting all gays out there including the ones that lead the same boring life as their straight counterparts; home raising kids. Many of the straight world do not know that we are EVERYWHERE and are different. They think we are all Just Jack! Nothing wrong with Jack, but he is hardly the only gay person in the world. Again different only means different, NOT WRONG!
Posted by: RB | Oct 18, 2006 8:19:08 AM
Hello all, I just got a chance to sit down and look through a lot of your comments. I think you all have your heads in the right place. It's good to see that. Thanks for supporting the community and take care!
Posted by: Grant | Nov 19, 2006 3:39:19 PM