Walt Whitman for Levi's

Of course, another wonderful gay poet, Mark Doty, took note of this.

And here's an explanation:

"In the first Leaves of Grass he introduced two ingredients thus far unknown to American poetry, at least as directly and significantly as they appeared in Whitman: sex and jobs. The first was inspired by Emerson and the transcendentalists, who said that all nature was an emblem of spirit, or God. If so, why not celebrate sex, which was a part of nature? The second was the American pastime for work. The work of the average: the lawyer, the laborer, the seamstress, the mother, the brother, the sister, even the Irish prostitute. Whitman celebrates what he calls 'the Divine Average' -- probably the most wonderful oxymoron democracy ever produced. ... The poet reasoned that if -- according to transcendentalist doctrine -- everyone was divine because nature was emblematic of God, then all were equal, politically equal, including women, whom Whitman treated equally with men...This idea of equality and self-divinity also meant that one could celebrate himself or herself. And so the first poem of the first edition of Leaves of Grass began: 'I celebrate myself [and sing myself] / And what I assume you shall assume, / For every atom belonging to me as good belongs to you.'"

Which Hole Do You Prefer?

You may have seen the Quizno's dom/sub ad or the Burger King 7-incher. Now, Hardee's attempts to win the suggestive/pornographic fast-food advertisement war.

Watch it, AFTER THE JUMP...

Kerry Degman Gets His Rainbow on for Gay Pride

Armani Exchange saluted Pride with a fresh erection in New York's meatpacking district this week. More of that photo shoot here.

Madonna Plays Mannequin in New Louis Vuitton Campaign

Shot in April by Steven Meisel. Same thing she wore to the Met Costume gala.

News: Whoopi Goldberg, Burger King, Botox, Rick Warren, Idaho

South Carolina Governor Sanford returns from AWOL trip, says he went to Argentina. Now we know why.

Blade Runner Frank Lloyd Wright house on sale.

The most blatantly sexual Burger King ad ever.

Washington Post debuts gay-inclusive marriage announcement section.

Whoopi Goldberg conquers fear; flies for the first time in 13 years.

Gavin Newsom raises rainbow flag at San Francisco City Hall.

Robert Pattinson bloodied up.

Rick Warren tells breakaway Episcopalians and Anglicans: "We are to love the people of the world no matter what they believe; we are to not love the value system of the world. And the problem today is lot of Christians are getting that reversed. They love the value system and hate the people."

Mormon breakaway group wants reconciliation with gays.

Limited-edition Harvey Milk photomosaic to raise money for LGBT Community Center and the GLBT Historical Society: "Called 'Milk,' the artwork uses 2,300 black and white photos of Milk and the Castro during the 1970s from the historical society's archives to recreate a photo of the slain San Francisco supervisor taken by his close friend and photographer Dan Nicoletta."

Sally Kern goes off on Obama's radical homosexual agenda.

Not only is Botox a remedy for emotion, it may be effective against baldness.

SURVEY: 23% of people in Northern Ireland would mind having a gay person as a neighbor.

Boise, Idaho authorities target men in outdoor sex sting: "We were 100 feet from Mystic Cove Park where school's out, kids play, it is a secluded area. But who's to say that children can't be down there running around? We have been monitoring this particular area of the Boise River. We have zero tolerance for this behavior and will continue all necessary enforcement efforts necessary to stop it from re-occurring."

More beefcake from Milan fashion week.

But when will they ditch their promise rings?

Obama drafting federal protections for trans employees.

New gay travel portal launched in Tel Aviv.

San Diego City Council passes resolution urging repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell".

Mixner: What if the Obamas had to live under "Don't Ask, Don't Tell"? "First of all, Michelle Obama and the children would have to immediately move out of the White House. Base housing would absolutely not be available for same sex couples and their families. In fact, they would be ineligible for any housing, PX or other benefits accorded to straight people. While serving as Commander in Chief, Barack Obama would have to find ways to secretly and safely meet with his wife and children since if anyone knew he had a same sex family he would lose his job and all his benefits. In some cases, they could impeach him for having a same sex relationship."

Golden Retrievers Pant for Shiny Moncler Jackets

Cutest ad I've seen in a while, but probably the most expensive coat your dog would ever wear.

They're custom made for a Moncler campaign shot by Bruce Weber, which also features a self-portrait of Weber himself, along with his other fetish — a cadre of shirtless male models in a Sisyphean exercise.

 

The NYT's Cathy Horyn writes: "The shoot was done at Golden Beach, Florida, where Mr. Weber and his partner Nan Bush have a home. As charming as the self-portrait is, with Mr. Weber appearing to snooze amid the tools of his trade, I liked how he incorporated his sense of play into the images. He had Moncler down jackets made for his golden retrievers, and he had a giant ball made from a bunch of coats, which some guys are seen pushing up a gravel pile. At the same time, the absence of an overt fashion message is interesting, and, of course, effective."