News: Montana, Hugh Jackman, Parasites, Ig Nobels, Tuna

Montana woman files appeal over historic Montana same-sex partner custody ruling.

Where did Charlie go when he was young? Tuna kindergarten.

Interested in what Shrek the Musical sounds like? Download a free tune.

Gold-winning gay Aussie Olympian hires "the man who helped turn Ian Thorpe into a multimillionaire, David Flaskas, to manage his career away from the dive towers." Mitcham has yet to score a major sponsorship - is homophobia to blame?

Canadian candidate who told a high school assembly gays should be executed is banned from future debates.

Senator Larry Craig gives farewell speech to empty chamber. Crapper goes unmentioned in colleague Mike Crapo's good-bye lauding the accomplishments of his retiring colleague : "It has been a privilege for me to serve with Senator Craig during my time in Congress. My wife, Susan, and I wish him and his wife, Suzanne, well as they begin a new chapter in their lives."

Police looking into violent gay bashing outside club in downtown Hamilton, Ontario, Canada: "The victim was treated in hospital. Shortly afterwards a man appeared at hospital with injuries to his hand. Police say the man bragged about his assault at the Embassy Club."

Hugh Jackman lookin' spiffy.

Catholic churches in Michigan town of Hamtramck urge voters to reject town's anti-discrimination that includes protections for sexual orientation: "We have to keep the morals and have the regular families and bring up children according to God's law. Keep it the way it was from the beginning."

Equality Maryland to honor transgender model Isis.

Alien parasites killing sharks off the coast of Oregon. Damn, those things look nasty.

I'm very sorry to report the passing of Rupert, the cutest deer ever.

Facebook censors gay men's retailer Priape: "Michael Ain, Priape's director of marketing and sales, says Facebook is treating Priape differently than it does similar pages aimed at heterosexual audiences."

Duke University to host Episcopal Bishop Gene Robinson: "Janie Long, director of the Center for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Life-which organized Robinson's visit-said she hoped his appearance would help to open a campus conversation on faith and identity. 'This is something that I deal with with students quite frequently,' she said. 'And because I very much want students from all kinds of faith backgrounds-it's not students that are Christians, it's really all faith backgrounds-it's a chance for those students to be exposed to someone who I think is really an excellent role model in terms of balancing different parts of identity.'"

Madonna and A-Rod reportedly dine together in NYC.

Out Dartmouth runner Jamal Brown shares his experiences as an openly gay college athlete.

There are two out gay men on this season's Top Chef — meet them.

Broadway's Hairspray to close.

Annual Ig Nobel Prizes awarded.

CBS in trouble for Survivor peen moment that nobody saw.

A new comedy TV series based on the childhood memoirs of Simon Doonan by the writer of Beautiful Thing comes to the BBC: "This glittering and hilarious series delves inside Simon's youthful memories and his desire to escape suburban Reading and live amongst the 'beautiful people' - from his perspective as a window dresser in a New York department store."

CDC: 1 in 5 unaware they are infected with HIV.

Building in Bangkok's gay area collapses: "The collapse happened on Tuesday in Bangkok's Silom Soi 4 at around 4pm local time (10pm NZ time), when the Soi is largely unattended. There are no reports of fatalities or injuries. The four-story building, currently under renovation and operating as Roxy Club, partially fell to the ground, crushing motorcyles and furniture, leaving the street covered in large pieces of concrete and other debris."

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News: Clinton v. Obama, Gwyneth Paltrow, Hello Kitty, Levitation

Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama entering cold war: "They work in the same building. They slog through the same rigorous travel schedule. Along the way, they often cross paths several times a day. But Senators Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama have barely spoken to each other — at least in any meaningful way — for months. The tension between the two Democratic presidential hopefuls, which has spilled into public view in the last three weeks, has been intensifying since January. It is clear that the genteel decorum of the Senate has given way to the go-for-the-jugular instinct of the campaign trail."

Bangkok, Thailand police chiefs implement new method of punishment for officers who break the rules: a Hello Kitty armband. Official: "This is to help build discipline. We should not let small offences go unnoticed. Guilty officers will be made to wear the armbands in the office for a few days, with instructions not to disclose their offences. Let people guess what they have done."

Lindsay Lohan attempts to pull her life back together in Utah, with little old ladies, apparently.

Bourne investment: Matt Damon offers the best box-office return on his salary.

Chris Rovzar on this Thursday's 'gay debate': "...what's important about the Human Rights Campaign-sponsored debate is its mere occurrence. If the Dems are confident enough to tackle gay issues head-on for a full hour, it means they're no longer worried that the Republicans will throw it back in their faces. They're not afraid, and more importantly, they're betting voters aren't afraid either."

Hairspray producers Zadan and Meron developing Peter Pan for TV.

Department of Homeland Security developing flashlight that causes you to vomit: "The flashes incapacitate a person in two different ways, says Robert Lieberman, CEO of Intelligent Optical Systems, based in Torrance, CA, which is making the device. The flashes temporarily blind a person, as any bright light would, and the light pulses, which quickly change both in color and duration, also cause what Lieberman calls psychophysical effects. These effects, whose effectiveness depends on the person, range from disorientation to vertigo to nausea, and they wear off in a few minutes."

Big Brother 8 fans: Amber is a bigot.

Gwyneth Paltrow or Romanian, twinkie, super-bottom, gay porn star?

Physicists solve 'mystery' of levitation: "Their discovery could ultimately lead to frictionless micro-machines with moving parts that levitate But they say that, in principle at least, the same effect could be used to levitate bigger objects too, even a person."

Apple delivers new iMacs, iLife...

Arlington County, Virginia to allow 'ex-gay' groups to distribute material to students: "Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays and Gays, or P-FOX, sued school officials earlier this year in federal court, claiming that they improperly blocked their request to send out the fliers. School officials denied any discrimination. They said all outside groups are barred from distributing fliers at high schools, basically because students don't read them. A settlement, reached last week, states that P-FOX will have the same access given to other groups and can submit fliers for distribution to middle and elementary-school students if it wishes."

Archives reveal that Winston Churchill's cabinet discussed gays.

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News: Mitt Romney, Gordon Brown, Sweden, Big Brother, Morrissey

New British Prime Minister Gordon Brown appoints openly gay man, Spencer Livermore, director of political strategy at 10 Downing Street: "The 31-year-old has unrivalled access to the new Prime Minister and will play a key role in shaping the direction of the Brown government. Mr Livermore was ranked seven in this year's Independent Pink List, making him the most powerful gay person in UK politics."

They're not going: Jennifer Holliday and Jennifer Hudson are BFFs.

Al Gore takes lead over other Democratic candidates in hypothetical New Hampshire poll.

Sweden may soon adopt "gender neutral" marriage legislation, allowing same-sex couples to not only marry legally but to do so within a major church. Pastor Arne Wikstroem of the Oscars parish: "If today we are blessing homosexuals, I see no reason not to celebrate gay marriages. I think all people are equal before God. And no man is unholy or unblessed. We are all equal and all need God's blessings in our lives. If God has created people as homosexuals, we must accept them and we must bless them."

Still ill: Morrissey down with throat infection, cancels tour dates.

Britney Spears was expected to join the True Colors tour at its stop in Los Angeles but canceled when she found out a small but important detail — she would actually have to sing.

On 1983, vacation, Mitt Romney scared the shit out of his dog...literally: "The incident: dog excrement found on the roof and windows of the Romney station wagon. How it got there: Romney strapped a dog carrier — with the family dog Seamus, an Irish Setter, in it — to the roof of the family station wagon for a twelve hour drive from Boston to Ontario, which the family apparently completed, despite Seamus's rather visceral protest."

20-year-old receives a designer kiss.

Andre Jackson the East Side High School student at the center of the gay yearbook kiss controversy, graduates.

Elton John planning massive Las Vegas charity bash...in England: "Elton is hoping that his friends will enjoy tonight and remember it as their best invite of the year. He wants it to be an enjoyable night for all of his closest friends, so he thought came up with the idea of Las Vegas. He has invested in getting roulette wheels, croupiers, slot machines and generally re-enacting the atmosphere of Las Vegas, and he has got his entire celebrity guest list waiting to turn up."

Bangkok nightclub faces boycott after refusing entry to a transvestite. Management: "What happened on Saturday night was regrettable but was most definitely not part of the CM2 nightclub entry policy, nor was it supported by its management."

CBS announces Big Brother 8 cast, reveals photos of new house.

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Bangkok Observes World AIDS Day

Bangkok marked World AIDS Day with an event in that city's Lumpini Park which featured a Condom Fashion Show and a symbolic record setting event for the World's Longest Condom chain, a ribbon of 25,000 condoms:

"Thailand has long been considered a model in the fight against AIDS and has made great gains in reducing the number of new infections through strongly promoting condom use among prostitutes in Thailand's rampant sex industry. But officials warn that the epidemic has started to shift, with HIV cases rising among male homosexuals, young people having casual sex, injecting drug users, and monogamous housewives whose husbands bring the disease home. The agency UNAIDS estimates some 570,000 people are living with the virus in Thailand, about a third of them women."

Photos above are from a flickr photodiary on the event by Bangkok Diary.

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