News: Mars, Neil Patrick Harris, Beijing, Lincoln Chafee, Bruno

Wockner: Gay tsunami slams Obama.

Schwarzenegger won't defend Prop 8 in federal court.

Definitive evidence of ancient lake on Mars discovered.

Prince Harry checks the equipment.

Wisconsin Senate approves domestic partnerships: "If domestic partnerships become law, Wisconsin would be the first state with an existing constitutional amendment banning both same-sex marriage and civil unions to provide domestic partnership protections for same-sex couples."

Neil Patrick Harris and David Burtka searching for surrogate mom.

Henry Cavill goes Upstreet.

Former U.S. Senator Lincoln Chafee (RI): Gay Marriage a question of fairness. "Gays and lesbians have contributed to the diverse fabric of Rhode Island and the rest of the country for generations, strengthening our communities in innumerable ways...Once you acknowledge that homosexuality exists not by choice, the next obvious step is to grant gays and lesbians the same liberties and freedoms as every other American."

David Archuleta's dad not so innocent.

Katie Couric makes gay fan's dream come true.

First gay couple to become fathers in the UK expecting fourth child: "Barrie and Tony Drewitt-Barlow sparked outrage when they used donated eggs and surrogate mothers in the USA to have their nine-year-old twins Aspen and Saffron and  five-year-old son Orlando. The pair from Danbury in Essex, battled the American authorities to become the first gay couple to have both their names on their children's birth certificates. The millionaire couple revealed today that a surrogate mother is carrying a fourth child for them, with the possibility of another twin birth."

For the Nth time: T.R. Knight officially done with Grey's Anatomy.

Planet Out, Here Networks merge: "Here Networks on Wednesday completed a merger with the struggling PlanetOut to create a new company called Here Media. Here employs 200 people in New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles. It's a public company though not actively traded. PlanetOut shareholders received 20% ownership in Here.
The merger preserves the remaining assets of PlanetOut, a once high-flying Internet company that had struggled with losses and debt as it ventured into offline businesses. Its shares once traded for more than $100 apiece, but even an investment from a hedge fund controlled by Bill Gates didn't save PlanetOut from slipping into penny-stock status before Here swooped in to rescue it. When the NASDAQ delisted the stock last week, it traded at 38 cents."

Jesus Luz does Sao Paulo fashion week.

Beijing queer film festival makes progress: "The biggest change is that I'm not the only one doing this. There's more support from the gay community. Society has become more relaxed and open-minded in its thinking."

Guardian Film Review: Bruno. "There's an eye-popping montage of extreme gay sex practices (imaginary, one hopes), a surfeit of waving penises, dildos, fetish gear, anal bleaching, and an excruciating mime in which Brüno fellates the ghost of a deceased member of Milli Vanilli in front of a psychic."

Washington Post book critic: gay books aren't being published anymore.

Brian Graden says good-bye to MTV: "For me, it's time to complement my television ambitions with some new passions already in motion - the writing of two books, making music, creating theater, speaking on subjects that matter to me, raising alpacas…okay, perhaps not all calls will be heeded right away. I have no idea if I possess any of these talents, but my friends who know me well know that these new adventures have been tapping my shoulder for a few years."

Activists Hold Mock Same-Sex Weddings on Busy Beijing Street

Two men and two women took part in a same-sex marriage demonstration in Beijing on Valentine's Day, the Wall Street Journal reports:

"Reactions to the protest were divided; while many onlookers expressed support, saying they were aware there are many openly gay men and women in China now, others were not sympathetic to the cause. On the Internet, thousands of people who responded to news stories about the event were divided as well. One person responded to a news story on the protest by asking women not to date other women anymore. 'Make some contributions to the tens of millions of single males [in China],' this person wrote, alluding to China’s current gender imbalance. Another said heterosexual unions weren’t necessarily better: 'Love is love, and there is no specific reason. Who can say that there is no real love between them? How many males and females end up in divorce?” But no one, including the guards in the area on Saturday, tried to stop the group from its demonstration."

Watch some short live footage from the event, AFTER THE JUMP...

Gay Pride on Valentine’s Day in Beijing [wsj]
Activists hold mock wedding photo session on Beijing streets [fridae]

Massive Rem Koolhaas Structure Gutted by Fire in Beijing

A structure in Beijing, China that was part of a group of buildings designed by architect Rem Koolhaas and OMA which was under construction and slated to house the Mandarin Oriental Hotel was almost completely gutted by fire yesterday. The larger structure, to be the headquarters of CCTV, did not suffer serious damage.

WSJ reports: "The inferno– which CCTV has admitted was caused by a fireworks display arranged by one its own employees-– turned the 44-story Television Cultural Center into blackened hulk...The building– which was to house the five-star Mandarin Oriental luxury hotel, a theater and recording studios-– was clad in a unique skin of titanium zinc alloy, a material that its designers believed would allow the building to rust with dignity and endure the passage of time better than other metal buildings, Pasternack wrote. (To some ordinary passersby, however, the shiny exterior resembled corrugated aluminum siding more suited to shantytowns.) Critics of the overall CCTV compound design say the project’s gargantuan size, the TVCC building’s boot shape and cantilevered overhang of the main building are designed to inspire fear and symbolize state power and media control. As if to reinforce this, Internet users complained that last night’s inferno was played down by Chinese media."

Watch video of the blaze, AFTER THE JUMP...

Gay Olympic Gold-Winning Diver Matt Mitcham Gets Postage Stamp

Australia's Matt Mitcham, who earned a gold medal in the 10m diving competition in Beijing, will soon be appearing on a set of postage stamps. According to Outsports, however, he's short on a sponsorship deal.

Gay Australian Diver Matthew Mitcham Wins Gold in 10M

Breaking news from Beijing:

"Matthew Mitcham has won a gold medal for Australia in the men’s 10 metre platform diving in Beijing. The 20-year-old offered an incredible 112.10 final dive to beat the Chinese Luxin Zhou who had lead the competition until that point. Fellow Australian Mathew Helm came 6th in the final. Helm took silver at Athens in 2004."

Previously
Matthew Mitcham Fails to Make 3M Springboard Finals [tr]
Sportrait: Matthew Mitcham [tr]
Australia's Gay Olympian Matthew Mitcham Happy to Be Out [tr]
Australian Olympic Diver Matthew Mitcham: I'm Gay [tr]

News: Glacier, Beijing, Melrose Place, Greetings, Ed Westwick

Stonewall Democrats begin Denver "boot camp" for Convention.

Greenland glacier coming apart.

Coming together: the cast of Melrose Place?

"Pro-family" groups that wants to ban gay adoption in Arkansas says it has more than enough signatures for ballot measure.

Former Olympic athlete Lauren Meece who is also a lesbian tells gays to shut up: "The GLBT community should let gay athletes deal with gay issues off of the podium. In the name of the Olympic spirit and humanity… shut up and let gay athletes focus on the endeavors that they have worked so hard to reach."

Gays in Beijing living in the shadows: " Homosexuality has only been legal for 11 years in China. Although the Chinese Psychiatric Association took it off the list of psychiatric disorders in 2001, same-sex unions are still considered immoral by the authorities. The modernization of Beijing in preparation for the Olympics actually made things worse for gays. Several gay clubs were bulldozed during the frenzy of street-widening and high-rise building during the run-up to the games."

Madonna just turned 50, but guess who just turned 45?

American Family Association protests Hallmark's introduction of greeting cards for same-sex marriage: "We’ve all given or received Hallmark Cards – remember their slogan – “when you care enough to send the very best.” But promoting same-sex marriage for profit is not the very best for families or our nation. Hallmark is a private company obviously driven by greed. Let them know you do not appreciate Hallmark promoting a lifestyle which is illegal in 48 states. American Greeting Cards, Hallmark’s competitor, does not offer same-sex marriage cards."

Gay rights and law enforcement groups in Wales urging homophobic attack victims to step forward.

Pete Wentz: fallen hipster.

Ed Westwick on his relationship with Chace Crawford: "People think Chace is gay, and thought I was gay, that we were humping. It’s not true, but hilarious. People project their fantasies onto people. I’ve never been someone who makes it my objective to go out and pick up chicks. But I’ve met some fantastic ladies here. You know those amazing conversations where you find yourself in a café talking until 2 a.m. and never see them again."

Homophobe too drunk to recall attack on neighbor: "'He saw the defendant, he noticed he was having a lot of trouble getting his key into the lock,' Mr Aisthorpe said. He asked if he needed any assistance and Spink turned around and asked who it was. 'He said it's Terry – Bay Horse Terry,' he said. Spink then launched the attack. 'The defendant suddenly punched Mr Braniff-Coe in the head twice. The punches were in quick succession,' said Mr Aisthorpe. The landlord walked away, but Spink started hurling abuse at him. Mr Braniff-Coe later told police he was 'very scared' over the assault...Richard Lunn, for Spink, said his client could not dispute the evidence in the case, as he was too drunk to recall what had taken place."