News: Dexter, Prozac, Courtney Love, Bullfrogs, Robert Buckley

New York judge allows divorce trial for lesbians married in Canada.

Four years ago today Rosie O'Donnell and Kelli Carpenter were married inside Mayor Gavin Newsom's office at San Francisco City Hall.

Hospital in Florida refuses lesbian and children to communicate with her dying partner of 18 years, tells them there is nothing they can do because they're in an anti-gay state.

Courtney Love blogs about the Oscars: "i was supposed to be at Eltons Party at i think noon or something and if we dont hiurry it will suck- i really dont want to get there ina crush of shit and stuff- wait my pr is outside im calling her hold on- okay i hope the disaster has been averted but m,y expirience with that party is that i do NOT want to see Paris dancing ona table i really really DONT and i dont want to stuff a stale slamon canape in my mouth and i really need to get laid so i m off to do so."

Incest is Best: Dexter serial killer killer Michael C. Hall is dating his sister on the show?

Anti-aging substance found in bullfrogs: "Because it is water-soluble, the substance may be consumed in much more diverse ways than the oil-soluble tocopherol. You may put it in soft drinks, for example."

First 30,000 pages of 'Book of Life' revealed: "The immense online resource is designed to greatly enhance our understanding of the world's diminishing biodiversity. The creators of the database say it could have an impact on human knowledge comparable to that which followed the microscope's invention in the 1600s. It is designed to be used by everyone from scientists to lay readers. The Encyclopedia of Life (EOL) - described as the "ultimate field guide" - is to encompass all six kingdoms of life, and even viruses - which many researchers do not consider to be living organisms."

Robert Buckley makes an impression on Lipstick Jungle.

The Academy's excuse for Brad Renfro death montage snub: not enough time to include everyone.

Cases of HIV/AIDS soar 45% in China from 2006 to 2007: "The staggering rise was put down to changing social attitudes and an improvement in data collection. The government had said late last year that 700,000 people were living with the virus, an increase from an earlier estimate of 650,000. The year before, China lowered its estimate to 650,000 from 840,000, despite warnings from international experts that the disease was spreading due to ignorance and because many people were too afraid or too poor to seek help."

Rent ends 12-year run on Broadway.

Gay porn twins arrested for string of burglaries in Philadelphia.

Gay Brazilians demand Fidel Castro ask for forgiveness for his persecution of gays and lesbians: "Grupo Gay da Bahia, the oldest homosexual non-governmental organization in Latin America, demands that the dictator Fidel Castro, before his death, recognizes and asks for forgiveness for the grave errors of the Cuban revolution responsible for the demoralization, persecution, imprisonment in concentration camps, forced labor, torture, deportation, and death of thousands of gays, transvestites and lesbians in Cuba."

Scientists: Prozac doesn't work.

Sphere: Related Content

News: Tina Turner, Galveston, Matt Foreman, Best Buy

Gays and lesbians in Washington state ask for divorce rights: "Supporters of the legislation unveiled Tuesday say it seeks to provide financial security for same-sex couples by establishing community property rights, probate protections and joint responsibility for debts. Murray, who is one of a handful of openly gay lawmakers in Olympia, say gays and lesbians seek not only the protections, 'but we are also asking for the responsibilities that go to marriage.' Senate Bill 6716 and House Bill 3104 also would provide domestic partners end-of-life rights, nursing-home visitation, veterans benefits and spousal testimonial privileges that married couples enjoy."

Best Buy quickly takes advantage of Heath Ledger's death: "A small sign, created by the company’s finest 1998-era laser printer, informs its customers that they should 'Remember a Great Actor Through Great Performances', tastefully suggesting that customers — who may not have even been aware of his passing — grieve the only way they know how: By reliving the romantic hijinx that is 10 Things I Hate About You."

Tina Turner and Béyonce to duet at the Grammys.

Matt Foreman to resign from National Gay & Lesbian Task Force, to lead Gay & Lesbian Program at the Evelyn & Walter Haas, Jr. Fund: "I will always love the Task Force, our work, our board, and our staff. Having served for 18 years as the executive director at three LGBT organizations, I’m incredibly privileged to be able to continue to work in and for the movement in a new role at the Haas, Jr. Fund. I have no doubt that the Task Force will continue to be the uncompromising progressive voice of the LGBT movement and to thrive and help lead our community to complete equality.”

Republican Fred Thompson drops presidential bid: "Today I have withdrawn my candidacy for President of the United States. I hope that my country and my party have benefited from our having made this effort. Jeri and I will always be grateful for the encouragement and friendship of so many wonderful people."

Madonna, Marilyn Monroe, and Shakira team up for Super Bowl commercial.

In new online game, user assumes role of presidential candidates and then shoots his or her opponents in the halls of the White House: ". While the ammo is paintball, the game on the highly trafficked miniclip.com site allows kids to train a rifle scope on six presidential aspirants and squeeze off a hail of shots (which are accompanied with a rat-a-tat sound). The game, 'Presidential Paintball,' features six candidates in the crosshairs: Barack Obama; Hillary Clinton; John Edwards; Mitt Romney; John McCain; and Rudy Giuliani (it seems the game was developed before the ascension of Mike Huckabee). If a candidate wins a head-to-head confrontation, he/she advances to a new shootout, which occurs in various White House settings, including outside the Oval Office."

Brad Renfro had a son nobody knew about.

Galveston, Texas opens LGBT visitors center.

David Beckham makes UNICEF trip to Sierra Leone.

New poll reveals attitudes toward gay people and sex in Britain: "18 percent of those surveyed consider gay relationships are always wrong, while 32 percent see homosexual sex as always or mostly wrong. Moreover, four in 10 people (42 percent) think gay male couples are not as capable of being good parents as heterosexual ones -- although three in 10 (31 percent) believe they are."

Sydney lawmakers begin dealing with the homophobic violence issue that plagues their city: “We’re not blaming any specific person for this, but violence is obviously a complex issue and we need to be using all opportunities to raise it. It’s got to be policies on the ground. Clearly the local council needs to work with police, but there’s a real role for it in changing what that entertainment precinct is used for. It’s quite a different place during the evening than during the day time. We support the measures to bring back the shops people need – fruit and veg, butcher, etc."

Sphere: Related Content

Brad Renfro Once "Freaked Out" Over River Phoenix Death Photo

Filmmakers and actors who worked with the late Brad Renfro have been posting tributes on their blogs, notably Sir Ian McKellen and filmmaker Bruce LA Bruce.

Ian McKellen recalled working with him in Apt Pupil (pictured above, with director Bryan Singer): " In Hollywood he was a teenage charmer, chaperoned by his beloved grandmother and by his admirers who protected him as best they could from the dangers of being a child in a careless adult's world. On set, he was blusteringly confident although it was obvious he would have benefitted from training as an actor. Yet, as Todd, the disturbed teenager in Apt Pupil, he tapped into an inner demonic world and carried the film on his young shoulders. Off the set he played football, played his guitar and one magical evening I shall never forget, invited me to his home in the Hollywood Hills. We chatted a bit about acting and his dreams to direct films, to write music and to return to Tennessee. When he heard a dog barking wildly across the valley, he mimicked the animal and the dog replied; a kid at play but capable of growing into someone special. He longed to belong in the alien world which perhaps in the end overwhelmed him. He was only 25 and it is dreadful we shan't see all that he might have achieved."

AFTER THE JUMP, an excerpt of an article from Canada's Exclaim magazine in which director Bruce LaBruce relates the story of an evening he spent with 17-year-old Brad Renfro and actress Dominique Swain, which ends with a bit of sad foreshadowing:

***BEGIN EXCERPT***

Here and there I hear snips of the young stars' stories. Brad was discovered at the tender age of ten to appear in Joel Schumaker's The Client , shot in and around Brad's hometown of Knoxville. His parents have a shady past, something about the illicit selling of milk and cookies and birthday cake and ice cream. There's a bizarre story about one of his relatives putting out a contract on the life of his little sister and his grandmother, of both being shot and both surviving. There's the fact that he has to go back to Tennessee to face charges of grand theft auto and possession of cocaine and marijuana, which I only mention because it's already all over the internet. He's such a sweet boy though. He adopts me as his Aunt Bruce ("you must admit you're pretty effeminate, and you should be proud of it," he learns me), probably because he's used to being adopted by gay director types (Joel Schumaker, whom he's stayed with; Bryan Singer). He promises his grandmother he won't leave the hotel again tonight.

We're on the way to the jacuzzi. Four of us have made it this far; Robin Fuckin' Black has gone missing. Fro brings his guitar and Dominique brings the cigarettes, Mark and I bring our tattoos but the stolen Jägermeister has gone missing. We hit the jacuzzi in our underwear as several middle-aged men ride stationary bikes and run on tread mills on the other side of the room. The lights of the city lay before us in the darkened morning. Dominique surfaces and smiles.

Back to Dominique's room for some mini-bar candy. We decide to head to my apartment because we can't get beer from room service until 11 a.m. and it's only seven-ish. Brad puts on his pyjamas and his parka and his black oxford shoes. He looks like an eight-year-old kid who's just come back from the drive-in. He plays and sings his guitar, bluegrass, for me and Mark and Dominique and the cabby in the umpteenth cab of the night. He's in love with Dominique; she fends off his charming barrage of sweet-talk like a seasoned pro.

At my apartment the morning sun pours in through the windows. We head for the kitchen and the beers. Brad freaks out at the photo montage of River Phoenix that hangs over my kitchen sink, which includes the photo published in the National Enquirer of River in his casket. You see, people often compare Fro to the late, great Phoenix. Fro tells me I'm morbid, then shakes it off.

***END OF EXCERPT***

LaBruce recently posted a remembrance on his blog as well.

An autopsy is planned for today to try and determine what caused the actor's young, tragic death.

(source)

Sphere: Related Content