Brazilian Footballer Ronaldo: I'm Not Gay

Brazilian footballer Ronaldo, who plays for the Italian club AC Milan and has recently been caught up in controversy surrounding three transvestite prostitutes who allegedly tried to extort money from him, wants to make it clear that he's not gay.

Ronaldo told Brazilian TV: "My contract with Milan ends in June, after that, I am able to talk with whoever I want regarding my future. I already have a plan more or less laid out, and that is my dream to move to Flamengo, I know that the doors there will always be open for me. As for what happened, I did not have any sexual dealings with those people, I must stress that I am not gay. When I told my girlfriend, she started to shout, scream and swear at me, I think she’ll find it hard to forgive me."

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Joaquin Phoenix Goes Into the Wild

Joaquin Phoenix has joined the indigenous Yawanawa people of the Brazilian Amazon. For a few pages of the new Italian Vanity Fair.

One more shot of Joaquin getting inked, AFTER THE JUMP...

Italian Dude [boy culture]

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News: Kevin Rudd, Jesus, Christian Siriano, Patrick McHenry, Mariah

Clinton advisor Mickey Kantor statement on Indianans unearthed: "Look at Indiana...it doesn't matter if we win. Those people are shit. How would you like to be a worthless white ni**er?" Kantor denies... UPDATE: Director Pennebaker says clip doctored...

Barack Obama pledges to stop fighting between Lauren and Heidi on The Hills.

Christian Siriano hosting virtual prom.

Australian PM Kevin Rudd signals that he may block a move by the nation's capital to legalize civil unions: "The Prime Minister warned today that he would never agree to gay marriage, which would require amendments to the Marriage Act. The act expressly states that marriage is a union between a man and a woman. While the ACT government, led by chief minister Jon Stanhope, argues its civil partnerships are different to gay marriage, the Government is concerned it too closely mimics marriage. Mr Rudd now holds the power to disallow any ACT laws that he deems to replicate marriage, just as the Howard Government did during its final term. Despite previously arguing it was a matter for the states, the Prime Minister said today that no other state was proposing laws similar to the ACT."

Mariah Carey marries Nick Cannon in the Bahamas.

Banksy, who has curated an underground graffiti exhibition in London in a tunnel which opens tonight, tells Reuters: Creating graffiti "better than sex, better than drugs."

Tom Ford makes debut as costume designer for Santa Fe opera The Letter.

Massachusetts publishes 120-page anti-bullying guide for schools. Public Health Commissioner John Auerbach: "Our kids deserve to grow up in an environment that is free from harassment and violence. The consequences of bullying can last a lifetime, but all too often it is treated as a rite of passage."

Brazilian gymnast takes his talent to the street.

Never has a shirt on: Lipstick Jungle's Robert Buckley is the new Matthew McConaughey.

Jesus is coming in 2015, look busy.

North Carolina congressman Patrick McHenry behaving conservatively.

Man charged in killing of Florida gay activist Scott Graham: "A man has been charged with murdering West Palm Beach, Fla., gay rights activist Scott Graham, who was found dead in his home on April 16, The Palm Beach Post reported Wednesday. Ricardo David Fuenes-Valle, 20, was arrested on Tuesday near Tampa by Hillsborough County deputies and U.S. marshals. He is being charged with first-degree murder. Investigators found the suspect on Tuesday after they were told that Fuenes-Valle was planning to rob Graham or burglarize his home to steal jewelry and money, West Palm Beach police captain Pat Maney told the Post. Witnesses said Graham was last seen on April 14 with Fuenes-Valle. 'We don't really have a motive at this point,' Maney said in the article. 'We are working under that assumption.'"

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Ricky Martin Buys His Own Island

Ricky Martin has reportedly bought his own island off the coast of Rio de Janeiro:

"According to Mexican newspaper El Universal, Martin, who has had his heart set on buying the land for several months, paid nearly $8 million dollars for the private island."

Martin was in Washington DC yesterday speaking at 'Call and Live: A Campaign Against Human Trafficking in Washington, D.C.' to launch a hotline that would aid in anti-trafficking and victim protection. According to TRN, "'Call and Live' is a hotline that is used to report human trafficking violations, and has already received over 55,000 phone calls to report wrongdoings. The IDB initiative against human trafficking is meant to be used by Latin nations in order to help their efforts to 'prevent, protect, and prosecute.'"

TMZ caught up with Martin on his way to the event, noting that the Puerto Rican singer is looking fine. Martin attributed his svelte figure to Capoeira.

Watch it, AFTER THE JUMP...

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News: Jim Neal, Ronaldo, Gay Sauna, Smiley Face, Charlie Crist

AFA asks followers to bombard Procter & Gamble with complaints over Luke and Noah's kiss.

Brazilian footballer Ronaldo caught up in tranny hooker extortion plot: "He told police he knew they were hookers, but didn't know they were dudes. He took the three trannies to a motel where he discovered the truth. He offered them around $600 each to leave. Two of the trannies accepted, but the other tranny, Andre Luis Ribeiro Albertino (above), demanded $30,000 or else."

Out has an exclusive excerpt from John Barrowman's new autobiography, Anything Goes.

Hillary Clinton supporter set up Reverend Jeremiah Wright appearance at National Press Club.

HRC refusing to support gay candidate Jim Neal in North Carolina...

Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter appoints liaison to LGBT community. Mayor: "For the first time, the LGBT liaison will actually be operating out of the mayor's office, working across city government to advocate for the needs of Philadelphia's LGBT community."

Australian forum hears calls for gay-friendlier nursing homes.

Male autograph seekers mob Lance Bass outside Villa nightclub.

Police raid gay sauna in Israel: "The association's chairman, Mike Hammel, said that 'the sauna is a meeting place for men looking to meet men.' Hammel received many complaints from the sauna's visitors accusing him of slander. The sauna is viewed as a recreational place for gays around the world. In Tel-Aviv, for instance, there are three running saunas. A. established the sauna in Haifa a few months ago, investing large sums of money, and has run it ever since. This is the only place in the north serving as a meeting place for the gay community. 'Saying that this place provides prostitution services, is simply ignorance and stupidity', he said to Ynet. 'Only in Haifa can they come to a place for gays, remove people as if they were a herd of animals, and simply place them under investigation for prostitution.'"

Smiley Face: Investigators discover common link between 40 murder cases of young men across the country. "Gannon and Duarte have done something that no other law enforcement agency has ever done in this case -- they looked at the big picture and visited each site where the young men disappeared. While most local investigations focused on where a body was recovered, Gannon and Duarte tried to figure out where the body went into the river. City after city, when they'd find the spot where the body went in, they would find something else: The symbol of a smiley face."

Cher reminisces about affair with Tom Cruise: "It could have been a great big romance because I was crazy for him."

Lipstick Jungle's Robert Buckley doing what he does best.

Military responds to disgusting video of conditions at Fort Bragg: " Frawley's 10-minute video shows still photos from throughout the building, which appears to be falling apart and filled with mold and rust. Paint -- which Frawley said is lead-based -- is chipping. Ceiling tiles are missing. A broken drain pipe allows sewer gas into the building, while another one has tissues stuffed into it in an apparent effort to stop the gas from coming in. Photos from the communal bathroom show some of the most disgusting images. In one, a soldier stands in a sink to avoid what Frawley describes as 3 inches of sewage water that filled the floor when toilets overflowed."

Letter from Bible beater to underwear company condemns "evil, immoral clothing that will keep souls out of the holy, heavenly kingdom."

Who knew? Florida Governor Charlie Crist has a wife (or at least some want him to be seen that way).

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News: Tim Gill, Penis Thieves, Singapore, Anti-Gay T-shirt

Gay activist and philanthropist Tim Gill scaring the crap out of the religious right. Pat Robertson: "What are the Christians doing about this? The answer is 'absolutely zip'. There was an organization that I founded but it's not there anymore. To my knowledge, there is no other Christian grassroots organization that is even coming CLOSE to what Tim Gill is doing on the left for homosexuals."

Brazilian gay magazine DOM launches online.

Police arrest 13 men in the Congo for stealing and shrinking penises.

Toby Maguire gets his bear on.

Singapore's state-owned television station was fined $11,040 for broadcasting a program that featured a gay couple and their adopted child: " The Straits Times reported that Singapore's Media Development Authority said the episode of home and decor series Find and Design, in which the host helped the couple decorate a nursery, 'normalizes and promotes a gay lifestyle.' The pro-government newspaper said the censor had also objected to scenes of the couple and their baby as well as the host's acknowledgement of them as a family, because it broke a rule 'which disallows programmes that promote, justify or glamorize gay lifestyles.'"

Pittsburgh gay rights advocate Randal G. "Randy" Forrester dies of cancer at 60.

UK mother jailed for anti-gay abuse, daughter given supervision: "Canterbury magistrates heard the pair, both of The Halt, Whitstable, carried out a campaign of hate between 13 March and 17 May 2007. They called the men names and Reeves drove her car at one of them. The court was told that the pair began abusing Michael Harris and Shires Crichton, of Kingston, Kent, when both men sided with another neighbour in an ongoing dispute. During the sentencing, the chairman of the magistrates told Reeves: 'Although there was no evidence of violence, the psychological affect on the victims has been far reaching. In your case there are strong aggravating factors. Those factors are that you made homophobic gestures and remarks over an extended period and you showed no remorse.'"

Neil Patrick Harris opens up to Howard Stern about his sexuality.

Lipstick Jungle hottie Robert Buckley may want to use some sunscreen.

Cynthia Nixon making plans to marry.

Is Chace Crawford being gay framed on Craigslist?

Now that's a chest.

Greg Siff talks about his new play The Nothing Boys opening on May 3 in L.A.

Court rules that teen can wear "Be Happy, Not Gay" T-shirt, reversing two earlier rulings: "In issuing this reversal, though, the court basically upheld the validity of the Naperville school's rule forbidding derogatory comments, oral or written, that refer to race, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation or disability. 'High school students are not adults, schools are not public meeting halls, children are in school to be taught by adults rather than to practice attacking each other with wounding words, and school authorities have a protective relationship and responsibility to all the students,' says the court's opinion, written by Judge Richard Posner."

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News: Thailand, Dick Cheney, Brazil Wedding, Diva Clinton

Jay Leno and Ryan Phillippe are still on good terms after the "gayest look" incident. Said Leno: "No, we talked about it before. We're friends. I mean, it's a talk show. That's what you do."

Same-sex weddings, civil unions, commitment ceremonies big business in New England: "Throughout the Northeast, competition has spiked among wedding sites, hotels, resorts and inns as the travel industry has realized that same-sex ceremonies can draw scores of guests, who turn these destinations weddings into weekend stays."

Ashlee Simpson is another straight woman who loves that gay guys love her man.

Red Cross in Thailand changes screening process for gay blood donors: "Gay-rights activists had complained that one question, which was meant to target people more likely to have diseases transmitted by sex and drugs, had effectively blocked all gay men from donating by only asking about same-sex relations. 'We didn't mean to hurt anyone,' said Soisaang Pikulsod, director of the Thai Red Cross National Blood Centre. 'It was just to ensure the highest possible safety of our patients.' The Red Cross will rework the form to include more questions about all types of sexual behaviour, gay or heterosexual, that could increase the risk of diseases such as AIDS, she said."

Kathy Griffin and Adnan Ghalib in most obvious paparazzi punk'd ever.

Dick Cheney has either a naked woman or an alien entity in his lenses. Or Lynne Cheney, in which case it would be both.

American Idol loses one of the guys [SPOILER].

Gay-friendly college fairs a budding trend: "Students are coming out at a much younger age. That process isn't beginning in college or after college like we may have seen 10 or 20 years ago. So these high school students who are out come looking for a range of things that show a college will generally have students like them, and a university with an inclusive mission."

Judge tosses Florida lawsuit filed by high school student denied the right to form a gay-straight alliance: "The former student, Yasmin Gonzalez, has graduated, so she's no longer affected by the school's decision to ban the club, U.S. District Judge K. Michael Moore said in a ruling Wednesday. Gonzalez's attorneys with the ACLU tried to maintain her stake in the case by seeking nominal monetary damages, but Moore ruled she isn't entitled to any money because she wasn't claiming violations of due process. 'We were surprised and disappointed by his interpretation,' said Rob Rosenwald, an attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union. Rosenwald plans to ask the judge to reconsider. Attorneys for the school board declined to comment."

Brazil televises "tacky" gay wedding.

George Michael = God?

East Village Boys offer T-shirt that big shooters wear with pride.

TPM suggests "diva theory" behind Hillary's appeal: "Hillary is the diva, the fabulous woman who is fabulous just because she says so. She's the woman who is abused (by her husband), ridiculed (by the press), hated (by Republican mouth-breathers), yet she's still standing. She's like from some exploitation film where the heroine is beaten and barely raped before pulling a knife out of her sock and slicing the mean guy's balls off. Her supporters have stood by her and fought her battles with her - and sometimes for her - since the 1990s. The emotional connection runs too deep. R-e-s-p-e-c-t, she shakes her finger. Find out what it means to me. And the crowd eats it up." Can any shallower arguments be made?

Michigan's Aquinas College cancels speech by gay rights activist. President: "I'm not trying to keep people from seeing him. I'm trying to prevent the college from sponsoring an event that displays an attack on Catholic teaching values."

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News: Al Gore, Wii Tennis, Tom Cruise, Lost, Chris Dodd

Lambda Legal to file suit in Iowa today on behalf of six same-sex couples who were denied marriage licenses.

Tom Cruise appearance sparks rumors of cameo on JJ Abrams' Star Trek set, but he was really there to meet someone special.

Al Gore on global warming skeptics: "You're talking about Dick Cheney. I think that those people are in such a tiny, tiny minority now with their point of view, they’re almost like the ones who still believe that the moon landing was staged in a movie lot in Arizona and those who believe the world is flat. ... That demeans them a little bit, but it's not that far off."

The American Family Association gave up their boycott of Ford Motors, but it looks as though they're trying again with another automaker, GM. Good As You: "What the hell gives these folks the right to go apeshit simply because a company dares to advertise to the LGBT community?! Good God of fringe extremism, why cannot they not at least accept that we are 'sinners' with a degree of disposable income, some of which we like to put towards cars?! We know they think we're barreling down the Highway to Hell. Fine. Let them think that. But can't they at least respect the right of an automaker to try and sell us a car whose climate control features will help us brave the unbearably hot Lake of Fire?"

Saulo Melo: Your hot Brazilian for Friday.

Dennis Miller does not share Bill O'Reilly's rage over San Francisco's Hunky Jesus pageant.

Hate crimes inspiring call to action in South Florida.

Senator Chris Dodd says we must end the Democratic primary: "Look, we've got five more months to go before the Democratic convention at the end of August and, candidly, we cannot go five more months with the kind of daily sniping that's going on and have a candidate emerge in that convention....We have two very strong candidates. So I'm worried about this going on endlessly and to a large extent...the media, a lot of these cable networks, are enjoying this. It's what is keeping them alive financially. The fact that this thing is going on forever, back and forth every day, all night -- I don't think it's really helping the candidates or the political institutions."

The folks who market Basil Hayden's whiskey think we're all a bunch of prancing fashionistas.

The Hills may be turned into a feature film: “I think if they were going to do a film of the hills they would basically film it like we do the show and they would just edit it into a movie. It would be like a really long episode.”

Wii Tennis about to get lifelike versions of Roger Federer, Andy Roddick, James Blake, and Tommy Haas.

Prison Break brings a major character back from the dead.

Exploring the time travel theory on Lost.

UK urges gay men to get tested for HIV: "The Health Protection Agency made the warning after new diagnoses among gay men topped 2,600 for the third year. But the figures do seem to have begun to plateau after a surge at the turn of the century. Overall, the number of new cases hit an estimated 6,840 in 2007 - a fall of 1,400 from the previous year."

An update on that school expulsion case in Kansas I posted about yesterday: "A lawyer representing a gay student charged with harassment said he was 'hopeful that things will work out' for the student after an expulsion hearing Thursday. 'We're all wanting him to get back into school. That's the main thing,' said attorney John McKean. 'We're encouraged and hopeful that it will happen rather quickly.' Jimmy Iniguez, 17, a junior at Metro-Midtown Alternative High School, faces expulsion for allegedly harassing a fellow student in a school bathroom Feb. 28. Iniguez, who has been suspended since the incident, says he is innocent and is being unfairly accused because he is openly gay. No decision was made Thursday. District policy dictates that the decision be sent to the student's family by certified mail."

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News: Michael Stipe, Tel Aviv, Anthony Minghella, China and Tibet

China closes off media access, shuts down YouTube, CNN, and Google amid violent crackdown in Tibet. China has also begun parading Tibetan prisoners on military trucks in Lhasa. Dalai Lama threatens to step down...

Michael Stipe comes out? "It was super complicated for me in the ’80s. I was totally open with the band and my family and my friends and certainly the people I was sleeping with. I thought it was pretty obvious. Now I recognize that to have public figures be very open about their sexuality helps some kid somewhere out there."

GLAAD hands out media awards in New York; Barbara Walters, Judy Shepard, Brian Graden and films The Bubble and For the Bible Tells Me So all honored. Who was there?

Oscar-winning director Anthony Minghella dies at 54: "Minghella's publicist, Jonathan Rutter, said the filmmaker died at London's Charing Cross Hospital. He said Minghella was operated on last week for a growth in his neck, 'and the operation seemed to have gone well. At 5 a.m. today he had a fatal hemorrhage.'"

Pennsylvania senate proposes amendment banning gay marriage: "Constitutional amendment legislation failed in the last legislative session but is being considered anew in the current session. During a Senate committee hearing, Maggie Gallagher, President of the National Organization for Marriage, said an amendment to the state constitution would protect against a judge’s ruling that could strike down state law defining marriage as between a man and woman…'It’s not a fantasy that this could happen. It is happening – it’s happened in New Jersey, it’s happened in Connecticut' Gallagher was speaking to Republican Senator Jane Earll of Erie, skeptical of the need for a constitutional amendment: 'We are going to hold our constitution hostage to the wackiest judge in some other state. I just think that amending the constitution is a very drastic measure.'"

Janet Jackson opens wide for Black Book.

Tel Aviv hoping to attract more gay tourists.

Richard I slept in the same bed with French King Phillip II but it wasn't a gay thing: "It was an accepted political act, nothing sexual about it; just two politicians literally getting into bed together, a bit like a modern-day photo opportunity."

Chad Allen, Janeane Garofalo, Rebecca Gayheart, Soleil Moon Frye, Patrick Muldoon and Brad Rowe team up for gay indie screwball comedy For Better or For Worse: "Frye will play the lesbian minister presiding over the ceremony at the home of one groom's mother (Ruta Lee). The guests include the jilted ex of one of the grooms and his new beau (Muldoon and Allen), a closeted neighbor (Stanley Kamel), a wallflower sister (Gayheart), a family-man brother (Rowe) and his nanny (Garofalo), who has a bombshell to drop."

Ch-ch-ch-changes. Spot the differences in Ryan Seacrest 2.0.

Brazil gets another new gay magazine.

Hugh Jackman spends more time naked than dressed.

Anti-gay graffiti causes stir in Northern California town of Fortuna: "A Fortuna resident noticed anti-homosexual words painted on several mailboxes on her street and filed a police report Thursday. The derogatory words, 'fag' and 'gay,' made her so irate, it took her more than an hour to stop shaking, she said. The Fortuna Police Department is treating the vandalism as a hate crime because the intent was likely to express hate, FPD Sgt. Jack Bernstein said. 'It’s concerning for us to have something like this.'"

Police officers punished in Austin, Texas after remarks: "Cmdr. Calvin Smith, who has worked for the department for 34 years and supervises the Austin police training academy, told the fellow commander that he was worried about the 'kind of message' the potential transfer of a gay female officer would send at the academy, which already had two lesbians working there, according to a disciplinary memo. Cmdr. Larry Oliver was fired for failing to report the comments, even though he later confirmed to investigators that he thought Smith was referring to 'their being lesbians,' a disciplinary memo said. He was fired after refusing Acevedo's offer of a 30-day suspension."

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News: Prince Harry, Eagle Scout, Wolverine, Orlando Bloom

Vigil against violence to be held today in Fort Lauderdale at 4:30pm: "Join the coalition of community leaders and organizations as we gather to remember Simmie Williams and stand up against the rising tide of violence for a memorial service at the murder site at the 1000 block of Sistrunk Boulevard, Fort Lauderdale."

Prince Harry has been fighting undercover in Afghanistan for the past 10 weeks: "The news of his operational posting leaked out following the breakdown of a news blackout agreement with the media when the story was posted on the US-based Drudge Report website. The chief of the general staff, Sir Richard Dannatt, who is head of the British army, expressed disappointment over the leak. 'I am very disappointed that foreign websites have decided to run this story without consulting us,' he said. 'This is in stark contrast to the highly responsible attitude that the whole of the UK print and broadcast media, along with a small number overseas, who have entered into an understanding with us over the coverage of Prince Harry on operations.' Dannatt, who had opposed Harry's deployment to Iraq, went on to praise the prince's performance on deployment."

Orlando Bloom is tired of complaints about his natural manly scent.

NYC sees surge in gay syphilis cases: "After seeing the number of syphilis cases remain stable in 2004 and 2005 then decrease in 2006, the city health department is reporting that syphilis cases increased by 60 percent in 2007 over 2006, with that growth due to new infections among gay and bisexual men."

Bollywood actor rejected: not gay enough to play a fashionista. Kushal Punjabi: "I really got along well with Madhur. He's my kind of director. But I really didn't see myself in that role at all. I'd like to work with directors like Madhur who look at actors as actors and not as stars."

Ben Affleck discusses his revenge sex video with Jimmy Kimmel: "You couldn't really do it half-speed. You had to be painting toes and blow-drying hair. At one point we were going to take a bath together, but the bubbles couldn't get high enough, so that ended up getting scrapped. The little outfits, the short shorts, the hands in the pockets -- it wouldn't have been funny if you didn't really commit to it."

Underwear day takes over Brazilian capital.

Gay Canadian Health Minister Smitherman criticized for proposing to wear adult diaper as test in response to nursing home 'filth' issues: "Opposition politicians, the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) and a nursing home association said Smitherman's plan to test drive a diaper shows he doesn't understand the issue is about staffing levels – not diaper technology. 'For him to suggest that's his answer is a disgrace,' said Progressive Conservative Leader John Tory. 'It's some kind of a sideshow he seems determined to put on when, in fact, I think people in Ontario would say: 'George Smitherman, do something about it. Let's see the revolution you promised in long-term care.''"

Hugh Jackman: the claws come out.

Fans go wild: New video of the pint-size breakdancing Beckham.

Matthew McConaughey wins mag's honors for mightiest mammaries.

Texas governor Rick Perry holds book-signing for Boy Scout tome: "Perry's tour to promote the book has garnered national attention. The book debuted at No. 1 on The Washington Post's best-seller list for hardcover nonfiction in Washington-area bookshops. His office touted that achievement the day after The New York Times Magazine published an interview in which Perry said scouting was about building character and not about sex. The word 'homosexual,' he said, suggests that gay people are focused on sex."

Eagle Scout leaves organization disgusted by anti-gay policies: "I am ashamed an organization to which I owe so much has chosen to take such a myopic stance on this issue and hides behind a legal veil to exclude gay Scouts."

Wired publishes disturbing new photos from Abu Ghraib (warning: extremely graphic)

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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.

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News: Richard Zednik, Obama Security, Taylor Kitsch, Hepatitis A

Jason Rae, the nation's youngest superdelegate who also happens to be gay and was heavily wooed by the Clinton camp, has decided to endorse Obama. Rae: "The Democratic Party is fortunate to have two very talented individuals running for President this election. It is a difficult choice for anyone, but in the end, the choice for me has become clear. I am proudly supporting Senator Barack Obama."

Madonna, Ashton Kutcher, Demi Moore, Eric Dane and others in Hepatitis A scare at trendy New York hotspot Socialista — told to get vaccinated immediately.

Friday Night Lights Taylor Kitsch the latest stud to join X-Men Origins : Wolverine starring Hugh Jackman.

Project Runway stars reunite, dish the dirt before season finale.

State College, Pennsylvania Mayor Bill Welch to preside at same-sex commitment ceremony of six gay and lesbian couples: "'All of them have been together for several years and are actively committed to their partners,' said [Tom] Koerber, co-director of the university Coalition of LGBTA Graduate Students. The coalition has scheduled the ceremony to coincide with the start of Pride Week, an annual week when gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender students — along with straight allies — drum up pride in their community."

Bollywood actor Siddharth speaks out on playing gay roles: "I think we are a homophobic country and I believe the media’s insensitive sensationalisation of the issue is largely responsible for this. As an actor I play roles based on reality. Sexual orientation is a natural and personal choice. I see no reason for it to affect my decision to accept a project. I have close friends who are gay, and they are as intelligent and caring as, if not more than, my heterosexual friends. I think it’s time we started respecting them and giving them their much-deserved freedom to just be themselves."

Officers surprised by order to stop security screening in Dallas more than an hour before Obama took the stage: "The order to put down the metal detectors and stop checking purses and laptop bags came as a surprise to several Dallas police officers who said they believed it was a lapse in security. Dallas Deputy Police Chief T.W. Lawrence, head of the Police Department's homeland security and special operations divisions, said the order -- apparently made by the U.S. Secret Service -- was meant to speed up the long lines outside and fill the arena's vacant seats before Obama came on. 'Sure,' said Lawrence, when asked if he was concerned by the great number of people who had gotten into the building without being checked. But, he added, the turnout of more than 17,000 people seemed to be a 'friendly crowd.'"

Hockey player Richard Zednik, whose carotid artery as you may remember was ripped open by a skate blade, speaks to the media: "When I saw the blood, I knew I had to get up. I got to the trainers and said it's up to them now."

Dolce & Gabbana's new collection trashed by buyers: "If I was on a blind-date and a girl answered the door dressed like that, I'd say I was gay and looking for my boyfriend's apartment."

Miami Beach prepares for annual Winter Party: ''When the Task Force took over Winter Party, one of the missions was to make sure it was not just a [men's] circuit party but a series of events to reach out to . . . the entire spectrum of the community. Transgender people, LGBT [lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender] families and youth. We don't have a pride celebration in Miami. This is about the closest thing we have to it.''

29-year-old who stabbed gay man to death in public toilet in Britain appears in court: "Mr Akers, a retired accountant from Wallington, was found stabbed in public toilets in Walton Lane, just off Walton Bridge about 3pm on Tuesday. He died later in hospital. Mr Akers, from Wallington, had a male partner who he had been living with for 22 years. A postmortem examination held at the Royal Surrey County Hospital revealed the cause of death as a single stab wound to the back ."

27-year-old in Brazil ordered to pay fine of $8,500 for using 'fag' slur and throwing beer can at gay man: "It is the first time this fine is put into practice by the State since the creation of law nº 10.948 back in 2001."

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News: Son of JFK, Kevin Rudd, Alabama, Writer's Strike

Australia issues official apology for mistreating Aborigines: "Prime Minister Kevin Rudd told parliament that past policies of assimilation, under which aboriginal children were taken from their families to be brought up in white households, were a stain on the nation's soul. 'Today, the parliament has come together to right a great wrong,' Rudd said. 'We apologize for the laws and policies of successive parliaments and governments that have inflicted profound grief, suffering and loss on these our fellow Australians.'"

Yep, that's a look of pure hate if I've ever seen one.

Brad Pitt to renege on promise that he would not be getting married until gay people can?

Back to TV: The writer's strike is officially over!

Brazilian gay rights leader Alexandre Peixe dos Santos bashed: "gagged, hooded and beaten by an unknown number of attackers."

London to host 2009 European gay rugby Union Cup: Mayor of London Ken Livingstone, said: 'The tournament will provide a platform to introduce lesbian and gay sport to new audiences.' The first Union Cup was held in 2005 in Montpellier, France and then in Copenhagen, Denmark in 2007."

Man claims to be JFK's son, wants DNA TEST from Kennedy clan.

Scottish police station hoists rainbow flag. Chief Inspector: "The contribution of LGBT people is often forgotten or ignored. It's great the police is able to recognise those efforts. It sends out the message of support to staff members and the wider public that the force is committed to diversity and equality. I'm sad if some people are unhappy about the flag for religious reasons, but I know many religious people who do not feel it goes against their faith and they are very supportive."

Court orders $3100 fine for Swedish kennel owner who refused to sell a puppy to a woman because she was a lesbian.

Hod: Jewish Orthodox gay group's web presence is born: "We are being watched with a magnifying glass right now. We have to be careful not to ruin our relations with the Orthodox establishment. Besides, we are not at the stage where we can express our opinions about same-sex partnerships and families. Our battles are at a much more elementary level. We are trying to convince rabbis, educators, lay leaders and even the general public that homosexuality is not a mental sickness."

CLASSY: Paparazzi snaps Michelle Williams beside skeleton on first day back from Heath Ledger funeral.

Patron turned away from South African gay bar because of his race.

Birth of gay group at University of Alabama remembered with exhibition: "25 years later, a collection of everything relating to the group — papers, posters, letters, shirts — has been donated to the university's archives. 'No school is fully represented by its official records. We need the unofficial record, too,' said Clark Center, curator of the W.S. Hoole Special Collections Library. 'The collection is important in that it represents a student group's activities and their intersection with the wider world.' The collection was gathered by Josh Burford, who was approached about a year ago by students wanting to research homosexuals in Tuscaloosa for a paper in his class on modern gay America. By calling on past faculty advisors and members of the group, he was able to collect boxes of papers still kept in basements and offices."

Listen to Mariah Carey's new track "Touch My Body".

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News: Ferras, Facebook, Mariah Carey, The Nation, Polaroid

I had forgotten that AfterElton was doing a "Gay People's Choice Awards" contest but was extremely pleased to wake up this morning and find out that Towleroad won an award for favorite blog. Thanks to all of you who put in our name for this. It's much appreciated! Check out all the other winners HERE!

Sweet Jesus! Lightning strikes Christ the Redeemer in Rio.

Hillary Clinton 2008 bid hinging on Ohio and Texas. Superdelegate: "She has to win both Ohio and Texas comfortably, or she’s out. The campaign is starting to come to terms with that."

Mariah Carey names new album E=MC².

Facebook is the Hotel California. You can check out any time, but you can never leave. "Even if users terminate their membership, pictures of them posted by others remain online. But users can't really quit, anyway. Like guests at the Hotel California, people who check out of Facebook have a hard time leaving. Profiles of former members are preserved in case people want to reactivate their accounts. And all users' digital selves can outlive their creators. As the company's "terms of use" explain, profiles of deceased members are kept "active under a special memorialized status for a period of time determined by us to allow other users to post and view comments."

First all-Black production of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof hits Broadway.

Victory Fund intern is nation's youngest Superdelegate!

If you aren't aware of Ferras yet, you will be soon. His single "Hollywood is Not America" has been licensed by American Idol as the song that's played when the losers hit the road after they're voted off the show. "Bad Day" made Daniel Powter a household name when he was a relative unknown. NewNowNext interviews Ferras about his expectations for the future, and, of course, his love of the gays.

SPOILERS: Wentworth Miller gets wet.

Florent files suit over extending restaurant lease. Judge: "I know this restaurant–Florent is a great place."

Can sugar substitutes make you fat? "Animals fed with artificially sweetened yogurt over a two-week period consumed more calories and gained more weight — mostly in the form of fat — than animals eating yogurt flavored with glucose, a natural, high-calorie sweetener."

Dolce & Gabbana's yummy new entree.

Digital Age: Polaroid exits film business. "Polaroid chief operating officer Tom Beaudoin said the company is interested in licensing its technology to an outside firm that could manufacture film for faithful Polaroid customers. If that doesn't happen, Polaroid users would have to find an alternative photo technology, as the company plans to make only enough film to last into next year. Polaroid has already quietly halted production of instant cameras. "We stopped making commercial-type cameras about 18 to 24 months ago, and we stopped making consumer cameras about a year ago," said Beaudoin."

John Barrowman's parents put him in a trash bin to shut him up.

The Nation endorses Barack Obama: "This magazine has been critical of the senator from Illinois for his closeness to Wall Street; his unwillingness to lay out an ambitious progressive agenda on health care, housing and other domestic policy issues; and for post partisan rhetoric that seems to ignore the manifest failure of conservatism over these past seven years. But as Christopher Hayes argued in our cover story last week, Obama has also exhibited a more humane and wise approach to foreign policy, opposing the Iraq War while Hillary Clinton voted for it, and has been a reliable progressive ally over the course of his career. While his rhetoric about "unity" can be troubling, it also embodies a savvy strategy to redefine the center of American politics and build a coalition by reaching out to independent and Republican voters disgruntled and disgusted with what the Bush era has wrought."

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News: Vanity Fair, Matt Foreman, AIDS Self-Medication, Eric Dane

New Republic editor James Kirchik questions legacy of National Gay & Lesbian Task Force's outgoing executive director Matt Foreman: "He was an outspoken opponent of the war in Iraq. He fought against privatizing Social Security. He stood foursquare against the erosion of abortion rights. But what any of these issues have to do with lobbying for gay rights -- presumably Foreman’s job description -- is beyond me. His job description, though, was the problem. Foreman, after all, is just a symptom of the larger problem with NGLTF: It's a garden-variety liberal interest group posing as a gay rights organization."

Rolling Stone on Spears: an American tragedy.

"100 Reverends" to march in Sydney's Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras parade to apologize for the church's hostility to LGBT people, but not everyone's happy about it: "Not everyone who is part of that approves of homosexual people, they’re just apologising for the way the church has behaved.We’re listed but we’re not going to be one of the main ones because that could be seen as too narrow."

British Christian group lobbies against gays adopting children: "The decision to campaign against same sex adoptions comes after a city magistrate and CPA member, stood down over the issue. Andrew McClintock, 63, resigned from his position in the family courts after he was refused permission to opt out of cases that resulted in children being placed with same sex parents. Former city councillor Sid Cordle from CPA, said: 'People in Sheffield have a right to say if they were tragically killed in an accident and their children had to be adopted, then their children should go to a father and a mother.'"

Grey's Anatomy doc Eric Dane has skin cancer scare.

Two gay/bi men, Joshuah and Neil, join posse of 20-somethings for Big Brother 9.

Gay ball marks the end of Brazil's Carnival: "Thousands of onlookers gawked as men in glittering miniskirts, evening dresses, bead-studded lingerie and feathered headdresses shimmied down a wide avenue to the sounds of ABBA's 'Dancing Queen,' for a party that would last until dawn Wednesday. After a week that saw everything from a scandal over a planned Holocaust-themed float — later nixed by a judge — to a samba queen's quest to set a world record for the most plastic surgeries, revelers spent Carnival's last hours dancing the samba behind street bands."

Two Australian police officers may face prison after telling an inmate that his girlfriend was a transgender woman: "When he got out on bail he went around to her house and seriously assaulted her. Constables Tyrone Stacey and Brendan Ritson have pleaded not guilty to the charges. Back in September 2006 26 year old Jacobson was arrested under suspicion of theft. Constable Stacey looked up information on his girlfriend Brigitte Fell and discovered that her gender was actually male. Constable Ritson saw the screen and yelled out to Jacobson, 'You’re rooting a bloke.' When he refused to believe it the Police actually showed him written proof, saying, 'See, it’s a guy.'"

Vanity Fair cancels annual glam Oscar party amid writer's strike.

In rare sell-out appearance, poet Mary Oliver charms Seattle.

Time: Gay men self-medicating with experimental AIDS drugs. "'There's a philosophy in parts of the gay community that says its okay to take some risks in having sex,' says Dr. Dan Bowers, a senior partner in Pacific