News: Gay Animals, Ed Westwick, Book Burning, Rhode Island

Christian group wants to burn gay book.

STUDY: Homosexual activity a nearly universal phenomenon in the animal kingdom.

Anderson Cooper shops for marijuana.

Activists plan "world's largest gay wedding ceremony" in Sydney, Australia.

A first look at Bruno.

ACLU gets involved in Fresno hospital discrimination case: "Civil rights groups are urging a hospital in central California to change its policies after employees briefly barred a lesbian from visiting her partner, who went into seizure at a gay marriage march. Kristin Orbin collapsed May 30 after walking 14 miles in the protest march. She was taken to Fresno's Community Regional Medical Center where she says an ambulance driver kept her partner from seeing her in the emergency room."

Janice Dickinson needed a hospital, get her out of there.

Social networking and Iran: a fascinating look at the hand Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube have had in toppling state media control.

Destination Wedding: a Toronto synagogue grapples over same-sex marriage.

Former American Idol contestant Blake Lewis says he gets hit on by men and women, often at the same time: “Usually I get swingers. The guy will come up to me first usually, and ask if I’m gay.  When I say no, he’ll point to his girlfriend and say that she wants me to come home with both of them that night. I tell them my girl back home wouldn’t appreciate it, but thanks anyway.  It’s very flattering though!”

An interview with soap actor and brother of Chris Evans, Scott Evans.

Marriage equality tide rises around Rhode Island: "The slower pace in Rhode Island, where the state Senate voted last week to allow same-sex partners to make funeral arrangements, has frustrated some local activists, many of whom rallied outside the State House in Providence last weekend to call for immediate equality."

A fascinating chart on gay rights from Nate Silver.

Mariah: wet and obsessed.

Brian Graden to leave MTV Networks.

Maplewood, New Jersey takes lead in pushing legislature to legalize same-sex marriage: "In what is thought to be a first among New Jersey municipalities, the Maplewood Township Committee is expected to adopt a resolution Tuesday evening calling on state legislators to sanction same-sex marriage. Mayor Victor DeLuca said he hoped the resolution could serve as a catalyst for legislators' passage of a same-sex marriage bill before the year's end."

Ed Westwick shows off fall fashion for GQ.

Melbourne Sun: Are you in favor of same-sex marriage in Australia?

It's Britney, bitch.

Council of Fashion Designers of America rewards L.A. at annual awards. Bradley Cooper among guests...

Taxes on property reassessment sting domestic partners who have lost their loved one.

New Opera browser turns your computer into a server: "The concept is somewhere between a personal web server and a file sharing application, technologically and conceptually. The interface is straightforward, divided into panels for each service that you choose to "host." All of them behave in the same stupid-simple way: you start a service, whether it be photo sharing, music streaming, web hosting, or straight file sharing, select a shared directory, set your privacy preferences and go." More from TechCrunch.

Rodrigo Santoro Knifes Chris Evans in West Side Story Reenactment

Seems the Broadway revival has West Side Story on everyone's mind, so along comes this Vanity Fair photo shoot by Mark Seliger in which scenes from the classic 1961 film version are recreated with the help of today's stars.

Yesterday...
New York Dishes on Arthur Laurents' Broadway Comeback [tr]

News: Joe Dallesandro, Dallas Divorce, Boy George, Oscar Chat

Police: $20 million extortion plot against John Travolta. TMZ: Not over son's photo.

Andy Warhol muse Joe Dallesandro to get "Teddy Award" at Berlin Film Festival. Committee: "Dallesandro was not only the most beautiful man in his media generation, but also put his erotic appeal out to consciously be objectified."

Chris Evans' answer to his publicist's shirtless photo ban: wear the tightest one possible.

Newsweek's Howard Fineman meets Towleroad on the DC Metro.

Texas: Gay Dallas man files state's first same-sex marriage petition.

Second NY Appeals Court rules that out-of-state marriages must be recognized: "This decision comes in the case Lewis v. Department of Civil Service and follows a landmark victory by the New York Civil Liberties Union in Martinez v. County of Monroe. Today’s decision in Lewis was issued by the Third Department and involves taxpayers who sued the state Department of Civil Service for recognizing same-sex spouses of state employees for purposes of health insurance benefits. The court affirmed that the state was following the law by granting all validly married couples eligibility for health insurance benefits."

Hey Brad, your fly is open.

Boy George settles in to prison life: "The roly poly singer scribbles on a pad during the first hours of his 15-month sentence. George, 47, is said to be terrified of attack in jail and has already angered fellow inmates by lining up a soft job in the canteen. He is set to earn £6 a week as a server, dishing out meals to lags on A Wing of HMP Pentonville in North London, where he is doing time for imprisoning and beating a rent boy."

The Obamas' first dance as first couple.

Participant in 1991 murder of Paul Broussard in Houston back behind bars.

Utah State senator Chris Buttars and gay activists break bread — literally.

Donors bail out Log Cabin Republicans.

Nathaniel at Film Experience posts a good analysis of the Oscar noms.

BBC DJ Chris Moyles insults Jews, gays with Auschwitz joke, effeminate rendition of Will Young song.

4th Circuit Court of Appeal judges rule against Alliance Defense Fund, say the city acted legally when it created a registry for same-sex couples and used the registry as a basis to provide health insurance to the partners of its gay and lesbian employees.

Britain's first openly gay judge Sir Adrian Fulford describes "bizarre and depressing" experience of applying for judicial appointment: "When he insisted that 'I would not be putting myself through this rather unpleasant process unless I really wanted to be a judge, they then directed their focus, in a somewhat dramatic way, on what may or may not happen behind my closed bedroom door'."

Proposed high school's gay-straight alliance meets resistance in Waynesboro, Pennsylvania.

Gay Times: Lily Allen gone wild!

Chris Evans on His Shirtless Photo Ban, and His Gay Brother

Chris Evans talks to Brandon Voss at the Advocate about male objectification, particularly the amount that occurred after a much passed-around shirtless photo spread appeared in Flaunt magazine. The shoot lead to a ban by his publicist on photo shoots of that nature, so as to protect his chances at becoming a "serious" actor.

Said Evans of the shoot: "I really didn’t think twice about taking my shirt off at the time, but my current publicist would pull her hair out if I did that photo shoot today. If I got to a photo shoot and they said, 'OK, we’re going to do some shirtless shots,' I’d say, 'Fine. No big deal.' It never really occurred to me that that could be misinterpreted as a bad thing or as selling out. I couldn’t care less, and I don’t think it makes one lick of difference. But I hired my publicist for her professional opinion, and she seems to think it’s a mistake. I have no problem taking my shirt off for a role if the part calls for it, but my publicist says, 'When you’re promoting yourself, being you, there’s a way to keep it as classy as possible. Greasing yourself up and stripping down may not be the best way to do it.' To some degree, she may have a point. But at the end of the day, it didn’t bother me then and it doesn’t bother me now."

Evans also confirms his brother is gay:

"Yes, I do have a gay brother. I’m down with the gays. Mostly I’m hanging out with him and his gay buddies, who are fucking hilarious. They’re the funniest people I know. They’ve invited me out to gay bars before, and I said, 'Look, guys, I’ve got to draw the line there.' That’s where a photo will get taken, it will run in magazines, and before you know it, I’ll be living down the gay rumor for the rest of my life. [My brother looks like me], but he’s about an inch taller and about four shades tanner than I am. He’s a very fit young man. Believe me, he does quite well for himself."

One more shot from the old Flaunt shoot, AFTER THE JUMP...

A List: Chris Evans [the advocate]

News: Al Franken, Basketball, Ralph Lauren, Big Macs, Maryland

Bush renews hunt to capture Bin Laden before November election.

Matt Damon: Sarah Palin pick is "like a really bad Disney movie."

Man claims to have eaten 23,000 Big Macs since 1972 — VIDEO.

Payoff: Alaska National Guard to Lieutenant General Craig Campbell receives promotion from Palin after going from critical to complimentary of her experience as governor. The Next Cheney?

Episcopal bishops of San Francisco and Los Angeles to oppose ban on same-sex marriage: "The Right Rev. Marc Handley Andrus, Episcopal bishop of California, and the Right Rev. J. Jon Bruno, Episcopal bishop of Los Angeles, are scheduled to join other faith leaders and gay couples Wednesday in speaking out against Proposition 8. The measure, which would amend the state constitution to limit marriage to unions between a man and woman, is also being opposed by individual churches and clergy through a group called California Faith for Equality. Their work is designed to counter the huge organizational and financial push the amendment is receiving from leaders of the Roman Catholic and Mormon faiths."

Drag queen dies during performance: "Chip Doran (a.k.a. Ilene Alloverya) was 55 years old - a retiree and former Dallasite who relocated to Austin and drove to Dallas for the Labor Day weekend fundraiser."

Ralph Lauren has put his name on a set of limited-edition balls: "Sales of the balls benefit the LeBron James Family Foundation (which, among other initiatives, supports fitness programs for kids). But unless your name is, say, Jay-Z, Andy Roddick, or Charlie Rose, you're not going to be able to buy it—the balls were produced for an invite-only shopping event at the Polo Mansion tonight."

South Africa sees first gay divorce.

Elbow wins Mercury Music Prize: "The five-piece group took the £20,000 award with their fourth album, The Seldom Seen Kid. The judges called it 'an epic rock record - triumphant, heartbreaking, unerringly melodic and life-affirming'. This year's 12-strong shortlist was dominated by glamorous young females, including R&B star Estelle and 19-year-old singer-songwriter Adele, and established acts such as Radiohead and Robert Plant."

Kylie Minogue says she'd have gone gay for Tallulah Bankhead.

Al Franken wins Democratic primary in Minnesota race for U.S. Senate.

Marijuana shows promise in fighting superbugs: "...researchers tested five major marijuana ingredients termed cannabinoids on different strains of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), a "superbug" increasingly resistant to antibiotics. All five substances showed potent germ-killing activity against these drug-resistant strains, as did some synthetic non-natural cannabinoids, they say. The scientists also showed that these substances appear to kill bacteria by different mechanisms than conventional antibiotics, making them more likely to avoid bacterial resistance, the scientists note."

Chris Evans is the pits.

Maryland Court of Appeals strikes gender identity ballot referendum that would have repealed law forbidding discrimination.

Elton John scraps Lily Allen collaboration after onstage tiff: "The pair, who hosted the awards together, exchanged insults and slurs, culminating in Elton telling Lily he could 'snort her under the table'. Elton now says the spat has put him off collaborating with the 'Smile' singer. 'I was thinking about asking her to tour with me and maybe even do a duet. Obviously that won't be happening,' he told the Metro."

Choir in Fiji distraught at having to perform at a wedding demonstration where a female stood in for the groom, thus making it look like it was a gay wedding.

News: Wicked, Cristiano Ronaldo, Mars, Mamma Mia, Ron Paul

The NYT on the potential repeal of the 1913 Massachusetts marriage law.

The Martian landscape revealed...

Cristiano Ronaldo hits L.A. on crutches and doesn't waste any time snubbing Paris Hilton.

Ron Paul's openly gay campaign chair dies of pneumonia at 49, without health insurance: "Snyder, who served as Paul’s campaign chair, died of pneumonia on June 26 after being hospitalized for about two months and after running up medical bills exceeding $400,000, according to friends and family members, who said he did not have health insurance."

A Mamma-Mia cheat sheet.

Moscow authorities ban gay picket of Iranian embassy set for July 19: "About 30 people were due to take part, Moscow gay pride parade organizer Nikolay Alexeyev told the Interfax-Religion. He said the application was submitted last Friday in strict compliance with Russian laws, but the prefecture retorted it could not guarantee the security of those taking part in the picket. 'This is a flagrant violation of the Russian constitution and laws on public actions,' Alexeyev said."

Will the knowledge that Banksy may be bourgeois make his works less valuable?

The L.A. Times profiles Paul Colichman and his growing "gay media empire": "Five years ago, Colichman and his business partner launched Here, television's only premium gay cable network. Now, with an eye toward building their empire, they recently made a $6.5-million deal to buy the popular news magazine the Advocate, style monthly Out and other sister publications. Colichman, who also owns the gay entertainment Internet portal GayWired.com, plans to expand the online presence of his new publications once the acquisition closes. 'People say, 'Why would you buy a print publication when you're really in the television business?'' said Colichman. 'But our point of view is that everything is cross-platformed now -- we are in the content business, and to generate profit you need to be everywhere.'"

Tyson shows off his tatts.

Broadway's Wicked coming to the big screen.

Chris Evans to answer questions at San Diego's Comic-Con.

First openly gay leader of a national labor union elected: "New York based United Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten has been elected to succeed Edward McElroy as President of the American Federation of Teachers...Weingarten served for 10 years as UFT head and under her tenure she negotiated a 43 percent increase in educator salaries and helped organize 28,000 home childcare workers."

Andy Dick in sex and drugs arrest.

North Carolina Family Policy Council supports bullying of LGBT kids in schools...

Pew Poll: 28% say gay marriage will affect their vote. "As it did in October 2004, gay marriage ranks lowest in importance among 16 campaign issues for the average U.S. voter; overall, 28% say gay marriage will be very important to their vote, down slightly from 32% in 2004. Far more Republicans than Democrats (19 points) rate gay marriage as very important. White evangelical Protestants (49%) place the most importance on the issue. Currently, 49% of the public opposes allowing gay and lesbian couples to marry legally, while 38% support gay marriage."