Cher and Christina Aguilera are set to star in Burlesque, Variety reports:
"In what will be her first movie star role in a decade, Cher is set
to join Christina Aguilera in 'Burlesque,' a contemporary musical for
Screen Gems. Steven Antin will direct from a script he wrote that was
revised by Susannah Grant. Aguilera will play an ambitious small-town Iowa girl with a big
voice who comes of age in a neo-burlesque club on Sunset Boulevard
that’s run by Tess (Cher), a former dancer who struggles to keep the
club open and gives the young girl a chance to shine. Cher will sing onscreen. While her voice has been heard in many
films, 'Burlesque' will mark the first time she’ll be seen singing in a
film she stars in. Cher last starred in 'Tea With Mussolini' in 1999.
"
Congressman Howard Berman, who said earlier this week that he expected action soon on LGBT issues within the State Department, suggests that more is to come from the White House in June: "I think
the White House is preparing to make an announcement on a
number of issues. I’m predicting here,
not informing, that by the Stonewall anniversary we will
have a very clear picture of what the administration
is doing.
Openly gay activist and lobbyist Pat Steadman wins Colorado state senate race: "The special election was open only to members of the Colorado Democratic Party. The vacancy
came after openly lesbian Senator Jennifer Veiga resigned the seat to
move to Australia with her partner and her partner's family. Veiga
was the first openly gay member elected to the Colorado General
Assembly, and Steadman is now the first openly gay man to serve in the
Colorado State Senate."
New Hampshire marriage equality all about compromise: "Rep. Jim Splaine, prime sponsor of
the main gay marriage bill, said Thursday that advocates will use the
next two weeks to educate lawmakers about the religious protections
Lynch wants. 'The
governor's made it clear he wants to stick to the core principles he's
offered,' said Splaine, D-Portsmouth. 'We can do this.'"
Retrospective: If paintings had voices Francis Bacon's would shriek. "Bacon specialized in blur and atmosphere; he captured the tumult of
homosexual sex in motion by borrowing from photographs, film stills or
images of other art, conveying a sense of athleticism and sweat,
violence and tenderness, furtiveness and shame. Homosexual sex was a
criminal act in Britain, where he lived most of his life, well into the
1960s."
YouTube hit by porn attack: "Video-sharing website YouTube has removed hundreds of pornographic videos which were uploaded in what is believed to be a planned attack.
The material was uploaded under names of famous teenage celebrities such as Hannah Montana and Jonas Brothers.
Many started with footage of children's videos before groups of adults performing graphic sex acts appeared on screen.
YouTube owner Google said it was aware and addressing the problem."
Former spokesman for Portland Mayor Sam Adams talks about why he left.
Zona Rosa: Gays find acceptance in Mexico City. "It's really hard to be gay in the smaller, more conservative states within Mexico. I moved to Zona Rosa not just for my career but also for a chance to finally try and be accepted within my community."
Atlanta mayoral candidates speak to LGBT voters: "The candidates gathered for a forum of about 150 people held at the
Amsterdam Cafe in Midtown. Mayor Shirley Franklin, a two-term
incumbent, is prohibited from running for a third consecutive term. Several candidates stressed their past achievements and support for the
city’s gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community. One out of
every seven Atlantans is gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender,
community advocates say. The community has become an influential force
in city politics, particularly in neighborhoods near downtown."
Moscow Pride organizers appeal to European Court of Human Rights, ask for 1.7 million Euros over 155 banned Pride marches: "They are asking for 11,000 Euros compensation for each march banned. In all, the organisers of Pride applied to City’s Mayor, Yuri Luzhkov, for 155 marches, five each day during May 2008. All were dismissed."
Gay couple describe terrifying home invasion to Welsh court: "Nathan Dally, 22, yelled: 'I’m going to kill you, you faggots', as
he kicked in married couple Daniel Smith and Gary Samuel’s door,
Cardiff Crown Court heard yesterday. The couple were so scared they called 999 and quickly moved their wardrobe to block their bedroom door. But
it was left slightly ajar and Dally, of Caer Gwerlas, Tonyrefail,
reached through, only leaving the house when Mr Samuel hit him with a
hockey stick. Helen Roddick, prosecuting, said: 'They were both in bed at night and then saw the front door was shaking. One male was at the door kicking it with force and another two or three males were standing back.'”
Artush and Zaur: Novel describing "a gay love affair between an Azeri and an Armenian amid war between their countrymen as the Soviet Union collapsed" causing controversy. "A book discussion between the author and readers was canceled amid reports of threats and intimidation. 'The police told them -- if you don't do it, we'll do it ourselves,'
[writer Alekper] Aliyev told Reuters. 'And they withdrew all the books from sale.' He said the owner of Ali and Nino had just called to say police had closed two of their stores. They reopened a day later. An Interior Ministry spokesman denied any knowledge of the case,
saying: 'The police do not interfere in trade and the selling of books.'"
Nathan Lane on gay actors coming out: "It’s such a personal thing, and I don’t
think it does anybody any good to out people or force
them out of the closet. I don’t see the point.
It can still be very difficult in this business, so
I’m sympathetic to that. You hear rumors and
gossip, but nobody really knows except that person,
and it’s ultimately up to them. Now, there are times
when the press goes easier on or is more forgiving of
someone, and I' say, How come he got a free
pass?' But ultimately, I don’t feel resentful"
London's gay former top cop Brian Paddick joins cast of I'm a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here, reveals George Michael used to ask him for drugs: [Paddick] famously championed a lenient approach to drug possession during his tenure. He said today: 'Every time I met up with George Michael, the first thing he’d always ask was: 'Have you got a spliff?'...'The joke wears off after a while, but he said it again and again.'" Also on board the show, believe it or not, are George Takei and Martina Navratilova.
Pregnant man Thomas Beatie has another bun in the oven: "Thomas Beatie, who is in his first trimester, tells Walters he did not go back on the male hormone testosterone after Susan's birth so he could have another baby. 'I feel good,' he said. 'I had my checkups with my hormone level, as far as the HCG. And everything is right on track.' He says the baby is due June 12."
Oregon woman beaten with a rock after telling man that she's gay: "Washington County sheriff's deputies said the woman was walking along a street in Aloha on Tuesday when a young man asked for a cigarette. The woman said the man asked whether she was gay and became angry when she told him that she was. Deputies said the two struggled, she fell, he beat her with a rock and his fists, and then she escaped. The suspect was described as white, 16 to 22 years old, about 6 feet tall and slender with very large ears."
European Parliament asks Bulgaria to recognize same-sex couples in its domestic partner legislation: " The all-party ‘intergroup’ for gay and lesbian rights has written to the Bulgarian Prime Minister, Sergei Stanishev, and members of the National Assembly expressing concerns that same-sex couples are not included in the draft legislation. 'Unions between opposite-sex and same-sex couples are based on the same ground,' says the letter, signed by MEPs Michael Cashman, Lissy Gräner, Raúl Romeva and Sophie In´t Veld."
Following the 'witchhunt' it experienced last year, Senegal's gay community is now regrouping with the aid of the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission: "IGLHRC had stepped in to respond to the arrests and condemn the violence already last year, but now hopes to be able to turn from emergency aid to the development of a forceful Senegalese movement fighting for less discrimination of sexual minorities and increased legal rights."
The story behind Commercial Closet founder Michael Wilke's departure from the organization in the wake of its GLAAD merger: " Negotiations for a January, 2009 merger had been all but finalized and, in June, Wilke and his editorial director had moved into GLAAD’s New York offices. On Monday, days after learning from his board of directors that the merger had gone through two months ahead of schedule, Wilke says he found out from an article on Ad Age’s Website that he would no longer be with the organization he’d founded seven years ago. 'There wasn’t supposed to be a shutdown,' Wilke told Advocate.com. 'That was never planned. I know the board was very concerned about being in the black at the end of the year, so their solution was to cancel our big fundraiser and to let me go.'"
Robbie Daw presents a weekly pop music update here on Towleroad! Robbie runs his own site called Chart Rigger.
The two-disc "Deluxe Edition" Sound Of The Smiths was released on Tuesday by Sire/Rhino, and I told myself I wouldn't buy it. After all, wasn't it Morrissey who sang, "Best of, most of, satiate the need/ Slip them into diffferent sleeves, buy both and feel deceived," in "Paint A Vulgar Picture" 21 years ago?
Yeah, so I bought it. And the band pictures inside the included booklet are lush and glossy. Most of them I've never even seen before. The booklet itself even smells like the books you bought as a kid to put all your Scratch-and-Sniff stickers in.
Previously unavailable (in the U.S.) b-sides "Jeane" and "Wonderful Woman," the "New York Vocal" remix of "This Charming Man" and the demo of "Pretty Girls Make Graves" might still evoke some interest from those who are a tad dubious about giving Warner Bros. any more money for yet another Smiths compilation...so it's good that The Sound Of The Smiths is available on iTunes, for single-song picking and choosing.
None of the band's prior albums had ever been put up for download at the online store, possibly because of Morrissey and Johnny Marr's longstanding legal woes with their former bandmates. Also fulfilling the "Paint A Vulgar Picture" lyrical prophecy of "Extra track and a tacky badge," the iTunes edition of the collection contains the rarity "The Draize Train."
It should be stated that in the whole 28-page booklet, there aren't any liner notes. But those photos are really glossy.
Some music clips for the week:
1. Christina Aguilera, "Keeps Gettin' Better": Title track from her greatest hits set, out this week in Target stores only, and available everywhere next Tuesday.
2. Same Difference, "We R One": Debut U.K. single from the brother-sister duo who were last year's X Factor runner-ups. It's like Grease and High School Musical meets Steps.
3. Steps, "Stomp": In the spirit of Same Difference, the lead single from the now-disbanded pop quintet's third and final album.
4. David Archuleta, "Crush" on the Today Show. Pretty flat, but kudos for actually singing live.
Taylor Swift's second studio album Fearless. First day sales totalled 217,000. By comparison, this week's #1 album, the Twilight soundtrack, sold 165,000 over the course of the whole week prior.
Patrick Sammon 
Robbie Daw presents a weekly pop music update here on Towleroad! Robbie runs his own site called 
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