News: Facebook, Barry Scott, Hail, Bahamas, Adoption, Batman

Unhealthy. Nearly 40% of gay men do not disclose their sexual orientation to their doctors: "The survey found a striking distinction: While 78 percent of the men who had sex with men and identified themselves as homosexual said they had discussed their sexuality with their doctors, none of the men who had sex with men but identified themselves as bisexual had told their doctors."

Tricia Walsh-Smith: making a name for marriage.

Drive to ban gays as adoptive or foster parents falls short of signatures, gets 30 day extension of deadline: "Supporters need 61,794 signatures to get the measure on the ballot. Secretary of State Charlie Daniels' office certified that 57,888 of the signatures the group submitted in were valid and came from registered voters. Cox said about 4.5 percent of the signatures the group turned in were disqualified because of errors by notaries. Of the remaining signatures, 91.3 percent were valid, he said."

Trans man Thomas Beatie sold his baby photos to People for $300,000.

Bahamas: Could teen charged with murder be linked to gay serial killings?

Tribute: Lifetime to air 10-hour Estelle Getty marathon.

Michigan to consider expanded hate crimes law: "Michigan’s hate crime law would expand to include intimidation of gays and lesbians and people with disabilities, and would make hanging a noose or burning a cross on someone else’s property specific crimes, under changes urged by civil rights groups today. Those changes will be put on a fast track in the House next month, said Rep. Paul Condino, D-Southfield, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee. He said he would introduce a bill today to strengthen the state’s ethnic intimidation law."

Cape Cod Jury rules against Boston DJ Barry Scott in Provincetown police excessive force case: "Scott was arrested July 14 after police broke up a private birthday party he was DJ-ing after alleged noise complaints. In the process, Scott claims that officers smashed him against the side of a house and repeatedly kicked him. In the subsequent months, he and his supporters have been vocal critics of the actions of the Provincetown police department. Prior to today’s ruling, he has appeared in court 15 times on the charges." Scott plans to appeal.

Indian Prince Manvendra Singh Gohil to be guest of honor at Stockholm Pride: "I am honoured to be invited as one of the opening speakers for StockholmPride. Especially since I live in a country where LGBT issues continue to be ridiculously taboo, no matter how universally practiced."

Christopher Ciccone to the New York Observer on the publication of his Madonna tell-all: "...it was like a giant fucking orgasm. Therapy I already had; this was pure sex."

Hailstones blast man off toilet in Austria.

A look at Batman's gay past...

Pump up the volume: Brangelina twins conceived in vitro.

As session end looms, Massachusetts House has yet to take up repeal of 1913 marriage law.

Hartlepool: Police appeal for witnesses after UK gay bash.

Josh Brolin makes first appearance after bar brawl: "[I'm] sorry. I'm kind of in a bad predicament right now."

British man awarded £22,000 in damages over Facebook profile that suggested he was gay: "Grant Raphael created a false profile of his former schoolfriend Matthew Firscht on the social networking site with his name and date of birth. He wrongly stated that Mr Firscht was signed up to gay groups, had lied to avoid paying loans and was 'looking for whatever I can get' in his relationship profile. Mr Raphael, a freelance cameraman, had said the entry had been created by party gate-crashers at his flat. Awarding Mr Firscht and his company £22,000 in damages, a High Court judge yesterday ruled that the defence had been 'built on lies'. It is believed to be the first successful defamation and privacy law case involving Facebook in the UK. Judge Richard Parkes QC said that Mr Raphael was liable for the internet entries and had lied about the posts."

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Christopher Ciccone Talks More About His Life with Madonna

Yesterday Good Morning America broadcast the second part (here's Part 1 if you missed it) of their interview with Christopher Ciccone on his book Life with My Sister Madonna. Ciccone claims that the mythology that Madonna arrived penniless in New York is a farce perpetuated by her, and reveals that a turning point in their relationship came when she surprised him with cameras at their mother's gravesite while shooting Truth or Dare and he realized their mother was just "a bit part" in Madonna's life.

Watch it, AFTER THE JUMP...

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Christopher Ciccone Publicity Blitz Begins for Madonna Tell-All

Excerpts of Christopher Ciccone's tell-all Life with My Sister Madonna were published over the weekend in the Mail on Sunday (along with some never-before-seen photos, including the one above, right), most of which dealt with Guy Ritchie's homophobia and how it came between Christopher and Madonna. Here's a bit where Christopher exacts a bit of verbal revenge on Guy after feeling like the butt end of Guy's homophobic jokes while at Scotland's Skibo Castle for their wedding:

***

Madonna stands up at the top of the table and issues the instruction: 'Christopher, tonight it's your turn to give the toast.'

I lean down the baronial table and, with great emphasis, reply: 'Madonna, you really don't want me to do that.' It's a statement, not a question.

'No, Christopher, it's your turn!' she barks in a tone identical to the one she always used as a kid when she and my siblings all played Monopoly together.

If she didn't get Park Place [Mayfair in the English version] she invariably stamped her feet and said: 'But it's mine.' In those days, in the face of her strong will, I always capitulated and rescinded my purchase of Park Place.

Nothing seems to have changed. I stand up. My fellow guests fall silent out of respect - the brother of the bride is about to make a speech. I raise my glass: 'I'd like to toast this happy moment that comes only twice in a person's lifetime.'

Then, without skipping a beat, I go on: 'And if anybody wants to **** Guy, he'll be in my room later.'

Everyone erupts in laughter. Everyone, of course, except Madonna, who keeps saying: 'What did he mean?' Guy, who I suspect knows exactly what I mean, says nothing and avoids looking at me.

Soon after, Trudie [Styler] tells me: 'That was hysterical. I've been listening to all those homophobic jokes. I just want you to know that we were aware of how you must be feeling.'

***

Ciccone also appeared this morning on Good Morning America. You can watch that, AFTER THE JUMP...

Previously
Ciccone Tell-All Cover Revealed as Madonna Denies Divorce, Affair [tr]
Christopher Ciccone writing Memoir: Life with My Sister Madonna [tr]

(clip via queerty)

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News: Sean Penn, Berlin, Coral, Jake Gyllenhaal, Wisconsin

Is Bush blocking Obama speech at Berlin's Brandenburg Gate?

Jake gets a mane.

No brainer: Guess what they're working on a sequel for...

Not a surprise: Tanzania to oppose ordination of women and gay bishops in Anglican church.

Same-sex Wisconsin couples who marry in California could face prison if they return to their home state: "When Dick Myers heard that California was going to start issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples, he and his partner of nearly 13 years considered traveling there to get married. That is until Myers and his partner, Steve Brondino, learned of an obscure state law that makes it a crime for Wisconsin residents to enter into marriage in another state if the marriage would be prohibited here. The law imposes a penalty for those who enter into a marriage that's prohibited or declared void in Wisconsin of up to $10,000 and nine months in prison."

Focus on the Family inciting trans panic in Colorado.

Tacoma, Washington's county council refuses to go on record supporting gay pride event, spurs outcry by members: "I’m embarrassed. This is a sad, low day for the County Council, that we wouldn’t give you a chance to celebrate who you are and stand against discrimination of all forms."

25% of the world's corals are facing extinction.

New York Governor Paterson to sign expanded domestic violence law: "The new law would make it possible for people in dating relationships, heterosexual or gay, to seek protection from abusers in family court. As it stands, New York has one of the narrowest domestic violence laws in the country, allowing for civil protection orders only against spouses or former spouses, blood relations or the other parent of an abused person’s child."

Damn Yankees, with Cheyenne Jackson, Jane Krakowski, and Sean Hayes: a review.

From the secret diaries of Mario Testino: "Shooting in LA for an issue of V Man I'm editing. The theme is "extreme". I've tried to do it around the extremes of how a male gets perceived today, in the sense that there is ambiguity: sometimes the butcher a man is, the queenier he can be. And sometimes the most feminine men can be the most masculine. I'm influenced by so many different things, though. That's good if you're in the fashion business. Because things change so much. You can't say "I like colour" because the day after tomorrow black and white is in and you're out. And I don't want to be out. I need to work. It's my livelihood. So I'm adaptable."

He's still a traffic-stopper.

Margaret Cho now performing wedding ceremonies: "Cho actually married two couples during the Bay Area's gay pride festivities, she announced last night at the opening of the Outfest film festival in downtown Los Angeles."

Tom Cruise as the Village People.

Gay Star Trek episode to be screened: "Last March, the team of fans behind Star Trek Phase II began producing 'Blood and Fire' a gay-themed script originally written for The Next Generation in 1988 by 'The Trouble With Tribbles' writer David Gerrold. The story would have included the franchise's first gay couple and dealt with a deadly disease that worked as an analogy to AIDS, but the episode never was filmed."

Ciccone tell-all: "When Sean Penn was married to his sister, he made Christopher cut his thumb and then cut his own and merged them to become blood brothers. Penn approached him years later and asked him if he had AIDS."

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Ciccone Tell-All Cover Revealed as Madonna Denies Divorce, Affair

The cover for Christopher Ciccone's tell-all Life with My Sister Madonnna has been revealed.

Initial reports from Brit tabloid The Sun on the contents of the book aren't all that shocking:

"The Like A Virgin singer was dancing on a table at 4am when she dragged Gwyneth up to join her. Younger brother Christopher Ciconne will tell how he watched as the pair started dancing together. Then — as party-goers watched in amazement — Madonna grabbed Gwynnie, pulled her to her and kissed the stunned Hollywood star full on the mouth...Ciccone’s tell-all book — called Life With My Sister Madonna — will tell of lesbian flings and other sordid secrets of Madonna’s past when it is out later this month. Sources say that Ciccone — an interior designer — will reveal how she took drugs with leading showbiz executives. Ciccone, 47, will also tell all about her rocky marriage to Hollywood actor SEAN PENN. And the explosive book will spill the beans about her rows with film director hubby Ritchie."

None of this is anything we haven't heard before. The book is slated for release next week.

Madonna released a statement over the weekend denying her rumored divorce with Ritchie and affair with Yankee Alex Rodriguez:

"My husband and I are not planning on getting a divorce. I know Alex Rodriguez through Guy Oseary, who manages both of us. I brought my kids to a Yankee game. I am not romantically involved in any way with Alex Rodriguez. I have nothing to do with the state of his marriage or what spiritual path he may choose to study. I have learned over the years not to take accusations and the many false reports about me very seriously. I also appreciate how fiction and fact seem to be perceived as one and the same by people who read both newspapers and the internet."

TMZ reports that the divorce is simply a cog in the publicity machine for the Sweet and Sticky Tour: "There is a whole PR strategy that has been in place for some time...The marriage, we're told, has been effectively over for some time. The couple are friends, and have realized that it is in both of their interests to make a pile of cash from this tour. No working things out here -- our spies say rumors of reconciliation are 'garbage.' One person told us, 'She is simply playing the media -- and the public -- as usual.'"

Meanwhile, Rodriguez' wife Cynthia has filed for divorce.

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Christopher Ciccone writing Memoir: Life with My Sister Madonna

Christopher Ciccone reportedly has a memoir coming in July from Simon & Schuster.

The AP reports: "'Life With My Sister Madonna' will have a first printing of 350,000. Financial details were not disclosed. 'Ciccone's extraordinary memoir is based on his life and 47 years of growing up with and working with his sister — the most famous woman in the world,' the publisher said Wednesday in a statement...Ciccone will work with Wendy Leigh, who has written biographies of Liza Minnelli and Grace Kelly and a highly critical book about Arnold Schwarzenegger. Ciccone, 47, has worked often with his older sister, designing and directing her 'Girlie Show' tour in 1993 and serving as artistic director of her 1991 documentary, 'Madonna: Truth or Dare.' But according to Madonna's spokeswoman, Liz Rosenberg, they are no longer close."

AFTER THE JUMP, a clip from back in 1984 featuring Christopher performing with Madonna on French TV...

Previously
An Unidentified Christopher Ciccone Spices Up Top Chef [tr]

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An Unidentified Christopher Ciccone Spices Up Top Chef

On Top Chef last night, two competing teams had to throw together a restaurant, decorations and all, in 24 hours.

What you may not have noticed, because he was never identified, was that one of the patrons was designer Christopher Ciccone (brother of Madonna, of course, who is incidentally celebrating her 49th birthday today).

We think Christopher Ciccone should appear as a judge on every episode, because, like Simon Cowell, Ciccone does not mince his words when it comes to judging what's put before him.

First the decor:

CHRISTOPHER: The chef should know better than to put a scented candle on the table. (putting it on the floor and covering it) And it's dead now. And I need a new napkin.

Then the food:

CHRISTOPHER: It wasn't the best lamb. The meat wasn't cooked properly. I thought it tasted like metal.

DALE: Like metal?

CHRISTOPHER: And if that's a vegetable medley, I'm a monkey.

DALE: I will let miss Sara know.

Top Chef needs to be shaken out of its stupor a little bit, and a biting, straightforward critic like Ciccone could be the perfect ingredient.

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