NEWS: Spice Girls, Speed Levitch, And A Fierce Russian Homophobe

The Olympics' gayest team gets gold.

Hilton Als on the death of David Rakoff:

I met David at Columbia, when it was an all-boys school. We were both students then. This was in the early-to-mid nineteen-eighties, and to say that gay men were interested in, and terrified of, one another back then is to reduce the horror of the time ... I stayed away from David, because of the sadness I saw in his eyes; I didn’t think I could take it. His sadness felt like the sadness I felt wandering through a world of broken bodies, dashed hopes, possibilities extinguished.

Years later, I was re-introduced to David by a colleague at The New Yorker. His eyes were different: the world had taken some note of his gifts, and there was a light behind the sadness. One felt he couldn’t believe his good fortune ...

"If The Sikh Temple Had Been a Mosque."

Newly-invented particles will oxygenate your blood when you can't breathe:

The particles are composed of oxygen gas pocketed in a layer of lipids, a natural molecule that usually stores energy or serves as a component to cell membranes. Lipids can be waxes, some vitamins, monoglycerides, diglycerides, triglycerides, phospholipids, or—as in this case—fats.

These fatty oxygen particles are about two to four micrometers in size ...

Dancing With The Stars' Derek Hough does not like being photographed at gay bars.

The Spice Girls are reuniting tomorrow.

A good analysis of the Ryan pick from John Dickerson.

Did this fey young Warhol wannabe grow up to be Russia's most ridiculous antigay polician?

Yes -- the music that introduced Mitt Romney this morning really was the theme from Air Force One. Learn this and more at Wonkette, which delivered probably the media's best and most spot-on blow-by-blow of this morning's pageantry:

First, Romney walked out to the soundtrack from Air Force One, which increased his foreign policy experience by nearly 75%. He was very happy to be able to announce Paul Ryan as a game-changer policy wonk Young Gun political outsider thing. Paul Ryan is a 14-year Congressman who has basically not stepped foot outside of the District of Columbia since he could rent a car without a co-signer. Romney awkwardly introduced Ryan as “the next President of the United States,” but then smoothly corrected himself by putting his arm around Ryan’s shoulder and grinning through a really painful explanation of how Romney made a mistake, but not in selecting Paul Ryan, because (chuckle), um, because ...

If you haven't met the avant-garde tour guide Speed Levitch before -- say, in Waking Life, a movie he stopped in its tracks with a crazy tour of the Brooklyn Bridge, which explained the meaning of life, the mystery of self-awareness, and Lorca -- then please do so AFTER THE JUMP ...

William Levy's Shirtless Plank: VIDEO

Dancing with the Stars' Cuban stunner William Levy does his version of planking.

Said Levy to People: "I might be doing all these good things now, but I'm still a very humble person and I think you should never lose that. When you lose that, you lose the chance to enjoy life with everyone around you."

Watch the video and one more shot, AFTER THE JUMP...

Out Swedish Footballer Anton Hysén Sets His Hips in Motion for Dance Competition: VIDEO

Out Swedish footballer Anton Hysén is a competitor on Just Dance, the Swedish version of Dancing with the Stars.

Watch him shimmy those hips, AFTER THE JUMP...

(via ed kennedy)

And as a bonus, here's Hysen doing a bit of practicing at home.

Chaz Bono Exits 'DWTS', Says 'I Wanted to Show America a Different Kind of Man': VIDEO

Chaz Bono was eliminated from Dancing with the Stars last night after a season that turned up none of the controversy predicted by right-wing blowhards like Dr. Keith Ablow.

Said Chaz upon his departure:

"I took so much away from this. This was an amazing journey that really pushed me and showed me that I could do so much more than I ever thought I could. I came on this show because I wanted to show America a different kind of man. If there was somebody like me on TV when I was growing up, my whole life would have been different. And so I dedicated everything I did to all the people out there like me and especially to kids and teens who are struggling. You can have a wonderful, great life and be successful and happy."

Watch, AFTER THE JUMP...

Said Bruno Tonioli of his tango the night before: "It was like watching a cute little penguin trying to be a big menacing bird of prey. This is the truth: It has to be menacing. Dark. Dangerous. Naughty. The tango wants to be driven continuously. It is hard. It's very difficult. To me, this character didn't fit you."

Watch Chaz's tango and part of his good-bye message, AFTER THE JUMP...

Cher responded to Chaz's elimination on Twitter: "I Have Got 2Hold my TEMPER ! MY Tears R OK ! Congratulations Chaz I'm SO PROUD OF U ! This was YOUR Quest...& u Followed your Star"

Cher at 'Dancing with the Stars': VIDEO

One proud mom, AFTER THE JUMP...

Usually, the Hot Air is Coming from Nancy Grace's Mouth: VIDEO

This week's Dancing with the Stars controversy has nothing to do with Chaz Bono.

Watch, AFTER THE JUMP...