The Guardian reports on Heteropoda davidbowie: "The giant yellow – and very hairy – spider...is the most recent discovery of German spider specialist Peter Jäger, who has found 200 new species in the past 10 years. Most
of these arachnids are endangered, and by naming spiders after
celebrities Jäger hopes to attract public attention to the dangers
facing each species. 'It is working against time,' he says. 'Along with
the species, we are also quickly losing genetic resources that have
evolved over more than 300 million years.'"
Boy George has released the video for his "Yes We Can" track in support of Barack Obama. Bowie alter ego Ziggy Stardust, Amy Winehouse, and Divine all appear for some unknown reason as well...
Al Sharpton told Gay City News that his statement about sin to Anderson Cooper earlier this week was not aimed at Anderson but was hypothetical: "I have no idea of his sexuality. I was not talking about him as an individual anyway. It could have been anybody...I support same-sex marriage and have been lambasted by the right for it."
HIV cases "skyrocket" among young gay men: "A new report from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has found that between 2001 and 2006 gay male sex was the largest HIV transmission category in the U.S. and also the only one which recorded an increasing number of HIV/AIDS diagnoses. The most affected are gay boys and men between the ages of 13 and 24 years, with minorities even more. The findings were released in this week's issue of the CDC journal Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. Other factors such as genital herpes could actually double a person’s risk for contracting HIV."
Miami lesbian suing South Florida hospital because she wasn't allowed to see her partner who had suffered a stroke. Her partner later died: "Janice Langbehn, Lisa Marie Pond and three of their four children planned a cruise in February 2007 to celebrate the couple's 18 years together. But Pond suffered a massive stroke before the ship left port and was taken to Jackson Memorial Hospital. Hospital workers refused to let Langbehn into Pond's hospital room - even after a power of attorney was faxed to the hospital -- because they were not legally related. Langbehn filed a federal lawsuit in Miami on Wednesday charging hospital employees with negligence and "intentional infliction of emotional distress." The suit seeks damages in excess of $75,000. Pond was pronounced dead of a brain aneurysm about 18 hours after being admitted to the trauma center. Langbehn said she was only allowed in to see her partner for a few minutes when a priest gave Pond the last rites."
London police hunt "thug" after homophobic attack: "Sahin Rahman is one of four thugs sentenced this week following the attack at Hackney-road, Bethnal Green, in London's East End, two years ago. Police say Rahman (pictured), who had been living in Mckenzie-road in Holloway, north London, is currently at large after failing to appear at Snaresbrook crown court on June 16 and remains wanted. His accomplices, all from Holloway, have appeared in court."
Real Vogue interns tell New York magazine that their internships were nothing like New York Ranger Sean Avery's: "Sean Avery eats enormous lunches in the cafeteria and gets away with spilling them on people. Elizabeth: 'I never got lunch. I didn't get lunch breaks. We had to eat in the closet.' Ashley: 'I was able to get lunch. It was like, very quick, go down get your lunch, eat it, and come back up. There was a sense of having to get permission for a lot of things. I don't remember if we had to tell them we were going to the bathroom, but that could've been possible.'"
Self-described YouTube superstar Tricia Walsh-Smith and estranged husband Phillip Smith meet in court: "I will cut your balls off and have them for breakfast."
Please welcome Robbie Daw, who will be penning weekly music posts for us here on Towleroad! Robbie runs his own pop music site called Chart Rigger.
Brit act The Feeling's new single "I Thought It was Over" -- off sophomore album Join With Us, due out in February -- debuted on Jo Whiley's BBC Radio One show this past Friday, and is meeting with mixed reaction. Unfortunately, it appears as if music from a planned session with producer Trevor Horn didn't make it onto the record.
In the meantime, Audio from Jo Whiley's broadcast has made its way onto YouTube ahead of an official single release.
Personally, I think this is just great pop, which is nothing more than this band ever claimed to produce. Between this and the two songs he contributed to Sophie Ellis-Bextor's Trip The Light Fantastic earlier this year, Feeling frontman Dan Gillespie Sells is rapidly establishing himself as a go-to songwriter for killer hooks.
Goldfrapp's next album, The Seventh Tree, is due out February 26. In an interview with Billboard, Alison Goldfrapp acknowleges a change in sound for the band: "We did talk quite a lot about what kind of instruments would get that kind of warmth and that kind of sound we wanted. We'd never used acoustic guitars before. We wanted the sound to be delicate, but not weak." The music publication states the album is produced by Flood and that "there's a greater emphasis on ethereal, psychedelic pop in the vein of early Air." In other words, unhook the disco ball, kids.
Benny Andersson, Frida Lyngstad, Agnetha Faltskog and Björn Ulvaeus -- who comprised a band you possibly might have heard of at some point called ABBA -- are donating personal memorabilia from their career for a three-floor museum dedicated to the band.
The Spice Girls traipsed down the west coast last week, and blogger Dave White offers up a comical assessment for MSNBC on the spectacle that was the girl group's Friday show in Los Angeles (where I sat a few rows in front of Dave and his husband, Alonso). Meanwhile, if you aren't able to catch the tour, YouTuber TheSpiceGirlsExperience was planted firmly at both L.A. shows with what appears to be a pretty decent camera and sound equipment.
FLASHBACK: The top song on Billboard's Hot 100 chart this week 10 years ago was Elton John's "Candle In The Wind 1997/Something About The Way You Look Tonight." The double A-side, the first part of which was rapidly recorded as a tribute to Diana, Princess of Wales, would go on to sell 33 million copies around the world. In the U.S. alone, the single sold 11 million copies and spent 14 weeks at #1. John only ever performed "Candle In The Wind 1997" one time, at Diana's funeral in London's Collegiate Church of St. Peter, Westminster, more commonly known as Westminster Abbey. The single was eventually knocked off the top of the Billboard chart in mid-January 1998 by Savage Garden's "Truly Madly Deeply."
21-year-old R&B crooner Mario's Go, featuring 12 songs with a different producer for each, including Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, Timbaland and The Neptunes.
They write: "[The Bowie mugshot] was snapped in Rochester, New York following the singer's March 1976 arrest on a felony pot possession charge. Bowie, 29 at the time, was nabbed along with Iggy Pop and two other codefendants at a Rochester hotel following a Saturday concert. Bowie was held in the Monroe County jail for a few hours before being released. The Rochester Police Department mug shot was taken three days after Bowie's arrest, when the performer appeared at City Court for arraignment. The photo was provided to TSG by a Rochester man who is seeking to sell the one-of-a-kind image."
No joke: 
Please welcome Robbie Daw, who will be penning weekly music posts for us here on Towleroad! Robbie runs his own pop music site called 
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