News: Meghan McCain, India, Alan Cumming, Joe Solmonese, Boyzone

Human Rights Campaign President Joe Solmonese suggests that the time frame in his 2017 letter can be seen as a "narrow window" in the scope of the gay rights movement.

Straight Italian couple sues cruise company after showing up for their vacation to discover they were departing on Italy's first gay cruise: "My clients were also left embarrassed because among the passengers were people they knew and had no idea that were gay, which was uncomfortable for all parties."

Gay Al is feeling tender.

Iowa NAACP President announces support for anti-gay gubernatorial candidate Bob Vander Plaats.

Report: Iran hanged a man last week for gay sodomy.

Gay activists plan kiss-in at Fort Worth Stockyards: "The kissing booth will be on Exchange Street, right in the heart of the Stockyards and its bound to stir up controversy. In fact, one old cowboy has been quoted as warning gays that if they are not careful, they might be in for a whuppin'."

Dan Savage has never slept with Janet Napolitano.

A Spice Girls musical?

Gus van Sant and Bret Easton Ellis collaborating on film adaptation of Vanity Fair article "The Golden Suicides".

Gujarat state in India becomes home to the country's first elderly home for gay men: "The brainchild of Manvendra Singh Gohil, popularly known as India's gay prince, the project will be ready to accommodate elderly homosexuals by the end of the year. Manvendra Singh Gohil says, 'We will offer food, drinks and medical facilities for the people staying here, it will be their home.' The Rs 25-crore project will be home to 50 elderly gay men to start with. Requests for accommodation have already started trickling in."

Alan Cumming in new photo shoot from David LaChapelle.

Gecko madness!

Boyzone to hold Stephen Gately vigil on night before the funeral: "Grieving Boyzone bandmates plan to stay in the church with Stephen Gately's body the night before his funeral. Ronan Keating, 32, Mikey Graham, 37, Shane Lynch, 33, and Keith Duffy, 35, have taken the decision because Gately 'would not want to be there on his own', a source close to the group revealed."

No! Mia Michaels quits So You Think You Can Dance.

Passerby mistakenly frees female killer of London gay man: "Police are looking for three young people including two blonde teenagers who were caught on CCTV arguing with Baynham and his 30-year-old companion. The victim's friend grabbed one of the girls, receiving cuts and bruises in the process, but the girl was freed by members of the public who wrongly thought she was being assaulted, said Detective Chief Inspector Clive Heys, who is leading the inquiry."

Britney Spears shoots video for new single "3".

Meghan McCain creates Twitter furor with cleavage photo.

Muslim football team kicked out of league for refusing to play gay team.

Congressman Jerrold Nadler: Repeal DOMA now.

Lesbian says she was the victim of a hate crime at the National Equality March.

Bishop Gene Robinson will be appearing tonight at an event in Portland, Maine: "Join us for an evening of edification and education as we gather to worship God and to hear the words of the Right Reverend V. Gene Robinson, Episcopal Bishop of the Diocese of New Hampshire. Sponsored by the Religious Coalition Against Discrimination, the Religious Coalition for the Freedom to Marry in Maine, Rev. Ann Fowler, the Cathedral Church of St. Luke, the Equity Fund of the Maine Community Foundation, and Integrity Maine"

News: Connecticut, Milky Way, Cheeto, Edmund White, The Killers

Connecticut Governor Jodi Rell signs marriage equality bill: "Rell this afternoon signed Senate Bill 899, which incorporates the findings of the Kerrigan case into Connecticut statutes. That ruling, handed down by the state Supreme Court in October, paved the way for same-sex marriage. Both the House and the Senate spent hours yesterday debating Senate Bill 899, which passed only after an amendment was added that provides an exemption to groups who object to same-sex marriage on religious grounds.

The giant dust cloud at the heart of the Milky Way tastes vaguely like raspberries, smells like rum, scientists think.

Gizmodo blogger eats world's largest Cheeto - WATCH.

Alabama House passes resolution in support of Miss California: "The House approved the resolution Thursday by Republican Rep. Jay Love of Montgomery on a voice vote...Love said Prejean stuck to her convictions even if it meant losing the pageant."

Gays vs gays on Jamaica boycott: "J-FLAG Programs Manager Jason McFarlane took particular exception to the boycott of Red Stripe beer, saying the brewer has 'unequivocally distanced itself from the hostility and violence typical of Jamaican music towards members of the LGBT community.'"

Momentum in Utah for same-sex marriage, or just optimism?

Jesus Luz and Madonna back together.

The new video from Green Day.

Activists gather strength in Mumbai to pressure politicians to decriminalize homosexuality: "At a 'People's Panchayat' in the capital on resisting stigma and homophobia, the activists said political parties, which have mindset dating back to years, need to wake up to the existence of sexual minorities or face electoral boycott from the estimated four crore population."

Modeling: Waifs out, muscles in.

Lesbian assaulted at Nairobi bar. Kenyan gays demand protection.

Anti-gay forces storm parliament in Uganda.

How Lorenzo Martone proposed to Marc Jacobs.

Stonewall Library and Archive celebrates grand opening in Fort Lauderdale: "In decades past, when gay residents wanted to find books about their community they had to borrow from friends or from a closet where some were stored at a gay-friendly church. The new location is a sign of how mainstream the gay community has become in Broward: the gay library shares a building with a county library and ArtServe and is situated on the edge of a city park where children play ball and seniors gather for tennis lessons. Jack Rutland, library executive director, lauded the city and county for entering a partnership to make the library possible. 'Imagine me saying that 20 years ago,' Rutland said."

Justin Timberlake and Jimmy Kimmel have a golf cuddle.

The Killers planning release of live DVD and cover album?

Julia Allison blabs about a "screaming match" between Rosie O'Donnell and Kelli.

Edmund White on Amazon: "I don't think it was a glitch. It's shocking that someone in that organization has the power to [get rid of] gay books. All my own books were [also] affected. I wrote in my name [on Amazon] last week and A Boy's Own Story wasn't there! Only four of my 22 books were there. It was astonishing. Frankly, if one of the custodians of Western culture is a corporation like Amazon, perhaps they should be regulated like the financial world. We need regulation in the cultural world too so that they don't restrict anything, like Amazon did."

Can D.C. clergy stop same-sex marriage vote?

U R GAY: Hamline Univeristy in St. Paul, Minnesota sees anti-gay graffiti.

Pedro Almodovar developing Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown into a TV series: "Fox TV Studios is developing the English-language hourlong project and has tapped Mimi Schmir to pen the pilot script. Almodovar and Schmir are exec producing...Almodovar will be very involved in "Women," which will be developed with an eye for the international market."

Photographer David LaChapelle lists Hollywood Hills home for $1.65 million.

Emile Hirsch Gets Wetter for David LaChapelle

A few more Emile Hirsch shots by photographer David LaChapelle from this month's Flaunt magazine (via Just Jared, where you can find some more)

And a few behind the scenes shots, here.

One more shot, AFTER THE JUMP...

Emile Hirsch Strips Down for David LaChapelle in Hawaii

Emile Hirsch, who is starring in the upcoming Speed Racer as well as Gus van Sant's Milk later this year, got natural for David LaChapelle in Hawaii in this month's Flaunt magazine.

Hirsch also recently spoke out about Milk for the first time. Said the actor, who plays gay activist (and eventual NAMES Quilt creator) Cleve Jones in the film: "I just did this film called ‘Milk’ with Sean Penn and Gus Van Sant about Harvey Milk. I think it’s going to be a really good film. I don’t want to give anything away by telling you a timeline, but it’s not really giving anything away, because it’s historical fact. Milk represented change for a lot of people, and was a catalyst to that. And his eventual assassination similarly mirrored Martin Luther King."

Check out a little behind-the-scenes shirtless waterfall action on LaChapelle's shoot,
AFTER THE JUMP...

It's Ryan Phillippe Flashback Time

I've posted a few clips of the Luke and Noah gay teen love story currently taking place on As the World Turns. One of our soap-loving tipsters has pointed us to a clip from One Life to Live from 1993 (on the right), which is remarkably similar to a scene that played out on As the World Turns just last week in which a dad confronts his gay son.

One Life to Live was one of Ryan Philippe's first acting jobs, which brings us to the second half of this post.

After the jump you'll find a clip shot by David LaChapelle for Armani featuring a very young, and very nude Ryan Philippe, as well as Amanda Lepore in her first video appearance for the director. Probably not safe for work for some, due to a brief cameo by Ryan's heiney.

George Michael, Addicted to Art, Pills, or the Two Together

This morning Page Six reported that George Michael has been on an art-buying binge in the last month:

"In the past month, the superstar has spent $20 million on pieces by controversial shark-pickler Damien Hirst, among others, boosting the value of his personal collection up to a whopping $80 million. A source close to the 43-year-old star, who opens the new Wembley Stadium with two dates next month, tells us: 'George is hugely into his art. He made a lot of money from his 53-date tour last year and he thought this would be a good way to invest it. He's chosen pieces by Damien, photographer David LaChapelle and Tracey Emin. They wouldn't be to everyone's taste but they're hugely collectible and are certain to go up in value.' Michael will exhibit some of the works in partner Kenny Goss' gallery in Dallas. Meanwhile, Michael was outbid Thursday during a heated auction at Christie's for a Hirst piece. A source said Michael dropped out after the price hit $6 million. His rep declined to comment."

Michael also recently told British TV host Michael Parkinson that his incidents behind the wheel were due to a dependence on pills: "It involves prescribed drugs and it involves a dependency on them and the tendency to chase one drug with another because of side effects."

Out of curiosity, I checked the Christie's block to see what Damien Hirst had up for auction at the recent blockbusting Christie's auctions, and in addition to a gorgeous Malaysian butterfly piece called "Wonder of You", there was another piece that may have cried out for Michael.

Setting a world auction record for Hirst at Christie's (it sold for $7.4 million) was "Lullaby Winter", a sculpture consisting of glass, stainless steel, and rows and rows of painted cast pills. Hundreds of capsules and tablets line glistening shelves. It's a work that speaks to society's unhealthy reliance on medicine.

If Michael were to pop one of these painstakingly-recreated pills, however, it wouldn't do much. Probably not a great art piece for an admitted addict to have around though. And of course, George could have very well been after the butterflies.