News: Groundhog Day, Jared Polis, Ibex Clone, Edmund White

Punxsatawney Phil sees shadow.

Milk buzz at Berlinale. Variety: Milk gaining in Oscar race?

Jesse Metcalfe flashes his headlights.

Rick Astley writing movie musical: "New York Cowboy will tell the story of a small-town boy who moves to New York City in the 80s. It is not, in other words, an autobiography. My wife's now a movie producer so I read a lot of scripts and I'm really passionate about films," Astley said in a recent interview. 'One day I thought, 'Well, why don't I write one?' And it turned into a musical – but not for the stage.'"

Remember Melinda Doolittle from American Idol: She's back.

Jared Polis: Congress like going back to college. " New members have a lottery for our rooms (offices). We "rush" for our committee assignments and elect a class president (Martin Heinrich of New Mexico). We wander around aimlessly, clutching maps, trying to find our way around "campus." There are even intramural sports; I played baseball in high school and hope to join the congressional team. And just like college, newbies are often lumped together and collectively, even mockingly, referred to as 'The Freshmen.' Some of the upper classman are a bit snooty and don't talk to us lowly fish, but others are friendly and eager to help."

Watch the first episode of RuPaul's drag Race before it debuts tonight.

Obama abandoning "war on terror" catchphrase.

Jake Gyllenhaal: why so serious?

Head to head National Anthem: Whitney vs. Beyoncé vs. J Hud.

Ted Haggard escort Mike Jones hawking acrylic Mike Jones.

Madonna and Jesus, together again.

Hate crimes bill introduced in Georgia House: "Rep. Pedro 'Pete' Marin (D-Duluth) had put forth the hate crimes bill, H.B. 111. It would offer sentence enhancement for hate crimes motivated by the victim's 'race, religion, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, or national origin.' The legislation would officially amend Georgia's previous hate crimes law, which was struck down by the state Supreme Court in 2004 on the grounds that its definition of hate crimes as those motivated by "bias or prejudice" was unconstitutionally vague. Lawmakers had enacted the bill without naming specific categories out of concern that it would not pass if "sexual orientation" was included."

Prop 8 backers admit they don't really believe their own arguments.

General Hospital: Night Shift head writer Sri Rao on gay storylines: "The other thing about bringing in new storylines, whether it be gay storylines, or stories about people of color, different ethnicities, unless it comes intrinsically from the writer, the writer living this, what that is, it's not going to work. The only way for gay storylines to really resonate is if gay writers are writing them. I know that is controversial and all the straight writers out there will be like 'you think I can't write a love story because I'm not gay'. I'm not saying that at all, but for the storyline to have heart, someone on the writing team who is gay, or has a very strong personal connection with that, needs to take the lead on writing the heart of that story."

Extinct Ibex successfully cloned: "Sadly, the newborn ibex kid died shortly after birth due to physical defects in its lungs. Other cloned animals, including sheep, have been born with similar lung defects. But the breakthrough has raised hopes that it will be possible to save endangered and newly extinct species by resurrecting them from frozen tissue."

Male model fix: Philip Fusco.

Mexican archbishop bans HIV-positive men from the priesthood: "They undergo tests including HIV, so that someone who is sick can't get in through the cracks. We pay attention to this, we are not asleep, but sometimes things get past us, but if you are sick we do not accept you"

DesegreGAYtion initiative launched.

NYT on Edmund White's Gore Vidal - Timothy McVeigh drama: "Critical and audience reactions have been encouraging, which is an improvement over the response to his first two plays, written decades ago and largely ignored. With 'Terre Haute' Mr. White is gaining traction as a legitimate dramatist. 'It made me wince a little because I thought it sounded a bit literary sometimes,” he said immediately after the first Off Broadway performance. “But there were certain moments I thought could only be visual.'"

Tough guy competition includes run through flames in Borat thong?

News: NY Dems, Jesse Metcalfe, India, David Archuleta, Soulforce

New Jersey gay marriage political debate looms.

NY Governor David Paterson blasts rebel Democrats. I posted about this yesterday.

OUT 100 cover revealed.

Jesse Metcalfe drinks, plunges 40 feet off nightclub balcony.

Lansing, Michigan church target of protest by gay "anarchists": "The disruption came from a group which calls itself Bash Back, and involved demonstrations outside the church and inside the sanctuary while services were under way, said Mt. Hope Church communications director David Williams. Members of the group inside the church shouted pro-gay slogans, threw leaflets, unfurled a banner and pulled a fire alarm, then hastily departed, Williams said. There were no injuries, he said. Williams said the episode was over in just a few minutes. Eaton County Sheriff’s Department deputies arrived quickly, Williams said, but no arrests were made. No one from the police agency was available today."

"Extreme" fan's body found near home of Paula Abdul.

No thanks, Fred: Major networks to air stealth Focus on the Family ad.

Arguments conclude, Delhi high court set to rule on decriminalizing homosexuality.

George Clooney on marriage equality: "At some point in our lifetime, gay marriage won't be an issue, and everyone who stood against this civil right will look as outdated as George Wallace standing on the school steps keeping James Hood from entering the University of Alabama because he was black."

Sotheby's contemporary art auction jumps recession: " The sale, at which the majority of successful bidders were American, took in $125 million, including commission, against a low estimate of $200 million, a benchmark established before the September onset of the crisis gripping world financial markets. Records were set for Philip Guston, John Currin and Richard Serra as 68 percent of the 63 lots on offer found buyers -- to the relief of Sotheby's officials."

David Archuleta brings "Crush" to TRL.

Killers of gay British man have sentences cut by eight years: " Igor Irinel, 22, and Sorin Abuculesci, 34, tied up Sri Lankan Mohamed Raheem and left him to suffocate to death at his flat in Sardeson House on the Holderness Estate on June 2 last year. After spending the night with Mr Raheem after meeting him in a gay bar, Irinel ransacked his flat with the help of his brother before badly beating and finally murdering Mr Raheem. After being found guilty by a jury in April this year, Irinel and Abuculesci were respectively sentenced at the Old Bailey to a mimimum of 30 and 28 years in prison."

Death toll in Congo violence nears six million.

Soulforce equality riders arrested at Union University in Jackson Tennessee: "The arrests occurred during the next-to-last stop on the 2008 Equality Ride, an outreach bus tour of 15 religious schools across the South by Soulforce Q. The organization is the young-adult division of a group that fights discrimination against gays with nonviolent protest. Police arrested 21-year-old Zak Rittenhouse of Frankfort, Ohio; 22-year-old Manny Lampon of New York City; and 22-year-old Jarrett Lucas of Minneapolis, Minn., a co-director of the 2008 Equality Ride, on trespassing charges. The arrests came after campus security warned them to leave an area declared off-limits to the riders."

Flashback: Jesse Metcalfe's Passionate Run on the Beach

I came across these old screenshots of Jesse Metcalfe from the late 90's when he used to appear on Passions. Since I'm not a Passions watcher, I have no idea what role the plucked wonder is playing here.

Though you Passions fans can probably fill us in pretty quickly, I have to say it looks pretty lustful to me. More screenshots, AFTER THE JUMP...

News: Raymond Burr, Flowers, Mychal Judge, Ross Bleckner

Vigil held for Father Mychal Judge on eve of Pope's Ground Zero visit: "He had a heart as big as New York. There was room for everybody. We wish that our church had room for everybody, and that was one of our prayers tonight, that our church would be welcoming, especially those who feel excluded, especially gays and lesbians."

Jesse Metcalfe shows off new tuff n hairy shots.

Enrique Iglesias says people are pleasantly surprised when they pull down his pants.

David Zippel (lyricist and co-librettist), Joe Leonardo (co-librettist) and Jonathan Sheffer (composer) team up for musical version of George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart's 1930 Broadway comedy, Once in a Lifetime to star Christine Ebersole. The show, which is having a reading next month, is to be directed by Jerry Mitchell.

Singapore restricts videogames with gay themes: "People Like Us considers this new rule unjustifiably strict. Children should not have to be kept ignorant about the presence of gay people in society anymore than they should be shielded from people of other faiths and ethnicities. The path to acceptance of gay people is through teaching children about diversity from a young age. It is pejorative to lump gay sexual orientation with crime and drug use as the MDA’s new guidelines do, as if gay orientation is some kind of social threat."

Hillary Clinton slams MoveOn.org at private fundraiser. Clinton strategist Geoff Garin responds...

Gay men being "liberated from a narrow place" at New York Jewish seminary.

Dead or Alive's Pete Burns has reportedly leaked his own sex tape.

BOOK: Perry Mason's Raymond Burr led a secret gay life.

Britney Spears to return to How I Met your Mother because "she had so much fun the first time around."

Gay bookstore in Vancouver that challenged Canadian Customs is up for sale: "Only two years after the store opened in 1983, the owners took on a fight that bolstered and exhausted them, lasting until just last year and challenging Canada's censorship laws. After 23 years of fighting Canada Customs' seizures of books bound for the gay and lesbian bookshop, the partners have put Little Sister's up for sale. It's time to do something else, Deva says as he plans to get a choir booked for the store's 25th anniversary celebrations. 'It's probably time to pass on the torch hopefully to some younger, energetic people who are willing to work with our store,' he says. 'I'm not in a rush. We're going to take our time.' The fight against Customs put the store at the forefront of the battle against censorship in Canada. Among books seized were Jean Genet's Querelle, Quentin Crisp's The Naked Civil Servant, Joe Orton's Prick Up Your Ears, The Joy of Gay Sex and The Joy of Lesbian Sex."

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: the tarot cards!

You're Going to be Gay: New book looks at childhood pictures that foretell a gay future.

Gay UK airport security guard could be awarded up to £30,000 in sexual harassment claim over female co-worker who came on to him.

Artist Ross Bleckner penning a memoir: "'It's based on the journals he has kept for years,' says a pal. 'And he is writing it as if he is giving advice to his younger self.' The New York painter is expected to include recollections about famous friends including Calvin Klein, Diane von Furstenberg and former Mrs. Ron Perelman, Claudia Cohen."

Flowers appear to be losing their scent and experts are worried: "The potentially hugely significant research – funded by the blue-chip US National Science Foundation – has found that gases mainly formed from the emissions of car exhausts prevent flowers from attracting bees and other insects in order to pollinate them. And the scientists who have conducted the study fear that insects' ability to repel enemies and attract mates may also be impeded."

Jesse Metcalfe Succeeds in Baring Flesh in Street Fight

Jesse Metcalfe had an altercation with the boyfriend of actress Taryn Manning outside the L.A. Club Boulevard 3 last night that eventually sent him tumbling to the ground as a result of a fist to the right jaw. Metcalfe did manage, however, to show off his best assets in the process. More shots a Page Six. Clip at TMZ.

Yes, young Hollywood is all about fighting.

This is Probably Not How He Wanted to Start His Night [page six]
Jesse Metcalfe Knocked the Hell Out!! [tmz]

Related
Fighting: Channing Tatum Puts Up His Dukes [tr]
Sean Faris Puts Up His Dukes [tr]

News: Alfie Allen, Huckabee, Alabama, Justin Chambers, Spiral Jetty

Theory that mass grave found in Fort Myers, Florida could be the remains of a serial killer's gay victims gains traction...

Woo! New shrew!

Singer Lily Allen's brother Alfie has taken over Daniel Radcliffe's role in London's Equus. Unlike, Radcliffe, full monty shots of Allen have quickly made it to the internet.

Memorial to gay Holocaust victims in Berlin should be ready within months: "The $890,000 memorial to gay victims will be located in Berlin's Tiergarten Park, across from the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, Culture Minister Bernd Neumann said."

Iowa's Quad-City Times celebrates the gay American Idol contestant I posted about earlier in the week, Leo Marlowe: "Gwen Costello, librarian and drama director at Northeast High School in Goose Lake, Marlowe’s alma mater, remembers the young thespian playing the jester in 'Once Upon a Mattress' and receiving awards on the speech team. In his high school yearbook, Marlowe, who was voted 'Most Likely to be Famous' from the Class of 2002, was asked to pontificate on what he would do if he could not sing. 'I don’t know what I’d do,' he responded. 'I guess I’d be lost.'...'He’s just so down to earth and can make anybody laugh,” Costello said. “We noticed that right away last night, how he made everybody laugh and made everybody comfortable. That’s what he does best besides singing.' Costello said Marlowe comes from 'a wonderful family. We’re thrilled, we’re just thrilled. I thoroughly expect him to be schmoozing with the big guys soon. He’ll probably be Simon’s best friend someday.'"

Paula: dancing like there's no tomorrow.

Grey's Anatomy's Justin Chambers admitted to same psych ward as Britney Spears — for sleep disorder.

Robert Smithson's Spiral Jetty threatened by oil drilling.

Gay populations booming in Alabama and Utah: "In the past 17 years, Utah's gay population has shot from the 38th largest in the country to 14th. Birmingham, Ala., meanwhile, is now home to all-night gay bars and pride parades; the South's gay tally has outpaced any other region. 'What many of the bigger cities like New York were experiencing during the late '60s and '70s is happening here now, but quietly,' says Danny Upton, the head of Equality Alabama."

Pro-gay bills advance in Virginia legislature.

Jesse Metcalfe: Single, hating it.

Oregon fans target UCLA basketball player with homophobic chants: "The target was Kevin Love, the gifted freshman who grew up near Portland but left his home state last year for Westwood. Some Ducks fans, lost in their immaturity, view Love as a traitor. From the warm-ups to the final seconds, they heaped scorn on the Bruins' No. 42 and his family. There's cheering and booing that is within the bounds of civility. But sometimes it goes out of bounds, into a realm society should not condone. You know it when you see it, know it when you hear it. This was out of bounds. There were stabs at Love's looks, at his mother, father and the history of mental illness in his family. This was disgusting. What drew my ire the most were reports of long, loud, homophobic chants directed at UCLA's young center."

Straight teen sues high school, claiming she was prevented from peacefully supporting gay rights: "Heather Gillman, who is represented by the American Civil Liberties Union, filed suit in federal court against the School Board and Ponce de Leon High School Principal David Davis. According to the complaint, Davis suspended several students for 'expressing their support for the fair treatment of gays and lesbians.'...'I think everybody should be able to support what they believe in and not be punished for it,' Gillman said Thursday during a conference call with reporters."

Mike Huckabee on what's beautiful about America: “The beauty of America is that a person can come and even make a disruption, and you know what, that person is not going to be taken out and shot.”

The power of persuasion: reality show supermodels sittin' in a tree...