NEWS: A Pansexual Legislator In Texas, A Tormented Androgyne In London, And The Sanctity Of Marriage In Nevada

 After his London disappointment, gay Aussie diver Matthew Mitcham ponders the future:

Mitcham ... has had enough of the incessant pounding and had gone to London pretty much convinced that he and his body couldn't take much more. But then he felt his love of the Olympic Games reignited, so much so that he never wants to miss another one of them. That means either joining the dread ranks of those reporting on his sport, or continuing in it, almost certainly in the shape-shifting role of a springboard diver.

"I've always been a platform specialist who's done springboard either to fill spots or because I was semi-OK at it," Mitcham said. "So I have been in discussion with Chava (Sobrino), my coach, about the possibility of becoming solely a springboard diver. It's certainly a possibility and I'm not really going to take a holiday when I get home. I'm actually going to start working on the strength to become a springboard diver right away because it's going to take a long time to get my thighs as big as (China's) He Chong's."

 Now that she's running unopposed, Texas pol Mary Gonzalez has come out. Not as a lesbian -- she already did that -- but as pansexual:

“During the campaign if I had identified as pansexual, I would have overwhelmed everyone,” she said this week, adding that people don’t know what being pan means. “Now that I’m out of the campaign, I’m completely much more able to define it.”

Although her election focused on helping El Paso’s District 75 citizens gain access to clean drinking water and better educational opportunities, her sexuality was front and center, and something she had to repeatedly address. Mainstream media called her the Latina lesbian lawmaker. The coverage led to negative comments about her dating men in the past and accusations that she was not a “true lesbian,” Gonzalez said.

 In Nevada, US District Chief Judge Robert Jones has set a date to hear arguments on marriage equality. He'll accept lawyers' arguments only -- no testimonies:

Jones ... said he planned to rely on oral and written arguments from attorneys, not courtroom testimony from people who might be offered as experts on the history of discrimination against homosexuals.

"Testimony would be not only useless but an absurd inquiry.

 Yesterday, the lovely androgyne Caster Semanya, a world-champion runner and now an Olympic silver-medalist, looked a little like a woman throwing a race.

 -- and who would blame her? This three-year-old, marvelously written story from the New Yorker details the terrible torment endured by the then 18-year-old athlete when her dominance in the 800-meters led to a protracted investigation of her gender. 

 Steve and Roger have been together 19 years, and their family is very large.

 More on Paul Ryan's homophobia.

 How Olympic skepticism gave way to delight.

 Reykjavik mayor Jon Gnar, at Iceland's iconic pride parade, supports imprisoned Russian punk band Pussy Riot. 

 (They're in prison for behaving badly in a church, and could be imprisoned for up to seven years. They'll learn their fates on Friday.) 

 Tonight, watch the Perseids. 

 

London Police Warn Gay Clubbers About Tainted Drugs After One Man Dies, Two Collapse Following Night Out

Police have issued a warning after three incidents at gay nightclubs in London over the weekend, Pink News reports:

A man is known to have collapsed at Area Club in the early hours of Sunday morning. He was pronounced dead at 5am. A second man collapsed at the same club while a third was taken ill at Barcode. The latter two have been hospitalised.

The first two men were found with a so-far unidentified white powder.

The cause of death has not been ascertained but police have issued a warning to anyone considering using drugs at Vauxhall. A spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police said: “Police urge any recreational drug users to be extremely careful if they are considering using drugs of any sort, in particular at venues in the Vauxhall area. Lambeth officers are appealing for anyone who can assist with enquiries to come forward as soon as possible. A quick response could help us prevent contaminated drugs circulating further and may save someone’s life.”

Gay Torchbearer Kisses Boyfriend; Olympics Fans Cheer

Long the public face and chair of Britain's Gay Football Supporters Union, athlete and activist Chris Basiurski was one of the last individuals to carry the Olympic Torch in its three-month relay through the British Isles. He lit his torch in London on Thursday, approximately 28 hours before the flame's route through the city brought it to Olympic stadium.

As he prepared to light his torch, Mr. Basiurski kissed his boyfriend, drawing cheers from onlookers. Mr. Basiurski told the crowd he and his boyfriend will be married next year.

From Gay Star News:

[Mr. Basiurski said:] ‘I'm honored to have carried the torch through London and it was amazing to see and hear all the support from both my family and GFSN members along the route.’

 

London, 2012: VIDEO

After an iffy start involving horses and pitchforks, last night's Olympic opening ceremony was dazzling. Sadly, NBC is being stingy with video. The bulk of the thing has yet to make it online, and what has made it online is un-embeddable. Hopefully that'll change soon. The lighting ceremony and subsequent fireworks show is very worth seeing, and is so far absent from the web.

In the meantime, please enjoy:

A clip from a segment of the ceremony celebrating British children's literature, in which Voldemort, the Queen of Hearts, Cruella DeVille, Mike Oldfield, and assorted nasty things menace a stadiumful of sleeping children;

A stirring clip of "the forging" of the Olympic rings (so called because that's what everyone's calling it, though nothing's actually being forged);

The Queen being escorted to the Olympics by 007. (The pair proceeded to jump from a helicopter, though NBC hasn't released that footage, either.)

Mitt Romney's Olympic Sized Gaffe Inspires London Mayor Boris Johnson: VIDEO

Mitt Romney's big sojourn abroad is not off to the most auspicious start. There was the awkward timing of Prime Minister David Cameron praising marriage equality just before Republican Romney arrived, and then there was the candidate himself. As you may have heard, Romney really stepped in "it" when he suggested this morning that perhaps London wasn't prepared for the Olympic Games, which start tomorrow.

"You know, it's hard to know just how well it will turn out. There are a few things that were disconcerting, the stories about the private security firm not having enough people, supposed strike of the immigration and customs officials, that obviously is not something which is encouraging," he said in an interview with NBC's Brian Williams. He later tried to clarify his remarks, saying he was "delighted with the prospects of a highly successful Olympic Games."

But the damage had been done, and it wasn't long before PM Cameron gave a back-hand to Romney's tenure as chief executive of the Salt Lake City Winter Olympics: "We are holding an Olympic Games in one of the busiest, most active, bustling cities anywhere in the world. Of course it’s easier if you hold an Olympic Games in the middle of nowhere."

And now London Mayor Boris Johnson has joined in on the fun by using Romney as a whipping boy in his speech before a cheering crowd: There are some people who are coming from around the world who don't yet know about all the preparations we've done to get London ready in the last seven years. There's a guy called Mitt Romney who wants to know whether we are ready. Are we ready?"

Romney next heads to Israel, but that's not until Saturday. He's attending the Olympics' opening ceremony tomorrow, meaning his comments will more than likely dominate the next few days of news coverage for a candidate trying to prove his diplomatic chops.

Watch Johnson's remarks AFTER THE JUMP...

Noise Nannies Pull Plug On Springsteen And McCartney

(Apologies for occupying your attention with this news, which is neither gay-related nor Earth-shattering. But the gall! The gall of it!)

Bruce Springsteen headlined the second evening of the Hard Rock Calling festival in London's Hyde Park last night, in front 60,000 typically enthused fans. He hit the stage at 7:30 p.m., did his usual superhuman three-hour sweatathon -- and then, as a finale, brought out Paul McCartney. CNN reports that this was the first time the men had shared a stage; a  collaboration, Springsteen said, he'd dreamt of "for 50 years." Bruce grinned. Paul grinned. They did "I Saw Her Standing There" and a rave-up on "Twist And Shout," which was just building towards some ungodly convulsive denouement when --

-- the power was cut. From CNN:

At first, the Boss didn't seem to notice. He attempted to address the crowd, apparently unaware that they couldn't hear him. But as it became clear that there was no amplification, he and lead guitarist Stevie Van Zandt played what looked to be a brief a cappella goodnight for the benefit of the front rows, shrugged, and left the stage.

The plug had been pulled by the event's organizers. Hard Rock, it turns out, mustn't call past 10:30 p.m., at least in swank Westminster, where residents have for years complained of noise during the park's summer concert series. Out of concern for residents' ears, the number of concerts held in the park each summer has been trimmed from 13 to nine, and concerts are scheduled to end at 10:30 p.m. They didn't pull the plug on Springsteen and McCartney until 10:40 p.m. I'm assuming that's because McCartney's been knighted.

Hard Rock Calling concludes tomorrow evening with a set by Paul Simon.