Efforts Underway to Resurrect NYC's Roxy Nightclub

In March 2007, NYC's Roxy nightclub was shuttered, reportedly to make way for condominiums and residential development on the site. Those reports appear to have been premature, as the owners have apparently applied for a liquor license from Community Board Four.

A Facebook group has been formed urging New York residents who support the Roxy and NYC nightlife in general to attend Community Board Four's Business Licenses & Permits Meeting this Tuesday.

Its supporters write: "This Tuesday, you have a real opportunity to stand up for New York City nightlife, which has been increasingly under attack from a small group of residents. These groups are fighting to end the city's legacy as a global nightlife destination, attempting to allow fewer licenses to be issued, closing bars early, and even shutting down some venues."

There is a second meeting on Wednesday, July 23rd, when the full board will meet to debate its final recommendation to the State Liquor Authority.

Information on both those meetings, is AFTER THE JUMP...

Meeting Details:

Community Board 4, Business Licenses & Permits Meeting, Tuesday, July
8th @ 6:30PM at The Westin Hotel (270 W. 43rd St.) in The Minetta
Room.

Wednesday, July 23rd, 2008, 6:30 p.m, Roosevelt Hospital, 1000 Tenth
Av. (b. 58th / 59th)

See also Save the Roxy [facebook]

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Conservative Orange County Register says high court's decision on marriage was justified.

MAG: What's on Obama's iPod.

Matt Damon's summer look: flab with pornstache.

Rea Carey to succeed Matt Foreman as executive director of Gay and Lesbian Task Force.

REPORT: Justice Dept. politicized hiring practices to favor Republican candidates: "'Many qualified candidates' were rejected for the department’s honors program because of what was perceived as a liberal bias, the report found. Those practices, the report concluded, 'constituted misconduct and also violated the department’s policies and civil service law that prohibit discrimination in hiring based on political or ideological affiliations.'" FLASHBACK: DOJ Looking into Possible Firing of Atty Over Sexual Orientation...

Ad campaign for Dexter in Portugal features severed limbs in butcher cases and knifed corpses on the street!

British soldiers see 13 UFOs in sky above barracks: "I was on duty in the guard room when the other boys outside began shouting. I went out to see what the commotion was about and could see thirteen craft in the skies. They were zig-zagging, but I filmed two before they disappeared. They were like rotating cubes with multiple colours. I made a full report to my commanding officers and gave them my footage. The other lads were as amazed by it as I was."

Monet water lily painting goes for $80.5 million at Christie's, doubling previous record for the artist.

Washington D.C. city councilman and former mayor Marion Barry says he would support a bill legalizing same-sex marriage there.

Bill Clinton offers support to Obama; Obama asks donors to raise money for Clinton.

Orlando Bloom reveals his back end in the Canary Islands.

Justin Timberlake's 'Play' fragrance may smell clean but his feet are filthy.

Out swimmer Andrew Langenfeld to compete for a spot on the Olympic team in the 100-meter butterfly.

NYC Chelsea nightclub 1 Oak reacts to reports yesterday that they covered up a gay bashing at the venue. Page Six: "Club sources say the night was not promoted as a 'gay night' and that the attacker was re strained by security but broke away. The victim said 1Oak owner Scott Sartiano insisted on giving him a car to the hospital instead of calling an ambulance. A rep for the club said, '1Oak is committed to providing an environment of safety and security to patrons every night. This incident was handled by security and staff immediately and this type of inappropriate behavior will not be tolerated at 1Oak.'"

Art Fag City talks to Nayland Blake about who they'd all like to fuck.

Anti-gay assault suspect under arrest in Minneapolis: "A gay Twin Cities man, the apparent victim of a hate crime, was badly beaten last Saturday. He claims a stranger approached him near 6th and Cedar Ave. South in Minneapolis, and asked if he was gay. The victim answered yes proudly, and the suspect hit the man in the face, yelling that he hated homosexuals. Abdirizak Mohamed has been charged with assault in the fourth degree with bias—a hate crime with enhanced penalties."

Michelle Obama to give keynote address at Gay and Lesbian Leadership Council Gala DNC fundraiser on Thursday in New York.

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NYC Nightclub 1 Oak Accused of Covering Gay Bashing?

The incident that occurred inside 1 Oak early last Wednesday morning, the west Chelsea establishment owned by Richie Akiva (Butter), Jeffrey Jah (Lotus), and Scott Sartiano sounds pretty serious, according to an eyewitness who contacted Gawker:

"Early Wednesday morning (June 18th, 2008) at approximately 2:30AM - two individuals were attacked by a man inside 1 OAK. and were called 'faggots' - victim number 1 had to be rushed to the hospital due to massive blood loss. Victim number 2 had no visible wounds at the time. Victim number 1's friend wanted to call 911, however the two owners of the nightclub, Sartiano and Akiva, told the friend NOT TO. 911 was called regardless. The club owners then wanted to rush the victim into a car when they knew the ambulance was coming. A minute goes by and the attacker was able to walk right out of the club, without security questioning or anyone's interference, even after the victim's friend screamed out 'that's the guy!' The attacker turns out to be someone that frequents the club often and knew the doorman and the staff, since he was able to walk right into the club and said hello to the doorman in the beginning of the night."

The nightclub's PR agency says that "the situation that occurred at 1OAK was out of the establishment's control" and that the management is cooperating.

(image: eater)

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Change of Heart Bears Fruit for Once-Biased Scottsdale Bar Owners

Last December I posted about Scottsdale bar owner Tom Anderson's decision to convert his bar Anderson's Fifth Estate to a bar that serves the gay community after making headlines in 2006 when he banned a transgender woman following complaints she was using the women's bathroom.

In December, Anderson said he had decided he wanted to "change Scottsdale" after a number of high-profile anti-gay hate incidents there. He also saw a need in the nightlife community for a new gay venue.

Anderson's decision seems to have paid off. The club, which now has lines it never saw before, was lauded in the Arizona Republic over the weekend, and tells the story of Anderson's transformation after the unfortunate 2006 incident:

"For more than a year afterward, Anderson was the subject of dozens of newspaper and television stories pitting him against the GLBT community and its allies. He became known as the club owner who kicked out a transgendered woman. This happened as people were questioning whether Scottsdale was becoming hostile toward the GLBT community, after a gay couple was assaulted outside a restaurant and after Mayor Mary Manross refused to observe GLBT month in June, instead, proclaiming it to be Human Relations Diversity Observance month. Anderson, who owns the club with his wife, Roberta, resolved the dispute in November 2007 by building a gender-neutral restroom. Anderson said that during the controversy over the discrimination complaint he met with members of the GLBT community. One of the things he learned was how underserved the community was in Scottsdale, with only one bar, BS West, in the area. Anderson said he saw both a business opportunity and a chance to be part of a community he'd come to know and enjoy. The Andersons reopened the club as Forbidden in December, a month after the resolution. The 5,500-square foot club can hold 325 people and is open five days a week, up from three when it was Anderson's Fifth Estate. Now, more than 700 people come through on Fridays and Saturdays each, more than double what Fridays used to draw."

Uproar turns straight bar into gay hot spot [arizona republic]

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Pete Wentz Runs with the Gays

New York magazine ran into Fall Out Boy's Pete Wentz hanging out with members of Gym Class Heroes and Panic at the Disco at the gay/mixed night at his bar Angels & Kings. They report that Pete was attending because he likes to "run with the gays."

NY Intel: "Wentz is straight, like so straight people can't stop talking about how he may have knocked up Ashlee Simpson! Naturally, we accosted him. 'I heard it's gay night, right?' he asked us, after we complimented his pointy hair. Turns out Pete has 'great 'dar,' by which he means he has a highly tuned interior electromagnetic sensor which lets him know when there are moving or fixed homosexuals nearby. So naturally we asked, Do you like running with gays, Pete? 'It seems sometimes like nobody knows how to have a good time anymore,' he told us. 'But the gays are always having a good time.'"

Previously
Pete Wentz Loves Wearing Jessica Simpson's Pumps [tr]
Pete Wentz: Christian Siriano Wants His Look Back [tr]
Pete Wentz Testing Seth Green's Sex Drive? [tr]
Fall Out Boy's Pete Wentz: Part of Me Wishes I Was Gay [tr]

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Joe Oppedisano: Dangerous Boys

Photographer Joe Oppedisano gave us an exclusive sneak peek at a series of images entitled "Dangerous Boys" he shot for the upcoming Black Party issue of New York's Next magazine, which comes out at the end of this week. The annual Black Party happens this year on March 29.

You may remember Joe's homage to the Calvin Klein underwear man we featured back in January.

Check out the Black Party images here (warning NSFW).

Previously
It's Calvin Klein Underwear Group Photo Time! [tr]
EXCLUSIVE: Joe Oppedisano Celebrates the Calvin Klein Man [tr]

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Police Investigating Hate Crime Attack Outside Kentucky Gay Bar

WKYT reports on a recent attack outside Bang Nightclub in Lexington, Kentucky:

"Lexington Police are investigating an attack outside a nightclub as a possible hate crime. It happened this weekend after a fundraiser at Bang nightclub on North Limestone. A man says as he walked to his car two men yelled an anti-gay remark, then began punching him in the face. His two front teeth were knocked out, and he suffered some facial injuries. Lexington police say the are taking the crime seriously, but the victim was not able to give them a good description of his attackers. Mayor Newberry also says his office is looking into the attack. The owner of the alternative lifestyle club says he hasn't had problems of this sort in the 10 years he's been in business."

Attack, Possible Hate Crime, Near Lexington Club [wkyt w video]

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The Other Side: A Queer History

Jane Cantillon's documentary The Other Side: A Queer History about gay life in Los Angeles in the 50's, 60's, and 70's is currently seeking distribution, according to World of Wonder. This trailer features clips of men discussing entrapment by the police in the secret early gay bars of L.A. Cantillon's email address is at the end of the clip.

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Sean Penn: The future Harvey Milk ends his 11 year marriage.

Penn Badgley: hot and bothered.

Censorship debate continues surrounding the BBC's dubbing, and then undubbing of the word "faggot" from The Pogues' Christmas tune "Fairytale of New York". Times Online: "The present consensus is with MacGowan – that there is nothing wrong with using the word 'faggot' in this context. Lighten up, you Milly Tants. My unfashionable counterview is that there is something very wrong in using it, that Radio 1 was right in its original decision and should have shown more balls and stuck by it. 'Faggot' is a term of anti-gay abuse; in this song it is most definitely an insult...To say that you’re offended these days is to risk being accused of being humourless; of not getting the joke. It’s the same risk you run as a woman who is offended by the endless parade of breasts in magazines such as Nuts. The new casual homophobia is couched as a perfectly acceptable, knowing joke, and coincides with a general feeling that gays have had quite enough equality: equal age of consent; civil partnership ceremonies (but not marriage). That we are getting a little too big for our boots."

First shots of Edward Norton as Bruce Banner in The Incredible Hulk.

Fashion designer and Project Runway contestant Jack Mackenroth talks to NYC's HX magazine about his reaction to Sarah Jessica Parker on the show and his cameo in the upcoming Sex and the City movie, among other things: "When I watched [the reaction] back I was like, 'I am so gay.' Which is fine. I embrace the gayness. I’m super-gay. I’m a big ol’ queen...[The Sex and the City cameo] was completely unrelated. A friend of mine knew the person that was casting the extras, so he called me up and said they needed a gay guy with a good body, and I was like, 'Alright!' But she’s super-nice and totally genuine. It was very painful for her to do the critiques because she doesn’t like being mean."

Fans swarm Giorgio Armani as he visits his NYC Soho Armani Exchange store: "Everyone rushed him and started asking for autographs. It was mayhem."

Hello Kitty for Men, coming soon.

Scottsdale, Arizona bar owner converts to a gay nightclub after year-long dispute over the banning of a transgender patron: "Owner Tom Anderson (pictured on right, with co-owner brother Ted) said he made the transition in an effort to 'change Scottsdale.' The city saw a number of high-profile anti-gay and hate crimes this year, said Sam Holdren of Equality Arizona. Anderson made headlines last year when he banned a transgender woman from Anderson's Fifth Estate after female customers complained about transgender patrons using the women's restroom. The woman, Michele DeLaFreniere, filed a discrimination complaint with the Arizona Attorney General's Office."

A theory on Rednecks vs. Gay Marriage: "...if we are trying to explain (but not excuse) why the churchgoing divorcees oppose it, the answer is that they see homosexuality, married or not, as non-traditional. The churchgoing divorcees are not asserting their family virtue, logically conceived, but their family virtue as traditionally defined. It is the traditional definition of family virtue that prevails in the communities where the churchgoing divorcees are trying to ingratiate themselves, as a way to compensate for and cover their fractured family lives."

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CLOSET OF FEAR: Congressional candidate Jared Polis discusses his trip to Iraq and his attempts to meet with gay Iraqis there.

New poll shows Hillary Clinton losing lead in New Hampshire. Final debates before Iowa - Republicans tonight, Democrats tomorrow - will prove critical.

McFly: the Brit boyband we've featured four times already for taking off their clothes in public, have done it ONCE AGAIN. Strangely enough, I don't think I've heard any of their songs.

Gay historian Allan Berube dies at 61: "Berube is best remembered for his groundbreaking work of gay history, Coming Out Under Fire: The History of Gay Men and Women in World War II, published in 1990. The Lambda Literary Award–winning book was later adapted by Arthur Dong into a Peabody Award–winning documentary and was often cited in 1993 Senate hearings on the military’s ban on gay service members." More from Servicemen's Legal Defense Network...

One hundred million pennies laid out in Rockefeller Center in New York: "The exhibit, 30 feet by 165 feet, as long as a city block, is the culmination of the nonprofit organization Common Cents' 17th annual Penny Harvest, a national educational program designed to teach children about their value as contributors to society."

David Cooley, owner of West Hollywood's The Abbey bar and restaurant, ready to take it national: "Cooley intends to build Abbeys in cities across the country, and has spent much of the past year scouting locations including San Diego, Phoenix, Miami, New York City, Chicago, Atlanta, San Francisco, and Las Vegas; the plan is for the first new Abbey to open in Chicago within a year."

Scientists discover massive new Antarctic dinosaur: 25 feet long, climbed trees.

Humans evolving rapidly according to researchers: "Many of the recent genetic changes reflect differences in the human diet brought on by agriculture, as well as resistance to epidemic diseases that became mass killers following the growth of human civilizations, the researchers said. For example, Africans have new genes providing resistance to malaria. In Europeans, there is a gene that makes them better able to digest milk as adults. In Asians, there is a gene that makes ear wax more dry. The changes have been driven by the colossal growth in the human population -- from a few million to 6.5 billion in the past 10,000 years -- with people moving into new environments to which they needed to adapt, added Henry Harpending, a University of Utah anthropologist."

Ireland to ban incandescent light bulbs by the year 2009.

Shia LeBeouf gets off.

Sacha Baron Cohen obsessed with big packages: "Of the many surprises in Sweeney Todd, Tim Burton's musical ode to early-Victorian cannibalism, the appearance of Sacha Baron Cohen as barber rival Adolfo Pirelli is one of the most pleasant: The British comedian ably tackles the part's considerable vocal challenges, and cuts a fine figure in a form-fitting, periwinkle dandy suit, beneath which protrudes a bulge even more distractingly prominent than the one poking out of Borat's signature neon nutthong swimwear."

Former CIA interrogator on torture: "This isn’t something done willy nilly. It’s not something that an agency officer just wakes up in the morning and decides he’s going to carry out an enhanced technique on a prisoner. This was a policy made at the White House, with concurrence from the National Security Council and Justice Department."

In honor of the Cycle 9 finale of America's Next Top Model tonight, NewNowNext rounds up the show's most pro-gay and just gay moments. Meanwhile, AfterElton looks at the year in gay television.

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Jesse Metcalfe Accepts GAY Award

Actor Jesse Metcalfe accepted a special "GAY" award from G-A-Y nightclub in London as it celebrated its 15th birthday. I'm not sure exactly what he was being honored with, although he would not let go of his girlfriend, Girls Aloud singer Nadine Coyle.

On hand as well was Torchwood star John Barrowman, who offered the crowd his best crotch-grab, AFTER THE JUMP...

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Jesse Metcalfe and Friend Get Their Tans On [tr]
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Harry Potter Does Drag for Manila Gay Bar

Looks like good old Dumbledore has cast a spell!

Harry Potter now works his wand in that schoolmarmish demanding dominatrix kind of way.

BED, a gay bar in the Philippine capital of Manila, has taken a few icons of pop culture and done a switcheroo, dressing Darth Vader in Princess Leia attire, and Superman in Wonder Woman's sizzling get-up to advertise a drag night.

And you thought the Larry Craig doll was gay.

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Florida Rep. and men's room-frequenter Bob Allen's trial begins on November 5th.

Matt Leveson, a 20-year-old Sydney man who went missing after a night of partying, is feared murdered: "The wildlife welfare officer, a regular at the club, was thought to be going home to Cronulla. His family reported him missing when he failed to show for work the following Tuesday. He had also stopped answering his phone. Two days later Mr Leveson's green 1999 Corolla hatchback was found dumped outside a public toilet at Waratah Park Reserve, Sutherland. Police said evidence suggested he did not park it there. They believe he 'met with foul play'."

Funeral held in Ireland for lesbian soldier Ciara Durkin, slain mysteriously in Afghanistan. The investigation into her death is ongoing.

Radiohead fans pissed at poor sound quality of In Rainbows digital download: "The sentiment among many fans seems to have gone from admiration for the group's willingness to let the consumer decide how much to pay for the new album to anger over the low quality of the downloads — and dismay over the band's manager's statement that the you-choose-the-price downloads were just a promotional tool for the release of the physical CD."

POLL: Oscar Wilde is Britain's greatest wit.

Paris Hilton heading to Rwanda on charity mission: I'm scared, yeah. I've heard it's really dangerous. I've never been on a trip like this before. I love having everything documented. It shows people what everyday life is like for me, how hard I work. There are a lot of misconceptions about me."

Jack Mackenroth, set to compete in the upcoming Project Runway season, denies a rumor that he was booted from the show because of a staph infection: "'He says he was the fifth designer voted off,' says the snitch. 'He is claiming that this was at least part of the reason he was booted.' Mackenroth, who had signed a confidentiality agreement, denied spilling the beans when contacted by Bravo. 'People will say things about me whether they know me or not,' he said in a statement released through Bravo's PR. 'Those were not my words and are fictitious.'"

Is the government employing high-tech robo-bugs at anti-war rallies?

Same-sex couples from Australia seen heading to the U.S. in increasing numbers on the quest for designer babies: "IVF pioneer Dr Jeffrey Steinberg said an increasing number of gay and lesbian Australians were visiting his Californian fertility centre to begin a family and side-step Australian law that prohibits surrogacy. 'We see about two or three gay couples from Australia each month and that's about a five-fold increase over the last two years,' he told The Sunday Mail. Dr Steinberg said between 75 per cent and 80 per cent of same-sex couples who came to him for treatment decided to choose the sex of the baby, using the controversial IVF procedure and embryo screening known as Pre-Implantation Genetic Diagnosis."

The NYT looks into the mysterious death of gay club icon Dean Johnson: "After Mr. Johnson did not show up for band rehearsal on Sept. 27, his friends called the Washington police and finally got an answer. Mr. Johnson’s body was in the city morgue; it had been there for a week. As details of his death surfaced, the mystery around it grew. Four days earlier, the police had found the body of another man, Jeremy Conklin, 26, at the same apartment — that of Steven S. Saleh. Mr. Conklin had been pronounced dead at a nearby hospital, said Inspector Rodney Parks of the Washington police. For Dean Johnson, whose heyday in the 1980s mirrored the rise and fall of New York’s bohemian downtown club scene, and who rarely kept the salacious details of his life private, it seemed an inconceivable way to go. The apartment Mr. Johnson died in was at the end of a nondescript hallway on the second floor of a stately building — a distant cry from the East Village nightclubs where he and the naked go-go boys under his command once reigned."

Prince Harry cheers on English rugby at the World Cup. Unfortunately, no nipple-licking.

Who had sex with Alan Cumming?

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In the first nationwide law of its kind in Latin America, Colombia grants health benefits to same-sex couples.

Jury in Princess Diana inquest gets an uncanny look at her final moments, as they too are chased by the paparazzi in Paris: "The coach carrying the Diana inquest jury has reportedly crashed as it traced the Princess's last movements around Paris. In an eerie parallel with the catastrophic accident which killed the Princess, the bus driver was apparently trying to out-manoeuvre paparazzi outside the Ritz. The jury, coroner Lord Justice Scott Baker, and teams of lawyers made British legal history by making a site inspection of the places where the Princess and her lover Dodi Fayed spent their final hours. But within minutes of starting the tour in the Place Vendome, close to the Ritz hotel, their bus knocked a police outrider from his motorcycle. Then seconds later the bus collided with an 18-inch metal bollard."

Britney Spears and sister attacked at sushi restaurant: "Nobody wants you in this neighborhood Britney! MOVE! You are making this neighborhood very unsafe!"

Bush White House has tried to "silence" MSNBC's Chris Matthews, host claims: "They will not silence me!...They’ve finally been caught in their criminality."

Russian gay activist Nikolai Alexeyev gets "solidarity reception" in the Windy City.

Kylie channels Patrick Nagel for new album cover...

Former OUT magazine editor Brendan Lemon and his friend Jerry Wade have started an entertainment-oriented blog called Lemonwade. Lemon has the scoop on Jake Gyllenhaal's rumored trip to the Broadway stage in Farragut North: "Lemonwade has learned that [Mike] Nichols will not be directing the play. For now, the production — with Gyllenhaal or anyone else — is on hold. And with Gyllenhaal’s film schedule filling up (he has just signed on to star in a love-triangle movie called 'Brothers,' with Tobey Maguire and Natalie Portman), I don’t see him on Broadway anytime soon."

600 people to pose nude for Spencer Tunick at Sagamore Hotel in Miami Beach: "It's about fantasy and leisure. It's a stereotype, but it's true. You're going to have a good time if you come to Miami Beach. I'm going to have 100 to 200 women in pink rafts. We're going to have people on the balcony posing very much like the Tower of Babel meets Logan's Run. We're going to buy some champagne, 500 bottles, and were going to make a giant explosion for the climax of the installation from the balcony."

Violent anti-gay crimes in Sydney prompt unusual political visit to Oxford Street: "As partygoers looked on, Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore, Police Minister David Campbell, Labor candidate for Wentworth George Newhouse and local drag queen Maxi Shield wandered the clubs and back alleys of Oxford Street to gauge the impact of homophobic violence."

Gay nightlife "targeted" in Birmingham, England.

B'gosh! Gay and lesbian support group forms in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.

Movie theater lobby contains hidden erotic message.

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News: Marc Jacobs, Sweden, Lance Bass, Astroglide

Same-sex marriage in Sweden closer to reality? "Sweden’s three opposition parties, the Social Democrats, the Greens and the Left Party have put forward a motion in the Swedish Parliament to allow gay marriages. There is wide support in the parliament for the move, with the only party against the plans the Christian Democrats. They are also in a minority in the government, with three out of four of the ruling parties also in favour, but the Christian Democrat’s opposition means the government is unable to put forward a motion itself."

Marc Jacobs strips again for the cover of Arena Homme +

Astroglide: Barbara Walters reportedly gave sexual lubricant recommendations to Rosie O'Donnell.

Lance Bass in shouting match with companion outside NYC's Barracuda bar: "He was creating a commotion, and then he and Lance took it outside. They fought outside, screaming at the top of their lungs."

Memorial held in NYC for gay club icon Dean Johnson. Friend: "I never felt as comfortable as a straight guy in a world where I wasn’t supposed to be than with Dean. When I met Dean, I realized what being free is all about. He never judged anybody, and he never cared about being judged."

It's Britney's video, bitch!

Condoleezza Rice's female friend Randy Bean, with whom she owns a house in Palo Alto, California, responds to rumors that the two women are a couple: "Condi and I have been friends for 25 years. We co-own an investment property in Palo Alto. We do not share a home."

On the planning of an LGBT Wedding magazine.

Responding to GLAAD, the New York Post apologizes for calling a transgender person a She-Male.

SLOG's Dan Savage talks to Stephen Colbert on The Colbert Report.

The Provincetown hate crimes have caught the attention of Boston's newsweekly The Phoenix.

Here's the Nan Goldin photograph, "Klara and Edda Belly Dancing", that was seized by police from a show of Elton John's collection. Elton shuttered the gallery exhibition due to the investigation, which alleges the photograph breaches child pornography laws.

Gay foster parent ban may hit the 2008 ballot in Arkansas: "Attorney General Dustin McDaniel approved an initiative Thursday, which will allow supporters of the ban to collect signatures in support of placing the issue on a ballot. Now that their initiative has been approved, the Family Council Action Committee must collect at least 78-thousand votes in order to get their proposal on the 2008 ballot. It was struck down by the state Supreme Court in 2006 and failed in the state legislature during the 2007 session, so proponents of a ban on gay and unmarried foster parents decided to take the issue to the voters. After one failed attempt in September, the Family Council Action Committee got their initiative approved on Thursday."

Recent paparazzi photos of Jennifer Aniston and Orlando Bloom in Mexico which sparked relationship rumors have a backstory: they were at the 'gay power wedding' of friends Luc Brinker and Todd Diener in Mexico.

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News: Newt Gingrich, Spice Girls, Taipei Pride, Dean Johnson

Gay businessman Tony Hoare bludgeoned to death walking his dogs in London. Motivation behind the attack is unclear.

NYC downtown icon and gay performing artist Dean Johnson dies: "The six-foot-six promoter was found dead by authorities in Washington, D.C., but remained unidentified until this week. Police are still investigating the cause...At times a porn star and at other times a rock star (he fronted Dean and the Weenies and later the Velvet Mafia), he was always recognizable by his height (often augmented by heels) and brazen eyewear..." More from World of Wonder.

Taipei, Taiwan to hold carnival and gay pride parade this month. The carnival is this weekend. Said city official Jason Yeh: "The theme of this year's gay carnival is 'Teach You How to Watch a Gay Film'. We want the public to watch gay films in a relaxed atmosphere so that they can understand gay-related issues."

Fall auctions to test the art market bubble: "Doom-mongers are dubbing the blitz of forthcoming London sales as 'judgment week'. It will begin on October 11 with the opening of the Frieze art fair, which attracts dealers from all over the world."

Male Missouri high school student crowned Homecoming Queen: "His mother, Mary Ann Zaggy, said her son wanted to surprise his steady girlfriend at the dance tonight when the honor is formally bestowed. 'It's no big deal,' said [Marcel] Coleman, the homecoming king, although he was unsure how the traditional king-queen dance would play out. The school body voted for Zaggy, but he may have upset some students who consider the homecoming court no laughing matter."

Street Angels to take to the streets to thwart anti-gay attacks in Sydney: "The GenQ Street Angels want volunteers with policing, military, security or medical experience to join. They could be patrolling in Sydney's Oxford Street precinct and the King Street strip in Newtown as early as the first weekend in November. Organiser and GenerationQ.net founder Andrew Stopps said he hoped the patrols would initially focus on Friday and Saturday nights between 9pm and 3am, when as many as 10,000 partygoers flood Surry Hills, Darlinghurst and Paddington."

Newt Gingrich says he won't run for president.

Spice Girls reunion concert sells out in 38 seconds.

Anti-gay artists Elephant Man and Sizzla nixed from Toronto concerts over homophobic lyrics.

The Captain + Tennille = Tori Spelling?

Anti-gay wingnut's daughter to star in production of The Laramie Project: "Amy Contrada, author of the vehemently anti-gay MassResistance blog and tireless crusader against the Laramie Project play, failed to report that her own daughter will star in Acton High School's production of the play this November. Despite the fact that her daughter will play a TV reporter and serve as a Moderator for the play, which sensitively chronicles the death of Mathew Shepard, Contrada remains committed to organizing an anti-gay forum at the same High School in October."

Madonna to collaborate with Elton John? Elton: "Madonna is a great artiste and I think I shoot my mouth off too much, really. Who wouldn't want to work with her?"

Police accused of harassing LGBT gathering during opening week of UN General Assembly: "On Wednesday night, September 26, without provocation, officers from the 9th Precinct of the New York Police Department attacked lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community members who were attending an event organized by the Sylvia Rivera Law Project (SRLP). At the celebration, in front of M & R Bar, at 356 Bowery Street, two people were violently arrested without cause. Others were pepper sprayed in the face without warning or cause, and injured. Most of the people attacked by the police were people of color, and many were transgender."

7,000, including hecklers, show up for North Carolina's Pride Fest.

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Catholic League Launches Boycott of Miller Over Folsom Poster

Catholic League president Bill Donohue has taken his displeasure with Miller Brewing one step further than asking them to remove their logo from this year's Folsom Street Fair "Last Supper" parody poster. He has contacted over 200 religious groups and called for a boycott of the company.

Writes Donohue: "This all started when we learned that Miller was sponsoring an event that featured an obscene ad thrashing the Last Supper. After being pressured, Miller offered a lame statement of regret and said it was pulling its logo from the ad. Not only has it not done so—it is still posted on the website of the street fair—Miller refuses to withdraw its sponsorship. To top it off, when we informed them that some of the money being raised at this festival was being funneled to the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, they were unimpressed. Accordingly, Miller leaves us with no options: we are calling on more than 200 Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist and Hindu organizations to join with us in a nationwide boycott of Miller beer. We feel confident that once our religious allies kick in, and once the public sees the photos of an event Miller is proudly supporting, the Milwaukee brewery will come to its senses and pull its sponsorship altogether. If it doesn’t, the only winners will be Anheuser Busch and Coors."

Donohue is also extremely excited to show off the collection of Folsom Street Fair pictures he has amassed.

(via slog)

Background
Miller Pulls Logo from Folsom Ad Over "Last Supper" Parody [tr]
CWA Not Happy with "Last Supper" Ad for SF Folsom Street Fair [tr]

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Miller Pulls Logo from Folsom Ad Over "Last Supper" Parody

Pressured by right-wing religious groups like the Concerned Women for America who object to the parody of Leonardo da Vinci's "Last Supper" in the Folsom Street Fair's promotional materials, the event's primary sponsor, Miller Brewing, has asked Fair organizers to remove its logo from all promotional materials.

Miller released the following statement: "While Miller has supported the Folsom Street Fair for several years, we take exception to the poster the organizing committee developed this year. We understand some individuals may find the imagery offensive and we have asked the organizers to remove our logo from the poster effective immediately."

A representative from Miller told the Bay Area Reporter that they were not withdrawing their sponsorship, however: "We are and will continue to be supportive [of Folsom Street Fair and the LGBT community]."

Joe.My.God posts a statement from Folsom board of directors president Andy Copper: "There was no intention to be particularly pro-religion or anti-religion with this poster; the image is intended only to be reminiscent of the 'Last Supper' painting. We hope that people will enjoy the artistry for what it is - nothing more or less. Many people choose to speculate on deeper meanings. The irony is that da Vinci was widely considered to be homosexual. In truth, we are going to produce a series of inspired poster images over the next few years," Copper said. "Next year's poster ad may take inspiration from 'American Gothic' by Grant Wood or Edvard Munch's 'The Scream' or even 'The Sound of Music! I guess it wouldn't be the Folsom Street Fair without offending some extreme members of the global community, though."

And Dan Savage over at SLOG has been collecting other parodies of "The Last Supper".

Recently
CWA Not Happy with "Last Supper" Ad for SF Folsom Street Fair [tr]

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CWA Not Happy with "Last Supper" Ad for SF Folsom Street Fair

Concerned Women for America has called on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Governor Schwarzenegger and Senators Feinstein and Boxer to publicly condemn an ad for the upcoming Folsom Street Fair (site NSFW) in San Francisco. The annual leather fetish streetfest has produced a poster advertising the event which is a depiction of The Last Supper attended by leather devotees and a Sister of Perpetual Indulgence. Sex toys take the place of bread and wine in the parody.

Calling the event "reminiscent of Biblical Sodom and Gomorrah," Matt Barber, Policy Director for Cultural Issues with CWA, says, "We further challenge the media to cover this affront to Christianity with the same vigor as recent stories about cartoon depictions of Mohammed and other items offensive to the Muslim community. What's equally shocking and offensive is the fact that California taxpayers are forced to help foot the bill for the Folsom Street Fair. The City of San Francisco sanctions the event, shuts down several city blocks and provides police for security."

If you recall, CWA was the group that went after Starbucks for placing an Armistead Maupin quote on one of their coffee cups which read, "My only regret about being gay is that I repressed it so long. I surrendered my youth to the people I feared when I could have been out there loving someone. Don't make that mistake yourself. Life's too damn short."

See a larger version of the poster here.

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One last toast at the Boom Boom Room [orange county register]
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Save the Boom [official site]

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