Alexandre Despatie: A Prelude to Beijing

Last week I posted the cover of L'Actualite magazine featuring our favorite French Canadian diver Alexandre Despatie. Now, here are shots from the inside. Enjoy.

One more, AFTER THE JUMP...

Also...
Australia's Gay Olympian Matthew Mitcham Happy to Be Out [tr]
Australian Olympic Diver Matthew Mitcham: I'm Gay [tr]

Sphere: Related Content

Sportrait: Alexandre Despatie

French Canadian diver Alexandre Despatie appears on the cover of L'Actualite magazine looking fitter than ever. He's ready to compete in the Olympics in Beijing.

You may remember that Despatie had a trial run at Beijing's Olympic "water cube" in February for the FINA World Cup.

Despatie made an appearance on L'Actualite four years ago as well, when he was headed to Athens. To see what a difference four years makes, check the cover out AFTER THE JUMP....

Previously
Alexandre Despatie Tests the Water Cube [tr]
Alexandre Despatie Makes a Splash in Vancouver [tr]
Alexandre Despatie Back in Winning Form [tr]
Aquamen: Alexandre Despatie Scores Perfect 10 in Quebec [tr]
Hot for Teacher: Alexandre Despatie [tr]

From twink to man.

Previous Sportraits
The Diary of Sean Avery, Hockey Player and Vogue Intern [tr]
Sportrait: Danny Cipriani [tr]
Sportrait: John Cena [tr]
Sportrait: Riley Skinner [tr]

Sphere: Related Content

Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte Buddy Up on Men's Journal

Expect the Olympians to start hitting all the magazine covers. U.S. swimmers Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte arrive on the August 2008 cover of Men's Journal for a piece that talks about their ongoing rivalry and companionship.

Two more shots AFTER THE JUMP...

Slideshow here...

Previously
Michael Phelps: The Big Merman [tr]
Sportrait: Michael Phelps [tr]
Phelps Smashes Thorpe Record, Americans Take Gold in Melbourne [tr]
Ryan McGinley Wins International Center for Photography Nod [tr]

Sphere: Related Content

Australia's Gay Olympian Matthew Mitcham Happy to Be Out

Last month, the Sydney Morning Herald announced that Australian Olympic diver Matthew Mitcham had come out of the closet, but Mitcham, in a new interview with Australia's gay newspaper SX, says he's been out since he's 14. Mitcham, who will be Australia's first openly gay Olympian when he competes in Beijing, is now 20.

Says Mitcham: "It’s not really a big deal. It’s not like I’m a different person. It’s not like I was straight before. So nothing really has changed....I came out years ago. All that happened recently was that I was doing an interview with the Herald and there was a pretty innocuous question, ‘Who do I live with?’ and I just said ‘my partner Lachlan’. And the journalist was really excited – she thought it was absolutely wonderful!"

Mitcham dishes on Prime Minister Kevin Rudd: "Kevin Rudd’s opinion of marriage as something that’s only between a man and a woman is quite narrow-minded. During the election campaign he was all about appearing young and cool, but his views on gay marriage make him look quite old-fashioned."

And also those who criticize gays for speaking out about their sexuality: "Straight people talk about their sexuality all the time. They talk about the opposite sex, they talk about their wives, their husbands, their marriage. Those are all heterosexual discourses, and they do talk about them all the time."

Mitcham's set to compete in the the ten-metre platform and three-metre springboard events.

One more shot AFTER THE JUMP...

Making a Splash [sx]

Australian Olympic Diver Matthew Mitcham: I'm Gay [tr]

Sphere: Related Content

News: Rea Carey, Justice Dept, Olympics, Monet, Barack Obama

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.

Sphere: Related Content

Australian Olympic Diver Matthew Mitcham: I'm Gay

Australian Olympic diver Matthew Mitcham came out to the media for the first time on Saturday, in an interview with the Sydney Morning Herald. He'll be the first openly gay athlete from Australia to compete in the Olympics:

"The gold medal hopeful's journey has not been easy. Those close to him have seen Mitcham, 20, battle depression, retire in his teenage years after physical and emotional burn-out, then nine months later resume his sport and build himself into the champion he is today. One person who has been by his side for the entire tumultuous journey is his partner, Lachlan. 'We can't afford for Lachlan to go at the moment,' Mitcham said. 'But Johnson & Johnson offer grants to go to Beijing and I've nominated Lachlan as the support person I want to go.' It's not only Lachlan who has helped Mitcham to Beijing. His coach, Chava Sobrino, had faith in him when no one else did and resurrected his career. Former athlete Sarina Bratton cares for him like a son and fellow diver Alex Croak is a constant sounding board and his best friend. 'That little support network has made my dream possible,' Mitcham said. 'It would have been impossible and I probably wouldn't have made it without their help.'"

AFTER THE JUMP, Mitcham at the 2008 FINA Diving Grand Prix in Beijing...

Sphere: Related Content

Olympic Athletes Unveil Ralph Lauren-Designed Team Outfits

Earlier this month I posted that the U.S. Olympic team had rejected Canadian fashion maker Roots in favor of Ralph Lauren for the Beijing 2008 Olympic team outfits. Today they were showed off by two of the American athletes.

Deontay Wilder, a boxer on the U.S. Olympic team, and Giuseppe Lanzone, a rower on the U.S. Olympic team, show off the new Ralph Lauren closing ceremonies team outfits.

Norman Bellingham, chief operating officer of the USOC and a former Olympic kayaker, told Ralph Lauren that he wanted a look that was more classic and formal, inspired by 'Chariots of Fire,' the 1981 movie about British athletes competing in the 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris.

Here are Wilder and Lanzone in their element.

A few more images from their shoot, AFTER THE JUMP...

You may have missed...
U.S. Goes Preppy for Olympic Wardrobe [tr]
Ian Thorpe Extinguishes Olympic Flame, Ever so Briefly [tr]
Gay Activist Peter Tatchell Detained Amid Olympic Flame Protests [tr]

Sphere: Related Content

Ian Thorpe Extinguishes Olympic Flame, Ever so Briefly

Canberra, Australia was the last leg of the Olympic Torch relay and, as you can see from the video below, the site of demonstrations similar to those around the rest of the world, with vocal pro-Tibet protestors poised to do whatever they could to put out the Olympic flame.

However, as SameSame notes, Australia's most famous Olympian, Ian Thorpe, momentarily did their work for them as the flame was accidentally extinguished briefly by the swimmer. To the dismay of many, however, it wasn't on purpose.

That clip, AFTER THE JUMP...

Previously
Gay Activist Peter Tatchell Detained Amid Olympic Flame Protests [tr]
Ian Thorpe is Still Not Gay [tr]

Sphere: Related Content

News: Courtney Love, Provincetown, Mario Lopez, Woodpecker

Archbishop Desmond Tutu honored by International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission in San Francisco. Tutu: "How sad, how tragic, that the Church be so concerned with this issue when God’s children all the world over are suffering. I ask for your forgiveness for the way the Church has ostracized you."

Sotheby's photography auction off to strong start.

Is Courtney Love rehearsing for a Valley of the Dolls remake?

The artist known as Prince has joined the line-up for this year's Coachella Music Festival.

More on the gay Yale impostor!

Anti-gay Christian group in Maine launches referendum aimed at banning same-sex marriage and gay adoption: "The referendum also would eliminate sexual orientation as a protected class under the Maine Human Rights Act and would take away funding that supports civil rights teams affiliated with the state Attorney General’s Office. Michael Heath, executive director of the Christian Civic League of Maine, said that if the Secretary of State’s Office approves his petition, he’ll begin recruiting organizers to gather signatures. Putting a referendum on the state ballot requires about 55,000 signatures, or 10 percent of the turnout for the last gubernatorial election."

First gay bar outside of Ireland's major cities opens in Strabane, Northern Ireland. Rainbow Project leader: "What the opening of this bar is saying is that, yes, our small towns have a gay community too and they are welcome and they are valued. I have been a gay rights activist for 25 years and when I started out, gay people were moving away in their droves because they were deemed socially unacceptable. But now we have this development and it is one of the biggest steps I've seen for the gay community. What it is saying to us is stay, there is something here for you."

Hey bird lovers: woodpecker with freakishly large beak photographed.

Rosie O'Donnell fighting tabloid claim that she abuses her kids.

Gay domestic abuse survivor Pedro Velazquez Fernandez to speak at rally in Des Moines, Iowa: "I feel like when I'm getting to know somebody, I can't trust him. I hate to say it, but I think ... love doesn't exist."

New York magazine has 21 questions for Simon Doonan.

Singapore cable operator fined for showing lesbian kiss: "Singapore's Media Development Authority, which regulates and censors media and the arts, said on Wednesday it fined StarHub S$10,000 ($7,246) for airing a commercial for a song that featured 'romanticised scenes' of lesbians kissing and portrayed the relationship as 'acceptable'. The music video of the song, titled 'Silly Child' by Mandarin singer Olivia Yan, shows an intimate kissing scene before one of the women rejects her boyfriend at the end of the clip. 'This is in breach of the TV advertising guidelines, which disallows advertisements that condone homosexuality,' the media authority said."

New ferry route launches between Gloucester, Massachusetts and Provincetown.

Mario Lopez about to hit the Broadway stage in A Chorus Line.

Gavin Newsom punks protestors with seismic bait-and-switch at San Francisco Olympic torch procession: "'I am very upset,' said Rosie Salis, 51, who came in from Foster City to see the relay. 'There were lots of people here with their kids. They had to wait for four or five hours, and it's very disappointing.' Board of Supervisors President Aaron Peskin, a vocal critic of Newsom's administration, was equally unhappy, as was the local ACLU chapter. 'Gavin Newsom runs San Francisco the way the premier of China runs his country - secrecy, lies, misinformation, lack of transparency and manipulating the populace,' Peskin said. 'He did it so China can report they had a great torch run.' Newsom emphatically denied those accusations. 'We felt it was in everyone's best interest that we augment the route,' Newsom said. 'I believe people were afforded the right to protest and support the torch. You saw that in the streets. They were not denied the ability to protest.'"

Was the universe that came before our own its identical twin?

Parents in Eau Claire, Wisconsin upset that a teacher told five health classes that she's gay: "At least one parent said Rowe had no business talking about her sexual preference. The parent agreed that Rowe is an outstanding teacher, but she should stick to the curriculum."

Poll shows Clinton-Obama "dream ticket" beaten by McCain-Rice ticket in New York state: "According to the poll, McCain/Condi would earn the votes of 49% of registered voters in New York State compared with 46% for a Clinton/Obama ticket, and the same 49% against an underwhelming 44% for an Obama/Clinton ticket."

Sphere: Related Content

News: Bats, Clay Aiken, Figure Skating, John Bolton, Dr. Laura

Dan Savage lost his mother on Monday, and today penned a beautiful column about her. We offer our sincerest condolences. May she rest in peace.

David Beckham in trouble with the law.

Open wide: Clay Aiken demonstrates amazing oral technique.

John Caldera, an aide to San Francisco Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi, will carry the Olympic torch in San Francisco today: "As someone who is openly Gay, Latino and a U.S. Navy Veteran, I have learned to respect the many subsets of our society. At times, I agree to disagree with those who have conflicing ideas ordeals than mine and at times, through respect and discourse, mutual understanding is possible but in the end I always remember the immortal words of the great humanitarian, John Lennon: 'All we are saving is give peace a chance…'" (via outsports)

Elsewhere in SF, gays protest the torch's arrival.

Keanu Reeves wants to sing show tunes.

Charleston's City Paper asks, is Lindsey Graham gay?

Gabriel Rotello at World of Wonder posts a comical reminiscence about an interview he once did with the late Charlton Heston: "Finally, someone sent word that the cameraman was ready and I rose to escort the tottering titan down to the basement. It was then that I discovered what a careless PA had missed. At the top of the stairs hung a huge, poster-sized photo of the queerest of all the queers, Miss RuPaul, in full drag, giving major attitude and practically screaming "I AM GAY, GAY, GAAAAAAY."

Dr. Laura gets weekly segment on FOX News.

Mysterious illness decimating bat populations in Northeast: "This summer, it could affect everything from outdoor barbecuing to farming. In one of nature's most efficient if little-known feats, bats consume as many as 1,200 insects an hour after emerging from their sheltering places every night. This prodigious airborne feeding substantially controls mosquito populations and helps prevent plant-eating insects from damaging crops. The long-term effect of what appears to be a major die-off of bats is not yet known, but the possibilities clearly worry scientists."

Regarding Brandon Davis' "faggot" outburst we posted about earlier. Davis told TMZ: "I would like to apologize for the poor word choice when provoked by the paparazzi on Thursday, April 3rd. They by no means reflect my views and upbringing. I was taunted by the photographers and when they used vulgar sexual remarks against my mother I reacted as any son would."

Query to the National Post: Can figure skating make you gay?

John Bolton, former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations to speak at Log Cabin Republican convention in San Diego this weekend.

Diane Sawyer takes on Rosie O'Donnell.

Jeff Klausner, San Francisco's director of STD prevention and control, targeting gay cruising sites in effort to promote safe sex: "Over the past few weeks, Klausner has been working with the city attorney, the National Institutes of Health, the California Department of Public Health, and the Department of Public Health in New York, whose large gay community also uses social networking sites for sex, in an effort to track down Adam4Adam's thus-far-anonymous and secretive owners. His aim: To get the site to slap the equivalent of a surgeon general's warning on its hookup forums and at least make users aware of the dangers of the anonymous, multiple-partner unsafe sex that is its stock-in-trade."

Pushing Daisies has a gay character.

Sphere: Related Content

U.S. Goes Preppy for Olympic Wardrobe

The WSJ reports:

"The preppy styles Polo is making for the athletes to wear in the Opening and Closing ceremonies and in the Olympic Village will mark a departure from sporty outfits that the American team has worn in recent years, such as retro ski jackets inspired by vintage Ducati motorcycle ads that were worn in Turin, Italy, in 2006."

Check out the first glimpse of one of the outfits,
AFTER THE JUMP...

The U.S. team rejected Canadian company Roots in favor of Ralph Lauren:

"Roots late last year had unveiled a 'yoga-inspired, technical, green product' for the U.S. athletes to wear in Beijing, according to Roots Chief Executive Michael Budman. But Norman Bellingham, chief operating officer of the USOC and a former Olympic kayaker, says that he wanted the athletes to be attired in a 'classic and more formal manner. "They wanted blazers and slacks, a more formal look,' Mr. Budman says. The two mutually agreed to terminate their contract. Mr. Bellingham says he asked former NBC anchorman Tom Brokaw to contact Ralph Lauren to see if Mr. Lauren might be interested in designing for the U.S. team. At a meeting at Polo's headquarters on Madison Avenue in New York, Mr. Bellingham told Mr. Lauren that his inspiration was 'Chariots of Fire,' the 1981 movie about British athletes competing in the 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris. Upon hearing that, Mr. Lauren smiled, Mr. Bellingham recalls. 'He knew precisely what we were going for.'...'We have to put America on a world stage that looks refined and appropriate,' says David Lauren. At the Olympic Village and at the Closing Ceremonies, athletes' wardrobes will include V-neck tennis sweaters and ties, classic Polo mesh shirts with 'Beijing'" written in big Chinese characters across the front and cargo pants -- all in a patriotic palette of red, white and blue. The Olympic logo featured on the new uniforms may include a replica of a crest with stars and stripes used by the 1932 U.S. Olympic team at the Los Angeles Games. Polo ponies of varying sizes will also make an appearance on the garments."

Don't expect fashion to dominate the conversation this year, though.

Polo to Outfit U.S. Team for the Beijing Olympics [wsj]

Previously
Gay Activist Peter Tatchell Detained Amid Olympic Flame Protests [tr]

Sphere: Related Content

Gay Activist Peter Tatchell Detained Amid Olympic Flame Protests

Gay activist Peter Tatchell was one of dozens detained in various protests over the weekend surrounding the transit of the Olympic flame through London, including one dramatic moment in which the torch was nearly snatched from the hands of television presenter Konnie Huq (see video, AFTER THE JUMP). There were 80 torch-bearers who carried the flame through London, from Wembley Stadium to Greenwich.

Gays Without Borders reports on the Tatchell arrest: "Mr Tatchell ran in front of the bus carrying the Olympic flame. He held up a placard which read: “Free Tibet, Free Hu Jia.” He shouted the same words as he ran along in front of the bus. The police wrestled Mr Tatchell to the ground, which delayed the bus briefly while he was removed to pavement. After questioning, he was later released without charge."

Said Tatchell,in a statement released later: "Hu Jia was jailed for three and half years in Beijing last week for campaigning for free speech, Tibetan autonomy, environmental protection, and for the human rights of the rural poor and people with HIV. Gordon Brown has shamed himself and Britain by greeting the Olympic torch at Downing Street, at a time when China is shooting dead Tibetan protesters and jailing and torturing hundreds of political prisoners. It is hypocritical for the Prime Minister to boycott the Zimbabwean regime, but not the dictatorial regime in China. These double standards bring our government into disrepute. The UK should not be colluding with a police state like China. Attempts to gently persuade the Beijing leaders to stop their human rights abuses have failed. They are manipulating the Olympics. We must not allow them to exploit the Beijing games to divert attention from China’s abysmal human rights record. All countries that love freedom, democracy and liberty should refuse to host the Olympic torch and boycott the opening and closing ceremonies of the Beijing Olympics. Athletes should wear Tibetan flags during their events and on the podium when they collect their medals..."

Demonstrators across London wanted to make it clear that they will not tolerate China's human rights abuses as the summer Olympics in Beijing approach.

In all, 37 people were arrested over the course of the day. The flame is now in Paris, where it has been met with so much protest that it has been extinguished and put aboard a bus for its transit. According to Agence France Presse, "Paris's Socialist mayor Bertrand Delanoe planned to unfurl a giant banner over city hall in defence of human rights."

Watch the clip of the Olympic flame snatch attempt, AFTER THE JUMP...

37 held in Olympic torch protests [the press association]
Olympic torch ambushed in London [peter tatchell]
Pictures and videos: Olympic torch protests in London [shanghaist]
Protestors disrupt Olympic flame relay in Paris [afp]

Sphere: Related Content