Former Mr. Gay UK Found Guilty of Murdering, Eating Lover

A jury deliberated for two hours and 20 minutes before delivering a guilty verdict against Anthony Morley, a former Mr. Gay UK who killed Damian Oldfield, slashing his throat and stabbing him as he slept before cutting, cooking, and eating part of Oldfield's thigh:

The Times reports: "On the day of the murder the pair texted each other and Oldfield — who was the first winner of the Mr Gay UK title in 1993, even though he had a girlfriend — said that he was not happy with his sexuality. In the texts to Mr Oldfield, from Bramley, Leeds, the defendant said he would like them to try again but that he wanted to take things slowly. The two men met in Leeds before going back to Morley’s house, where he cooked a meal for Mr Oldfield. The pair went to bed after drinking alcohol and, Morley claimed, his victim told him nothing was going to happen between them.But he said he woke up to find the other man was performing oral sex on him. The court has heard that Morley was scarred for life after he was groomed and raped by an older man when he was young and that the incident left him confused about his sexuality. He told the jury that he had had a flashback to that incident. He said that he felt betrayed by Mr Oldfield’s actions and feared he might be raped. Morley said he did not know why he went on to kill and claims to have no memory of the following attack, other than feeling pain when he cut his own finger with his knife. He said he also could not remember carving and cooking sections of Mr Oldfield’s body but said he might have done it because he thought he was preparing a piece of meat at work. When police searched the house they found a chopping board with six pieces of human flesh, cooked so they were raw in the middle and browned on the edges. A bundle of fresh herbs, a knife used to chop them, some olive oil and a dish of seeds were found on the work surface near the cooker and a frying pan was on the hob with the remnants of fried herbs and oil in it."

Morley was arrested after the murder, covered in blood, at a take-out shop near his home. Sentencing is on Monday.

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Sarah Palin in 1984 Miss Alaska Pageant

In 1984, when Sarah Palin, then Sarah Heath, was 20, she participated in the Miss Alaska beauty pageant.

Watch the Miss Alaska pageant, AFTER THE JUMP...

Perhaps one day, Miss Teen South Carolina might also be considered for the White House:

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News: Geology, Mr. Blackwell, Pageants, Clay Aiken, Montauk

John Edwards admits affair, says he lied during campaign.

Condoleezza Rice undermines McCain arguments, says U.S. would be safe with Obama: "Oh, the United States will be fine. I think that we are having an important debate about how we keep the country safe. I think we are having an important debate about our responsibilities, our obligations, our interests in the Middle East in the wake of the now increasing evidence of success in Iraq. Those are important judgments for the American people to make."

Settled: The "Monster" that washed up on the beach last week in Montauk, NY was a viral marketing campaign.

At 8:08 on 08/08/08: Singer Clay Aiken is a proud father.

Log Cabin Republicans launch Republicans Against Prop. 8"...Scott Schmidt: "Marriage is a personal decision. It's not up to the long arm of the government of when, where and whom you should get married to."

Sting goes shirtless for the final show of The Police in New York City.

Radar on the unsung heroes of the child beauty pageant circuit: gay men.

Wingnut Randy Thomasson warns against horrors of 'Harvey Milk Day': "This will harm children as young [sic] kindergarten. Every May 22, AB 2567 will positively portray to children homosexual experimentation, homosexual 'marriages,' sex-change operations, and anything else that's 'in the closet.' Governor Schwarzenegger should say no to this very inappropriate bill, which has nothing to do with academic excellence."

Quentin Tarantino signs Brad Pitt for World War II action-drama Inglorious Bastards: "The 44-year-old actor will play a Southern rebel who assembles a team of eight prisoners-turned-soldiers to battle the Nazis."

Group compiling dynamic first-of-its-kind map of Earth's geology.

Connecticut man attempts murder to end gay rumors.

Diva in polka dots: Elton John makes splash in Saint-Tropez.

Fashion critic Mr. Blackwell hospitalized, emerges from coma.

Canadian border agents confiscate laptop over gay porn: "While the gay men watched, a CBSA agent sat in their truck and poked through the contents of the laptop. When he ran into locked material, he got the passwords from them. Rick and Shawn say that, in retrospect, it was a slapdash search. The laptop was combed, but not their cell phones, Shawn's Blackberry, or the loose burned CDs in the truck's glove compartment. The CBSA officers went into their office. Time ticked by as Rick and Shawn pondered what to do next. About an hour later, a CBSA officer came back with bad news. 'He came back and said 'We're going to have to confiscate the laptop.' I asked why. He said it had 'questionable material,'' says Rick."

BLOCKED: Fred Phelps' Westboro Baptist Church also held up at Canadian border.

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News: Dark Knight, Gay Youth, Ravello, Ian McKellen, Uganda

Here's a list of the groups that are lobbying the Senate to remove the HIV travel ban.

The Dark Knight has its premiere and it's a big night for Christian Bale. But it was an even bigger night for the late Heath Ledger. His family paid him tribute as did his co-stars.

Reese Witherspoon cuts Jake Gyllenhaal off from his normal habit of swearing like a sailor: "Some of (the things she insists on) are run-of-the-mill. He has to take off his shoes when he’s in the house; trash must be taken out when the can is three-quarters full; and no feet on the coffee table."

PBS debates airing full-frontal Ian McKellen in broadcast of Royal Shakespeare Company's King Lear next year.

Some San Franciscans are objecting to a plan by the Presidential Memorial Commission of San Francisco that would rename the Oceanside Water Pollution Control Plant as the George W. Bush Sewage Plant: "What we didn’t expect was that most of the opposition was coming from people who didn’t want to name anything. They just wanted to forget about the past eight years and move on or they felt that this is a facility that does something really quite useful and it would be inappropriate to put his name on it. […] If you get to the point where people are defending the sewage plant, that’s a sign that things have not gone so well."

Brad Blog: Alabama Attorney General Troy King, who last week was the subject of rumors that he was to resign in the wake of a gay sex scandal, was the client of gay GOP consultant Ralph Gonzalez, who was killed in a double-murder suicide last year.

The Washington Post on the coming out process and its emergence at earlier and earlier ages: "He has grown so used to the stares and laughter of strangers that their insults slip off his 118-pound frame like an oversize shirt. 'I think I've dealt with it so much my whole life that it really doesn't bother me anymore, not as much as it used to,' Saro says. 'If you have a birthmark on your leg for so long, you don't even notice it.' Saro, who first said he liked boys to a classmate in sixth grade, is like many of today's lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender youths who openly discuss their sexual orientation and identity with friends, and sometimes family, before entering high school."

Whoopi Goldberg to join cast of Xanadu on Broadway.

Britney shoots video for Madonna tour.

Uganda's State Minister for Ethics and Integrity Dr James Nsaba Buturo says that opponents of gays should not be afraid of retribution because God will protect them: "It's true gays are rough people but men of God should not fear their intimidation. Ugandans should strengthen their mobilisation against the gay movement because the government is also committed to support them."

Gore Vidal home in Ravello, Italy to open as luxury hotel next spring.

FIRST LOOK: Project Runway designers enter the workroom.

Miss USA Crystle Stewart discusses her fall at the Miss Universe pageant: "I think I'm going to have to take some walking classes. I would never have thought in a million years that I would fall down at the Miss Universe pageant _ right after Miss USA fell last year. I always wondered: My God, if that happened to me, what would I do? Things happen. I'm perfectly fine. I'm going to move back to New York and get on with my life." Watch it.

Ruminations on a gay and straight brother...

The schedule for this year's Comic-Con in San Diego has been released.

Politics of Fear: Cartoonists respond to the Barack and Michelle Obama New Yorker cover, and Salon asks if the Bush era has killed a lot of liberals' sense of humor.

Philosopher Mark Vernon: I was a gay priest.

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Miss USA Upholds Metaphor for America's Current World Status

Miss USA Crystle Stewart took a spill at the Miss Universe pageant last night. It's the second year in a row the American entrant has taken a runway plunge. After she tripped, Stewart, who had made it to the Top 10, stood up and applauded herself.

Watch it, AFTER THE JUMP...

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You Think the Economy is Bad Now?

Let's hope John McCain doesn't get put in charge of it.

Of course, the economy doesn't really factor into his platform (see clip 2):

Previously
McCain Gay-Baiting in New Romney-Bashing Robo-Call [tr]
John McCain: Never Heard the Acronym 'LGBT' Before [tr]
High School Student Slams McCain After Gay Rights Question [tr]
Report: McCain Feels "Gay Sweaters" Helped Undo Campaign [tr]
McCain Restates Support of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" [tr]
John McCain Not Sure if Condoms Stop Spread of HIV [tr]
John McCain: Gays are Welcome to Marry, Just Not Legally [tr]

NOTE: Miss Teen South Carolina was actually answering a question about geography.

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News: Beijing Stadium, Idaho, Amy Winehouse, Martian, Brad Pitt

CROOKS: Emails went missing from Bush and Cheney offices the very day Alberto Gonzalez "ordered the president and the vice president's staff to 'preserve all materials that might be relevant' to an inchoate Justice Department probe."

Mysterious 'alien' figure spotted in Martian landscape!

Pentagon releases statement on "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy, saying it is continuing to discharge gay and lesbian soldiers even though reports have shown a recent major drop in such cases. Statement: "Our policy implements the law Congress passed after prolonged research and debate. The department will continue to follow congressional mandate on homosexual conduct. We can't speculate as to why the number of discharges has declined."

Amy Winehouse in downward spiral — caught smoking crack ON VIDEO.

European Court of Human Rights rules: France discriminated against lesbian mother by refusing to allow her to adopt a child. "The judges decided that the woman was a victim of discrimination because of her sexual orientation. They said her right to family life under the European Convention on Human Rights had also been infringed. France has been told to pay her damages...The court's ruling in Strasbourg on Tuesday noted that: 'French law allowed single persons to adopt a child, thereby opening up the possibility of adoption by a single homosexual.' The court criticised the French judiciary's emphasis on "the lack of a paternal referent in the household" in the case of the lesbian woman, who was identified only as E.B. The reference to the applicant's homosexuality had been "if not explicit, at least implicit," the ruling said."

Beijing builds giant nest as Olympic Stadium.

Nothing gets between Brad Pitt and his Edwins.

The coldest place in the universe was recently observed...right here on Earth: "The record-breaking lows were among the latest feats of ultracold physics, the laboratory study of matter at temperatures so mind-bogglingly frigid that atoms and even light itself behave in highly unusual ways. Electrical resistance in some elements disappears below about minus 440°F, a phenomenon called superconductivity. At even lower temperatures, some liquefied gases become "superfluids" capable of oozing through walls solid enough to hold any other sort of liquid; they even seem to defy gravity as they creep up, over and out of their containers."

The Mr. Gay International swimsuit competition - on video.

Dow plunges 465 points, then recovers most of it after Federal Reserve interest rate emergency cut: "The U.S. markets joined a global selloff amid growing fears that a recession in the United States could send economies around the world into a downturn. Though stocks regained ground as investors digested the Fed's move to cut its benchmark federal funds rate by 0.75 percentage point and as bargain-hunters entered the market, trading remained volatile and the major indexes fluctuated sharply, at times approaching the break-even point before heading down again." Bernanke setting the stage for an even bigger recession?

Did Katie Holmes fake running the New York Marathon? Plenty of evidence seems to suggest that maybe she did.

Idaho legislature floats first-ever anti-discrimination bill that includes gays and lesbians: "Leslie Goddard, director of the Human Rights Commission beautifully presented the bill after an introduction by Senator Tim Corder, a major sponsor or the legislation. Some may remember the Mountain Home Republican Senator from a City Club debate in 2006 or from his past vote to ban gay marriage in Idaho's Constitution. His support of this year's legislation speaks loudly to the fundamental fairness implicit in the issue of employment discrimination and to the progress made on understanding of these issues over the years."

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Michael Urie Offers His Sense of Style and Poise to Miss America

In a four-part special beginning on January 4, Ugly Betty's Michael Urie takes the helm of the run-up to the Miss America pageant in Miss America: Reality Check. Urie will attempt to teach the beauty queens to correct bad beauty habits and best represent themselves for the pageant, which airs on January 26.

Here are a couple clips from the show.

The series will air Fridays at 10PM (ET/PT) beginning January 4 on TLC.

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News: Gay Penguins, Matt Drudge, Owen Wilson, Lightsaber

Miss Teen South Carolina says she "misunderstood" and "drew a blank" when asked about Americans and geography at the recent Miss Teen USA pageant. To say the least.

Luke Wilson: bear?

New Jersey church advertises "Help for the Homosexual".

Gay penguin book And Tango Makes Three tops annual list of most "challenged" books: "The ALA defines a 'challenge' as a 'formal, written complaint filed with a library or school requesting that materials be removed because of content or appropriateness.' For every challenge listed, about four to five go unreported, according to the library association. Krug said 30 books were actually banned last year. 'Books aren't banned nearly as much now as they used to be, because communities are much more active in fighting that,' Krug said about the bans, which can lead to books being removed from both school and public libraries."

New York magazine hunts for Matt Drudge: "Who is the man behind the Website? The more power Drudge has attained, the more reclusive he has become. Drudge seems to despise his own fame with a Kurt Cobain–like intensity. On radio he speaks of himself as a nobody and has referred to his fans as “psychic vampires.” He has utterly compartmentalized his life, separating the personal and the public. Acquaintances describe very brief, formal encounters, and even friends of Drudge’s, if there is such a category, generally communicate with him by IM. He’s said by some to be gay, but he has thrown water on these speculations."

Luke Skywalker's lightsaber to take trip into space.

Reichen and Ryan in Red.

Injured Iraq War vet discharged under "Don't Ask, Don't Tell": Miller, an Iraq war vet, was injured during a parachute jump in Iraq when his chute got cut away and his reserve chute didn't fully open. He fell 900 feet - and walked away - but later learned torn the meniscus in his left knee and damaged his right ankle. The military, however, didn't dismiss Miller because of his injury. They dismissed him because he is gay. 'In Miller's case, he said he was in a known gay bar minding his own business when a male soldier made him a sexual proposition, which he rejected,' The Record reports. 'The rejected soldier reported Miller to a superior, and Miller was subsequently called in. He didn't lie. He admitted he was gay.' In short, Miller became the latest victim of a law that has become known within the armed forces as a most effective weapon of vengeance."

Lance Bass and New York magazine at odds.

Owen Wilson's suicide attempt confirmed.

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Why the U.S. Americans Don't Know Their Geography

Miss Teen South Carolina offers a hypothesis.

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Alen Kostelac Crowned Mr. Croatia 2007

In Croatia they have pageants for both the men and the women, and this weekend Alen Kostelac was crowned Mr. Croatia 2007 in Zagreb.

Said Kostelac: "I primarily feel very tired. The competition was so strong that nobody could say for certain who will be Mr Croatia. Since I won the title, I will model primarily for financial reasons."

Some of the other contestants appear below. Somehow I don't think many would object being asked to judge such a contest.

And then of course, there's the Croatian National Water Polo League.

(image source)

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Towleroad Guide to the Tube #138

ANDREW CARD: George W. Bush's former Chief of Staff booed and protested upon receiving an honorary degree from University of Massachusetts-Amherst. (source: wonkette)

THE VIEW: Barbara Walters talks about the Rosie O'Donnell departure.

MISS UNIVERSE: Miss USA took a little spill in the pageant last night. (source: slog)

CHARLES NELSON REILLY: Gay couple attends a dinner party at the late actor's home.

Check out our previous guides to the Tube here!

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Juan Garcia Postigo Crowned World's "Most Desirable Man"

Spanish model/actor Juan Garcia Postigo has been crowned "Mr. World". The event, held in the city of Sanya on southern China's Hainan island, is what organizers call the search for the world's "most desirable" man.

According to the Daily Telegraph, "Men from 56 nations competed in the 21-day event that included tests of style, strength, perseverance, mental agility and determination. Competitors strutted their stuff on the catwalk, climbed mountains, raced bikes and held a cook-off."

There's no report on what gave Postigo the edge, but perhaps a hypnotic modely Zoolander-esque glance stunned the judges into submission.

Lucas Gil from Brazil and Jiang Lejun from China, below, were the runners up.

You may have missed...
Mr. Gay International is Crowned in the Desert [tr]
Policeman Crowned Mr. Gay UK [tr]

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