News: Spencer Tunick, Bijou, Michelle Bachmann, Bullying, Otters

Washington Post calls for protection of Washington Blade's historic archives: "Every effort should be made to keep the archive accessible to researchers and historians." Closure raises questions...More from Gay City News...

Photographer Spencer Tunick seeks gays and lesbians for mass Sydney Mardi Gras nude shoot: “I want someone who is straight to lie peacefully naked next to someone who is gay. I think the act, not only making the work, but the act itself is a calming of the senses.”

If a gay man calls you an otter, is this what he's referring to?

Sirdeaner Walker and two other mothers urge Massachusetts lawmakers to pass anti-bullying bill.

Charges dropped in Perez Hilton assault case: "Black Eyed Peas manager Liborio Molina apologized to celebrity blogger Perez Hilton as part of an agreement allowing assault charges against him to be dropped, lawyers said Wednesday. 'I apologize for what I did on June 22 of 2009, even though you engaged in highly offensive comments ... I acknowledge that these kinds of issues should not be resolved through a physical response,' the apology read. Hilton told The Associated Press in an e-mail he was happy Molina had accepted responsibility for his actions."

The Insider goes on Levi Johnston's photo shoot.

Man found dead in Bijou theater in Chicago.

CREW: Michelle Bachmann's teabagger rally may have violated House rules. "Bachmann's site urged people to come to the Capitol rally 'and tell their Representatives to vote no' on the health-care reform bill. House rules prohibit members from using their sites -- which are funded by taxpayers -- to conduct 'grassroots lobbying or solicit support for a Member's position.' CREW also alleges that Bachmann and her allies may have violated other House rules by holding a rally without a permit. News reports suggest the event's organizer's made an effort to call it a press conference, for which a permit wouldn't be needed. But no questions were asked at the event, and in a TV interview beforehand, Bachmann urged supporters 'to come to Washington, D.C. by the car load.'"

Beyond Gay: Lesbian and gay man attempt to get it on in sequel to Humpday.

ChurchOuting: Site outs closeted Catholic priests.

The spy who loved him: Trial of gay spy and Macedonian interpreter/lover, to whom he leaked classified secrets, grips Germany. "Spiegel magazine reported that this included information obtained by British agents, and that K. revealed it 'in the bedroom' or by allowing his lover access to his laptop computer. The latter 'then intended to pass this information on either to people in the area of organised crime in Macedonia or to foreign intelligence agencies,' federal prosecutors said. For the defence, however, the two men are victims of a homophobic witch-hunt within the BND, which since the affair broke has reportedly been forced to sever contacts with at least 19 information sources in the Balkans."

Vman celebrates legendary male models.

Rosie O'Donnell: Partner Kelli Carpenter moved out two years ago.

Seven tips for dissolving gay unions.

Gay Philippine party Ladlad appeals to elections board for reconsideration.

Police use taser on 10-year-old girl: "According to a report filed by Bradshaw on Thursday, the officer found the girl on the floor of the house screaming and crying. She refused to follow her mother's instructions and the mother told Bradshaw to use his Taser. Bradshaw carried the girl to the living room and told her she was going to jail, according to the report. The girl was violently kicking, the report said, and struck Bradshaw in the groin with her legs and feet. The report said Bradshaw administered a 'very, very brief' stun with the Taser, put the girl in handcuffs and carried her to his patrol car. She was taken to the Western Arkansas Youth Shelter in Cecil."

News: Tom Cruise, El Paso, Rosie O'Donnell, Brazil, Ryan White

USA Today: Rosie O'Donnell confirms split with partner Kelli Carpenter. "We're a family. We will remain a family forever. And we are working on our issues."

Do Começo Ao Fim: Controversial film about brothers who are also lovers to debut in Brazil.

Bronson Pinchot on working with Tom Cruise in Risky Business: "We thought Tom [Cruise] was the biggest bore on the face of the Earth. He was tense and made constant, constant unrelated homophobic comments, like, 'You want some ice cream, in case there are no gay people there?' I mean, his lingo was larded with the most… There was no basis for it. It was like, 'It’s a nice day, I’m glad there are no gay people standing here.' Very, very strange."

White House supports Ryan White Reauthorization Act.

Unfriendly Fire author Nathaniel Frank takes apart an article by James Bowman in the Weekly Standard with a point-by-point rebuttal of Bowman's theories — "that what motivates 18-year-olds in 21st-century America to fight wars is a particular conception of honor; that that honor is defined by having an exclusively male, heterosexual identity; and by the further belief that a straight man's honor relies on not having gay peers."

Bigots of a feather flock together.

Toronto gets a gander of Ryan Gosling.

The face of Jesus has been spotted on the door of a toilet at Ikea Glasgow: "A bearded face, with long flowing hair, is plainly visible on the wooden door of the men's toilet in the Braehead outlet of the Swedish furniture and meatballs giant."

Equality Florida endorses Dan Gelber for Attorney General. "Our community has two friends in the Democratic Primary race for Attorney General, however Dan Gelber stands apart as someone who has used his political capital to truly lead on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender issues."

Anti-discrimination ordinance makes first appearance at Salt Lake City Council — public hearing scheduled for November 10.

Homophobic slapper has day in UK court.

Bobby Brown suggests Whitney Houston is a lesbian in new book.

A new Twilight clip with lots of fangs, shirtlessness, drool, and growling.

Saturn at equinox...

Man's genitals bitten in alleged gay sex assault in Taipei.

LaToya Jackson fears for her life, tabs say: "La Toya is convinced someone paid Michael's personal physician, Conrad Murray, to kill him because they stood to gain up to $1 billion from his death. She is convinced they killed her brother and wouldn't hesitate for a moment to kill her as well."

Met: Homophobic crimes up in London.

Adam Shankman to co-produce Oscars with former Fox film chief Bill Mechanic. Shankman: "The last time I was on the show was as a dancer, and to come back as a producer is such an unbelievable honor."

Police in El Paso, Texas finish special training as result of Chico's Tacos gay kiss ejection: "All 1,100 city police officers have completed special training to make sure they know the law when it comes to dealing with gays and public places. The sessions were part of the fallout from a security guard ejecting five gay men from a Chico's Tacos restaurant after two of them kissed. Chico's owner later said his staff kicked out the men because they were being disruptive, not because of the kiss."

News: Gay Exorcism, Father Cutie, Rosie O'Donnell, Neda, Nixon

Karger: Is the Mormon Church hiding its funding for the National Organization for Marriage?

Exorcism in Connecticut: Getting the gay demon out.

Senate Judiciary Committee holds hearings on hate crimes bill.

Body of pilot Marc Dubois and flight attendant among those recovered from Air France crash site. Black boxes not found. Will ping for only a few more days.

Transgender in a virtual world.

Rosie O'Donnell to host Sirius XM radio show.

Iran: Neda's family forced from home. "The Iranian authorities have ordered the family of Neda Agha Soltan out of their Tehran home after shocking images of her death were circulated around the world. Neighbours said that her family no longer lives in the four-floor apartment building on Meshkini Street, in eastern Tehran, having been forced to move since she was killed. The police did not hand the body back to her family, her funeral was cancelled, she was buried without letting her family know and the government banned mourning ceremonies at mosques, the neighbours said."

Is Father Cutie gay?

Amsterdam Deputy Mayor Carolien Gehrels flies to New York City in support of marriage equality: "Mrs. Gehrels brings a personal perspective to the issue: she is married to a woman. She said that while the approval of gay marriage in the Netherlands that took effect in 2001 was 'a milestone in equal rights,' even eight years later 'equality and freedom are never self-evident.' Same-sex partnerships were legalized in 1998."

Douchebag warns that straight men will give up women once they try the gay.

South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford was pushed into confessing affair: "As the newspaper disclosed on CNN tonight, it has since December had emails between Sanford and his Argentine mistress, it's just been trying to authenticate them. Then this morning the paper busted Sanford returning on an airplane from South America when he was supposed to be on the Appalachian Trial. The paper then informed Sanford it would finally be publishing the emails, exposing his adultery, according to The State writer John O'Connor."

Whitney Houston announces title of new album.

Seattle's The Stranger publishes Queer Issue 2009. NY's Village Voice goes Queer too.

Delaware General Assembly passes bill protecting gays and lesbians from discrimination after ten-year battle.

City investigation of Canterbury UK finds that, yes, the city is gay enough.

Adam Lambert collaborating with Sam Sparro on new album.

Violence not expected at this year's Jerusalam Gay Pride: "Amit Lev, a spokesman for the gay rights group behind the parade, said organisers had been negotiating with ultra-Orthodox leaders in Jerusalem after "long years of silence" between the two communities. 'We've agreed that violence doesn't serve any of us or any of our goals,' he said."

And even more skin from men's fashion week in Milan.

New batch of Nixon tapes reveal more homophobia: "Discussing Nixon's political opposition, Colson says it included 'the blacks and the poor.' Nixon adds: 'And the intellectuals.' Colson goes on to say that it also included 'the lavender shirt mob . . . the homos and the queers.'" Previously: Nixon understood homosexuality but didn't want it on TV.

Towleroad Guide to the Tube #496

BILL MAHER: Takes on Obama. Stay off TV, get some work done.

ROSIE O'DONNELL: Life after The View, a CBS profile.

PROJECKT P.I.W.O.: Polish students create stunning light show in 11-storey building.

THE POLITE UMBRELLA: Excuse me, can I get by?

For recent Guides to the Tube, click HERE.

News: Connecticut, Milky Way, Cheeto, Edmund White, The Killers

Connecticut Governor Jodi Rell signs marriage equality bill: "Rell this afternoon signed Senate Bill 899, which incorporates the findings of the Kerrigan case into Connecticut statutes. That ruling, handed down by the state Supreme Court in October, paved the way for same-sex marriage. Both the House and the Senate spent hours yesterday debating Senate Bill 899, which passed only after an amendment was added that provides an exemption to groups who object to same-sex marriage on religious grounds.

The giant dust cloud at the heart of the Milky Way tastes vaguely like raspberries, smells like rum, scientists think.

Gizmodo blogger eats world's largest Cheeto - WATCH.

Alabama House passes resolution in support of Miss California: "The House approved the resolution Thursday by Republican Rep. Jay Love of Montgomery on a voice vote...Love said Prejean stuck to her convictions even if it meant losing the pageant."

Gays vs gays on Jamaica boycott: "J-FLAG Programs Manager Jason McFarlane took particular exception to the boycott of Red Stripe beer, saying the brewer has 'unequivocally distanced itself from the hostility and violence typical of Jamaican music towards members of the LGBT community.'"

Momentum in Utah for same-sex marriage, or just optimism?

Jesus Luz and Madonna back together.

The new video from Green Day.

Activists gather strength in Mumbai to pressure politicians to decriminalize homosexuality: "At a 'People's Panchayat' in the capital on resisting stigma and homophobia, the activists said political parties, which have mindset dating back to years, need to wake up to the existence of sexual minorities or face electoral boycott from the estimated four crore population."

Modeling: Waifs out, muscles in.

Lesbian assaulted at Nairobi bar. Kenyan gays demand protection.

Anti-gay forces storm parliament in Uganda.

How Lorenzo Martone proposed to Marc Jacobs.

Stonewall Library and Archive celebrates grand opening in Fort Lauderdale: "In decades past, when gay residents wanted to find books about their community they had to borrow from friends or from a closet where some were stored at a gay-friendly church. The new location is a sign of how mainstream the gay community has become in Broward: the gay library shares a building with a county library and ArtServe and is situated on the edge of a city park where children play ball and seniors gather for tennis lessons. Jack Rutland, library executive director, lauded the city and county for entering a partnership to make the library possible. 'Imagine me saying that 20 years ago,' Rutland said."

Justin Timberlake and Jimmy Kimmel have a golf cuddle.

The Killers planning release of live DVD and cover album?

Julia Allison blabs about a "screaming match" between Rosie O'Donnell and Kelli.

Edmund White on Amazon: "I don't think it was a glitch. It's shocking that someone in that organization has the power to [get rid of] gay books. All my own books were [also] affected. I wrote in my name [on Amazon] last week and A Boy's Own Story wasn't there! Only four of my 22 books were there. It was astonishing. Frankly, if one of the custodians of Western culture is a corporation like Amazon, perhaps they should be regulated like the financial world. We need regulation in the cultural world too so that they don't restrict anything, like Amazon did."

Can D.C. clergy stop same-sex marriage vote?

U R GAY: Hamline Univeristy in St. Paul, Minnesota sees anti-gay graffiti.

Pedro Almodovar developing Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown into a TV series: "Fox TV Studios is developing the English-language hourlong project and has tapped Mimi Schmir to pen the pilot script. Almodovar and Schmir are exec producing...Almodovar will be very involved in "Women," which will be developed with an eye for the international market."

Photographer David LaChapelle lists Hollywood Hills home for $1.65 million.

News: Susan Boyle, Iraq, Michael Phelps, Carrie Prejean, Sun

Sun dimmest it's been for 100 years...

Confirmed: Miss California Carrie Prejean dating Michael Phelps.

Boyle banishes bushy brows.

More on the executions of gay Iraqis: "According to [Congressman Jared] Polis, the 'egregious human rights violations' are 'being carried out by Iraqi government officials from the Ministry of the Interior.' ...'While I do not know if these executions are being sanctioned at the highest levels of the Iraqi government, it is nonetheless disturbing that government officials and state-funded security forces are involved in the torturing and execution of LGBT Iraqis,' Polis wrote to Patricia Butenis, the chargé d'affaires at the U.S. Embassy in Iraq."

Just Jared interviews Rosie O'Donnell. On her 2004 marriage to Kelli: "I wanted to be included in the list of people that raised their hands. I didn’t want it to be something that I had an opportunity to participate in but was afraid to, so we went and did that. We don’t actually celebrate that as our anniversary, and that marriage was annulled, because the first few were, but people did write us to say 'Happy Anniversary!' which is how we remember, but our anniversary is in December…for sort of when we knew that we would be together…forever."

Project Runway date announced...

Male rocker Marilyn opens up about relationship with Gavin Rossdale.

Dallas company pulls homophobic prom ad.

Victory Fund announces 12 new endorsements, largely in municipal races across the country.

Former Miss Delaware sides with Carrie Prejean.

Arizona student can wear rainbow wristband, after demands from ACLU: "Eighth grader Chris Quintanilla wore a rainbow wristband with the words "Rainbows are gay" to Parkridge Elementary School in March. Natali Quintanilla, the boy's mother, said the principal called her and told her he would not allow Chris to wear the wristband.Quintanilla contacted the ACLU following the incident; the union wrote a letter to the district demanding it rescind its ban on the wristband, saying the ban was a First Amendment violation."

Alabama lawmaker Jay Love drafts resolution in support of Miss California: "Love said there are those 'tell­ing people what they can believe and what they can say,' which he said is wrong. He said she is being punished for saying marriage is between a man and a woman. 'I don't believe that's right,' Love said."

Delhi teach fired for being gay, teaching students about homophobia.

ABC News: Silence deafening in culture wars. "While social conservatives remain a major part of the GOP, they are losing influence inside and outside the party, said Rich Galen, a Republican strategist."

Worst Catholic logo ever?

Jesus Luz: new post-Madonna photos.

Gay couple attacked by curry vendor at Sydney Royal Easter Show: "Richard said that when the couple went to try one of the sauces offered for public taste testing, they were told by a female worker at the stall: 'No, it’s only for mums and dads. It’s only for people who have families.' When the couple asked why they were being discriminated against, the worker replied: 'I can discriminate against who I want – it’s my product. Now get lost.' The couple were subsequently offered the product by another employee at the stall, but after trying it, the employee who had ordered them to leave threw a pot of curry at them, narrowly missing Richard. She then went to throw a glass jar at the couple before they retreated."