Vertiginous Venue

Photographer Kevin Tachman won First Place in Billboard and PDN's Summer Music Moment photo contest. You may remember I posted the photo of the Scissor Sisters performing at the annual Top Of The Mountain show at the Silvretta Arena Ischgl-Samnaun in Ischgl, Austria, in April 2007.

Scissor Sisters Play the Austrian Alps [tr]
PDN - Billboard Summer Music Moment [site]

Scissor Sisters Debut New Tracks at Mercury Lounge

Arjan Writes posted the above shot of the Scissor Sisters at their surprise gig at New York's Mercury Lounge last night, along with some others, via Queef Latina's Flickr page.

There's also a rather rough clip of one of the group's new tracks — "Who's Your Money?"

Arjan also reports that a certain in-the-know news anchor was reportedly in the crowd last night, or at least the back of his head.

News: Womanizer, Marc Jacobs, Baldness, Tina Fey, ACORN

McCain debuts new speech, portraying himself as underdog: "Allies are calling this 'hitting the ‘reset’ button' on the campaign, with McCain re-emerging after a long Sunday strategy session with a feisty tack that uses candor and humor, at a time when his rallies have become known for raucous rage and clumsy attacks. But it’s more like hitting the panic button."

Britney Spears' new "Womanizer" video.

Tina Fey "done" if Palin wins: “We’re gonna take it week by week. If she wins, I’m done. I can’t do that for four years. And by ‘I’m done,’ I mean I’m leaving Earth.”

Jacob Reitan, graduate student and former head of Soulforce, pens open letter to Ellen DeGeneres asking why she has not donated to Proposition 8: "Why is this? You make tens of millions of dollars a year. You and Portia recently got married. Surely, you know how important keeping that right is to you and your family. If we are to win, we desperately need your financial support." It's a question that has been simmering. Donate to No on Prop 8 HERE.

Karen Ocamb: Are Democrats and Obama throwing gays under the bus with regard to Prop 8?

Hilary Duff, Lance Bass, Jennie Garth work the red carpet at GLSEN's Respect Awards...

Mormons speak out against the Church of Latter Day Saints' campaign for ban on same-sex marriage.

Scientists discover genetic variants that boost the odds of male baldness: "he two variants are located on a stretch of DNA on Chromosome 20, according to a study carried out on 1,125 men of European descent. These variants are present in one in seven Caucasian men and provide novel insights into the cause of this common and sometimes distressing condition,' the team said."

Barack Obama received endorsements from 15 newspapers on Sunday: "Backing Obama: In Ohio, The Blade in Toledo and the Dayton Daily News; the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, The Tennessean of Nashville, the Wisconsin State Journal. the Asheville (N.C.) Citizen-Times, and in California the Fresno Bee, Sacramento Bee, Contra Costa Times, The Herald of Monterrey, and The Sun of San Bernardino (which had picked Bush over Kerry). Joining the Obama team in battleground states were the Muskegon (Mich.) Chronicle, the Lehigh Valley (Pa.) Express-Times and Springfield (Ohio) News."

Marc Jacobs, his skirt, and his boyfriend take the streets of Manhattan.

Miami Herald recommends "no" vote on anti-gay Amendment.

Scissor Sisters to play surprise gig at New York's Mercury Lounge?

Orlando Gay Pride focused on "emotional pleas" to defeat Amendment 2, and police chief Val Deming's pledge to fight anti-day hate crimes: "'We will not tolerate any individual who would threaten to do harm because of someone's race, religion, political affiliation or sexual orientation,' she said. Demings' remarks came 10 years to the day of the death of Shepard, who was beaten, tied to a split-rail fence and left to die on a Wyoming prairie. She was followed by the parents of Ryan Keith Skipper, a 25-year-old gay man who was killed in Polk County in 2007, and Sean William Kennedy, a 20-year-old Greenville, S.C., man who died in 2007 after being punched in the face because he was gay."

Kylie Minogue musical waiting in the West End's wings?

Rupert Everett to star opposite Christine Ebersole in Broadway revival of Noel Coward's Blithe Spirit. Performances to start at the end of February.

Hugh Jackman in his birthday suit.

ELECTION THEFT: A warning about what the Republican Party may be trying to do with the recent ACORN scandal. Here's something else to read for anyone who's fallen for the GOP's Dixie-chicking of ACORN.

News; Jane Russell, Episcopals, Scott Heim, Heathrow, Paul Burrell

Iran's 'cure' for homosexuality: financial assistance for a sex change operation. Cleric: "Islam has a cure for people suffering from this problem. If they want to change their gender, the path is open."

Jane Russell shows Hollywood how a real movie star works Oscar's red carpet.

Singer-songwriter Ne-Yo may not be gay, but he is fast.

Elton John talks to CBS about his AIDS Foundation and recent reports that cases among young gay men are on the rise: "We are facing an uphill battle again in countries that you thought you'd crossed, you'd done that, you've covered that territory. Because people think, 'Well, you know, even if I do get HIV, I'm going to be OK.' They don't realize the toxicity of the drugs they have to take. And I just think it's so reprehensible, with the information available to them. But they do it and so we have to help them."

Da-Tah: a Scissor Sisters mash-up album, free for download. (via arjan writes)

Gay couple told to cool the PDA at swank New York restaurant Cipriani? "A gay editor was dining with another young man recently when a Cipriani staffer asked the duo to turn and face the bar. The waiter conveyed to them that Cipriani is a 'family restaurant' and they might offend other diners. The restaurant contends their actions were less gay bashing and more preserving the sanctity of fine dining from what one witness called 'blatant crotch-grabbing.' 'There was an unfortunate incident a few weeks ago where two individuals were acting inappropriately in a sexual manner at the bar of an upscale restaurant. It should go without saying that this behavior is completely unacceptable for anyone, regardless of sexual orientation,' a spokesman for the restaurant asserts."

That other awards show, The Independent Spirit Awards, was a touch less formal than the Oscars.

The Miami Herald talks to Gay American Heroes project founder Scott Hall.

Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams backing secret plans to create "parallel" church for American conservatives defecting over the church's gay policy: "According to insiders, Dr Williams has given his blessing to the plans to create an enclave for up to 20 conservative American bishops that would insulate them from their liberal colleagues. The scheme would allow them to remain technically within the Episcopal Church but under the care of like-minded archbishops from abroad. The Primate of the West Indies, Archbishop Drexel Gomez, a moderate conservative, has agreed to participate, and other primates could be recruited. However, the initiative is likely to infuriate liberal leaders of the Episcopal Church, who will see it as an attempt to undermine their authority and interfere in their affairs."

Pastor Ken Hutcherson's hate sermon: "If I was in a drugstore and some guy opened the door for me, I’d rip his arm off and beat him with the wet end."

Wolverine shows off his washboard abs.

AfterElton talks to Michael K. Williams about Omar and the developments surrounding his character on last night's episode of The Wire [SPOILERS].

Novelist Scott Heim talks to the Boston Globe about his new book We Disappear and his escape from crystal meth addiction: "The drug didn't do anything for me anymore. It was just keeping me alive. It wasn't about pleasure; it was just obliterating the sadness. You don't write when you're on drugs because the last thing you want is to be alone. Crystal meth was erasing me, and the deeper I got I saw only three outcomes: death, prison, or recovery."

First look inside London Heathrow Airport's new Terminal 5.

Brit tabloid News of the World charges Diana butler Paul Burrell of leading 'secret gay life': "Paul IS a greedy liar, a devious snake. He's also ruthless and selfish. He's always made out that he's this happily-married family man when in reality he's gay and only interested in sex with men. He told me he hadn't slept with Maria for years. He's constantly on the lookout for gay pick-ups all over the world. And he shamelessly uses his back catalogue of Diana stories to hook his targets. He tells them all sorts about her to get them in the sack. His taste is for pretty, younger guys. He'll brag about his wealth and royal connections. There are plenty out there who fall for it."

Jake Shears Penning Musical Version of Tales of the City

Spinner reports that Scissor Sisters' Jake Shears has been hard at work on a set of tunes for a musical version of Armistead Maupin's Tales of the City.

Spinner reports: "Since his pal, Jeff Whitty, sent him a note asking him what he thought of the books a year ago, Shears has been coming up with ideas and melodies. 'Over a year ago, I got a note from him saying, 'What do you think of 'Tales of the City?' I'm crazy about 'Tales!' I grew up on the books,' Shears enthuses. 'They were a big part of my teenager-hood. They're just great, great books with amazing characters and I love the era. My heart just started racing. I got very excited about it.' He's spent almost a year working on the project already, amassing 15 numbers. 'It's poppy and since there's no arrangement yet, all of our writing is just piano and my voice,' he explains. 'As it take shape, it's gonna even take on more of a style.''

Whitty wrote the book for Avenue Q.

According to Spinner, Scissor Sisters have also just begun working in the studio again on their third album:

"The flashy New York City five-piece are currently forcing themselves to hit the studio on a daily basis, to pen a host of new tunes. So far, Shears said they've come up with a handful of new 'really dancy' pop numbers and at least one sparkling rendition of someone else's song. 'We've started out with a really cool cover, which I'm not even gonna say what it is,' Shears says coyly. 'I mean, no one would know anyway. It's a pretty obscure song.'"

Previously
Jake Shears Interviews Dolly Parton in UK Special [tr]
Jake Shears Would "Take That" if Asked [tr]
Scissor Sisters' Jake Shears and Partner to Get Hitched [tr]

Jake Shears Would "Take That" if Asked

Blessed with a bit off downtime between albums and tours, the Scissor Sisters' Jake Shears and Babydaddy reached out to recently re-formed boyband Take That and said they'd offer up Jake's services as an understudy. Take That recently canceled tour dates after band member Howard Donald ruptured his lung at a concert.

Said Shears to the UK's Daily Star: "I absolutely love Take That and would drop everything to join them on stage. It sucked that Howard got injured. I would have been him for a while if they’d asked. Right now I have time in my schedule and it means I’d get to dance again – though I’d probably pass on the backflips.”

Babydaddy chimed in: "I love the way Jake says he would drop writing our album to join Take That, but I adore them too so I’d tell him to go for it. Jake hasn’t danced for the past couple of months because we haven’t been on stage and I think he needs a little pick-me-up. He needs to get his dancing shoes back on. I don’t need to hear a word Gary says – I just love him. I know I’m not in the majority here, but I think he’s the sexiest creature ever."

And for a reminder of Take That at their campy peak, check out this gem:

(image above: kevin tachman/WENN)

Jake Shears And Babydaddy Scissor Gary Barlow [chart rigger]
JAKE THAT! [daily star]