Drag Queen Leads Flash Mob on Sydney's Bondi Beach

Over the weekend, Sydney's Bondi Beach was the scene of a (Kylie Minogue-approved) flash mob, led by legendary local drag queen Joyce Maynge.

Watch it, AFTER THE JUMP...

News: Alex Sink, Kuwait, The Who, Gerard Butler, Sydney, Universe

Paper: Two same-sex marriages have been conducted in Kuwait, under strict security.

OUT100 announced.

Goth strippers: Cast for Adam Lambert's "For Your Entertainment" video revealed.

Wingnut rally today over hate crimes: "The Rally for Religious Freedom is meant to raise alarm over the nation's new Federal 'hate crimes' law just passed by Congress and signed last month by President Obama. The intention of the rally is to assert the freedom of speech of ministers and Christians in general to declare biblical truth in the public square. The Rally will also expose the unconstitutional nature of the hate law. Ministers from various denominations will preach from the Bible, especially those parts that speak to the sin of homosexuality. This will serve to reassure ministers and Christians that they are free to do the same."

Advocates express optimism on New York marriage equality.

Complete unknowns The Who to play Super Bowl.

I See You: Leona Lewis to try and duplicate Celine Dion success by singing James Horner-produced theme song from James Cameron's Avatar.

Gerard Butler is dressed to kilt in Glasgow.

Florida gubernatorial candidate Alex Sink says state's ban on gay adoption must go: "We need a system in which all of our children are assured that they live in a healthy, loving home -- a home that's determined not by any law. The decision has to be made by the judge, in consultation with the experts, to determine what is the best for that individual child.

Virgin Airlines gets behind Sydney's Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras.

Frank Bruni on Ellen & Portia.

Thinking about changing your name if you get married?: "Since the federal government doesn’t recognize the right to same-sex marriage, even if you get married in a state that allows it, whether you can get the name change processed by Social Security or the passport office merely with the marriage certificate and required forms currently tends 'to be hit and miss,' said Emily Doskow, an attorney in California who specializes in same-sex and transgender family issues..."

Madonna visits slums and billionaires in Rio.

Streaming stars: Scientists find signs of a neighboring universe?

Equality California honors Attorney General Jerry Brown for efforts to overturn Prop 8.

Corpus Christi: Terrence McNally play depicting gay Jesus sparks protest in Orange County.

Former Mr. Gay UK, police officer Mark Carter, says he suffered homophobic abuse after winning competition: "In particular, he detailed how - when attending the scene of a domestic violence incident in 2005 - a gang circled him and began shouting homophobic abuse. 'I could hear shouts of 'queer' and 'faggot',' he said. But despite his instincts, he never called for back-up for fear of retribution. 'I didn't want to call for back-up and put other officers in danger because I didn't like the insults they were throwing at me. But deep down I knew it was wrong,' he said to the BBC."

A $17 million grant has been awarded to Igor Grant, MD, professor of psychiatry at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, and his colleagues by theNational Institute on Drug Abuse to study the epidemic of meth use and HIV.

Male model fix: Arthur Sales.

Gay community in Philippines mulls protest rally following gay party's rejection by the elections commission.

Media Matters has the anti-gay goods on Palin ghostwriter Lynn Vincent: "In her many years writing for World, Vincent has authored several columns on gay rights issues, frequently deriding gay men and lesbians as abnormal and 'devian[t],' often trafficking in hackneyed stereotypes of the gay community. Vincent even went so far as to lament the American Psychiatric Association's decision to declassify homosexuality as a mental disorder, and she also wrote that the struggle for gay rights differs from that for African-American civil rights and women's suffrage, in that it will not "benefit society at large."

News: Will Young, National Equality March, Shot Put, Bernie Madoff

Muslim footballers agree to play Paris gay team: "Bebel director Zahir Belgharbi insisted there had been 'a misunderstanding' and sent out a statement through club lawyer Benedicte Puybasset indicating they were indeed ready "'to play the match'." Background.

Obama swastika carved into Massachusetts golf course. GOP Tweets clip of Hitler praising Pelosi.

Rad: Guess who's returning to Broadway?

Rex Wockner's report on the National Equality March: "The praise for Obama inside HRC's fancy dinner and the denunciations of Obama in the streets of D.C. seemed to unequivocally confirm the split that's emerged in the gay community in the aftermath of the passage of Proposition 8 in California."

Listen: Michael Jackson's new track "This Is It".

Girls Gone Wild creator Joe Francis attended National Equality March: "The 'Girls Gone Wild' creator told us, 'With the gay movement, it's personal. The same religious-right [bleep]holes who took away my civil rights and put me in jail for a year because they don't like what I do for a living have taken away gay rights. I know firsthand how it feels to have your civil rights stripped from you.' Francis added, 'P.S., lots of lesbians marched, too.'"

Taylor Lautner strips for GQ.

Singer Will Young pregnant in new video.

Gay Navy veteran Joseph Rocha in the Washington Post: "I even saw "don't ask, don't tell" used against heterosexual female service members who had reported being the victims of sexual assault. If my chief acted on their statements, he would be forced to punish a friend of his, so the easiest way to make the problem go away was to scare the women into silence by saying something like: 'You weren't sexually assaulted by a male in my unit. I hear you're a lesbian.' After all, homosexuals have no rights in our military. You can't sexually assault someone who doesn't exist."

Male model fix: Joel West.

100-year-old breaks shot put record in Sydney: "All eyes were on Ruth Frith, from Brisbane, as she arrived for day two of the World Masters Games, hoping to win gold in the shot put and feeling pretty confident as she was the only competitor in the over-100s category. But her 4.07 metre (13 ft 4.2 in) throw on Sunday didn't just win her gold, but also broke a world record."

Justin Timberlake used to get called "sissy" by the football players.

Jesus Luz gets $18K for half hour of DJing in Brazil.

The Obamas and art: demand innovation, not admiration.

Russian singers and writers call for end to discrimination against gays: "They met after a local official tried to close Moscow's longest-running gay club, Dusha i Telo, where many of the artists have performed. Activist Nikolai Alekseyev, who called the meeting, said it was the first time celebrities had come together publicly to denounce homophobia."

AIDS cases trending upward in Montana...

Bernie Madoff in prison brawl.

Toys"R"Us reprimanded by sixth grade class for gender discrimination: "According to the youngsters, the Toys"R"Us Christmas catalogue featured 'outdated gender roles because boys and girls were shown playing with different types of toys, whereby the boys were portrayed as active and the girls as passive', according to a statement from Ro."

Man Killed Near Known Gay Cruising Area in Sydney Park

A man was found dead in Sydney's Centennial Park earlier today and police are exploring whether it was a gay bashing, the Sydney Morning Herald reports:

"The man, in his 30s, was face down on a track next to Busbys Pond and had his trousers down. Detective Inspector Paul Pisanos, of Maroubra police, said police were considering whether there might have been a homosexual link to the attack. 'There are gay beats (cruising areas) in Centennial Park,' he said. 'I'm not familiar with exactly where they are. That's one line of inquiry we're looking at but it's not exclusive to that. Our minds are open at the moment.' ... Mr Pisanos said it appeared the man had met with foul play in the park rather than his body having been dumped there...Even from a distance it was clear the man had suffered brutal cuts to his arm and chest. Ambulance officers reported finding the man in ''a pool of blood' when they arrived. The man was found on a track between Busbys Pond and close to the public toilets at the McKay Sports Ground. A large area, including the toilet block, was cordoned off by police."

Police seek witnesses...

News: Boston Red Sox, Joy Behar, Salt Lake City, John Travolta

Rep. Steve King (R-IA): Same-sex marriage part of push for socialism.

UN to get visit from WBC.

DreamWorks and Showtime to chronicle development of a Broadway musical, from inception to opening night: "Producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron, who are well versed in adapting tuners for the big- and smallscreen, are in negotiations to join the project, as are tunesmiths Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman. DreamWorks TV toppers Justin Falvey and Darryl Frank are shepherding the project with Spielberg."

Today in deep-fried pareidolia.

Celebrities band together to protect insurance companies.

Two popular gay venues in Sydney to close — The Midnight Shift and The Flinders Hotel.

AfterElton talks to Modern Family's gay dads, Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Eric Stonestreet.

Joy Behar to Ukraine: Let Elton adopt. "Mr. Pavlenko, here are some tips about family, youth and sports. Family doesn't mean a huddle of orphans sharing a few soiled mattresses, it's not youth if you die of AIDS before you reach kindergarten, and wrestling over dinner scraps is not a sport. But that could be Lev's fate now, because the Ukrainian government said Elton and his beau David Furnish are too old to adopt the boy. It sounds like the real reason is they're too gay."

White House to see picket line on weekend of National Equality March?

Courier: Microsoft's tablet computer?

Neil Patrick Harris lights up for new photo shoot.

Orange County Board of Education opposes 'Harvey Milk Day': "The addition of commemorative exercises reduces important classroom time in core subject areas. Instructional time is at a premium and students cannot afford to lose quality educational time."

Tom Ford seeks $50 million investment.

Man gets life sentence for gang rape and murder of South African lesbian track star Eudy Simelane: "Ms Simelane was approached after leaving a pub and robbed of her mobile, trainers and cash. She died from wounds to the abdomen after being gang raped and stabbed 12 times. Her naked body was dragged towards a stream and dumped." Two others were acquitted.

Boston Red Sox rookies hazed in drag.

70th anniversary: The history and promises behind The Wizard of Oz. "What's also rather striking, especially considering its suffragette heritage, is the way the film and Garland became such an iconic part of the gay movement. I'm not going to pretend that I know very much about the current iconography within the gay and lesbian community, but I know that the film used to represent acceptance and a fervent belief that things could (and would) be better."

John Travolta takes the stand in extortion trial.

Trial underway for gay Salt Lake City man beaten by his neighbors after removing their children from a rowdy party they were having: "She claimed the children were in and out of Latu's home during the party and said the parents were guilty of child neglect. 'No one was supervising these kids,' Gustin told jurors. She suggested that when Latu found her daughter and nephew missing, 'she needed someone to blame' and picked Bell. Bell was dragged from his home by his then-shoulder length hair and his head was repeatedly smashed against the pavement, Gustin said. Blood was oozing from his right ear and he still suffers hearing loss, she said. Someone used a piece of broken glass to cut Bell's throat, chest and one of his toes. Bell's partner, Fair, also was beaten, and a large TV was thrown onto his head."

Red Dawn: Sydney Enveloped in Massive Dust Storm

A blanket of red dust covered Sydney today, the result of a thunderstorm and months of drought. Here's a Flickr photo pool.