Joaquin Phoenix Goes Into the Wild

Joaquin Phoenix has joined the indigenous Yawanawa people of the Brazilian Amazon. For a few pages of the new Italian Vanity Fair.

One more shot of Joaquin getting inked, AFTER THE JUMP...

Italian Dude [boy culture]

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NYT Profiles Gay Ex-Con Ultimate Fighter Shad Smith

The New York Times magazine profiles ultimate fighter Shad Smith, who says he learned his craft as a response to how he felt the people around him might perceive him:

"...most of Smith’s childhood fights took place outside the ring, on the streets and at his instigation. He used to wear his hair in a mohawk as a tribute to the professional tag-team wrestlers the Road Warriors and prowl the neighborhood looking for fights. 'I was just mad-dogging everyone' — staring them down — 'until somebody said something, and then I’d put my hands up and start fighting.' He said he had 46 counts of assault and battery as a juvenile. 'And that’s 46 counts posted on me. Can you imagine how many there actually were?' I asked Smith why he spent so much of his youth looking for trouble. I expected some sort of clichéd, though possibly true, explanation — a difficult childhood or a Napoleon complex. What I didn’t expect him to say was, 'You know, bro, the sexual-preference thing.' Smith is gay, and I know of no other professional fighter who is openly so. 'I was always scared that my mom and dad would find out and wouldn’t like me, and my brothers wouldn’t like me,' he said. 'I was petrified, because I didn’t want anyone to find out. And I would try to be the toughest person around. That way, no one would suspect, no one would ever say it, no one would think it.'"

Gladiator [nyt]
(photos by Andres Serrano)

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News: Passport Breaches, Bill Richardson, HIV, The Office

State Department acknowledges security breaches on Obama, Clinton, and McCain passport information: "[Secretary of State Condoleezza] Rice expressed concern over the privacy violations as well as the fact that they weren't reported right away. Rice said the incident "should have been made known to senior management. It was not to my knowledge and we also want to take every step we can to make sure this kind of thing doesn't happen again."

The Clintons and Rev. Jeremiah Wright: "The recent coverage of Rev. Jeremiah Wright has often cast him as a marginal, almost fringe figure, but Trinity Church is a major Chicago institution, and Wright has long been a prominent pastor on the American scene. And an anonymous blog set up to defend his church offers some compelling photographic evidence of this: A photograph of Wright and President Clinton, which it says was taken on Sept. 11, 1998 — the date of a White House gathering for religious leaders."

Jake Gyllenhaal had some kind of accident.

London protest: a protest will be held opposite Downing Street this Saturday, March 22 from 2-3 pm in support of gay Iranian teen Mehdi Kazemi and to demand Britain recognize the right of refugees to claim asylum on the grounds of sexual orientation.

New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson endorses Barack Obama: "I believe he is the kind of once-in-a-lifetime leader that can bring our nation together and restore America's moral leadership in the world. As a presidential candidate, I know full well Senator Obama's unique moral ability to inspire the American people to confront our urgent challenges at home and abroad in a spirit of bipartisanship and reconciliation."

Dept. of regrettable tattoos: Like father, like son.

Donald Hitchcock vs the DNC: Howard Dean's gay headache.

Jim McGreevey wins a round in divorce court: "Former Gov. Jim McGreevey didn't plan to torment his wife while they were married, a judge in their divorce case ruled Thursday, while allowing her to continue with a claim of marriage fraud. The judge dismissed Dina Matos McGreevey's claim of emotional distress against her estranged gay husband. 'Mr. McGreevey was not out to destroy her emotionally,' Superior Court Judge Karen Cassidy said."

Match drag queens with their baby pictures.

Former Bachelor Andy Baldwin gets juiced.

Stealth form of HIV may hold key to vaccine: "HIV is so dangerous because it is adept at avoiding detection by the immune system, says Carolyn Williamson at the University of Cape Town in South Africa. Some patients, however, have genetic mutations in the machinery of their immune system that are able to track and respond to HIV infection. In these people, the virus sacrifices its ability to grow in order to resist the immune attack. 'HIV strives to survive,' says Williamson, 'It will even compromise its fitness to evade detection – and that might impair its ability to replicate.' Now, Williamson's research team has shown that in its compromised form, HIV is less able to take a grip if it is transmitted to a new host – even if that person doesn't have the beneficial mutations in their immune system."

Butte: Mainstream media ignores victimization of gays. "If the media paid more attention to King's murder and the homophobia behavior that permeates our public schools, perhaps there'd be a public outcry here in the Sunshine State against the Legislature's removal from the proposed Safe School bill language that addresses harassment of GLBT students."

The Office is back - here's the new promo!

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News: Facebook Bust, Brian Paddick, Equus, Slava Mogutin

Some students at Notre Dame donning "Gay? Go to Hell" T-shirts.

Bank intern busted by boss after "something came up at home" excuse for his day off was later revealed on his Facebook profile. He does make a cute fairy though.

Alabama gay activist Ken Baker dies at 50: "Unity United Church of Christ recently awarded Baker the Crystal Cross for his advocacy work. He was recognized specifically for his role in starting Equality Alabama and Communities of Faith for Full Inclusion. 'He's sure going to be missed around here,' said longtime friend and colleague Lynn Shaw, who is a past president of the Montgomery Chapter of Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG). 'I just can't believe how everyone's going to go on and function because he was involved in so many things.' Baker, who was gay, was known as a quiet, humble man who was creative and determined in his efforts to promote gay and lesbian rights."

Board of Education in Jefferson County in Kentucky recommends expanding harassment and employment policies to protect gay and lesbian employees, although transgender people are left behind for now: "We decided to include sexual orientation at this time, but decided to hold off on making a decision about transgender because, as of right now, gender identification is both a new and broad definition."

Janice Dickinson has joined the cast of the UK's I'm a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here and nature is turning her into a savage: "I'm going to stab her in the middle of the night and take hers. You think I'm kidding? I'll eat her tits. I'll fry up those big old boobs."

Politicos nervous about upcoming "tell-all" book from former gay London top cop Brian Paddick to be released one month before critical election. Paddick: "You will be very surprised by some of the things in it, I can assure you."

Lily Allen's brother Alfie steps into Daniel Radcliffe's role in Equus.

Inside photographer Slava Mogutin's New York City go-go diary (warning: NSFW).

Fred Thompson to be endorsed by right-to-life, same-sex marriage foes in Iowa: "He drew an enthusiastic response from his audience when he praised the U.S. health care system and said: 'Let's not let the federal government mess that up.' The crowd also applauded when he brought up gay marriage and said: 'Whether marriage is between a man and a woman -- I thought that was decided a few thousand years ago!'"

Hugh Jackman's back at his favorite activity: getting naked at the beach.

Australian football club supporter mocked after receiving "gay" tattoo. Perhaps he should commisserate with the Dumbledore daddy.

North Carolina "ex-gay" minister proclaiming his success: "To follow christ and to say no to my behavior of homosexuality, um I really felt like I could live life differently that that's what God wanted, he wanted me to pursue him, not pursue men. So people can say, you can't change and I say yes you can." See ya at the next public park sex sting!

Gender Issues Analyst Melissa Fryrear of Focus on the Family continues to claim that all gay people have been sexually violated. (via pam's house blend)

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Dad Becomes Instant Gay Pride Statement with Dumbledore Tattoo

A father of five in the UK is apparently being teased by his kids and his co-workers now that Dumbledore, which he spent a year getting tattooed onto his back, has been outed by J.K. Rowling.

Said Paul Croft to The Sun: "It’s been terrible. I’ve always liked Dumbledore – just not in that way. I went into work and everyone was sniggering. When I walked in, one of the lads said, 'Oi, Paul – heard about Dumbledore?' There were wisecracks about 'Watch your backs, lads.' Someone asked me if I was planning to get a tattoo of Graham Norton. I thought, 'Why me?' It seemed like a good idea at the time. The whole thing took nearly a year. I was really pleased with the result. The tattoo is about 2ft in length and shows Dumbledore played by Richard Harris – who was the original and best. I don’t regret it and I’m not going to get rid of it."

The tattoo, which cost him £500, shows Dumbledore holding a scroll with the names of his five children.

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J.K. Rowling: Dumbledore is a Gay Wizard Daddy [tr]

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Duke Riley's Foolish, Fantastic Voyage

The New York Times published an interesting photo essay on tattooed Brooklyn artist Duke Riley and the mayhem caused by his art project, the homemade Revolutionary War-era replica submarine that was picked up by law enforcement officials as it bobbed near the Queen Mary II on Friday. Law enforcement officials dubbed the incident 'marine mischief' and it ended before becoming a larger incident.

A bit of an insane thing to do given terrorism concerns around New York City, but then again artists have never been lauded for their sanity. Riley also works as a tattoo artist.

Voyage of the Acorn [nyt - photo essay]
One Man’s Art (a Submarine?) Runs Into Trouble [nyt]
Duke Riley [website]

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David Beckham: Tale of the Tattoo

The Beckham Chronicles continue... David and Victoria Beckham were spotted shopping in Paris today, for the wife's 33rd birthday. On display was Beckham's new tattoo, which we've talked about before, and the British tabloids are already heavily into it. If you don't care, just skip ahead...

According to the Daily Mail, "The design was needled in two sittings by Manchester based tattoo artist Louis Malloy on Sunday 11th March and Tuesday 13th March, the day Beckham bid farewell to Manchester United fans. It consists of two 'symbolic' pieces that reflect the 'deep turmoil he feels about going to LA' said a source close to the former England captain. Most significant, said the source, are the words 'Pray For Me' inscribed on the inside of his right wrist. 'This is how he feels about the massive move from being an English boy through and through, who has represented his country for many years and is now turning his back on England to embrace America,' the source said."

Another part of the tattoo is a symbol Nike used to good effect this past summer in a Wayne Rooney ad during the World Cup:

"The three words are inscribed next to another symbolic piece Beckham apparently wanted to reflect who he feels he has been for the past ten years - a Knight Templar, symbolised by a cross. The Templar Knights, recognisable by their white mantle with distinct red cross, are for David the symbols of him and the England team. He asked the tattoo artist to etch the Knight Templar on his arm as he 'feels the knights were the best equipped, trained, and disciplined fighting units of the Crusades, just as he has always tried to be as a footballer representing his team of knights'. The main tattoo on the forearm is a giant angel sentinel, holding a flame in her hand so that her face is illuminated from below. The wings spread round Beckham's arm and merge with the existing tattoos."

Finally, there's the quote from Caligula, noted here earlier, which Beckham wanted in Latin but chose to have printed in English after hearing about how it might come out: "The reason he was advised not to do it in Latin is because the middle word would have been 'dum', which he is understood to have been adamant he did not want on his arm for fear of cruel jibes about his own intellect. The new tattoo's detail is difficult to make out, since it is merged with tattoos which were already there."

In other drossy Beckham news, there's talk that Victoria is thinking about following in Heather Mills' footsteps and competing on Dancing with the Stars.

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Beckham and Caligula: Let Them Hate, So Long as They Fear

David Beckham sat out another Real Madrid game with an injured knee over the weekend, but it looks as if some other body parts have been getting attention. Beckham's tattoos are well-documented and, seated in the stands, the footballer revealed he's had some work done on his right forearm.

The tattoo (he has nine already) appears to be an extension of a scene with clouds and angels from his upper arm. Upon closer inspection and a bit of detective work (the words "let them" and "so long as" are visible) it looks like Becks has inscribed a quote attributed to the Roman emperor Caligula: "Let them hate, so long as they fear."

In other brand Beckham news, it appears that the BMW X5 that was stolen from him last year is now in service as a Spanish government limo. Considering he was handed a new car the next day it's doubtful he's worried about it.

One more shot of the pensive player, after the jump...

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