News: Al Gore, Wii Tennis, Tom Cruise, Lost, Chris Dodd

Lambda Legal to file suit in Iowa today on behalf of six same-sex couples who were denied marriage licenses.

Tom Cruise appearance sparks rumors of cameo on JJ Abrams' Star Trek set, but he was really there to meet someone special.

Al Gore on global warming skeptics: "You're talking about Dick Cheney. I think that those people are in such a tiny, tiny minority now with their point of view, they’re almost like the ones who still believe that the moon landing was staged in a movie lot in Arizona and those who believe the world is flat. ... That demeans them a little bit, but it's not that far off."

The American Family Association gave up their boycott of Ford Motors, but it looks as though they're trying again with another automaker, GM. Good As You: "What the hell gives these folks the right to go apeshit simply because a company dares to advertise to the LGBT community?! Good God of fringe extremism, why cannot they not at least accept that we are 'sinners' with a degree of disposable income, some of which we like to put towards cars?! We know they think we're barreling down the Highway to Hell. Fine. Let them think that. But can't they at least respect the right of an automaker to try and sell us a car whose climate control features will help us brave the unbearably hot Lake of Fire?"

Saulo Melo: Your hot Brazilian for Friday.

Dennis Miller does not share Bill O'Reilly's rage over San Francisco's Hunky Jesus pageant.

Hate crimes inspiring call to action in South Florida.

Senator Chris Dodd says we must end the Democratic primary: "Look, we've got five more months to go before the Democratic convention at the end of August and, candidly, we cannot go five more months with the kind of daily sniping that's going on and have a candidate emerge in that convention....We have two very strong candidates. So I'm worried about this going on endlessly and to a large extent...the media, a lot of these cable networks, are enjoying this. It's what is keeping them alive financially. The fact that this thing is going on forever, back and forth every day, all night -- I don't think it's really helping the candidates or the political institutions."

The folks who market Basil Hayden's whiskey think we're all a bunch of prancing fashionistas.

The Hills may be turned into a feature film: “I think if they were going to do a film of the hills they would basically film it like we do the show and they would just edit it into a movie. It would be like a really long episode.”

Wii Tennis about to get lifelike versions of Roger Federer, Andy Roddick, James Blake, and Tommy Haas.

Prison Break brings a major character back from the dead.

Exploring the time travel theory on Lost.

UK urges gay men to get tested for HIV: "The Health Protection Agency made the warning after new diagnoses among gay men topped 2,600 for the third year. But the figures do seem to have begun to plateau after a surge at the turn of the century. Overall, the number of new cases hit an estimated 6,840 in 2007 - a fall of 1,400 from the previous year."

An update on that school expulsion case in Kansas I posted about yesterday: "A lawyer representing a gay student charged with harassment said he was 'hopeful that things will work out' for the student after an expulsion hearing Thursday. 'We're all wanting him to get back into school. That's the main thing,' said attorney John McKean. 'We're encouraged and hopeful that it will happen rather quickly.' Jimmy Iniguez, 17, a junior at Metro-Midtown Alternative High School, faces expulsion for allegedly harassing a fellow student in a school bathroom Feb. 28. Iniguez, who has been suspended since the incident, says he is innocent and is being unfairly accused because he is openly gay. No decision was made Thursday. District policy dictates that the decision be sent to the student's family by certified mail."

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Towleroad Guide to the Tube #262

WII DOG VS WII CAT: The pet playoff.

ELLEN PLAYS HARDBALL: Chris Matthews slamdances and chats with Ellen DeGeneres.

EARTH HOUR: Jeremy Piven and the WWF want you to go dark for one hour one March 29.

KRISTY LEE COOK: She can blow you out of your socks and you know it.

Check out our previous guides to the Tube here.

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News: Ivri Lider, Provincetown, Anderson Cooper, Aurora Borealis

Provincetown police to receive civil rights training following negligence over several hate crimes that have occurred at the tip of Cape Cod. Police Chief Warren Tobias reportedly remains unwilling or unable to communicate with victims and LGBT anti-violence advocates: "At a committee meeting last week, Provincetown acting Police Chief Warren Tobias said he would not seek input from those who complained this summer, such as the Gay and Lesbian Anti-Violence Project in Boston and off-Cape resident Richard Hall." Here's a refresher...

Hunk du Jour offers up a lengthy interview with out Israeli singer Ivri Lider. Lider: "I think famous people coming out is an extremely important thing that helps to change lots of peoples' views. It also helps a lot of young people who are dealing with their sexuality and the feelings of being isolated and alone in the world. With regard to Israel, or at least Tel Aviv, you could probably call it one of the gayest cities in the world. For most people here, it's just not an issue."

John Kerry urges military working on investigation into slain Arghanistan lesbian soldier Ciara Durkin's death to work faster: "The Durkin family has waited patiently for more than two months for a final report on Ciara’s death. This incredible family deserves answers, without delay, so that they can begin to find some closure."

Minneapolis church and others take stand: No heterosexual marriages until same-sex marriage is legal. Reverend: "If you feel that gay and lesbian people are loved and credited by God, then how can we continue to discriminate against our brothers and sisters?"

Scientists discover energy source of Aurora Borealis: " New data from NASA's Themis mission, a quintet of satellites launched this winter, found the energy comes from a stream of charged particles from the sun flowing like a current through twisted bundles of magnetic fields connecting Earth's upper atmosphere to the sun. The energy is then abruptly released in the form of a shimmering display of lights, said principal investigator Vassilis Angelopoulos of the University of California at Los Angeles."

Suck it Jesus, Kathy Griffin's My Life on the D-List just got renewed: "Official word from Team Kathy, EMMY award winning My Life on the D-List has been renewed for a forth season. But this just isn't any renewal. Instead of six episodes, try ten on for size."

Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams refuses to allow Bishop Gene Robinson or "turn-coat" Martyn Minns to attend next year's Anglican Lambeth Conference.

The harrowing career of Anderson Cooper: the newsman must evade both chest-beating gorillas and Kelly Ripa.

Christian video site GodTube bans the word gay, yet allows 'fag' and 'dyke'.

Madonna to be inducted into Rock and Roll Hall of Fame along with Leonard Cohen, the Ventures and the Dave Clark Five.

Gay British Stonewall volunteer receives prestigious Diana award: "I'm so proud to receive the Diana Award. When I was bullied for being gay there was no one I could talk to and when other young people told me about their experiences of homophobic bullying, I knew I wasn't alone. I was determined to set up a youth group where people like me in my local community could share their experiences and offer each other support in dealing with the bullying we faced."

Bring Jack back: Project Runway fan starts campaign to bring back Jack Mackenroth, who left the show this week after developing a staph infection. If you missed his Flashdance parody, don't.

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News: Versace, Bush and PBS, Bully, Boston DJ, Hairspray

George W. bush tries to eliminate the $420 million federal subsidy for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. House rejects his bid by a vote of 357-72.

The NYT' Cathy Horyn recalls the days surrounding the Versace murder: "Ten years on, I asked [publicist Ed] Filipowski what stands out in his mind from that week. He and his partner, Julie Mannion, were inside the house the whole time, and Ms. Mannion had stayed with Versace’s body in the morgue, at his sister’s request, until she and her brother Santo could arrive from Italy. Mr. Filipowski thought for a moment and said: 'How personal and private they kept everything — that’s what I remember. With everything that was going on outside. It was: 'Our brother is dead.''"

Bonding: John Travolta's dance with 007.

Was NYC's steam explosion caused by human error? "CBS 2 HD learned that on June 10th, Con Edison was doing work at the very corner of 41st Street and Lexington Avenue where the explosion occurred. Crews were called to replace an eight-inch section of steam pipe that had sprung a leak."

Rockstar's Bully videogame coming to the Wii.

Good Morning Baltimore: Hairspray hits its home town.

Gay Boston DJ Barry Scott brutalized as police attack, claiming DJ "incited a riot" among partygoers following the officers' arrival on a noise complaint. Lawyer: "What it was motivated by was clearly rage that was out of control, and virtually every witness that I've interviewed thus far would confirm and corroborate that. This officer and his companion acted out of complete rage." More here and here.

Is this really artist Jenny Holzer's "Twitter" account?

Hillary Clinton cancels West Virginia campaign appearances at gay businesses, citing logistical problems.

Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes, Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith to host "Welcome to L.A." party for the Beckhams at L.A.'s Museum of Contemporary Art this weekend.

Fire Island dance festival opens this weekend: "Fire Island Dance Festival 13, running this weekend, will feature six world premieries along with emcees Whoopi Goldberg, Michael McElroy and Phylicia Rashad. Battleworks Dance Company, CorbinDANCES, MOMIX, Tapaholics, Trey McIntyre Project and choreographer Darrel Grand Moultrie will each present a world premiere. Other performers include Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, The Chase Brock Experience, Jorge Guzman & Willem De Vries, Pascal Rioult Dance Company and Travis Wall & Ivan Koumaev."

How Michael Jackson might look today without all the plastic surgery.

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News: Wii Fit, Giant Squid, Beckham Invasion, Larry Flynt, Mika

Larry Flynt's investigators are currently looking into at least 20 high-profile political sex scandals, some of which involve "high ranking Republican and Democrat members of the Senate and the House."

Mika shows off cartoons from Life in Cartoon Motion in London exhibit.

Bush's policies have made Al Qaeda a powerhouse again: "Six years after the Bush administration declared war on al-Qaeda, the terrorist network is gaining strength and has established a safe haven in remote tribal areas of western Pakistan for training and planning attacks, according to a new Bush administration intelligence report to be discussed today at a White House meeting. The report, a five-page threat assessment compiled by the National Counterterrorism Center, is titled 'Al-Qaida Better Positioned to Strike the West,' intelligence officials said. It concludes that the group has significantly rebuilt itself despite concerted U.S. attempts to smash the network."

This should be common sense, but one shouldn't walk through a thunderstorm while listening to your iPod.

British invasion: Beckhams arrive at Heathrow for flight to Los Angeles.

Adult film maven Michael Lucas to lose his trademark pout.

Navigating the linguistic seas of cross-cultural slurs: "Language is always guilty. What could be more common than the verb ''get''? We Cubans use coger for anything that is taken, held, grasped, grabbed, etc., while in other Hispanic countries, the verb has the lubricious meaning implicit in 'I`m gonna get you.' In much stronger terms. In the lands that first identified the syndrome we call 'machismo' (as a malaise, I should add), words for homosexual abound. Sometimes they are as simple as the Spanish for 'bird' or 'duck,' which lend themselves to endless wordplay. Through the process known in literary studies as metonymy, there are pejorative allusions to gayness, such as 'one can see his feathers,' i.e. he is a bird, meaning queer. 'Bird,' as we all know, is British slang for 'chick.' And that word in Spanish, pollo, is archaic Cuban slang one can hear in old Beny Moré songs in which the great singer brags about how chicks dig him. And these are only the vicissitudes of staying within one language."

David Mixner recalls lunch with Lady Bird Johnson.

Orlando Bloom says he won't be getting naked on the London stage, although it might help if the play he was performing in actually had any opportunities for nudity.

Giant squid washes up on Tasmanian beach: "one of the biggest ever found, weighing in at 250 kilograms, with a cross-section as big as a truck tyre and longer than a station wagon."

Scientists spot planet with water outside our solar system: " But the planet itself would be hell for humans. Orbiting cheek by jowel to the star, at a distance that is 30 times closer than that between the Earth and the Sun, parts of the planet's atmosphere reach 2,000 degrees Celsius (3,600 degrees Fahrenheit). This seething temperature is reached on the side of the planet that always faces the star. By comparison, the other side of the planet is relatively balmy, with a low of 500 C (932 F). Tinetti's team used NASA's Spitzer orbiting telescope, using its infrared sensors to pick out the tiny signature that occurs when water vapour absorbs light from a star."

The man forever associated with Ted Haggard has something to say in Colorado Springs.

Do you have a lot of moles? You may have a better chance of living longer.

Wii Fit prepares to combat couch potato-ism: "The title is set to include more than forty different activities, from aerobics to yoga poses to muscle conditioning, and it will even measure your BMI. Plus, as can be seen in the trailer, there are a number of other fun minigames -- yes, we know, minigames on the Wii! -- that also serve to improve balance and coordination." The videogame system may soon be #1 worldwide.

And a very happy birthday today to Trent, our friend at Pink is the New Blog!

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News: Wiiitis, NYC Club Assault, Paris Hilton, Jason Knight

Gay man assaulted by staff at New York nightclub Pacha: " The victim was passed out in the West 46th Street club's bathroom early Sunday morning when he was allegedly dragged out and assaulted before being thrown out the back door. A source said that anti-gay slurs were made during the attack, which is being investigated as a hate crime. Cops executed a search warrant last night, seizing computers, video equipment and business records. During the raid, the club's manager, who was not identified, was arrested on a warrant."

First documented case of Wiiitis: "If a player gets too engrossed, he may 'play tennis' for many hours. With the growing use of this new video game system, the risk of the Wiiitis variant may be higher than that of Nintendinitis reported in the literature, especially among adults. Physicians should be aware that there may be multiple, possibly puzzling presentations of Wiiitis.”

Party at the Hilton Hilton: "After extensive consultation with Los Angeles County Medical Personnel, including doctors at the Century Regional Detention Facility, it has been determined that Paris Hilton will be reassigned to the Community-Based Alternatives to Custody: The CBAC Program. Ms. Hilton has been fitted with an electronic monitoring device and will serve the remained of her sentence confined to her home. She will now serve the full 45 day sentence. Ms. Hilton has been in custody for five days and therefore will be serving 40 days in the Electronic Monitoring Program under the supervision of the Los Angeles County Probation Department." More...

Liza Minnelli to rap on new album: "There's always a man that you love. There's always a man that you didn't love. There's always a man that you love to love, and a man that you love too much."

Human rights watchdog calls on governments to step up prosecution of hate crimes.

George Michael says the press is jealous of him: "Me, I don't want any children, I don't want responsibility. I am gay, I smoke weed and I do exactly what I want in my life because of my talent. I represent an ideal which others have had to let go and they blame me for that. Especially men."

Jason Knight, the petty officer second class who was discharged under "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" but called back to active duty and subsequently discharged again, says that the papers regarding his most recent discharge leave the door open for him to be called back to active duty: "I can’t do anything but laugh. It’s getting to the point of being ridiculous."

Former U.S. House Clerk Jeff Trandahl breaks silence on Mark Foley case: "Trandahl resigned from his post as House clerk and announced his new job in the fall of 2005, shortly after he began questioning Foley’s behavior toward pages in private conversations with both Foley and House GOP staffers. In his remarks last week, Trandahl refuted the speculation that GOP leaders forced him out of his job. He said he had long planned to retire after 20 years of government service and noted that his departure was set well before the scandal broke. Trandahl thanked former House Speakers Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) and Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) and current Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) for supporting him during his tenure in the House. But he said former Rep. Tom DeLay (R-Texas) had long sought to oust him from the job because he is openly gay."

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News: Dane Cook, Connecticut, Hammerhead Shark, Wii

Michigan Supreme Court to decide whether or not partners of gays and lesbians employed by public universities and state and local governments should be able to receive health benefits: "The appeals court in February cited Michigan's 2004 voter-approved constitutional amendment against gay marriage — which makes the union between a man and woman the only agreement recognized as a marriage "or similar union for any purpose" — as also barring domestic partner benefits for the same-sex partners of public employees."

Immaculate conception: Hammerhead shark gives birth having had no contact with males. "This form of asexual reproduction, called parthenogenesis, has been found in other vertebrate species, including some snakes and lizards. But this is the first time it has been documented in a shark."

Attorney General Alberto Gonzales may have obstructed justice as recently as March by attempting to "shape" Monica Goodling's testimony before the congressional hearings.

Tremont Street in Boston the latest gay ghetto to dissipate.

"Bridal shop" for gays opens in Barcelona. Owner: "I saw the opportunity to do business after the law was approved. I didn't know of any other country that had a shop or boutique for gay weddings. It will be an exclusive and personal product for a special day. It was obvious that gays, who also marry, needed their own bride shop."

Does Dane Cook get this week's Photoshopped body award?

Beckham checks on the melons. Yep, still ripe.

Irish priest from Feakle Parish apologizes to congregation for breaking his law of celibacy after photos published on a gay website.

Nintendo: 35 million Wii consoles by 2012.

As Connecticut awaits gay marriage decision, the noise does not subside: "Motorists sounded their horns in support of the gay rights activists in front of the state Supreme Court today. They were trying to influence the seven justices inside who are contemplating whether or not to give same sex couples full marriage rights under the state's civil unions law. A much larger crowd across the street at the state capitol celebrated the withdrawal of a same sex marriage bill from the general assembly but members of the Family Institute of Connecticut are still fearful that the state Supreme Court will make it happen without the legislature as happened in Massachusetts."

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Towleroad Guide to the Tube #128

ESCAPED BEAR: One of my favorites from LOGO's "Big Gay Sketch Show".
(source: joe.my.god)

MIAMI: Trailer spot for the 9th Miami Gay & Lesbian Film festival.

VIDEO GAME DOG: Would this breed be called a Wiimeraner?

TRICKS OF THE EYE: Or should we say these guys are just throwing shade?

Check out our previous guides to the Tube here!

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Nintendo Wii Bowling a Hit with the Elderly

This is hot. Nintendo's Wii is making video game converts of the elderly.

Nintendo took the Wii to an AARP convention, says Perrin Kaplan, VP Marketing & Corporate Affairs for Nintendo of America: "The AARP thing was a little bit tough at first. They were like, ‘We don't really want to talk to you because we're all grandparents and we already buy stuff for our kids,’ and so we said, ‘No we want to talk to you about you. It took several attempts for them to finally say, ‘So why do you want to talk to us?’ And it's because we have products for them as well now."

The seniors weigh in:

72-year-old Flora Dierbach: "I've never been into video games, but this is addictive. They come in after dinner and play. Sometimes, on Saturday afternoons, their grandkids come play with them … A lot of grandparents are being taught by their grandkids. But, now, some grandparents are instead teaching their grandkids."

Don Hahn, 76, a veteran of numerous real-life bowling competitions: "This is pretty realistic. You can even put English on the ball. I used to play Pac-Man a little bit, but with this you're actually moving around and doing something. You're not just sitting there pushing buttons and getting carpal tunnel."

I bet golf's a hit too.

(via gizmodo)

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Wii Approve [tr]

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The Smiths, Mii Style

Following yesterday's request for gay newsmaker celebrity Miis, Towleroad correspondent Robert C. pointed us to this Morrissey fansite, featuring the former Brit band in all their pixelated glory.

Andy Rourke, Morrissey, Johnny Marr, Mike Joyce. Not sure I would get it right off the bat, but it's a good try.

Incidentally, Morrissey was recently voted Britain's third greatest living icon in a poll taken by BBC's The Culture Show.

Only Sir David Attenborough and ex-Beatle Sir Paul McCartney scored higher: "He beat seven others on the shortlist including singer David Bowie, actor Sir Michael Caine, actor and comedian Stephen Fry and model Kate Moss."

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Mii Celebrity Talent Show

One of the great things about Nintendo's Wii is its ability to customize personal avatars, called Miis, which can be dressed up with any number of rudimentary hair styles and facial features. This has lead to users designing Miis that not only look like themselves, but look like celebrities. Jason Kottke decided to hold a celebrity Mii contest and the results are in. It's not hard to guess the winner, above left, although Condi's trademark scowl is rendered perfectly in the Mii on the right. More amusing results at Kottke...

Since the Thanksgiving weekend I spent with my friends' Wii, I've since had the opportunity to try out about six more games and aside from the Wii Sports, which I love, my favorites are Madden Football, Zelda, and Tony Hawk's Downhill Jam. Feel free to leave any suggestions for other good games in the comments.

Oh, and if anybody's up for creating celebrity Wiis of the gay newsmakers (Lance, T.R., Neil Patrick, Foley, Haggard), feel free to send them along...

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Wii Approve [tr]

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TowleTech V. 36

A rare white dolphin called a Baiji which lives in the waters of China has been declared extinct this week after scientists spent six weeks searching the waters with zero sightings. A similar search in 1997 turned up 13 sightings, showing that the dolphin was on the verge of extinction. According to the website of the conservation group involved with the search, the Baiji's death marks a more than disturbing turn of events: "Regarded in China as the 'goddess of the Yangtze', the 20 million year old river dolphin was one of the world's oldest species. The Baiji is the first large mammal brought to extinction as a result of human destruction to their natural habitat and resources."

Brian Lam put himself and the popular tech blog for which he writes on the line with a surprising claim: that he not only has seen an iPhone, but that it will be announced on Monday. The full text of the post reads: "Gizmodo Knows: iPhone Will Be Announced On Monday. I guarantee it. It isn't what I expected at all. And I've already said too much." Will Apple announce a cell phone Monday or was Gizmodo just trying to get a few extra votes in the Weblog Awards? I suppose one thing is for sure: only Gizmodo knows. Meanwhile Business 2.0 has an insightful article on why the iPhone might not ever happen.

Sunspot 930 is at it again! The flamboyant spot sent up a massive solar flare earlier this week that caused a sizable geomagnetic storm here on the blue planet, according to an advisory issued by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The storm can cause damage to power grids or communication systems, but can also lead to stunning auroras.

VoIP provider Skype done gave the world free unlimited calling earlier this year, but it was only ever meant to be temporary and now this year is about over. Still, the flat rate of $29.95 for a year of phone service is a pretty fair deal, and signing up before January cuts that in half for the first year.

After reports of damage caused by flying Wii controllers, Nintendo recalled the strap on the wireless remote, offering to replace it with a sturdier version. As GayGamer.net notes, the company also took the chance to remind users of a little common safety sense when playing. "Hold the Wii Remote firmly and do not let go. For example, in Wii Sports bowling, the proper way to let go of the ball while bowling is to release the "B" button on the Wii Remote—DO NOT LET GO OF THE Wii REMOTE ITSELF."

Cingular is testing out a new cell phone in the Big Apple that includes a handy little feature: your credit card. Forget camera or MP3 player -- these new phones have an embedded MasterCard PayPass, which uses RFID that lets you pay by waving the phone in front of a sensor. PayPass sensors are built into registers at McDonalds and AMC theaters and even some Coca-Cola vending machines.

One of the reasons that Google is a billion-something dollar a year company is the fact that they sell their internet search technology to businesses for use on their private "intranets." Meanwhile the Goog has made plenty of enemies giving away high-quality products that its competitors were previously charging for, but now Yahoo has stepped up to give them a taste of their own medicine. Yahoo teamed up with IBM to offer a free business-level search tool for private intranets, which can index and search up to 500k documents.

XM Radio launched a new seasonal station that offers an alternative to the barrage of Christmas music that takes over at this time of year. For 8 days starting tonight, Radio Hanukkah will play Hanukkah-themed songs with interludes by Jewish celebrities. "This could be refreshing. Who knows? Maybe non-Jews will start loving these songs too," said one fan.

UCLA alerted 800,000 students, faculty, and alumni to a data breach this week after it was discovered that "a sophisticated computer hacker" illegally accessed a database of personal information that included social security numbers and birthdates.

Photographer and freelance tech writer Jason Rowan posts an efficient write up of the new Nokia N93, a cell phone that includes a 3.2 megapixel digital camera. Said Rowan: "After you get over the techno-lust and nervous fumbling the N93 inspires I started to find the old Ready Steady Pendergrass touch coming back to me."

Two major Anti-Virus software makers issued dire warnings about the state of malicious internet attacks and scams in 2007. While email has been the most common avenue to personal data, mobile devices, IM, and social  networking sites all offer new ways to steal identities and scam users, according to Trend Micro and McAffee spokespersons. If my theory that the majority of these evil online deeds are a conspiracy by the companies that sell people protection against them, then surely they're the ones who would know.

Daniel Williford is our TowleTech correspondent.
You can visit him at his blog, Until Today...

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News: Gay Rabbis, Wii, Jim Webb, Paris Architecture, South Africa

South Africa's Civil Union Act signed into law by Deputy President.

Unusual erection to rise on La Defense in Paris featuring a rooftop wind farm.

Virginia Senator Jim Webb not afraid of speaking out against Bush's policies in Iraq, particularly when they concern his son who is fighting there: "I'm not particularly interested in having a picture of me and George W. Bush on my wall. No offense to the institution of the presidency, and I'm certainly looking forward to working with him and his administration. [But] leaders do some symbolic things to try to convey who they are and what the message is."

When you were young: Times Square in the 50's.

The Real World: Denver's gay housemate Davis tells Arjan what's in his iPod.

Fortune magazines cracks open the front door of gay corporate America: "Business is different. 'It's not a faith-based community,' says Ed Offshack, a chemical engineer and gay activist at Procter & Gamble. 'It's a logic-based community.' The changes in attitudes toward gays and lesbians have been swift, deep, and altogether remarkable. People who once were shunned and then merely tolerated are today being embraced by corporate America. Yes, embraced. And not just on Seventh Avenue and in Hollywood."

Conservative Jewish movement looks set to OK openly gay rabbis and same-sex unions. Rabbinical Assembly Committee on Jewish Law and Standards VP Joel Meyers: "I really don't know what will happen. Many of my colleagues are betting they will have two opinions at the end -- that rabbis can maintain the prohibition on homosexual behaviour and another that says it normalises homosexual behaviour

Mom always said, don't play Wii in the house! Website documents electronics damaged by careless Wii users.

Has she no sense of decency? Britney attempts to bring the va-jay-jay slip mainstream.

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Wii Approve

I spent Thanksgiving weekend with some friends who had managed to get their hands on a Nintendo Wii, and though I haven't been an obsessive gamer since I was about 12 and it was the age of Atari, Intellivision and whatnot, the Wii may make the videogame fanatic in me rise again. Check out the promo vid for it here.

Of course the Wii came with just one of its innovative motion-sensitive controllers, so there was no playing against one another. We went on the hunt for additional controllers but there were none to be found in local stores. The Wii also only comes with one game, Wii sports, but for a weekend it was more than enough to suffice.

I can see why there have been reports of television sets being broken with the controllers because the games require you to act as if you're actually swinging a tennis racket, or a golf club, or a bowling ball. Wii Sports also includes baseball and boxing, and swinging that wand is a lot more fun than simply pressing buttons. I was with a few people who really had no interest in videogames at all, and after using the Wii they were transformed. This one's going to be a huge success. Nintendo sold over 600,000 Wii consoles in its first eight days.

My favorites were tennis and golf. The potential for improvement in this system is obvious. Down the road I can imagine you might be playing against a fairly realistic-looking version of this.

Part of the fun of the Wii is designing your own character, called a Mii. You start with a head shape and add from dozens of features until your character is created. Of course, this ultimately turned into an incredibly amusing diversion. As you can see, it wasn't long before our friend Martin's journey into cyber-drag resulted in the character below.

When hooked up to WiFi, you can send your Miis over the internet to participate in a parade on another user's Wii.

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