Blogbag

LIFE'S A DRAG

2009-08-27T11:55:00.019-04:00

Coming soon on BLOGBAG: A series profiling those wacky gals who like to entertain, shock, scare and thrill us. A month of America's favorite she-things along with some lesser known monstrosities and rare beauties. Watch for the poll as well. You will be able to vote for "America's Sweetheart, Dragoon Edition" . If you are a lady boy, she-thing, comic drag genius or just a tranny working the streets and feel you have what it takes to win or at least be profiled and/or interviewed, send a note and a few pics to the administrator of BLOGBAG.

Keep abreast and watch for the follies to start shortly.

AMERICAN PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION REPUDIATES GAY TO STRAIGHT THERAPY

2009-08-11T14:15:00.004-04:00

The American Psychological Association declared Wednesday that mental health professionals should not tell gay clients they can become straight through therapy or other treatments.
Instead, the APA urged therapists to consider multiple options - that could range from celibacy to switching churches - for helping clients whose sexual orientation and religious faith conflict.
In a resolution adopted on a 125-to-4 vote by the APA's governing council, and in a comprehensive report based on two years of research, the 150,000-member association put itself firmly on record in opposition of so-called "reparative therapy" which seeks to change sexual orientation.
No solid evidence exists that such change is likely, says the report, and some research suggests that efforts to produce change could be harmful, inducing depression and suicidal tendencies.
The APA had criticized reparative therapy in the past, but a six-member task force added weight to this position by examining 83 studies on sexual orientation change conducted since 1960. Its comprehensive report was endorsed by the APA's governing council in Toronto, where the association's annual meeting is being held this weekend.
The report breaks new ground in its detailed and nuanced assessment of how therapists should deal with gay clients struggling to remain loyal to a religious faith that disapproves of homosexuality.
Judith Glassgold, a Highland Park, N.J., psychologist who chaired the task force, said she hoped the document could help calm the polarized debate between religious conservatives who believe in the possibility of changing sexual orientation and the many mental health professionals who reject that option.
"Both sides have to educate themselves better," Glassgold said in an interview. "The religious psychotherapists have to open up their eyes to the potential positive aspects of being gay or lesbian. Secular therapists have to recognize that some people will choose their faith over their sexuality."
In dealing with gay clients from conservative faiths, says the report, therapists should be "very cautious" about suggesting treatments aimed at altering their same-sex attractions.
"Practitioners can assist clients through therapies that do not attempt to change sexual orientation, but rather involve acceptance, support and identity exploration and development without imposing a specific identity outcome," the report says.
"We have to challenge people to be creative," said Glassgold.
She suggested that devout clients could focus on overarching aspects of religion such as hope and forgiveness in order to transcend negative beliefs about homosexuality, and either remain part of their original faith within its limits - for example, by embracing celibacy - or find a faith that welcomes gays.
"There's no evidence to say that change therapies work, but these vulnerable people are tempted to try them, and when they don't work, they feel doubly terrified," Glassgold said. "You should be honest with people and say, 'This is not likely to change your sexual orientation, but we can help explore what options you have.'"
One of the largest organizations promoting the possibility of changing sexual orientation is Exodus International, a network of ministries whose core message is "Freedom from homosexuality through the power of Jesus Christ."
Its president, Alan Chambers, describes himself as someone who "overcame unwanted same-sex attraction." He and other evangelicals met with APA representatives after the task force formed in 2007, and he expressed satisfaction with parts of the report that emerged.
"It's a positive step - simply respecting someone's faith is a huge leap in the right direction," Chambers said. "But I'd go further. Don't deny the possibility that someone's feelings might change."
An evangelical psychologist, Mark Yarhouse of Regent University, praised the APA report for urging a creative approach to gay clients' religious beliefs but - like Chambers - disagreed with its skepticism about changing sexual orientation.
Yarhouse and a colleague, Professor Stanton Jones of Wheaton College, will be releasing findings at the APA meeting Friday from their six-year study of people who went through Exodus programs. More than half of 61 subjects either converted to heterosexuality or "disidentified" with homosexuality while embracing chastity, their study said.
To Jones and Yarhouse, their findings prove change is possible for some people, and on average the attempt to change will not be harmful.
The APA task force took as a starting point the belief that homosexuality is a normal variant of human sexuality, not a disorder, and that it nonetheless remains stigmatized in ways that can have negative consequences.
The report said the subgroup of gays interested in changing their sexual orientation has evolved over the decades and now is comprised mostly of well-educated white men whose religion is an important part of their lives and who participate in conservative faiths that frown on homosexuality.
"Religious faith and psychology do not have to be seen as being opposed to each other," the report says, endorsing approaches "that integrate concepts from the psychology of religion and the modern psychology of sexual orientation."
Perry Halkitis, a New York University psychologist who chairs the APA committee dealing with gay and lesbian issues, praised the report for its balance.
"Anyone who makes decisions based on good science will be satisfied," he said. "As a clinician, you have to deal with the whole person, and for some people, faith is a very important aspect of who they are."
The report also addressed the issue of whether adolescents should be subjected to therapy aimed at altering their sexual orientation. Any such approach should "maximize self-determination" and be undertaken only with the youth's consent, the report said.
Wayne Besen, a gay-rights activist who has sought to discredit the so-called "ex-gay" movement, welcomed the APA findings.
"Ex-gay therapy is a profound travesty that has led to pointless tragedies, and we are pleased that the APA has addressed this psychological scourge," Besen said.

FORMER MAHARANI OF JAIPUR PRINCESS AYESHA GAYATRI DEVI DIES

2009-07-30T11:38:00.007-04:00

The former queen of the western Indian desert kingdom of Jaipur, Gayatri Devi, who was often described as one of the most beautiful women in the world, died Wednesday. She was 90.
Gayatri Devi, who also served three times as a national lawmaker, was hospitalized for about 10 days with stomach and respiratory problems before she died, her doctor S.C. Kala said.
Gayatri Devi's classical good looks ensured that photographs of her in elegant chiffon saris and diamonds and pearls were splashed across fashion and lifestyle magazines. She was also known for her love of horses and polo.
She was born into the royal family of Cooch Behar in what is now eastern India on May 23, 1919, decades before the partition of the subcontinent that heralded the demise of Indian royalty. She became the third wife of Sawai Man Singh, the "maharaja" or ruler of Jaipur, in 1939. Gayatri Devi was the "maharani."
More than 500 such royal families ruled parts of India and received "privy purses" or payments from British colonial rulers. When India became independent in 1947 royal titles were abolished and payments cut off. Several royal households slipped into penury but the former Jaipur royal family remained wealthy, converting some former palaces into luxury hotels.
In 1960 Gayatri Devi launched a political party and contested and won a place in India's Parliament. She withdrew from politics in the 1970s.
She supported education for women and established a girl's school which was named after her in Jaipur, now the capital of the state of Rajasthan and the city where she died.
Her funeral was to take place Thursday at the cremation grounds used by the former royal family, her stepson Bhawani Singh said.
Gayatri Devi is survived by two grandchildren and several relatives from her husband's family.

GAY PORN ACTOR GETS 3-8 YEARS IN PA BEAUTY SHOP BREAK-INS

2009-07-18T14:50:00.003-04:00

A porn star who was accused of using a handsaw and an ax to break into stores through their rooftops while his twin brother and occasional co-star acted as a lookout is going to prison for at least three years.
Taleon Goffney, who appeared with his brother in such gay skin flicks as "Marc and the Twins," was arrested last year after police said they saw the twins breaking into a beauty shop.
He pleaded guilty to two counts each of burglary and criminal conspiracy and was sentenced to three to eight years. Charges including criminal trespass, receiving stolen property and possession of an instrument of crime were dropped in exchange for his pleas.
Goffney, 27, could have faced up to 40 years in prison if convicted after trial.
"Thank you for your lenience in accepting my plea," Goffney, of Pennsauken, N.J., told a judge in court Wednesday. "These crimes won't be happening again."
Goffney's twin brother, Keyontyli Goffney, also is charged and appeared at Wednesday's hearing, but it was unclear if he planned to negotiate a plea. He's due back in court Aug. 6. Neither his lawyer, Gerald Stein, nor Assistant District Attorney Caroline Keating immediately returned telephone calls from The Associated Press on Thursday.
Keating told the Philadelphia Daily News that Taleon Goffney is sure to serve at least the minimum three years due to his prior criminal record. Goffney's lawyer, Michael F. Gushue, told the newspaper that his client plans to complete his college education while in prison.
"I think he's had an epiphany," Gushue said. "He's a bright young man."
The brothers have appeared in Internet porn videos under the names Teyon and Keyon, said Erik Schut, of Philadelphia-based video retailer TLA Entertainment Group. They could have had good careers if they hadn't gotten into trouble, he said in February.
"They are incredibly good-looking, and being identical twins, it's a novelty," Schut said then.
In "Marc and the Twins," the brothers offer to audition for chiseled porn star Marc Williams in a seedy hotel room and are seen rubbing each other's chests.
Keyontyli Goffney has appeared in porn since at least 2002 and worked as a fashion model, while Taleon Goffney got involved in porn more recently.
Taleon Goffney, who police believe is a trained gymnast and karate expert, has used his athleticism to make several daring escapes.
He was handcuffed in the back of a moving police cruiser after a 2006 drug arrest in Clementon, N.J., when he broke out the glass with his head and jumped into a lake while still handcuffed, police Chief Dave Kunkel said.
"He swam across like Flipper, taunting the officers, saying, 'You'll never catch me,'" Kunkel told the Daily News for a story in February.
He turned himself in a week later.
In January 2007, he jumped 30 feet from the roof of a Camden, N.J., liquor store and swam across the frigid Cooper River before he was caught, police said.
A defense lawyer, Jeffrey Zucker, said Goffney "should have signed up for the Olympics" and referred to him as Spider-Man.

SARAH PALIN'S NEW FOCUS: KILLING OUR CHANCE TO BUILD A CLEAN ENERGY ECONOMY

2009-07-14T16:14:00.006-04:00

In an op-ed in today's Washington Post, Sarah Palin announced her new focus: killing our chance to build a clean energy economy, starting with the energy bill currently in Congress.

Her op-ed is a marvel of misinformation and outright lies. Just like conservatives in Congress, Palin is trotting out the "energy taxes" scare tactic, and arguing instead for more drilling and more dirty coal. This bill already has too many giveaways to Big Coal and Big Oil, but that's still not enough for Palin.

This is the same Sarah Palin who doesn't believe climate change is caused by humans. The same Sarah Palin who is obsessed with drilling for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. And the same Sarah Palin who's looking for controversial issues to launch a 2012 presidential bid.
Now she's positioning herself as the face of the conservative attack against clean energy, against the Clean Air Act-even against the creation of millions of new jobs in solar and wind.
But wind and solar create more than twice as many jobs as coal and oil. Clean energy is the only way to make America's economy competitive in the 21st century.
The truth is we need a stronger energy bill in the Senate to combat our economic and climate crisis, but Sarah Palin's lies could sink our hopes for a clean energy economy.

Read Sarah Palin's op-ed, if you can stomach it:

There is no shortage of threats to our economy. America's unemployment rate recently hit its highest mark in more than 25 years and is expected to continue climbing. Worries are widespread that even when the economy finally rebounds, the recovery won't bring jobs. Our nation's debt is unsustainable, and the federal government's reach into the private sector is unprecedented.
Unfortunately, many in the national media would rather focus on the personality-driven political gossip of the day than on the gravity of these challenges. So, at risk of disappointing the chattering class, let me make clear what is foremost on my mind and where my focus will be:
I am deeply concerned about President Obama's cap-and-trade energy plan, and I believe it is an enormous threat to our economy. It would undermine our recovery over the short term and would inflict permanent damage.
American prosperity has always been driven by the steady supply of abundant, affordable energy. Particularly in Alaska, we understand the inherent link between energy and prosperity, energy and opportunity, and energy and security. Consequently, many of us in this huge, energy-rich state recognize that the president's cap-and-trade energy tax would adversely affect every aspect of the U.S. economy.
There is no denying that as the world becomes more industrialized, we need to reform our energy policy and become less dependent on foreign energy sources. But the answer doesn't lie in making energy scarcer and more expensive! Those who understand the issue know we can meet our energy needs and environmental challenges without destroying America's economy.
Job losses are so certain under this new cap-and-tax plan that it includes a provision accommodating newly unemployed workers from the resulting dried-up energy sector, to the tune of $4.2 billion over eight years. So much for creating jobs.
In addition to immediately increasing unemployment in the energy sector, even more American jobs will be threatened by the rising cost of doing business under the cap-and-tax plan. For example, the cost of farming will certainly increase, driving down farm incomes while driving up grocery prices. The costs of manufacturing, warehousing and transportation will also increase.
The ironic beauty in this plan? Soon, even the most ardent liberal will understand supply-side economics.
The Americans hit hardest will be those already struggling to make ends meet. As the president eloquently puts it, their electricity bills will "necessarily skyrocket." So much for not raising taxes on anyone making less than $250,000 a year.
Even Warren Buffett, an ardent Obama supporter, admitted that under the cap-and-tax scheme, "poor people are going to pay a lot more for electricity."
We must move in a new direction. We are ripe for economic growth and energy independence if we responsibly tap the resources that God created right underfoot on American soil. Just as important, we have more desire and ability to protect the environment than any foreign nation from which we purchase energy today.
In Alaska, we are progressing on the largest private-sector energy project in history. Our 3,000-mile natural gas pipeline will transport hundreds of trillions of cubic feet of our clean natural gas to hungry markets across America. We can safely drill for U.S. oil offshore and in a tiny, 2,000-acre corner of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge if ever given the go-ahead by Washington bureaucrats.
Of course, Alaska is not the sole source of American energy. Many states have abundant coal, whose technology is continuously making it into a cleaner energy source. Westerners literally sit on mountains of oil and gas, and every state can consider the possibility of nuclear energy.
We have an important choice to make. Do we want to control our energy supply and its environmental impact? Or, do we want to outsource it to China, Russia and Saudi Arabia? Make no mistake: President Obama's plan will result in the latter.
For so many reasons, we can't afford to kill responsible domestic energy production or clobber every American consumer with higher prices.
Can America produce more of its own energy through strategic investments that protect the environment, revive our economy and secure our nation?
Yes, we can. Just not with Barack Obama's energy cap-and-tax plan.

SPAIN LIBERALIZING BUT TEEN ABORTION HITS A NERVE

2009-07-12T16:55:00.002-04:00

Spain's Socialist prime minister has irked his natural enemies on the right and in the Catholic church by legalizing gay marriage and instituting fast-track divorce. Now he has hit a raw nerve even among his supporters with a proposal to let 16-year-olds get abortions without parental consent.
The debate is harsh and emotional, showing that for all the changes Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero has introduced with his trailblazing social agenda since taking power in 2004, abortion remains sensitive in a country where most people call themselves Catholic, even if few churches are full on Sundays.
Liberalizing teen abortion is part of a broader change proposed for Spain's abortion law, the main thrust of which is to allow the procedure with no restrictions up to 14 weeks into a pregnancy.
The government gave the bill preliminary approval in May and Parliament is expected to take it up in the fall. Zapatero probably has the votes to get it passed. However, the outcry over teenagers may force him to backtrack.
Under the current law, Spanish women can in theory go to jail for getting an abortion outside certain strict limits - up to week 12 in case of rape and week 22 if the fetus is malformed. But abortion is in effect widely available because women can assert mental distress as sole grounds for having an abortion, regardless of how late the pregnancy is.
Now Zapatero is seeking to deepen his mark on Spanish society. What he's proposing wipes away the threat of imprisonment and declares abortion to be a woman's right.
"That is a qualitative change in Spanish culture and politics," said Javier del Rey, a professor of political communications at Complutense University in Madrid. "Something that had been a crime is transformed into a right."
Britain, France and Germany already allow minors to get abortions without parental permission. But here it's the issue that is dominating the debate.
The conservative opposition Popular Party asks why a girl who cannot legally buy alcohol can have an abortion without asking her parents. "The inconsistency is crushing," lawmaker Sandra Moneo wrote in the newspaper El Pais.
"No father or mother can understand the idea of a minor going through that trauma without the advice, support and opinion of her parents," Moneo said.
Zapatero's camp counters by noting that 16-year-old Spaniards can choose to have open-heart surgery or chemotherapy without parental consent, but not an abortion.
Tempers have flared on both sides. Conservatives were enraged when Bibiana Aido, the minister of equality, suggested abortion was no bigger an issue than breast enlargement.
Socialists saw red when Antonio Canizares, a Spanish cardinal who holds a key position at the Vatican, seemed to play down a report detailing decades of sexual and other abuse of children by religious orders in Ireland and said abortion was worse.
Zapatero himself was asked in a radio interview how he would feel if his daughter, after she turned 16, had an abortion without telling him.
Zapatero said he would rather she tell him, and that it was up to parents to instill that kind of trust in their kids.
"But in the end, the decision is up to the person deciding whether to voluntarily interrupt a pregnancy," the premier said.
Polling numbers are against him: A survey published last month by the newspaper La Vanguardia said 71 percent oppose the teenage abortion reform, and the proportion among Socialist voters was 60 percent. A poll in El Pais put the figures at 64 and 56 percent, respectively. Both surveys gave a margin of error of 3.2 percentage points.
Lawmaker Carmen Monton, the Socialists' point woman on the abortion bill, said it was designed to help girls from troubled families who need an abortion and cannot tell their parents.
"We are not legislating for model families with fantastic relations between parents and children. We are legislating for all of society," Monton said in an interview.
Josefina Elias, president of the polling firm Instituto Opina, said she would not be surprised if Zapatero withdraws or tones down the proposal, and some suspect he put it forward to serve as something he can concede if necessary to win passage of the broader change.
One idea already being floated is to oblige teens to tell their parents they plan to have an abortion, although not to obtain permission.
Elias said Zapatero's mistake was to forgo prior social debate about teen abortion.
"It has all been done like an elephant charging into a china shop," she said.

BRUNO

2009-07-11T17:31:00.003-04:00

The problem with "Bruno" is Bruno himself. Compared to Borat there simply isn't enough to the character to build an entire feature-length film around him. Both spring from the brash and creative mind of British comic Sacha Baron Cohen, who unleashed them upon the world through his sketch comedy program "Da Ali G Show." Borat, the bumbling journalist at the center of the 2006 smash "Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan," provided a prism through which to explore people's prejudices, hypocrisies and foibles. Sure, Baron Cohen frequently shot fish in a barrel, but as Borat traveled across the United States trying to understand what makes us tick, the uncomfortable discoveries he made seemed endless. More importantly, for a comedy, they were usually funny. Bruno is a one-joke character in a one-joke movie, and it's a joke Baron Cohen beats into the ground. He's a flamboyantly gay Austrian fashion correspondent who repeatedly shocks people with his flamboyant gayness. The end. In small doses - on the TV show and at the film's high-energy start - he can be a hoot. Here, big laughs come intermittently, and the longer "Bruno" drags on, the more apparent it becomes that there's nothing to him. He's as vapid as the celebrity culture he's stridently spoofing - which makes it hard to care about him.

2 Stars out of 5.

JACKSON BIOGRAPHER: MICHAEL WAS GAY

2009-07-06T15:05:00.003-04:00

Unauthorized Michael Jackson biographer and investigative celebrity reporter Ian Halperin has claimed in London’s Daily Mail that the “king of pop” was gay and that Halperin had spoken to two of Jackson's former lovers.
Halperin, who predicted in December that Jackson had six months to live and is currently at work on a book on the final years of the pop star, said that rumors Jackson had sexually abused children are false. He had no interest in children, Halperin said.
But in the article, Halperin writes, "In the course of my investigations, I spoke to two of his gay lovers, one a Hollywood waiter, the other an aspiring actor. The waiter had remained friends, perhaps more, with the singer until his death last week. He had served Jackson at a restaurant, Jackson made his interest plain, and the two slept together the following night. According to the waiter, Jackson fell in love."
In 2006, Jackson’s brother Jermaine said he and his brothers had suspected that Michael was gay.

HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY!

2009-07-04T17:01:00.005-04:00

With all the progress we've made in marriage equality, domestic partnership protection, hate crimes legislation, equal employment and housing legislation, we have a lot to be proud of and can look forward to a day when we will all be equal under the American Constitution.
In acknowledgement of all the strides we've made across the U.S.A. this year-

Happy 4th of July!

SARAH PALIN RESIGNING

2009-07-03T17:17:00.003-04:00

Supreme leader of Alaska and neighbor to Russia, Sarah Palin, has announced she will be resigning.
Palin announced at a "hastily convened" press conference earlier today that she will resign and transfer power to Lt. Gov. Sean Parnell at the end of the month. She didn't take any questions, or field any inquiries about her future plans. Common speculation has been that she's gonna make a run for the presidency in 2012.
There was a sudden press conference that had her surrounded by family earlier. That's typically more indicative of a motion of support, less one of a political maneuver/preparation.
Is Bristol pregnant again? Is more dirt going to come out on her harassment of Wasilla librarians? Or, is the model-mother pregnant herself?
Whatever the case, her bizarre, teary press-conference statement "I know when it's time to pass the ball. Some are going to question the timing of this. This decision has been in the works for a while," leaves us in the dark, for now.
Maybe she'll announce her intentions after the MJ funeral.

LA TOYA JACKSON SCENE REMOVED FROM 'BRUNO' MOVIE

2009-07-02T13:33:00.002-04:00

The filmmakers behind “Bruno” have decided to delete a scene involving La Toya Jackson following her brother’s death.
Universal Pictures, which is releasing the comedy, said the decision came “out of respect for the Jackson family.”
The moment was first cut out of the movie’s Los Angeles premiere Thursday night, which took place just hours after the Michael Jackson’s death at age 50.
“Bruno,” starring British comic Sacha Baron Cohen as a flamboyantly gay Austrian fashion correspondent, is set to come out July 10 and is the follow-up to his 2006 smash “Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan.” La Toya Jackson had been featured in an absurd interview with Bruno in which she sits on a Mexican man’s back and eats sushi off a second, naked Mexican man.
The moment is classic Baron Cohen, the kind in which he places some unsuspecting person in a weirdly deadpan situation and waits for the humiliation - and the humor - to follow. He also tries to interview Paula Abdul in this setting but she quickly feels uncomfortable and leaves. (The joke’s on the audience, too, because we don’t know which scenes are real and spontaneous and which feature players who are in on the gag.)
Jackson arrives at a contemporary L.A. home under the guise of being interviewed by Bruno, a character Baron Cohen introduced alongside Borat on his sketch comedy program “Da Ali G Show.” Because there’s no furniture in the house, Bruno asks Jackson to sit on the back of a Mexican laborer, who’s on his hands and knees functioning as a chair. Another man serves as a table with pieces of sushi spread across his naked body.
Jackson hangs out awhile and politely banters with Bruno, who asks whether she will introduce him to her brother, Michael. She tries to deflect his persistent requests but relents when he asks to see her cell phone - then he finds what is supposedly Michael Jackson’s number and reads it to his assistant in German.

MICHAEL JACKSON WAS ACQUITTED AT TRIAL BUT NEVER RECOVERED

2009-06-30T16:34:00.002-04:00

Michael Jackson called his trial on child molestation claims, "the hardest thing I've ever done in my life." Acquitted of all charges by a jury but convicted by public opinion, he spent the rest of his life trying to recover from the ordeal.
On many fronts, it was a losing battle. Late night comedians derided him as a pedophile. Prosecutors who lost the case against him never accepted the jury verdict and Jackson felt driven to give up his beloved Neverland Ranch and leave the country.
This month, exactly four years after the verdict, the nation's greatest pop star was on the verge of a dazzling comeback. His "This Is It" concert tour was to be his artistic rebirth, a vivid signal that he had at last recovered from the trial.
But Thomas Mesereau Jr., the lawyer who defended Jackson, said the star never fully recovered from the trial. "The jury said, 'not guilty,' 14 times," Mesereau recalls. "You couldn't have a verdict that got any closer to full vindication."
On the acquittal day, Mesereau issued a statement: "Justice is done. The man's innocent. He always was."
Mesereau said in an interview Saturday that the effort by prosecutors and many media outlets to demonize Jackson during the 2005 trial took a physical and emotional toll on the already fragile defendant that was difficult to erase.
"These were horrible charges to accuse any one of and they were completely bogus," he said.
Jackson could have gotten nearly 20 years behind bars if convicted of charges that he molested a 13-year-old cancer survivor at Neverland in 2003. Jurors also acquitted Jackson of getting the boy drunk and of conspiring to imprison the accuser and his family at the ranch.
Jackson's defense team prevailed with evidence that he was the victim of mother-and-son con artists and a prosecutor with a vendetta.
Mesereau recalled Jackson visibly withering as the trial progressed, losing weight, his cheeks sunken, his skin pale. Twice he was taken to a hospital emergency room for treatment.
"The poor fellow couldn't sleep, couldn't eat. He was very worried about what would happen to his children if he was sent away. It took a horrible toll on him," said Mesereau.
The attorney said Jackson suffered at the hands of a media contingent that wished him to be convicted.
"Much of the media was having a field day trying to make him out as a monster," he said. "People were trying to build careers off a conviction."
At first, though, the hysteria that would surround the trial was fed by Jackson the showman. On the day he pleaded not guilty, he responded to the cheers of fans by jumping atop an SUV and doing some dance steps.
About 1,500 people, including fans and media from around the world, swarmed outside the courthouse in a scene reminiscent of a concert, with vendors selling T-shirts, steaks and hot dogs to the many fans who had come in chartered buses and cars.
By the time the trial began, over a year later, a media tent city of 2,200 reporters and camera crews sprang up outside the courthouse. There were no more antics by Jackson, although he commissioned a costume designer to create his outfits for court, favoring military style jackets with a rainbow of different colored vests and armbands.
Mesereau said Jackson deteriorated rapidly. The artist known for his electric, moonwalking performances was rendered motionless, seemingly frozen in his courtroom chair as his private world became utterly public.
The hardest part, the attorney said, was for Jackson to be accused by a child. It had happened once before in 1993 but that case was settled without a trial. "He didn't really trust adults," Mesereau said. "He looked to children as the people who wouldn't hurt him."
When the trial was over, Jackson left the courthouse, waving weakly to the crowds of fans who never left him. And then he disappeared.
"He loved Neverland and Santa Barbara County but he fled to the Middle East and then he lived like a rolling stone in England, Ireland, Las Vegas," Mesereau said. "He never found an anchor."
In his only post-trial interview , Jackson called an Associated Press reporter from Bahrain three months after the verdict to express his thanks for fair coverage. He said then that the trial was "the hardest thing I've ever done in my life" and that he and his children were still "resting and recovering."
Jackson said he was at work on a charity song for victims of Hurricane Katrina.
"I'm constantly working on it," he said.
But like many projects he began, it was never completed.

FARRAH FAWCETT 1947-2009

2009-06-29T16:24:00.005-04:00

Birth Name: Mary Farrah Leni Fawcett
Height: 5' 6½" (1.69 m)
Farrah Fawcett was a fresh-faced woman from Corpus Christi, Texas. In the early 1960s, she was voted the "Most Beautiful Woman" by her high school colleagues. In the late 1960s, she had her first break in guest-starring roles in shows such as "I Dream of Jeannie" (1965), "The Flying Nun" (1967) and "The Partridge Family" (1970). Then, in 1968, she dated actor Lee Majors, and the couple were married on July 28, 1973. Shortly after, Majors starred in his series "The Six Million Dollar Man" (1974) and Farrah guest-starred in four episodes. As her career took off, she posed in her red bathing suit for a poster, and it sold a staggering 8,000,000 plus copies.After the poster was released, producers Aaron Spelling and Leonard Goldberg starred her in the Crime/Drama Megahit show "Charlie's Angels" (1976). Farrah received a paycheck for $10,000 an episode, and when it started to take off, Majors wanted her home by 6:30 pm to have dinner on the table. Farrah felt dissatisfied about the direction of the show. Then, in 1977, after the first season wrapped, she abruptly left the series. Shortly there after, the departure resulted in a lawsuit with the producers of the series. Finally, she agreed to return to the series in guest spots for six episodes: three in the 1978-79 season, and the other three in the 1979-80 season. In late 1979, Fawcett and Majors had separated, and, since there was no reconciliation in sight, they were divorced in 1980. Farrah dated 'Ryan O'Neal' from 1980-1997. Then, in 1998, Farrah was severely injured by James Orr, after she had spurned his proposal of marriage. In 2006, Farrah was diagnosed with anal cancer After going through countless treatments, her health deteriorated rapidly, and she passed away on June 25, 2009, aged 62.

Farrah Fawcett is a true Hollywood success story. A native of Texas, she is the daughter of James Fawcett and Pauline Evans. She was a natural athlete, something that her father encouraged, and she attended a high school with a strong arts program. She attended University of Texas in Austin, graduating with a degree in Microbiology, but only wanted to be an actress. Winning a campus beauty contest got her noticed by an agent, who encouraged her to pursue acting. After graduating, she moved to Los Angeles and her healthy, all-American blond beauty was immediately noticed. She quickly got roles in various television commercials for such products as Ultra-Brite toothpaste, and Wella Balsam shampoo, and also made appearances in some TV series. In 1968, she met actor Lee Majors star of the popular TV series "The Big Valley" (1965), who became very taken with her and also used his own standing to promote her career. In 1970, she won her first major role in the film adaptation of the Gore Vidal novel Myra Breckinridge (1970). The shooting was very unpleasant, with much feuding on the set, and Farrah was embarrassed by the finished film, which was a major failure. But Farrah was undamaged and continued to win roles. In 1973, she and Majors married, and the following year, she won a recurring role in the crime series "Harry O" (1973). She had her first taste of major success when she won a supporting role in the science fiction film Logan's Run (1976). She came to the attention to the highly successful producer Aaron Spelling, who was impressed by her beauty and vivacious personality. That won her a role in the TV series "Charlie's Angels" (1976). She played a private investigator who works for a wealthy and mysterious businessman, along with two other glamorous female detectives, played by Kate Jackson and Jaclyn Smith. The show immediately became the most popular series on television, earning record ratings and a huge audience. All three actresses became very popular, but Farrah became by far the best known. She was America's sweetheart, and found herself on every celebrity magazine and pursued by photographers and fans. While she enjoyed the success and got along well with her co-stars (both of whom were also of Southern origin), she found the material lightweight. Also, the long hours she worked were beginning to take a toll on her marriage to Majors, who found himself eclipsed by her popularity. So the following year, when the show was at its peak, she left to pursue a movie career. The move drew a negative reaction from many fans. As a result of that and some poor script choices, her career briefly hit a slow spot. In addition, she and Majors separated in 1979. She had starring roles in Somebody Killed Her Husband (1978), Sunburn (1979), and Saturn 3 (1980) (which she did a topless scene in), but all three failed financially. She appeared in the Burt Reynolds chase comedy The Cannonball Run (1981), which was successful financially in spite of bad reviews, but her career benefited very little and she and Majors were drifting apart. In 1981, she met Ryan O'Neal, a friend of her husband's, and they began became friends and spent a great deal of time together. In 1982, she filed for divorce, which Majors readily agreed to. Soon, she and O'Neal were a couple and moved in together. She made a major comeback when she starred in the searing story of a battered wife in The Burning Bed (1984) (TV), based on a true story. It garnered a very large audience, and critics gave her the best reviews she had ever received for her heartfelt performance. She nominated for both an Emmy and Golden Globe and also became involved in helping organizations for battered women. The following year, she and O'Neal became the parents of a son, 'Redmond O'Neal'. She tried to continue her momentum with a starring role in Extremities (1986), but while she garnered some positive reviews, the show was not well-received. She continued to seek out serious roles, appearing mainly on television. She scored success again in Small Sacrifices (1989) (TV), again based on a true crime. Portraying an unhappy woman who is so obsessed with the man she loves that she shoots her children to make herself available and disguises it as a carjacking, Farrah again won rave reviews and helped draw a large audience, and was nominated for an Emmy again. Shortly after-wards, she and O'Neal co-starred in "Good Sports" (1991), playing a couple who co-star in a sports news program, but O'Neil's performance was lambasted and only 9 episodes were aired. In 1995, she surprised her fans by posing for "Playboy" at the age of 48 ad it became the magazine's best-selling issue of that decade. Her relationship with O'Neal was deteriorating, however, and in 1997, they broke up. The breakup took a toll, and at that time she received very bad publicity when she appeared on "Late Show with David Letterman" (1993) and gave a rambling interview, sparking rumors of drug use. That same year, however, she made another comeback in The Apostle (1997), playing the neglected wife of a Pentacostal preacher, played by Robert Duvall. Both stars were praised and the film became a surprise hit. She also began dating producer James Orr. But after she turned down his marriage proposal in 1998, he severely beat her and the scandal drew nationwide headlines. She immediately broke off all ties with him and he was charged and sentenced for assault. Embarrassed, she lowered her profile and her career lost momentum, but she continued to work in television and films. She and O'Neal also started seeing each other again, although it didn't last. In 2004, she received her third Emmy nomination for her performance in The Guardian (2003), but has experienced tragedy since then. In early 2006, she was devastated when her beloved mother died. Later that year, she was diagnosed with cancer and O'Neal, with whom she remains close in spite of their breakup, was diagnosed with leukemia. On February 2, 2007, her 60th birthday, it was revealed that she was now cancer free. She continues to be a successful and important part of the entertainment industry. On June 25, 2009 Farrah lost her battle with cancer, and passed away aged 62.

TRIVIA

1966-67: Attended the University of Texas at Austin.
Lived with Ryan O'Neal for 17 years. His daughter, actress Tatum O'Neal, disapproved of her father's relationship with Fawcett.
1/28/98: Her boyfriend, writer-director-producer James Orr, was arrested for battery after attacking her for supposedly refusing his marriage proposal.
5/97: Actress Kristen Amber Citron accused her of stealing $72,000 worth of clothing and nude pictures from the home of former boyfriend James Orr.
2/97: Reported to be splitting from Ryan O'Neal after 17 years together.
1985: Son with Ryan O'Neal: Redmond O'Neal.
One of the original Charlie's Angels. She broke her contract for the last year of "Charlie's Angels" (1976) which resulted in a lawsuit. She was replaced by Cheryl Ladd.
1976: Listed (as Farrah Fawcett-Majors) as one of 12 "Promising New Actors of 1976" in John Willis' Screen World, Vol. 28.
7/25/80: She had a rather strange opening night in "Butterflies Are Free" at the Burt Reynolds Dinner Theatre in Jupiter, FL. An obese lady in the front row of tables began yelling insults at her and making bird calls during the performance. Later this unidentified woman raised her dress and flashed the performers, causing co-star Dennis Christopher to take notice, although the character he was playing was a blind man. Nearby, a male patron began vomiting, and then yet another patron fainted. Incredibly, the reviews for Farrah's performance were positive.
Earned $750,000 for Silk Hope (1999) (TV).
Was offered the Goldie Hawn role in Foul Play (1978).
In the late 1970s she and her husband Lee Majors formed Fawcett-Majors Productions.
Despite sometimes bizarre behavior, including an incident on "Late Show with David Letterman" (1993), that has led to claims she is a drug addict, she says that she never uses drugs. She claims she gets giggly when she is nervous. She went on Letterman unprepared, she said, and her nervousness affected her behavior.
Measurements: 33 1/2B-22-33 (as starlet and commercial model), 35C-24-35 (after implants), (Source: Celebrity Sleuth magazine)
Was offered a cameo in the film version of Charlie's Angels (2000). Negotiations fell through after Fawcett insisted on being cast as the voice of the new Charlie.
1965: Graduated W.B. Ray High School, Corpus Christi, TX. The class voted her "Best Looking.". 2003: Inducted into the Texas Film Hall of Fame (by Dabney Coleman) for her legendary status on screen and off.
She is actively involved in charity work with the Cancer Society, in addition to her work against domestic violence. During her ongoing advocacy for this cause, she has participated in events such as the Humanitarian Awards in Media, anti-domestic violence panel discussions produced by Show Coalition, and has served as a board member of the National Advisory Council for The National Domestic Violence Hot-line, the most effective and leading non-profit organization in America benefiting the victims of domestic violence.
Parents are James Fawcett and Pauline Fawcett (who passed away on March 4, 2005).
Was originally a Microbiology major in college until changing her major to Art in her sophomore year.
Was neighbor of Tori Spelling and Aaron Spelling for 10 years
She attended Rodney Dangerfield's memorial at which she held a Native American butterfly release ceremony and is sculpting a bronze life-size statue of Rodney to be placed in Pierce Brothers Memorial Park.
Filmed an episode of "Chasing Farrah"(2005) at her parents' home in Houston.
10/06: Revealed she is battling cancer of the intestine and is undergoing radiation treatment.
Sister of Diane Fawcett Walls (who passed away on October 16, 2001).
Following the debut of "Charlie's Angels" (1976), the number of baby girls named Farrah increased dramatically in the US. In 1977 it was the 177th most popular name.
2/2/07: Officially declared cancer-free.
3/06: Chosen by Australian mens magazine Zoo weekly as one of the "Top 50 Hottest Babes Ever".
Early in career appeared as a contestant on "The Dating Game" (1965).
5/07: It was revealed that her cancer has returned after three months of her being cancer-free. She was having a routine check-up and a small polyp was found that turned out to be malignant and she underwent treatment again. She was to have a steel seed implanted that will emit radiation.
Family friend Farrah Forke was named after her.
Best friend of Alana Stewart.
She has been battling cancer for three years and recently returned from Germany, where she had experimental stem-cell treatment.
Hospitalized in a Los Angeles hospital in a critical condition [April 5, 2009].
Released from a Los Angeles hospital after receiving treatment for abdominal bleeding on April 9, 2009.
She died on the same day as Michael Jackson.
Personal Quotes:
The reason that the all-American boy prefers beauty to brains is that he can see better than he can think.
Marriages that last are with people who do not live in Los Angeles.
God gave women intuition and femininity. Used properly, the combination easily jumbles the brain of any man I've ever met.

CHILDREN CAN NOW MEET DAD'S GAY FRIENDS

2009-06-18T16:36:00.003-04:00

The Georgia Supreme Court on Monday threw out a judge’s order that prohibited children in a divorce case from having any contact with their father’s gay and lesbian friends.
The ruling was hailed by gay rights groups who said the decision focuses on the needs of children instead of perpetuating a stigma on the basis of sexual orientation.
The state high court’s decision overturned Fayette County Superior Court Judge Christopher Edwards’ blanket prohibition against exposing the children to their father’s gay partners and friends.
“Such an arbitrary classification based on sexual orientation flies in the face of our public policy that encourages divorced parents to participate in the raising of their children,” Justice Robert Benham wrote.
The Fayette County judge’s prohibition “assumes, without evidentiary support, that the children will suffer harm from any such contact,” Benham wrote. But there is no evidence that any member of the gay and lesbian community has engaged in inappropriate conduct in the presence of the children or that the children would be adversely affected by being exposed to members of that community, he said.
The ruling stems from the 2007 divorce of Eric Duane Mongerson and Sandy Kay Ehlers Mongerson, who had been married 21 years and had four children.
The visitation order prohibited the three youngest children, whose ages ranged from 8 to 16 at the time, from being in contact with their father’s gay and lesbian friends. The oldest child was already an adult.
Hannibal Heredia, an Atlanta lawyer representing Eric Mongerson, called the court’s ruling “the proper decision.”
Sandy Mongerson’s attorney, Lance McMillian, said the mother does not plan to appeal. “My client is interested in putting it behind her,” he said. “Other than that, we don’t have anything to say about it.”
Beth Littrell, staff attorney for the Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund in Atlanta, said the visitation order was the most sweeping of its kind she had seen in Georgia.
“Placing a blanket ban on children’s association with gay people not only hurts this father’s relationship with his children, it is blatant discrimination,” Littrell said. “The court has done the right thing today by focusing on the needs of the children instead of perpetuating stigma on the basis of sexual orientation.”
The ruling, she added, ensures that visitation decisions are “not based on the prejudices of individual judges.”

IS IT POSSIBLE FOR SOMEONE TO BE TOO GAY?

2009-06-17T16:32:00.006-04:00

Admit it, you've seen some tragic queen bounding down the street, having just drank way too much at [fill in name of your favorite gay bar], screaming and cackling and shouting "hey girl! hey girl!" and you roll your eyes and turn the other way, hoping she doesn't lock onto you.
Maybe you rolled your eyes. Maybe you laughed. Maybe you cheered her on and screamed "go girl" right back. Whatever the case, does it matter how someone acts? Does any one person really represent the gay community? Can someone be -- gasp! -- too gay?
There are times in all of our lives, whether we're the most secure, successful person around or have a few too many doubts about ourselves, where we bow our head in shame at someone acting out of sorts and we get embarrassed. Not necessarily for the person who's being a jackass, but really, we're thinking, "Oh my god, all those people are staring at me! They think that I'm just like that guy!"
Truth of the matter is that yes, some people do think all gay people are alike, but most (hopefully) realize that we're a diverse group. Sure, people whose only interaction with the gay world is the news recap of the local annual Pride parade when all they see are the half-naked go-go boys or the drag queens wearing uber-platforms—those people probably do think we're a bunch of sex-crazed flamers. That's just because the news shows the most, um, colorful bits to the rest of the world.
So, is there a line that someone crosses and they become too gay? Personally, I say no. Bring it on. Be who you are. Let your freak flag fly if you want. That's the beauty of our community—we are diverse. We comprise disparate personalities and interests. But sometimes people do think someone is too gay, that they want them to tone it down. They just need to get over themselves.
I remember an episode of Will & Grace when Will takes Jack to his upscale, professional gym and is embarrassed by Jack, who is just being himself. Jack ends up overhearing Will tell Grace that Jack is "such a fag," and gets hurt. In the end, Will realizes he was projecting and was fearful of others thinking he was too gay instead of just being himself and people accepting—or not accepting—him for whoever or whatever he is.
We have to let our own personal issues go and let people be themselves. At least until they get too drunk, start acting like a fool and knock your drink out of your hand. Then you get to slap them. Just don't call them a fag. Then you'll be crossing a line.

SEXY CALVIN KLEIN AD STIRS CONTROVERSEY IN NYC

2009-06-16T15:24:00.002-04:00

It's hard to offend a New Yorker with an advertisement, but that's not to say that people won't keep trying. The latest racy billboard hoping to shock people is in SoHo, and it features four partially clothed models in a sexually suggestive situation.A billboard is supposed to catch your eye, and in this instance, consider that mission accomplished.

Barbara Lippert is Ad Critic for Adweek Media Magazine, and said the billboard seems like a desperate act for Calvin Klein. "I think he really wants to get back into the ballpark because he doesn't seem relevant anymore," Lippert said. "The worst thing would be to get no attention at all. So if you need to throw in another two or three dudes to get that attention so people will say, 'what' and really give it a second look, he'll do that."

Asked about the message in the ad, a Calvin Klein spokesman said the "intention was to create a very sexy campaign that speaks to our targeted demographic."

DO WE STILL NEED PRIDE PARADES?

2009-06-15T12:50:00.002-04:00

As the 40th anniversary of the legendary uprising at Greenwich Village's now-historic Stonewall Inn approaches, we can look back at the brave men and women who raised up their hands and fists and said, "No more!" People were tired of being harassed, tired of being corralled and led away in shame and dishonor, tired of being treated like second-class citizens.
When the Stonewall was raided shortly after midnight on June 28, 1969, a group of gay men, lesbians, drag queens, street youth, hustlers and more fought back against the police. They used coins, bricks, garbage, bottles and their voices to tell the "authorities" to step the fuck back.
Two years later, the first gay pride parades took place in Los Angeles and New York and have spread to cities large and small the world over. But after 40 years, do we still need to gather in the streets in our capitals and small towns to tell the world, "We're here. We're queer..."? Ah, you know the rest.
It's an interesting concept, the pride parade. Whether it's to show Puerto Rican pride, Irish pride, American pride ... gay pride, people want to gather in the streets each year to say, "Hell yeah, this is who I am and I love it!" But do annual Pride parades still have the same objectives and reach the same goals today as they did 20 —or even 10—years ago? The gay community has made major strides in the last decade. We have representatives in politics, entertainment, sports, science and adademics, and we are allowed to get married or have a civil union in dozens of countries and a number of U.S. states. Yet we still have a ways to go before we truly have equality.
When you think about Pride in your town or city, what first comes to mind? Is it the riots that started our gay liberation? Is it the political factions who helped us get where we are? Perhaps it's the companies that supported our rights to work alongside straight people and get the same benefits. Or do you just think about how fucked up you're going to get while watching hot, buff, gyrating go-go boys toss beads your way?
However you view your Pride, you can't deny we got to this place today by the support and help of a lot of people. Whether you were in the trenches fighting or benefitted from those actions, each summer we come together to remember how we got here. But why can't we do this everyday? There is plenty of dissention within our community to make us all take pause and ask what it is we're proud of. If each of us takes a step back and thinks about it, we can remember something in each of our lives that makes us proud to be gay. But is it because of some politician or some company or a big fat party? Yes.
There are many ways to show pride in who you are. If you feel like you have to get wasted to do it, so be it. Otherwise, stay home. Just make sure you do something on one of the other 364 days of the year.

JUNE PRIDE EVENTS ACROSS AMERICA AND AROUND THE GLOBE

2009-06-11T15:23:00.014-04:00

June is the biggest month for gay Pride events. This year marks the 40th anniversary of Stonewall, the event that started it all. Enjoy Pride 2009!

Pride events with links:

Boston Pride Jun 5-14, 2009
http://www.bostonpride.org/

Capital Pride Jun 5-14, 2009 in Washington DC
http://www.capitalpride.org/

Central Alabama Pride Jun 5-14, 2009 in Birmingham
http://centralalabamapride.org/

Pridefest Key West Jun 6-14, 2009
http://www.pridefestkeywest.com/

Newark-Essex Pride Week Jun 8-14, 2009 in Newark, NJ
http://www.newarkessexpride.org/

Albuquerque Pride Jun 11-13, 2009
http://www.abqpride.com/

Milwaukee Pridefest Jun 12-14, 2009
http://www.pridefest.com/

LA Pride Jun 12-14, 2009
http://www.lapride.org/

Des Moines Capital City Pride Jun 12-14, 2009
http://www.capitalcitypride.org/

Edmonton Pride Jun 12-21, 2009
http://www.prideedmonton.org/

Tel Aviv Pride Jun 12, 2009
http://www.glbt.org.il/tourisemContentItems.php?isTour=1&sectionID=1136&parentID=705

Pride Northwest Portland Jun 13-14, 2009 in Portland,OR
http://www.pridenw.org/

Cincinnati Pride Alive Jun 13-14, 2009
http://www.cincyglbt.com/

Indy Pride Parade & Festival Jun 13, 2009 in Indianapolis
http://www.indyprideinc.com/

San Jose Gay Pride Jun 13-14, 2009
http://www.sanjosepride.com/

Pittsburgh Pride Jun 12-14, 2009
http://pittsburghpride.org/

Brooklyn Pride Celebration Jun 13, 2009
http://www.brooklynpride.org/

Pride Picnic Jun 13, 2009 in Erie, PA
http://www.eriegaynews.com/news/article.php?recordid=2009picnicpromo

Pridefest SA Jun 13, 2009 in San Antonio
http://pridefestsatx.com/default.aspx

Anchorage Pride Jun 13-21, 2009
http://www.anchoragepride.com/

Philadelphia PrideDay Jun 14, 2009
http://www.phillypride.org/

Winnipeg Pride Jun 14, 2009
http://gaypridewinnipeg.com/

Long Island Pride Parade Jun 14, 2009 in Huntington, Long Island, NY
http://www.liprideparade.com/

South Carolina Black Pride Jun 18-21, 2009 in Columbia, SC
http://www.southcarolinablackpride.com/

Frameline 33: San Francisco International LGBT Film Festival Jun 18-28, 2009
http://www.frameline.org/index.aspx

Toronto Pride Jun 19-28, 2009
http://www.pridetoronto.com/

Kentuckiana Pride Festival Jun 19-20, 2009 in Louisville, KY
http://kentuckianapridefestival.com/

Columbus Pride Jun 19-21, 2009
http://www.columbuspride.org/

Hawaii Island Pride Jun 19-21, 2009 in Hawaii
http://www.hawaiiislandpride.com/

New York City Pride Jun 20-28, 2009
http://www.hopinc.org/

Baltimore Pride Jun 20-21, 2009
http://www.baltimorepride.org/

Cleveland Gay Pride Festival Jun 20, 2009
http://www.clevelandpride.org/home/

Sacramento Pride Jun 20, 2009
http://www.sacramentopride.org/

Boise Pride Jun 20, 2009 in Boise, ID
http://www.boisepride.org/

Southern Maine Pride Parade & Festival Jun 20, 2009 in Portland, ME
http://www.southernmainepride.org/

Rhode Island PrideFest Jun 20, 2009 in Providence, RI
http://www.prideri.com/

Nashville Pride Jun 20, 2009
http://nashvillepride.org/

Syracuse Pride Jun 20, 2009 in Syracuse, NY
http://www.cnypride.org/

West Michigan Pride Jun 20, 2009 in Grand Rapids, MI
http://www.westmipride.org/

Pride Barcelona Jun 20-28, 2009 in Barcelona, Spain
http://www.pridebarcelona.com/esp/home.html

CSD Cologne Pride Jun 20-Jul 5, 2009 in Cologne, Germany
http://csd-cologne.de/index_en.html

XXXI Marcha del Orgullo LGBTTTI Jun 20, 2009 in Mexico City
http://www.redorgullo.com.mx/

Antwerp Pride Jun 25-28, 2009 in Antwerp
http://antwerppride.com/

San Francisco Pride Jun 27-28
http://www.sfpride.org/

Minneapolis/St.Paul Pride Jun 27-28, 2009
http://www.tcpride.org/index_splash_2009.php

Denver PrideFest Jun 27-28, 2009
http://www.pridefestdenver.org/

Houston Pride Jun 27, 2009
http://www.pridehouston.org/

Tampa/St. Pete Pride Jun 27, 2009
http://www.stpetepride.com/

Madrid Pride Jun 27-Jul 4, 2009
http://www.cogam.org/en/secciones/orgullo-lgtb

St. Louis PrideFest Jun 27-28, 2009
http://www.pridestl.org/index.html

Pride on the Plaza Jun 27, 2009 in Santa Fe
http://santafehra.org/

Oklahoma City Pride Jun 27-28, 2009
http://okcpride.org/

Paris Gay Pride Jun 27, 2009 in Paris
http://www.gaypride.fr/

Outburst UK Jun 27, 2009 in London
http://www.outburstfestival.org/

Berlin Gay Pride Jun 27, 2009 in Berlin
http://www.csd-berlin.de/

Seattle Pride Jun 28, 2009 in Seattle
http://www.seattlepride.org/

Chicago Pride Jun 28, 2009 in Chicago
http://www.chicagopridecalendar.org/

The Million Gay March Jun 28, 2009 in San Francisco

http://sanfrancisco.gaycities.com/events/424-the-million-gay-march

If your city/event has been left out, you have additional info you'd like to share, are a performer or organizer at an event or simply have some tips, a club to go to, etc, please mention in comments or email with info/pic and we will mention on BLOGBAG throughout June.

GAY PENGUIN PAIR RAISE CHICK

2009-06-10T13:45:00.003-04:00

A German zoo says a pair of gay male penguins are raising a chick from an egg abandoned by its parents.
Bremerhaven zoo veterinarian Joachim Schoene says the egg was placed in the male penguins’ nest after its parents rejected it in late April. The males incubated it for some 30 days before it hatched and have continued to care for it. The chick’s gender is not yet known.
Schoene said the male birds, named Z and Vielpunkt, are one of three same-sex pairs among the zoo’s 20 Humboldt penguins that have attempted to mate.
Homosexual behavior has been documented in many animal species.
The zoo said in a statement on its Web site Thursday that “sex and coupling in our world don’t always have something to do with reproduction.”

FARRAH THE POSTER AND HEALTH UPDATE

2009-06-09T08:01:00.008-04:00

Owned by Farrah since 1976, the image created the poster industry. Fonzie, the Six Million Dollar Man, Wonder Woman, the cast of SNL and the Other Angels soon followed.

Poster appeared in LIFE MAGAZINE as one of the iconic images that defined the 70’s -- setting the still standing record of over 12 million copies sold.

Poster has been reproduced and bootlegged over one billion times, appearing on t-shirts, mugs, puzzles, notebooks, bean bag chairs and screen savers.

In 2007, G.Q. Magazine named the poster “the most influential piece of men’s art of the last 50 years.”

In 2008, AOL users voted the poster the #1 Pin Up of all time. Marilyn Monroe's pin-up was second.

Poster has appeared in such movies as SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER, CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE 3RD KIND, BOOGIE NIGHTS, and THE LOVE GURU.

Poster has appeared on such television shows as THAT 70’S SHOW, SCRUBS and MY NAME IS EARL.

Poster has appeared in music videos by Everclear and Alabama.

Poster was inside the time capsule of the Oblio Satellite Probe that was shot into space by NASA in 1977.

Poster hangs in the Smithsonian (with Fonzie's jacket and Archie Bunker's chair).

Over the weekend Farrah was visited by the Bishop and Sister Mary. Farrah requested steak from her favorite restaurant, The Palm, and was able to sit-up, cut the meat and feed herself. Reportedly, she was ravenous. She was also visited by her 91 year old father and his wife. She is surrounded by friends and family. Her cancer has spread to her liver and is in an advanced stage.

GAY RIGHTS ACTIVIST CALLS FOR MARCH ON WASHINGTON

2009-06-08T09:40:00.002-04:00

(Salt Lake City) An activist who worked alongside slain gay rights leader Harvey Milk announced plans Sunday for a march on Washington this fall to demand that Congress establish equality and marriage rights for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community.
Cleve Jones said the march planned for Oct. 11 will coincide with National Coming Out Day and launch a new chapter in the gay rights movement. He made the announcement during a rally at the annual Utah Pride Festival.
“We seek nothing more and nothing less than equal protection in all matters governed by civil law in all 50 states,” Jones said.
He stirred up a crowd of thousands just blocks from the Salt Lake City headquarters of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, part of a conservative coalition that worked last fall to pass California’s Proposition 8, which overturned a court ruling legalizing gay marriage.
“I’ve got a message for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,” Jones shouted. “I’ve got two words from California … I’ve got two words for the prophet … Thank you. Thank you for uniting us. Thank you for galvanizing us.”
Mormons were among the campaign’s most vigorous volunteers and financial contributors, giving tens of millions of dollars to back Proposition 8, which Jones said has helped awaken and unite the gay rights movement in all 50 states.
Like many faiths, Mormons hold traditional marriage as a sacred institution. The church has been active in fighting marriage equality legislation across the U.S. since the 1990s and, in 2006, joined other faiths in asking Congress for a marriage amendment to the Constitution.
Gay marriage is legal in six states. A handful of others allow civil unions for same-sex couples and about 40 either bar the recognition of same-sex marriage or have explicitly defined marriage - through legislation or constitutional amendments - as between a man and a woman.
Jones was a protege of Milk, San Francisco’s first openly gay elected official, who was shot and killed by a fellow member of the Board of Supervisors in 1978. In the mid-80s Jones founded the NAMES Project, the AIDS memorial quilt that recognizes the more than 80,000 Americans who have died from HIV/AIDS.
In an interview Friday, he said a confluence of events - a new president, the success of the movie “Milk” and Proposition 8 - makes this the right time to intensify the fight for equality.
Since November, Jones said he has received hundreds of e-mails from Latter-day Saints who apologized and said they were uncomfortable or ashamed by the faith’s fight against Proposition 8.
“It’s unfortunate that a church and a people who experienced persecution in the past could not come to some accommodation that would allow them to maintain their faith without so vociferously seeking to deny other people their rights,” Jones said.

SUMMER IS ALMOST HERE

2009-06-04T17:31:00.003-04:00

It's that time of year again. Put all your flannel boxers away and get yourself some new underwear to get ready. The beach, the heat, the fun! What better way to get you in the mood for summer than some sexy new underpants. There are so many cuts, colors and styles to choose from. Briefs are making a major comeback, but trunks, boxers and hybrids are all still lookin' good. A little color underneath those pants/shorts is a nice reminder for yourself of the days to come. Sky blue, yellow, and pink are some hot colors for late spring/early summer. Of course, stick with those all summer long if you choose, however, why not get a little more adventurous. Red, royal blue, purple, orange and bright green are some hot trends for this summer. So, while you're dreaming about the beach and hot summer days that lead to hot summer nights, run out and grab some new skivvies to get a head start and heat things up right now.

NEW HAMPSHIRE PASSES GAY MARRIAGE BILL

2009-06-03T16:34:00.004-04:00

After reaching a compromise on religious liberty language over the weekend, the marriage equality bill passed both houses of the state legislature today and now goes to Governor John Lynch for his signature. The state Senate passed the bill this morning 14-10 and the state House just now 198-176.
With the Governor’s signature, New Hampshire will be the sixth state to grant same-sex couples equality under the law through civil marriage.

PRESIDENT OBAMA MAKES JUNE PRIDE MONTH PROCLAMATION

2009-06-02T18:31:00.005-04:00

Forty years ago, patrons and supporters of the Stonewall Inn in New York City resisted police harassment that had become all too common for members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community. Out of this resistance, the LGBT rights movement in America was born. During LGBT Pride Month, we commemorate the events of June 1969 and commit to achieving equal justice under law for LGBT Americans.
LGBT Americans have made, and continue to make, great and lasting contributions that continue to strengthen the fabric of American society. There are many well-respected LGBT leaders in all professional fields, including the arts and business communities. LGBT Americans also mobilized the Nation to respond to the domestic HIV/AIDS epidemic and have played a vital role in broadening this country’s response to the HIV pandemic.
Due in no small part to the determination and dedication of the LGBT rights movement, more LGBT Americans are living their lives openly today than ever before. I am proud to be the first President to appoint openly LGBT candidates to Senate-confirmed positions in the first 100 days of an Administration. These individuals embody the best qualities we seek in public servants, and across my Administration — in both the White House and the Federal agencies — openly LGBT employees are doing their jobs with distinction and professionalism.
The LGBT rights movement has achieved great progress, but there is more work to be done. LGBT youth should feel safe to learn without the fear of harassment, and LGBT families and seniors should be allowed to live their lives with dignity and respect.
My Administration has partnered with the LGBT community to advance a wide range of initiatives. At the international level, I have joined efforts at the United Nations to decriminalize homosexuality around the world. Here at home, I continue to support measures to bring the full spectrum of equal rights to LGBT Americans. These measures include enhancing hate crimes laws, supporting civil unions and Federal rights for LGBT couples, outlawing discrimination in the workplace, ensuring adoption rights, and ending the existing “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy in a way that strengthens our Armed Forces and our national security. We must also commit ourselves to fighting the HIV/AIDS epidemic by both reducing the number of HIV infections and providing care and support services to people living with HIV/AIDS across the United States.
These issues affect not only the LGBT community, but also our entire Nation. As long as the promise of equality for all remains unfulfilled, all Americans are affected. If we can work together to advance the principles upon which our Nation was founded, every American will benefit. During LGBT Pride Month, I call upon the LGBT community, the Congress, and the American people to work together to promote equal rights for all, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim June 2009 as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Pride Month. I call upon the people of the United States to turn back discrimination and prejudice everywhere it exists.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this first day of June, in the year of our Lord two thousand nine, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-third.

BARACK OBAMA

NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY GAY RIGHTS EXHIBIT GOOD TIMING

2009-06-01T12:56:00.003-04:00

NEW YORK (Reuters) - As exhibitions go, the New York Public Library's "1969: The Year of Gay Liberation" could hardly have chosen better timing.
With debate raging over same-sex marriage across the United States, the library in midtown Manhattan opened the exhibit on Monday to mark the 40th anniversary of the so-called Stonewall riots that triggered the modern U.S. gay rights movement.
Photos, documents, clippings from the gay media and other artifacts illustrate what was a shocking development at the time: homosexual men and women coming out of the closet to demonstrate for their civil rights, often at great risk.
The free exhibit will run at the main branch all of June.
"We tend to forget how radical these activists were. They risked their lives and safety for this cause. That's what this exhibition is about," said Jason Baumann, the curator.
Starting around June 28, 1969, the Stonewall riots refer to a week of violent clashes on Christopher Street in Greenwich Village between patrons of a gay bar called the Stonewall and police who had periodically raided the bar, arresting gays under morals laws of the era.
The crackdown was also tied up in a dispute between the mafia that owned the bar and corrupt police officers seeking payoffs for protection, but it unleashed a year of protests culminating with the first gay pride parade in 1970.
The exhibit chronicles groups such as the Gay Liberation Front, the Radicalesbians and the Street Transvestites Action Revolutionaries who took to the streets at a time when protests against the Vietnam War were raging and the Black Panthers were fighting for African-American rights.
It also serves as a reminder of how far gay, lesbian, transgender and bisexual people have come in 40 years, to the point where now they are fighting for same-sex marriage rights.
Massachusetts approved same-sex marriage in 2004, and five other states have followed suit, although California's law was overturned by a ballot initiative. Several states extend same-sex civil unions.
Further battles on the issue are expected across the country.
"It's perfect timing. It's topical," Baumann said of the New York exhibit. "This is not a strategy by the library on marriage. But the library has taken a stand that this history is worth presenting. This is an issue people need to know about."

ACLU: SCHOOL CENSORED STUDENT'S HARVEY MILK REPORT

2009-05-31T14:59:00.002-04:00

The American Civil Liberties Union is threatening to sue a San Diego County school that refused to let a student present a report on slain gay rights leader Harvey Milk until her classmates got their parents’ permission to hear it.David Blair-Loy, legal director of the ACLU of San Diego County, said the principal of Mt. Woodson Elementary School in Ramona violated the free speech rights of 6th-grader Natalie Jones, who was the only student in her class prevented from giving an in-class presentation.Principal Theresa Grace concluded last month that the subject of the girl’s project triggered a district policy requiring parents to be notified in writing before their children are exposed to lessons dealing with sex, according to Blair-Loy and Natalie’s mother.After the principal sent letters to alert parents about the “sensitive topic,” Natalie was allowed to give her 12-page PowerPoint report during the May 8 lunch recess, but not in class, Blair-Loy said. Eight of the 13 students in her class attended, he said.In a letter to the Ramona Unified District on May 20, the ACLU demanded that school officials apologize to Natalie and clarify its sex education policy. It also wants the girl to be given the chance to present her biographical account of Milk’s life and death in class.“It’s not about sex, it’s not about sex education. It’s a presentation about a historical figure who happened to be gay,” Blair-Loy said.Milk became one of the first gay men elected to political office in the United States in 1977 when he won a seat on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. He was assassinated a year later along with Mayor George Moscone. Former supervisor Dan White was convicted of voluntary manslaughter for the killings.

ADVICE FROM POPE BENEDICT

2009-05-30T17:17:00.002-04:00

(Vatican City) Marital fidelity and a “moral view” of sexuality are the best strategies to stop the spread of AIDS, Pope Benedict said Friday, addressing the issue for the first time since his comments on condoms during a trip to Africa caused a stir.

Benedict did not mention condoms in speeches welcoming Namibia’s and South Africa’s new ambassadors to the Vatican, but reiterated the Catholic Church’s position on the disease, which is pandemic in Africa.
“Only a strategy based on education to individual responsibility in the framework of a moral view of human sexuality, especially through conjugal fidelity, can have a real impact on the prevention of this disease,” the Pope said.
Addressing the South African ambassador, Benedict said the church would continue to campaign against the spread of AIDS “by emphasizing fidelity within marriage and abstinence outside of it.”
Benedict drew unprecedented criticism from European governments, international organizations and scientists in March when he said that distributing condoms was not the answer to Africa’s AIDS problem and could make it worse. He said a moral attitude toward sex would help fight the disease.
Though the position was not new, the questioning of the usefulness of condoms and the fact that the Pope made the comments on the plane carrying him to AIDS-plagued Africa sparked a storm of criticism.
France, Germany, the United Nations’ AIDS-fighting agency and the British medical journal The Lancet called the remarks irresponsible and dangerous.
The Vatican countered that critics were trying to intimidate Benedict and dissuade him from expressing himself on moral issues.

OBAMA BRINGING G-20 SUMMIT TO PITTSBURGH, NO JOKE

2009-05-29T15:07:00.006-04:00

President Obama will host the next G-20 summit at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center in downtown Pittsburgh, where he and other world leaders will gather to discuss major global economic issues.

Obama had suggested Pittsburgh as a venue for the upcoming Sept. 24-25 forum at the end of the most recent G-20 in London last month, spokesman Robert Gibbs said.

The announcement of Pittsburgh as the host city drew some chuckles from the White House press corps Thursday in Washington, D.C.

One reason Pittsburgh was chosen to host the G-20 is that Obama would like to highlight the city's continuing financial recovery, Gibbs said.

Joe McGrath, president of the Greater Pittsburgh Convention and Visitors Bureau, estimated the potential economic impact at "something north of $8 million" associated with the G-20 coming to Pittsburgh.

No joke!

FARRAH DECLINES FURTHER TREATMENT

2009-05-28T16:11:00.003-04:00

Farrah Fawcett's battle with stage 4 cancer has taken a turn for the worst, according to medical personnel, as the disease has spread to her liver.
Fawcett has refused further treatment and is surrounding herself with friends and family.
First diagnosed in 2006, Fawcett was offered an invasive, intensive and potentially ineffective surgical procedure to fight the cancer, but chose instead to embrace natural treatments outside the United States. Doctors have said they are unsure whether accepting local treatment would have made any difference to her situation.
Sadly, as Farrah moves towards her final curtain call, friends and colleagues have already begun fighting over her wishes.
A documentary Fawcett chose to create chronicling her fight against cancer has been seen by nearly 9 million people on NBC and may well earn the actress a posthumous Emmy award, but a follow-up documentary has been stopped by Fawcett's long-time companion, Ryan O'Neal.
O'Neal's crew continues to film Fawcett's fight against the inevitable, but where that footage will end up is uncertain.
Meanwhile, the director of the original documentary, Craig Nevius, is suing O'Neal for allegedly taking creative control of the project and ignoring Fawcett's instructions to angle the piece as a criticism of the U.S. health care industry.
Nevius also alleges Fawcett didn't want her son to be a part of the project, yet the documentary features footage of him in prison.
Adding to the perception that jackals are stalking Fawcett in her final hours is Larry Hackett, editor of People magazine, who told the New York Times, “We’re also on Farrah watch,” he said. “At this point Farrah has to die. It’s the only cover left for her.”

WE AREN'T DONE YET

2009-05-27T17:32:00.002-04:00

One of the most misunderstood stories in the Western moral tradition involves the "judgment of Solomon," which usually is taken as a metaphor for splitting the difference. But that's wrong. The story, for those who have forgotten, involves two harlots who came to King Solomon to resolve a dispute. Both recently had given birth, but one women's baby lived and the other's died. The woman who went to sleep with a living child and awoke to find a dead baby in her arms claimed that the other had switched their infants. Solomon listened to both and then announced that he would "cut the living child in two, and give half to one woman and half to the other." When one of the women renounced her claim "in anguish" and the other accepted the verdict, the king gave the anguished harlot the living child, for she had reacted as only the true mother would. The point, in other words, is that Solomon didn't split the baby. Justice divided is no justice at all.That's essentially the problem with the California Supreme Court's ruling Tuesday, upholding Proposition 8's ban on same-sex marriage while leaving legally intact the 18,000 or more unions the state already has sanctioned.Legal precedents notwithstanding -- and the six clearly nervous justices who made up the majority in this case reached all the way back to the state Constitution of 1849 for those -- Tuesday's decision was intellectually and morally incoherent. It essentially tells Californians that a right as fundamental as the ability to choose the marital partner of your choice is a kind of judicial lottery ticket -- if you got in early, you win, but those who arrived a few days late lose. Sorry.You could feel the justices straining for their convoluted result in every tortured sentence of Tuesday's 6-1 opinion, and it was impossible not to draw comparisons with the moral and legal clarity of the court's ruling last year that the state Constitution guaranteed gays and lesbians the right to wed the partner of their choice.That ruling, also written by Chief Justice Ronald M. George, drew deeply -- in spirit, at least -- on the philosopher Michael Walzer's insight that the American conception of moral progress consists not in the creation of novel rights but in the extension of those recognized as fundamental to those people to whom they've been denied. As such, the earlier decision stood in a distinguished line that includes Griswold vs. Connecticut and Brown vs. Board of Education -- in which courageous judges undertook to synchronize the law with the social conscience of their age.Tuesday's ruling stands in the line of moral retreat and expedient retrenchment that includes Dred Scott vs. Sandford, Plessy vs. Ferguson and Korematsu vs. the United States. Consider this passage from George's latest majority opinion, asserting -- against all reason -- that Proposition 8 did not entirely repeal or abrogate same-sex couples' right to privacy and due process or the "constitutional right of same-sex couples to 'choose one's life partner and enter with that person into a committed, officially recognized and protected family relationship.' " Instead, George wrote, "the measure carves out a narrow and limited exception to these state 'constitutional rights.' " George went on to argue that Proposition 8 did not abrogate "all of the other extremely significant substantive aspects of a same-sex couple's state constitutional right to establish an officially recognized and protected family relationship and the guarantee of equal protection under the laws."In other words, gay and lesbian Californians can board the marital bus but must take seats at the rear.Moreover, denying an entire class of people the right to marry the partner of their choice is a "narrow exception" to the equal protection clause? And it's morally permissible to carve out exceptions to constitutional rights for specific groups, as long as it's done by majority vote?So, if a majority of Californians voted to "carve out a narrow exception" to California's right to privacy and applied it only to Jews, would it be constitutionally acceptable? If Native Americans were accorded all the protections of the law by a ballot proposition, except the right to marry a non-Indian, would that be legal? This is social and moral nonsense. The court tried Tuesday to cover itself with a fig leaf of decency by allowing the 18,000 existing same-sex marriages to stand. It won't work. This is a logically and morally incoherent decision that simply will plunge the state into another round of bitterly divisive initiative politics, while adding fuel to the growing sense that all three branches of California's government have lost the ability to function in the public interest.

NORTH AMERICAN FLU

2009-05-27T10:36:00.003-04:00

Really interesting and ironic to see so many Asians @ Niagara Falls last weekend wearing gloves and masks. Hasn't it always been the crazy Americans who are worried they are going to catch some deadly illness when traveling overseas? This fellow is on the "Rainbow Bridge", near the international boundary between the U.S. and Canada. Wish I would have taken more pics of some of the others, like the Japanese woman who was pratically mummified. She had mask, scarf, gloves, wrap-around glasses and what looked to be a jumpsuit of some kind. Didn't want to be rude and didn't have time to ask permission for her photo. I think it's a great statement and pokes fun at how cocky we Americans are. People from India are by far the largest group of foreign tourists to be found at the Falls on any given day, a sign of how wealthy people from the sub-continent have become or just an indication of their love for waterfalls and rainbows? None of them had masks. I wonder why?

FARRAH'S HAIR

2009-05-26T18:18:00.004-04:00

That big wavy lion’s mane of hair was Farrah’s trademark. For years, EVERY WOMAN in the appropriate age bracket wanted her hairstyle. If you know anything at all about hair, you’d realize that it would be a complete impossiblity for most. You’d have to possess a particular thickness, length and degree of manageability that most people just wouldn’t have – and then the maitenance on that style would be killer. But that didn’t stop a lot of girls from trying.
Farrah has changed her hair over the years. She’s gone quite short several times. But she does grow it out and periodically return to a variation of the style that she made famous. She should find a similar style and stick with it. It was a look that really suited her.

GLAMOROUS FARRAH

2009-05-22T19:55:00.003-04:00

Early Farrah glamour shot.

I DREAM OF FARRAH

2009-05-22T19:37:00.001-04:00

It's Farrah time! Exploring everything Farrah. Be it her iconic beauty, "Farrah Fawcett-Majors" period, films, TV episodes, interviews, posters, pictures, art and personal philosophy...so let's go!