Facebook caused global controversy recently when they decided, in all their infinite wisdom, to remove a photograph of two men kissing after it was flagged by some homophobes as being “offensive”. The moderator in question didn’t seem to see a problem with obeying the vocal minority who have a warped sense of reality and promptly complied, removing the said image from a page.

Conveniently, this story also ties in to my previous report on the homophobic incident in London, where two young men were evicted from a Soho pub by the landlord and landlady for being “obscene” and daring to share a kiss.

The page on Facebook was a blog entry by Richard Metzger, commenting on the incident. Want to see the offending pic?

I know! Disgusting isn’t it? How dare someone post such a “sexually suggestive” image on Facebook, and on a blog post about gay rights too!

It’s actually quite funny to think that a post about gay rights and homophobia toward a male couple kissing was targeted in this way by the Facebook staff. It’s not quite irony, but close to it.

The Sexually suggestive element of this image is purportedly what Facebook objected to, although I fail to see why this is any more sexually suggestive than any one of the billions of images there must already be on Facebook of heterosexual couples kissing. So is it only sexually suggestive if the couple are both male? How about if it were two women, I wonder how that would be viewed by the almighty overseers at FB?

Never fear though, because the gay community and their friends are here to help out when our clan is being abused unjustly. Before you could utter the words a-moderator-lost-their-job-today thousands of copies of the image flooded FB profiles and pages in protest at the move, forcing FB staff to eventually back down and apologize for what they called an error.

In what could be considered an unemotional retraction (perhaps even reluctant?) FB staff released an official statement on the matter, suggesting ““The photo in question does not violate our Statement of Rights and Responsibilities and was removed in error. We apologise for the inconvenience.”

Well, in more emotive speak I would like to say SUCK MY BALLS FB!

A royal cock-up like that requires a little more than an unfeeling response after being pressured into making a U-turn.

What I would have expected would have been something along the lines of… “We are terribly sorry for this unfortunate incident. It was not our intention to suggest that we supported homophobia. While it is clear that some members of our vast staff may be considerably backward and unenlightened, FB itself supports diversity and equality. To adequately display our regret and assert our support for the GLBT community globally, we have made a $1m donation to Amnesty International in the names of the two gentlemen at the heart of this story.”

But no, apparently their PR people are paid less than that idiotic moderator responsible for this fiasco!

What do you think, were FB right to remove it? Should their apology have had more meat on the bones? Will a squirrel fall from a tree if you hit the trunk with a hammer?

There are certain places you might not want to go to in the UK if you happen to be a little, shall we say, “flamboyant”. But a pub in the heart of the capital, surrounded by passing gay customers is not somewhere you’d expect to be confronted by a splash of homophobic sentiment.

It might be fair to expect a little icy attitude in a mining town or a rural farming pub, but not in the capital of our country, surely?

For those who don’t know, Soho in London is the capital-of-the-capital when it comes to the gay scene. It’s right up there with Camden for the alternative and liberal. This little area of our fabulous city is the place we all go whenever we’re in town. In the summer it is the epicenter of everything in gay culture, pretty much.  The music is pumping, the men are often shirtless and the women are ogled by all the straight locals as they enjoy a cuddle on the grass.

The place is packed with bars and restaurants, and the majority display insignia and rainbow colors to signify their welcoming attitude. Statements like “Gay Friendly” and “Gay Owned and Operated” are not uncommon, because it makes sense to appeal to your largest target audience, doesn’t it?

The Landlord and Landlady of the John Snow pub in Broadwick street Soho don’t seem to think so. They must have so many customers that they can afford to throw out the poof’s and the queen’s. Or perhaps they just missed a marketing for dummies seminar that they really should have attended?

They certainly don’t seem too bothered about letting down their operator – the Samuel Smith Brewery – through embarrassment and the inevitable negative press this will gain them.

It all began late one night as two cute boys on their first date chose to stop by in the John Snow for a drink after their enjoyable dinner. Johnathan Williams and James Bull had been having a thoroughly nice evening by the sounds of things, nice enough to enjoy a little snogging at their table. Cheeky fellas.

Now what would normally be considered uneventful in a London pub – in Soho – appears to have upset the off-duty Landlord (is that like an off-duty cop?) who interrupted the pair and asked them to stop because they were “bothering him”. How seeing two people kissing can bother a person is anyones guess. Perhaps the fella was jealous, who knows?

They ignored the unhappy chappy and continued their drink, enjoying another peck on the lips before heading off, only to be confronted again by a woman in branded uniform claiming to be the landlady. Apparently she advised them that they had to leave because they were being obscene.

After leaving (while being guided by hands on lapels, no less!) a Police report was filed. It later emerged that a couple (straight no less!) were also asked to leave shortly after for daring to question the Landlord and Landlady’s attitude!

Wow, it’s a double whammy of professional ineptitude isn’t it?

The witnesses to this (lets call it what it is) bigotry, have stated that no one else seemed to mind the young male couple loving it up, all except for this one man, and apparently his partner too.

Despite the nastiness of the Pub staff, it’s refreshing to see another couple stepping forward to show their support. They didn’t have to say anything about it, they could have just done what many others do when they see racism, homophobia or general bigotry and just pretended it wasn’t happening. But they didn’t, they stood up for them.

And that is the Soho I know and love!

I guess it might be wise for the Samuel Smith Brewery to hire an expensive PR company in an effort to rectify the damage – this only happened on Wednesday 13th, but the damage to brand and reputation is spreading fast!

With just over two months until Soho is inundated with us “Obscene” people celebrating Gay Pride, they couldn’t have chosen a worse time to reveal their homophobia. The first week of July should be one of their busiest weeks of the year, and I have a feeling it won’t be.

If you happen to be attending this year, join me and we’ll pop in just to tell them that we’re heading to the Admiral Duncan instead :)

No jokes about finding gay skeletons in a closet. Although that’s quite deep and could spawn a meaningful story of youth lost through fear, that’s not what this is all about. I’ll save that for a later date.

A 5,000-year-old skeleton has been uncovered in the Czech Republic which seems to suggest that the remains were that of a gay man, transsexual or a male otherwise viewed by his society as female.

No, there were no feather boas, no male nurse uniform or hair stylist implements. Rather, researchers suggest that the burial of the body reflects traditions more associated to female members of society than males.
So here’s the “facts” part (which you should read instead of just taking my word for it)

Males were traditionally buried with food and drink (no beer cans reported as of yet), weapons and hunting tools, and their bodies laying on their right side with their heads facing West. Whereas women were buried on their left side facing East, surrounded by jewellery, their pets (which is really creepy, did they die together on the morning poop walk?) and cooking vessels. Notably, females were buried with an egg shaped container near their feet. Although not many of the typical items expected to be found with a female were present in this grave, there were no male-associated implements or offerings there either, only an egg shaped vessel.

Now it seems that no one really knows what that egg shaped thing means. But as they are traditionally buried with women, is it not fair to assume that this symbolises a mother figure? Someone noticed that birds lay eggs, they care for those eggs until they hatch and they are suddenly a mother. Therefore it’s fair to guess that this is where that egg shaped thing comes from, am I right?

Does this show that they had some confusion when deciding whether this person was male or female, or does it perhaps depict their place in society? It seems that this guy was not seen as a warrior or fighter, and it seems there were no hunting skills here either. So what did he do? What was his place in society?

You might not think it’s important. I mean, how does this minor discovery affect any of us? But there is at least one way in which this nameless guy can help us…

Think of the next time you meet a bigot. And now instead of using the same old “Look at the Romans” you can go back even further and say “Look at the Czechoslovakian cavemen!”

Okay, so it doesn’t quite have the same power, but it does show that the roles of gay people in society have always been on the mind. Even 5,000 years ago they were perhaps debating the role of gender and sexuality in society, and by the looks of things they were accepting it too. This man obviously had his place, he was respected enough to have equality, and there probably wasn’t even a fight to gain it. You’d think that if homosexuality was a punishable offence 5,000 years ago, this guy certainly wouldn’t have been buried with respect. In fact he would probably not have lived much beyond his teenage years.

I think that what it should remind us of most of all, is that – if this man was gay, which we don’t really KNOW (lets not out him just yet) – sexuality was never really a problem for numerous societies throughout the history of Mankind. Whether it’s a tribe in South America who encourage male mutual masturbation as a form of bonding, or the Greek warriors fighting alongside their male lovers while their wives worried at home, many societies throughout history never really considered what was right or wrong when it came to sex.

So when did things change? When did we suddenly “socially devolve” and decide that the right to sleep with another adult was open to public discussion and judgement?

Yep, I think we all know the answer to that, don’t we?

Its one of those sites where you need to register before you can do anything, but it took all of one minute to do this and cost me nothing. Enter a valid email address and make up a password, you get a validation email sent to you straight away, you click that, you go back to a new page and enter the two words, by way of a further anti-spam/hack measure, and there you go, you’re in.

So, step one was simple and fast. Step two was slightly more involved and here is where it is important to remember the number one rule of joining a dating/hook-up site: be honest. There is no point in putting you details down in such a way that you appear to be some kind of Greek good, or goddess, when you’re not – it will only lead to disappointment later. The first page of details is a simple one with the basics like your name, the name you want to be known by, your age and basic stats, and the ‘match’ you are looking for – this is a site for gay, straight, and bi folk, all sexualities are welcome. Some fields are required here, you have to fill them out, others are not and you can even skip the page if you want to. I won ‘two Zoosk Coins; for logging in, but as I’d not seen any other details about the site yet I had no idea what that meant.

Now you run through the other parts of the setting up process, your location, more about you, you can download a chat player for later use, you can upload photos, put down what your likes and dislikes are, tell your story and put in some answers to the ‘ice breakers’ questions, to give some more background., All this goes on your ‘date card.’

So far the process had been easy and simple and you can miss it all out if you simply want to explore the site. Finally getting round to the home page (I did have to set my location before I could do that), I had a search option already set for me, but I could change it, there was news on recent community posts, and some boxes showing me my profile status. There wasn’t much else here as the location I had chosen was obviously a quiet one, there were no local events posted, but had I been in, say, London there may have been loads. But I tried the search, to see if there was anyone else registered within 30 kilometres of where I lived. There were! (Exclamation mark because I am very remote.)

And what was nice here was that Zoosk works like a cross between a standard dating site and something like Facebook – I could send winks, and gifts, chat privately and send private emails. There are also various other ways to search, you’ve got a private email box, plenty of help and even safety tips for blind dating, you can report profiles and abuse, and there is a forum.

It’s all rather new here but obviously growing fast due to the free sign up – I wondered how they made their money, and then noticed that you can upgrade for premium services, have more activity and get further involved, but the prices were very reasonable.

But what I liked most about Zoosk, compared to other dating sites, is that it was well designed, easy to use and fast, and I found members who fitted my ‘match’ locally, and, considering where I live, that really is saying something.

You heard it here first. Lady Gaga is Johnny Weir. She not only is posing as a woman as Gaga but as a Twink figure skater appearing in the Winter Olympics and on Logo’s network with his own show.

“I am shocked no one has noticed this before since they are both Italians and offer some of the same features while moving the same gyrations,” Nathan Cappones, HoustonGayWeb.com.

Is this true? It’s like that Johnny Ray song… Who wants to know? Is it Johnny Ray? No It’s Johnny Weir as Lady Gaga and we just found out! What will this do for Lady Gaga’s career or Johnny Weir’s figure skating? Will this make things more complicated for he/she because people will expect bigger shows such as Ice skating at the Monster Ball’s and singing while he is ice skating? We do understand it is best to keep these two careers separate but we are glad to have seen you have came out and we can see you as not only a hot female entertainer who happens to be delicious but as a gay twink that has won medals. Who else can win Olympic Medals, Grammy’s, and MTV VMA Awards.

The controversy could be bad for some but we think Johnny Stephani Weir “Gaga” will be able to handle it and we should not Hold it against her that she was #BornThisWay.

Stay tuned to DailyDoseofQueer and GodLovesGays.com for breaking news. Last year we broke the story that Whole Foods was selling Organic Air.

Pictured is an outtake from photographer Tim Hailand’s One Day in the Life of Jake Shears photo book of Jake naked in the shower! The book which is out now gives fans a glimpse into the private life of the Scissor Sisters frontman. Jake provides his own text for the book, which also includes a special intro by Elton John and afterword by Kylie Minogue. A portion of proceeds of this book will benefit the Elton John AIDS Foundation.

Other books in Tim Hailand’s series include One Day in the Life of Rufus Wainwright and One Day in the Life of Daniel Radcliffe. A press release with more info is attached. All can be purchased at onedayinthelifeof.org.

In addition, Jake and Tim will be doing local book signings of One Day in the Life of Jake Shears together in Los Angeles and Atlanta. Info on the signings can be found below and in the attached invites.

We were lucky enough to get a copy of the backside of Jake Shears nude but you will have to get your own copy of the book to see his front side of the frontman. We know you are dying to see his package!

Los Angeles
Sunday, March 27
Bookmarc L.A. – 8407 Melrose Place
4:30pm – 6:00pm

Atlanta
Friday, April 8
Outwrite Bookstore – 991 Piedmont Ave
2:00pm – 3:00pm

“Summer Rain” was co-written by Matthew with Claude Kelly (Bruno Mars, Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, to name a a few) and the Norwegian duo known as Espionage, who produced the track in New York City. Espionage (Espen Lind and Amund Bjørklund), are respected for their work with Train (this year’s Grammy Award-winning “Hey, Soul Sister,” iTunes’ top-selling song of 2010) and many others. “Summer Rain” is the first track from Morrison’s upcoming debut album, set for May 10th release.

Matthew Morrison is best known to millions as the eternally optimistic high school teacher and glee club director – Will Schuester, on the FOX television network’s runaway hit comedy series “Glee.” The show ranks as the #1 entertainment program on broadcast television among Adults 18-34, Teens and Female Teens. Probably #1 among GLBTQ since we seem to be addicted to this tear jerking and fun show. Even some of the music videos make it over to the LOGO channel.

Morrison has been nominated for Tony, Emmy and Golden Globe awards, and shared the 2009 SAG (Screen Actors Guild) Award for Best Performance by an Ensemble in a Television Series – Comedy or Musical, for “Glee.”

Morrison is no virgin to musical theatre, vocal performance and dance, which he studied at New York University’s renowned Tisch School of the Arts. His first big Broadway break came as heartthrob Link Larkin in the hit Hairspray. Morrison was later nominated for a Tony Award for his role in The Light in the Piazza. He received a Drama Desk nomination for Outstanding Actor in a Musical for 10 Million Miles and also starred in the Tony Award-winning revival of South Pacific at New York’s Lincoln Center Theater.

Have you ever heard of an island called Symi? (Also known as Simi.) Unless you are a seasoned island-hopper the chances are you may not have done. But this island, called ‘the jewel of the Dodecanese’ is one of the few, genuinely unspoiled destinations for the more discerning visitor. Why? Well for a star it is not typically Greek. It has only been Greek for about 70 out of the last 1,000 years or so. It has been under Turkish rule, Italian, German, British and, back in the middle ages, it was part of the empire of The Knights Of Saint John. Because of this it is rich in history, rich in tradition and stands out as one of the least expected Greek islands to visit.

Start in the harbour of Yialos, the main port, and you will see neo-classical architecture everywhere. That is thanks to the Italian influence, during the occupation between 1912 and 1942, and previously when the island was under Turkish rule but allowed to develop and be more or less independent. You will find that the many tavernas and bars here, the hotels and family run apartments, are looked after by friendly and welcoming people who will make you feel at home, treat you as a friend and make your visit a special one.

Climb the 300 plus steps, the ‘kali strata’ to the village of Horio and there you will find an even more traditional atmosphere. There are not so many bars up there, a few tavernas of the traditional kind, some shops and many stunning views are to be found. And what makes this village special is that it has remained very traditional. There are many ruins still, along the narrow winding lanes, left over from the turbulent history of the 20th century, and it is in these lanes that you are more likely to be held up by a donkey-jam than a traffic-jam.

There is only one road on the island and it runs from the sleepy bay of Nimborio, trough the port, up the mountain and around the village. Take the bus across to the famous monastery of Panormitis, or down to the quiet, beautiful bay of Pedi and you are away from the hustle and bustle (if you can call it that) of Symi life.

Time stops still here. At least, if it has moved on then it has done so quietly. Yes, you can find internet cafés and yes the island has all the mod cons you would hope for, but the pace is slow, nothing is hurried and you can’t help but simply switch off and absorb the island. During my visit I spoke to several people who had found Symi by accident, and had fallen in love with it. They return year after year no matter what for what they call their ‘Symi fix’ and, after only a few days, I too was addicted.

Is it a gay island? Not especially, but it is one that will appeal to gay couples wanting to get away from the hedonistic bars and clubs of other islands and destinations. In fact, there are only a couple of nightclubs, though there are several late or all night bars if you are a stay-up-later. And then, in the morning, you have nothing to do but swim in the crystal clear Aegean Sea, take a stroll up to a silent monastery, walk through the inland forest, or simply sit in the village or harbour with a coffee and soak up the timeless atmosphere.

Getting there
There are several tour operators and independent companies operating on the island. The nearest airport is on Rhodes, 24 km by boat, and ferries travel between both islands each day during the summer.

Background and more information
Check out the island blog symidream.com/wp where a local author blogs on a more or less daily basis. There are photographs from the island photographer (who also has a small shop on the Kali Strata and is happy to chat and entertain as you browse the photos, cards and gallery), helpful links to the island’s history, suggestions of things to see and do, links to the travel companies, the weather and ferries, and everything you want to know about this secret paradise.

So what happened back then to cause such an outrage and to push Tilos into the headlines on Greek national news? (And European news channels for a while too.)

A gay marriage took place. Actually, two gay ceremonies took place, and were presided over by the island’s mayor. So what? You may ask. Surely Greece is known for its tolerance of homosexuality? And that is where the ‘yes, but’ comes in.

Politically speaking the, now, old regime in charge of the country when Tilos hit the news, was opposed to same-sex marriage. The current government, PASOK, had presented proposals for the recognition of unmarried couples in the law, which covered both heterosexual and homosexual couples, but this made little headway. And add into the usual turmoil of Greek politics a law from 1982 that legalised civil marriage between ‘persons’ without referring to the gender of those persons and you’ve got a bit of a melting pot for disaster, or at least for confusion and mayhem, on which Greek administration seems to thrive. (And I have had first hand experience of it, so I feel able to say that.)

So, back in June 2008, Tassos Aliferis, the mayor of Tilos, defined the threat of prosecution dealt out by a top prosecutor and ‘married’ two gay couples. ‘Bravo sas’, as they say in Greece. That was certainly the reaction of one of the couples who were quoted as saying ‘From this day, discrimination against gays in Greece is on the decline.’ But sadly, that’s not the case. Yes, Greece was tolerant of same-sex relationship many hundreds of years ago, but these days it is a lot less so. You have to remember that the country is a very religious one, the church has a big say in things, families hold traditional religious values and no one likes a same sex scandal in their face, as it were. So, there was a great out-falling, the mayor was threatened with arrest, other islands who my have been poised to start conducting civil marriages put those plans on hold and the loop-hole that these two brave couples, and the mayor, had thought they could exploit wasn’t there anymore – or at least it is still up for debate and, in the meantime, civil rights, and the same sex partnership issue rumble on through the country.

So, was it all a publicity stunt to improve tourism for the island as some people suggested? And what happens next? Well, whether it was a publicity stunt or not Tilos did get into the news for a while, but there have been no reports that gay folk have been flocking there since, and it’s not set to become a second Mykonos any time soon. And that, by the way, isn’t as ‘gay’ an island as people think it is – it was but now…? Now tourism is a big issue in the country as that is what it relies on for most of its economy, so, tempting gay visitors to come and spend some pink pound seems like a good idea to me.

And as for current and future legislation? Well, I trawled through as many news rooms and sites, political agendas and papers and I could bear to, and, in the last few days, have not seen anything to suggest that the current government are going to act on the lack of human rights that same sex couples currently have, or don’t have. Maybe the government are taking a break at the moment…on Tilos perhaps?

More people were arrested last year in NYC on charges of marijuana possession than during the entire 19-year period from 1978 to 1996, according to an analysis released this morning by the Drug Policy Alliance. Last year was the sixth year in a row that marijuana possession arrests increased where a staggering 50,383 people were arrested. This is according to a report recently released by the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services and obtained by the policy alliance.

The new figure adds up to 140 arrests a day which makes marijuana possession the leading reason for arrest in New York City. This also makes an 8 percent increase over 2009 and a 69 percent increase since 2005 according to the alliance.

From1978 to 1996, there were 49,326 marijuana possession arrests according to a sociology professor at Queens College and an expert on marijuana enforcement. The increased enforcement is due to harsher enforcement not to increasing consumption.

“Over the last 20 years, N.Y.P.D. has quietly made arrests for marijuana their top enforcement priority, without public acknowledgment or debate,”

the alliance said.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg more conservative than we thought? The policy alliance claims there have been about 350,000 arrests for marijuana possession since he took office in 2002. 70% of those arrested are younger than 30.

Isn’t having possession a violation or a slap on the wrist? Possession of less than 25 grams of marijuana has been a violation, not a jailable crime in New York since 1977. It is when you have pot “open to public view” that it is a crime. The advocates are saying that many people who simply have marijuana in their pockets are charged with having the drug “in the open” after officers order them to empty their pockets.

The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD), the nation’s lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) media advocacy and anti-defamation organization, today applauded Facebook for adding ‘In a Civil Union’ and ‘In a Domestic Partnership’ options to user profiles. The option is now available for users in the U.S., Canada, the United Kingdom, France and Australia.

“Today, Facebook sent a clear message in support of gay and lesbian couples to users across the globe,” said GLAAD President Jarrett Barrios. “By acknowledging the relationships of countless loving and committed same-sex couples in the U.S. and abroad, Facebook has set a new standard of inclusion for social media. As public support for marriage equality continues to grow, we will continue to work for the day when all couples have the opportunity to marry and have their relationship recognized by their community, both online and off.”

GLAAD was among the organizations that met with Facebook to advocate for this change. In October 2010, Facebook partnered with GLAAD and other national LGBT organizations to create “Network of Support,” an educational initiative that works to combat anti-LGBT cyberbullying. GLAAD also worked with Facebook to reshape the way that the site responds to hateful, anti-LGBT comments posted on public pages.

One major thing that Facebook and other companies may gay from this new drop down box of options for married gays and lesbians is the niche marketing. They will now be able to find and market to the gays and lesbians who are in long term relationships and towards those who can buy their products and services. That is one exciting niche.

Facebook’s “Network of Support” is comprised of five leading LGBT advocacy organizations in conjunction with MTV’s “A Thin Line” campaign, including GLAAD, GLSEN, HRC, PFLAG and The Trevor Project.

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We are excited to see this mag makes its comeback and who knows maybe they will learn how to make money with the iPad in existance as we are seeing other magazines and newspapers make comebacks on the digital pad.  If there is an app for the XY teen publication then they may be “into it” otherwise it will probably just bomb and go bankrupt or disapear once again.  We did notice one neat thing in their new format is they have a blog on their XY site now and a magazine cover maker where you can put your pic on the cover once you upload it puts the image over you and your name. 

See our suggestions on gay apps for your iPad or iPhone and read our articles on XY Magazine here.  IF you are a gay teen then check out our reads on gay bullying and what you can do about it.

From the novel Minchia di Re by Giacomo Pilati comes a scandal hidden in 19th century Sicily between two young women, Angela and Sara. Angela isn’t like other girls her age, she fears nothing and nobody. She can’t hide her feelings for Sara. To maintain the forbidden relationship, she changes her outward appearance to disguise herself as a man. The chains that had imprisoned her existence suddenly disappear and she becomes powerful, but in her heart she never denies her identity as a woman. As intense and compelling as only young love can be, the two women challenge the rules of society in order to be together.

With a new year under way the lesbian community has an agenda of issues to explore. Most of these issues are carried over from previous years. Some of them may be settled in 2011 while others will most likely be carried on into future years. For example, at the front of the gay rights movement, affecting both lesbians and gays, the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” rule has now been thrown in the garbage can where it belonged for many years. Even so, this was an issue that took a number of years to address and to solve. It can now be crossed over the “to do” list.

Another similar issue, that still remains with the lesbian community, is workplace discrimination. Of course there is a federal law in place that discrimination is illegal; however, let us face it, if a well-dressed woman walks into an upscale dress shop for an interview, followed by a dyke dressed in Levis and a flannel shirt along with her hair cut as short as possible – is there any question as to which lady will be offered the job? Although sex discrimination is against the law it is still a part of our culture. It is an issue that has been fought for many years before and an issue the lesbian population will face in the years ahead. Related to this issue is workplace discrimination. Nearly half of the states in America do not have laws that bans workplace discrimination based on a persons sexual orientation. The lesbians living in our country need to have a uniform policy that assures them that they will not suffer from workplace discrimination.

Family, relationships, and marriage are also issues that have faced the lesbian community for a number of years; unfortunately these same issues will most likely be with us in 2011 as well as into the future. Two women raising a child together still remains different, in the opinion of society, opposed to the customary husband and wife. Two women attending a PTA meeting, representing their child, still offers some uncomfortable moments for most female couples opposed to the husband and wife couple. Even the children of a lesbian couple continue to be discriminated against at school once it is learned that s/he has two mothers opposed to one mother and a father.

Naturally, at the top of the list of family, relationships, and marriage issues is that of gay marriage. Many lesbians have actually moved to different states or to different countries – places that accept gay marriages. This is a major political issue that remains in the forefront. Women want the same guarantee of rights as any married couple. The question remains: why shouldn’t they?

Those lesbians under age, still in high school for example, continue to be bullied and harassed. This makes it extremely difficult for a teen lesbian to function at school as well as in society. This discrimination is felt not only at school but in public as well. If the young lesbian chooses to dress in a less then feminine manner, wear her hair shortly cut, and so forth, she will most likely suffer from discrimination. This is a major issue in 2011 but hopefully it is an issue that will be extinguished one day in the near future as young people learn to understand and try to deal with differences in people.

Health care is also an important issue that lesbians must deal with in 2011. Unfortunately, this has to deal mostly with misinformation and inadequate information the medical care community has as well as the homophobia among some health care providers. These issues have led to an increased rate of suicidal behavior among lesbians as well as in stress related chronic illnesses. The lesbian community is making an effort to address many of these issues by supporting medical research in such areas as rates and risk factors of cancers, infections, and diseases among lesbians. There is also a widespread effort to gain access to the health care system. There is the need to address lesbian family issues as well as mental health concerns of lesbians.

The new year will most likely offer a continued struggle that lesbians will face in order to be heard; however, little by little they are making the guarantee that they will eventually be heard.

This may be a little too gay for the Superbowl Demographic. I am sure this will cause a stir if it is aired like the Doritos commercial that was going to air that involved a Catholic priest. Judging from the things I have heard going on in Dallas this year at the Superbowl it could be the gayest Superbowl yet.

One of the longest running issues that the LGBT community has faced has been workplace discrimination. While there is a federal law in place that businesses cannot discriminate against people in their hiring process based on a persons sexual orientation, there are no laws in roughly half the states that bans workplace discrimination based on a persons sexual orientation. There needs to be an even, across the board, representation of sexual discrimination laws that cover every aspect of a persons employment. From the hiring process, to the actual time of employment, and to the time of an actual discharge of said employment. Currently there is no across-the-board, uniform policy, and we are working hard to change that.

Laws regarding family, relationships, and marriage have been a high priority of ours for going on 40 years now, with the specific issue of marriage leading the way. We have been fighting hard to protect families since the 1970′s when a lesbian mother,who was a foster mother, regained custody of her children with the help of Lambda Legal when the appropriate state agency took them away. In the same time frame we helped a father who was gay get the legal right to visit his children after a legal divorce. Same sex relationships and marriages without children have also gotten our attention and help through the years in regards to obtaining the same health benefits that heterosexual couples get. There are many different legal rights that we try to obtain for same sex partners and we have learned through the years that you have to start small if you want to get to the top of that legal hill.

The youth of our country is also a big concern for us. Bullying in general in our public schools has been on the rise lately, but with gay students this is labeled as harassment for it is based on a persons sexual orientation. Being a teenager these days is hard enough, but being a gay teenager in this society is extremely difficult, and the pressure they can feel from their peers is not only felt in school, but in out-of -home care facilities as well. We have made a lot of legal strides with the public schools in our country to make them a more safe and open environment for gay students. Out-of -home care facilities such as foster homes and juvenile detention centers are also hotbeds for sexual discrimination, and we keep active in those areas as well.

Our legal teams and political activists have been working overtime for decades now to help ensure equal rights for everyone in the LGBT community. With your financial help we will be able to do even more. Organizations such as the HRC also help make life in general for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and trans-gender individuals better on a legal and political level. For example the HRC helped in the State Departments decision to modify the application process for a child to obtain a passport. The information on the parents now ask for “father or parent 2” or “mother or parent 1″, instead of simply “father” or “mother”. We believe that the mere acknowledgment of the different family structures here in the U.S. will lead to the acceptance of them.

With your donations to help with our legal and political work, we can all help ensure a more fair and balanced way of life for us all.

From what we see here it seems that Gawker was out to get Barry Diller. They may have went a little too far in their TMZ or Perez Hilton type reporting. Then again someone has to go after the CEO’s and they did not get too dirty but they did go a little far putting up all the pics and stalking his Facebook account. I mean can a person have a Facebook account these days and get some privacy? The poor guy only had 50 or so friends he could trust to befriend on Facebook and he must have had a media snake in there somewhere because they sure knew what he was up to.

Barry Diller was photographed with many hot boys including some blond twins during Thanksgiving. Now he is known for spending money but he makes a lot of money as one of the top CEO’s although his companies and websites are not growing as they should for the amount he is being paid. Wait back to the Thanksgiving Weekend.. isn’t the White Party Weekend? Why were they not in Miami? Oh they had their own private area to play in the yacht!

Bryan Fox one hottie and Arturo Diaz the club promoter who he hung out with. It seems he has great taste in boys but needs to do some upgrades on some of his websites. The reporters involved in the Gawker uncovering were Ryan Tate and Brian Moylan.

If you have had multiple sex partners then how can you go around blaming all of them or even blaming one person. We always want to blame someone for things we have done but this is something that is preventable if you take the proper steps. The choice to bareback comes with consequences for some and others just get lucky but when two people are having consensual sex then the questions or tests should be done before the sex not after.

States having HIV lists which I am sure are online somewhere or they probably will have iPhone apps with these telling you when someone with HIV walks in the door. We have gone so big brother these days even with things like HIV. It is offensive that there is an HIV list. Just because someone has HIV they do not deserve to be on some list with a scarlet letter on them. They have not committed a crime for having a virus and the person who gave it to them unless they did not consent did not either.

Of course this is a very touchy subject if someone gets an STD they are quick to blame someone. I cant imagine anyone who would want to purposely give someone an STD or HIV. It is crazy to me to think someone should be put on some public list like some type of criminal. The laws in this country and even the ones where the Wiki Founder was arrested are out of control aimed at HIV and Sex. Sex has always been such a subject the media likes to blow out of proportion as you see here this article at the Body tells it best. HIV is being turned into a crime. Not the rapist or the pedophile or the real criminal but it is the HIV which with laws like we are seeing are turning carrying HIV into a crime. With HIV being a crime this could hurt prevention and testing efforts as you can see here:

Most of the cases prosecuted around the world have not actually focused on criminal HIV transmission, but rather on exposure to the risk of transmission. These cases often hinged on whether or not someone with HIV had informed their sexual partner — sometimes a one-night stand, sometimes a long-term partner or spouse — that they were HIV-positive before having sex that may — but may not — have risked HIV transmission.

Very few cases have involved people who truly intended to harm anyone. That’s the ‘line in the sand’ that most experts, including UNAIDS, have agreed fulfill the criteria of when it is justified to prosecute allegations of criminal HIV transmission. Rather, what most of these cases boil down to is perceived responsibility for HIV prevention. Research suggests that most HIV transmission takes place during sex between two consenting adults, neither of whom is aware that one them is living with HIV.

Have such laws and prosecutions reduced the number of new infections? There is absolutely no evidence that they have. Have they made more people with HIV disclose? There’s no evidence there, either. However, there is some evidence that HIV-specific criminal laws and prosecutions for non-disclosure have made people who are at risk of HIV, and who expect to be told if their sexual partner is HIV-positive, feel more secure, even though this is a false sense of security. And there’s little doubt that these laws and prosecutions have further increased the stigma associated with HIV, sometimes making people living with HIV feel even more insecure about disclosing — the very thing expected of us.

-The Body’s Edwin Bernard

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They recently took a video of the door girl hoping to interest you in La Cage.

But, we come back to that word again; who many are actually ‘out’ and how many are just being given the gossip treatment? The first ‘non-out but possibly gay ‘cos we’d like him to be at the moment’ soccer player must be Cristiano Ronaldo. I tracked down some info on him which may or may not be true when asking the question ‘is Cristiano Ronaldo gay?’ on a few Q & A sites. The answer? Well, the closest I got to what might be true was someone saying that when they lived next door to him, when he was younger, it was known in the village that he was bi-sexual but preferred women to men, whatever that means.

All the other sites I saw on this subject were, more or less, simply trying to fulfill our fantasy, that CR is gay and would one day appear on our doorstep and want to leap into bed with us. Some were funny, there were edited interviews, snap-shots of him just happening to look at another guy and so on, but the answer, sadly, probably is that no, he is not.

So enough of who we’d like to be but who isn’t a gay soccer player? Who is actually out? As far as I can tell, none of them!

According to Zimbio.com, Xisco is ‘England’s first gay soccer player.’ Which is actually not true. Justin Fashanu came out while playing professional football, found life tough in the sport as a gay man, finding that ‘footballers are very narrow-minded people’ as he put it in an interview, and killed himself in May 1998. This act did a little raise the awareness of homosexuality in football, but it’s still not the done thing to be out. So maybe Xisco is one of the first to come out in recent years, he’s certainly not the only gay player. “Francisco Jiménez Tejada Xisco has become the first openly gay soccer player in England’s Premier League. Xisco isn’t completely out, but his secret has now been revealed. The 22-year-old Spanish striker currently plays for Newcastle United.” zimbio.com

Ah, but there is a catch here. Apparently Xisco is only out because photos of him kissing other guys have appeared on the net. One online commentator said, ‘Francisco Jiménez Tejada, the Spanish soccer player known to fans as Xisco, has become the first openly gay soccer player in England’s Premier League. Whether he likes it or not.’ (querty.com)

So, that’s two soccer players who may or may not be gay. Why is it so hard to discover these facts? Well, as Fashanu implied, it’s a pretty narrow-minded game. And, when you look at soccer fans (and players) you can see where he was coming from. Those thousands of men who line the terraces every Saturday, acting all macho and threatening, yelling and cheering on their teams, they don’t mind if guys hug and kiss on the pitch, but if they suspected they did that in a bedroom, well, that’s the end of that player’s career.

All a bit hypocritical if you ask me, especially if we take the one in ten rule again and divide 30,000 fans on the terraces by ten. That’s 3,000 gay fans every Saturday in one stadium alone. Watching at least two gay players, while condemning gay men…

Bottom line; there are, there must be, gay soccer players out there, but it is not a sport and environment where it is safe or advisable to come out.

Actually it’s not illegal, but it is not legal either – the law is vague and there is a loophole, which is how come the Tilos mayor married the couples. And also how come he was then arrested. The church was up in arms, and the fall out was on the scale of a Greek tragedy. The current government, the left wing PASIOK administration had been trying to get civil partnerships through on the policy agenda when they were the opposition. But since taking power they’ve still not done anything about it. They’ve got too much to worry about with the country’s economy no doubt. And while all that’s going on, there are couples who would love to marry in the country but can’t.

So what’s to be done? Well, two writers have come up with the answer and it takes the form of a film.

‘Shocking the Donkeys’ by writers Jack Rousseau and James Collins is a screenplay and has been picked up by an independent British Film company, who are hoping to film it in 2011. To be a little more precise, it’s a comedy of manners, with a cast of stunning Greek guys and old ladies. The plot centres around a traditional Greek yaya (grandmother) whose only grandson lives in America. She is delighted to learn that he is returning to his home island of Kalados to get married and sets about putting everything in place; the wedding dress, the church arrangements, the reception, the banns, the paperwork, and she gets the whole village behind her. As the boat pulls in, bearing her grandson and his intended, she brings the villagers down to meet them… and discovers that the ‘bride to be’ is actually another man.

That’s where the comedy really kicks in as the main character, the yaya, does everything she can to a) get the boyfriend off the island and b) turn her gay grandson straight. But does she succeed? Well, I’m not going to spoil the plot for you, but you can rest assured there are going to be tears and laughter along the way.

I checked out the official blog for this movie project which I found at symidream.com/movie and learned quite a lot. Not only is the blog kept up to date with what’s happening with the project, but there are interesting tips for screenplay writers there too. You get a good insight into the process of writing and it’s not as straightforward as you might think. On this project the writers spent seven months planning and building the structure of the plot. Writing movies is all about structure you see, there are many levels to a script, things that went on before the story, and what’s going on underneath what’s being said and shown is just as important as what the audience sees. More important some would say.

After seven months of writing, after kicking up a storm in the Greek press (Collins has given several published interviews and been on radio programmes to be asked to explain what this film is all about), the writers now have a completed script which the production company has for consideration.

But will a comedy about a gay wedding in Greece change the law? Probably not on its own, but if it goes a little way to raising awareness, and gives us some laughs, and shows us some sexy Greek guys along the way, then we’ll be more than happy.

The A-List NYC took off on the LOGO channel because I guess they could not bring us another Queer As Folk for some reason. Viacom we love but they really need to look into a scripted show that brings us together more as a community such as QAF. We would have Sunday and Wednesday night gatherings to watch QAF and it’s too bad the network did not show us something more.

A-List Austin Armacost Shirtless

A Message to Gay Teens

Justin Bieber was also the most talked about thing in music besides Nicki Minaj and her Pink hairdos. What happened to Jesse McCartney though?

Favorite movie of the year was Burlesque with Chrstina and Cher. I never knew what air space was until I watched the movie. So it was a learning experience besides Cher made me cry with her ‘Last of Me’ moment in the movie and Christina got to seduce one of the hottest guys on the planet Cam Gigandet.

We could not have a LGBT blog without mentioning Cynthia Nixon from Sex in The City… another hot movie of 2010.

In a trend that started last year it has also continued this year as we are reminded of the hottest gay happy show on TV. Gay does mean happy right? Glee would be this show which has turned into a bigger tear jerker than ever especially with their episode on Gay Bullying and the hot new boy on there we just adore.

And put down your iPhones and iPads we know you are on GRINDR.

I knew this boy from the club for years and always thought he was one of the hottest guys out and probably was. His eyes blue and breathtaking and his smile, skin, and energy were always something that could pull a spell on anyone. Much less the fact that he is tall and gorgeous. seeing him out everyone must think I would like to get with him someday.

Unfortunately, that day came.. It was a miserable weekend of non-stop hell and yes now I know the meaning of what hell is and what the devil sounds like. The first night out at the club he started going off on my friend after a couple of drinks and telling him he had a receeding hairline among other rude things to him that were just uncalled for and plain mean. My friend was so drunk he did not respond the way most would have wo may have punched him in the face or walked away and gotten away from the crazy at hand.

The second episode was when we were standing by the back bar of the club and near the bathroom. This guy I know drags me in the bathroom to talk to me about something and this kid I brought out gets into a spat with him on the way into the bathroom to where he comes in the bathroom telling us to get out all loudly. Ok, so can a person not talk quietly in a bathroom for once?

Next day he was normal laying on the couch cuddling watching TV and being normal. We went to eat Mexican food and did not even have a drink just drank Tea. Went home relaxed and then later got ready to go out to the club again. This time he meet some guy that produced music or something and he kept hitting on him or talking to him for over an hour holding us in a spot forever. When we finally got away from all the useless talk (this guy was obviously hitting on him and kept grabbing at him but using business talk to excite him) we were able to go dance for a bit. Then we decided to hit up another club with more of a circuit beat. We headed here where the cover was $20 each. Yes I paid it all. Thought he would get in a better mood but after all his intakes of alcohol and whatever else he must have done with people while he was in the bathroom so long his mood went totally extreme and bipolar could not even describe it. He went up to the bar ordered a drink and expected me to pay. I said I thought you had some money.. He said no quit embarassing me and pay now and to never embarrass him again. I said OK and paid just to stop the scene.

He then tried to lay me down for embarrassing him by not paying for a drink readily after I already paid his cover to two bars, bought dinner, among other things. Maybe he didn’t really need that drink after all because we know after what happens next he certainly could not handle it. Next he goes out to the car with the police in the parking lot causing a scene saying that he wants to go home now. I was not about to leave with all the police in the parking lot and wanted to dance off my buzz. I am all about dancing before trying to drink. So I left him in the car shortly after he threatened me and said I did not know who he was and that his people would come after me, he then threatened to hit me and that is when I ran inside the club. Of course, you can’t call the police or anything when you both been drinking you will both goto jail for public detox or something. Plus I felt sorry for him and still do so its really hard to say no to him or even send him his way all alone with no one really to help him. He was too much for me to help though way too much above my pay grade in terms of mental patients. I have dealt with many people who desperately need anti-depressants and many people who desperately do not need any meds. I have dealt with a woman who tried to kill herself and then she ended up doing it in her garage another day even though we stopped her the first time. I have woken up with people trying to overdose on ambiens. But his force and threat level that he goes to in a 180 degree shift is really scary. How he can be so normal, smart, and nice, and beautiful one minute then give him an hour and its like the Devil came out.

So I still was not able to get him out of my car and he stayed with me another night which went ok during the day we watched TV all day and relaxed. Ate pizza and once again he seemed so normal. Then 10’0clock rolls around and we get ready for the club have a cocktail and things still normal. Then make it out to the club he starts wanting a drink every few min and going in the bathroom again. By the time we all walk out to the car he is fighting with my friend out in the parking lot and this even brings about a huge dent in my car that my cost thousands to repair which he cars nothing about. Tried to call him a cab to his house but he would not answer us about where to have the cab go. He said his phone was in my car and it was not. He must have lost it in the club. He said he would call the police because his phone was in my car. So I then took him to my friends house and his neighbor called him a cab.. the same thing I was hoping to do. This is after he started moving towards me in a violent matter threatening me again with loud devil sounds and fists. I ran out of my car scared of him at this point but then he finally got out but he was chasing after my friend going off on him. I ran to the car started it and went around the block to have my friend meet me to give him his stuff so I could get away from him. I was about to lose it. I had never seen anything like it.

I guess it just comes down to the fact that if you sense someone is off their rocker or could become a bipolar tragedy stay far away. This is hard to say because I know many of these types in the gay community. Especially see this a lot in the Dallas clubs and parties. I hope it is not a gay gene or something. It is really scary how many act this way but this kid was the worst I have ever seen and it scares me. Its almost like they imagine things or have dementia but yet finally get their sense back and remember it all when they are sober.

It is hard to really know if someone is completely like this though until you do spend some time with them and when you do it might be too late. It was too late on my date because I could not get him off my hands and I tried and tried to call him a cab or take him where he needed to go. I cannot afford to have that kind of liability around me and neither can a nightclub or any business.

I would like to know how to handle people like this the next time because it seemed everything failed that I tried to do. One minute this guy seems so A-list and fabulous and then the next minute hes like Austin on NYC A-List who seems kind of loose cannon but this kid is much worse. If there is help for these people let me know. I am not sure its the drinking, or his prescription pills it may be other issues.

The original plan was to shoot a humorous cover with the Glee star but were scrapped once the creative team at Details discovered what Morrison looked like shirtless. It’s easy to see why the talented Mr. Schuester has provided grown-ups a reason to watch the hit Fox show! But when school lets out, Morrison has even greater adult-contemporary ambitions – like becoming the next Michael Bublé. And while rumors swirl about some of his co-stars turning into divas in the light of their new found fame, it’s nice to hear that Morrison, according to writer Claire Hoffman, is remarkably well-adjusted and “has resisted becoming an a**hole as a result of his success.”

The Details article quotes Matthew Morrison-

“I definitely hooked up with a lot of girls when I was a young guy on Broadway. It was exciting. Very joyous and free.” But Morrison didn’t shed his inhibitions entirely. He joined a Bible-study group in college, and he didn’t lose his virginity until he was 21. Being perceived as a sex object confused him (and still does). “I’m not comfortable with the idea of my sex appeal, but I know in my job I have to use it. I wish I could say I got to this point in my career based on my talent, but I don’t think that’s true.”

Regarding Mr. Shuester’s co-stars: “I am a teacher to them,” Morrison says of the younger castmates he refers to as “the kids.” “I’ve taken a few under my wing. I don’t want to say they idolize me, but…” he trails off, realizing how this might sound. He’s careful about what he says and wishes some of his colleagues were a little less publicity-driven. “Yeah, I find myself learning a lot from the set. I do look at stuff people on the show are doing, and I don’t judge them, but I question it. I say to myself, ‘Keep quiet.’ Fame … it’s like a handgun – in the wrong hands, it’s dangerous.”

On dating Matthew Morrison commented:
“I’m not a good friend right now. I’m not a good boyfriend. It’s not that I’m selfish. I’m just focused.”
On paddle boarding for exercise: “I got my own board. It’s a great core workout.”
On getting in tip-top shape for this photo shoot: Morrison ate well and in the final few days used a trick Sue Sylvester pushed on her cheerleading squad: a sweet potato-only diet.

“Matt’s the star of the show. The show rests on his shoulders—everything revolves around him.” – Glee creator Ryan Murphy

“You get the sense he knows he can write his own ticket. If I were going to come back as someone, I’d come back as Matt Morrison.” – Glee co-star Jane Lynch (the lady with the Adidas warm-up, aka Sue). Sue is one of my favorites on the show even though she plays the Villan and Mr. Shuester plays the better person. Sue brings an excitement to the show of the competition we all once felt in highschool. I would have never made it out of school if I were to have a teacher like Matthew Morrison and his toned, shirtless body appearing in front of me at a Glee carwash or any afterschool event.

Burlesque (Movie poster here) opens in theaters nationwide on November 24th and all the gays will be there. The soundtrack for the film will be released on November 22nd.

Previously announced stars joining the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade this year include India Arie, Big Time Rush, Betty Buckley, Ann Hampton Callaway, the casts of Broadway’s American Idiot, Elf, Memphis, Million Dollar Quartet, the Big Apple Circus, the cast and Muppets of Sesame Street, Miranda Cosgrove, Jimmy Fallon & The Roots, Gloriana, Michael Grimm, Arlo Guthrie, Keri Hilson, Eric Hutchinson, Juanes, Victoria Justice, Gladys Knight, Mannheim Steamroller, Miss USA 2010 Rima Fakih, Power Rangers Samurai, Joan and Melissa Rivers, Crystal Shawanda, Jessica Simpson, and Kanye West.

So you do not have to hide yo’ kids, yo’ wife for this one until Kanye takes the stage and I am sure he will be on his best behavior there. We can’t wait to see Kylie.

With Madonna and the new teen clothing line she worked with her daughter we just wonder where Madonna the Material Girl will be for the parade. Hopefully she is done with promoting that and can move on to her next album!

It is important to be tested and treated for an STD as soon as you suspect you may have one. Most are treatable and do not do much harm if caught within a short time of contracting it, but others do significant damage or are irreversible. The more harmful STDs include HIV, the human immunodeficiency virus, which is not curable and becomes AIDS later in life. Others, such as Hepatitis B and C, can be fatal, but may be curable or controllable. Less destructive STDs include Chlamydia, Syphilis, Gonorrhea, and Herpes. Excluding Herpes, these STDs are curable, and if caught in time do not cause much damage. Herpes is treatable, but is not curable at this time.

One of the most popular online resources is Just Get Tested, which offers comprehensive and confidential testing. After you register with the site, you can pay a fee for a test, and they will direct you to a laboratory to have your blood drawn or a urine specimen taken. The laboratory sends the samples back to the company for analysis, and they will tell you if you have an STD or not.

Another online resource similar to Just Get Tested is provided by Sterling Wellness Solutions, which is based in Louisiana. They also provide STD testing, by allowing you to pay online and visit a local laboratory to have specimens collected. Depending on your insurance’s policies, your testing may be covered by your insurance, costing you little or nothing. This site also offers a “Health Appraisal” questionnaire for members.

While on the subject of health questionnaires, if you would like to know what tests you should have done for your general well-being, it is well worth your time to check out STDWizard. This online service gives you a short survey about your habits and sexual history, and recommends testing based on your answers. The recommendations are provided by the CDC, also known as the Center for Disease Control.

Another reputable STD testing website is LabSafe.com. This website provides the same services as the afore mentioned services, and holds a strict privacy policy for all users. You pay for your testing, visit a laboratory, and receive your results from the company in a few days. The only downfall of this service is the slightly higher price than the other services.

STDs are a serious matter that must be dealt with as soon as you receive confirmation that you have one. You should visit your doctor with the information from the laboratory for proper treatment. Without proper care, an STD can cause more problems, including severe infections, infertility, sores, disruption of the nervous system, and death. If a pregnant woman has an STD, it can cause birth defects or she may even pass it onto the child. These services are on the internet to help you receive early confirmation and treatment, and to help protect yourself and your sexual partners. There are hundreds of services, but these are some of the most reputable services out there.

Think you may need to get tested now? Above is a coupon and a promotional code for $25 Off 8 Test STD Panel. Prefer to call and talk to someone about what all the STD test includes then you can with this toll free number: 877-350-0646.

So, how do you find a sugar daddy? How does a younger guy meet up with an older one and get himself enfolded into the arms of someone who is rich and willing to share that wealth? I’ll tell you one thing: if I knew I wouldn’t be here!

Only joking. But it’s an interesting question. In fact someone should write a book about it. But to do that you will need to know the answer. Well, here are a few things I found that may well help you a) find your own sugardaddy or b) make some money out of writing a ‘How To’ book about it all.

A simple web search brought a few interesting starting points. First of all came gayarrangement.com which seems to be the answer to all our prayers. Here is a site where you are actually encouraged to cut to the chase and hook up; that’s older, successful guys (and girls actually) who are looking for younger men and vice versa. Perfect. How does it work? Actually it works like any other dating and hook up site. You can sign up for free and get to access some basic functions and features: Set up a profile, add pictures, basic search, send and receive winks, receive unlimited emails – but you can only send one per day so don’t be greedy! And there are a few other functions too. With a full membership you get much more, but I couldn’t for the life of me find out how much that cost. You have to sign up for the free registration first and then upgrade. There’s a simple search engine to fill out so you can see before you buy what your chances of finding Mr. Right-to-the-bank are.

So that’s one site that is dedicated to fitting up younger guys and girls with richer older ones.

The second one I found was sugardaddyforme.com. This is a mixed site in that it is for gay and straight folk alike. I found it a bit frustrating as you couldn’t do anything until you had registered, not even a basic search. But once again it’s free to register and then you can go for a silver package or a gold one and both have two levels; one where only other members can contact you and one where anyone can. The top price here is $39.90 a month, and the bottom price is $19.95 a month, so even a sugar baby is going to have to have some pennies in his/her pocket to get really involved.

And then came some others (thanks to a Questions and Answers site) with the likes of: eekingarrangement.com/gaysugardaddy which again is mainly aimed at guys seeking guys and girls seeking girls, so much more up our street. Here I was able to run a basic search, see photos and basic details and then go and register, for free with the usual upgrades available. Check out sugardaddies.com to find a link to a gay specific hook up site, Date Gay Millionaire, and you’ll be up and running very quickly, once you’ve logged in.

So, these days it seems you can simply search the net, fill out a form, part with a little cash… sorry investment, and then hook up with older or younger guys, rich or poor and start preparing yourself for all the fun and frolics that come with being a sugardaddy or a sugar baby.

Alternatively you could wheedle your way into a Casino, hang around the tables, look gorgeous, be prepared to do anything bordering on actually becoming an escort or rent boy, and find an older, richer male that way. I suspect it’s much easier for older guys to find younger ones, simply flash the cash in any bar or club. But watch out; doing it that way is unlikely to lead you to genuine guys – much safer is to use one of the established sites mentioned above, follow their guidelines and meet genuinely interested parties.

My names Kendall, I’m 16 and I am a lesbian and I have been ever since I can remember. I grew up in private school my entire life and I started to realize that I did like girls when I was 11.When I turned 12 I started going to a private Lutheran school and I made some good friends throughout my time there, that were actually in the closet and I didn’t even know it. Then 8th grade hit. I texted a girl saying, ‘I wanted her in my bed’ when I was completely joking and she told everyone that I was gay. I was literally mortified because 1. I could have gotten kicked out of school. 2. It was my secret, and I didn’t even fully admit it to myself by then. 3. Kids would ridicule me. Throughout that year I was pushed into walls and lockers, called lesbian, gross, weird, ect. ALL the time, spit on once, whispered about when I walked by, and laughed at. I literally didn’t want to go to school anymore. I went through a depression but put on a happy face every single day. I contemplated suicide because I thought if they can’t accept me, who can? Maybe if I die then I’ll come back as someone else. But I pulled through when allot of my friends started coming out to me. That rumor, well true rumor, helped them realize that they weren’t alone and that they can trust that at least one person wouldn’t judge them for who they are. It completely changed my outlook on things. Me being gay is a good thing, others being gay is a good thing, and you being gay is definitely a good thing. My close friend is actually going through issues with her mom right now because she found out she was gay, and she won’t accept her. I kind of blame myself for it sometimes because I made her realize she was gay, and made her comfortable enough to share it with people. Now her life is hell. It’s those moments where you start to think yourself that maybe being gay is wrong and it does hurt people. But no, it’s her mom’s fault; she’s doing the wrong not my friend who accepts herself for it. It hurts me when people can’t accept themselves or has someone that’s supposed to love them unconditionally that just won’t even try to. Even if you think you don’t “hate” gays it’s just as wrong to say ew when you see two guys kissing. It’s judging either way. If you can accept someone who has sex before marriage, who judges, and who disrespects their parents, then you can accept people who are gay. Just because some book says it’s wrong doesn’t mean that you can go out and drive people kill themselves for it. It’s just as wrong and even worse morally. If a person doesn’t love you, or doesn’t accept you for something you can’t help, they’re the ones who are wrong. I still don’t really understand why it’s so weird and wrong to be gay or why it’s not acceptable.. But I guess our society isn’t developed enough yet. Kids, teens, parents, people of the world, if we just work together to make this world a loving, place, we can save a lot of lives. I’m not judging people who judge me, so they shouldn’t judge me for liking the same gender. These suicides, the bullying, and the judgment NEEDS to stop. If you’re thinking about suicide, remember that you are not alone. There is always someone there to help.

Keep the stories coming in we want to hear from you!

Blepharoplasty is an eyelid procedure that is performed under local anesthesia. It can reduce puffiness, hooding, and sagging, and men are left looking well-rested and fresh. Recovery time can take from one to two weeks. Costs begin around $2,000.

Cheek and chin augmentations, along with rhinoplasty (nose-job), offer men ways to sculpt and define their faces. These procedures may be performed individually, but are often performed in conjunction with one another under general anesthesia to maintain harmony of the facial features. Rhinoplasty may be either a reduction or an augmentation, depending upon the man’s desires and facial features. Recovery time ranges from a few days to two weeks. Average costs for a rhinoplasty are about $3,000.

Cosmetic surgery for men also includes such body sculpting options as tummy tucks and cheap liposuction. Men with stubborn fat deposits that do not respond to diet and exercise may appreciate liposuction’s ability to target the fat directly and remove it. Tummy tucks remove excess skin and tighten muscles. Tummy tucks can help men regain their former physique, whether their tone was lost through weight gain or normal aging. Recovery time can take from one to two weeks. Liposuction starts around $2,000.

Many men suffer from pseudo-gynecomastia, a condition in which fat tissue accumulates in their breasts. This can be relatively easily removed via liposuction as long as only fat tissue is present, and men may be able to return to work in less than a week. In men with true gynecomastia, a condition in which the breast has developed with fat as well as breast tissue, an excision may be necessary to remove the excess glandular tissue. Recovery time may be about two weeks. Costs vary according to procedure.

Hair is also a common concern for many men, whether it is a matter of too little or too much. Laser hair removal and hair transplants are both popular cosmetic options for men to look their best. Mini-grafts and micro-grafts are popular hair transplant techniques that produce quite natural results when used by skilled surgeons. Laser hair removal generally works by aiming a high intensity beam of light at the hair follicle. This may require more than one session, and it is important to discuss hair removal options with a dermatologist since not all laser hair removal systems work with all skin tones. Costs vary according to procedure.

Because cosmetic surgery for men is becoming more popular, it is important to know how to find a good surgeon. Any doctor is legally allowed to call themselves a cosmetic surgeon, but not all doctors are truly qualified to perform many of these procedures. It is important to select a board certified plastic surgeon. There are three plastic surgery boards: the American Board of Plastic Surgery, the American Board of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, and the American Board of Otolaryngology. A doctor’s credentials can also be verified by checking with the American Board of Medical Specialties.

In order to get the best possible results from their surgery experience, men should get into their best possible physical shape first. They should stop smoking, limit their alcohol consumption, and eat a healthy, balanced diet. They should be realistic about the results they expect and understand that no surgery – even elective surgery – is without risk.

How Much is Liposuction?

We know one thing and Bieber is the hottest selling and most popular celebrity on the planet right now. With the American Music Awards coming up in November we can already predict he will take home all the awards he’s up for there is just no competition when it comes to record sales or twitter popularity. The teen girls are going nuts over this boy and many lesbians. Well you know the ‘Lesbians Who Look Like Justin Bieber,” fanpage has over 34,000 fans or likes on Facebook.

He also just came out with a book that is his “Forever” story book. Which some think why would he have a book out now at the young age of 16? Well it’s because once all these screaming girls forget about him 10 years from now he may need that book to look back at the memories. He could turn out to be as popular as Macaulay Culkin from Home Alone is right now or lots of other teen stars we have used and then thrown away to the paparazzi hell where we watch them fall and they do nothing but make the tabloids money.

The teen also gets his swag on with a bobble head. This to me is like a voodoo doll with some creepers and stalkers playing with this doll but still it serves as the perfect Gag Gift.

Maybe we all need some of this magical nail polish that Justin Bieber has going for him!

Lil’ Wayne is the perfect candidate for a brand of condoms though but you would think he would show a pic of him strapped by some blond patrol officer instead. The rap artist has five kids so he might should have remembered the rubbers a few kids back. If you ask me this condom ad is perfect material for Kink.com’s website. This is a few years old but it still surprises me.

We want to hear from you about anything and everything. If you would like to post a blog on here let us know get your voice out there. Our community must come together stronger. We can do this and end the suicides!

Gay Teen Suicides
How to Respond to Bullying in Schools
We have support of some wonderful people

The teen and college years are hard in many ways because we want to fit in so bad.  Try not to care so much about what everyone else thinks.  There is only one person who is in charge of things and that is you.  Do not ever let anyone bring you down.  It is easy to say and takes a lot of strength sometimes but you have to get away from letting the bullies put negative thoughts in your head about you.  Bullies are unhappy people even though they seem like they are better than you they are NOT.  You must believe in yourself and know you can achieve more than them.

If you are bullied things to do-
1. Tell everyone what happened. If they don’t believe you seek unlocal advice.
2. Call 1-866-488-7386 @TrevorProject
How to Respond to Bullying in Schools

Keep strong, Be Hugged
1. Find friends ask them for a hug now and then. People need to give more love and show more support.
2. Don’t ever let yourself get too weak. You do not want anyone to think you are vulnerable. Show your strength.

Even in the gay community we have bullies and like when I signed onto Grindr the other day some guy said some damaging things to me but it shows hes a bitter mean spirited and hate filled person. My success shows much more strength than the weapons he is using to hurt me. You just have to accept that NOT everyone is going to like you. This was a guy that has hated me for 3 years or so. Poor thing with his hate. No one has everyone like them there will always be critics and people who are jealous. Lady Gaga, Madonna, and newer stars such as Adam Lambert you can see just in the media what kind of hate they go through but you may not see their more closer friends and communities that show hate for them that hurts them more than anything. If you look at the Youtube comments that people leave on anyone’s video you will see how mean people are to anyone.. especially gays but we can build strength in that.

Don’t Listen to the Hate, They are not Happy People
People like Sally Kern (R) in Oklahoma who preach hate help the bullies in their journey to beat us down but if you looked inside her life more closely you will most likely see a very saddened woman who has no love for anything. She says she has a love for God but I really don’t think she knows what Jesus stands for or realize that God made everyone. I mean when you think of people like Sally or Rush Limbaugh you think man these bullies need to get laid don’t they? Which is what the bullies in school are probably dealing with they have had girls turn them down then they take things out on YOU to make themselves feel better.

Life is like that people focus their hate on someone to make their lives easier just like the media focused on Britney Spears for so long it made them money, made all the couch potato sports obsessed hypocritical families feel better about themselves when they looked in the mirror at night, and turned us all into hypocrites. Britney came out ‘Stronger’ even after all that hate geared towards her. I am sure she thought of suicide but then thought hell no I want to show these people. People were taking bets on her suicide. That is how cruel people are but that is how the world turns and you have to fight back with your own success or happiness.

Stay Proud, Stay Fabulous. Give Hugs. And remember LOVE is a greater power than hate and fear.

But I have not found any gay ancestors. Or have I?

Actually I know for a fact that I had a gay uncle, so if you subscribe to the view that it ‘runs in the family’ then there must have been others. In fact just talking statistically there must have been hundreds of others. But how do you know? This information isn’t on census sheets. Here are a few of my thoughts for anyone interested in researching their gay ancestors.

By definition, most gay ‘ancestors’ won’t actually be ancestors unless they had children. So they’re more likely to be unmarried, or at least, childless siblings of ancestors. Having said that, of course, there will be many gay people from the past who will have had children, King James I of England being one who immediately springs to mind, Oscar Wilde another.

It’s also worth thinking, or finding out, how the law treated gay people at various times in history, and you should always put your ancestors in the context in which they existed. I think it was in Henry VIII’s reign that gay sex, though it wasn’t called that then, was made a capital crime. And it’s worth looking at the vocabulary through the ages too. Example: bear in mind that sodomy comes from Sodom and Gomorrah in the Bible (itself drawn on ancient Babylonian stories) because the sin of Sodom was thought to have been, well, Sodomy. The men there tried to… ‘shag’ the angel God sent them. Which is interesting in itself because it clearly shows that angels must have been men. But I digress.

You may know that in the UK lesbianism was never recognised, and lesbians were effectively invisible (Queen Victoria refused to allow anything in law because she didn’t believe it existed). And yet throughout history there have always been obvious lesbian relationships, a single woman and her companion for example. This is often difficult to call, though, as a single (possibly ugly) woman would have no choice but to have a woman companion in those days.

But once again you are left to draw conclusions only. Where is the hard evidence? Well, I recently saw a parish book, from around 1700, where it was written against a burial entry that the man buried was killed for ‘importuning…’ and there then followed another man’s name. A suggestion that this man was gay, or had gotten drunk and ‘tried it on’ but either way it’s not totally hard evidence.

So, apart from getting your hands on criminal records for any ancestors who ran foul of the law, you’re only ever going to discover the odd hint about a person’s sexuality. It’s ever only going to be circumstantial. And often, anything that looks like it might be a clue quite often isn’t because of the “innocence of the period”. Another example: in Victorian times it was quite unremarkable for an older boy to be seen walking around with his arm round the shoulder of a younger one, and it may well have been perfectly innocent.

A lot has to do with the mind and social attitudes. Today, only one conclusion would be drawn. And consequently, anyone ‘innocent’ wouldn’t even run the risk of doing anything that looked ‘suspicious’.

I finish with a thought about a great-uncle who, during his life, never married, ended up living with his aunt, and who travelled around the country working in various public houses and hotels. Was he a gay wanderer in the late 19th and early 20th century, or just a man who never found the right woman to wed? I shall never know.

Hi. My name is Sarah, and I have a confession. It’s something I’ve known for a while but was scared to admit – but here I am now, 21 years old, and I’m ready to say it out loud.

I like to pick my nose.

Another confession… I like girls. Kind of silly that it’s a confession, right? Confession implies guilt or shame, kind of like digging deep to get those hard-to-reach bogies – so I take it back.  I don’t have another confession. I have a fact to tell you. I like girls, and I like singing about girls.

One of my friends is convinced that’s how I get the ladies – maybe she’s right, but I like to think it’s really due to my love of organic chemistry, secret clarinet skills, or long history with uncomfortable situations. Either way, you should check out my band. We’re called Finding Jupiter, named after the largest, gassiest planet in our solar system. I swear our music is free of organic chemistry and clarinet playing, but I can’t promise that it’s free of uncomfortable situations. I mean, the first song on our album is called “Hey Whitney.” Who is this Whitney, and why am I saying “hey”? I am not going to tell you.

If you want to find out and crave some kickass music, go to our website to listen now at findingjupiter.com

What the network should be focusing on this year are what no one is talking about right now the VMA’s coming in under a few weeks from LA’s Nokia Theater. They really sound lame this year because there is no major headliner or opening act and no big celeb deaths like Michael Jackson to draw the interest. Maybe too many celebs testing for the Clap? j/k.

But no Madonna, no Britney Spears, no Lady Gaga performances. Lame. Is this going to be a cheesy bubble explosion of Katy Perry coming out of icing with Jack Black peeing on a rainbow that ends with Kanye West and Taylor Swift jumping around like Glee lovers holding hands into eternity? Lady Gaga will probably be the most talked about thing at the show but how many outfits will she be putting on just to get up and accept awards all night long. We wanted to hear her perform at least!

Their focus of silly foursquare check-ins such as Facebook wanting to get into the location business instead of its core business will make these companies finally see this bubble bursting when people laugh and start hiding check-ins or use them for blackmail purposes. Hopefully someday MTV will focus on their music or at least more of the drama as Justin Timberlake begged the network to do a few years ago..

My predictions for 2010 for the MTV VMAs are that it could turn out to be the lamest in years. Last years from NYC Radio City Music Hall will be hard to top with Madonna, Lady Gaga, Janet Jackson, and the list goes on. They would have to at least have a SURPRISE appearance from Britney Spears to come close to last years and normally their LA version of the show sucks anyway but then again they could run an skit of Britney Spears checking into a STD clinic via their ridiculous Four Square App right? or have Lindsey Lohan appear which I am sure they will do anyway before she goes back to rehab.

The point of mentioning that song was to bring in its subject matter which was, famous gay people of history. I am sure my co-writer would not mind me sharing some of the lyrics (in italics) with you as I run through some of the more unexpected gay people from the past.

There is often doubt over far back historical characters and their sexuality. Examples:

‘Frederick the Great, Peter the Great, Alexander the Great, not one of them straight.’

And sometimes there is room for a lot of speculation. I just checked out a list on a site and it has Saladin the Sultan of Egypt and Syria listed as a famous gay man. Famous for sure, but how do they know? Where’s the evidence? The site did have a list of sources actually, but my point here is that history can quickly become myth, so to say for 100% certainty that, for example, Alexander was gay, is to make assumptions based on ancient chatter. To be certain or our famous GLB folk we need to be more up to date:

‘Herman Melville, and Marcel Proust – and all the boys that Hadrian the first seduced.’

I know Hadrian wasn’t that recent, but it’s a fun rhyme for Proust who, let’s face it, could do with some jollying up. Also on the list was Cole Porter, no surprises there except he was also married, but that’s what some gay men did in those days, and perhaps he really was bisexual. (And, as an aside, if you want clear examples of list and story songs then look at Cole Porter, the master of the list song: Let’s do it, You’re the top, I get a kick out of you, and more or less anything from Anything Goes.)

‘Kenneth Anger loved the men he’d fetter, David Hockney likes his men much wetter.’

Also on that site and its list were Andy Warhol, Noel Coward and Oscar Wilde, and you are probably not surprised to see these great people listed. But what about some of the others?

‘Edward the second, Richard the Second, James the first, it’s been reckoned.’

Pope Julius III (1550 – 1555), Marie Antoinette, Pope Benedict IX (1032 – 1044), Pope John XII (655 – 964), the list goes on, and is not restricted to Popes or aristocracy who lost their heads.

‘There’s William Shakespeare, and Marlow too, and Sophocles, Euripides to name a few.’

But what I did notice from this list, and the list we came up with for our song, is how many talented people there were. Of course there is no reason why GLB folk should not be talented, I didn’t mean it like that, and there are thousands of talented straight people from history, but some of the greats are here – I mean the really greats. From Alexander and the others who were actually called ‘Great’ to the painter of the Sistine chapel, Michelangelo, the inventor of economic theories in the 20th century, John Maynard Keyes and the inventor of just about everything else, Leonardo de Vinci.

‘…And Gertrude Stein, whose brownies would have fattened Ida Rubenstein
And who can forget Divine? That’s what John Waters taught us…’

‘Hans Christian Anderson, Walt Whitman and Virginia Woolf,
And that’s not all
There’s Lady Una Troubridge, and Radclyffe Hall.’

So it seems to me, that whatever way you look at it, being gay means that you are in good company. Such good company that it makes you wonder who the straight folk have to be proud of.

Nixon’s career began at age 12 with a role in Little Darlings, and by 18 she had roles in two Broadway plays simultaneously. She was a successful New York actress, but HBO’s Sex and the City catapulted her into stardom. Since the series ended, Nixon has taken a variety of roles, including Eleanor Roosevelt in HBO’s Warm Spring and a frazzled mother navigating a child with ADD. She has worked on both theater and film projects since the end of the series, choosing roles that offer both a challenge and a distinctly different character than Miranda.

In 2004, the New York Daily Post and New York Daily News outed the New York actress. With grace, she maintained her privacy but didn’t hide her relationship, taking the scandal out of her outing. Nixon’s partner, Christina Marinoni, is a community organizer in New York City. Nixon and Marinoni are raising Nixon’s two children, and while she is an involved parent, she does cheerfully celebrate the benefits of having four parents available.

Activism and advocacy work plays an important role in Nixon’s life. After battling breast cancer in 2006, she remains active with the Susan G. Komen foundation. Cynthia Nixon’s children attend New York public schools, and she works to support the schools, ensure adequate funding, and provide for teachers. In the last two year’s Nixon has taken an active role speaking out on gay and lesbian issues, including marriage and adoption. As of May 2009, Nixon and Marinoni are engaged to be married. Cynthia Nixon received an honorary award for her work on gay and lesbian civil rights issues from GLAAD in March of 2010.

The follow-up to the first hugely successful “Sex and the City” soundtrack, which debuted on Billboard’s Soundtrack chart at number one and its Top 200 chart at number two, will feature an exciting lineup that includes several platinum artists and consists of 17 songs. The announcement was made today by WaterTower’s Jason Linn.

Sex and the City 2 will have a all-star soundtrack released

The soundtrack will include original music from Grammy and Academy Award® winner Jennifer Hudson, along with global superstar, multi-platinum recording artist and three-time Grammy Award nominee Leona Lewis. T-Pain produces a new song by platinum-selling Cee-Lo and international superstar Dido also contributes an exclusive new track. Grammy, Emmy, Golden Globe, Tony and Academy Award® winner Liza Minnelli covers Beyonce’s chart-topper “Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)” and 12-time Grammy Award winner Alicia Keys performs her own extraordinary new version of the Blondie classic “Rapture,” produced by Salaam Remi, who has worked with Amy Winehouse and Wyclef Jean.

The soundtrack also features the stars of “Sex and the City 2,” Sarah Jessica Parker, Kim Cattrall, Kristin Davis and Cynthia Nixon, performing the Helen Reddy classic “I Am Woman.”

The full track listing is as follows:

1. Alicia Keys – “Rapture”
2. Dido – “Everything to Lose”
3. Cee-Lo – “Language of Love”
4. Erykah Badu – “Window Seat”
5. Natacha Atlas – “Kidda”
6. Michael McGregor – “Euphrates Dream”
7. Liza Minnelli – “Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)”
8. Ricki-Lee – “Can’t Touch It”
9. Alicia Keys – “Empire State of Mind (Part II) Broken Down”
10. Jennifer Hudson and Leona Lewis – “Love Is Your Color”
11. Sarah Jessica Parker, Kim Cattrall, Kristin Davis, Cynthia Nixon – “I Am Woman”
12. Sex and the City Men’s Choir – “If Ever I Would Leave You”
13. Sex and the City Men’s Choir – “Sunrise, Sunset”
14. Sex and the City Men’s Choir – “Till There Was You”
15. Shayna Steele, Jordan Ballard, Kamilah Marshall – “Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered”
16. Liza Minnelli with Billy Stritch – “Ev’ry Time We Say Goodbye”
17. Aaron Zigman – “Divas and Dunes”

So, the boys realize that the girls deserve more respect than they’re getting with prodding from Will, Sue does Vogue, Tina stands up for herself and Rachel, Finn, and Emma all wrestle with issues surrounding sex. Jesse pressures Rachel and she eventually says no. Santana pressures Finn and he says yes. Emma tries, and finally says no…all choreographed to Like a Virgin. More interestingly, Rachel claims she did and Finn claims he didn’t. Will tells Emma she needs to get help and he needs to get a divorce. Finn and Mercedes join the Cheerios to take starring roles they don’t necessarily get in New Directions, convincing Sue simply with “Mercedes is black. I’m gay. We make culture.” Sue tells us that Madonna is all about power, and Rachel, Emma and Santana all take their own, as do Mercedes and Kurt in their own way.

There’s no discussion of Glee without a discussion of being gay on Glee. While Madonna is certainly an icon in the gay community, Kurt plays a minor role in this episode. It seems likely we’ll see a much more Kurt-centered episode when it’s Lady Gaga’s turn on Glee. While Kurt is the only openly gay character on the show, we’ve seen multiple references to bisexuality on the part of both Santana and Brittany. The two girls offer to let Finn watch them make out and in an earlier episode, they casually mention having had sex. Fox’s official Glee Wiki lists the two as “Best Friends. With Benefits.” There’s certainly no arguing that Glee plays with stereotypes, allowing characters to be weak, flawed, and very human, whether they’re gay, straight or bisexual.

I am really disgusted with this oil disaster right now. I think we need to put more of the tax focus on energy and more taxes on gasoline at the pump. We have got to get away from our oil dependency. I would even go with nuclear before buying more oil from terrorists and to cargo oil all over the ocean. Of course, the world would be a much better place if we would have made Exxon pay for their damage years ago because this created an environment where anyone can get away with an Oil Spill and not pay the consequences.

I am also concerned that our spending is out of control we do need to keep taxes reasonable so that companies and people do not move to other countries. The Tea baggers have lots of good points and it makes me want to join them if they weren’t racist hypocrites. Then they make statements about microchips in people but want less government. But some of the sain people such as Ron Paul make good points in the unfair taxes for some while others get by without paying taxes at all when some should (they are probably getting more use out of Federal facilities than the people paying for them for free).

I also think that gays should get every federal right such as marriage. GLBT are paying taxes and deserve to be treated like every other tax paying citizen. While I agree that the Arizona law went to far at discrimination I do feel we have got to do something when it comes to illegals mooching off our system. If someone is living off our healthcare and driving uninsured cars down the highway these people need to be addressed.

We need to focus on incentives for companies more to build stronger internet backbones, faster rails, and curing diseases and viruses such as HIV and cancer. Private companies need greater support doing these things and much larger tax or cash incentives. We want to be the first here in America and want to make sure our bio-techs are focused on science that can save lives and not things like Ambien and Restless Leg Syndrome just to make a quick profit.

We have to make sure the FDA does not stop any more natural supplements such as Almonds or something like Vitamin D. We have to protect natural ways to keep healthy and make sure there are no toxins in these products at the same time. That will be hard but we have to do it. We should also make it where natural pain killers or a natural inflammatory such as THC/Pot are available and we should be able to grow anything in our own yard. This is a freedom we must have to be a real America and get away with having to buy things like this from the drug lords in Mexico.

Finally, I feel that Churches that do not do a certain amount of community service SHOULD pay taxes. If the church is not doing say 50% community service besides preaching and activism why are they getting by without paying taxes just like any other business? They are a business they need to be taxed.

I feel that the news is not really worth watching lately. I get more quality stuff out of the Daily Show than anything and still fast forward through Keith Olbermann or Rachel Maddow. Most of my factual news comes from the Yahoo.com homepage and if I want opinions I turn over to MSNBC.

There will always be a controversy about the age of models appearing in gay porn. I am talking about the younger models here of course, as anyone who can prove that they are over 18 years of age may appear in pornography if they so chose, straight or gay, and heaven knows I’ve seen enough retired men and women making some pension-boosting money from appearing in porn movies.

But, if someone has proved that they are over the minimum age, why should there be a controversy? We’ve seen, in the past, some well known models (or those who went on to become well known) get themselves caught up in a ‘scandal’ for one reason or another. Lying about their age at the time is a common one, and unscrupulous producers knowingly using under-age models is another, though thankfully less common, reason.

In the USA there is a code called Title 18, section 2257, sometimes simply known as ‘2257’. This is a requirement of producers of adult material to be able to prove the legal minimum age of their models at the time of photography, or filming. You will see this at the bottom of many pages on most porn sites, certainly all those produced in the USA should carry a link to a page, or information, where anyone can find out the address of the producer/keeper of records, and make an enquiry into the age of a certain model. If an enquiry is made then the company must be able to produce documentation backing up and proving their claim that their models were over 18 when filmed. That’s the simple version of the code. And it means that, in the USA, producers must have copies of things like driving license, ID, etc. on file, by name of model, showing that they were legally allowed to appear in porn at that time.

That’s good, it’s something that all good and respectable porn producers would want to have, and insist on having before they get a guy naked. But it actually only applies to the United States. So, when you find a company from, for example, Europe, stating their 2257 information, it actually doesn’t mean anything, legally. It has been taken as good practice by good producers, no matter what their country of residence and business. (Other countries have other laws, some have no laws at all.)

But it’s always interested me to notice that many a ‘teen’ and even ‘twink’ site that carries content featuring ‘just 18’ etc. boys will have their 2257 address of records in a place like Cyprus, or Prague. Are they really based there? Is this just a way of avoiding the legalities? And if so, why? And what happens if you are based in the Czech Republic but your servers are in America and your content comes from Spain? Where do you stand legally then? It’s a bit of a minefield.

And there is another one. What about those sites (I won’t mention names here as I don’t want to get caught up in the fuss) that feature young looking models. What’s the difference between someone who is 18 or 19 but who looks 16 or 17 appearing in a movie, as opposed to someone who is actually 16 or 17 appearing in one? Obviously it’s not legal, in most countries, to show under-age nudity and it’s probably not moral either, although that point could me argued on a personal level. And yet there are many sites around where the models look younger than they are, and we’re told that they are ‘just 18’ etc. to start with.

It looks like there is a fine line between under-age porn actors and porn actors who look underage.

Just as a final, slightly unrelated thought, I’ll leave you with this. A couple of years ago there was a controversy because a famous actor, who was then 17, appeared naked on stage, in London, in a play. You could go and see him nude live on stage, but you couldn’t show photos of him nude on the web – though people did.

Basically it’s a great, and popular, new application for your iPhone or iPod Touch or now you can even use it on your iPad. There is no messy registration process attached to it, you don’t need to enter an email address or anything, you don’t even validate your account; you simply ad the application on to your iPhone etc. And then you’re ready to use it. And you can hang out on GRINDR where and whenever you want. It’s a social networking tool for gay men, you can see who else is on, you can check photos and profiles and you can see where other guys are. These guys may be simply out and about looking for other guys to hook up with for a drink, or more, or they may be on the network searching out Mr Right, as well as Mr Right-now of course. And, once you are up and running on it, they will be able to contact you.

More specifically it also lets you see who is in your area. It maps out other users and you can, on the free versions, see around 100 other guys at a time. If you pay the full whack of $2.99 a month (yes, two-ninety-nine only) you can have up to 200 guys and no adverts on your screen. Not bad eh? You can check out more about the application at www.grindr.com, follow it on Facebook and Twitter and you’ll find it very easy to install and use.

So, you’re set up and maybe you’re on holiday in… let’s say, Australia. Want to know who else is around? Simply use your application and check the guys out. But then ponder this: many famous people are also using IPhones, and many gay guys are using GRINDR, put the two together and you’ve got the potential to hook up with your favorite gay stars, and porn stars, or how about singing stars? Back in March The Daily Telegraph reported that super-star George Michael had been using his GRINDR application to hook up with other hunky guys down under in Australia. The publication said: “At 10.16am on Monday, using the profile name Back for Wood, George Michael used Grindr to send the message “Hi there” and a picture of himself taken in a hotel room mirror to someone he liked the look of , who happened to be just 185m away, according to Grindr GPS.” (I am a little curious as to how they found out, it suggests that there may be some security issues with the application. But then I assume the guy he sent the photo to sent it on to the paper to get some quick cash.)

Anyway, the George Michael story sent me scurrying around the net to see if any other ‘names’ had been found out in a similar way. Sadly I didn’t find anyone else, but it did make me wonder. Think of your favorite porn star (Turk Melrose in my case, or Turk Mason as he’s now calling himself), and then see if you can find him via your GRINDR application. Imagine if he’s in your same hotel or just down the road. Thanks to the GPS in your phone matching up with the GPS in his, you never know who you are only a few metres or miles away from. Sadly Turk was nowhere near me when I tried it out, and I am on the other side of the world to Australia so I doubt George will be popping by tonight, but you can start to see the endless fun you can have with this ‘find him now and near’ application.

Stay tuned we will be having some contests involving iPads coming soon.

Keep in mind this is a 10-foot-tall crucifix hanging above the alter at a Catholic church. One Facebook comment makes the point “The image is quite obvious; but, I find it interesting that many people don’t… seem to notice (on a 10-foot-tall crucifix), and that 62% of people polled don’t find it offensive (whereas people sure were “outraged” when Erykah Badu exposed herself at Dealey Plaza in downtown Dallas, Texas on March 17). According to the Church, there are no plans to remove it.”

I agree that our bodes are art and so are the clothes we wear for that matter. We may be disgusted by seeing one person walk around nude but someone else we may get turned on by but when we came out of our mommies we certainly were not dressed and we bared all. We were in our birthday suits. I am surprised there is not more art that depicts nudity in our true form and the beauty of our different bodies.

Jesus in this painting definitely had something sticking out of his skirt or dress that looked mighty powerful and that was not your ordinary sized penis. I am not sure if I was in shock it was so big or because the balls were so big. In some of the same paintings dating back to this time it seemed to show more abs and images of the genitals. The crucifix hanging at this Catholic Church resembles other San Damiano crucifixes except for Jesus’ abdominal area, which is noticeably more pronounced than on similar crucifixes. Very hung if you ask me.

Could this be a sexual depiction of Jesus? Could this be a bondage type depiction? I do not think so I think it is just the way the artists captured this moment. I do find it strange that some captured abs in that area that look similar and this painting has a full out private part sticking out for the world to see.

The Catholic Church certainly has their problems with some Priests who are pedophiles (people who molest children) which has been confused with gays serving in the church. There is a big difference there because gays are not pedophiles they are attracted to the same sex of someone who is consenting adult. But this Vatican problem is something that has been crippling the church and as for the artwork it is certainly not going to be a problem because it has been around for thousands of years and no one has bothered to remove the genitalia from the paintings as they should not.

What this will do for gays and lesbians is really not much too soon unless you have kids in college or children in the home. The healthcare legislation was certainly not perfect because it will take too long for the pre-existing part to kick in. It will also not put enough restrictions on the health insurance companies that are known for their heartless greed.

We also should have done something more for research in medicine in terms of vaccines and cures. It scares me to think less money could go into these areas at a time we need them the most with MRSA infections which antibiotics cannot help immediately and HIV and Cancer still out there putting people in pain and suffering.

This was an amazing Victory for the Democrats such as Pelosi and Obama. They have really worked hard on this and I am pleased it passed in some ways. It defeated all the namecalling and hate speeches that went on during this debate. The republicans went to extremes and lied to try to get this to not pass and if they would have not acted like ignorant mules and used some intellect in their discussion it may have been stopped.

Where will all of this new healthcare money come from?
There is talk of new taxes for those who make over $250,000 a year who could end up paying 2.5% instead of 1% in Medicaid taxes. There is also talk of taxes for those who drink soft drinks and a 10% tanning salon tax.

I do my tanning now and then but I think its a brilliant idea to tax tanning and high fructose corn syrup and things such as diet coke chemicals. All of the chemicals but at the same time think its a bad idea to be able to make judgments on what to tax. TAXING SHOULD BE FAIR AND ACROSS THE BOARD. The sales tax should be increased for any goods we buy that way it would hit all these families who have kids who are mooching off the system. You can sit around and have all these kids but not pay more in taxes and get more deductions?? These kids are the reason my property taxes are so high thanks to the school district I live in. Without kids it is just unfair and unwarranted to have to pay these taxes. That would be like me paying taxes for someone else to enjoy drinking or smoking. You always hear about Children benefiting from most any legislation passing.

Most of us will not benefit from this until 4 years from now unless you are on your parents health ins until age 26.

Also, we need to Tax churches!! Churches are supposed to be separated but they damn well do their indirect grubbiness into politics!

Unfortunately, the Ugandan law, The Anti-Homosexuality Bill of 2009, is expected to pass, regardless of international condemnation. In its current form, the law will condemn HIV positive individuals, those convicted of same-sex rape or sex with a minor, and serial offenders to death. If found guilty of homosexuality, life imprisonment is the penalty in other situations. Family, friends, and even landlords can face imprisonment if they fail to report someone for homosexuality.

While the international community has condemned this law and is treating it as a foreign policy issue, there are much more concerning ties to America. The initial law came to be after visits to Uganda by conservative fundamentalist American clergy; Scott Lively, Caleb Lee Brundidge, and Don Schmeirer, supporting treatment for homosexuality and religious cures and promoting intensely negative views of homosexuality. During the course of their visit, gays were accused of sodomizing teenage boys and attempting to defeat a marriage based culture. It should be noted that the three have criticized the new legislation, even though Lively met with lawmakers to discuss it.

What is being done and what can you do about gay rights so far away? President Barack Obama has publicly criticized the bill at a morning prayer breakfast on February 4, 2010 and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has phoned the Ugandan president to express very strong concerns. Take a few minutes out of your day and call your senators and representatives to encourage them to voice their condemnations of this human rights violation. If you wish to give money, options are limited to get funds directly into Uganda and Ugandan gay rights activists are largely silenced. You can opt to give to Amnesty International or the Human Rights Campaign to support international attempts to prevent this legislation.