Harper Lee to receive Presidential Medal of Freedom

President George W. Bush has announced that Harper Lee, the author of To Kill a Mockingbird, is to receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest honour that can be bestowed upon a civilian.

The medal, established in 1963, is awarded for an "especially meritorious contribution" to the security or national interests of the United States, world peace, or for their accomplishments in the areas of culture or "other significant public or private endeavours."

--> A well-deserved award to one of the best authors of our time. To Kill A Mockingbird was one of my favorite reads last year. Believe it or not, I hadn't picked it up until only last year. It goes highly recommended!

(Via Telegraph)

Rufus Wainwright does Judy, again and on DVD

Rufus Wainwright is spreading the gospel of Judy Garland, concert by concert. He's turned his Garland obsession into a career and soon, that gospel will be spread CD/DVD combo by CD/DVD combo.

To wit: anyone who missed his live, song-for-song interpretation of La Garland’s 1961 concert at Carnegie Hall can experience them thanks to an upcoming CD and DVD. On Dec. 4, Geffen will release the double-disc “Rufus Does Judy at Carnegie Hall” CD collection of the singer’s June 14, 2006, show at the famed New York theater. Also due that day is “Rufus! Rufus! Rufus! Does Judy! Judy! Judy! Live at the London Palladium,” a DVD of his Feb. 25, 2007, concert there.

(Via Lemonwade)

"Out of Sync" Hits Too Many Wrong Notes

--> If you thought Lance Bass’ memoir, Out of Sync, would fill in the blanks of his coming out, you'd be dead wrong. Here's a bit of the review from AfterElton.

Bass doesn’t go into too much detail about being gay or his coming out journey. What he does discuss a great deal are former manager Lou Pearlman, the end of ‘N Sync, and his involvement with the American space program. (Bass was training to be an astronaut at one point.)

According to assertions Bass makes in the book, Pearlman stole money, Justin Timberlake left the band too quickly, and the Russians who partnered with the space program were, like Pearlman, strictly out for the moolah. Bass also admonishes former boyfriends, including fellow celebrity Reichen Lehmkuhl, but only briefly.

It’s impossible to know whether all the things Bass says are true, but that doesn’t matter: Using your memoir mostly to take down other people is tacky regardless of what those people have done.

Quoteables

"There are nights when the wolves are silent and only the moon howls."

- George Carlin

Pick Me Up of the Day

Tyler Lough as featured on Major Models.

Naomi Campbell Visits Hugo Chavez

British supermodel Naomi Campbell met privately with President Hugo Chavez on Tuesday, becoming the latest in a series of celebrities hosted by the Venezuelan leader.

Campbell flashed a smile to reporters as she arrived at the presidential palace, but said little about what she hoped to discuss with Chavez.

"I've been here before actually," she said. "A beautiful country, very tropical. You've got great waterfalls."

--> As if we needed further proof that she's an irrelevant imbecile. Can you imagine what the conversation is going to be like? Even Chavez is wondering what the hell she's doing there.

(Via Sun Sentinel)

New Disney Dream Portaits

Disney Parks updated their Disney Dreams portrait series today with three new images shot by Annie Leibowitz. Roger Federer plays King Arthur, Julie Andrews portrays the Blue Fairy from Pinocchio with Abigail Breslin as a Fairy-in-Training, and Rachel Weisz plays Snow White.

(Via Towleroad)

N.Y. Public Library Gets Hepburn Papers

22 boxes of papers from Katharine Hepburn's theater career have been donated to the New York Public Library. They will be available to scholars and fans after they have been cataloged.

When Hepburn died in 2003, the trustees of her estate chose to donate papers from her film career to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' Margaret Herrick Library. They decided to donate papers from her extensive though less-known stage career to the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts at Lincoln Center.

Highlights from the collection were displayed last week on a table at the library. There were fan letters from Judy Garland and from Charlton Heston, who wrote in 1981, "You have made all our hearts tremble, one time or another."

--> I'd love to spend a day in NY, sifting through that stuff! Can you just imagine the wonderfully random stuff that woman accumulated? The Judy Garland letter, alone!

(Via Sun Sentinel)

Rest In Peace Robert Goulet

Goulet, the handsome, big-voiced baritone whose Broadway debut in "Camelot" launched an award-winning stage and recording career, has died at age 73.

Boy playing with matches started 38,000-acre fire

A boy playing with matches started a Southern California wildfire that scorched more than 38,000 acres, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department said Tuesday.

The Buckweed Fire, which destroyed 21 homes and injured three civilians and two firefighters on its rampage, began October 21 in the Agua Dulce community.

The boy, whose name and age were not given, is home with his parents, police said. The case will be presented to the Los Angeles County district attorney for possible charges.

--> Apparently someone did not get Smokey the Bears memo.

(Via CNN)

Happy Halloween!

(Via Pretty On The Outside)

Nip/Tuck Season 5 begins tonight

Death penalty imminent for gay youth in Iran

Child offender Makwan Moloudzadeh, an Iranian Kurd, is believed to be at risk of imminent execution. He has reportedly been convicted of lavat-e iqabi (anal sex) for the alleged rape of a 13-year-old boy. Makwan Moloudzadeh was aged 13 at the time of the alleged offence. His death sentence has been passed to the Office for the Implementation of Sentences and he is due to be executed in public, near his home.

(Via Amnesty International)

The Funnies

(Via CagleCartoons)

New Music Tuesday

The Best of Andrea Bocelli: Vivere

Britney Spears' Blackout

Pick Me Up of the Day

Michael Horta as featured on We Love Guys.

Scientists: AIDS Came to U.S. from Haiti in 1969

A genetic analysis of stored blood samples has led scientists to conclude that the AIDS Virus was carried to Haiti from Africa in 1966, and then to America in 1969, most likely by a single infected person.

University of Arizona evolutionary biologist Michael Worobey told Reuters: "That one infection would have become two, and then it doubles again and the two becomes four. So you have a period -- probably a fair number of years -- where you're dealing with probably fewer than a hundred people who are infected. And then, as with epidemic expansion, at some point the hundred becomes 200, you start getting into thousands, tens of thousands. And then quite rapidly you can be up into the hundreds of thousands of infections that were probably already there before AIDS was recognized in the early 1980s."

The scientists studied samples from five early Haitian immigrants and international data on 117 early AIDS patients to make their determination.

Reuters reports: "The researchers virtually ruled out the possibility that HIV had come directly to the United States from Africa, setting a 99.8 percent probability that Haiti was the steppingstone...Studies suggest the virus first entered the human population in about 1930 in central Africa, probably when people slaughtered infected chimpanzees for meat. AIDS has killed more than 25 million people and about 40 million others are infected with HIV."

(Via Towleroad)

"Dangerous" or awesome!

(Via the "blog" of unnecessary" quotations)

New t-shirts from AMERICAblog

--> Barack Obama hasn't made any friends these last two weeks. And if you ask AMERICAblog, he's probably lost a few, too. I'm certainly thinking twice.

(Via AMERICAblog)

More young adults taking blood pressure drugs

Use of cholesterol and blood pressure medicines by young adults appears to be rising rapidly, at a faster pace than among senior citizens, according to an industry report being released today.

Medical experts point to higher rates of obesity, high blood pressure and high cholesterol problems among young people. Also, doctors are getting more aggressive with preventive treatments.

The new data, from prescription benefit manager Medco Health Solutions, indicate use of cholesterol-lowering drugs among people ages 20 to 44, while still low, jumped 68 percent over a six-year period.

"This is good news, that more people in this age range are taking these medicines," said Dr. Daniel W. Jones, president of the American Heart Association.

(Via Sun Sentinel)

Democratic candidates to debate at 9 p.m.

A Democratic presidential debate will be broadcast live on MSNBC from 9 to 11 p.m. Tuesday at Drexel University in Philadelphia.

Brian Williams of NBC will moderate, joined by Tim Russert.

Gator grovel: Tasered student apologizes

Six weeks after he was Tased by police for disrupting a political forum, University of Florida student Andrew (``Don't Tase Me, Bro!'')` Meyer is to deliver a shocker of his own:
He's sorry. And he's taking some time off from school.

According to The Sun, which talked to Meyer's lawyer, the student, who is from Weston, has written letters to UF President Bernie Machen, the UF police and ``the UF community and the Gator Nation the world over.''

Meyer, who apparently will withdraw from school until January, confesses to stepping ''out of line'' while loudly disrupting a Sept. 17 forum with U.S. Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass. As he resisted police efforts to escort him from the University Auditorium, he yelped, ''Don't Tase me, bro!'' but was nonetheless zapped by a Taser device.

The Tasering of Meyer, 21, was captured on video and has been replayed on news shows and Internet sites around the world. It inspired the creation of T-shirts and other Taser-related paraphernalia.

(Via Miami Herald)

NBC exec: Leno will leave 'Tonight' on schedule

"Conan O'Brien will take over 'The Tonight Show' in 2009," NBC Universal President and CEO Jeff Zucker said Monday in New York at an event arranged by Syracuse University's S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications.

Zucker said he'd like Leno to remain with the company and that "we are in those conversations now." "I'm hopeful that Jay will be with us," the executive told the question-and-answer session.

--> I've never really cared for Leno. I've never really cared for Letterman, either. Call me crazy but I don't wanna hear polished, primpted jokes at 11 o'clock at night. At that time, I want to get to sleep so I pop in a Golden Girls episode and I'm done for the day.

(Via CNN)

Aid workers accused of stealing 100 children

Authorities in Chad have charged nine French nationals with kidnapping and seven crew members of a Spanish charter company with complicity after they attempted to fly out of Chad with more than 100 children the group claimed were orphans from Sudan.

The group was arrested last week as they tried to put 103 children on a plane to France. The "rescue mission" was organized by L'Arche de Zoe (Zoe's Ark), a Paris-based charity which said the children were orphans from the Darfur crisis and were being taken to foster families in France.

A spokeswoman for the UNHCR in Abeche said the children were all very young -- most between 3 and 5, but some as young as 1 -- and that none had any papers or documentation.

--> Sorry about the late start this morning. Unexpectedly busy day at my typically un-busy job. In any case, how's this for an opening story? Something tells me there's more to this story. I think this was a humanitarian endeavor gone wrong. I'll keep a look out for updates.

(Via CNN)

Study: Stats on Abusive Gay Relationships

Journal of Urban Health study: 1 in 3 gay men report being abused in a relationship.

"The study is published in the most recent edition of the Journal of Urban Health. McKirnan and graduate student Eric Houston studied surveys filled out by 817 men through the Howard Brown Health Center, which primarily serves the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community from its North Side (Chicago) location. More than 32 percent of the men reported experiencing verbal, physical or sexual abuse in an intimate relationship. Just under 20 percent said they were physically or sexually abused. As with women, poorly educated and low-income men were more likely to be victims. However, minorities did not show higher rates of abuse."

(Via Towleroad)

What I'm reading:

I'm not sure if I've covered my all-out fandom for Dame Elizabeth Taylor here before. The truth is, it's the kind of fandom I've tried to keep to myself. The world doesn't need to know about another gay guy loving Liz Taylor. But alas, I'm coming out as a Liz admirer.

This weekend, I finally caved in and purchased J. Randy Taraborrelli's Elizabeth. I'm about 25 pages and can't get enough. It's a bit sensationalistic, but that's exactly what I'd expect from a Liz Taylor bio. In any case, if you're a fan I suggest you pick it up. It's an easy and informative read on one of the greatest film stars of all time.

On a related note, I recommend you watch Who's Afraid of Virginia Wolf. Liz and Richard Burton at their absolute best.

Quoteables

"Perhaps when we find ourselves wanting everything, it is because we are dangerously close to wanting nothing."

- Sylvia Plath

Pick Me Up of the Day

Michael Churchill as featured at We Love Guys.

‘Miss Bad Media Karma’ Sings, Too

The New York Times reviews Britney's Blackout. Here's a portion of it:

The album includes four other Danja productions, and “Gimme More” seems to provide the template for virtually the entire CD: The electronic beats and bass lines are as thick as Ms. Spears’s voice is thin, and as the album title suggests, the general mood is bracingly unapologetic. As if to taunt all the voyeurs crying crocodile tears for her children, she delivers almost nothing but slithery come-ons and defiant invitations to nightclub decadence.

If that sounds depressing, then you should hear “Piece of Me,” produced by the Swedish duo of Bloodshy & Avant, the same team that produced her 2003 song “Toxic.” Introduced by a sludgy bass line, Ms. Spears waxes defensive, in a heavily synthesized voice that’s the main (and sometimes only) instrument: “I’m Miss Bad-Media-Karma, another day another drama/Guess I can’t see the harm in working and being a mama.”

Over and over comes a refrain — “You want a piece of me” — that could be an accusation or an invitation or a threat. And the producers set upon her like ravenous fans, building her up (by dropping out the bass line) and then knocking her around (by shifting her pitch). Together they evoke the horror, the exhilaration and (finally) the boredom of the over examined life. It’s brilliant.

Oprah's South African school scandal

Oprah has traveled to her South African all-girls school twice in one week following reports of alleged abuse going down at the school. News24.com reports that one of the matrons fondled at least one girl, choked another girl and cursed out several students. It became so bad that one girl ran away.

In an emergency meeting, Oprah told parents, "I've disappointed you. I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry."

She gave them her personal phone number, e-mail and mailing address. Oprah hired investigators and also put the Principal and one another matron on leave.

On leave?! Yeah, I know what that means. That's "Oprah talk" for thrown to the alligators. Nobody humiliates the Oprah! Nobody!

--> I love blogger Michael K. He's replaced Perez Hilton in my heart and in my Favorites folder. He's trash but I think I'm developing a crush on him.

(Via Dlisted)

Dante's Cove Season 3 promo

(Via DNA)

Cuba: Independent reporter says a gay rights organization has been launched

According to Manuel Guerra Pérez, a reporter for the newly formed Associated Free Agency (ALAS), writes that a new gay rights organization called the Cuban Movement for Homosexual Liberation (MCLH) was launched at a ceremony that took place in Havana's Arroyo Naranjo neighborhood which involved twenty or so participants.

Neat article at Blabbeando.

Secret postcards

(More via PostSecret)

Obama supporter blasts gays at Gospel concert; white preacher and Obama say nothing

The whole controversy might have been forgotten in the swell of gospel sound except Mr. McClurkin turned the final half hour of the three-hour concert into a revival meeting about the lightning rod he has become for the Obama campaign.

He approached the subject gingerly at first. Then, just when the concert had seemed to reach its pitch and about to end, Mr. McClurkin returned to it with a full-blown plea: “Don’t call me a bigot or anti-gay when I have suffered the same feelings,” he cried.

“God delivered me from homosexuality,” he added. He then told the audience to believe the Bible over the blogs: “God is the only way.” The crowd sang and clapped along in full support....

Mr. McClurkin’s support for Mr. Obama could signal to some black evangelical voters that race and religion are more important than Mr. Obama’s support for gay rights.

--> I'm seriously starting to rethink my Obama vote. I've been an Obama supporter for a very long time, but this is too much, it's too blatant. Get it together man!

(Via AMERICAblog)

Boston Sweeps World Series Again

They have gone from exorcism to coronation in record time. The Boston Red Sox, who fought ghosts for most of the last century, are the premier team of the new millennium.

The Red Sox won their second World Series in four seasons Sunday, edging the Colorado Rockies, 4-3, in Game 4 at Coors Field. They are the first team to win multiple championships since 2000, and with a deep payroll and a stable of talented young pitchers, they may be poised for more.

--> A hardy congratulations to the Sox. A great city breeds a great team. Bravo, boys!

(Via NYT)

Weekend box office

Box Office Top Five

#1 Saw IV ($32.1M)

#2 Dan In Real Life ($12.1M)

#3 30 Days Of Night ($6.7M)

#4 The Game Plan ($6.26M)

#5 Why Did I Get Married ($5.7M)

Gap shuts down child labor sweatshop

The president of Gap North America says a subcontractor accused of using child labor to sew Gap clothes in India has been fired and the Gap will not sell clothes made in the New Delhi sweatshop.

"It's deeply, deeply disturbing to all of us," Gap President Marka Hansen said after watching video of the children at work. "I feel violated and I feel very upset and angry with our vendor and the subcontractor who made this very, very, very unwise decision."

Hansen blamed the alleged abuse on an unauthorized subcontractor for one of its Indian vendors and said the subcontractor's relationship with the Gap had been "terminated."

--> Did we learn nothing from the Kathy Lee Gifford debacle?

(Via CNN)

Pick Me Up of the Day

Bruno Schuind as featured on Terra.com.

Yoda Stamp Makes Debut

The U.S. Postal Service sought to harness the force Thursday, releasing a new postage stamp featuring Star Wars' enigmatic Yoda, known for his odd syntax as well as his wisdom.

The Jedi master's stamp was originally part of a multi-stamp Star Wars set and is now available as an individual stamp following a public vote on which of that set should receive special attention.

--> Buy this stamp, you will.

(Via NBC6)

Che Guevara Hair Lock Sold for $100,000

A hair lock snipped from Ernesto "Che" Guevara before his burial in 1967 sold for $100,000 at auction Thursday to a Houston-area bookstore owner who called the Marxist "one of the greatest revolutionaries of the 20th century."

Bill Butler, 61, won the 3-inch tress clipped from Guevara's mane after placing the only bid, which matched the reserve price.

--> I'm absolutely speechless.

(Via Sun Sentinel)

Everglades gets another 6,000 acres of filter marshes

Water managers and environmentalists gathered in southwestern Palm Beach County to celebrate a key step on the path to recovering the vastly polluted Everglades. They have planned to convert another 6,000 acres of former farmland into man-made wetlands to filter pollutants out of water headed for the Everglades.

Phosphorus-infused fertilizers that wash off sugar cane and other agricultural fields pollute the Everglades by overloading its waters with nutrients that fuel the growth of cattails, squeezing out sawgrass and other habitat vital to preserving what remains of the River of Grass.

To decrease that infusion of phosphorus, the newly expanded Stormwater Treatment Areas help capture water flowing off agricultural land and use cattails and submerged plants to create a natural filter — absorbing the nutrients before they wash into the Everglades.

--> This was a nice bit of news to read this morning. At a time when you're reading about the biggest ice sheet on Earth melting and arson suspicions circulating about the California wildfires, it's great to see some people focusing on preservation.

(Via Sun Sentinel)

Cuba shows Bush speech on TV

In a highly unusual move, the Cuban government media Thursday published an entire page of excerpts from President Bush's speech on the island, and earlier broadcast about 15 minutes of his address on television.

The step surprised veteran Cuba watchers, who said the rare decision to let Cubans see and read Bush's withering criticism of Havana's leadership clearly signals a shift in strategy -- though they're not sure in what direction.

Bush gave a 30-minute address Wednesday about Cuba, his first in four years. He attacked the Castro administration and outlined ways that Washington could help in the event that communism collapsed and freedom took its place.

(Via Miami Herald)

Eugen Bauder for Kenvelo

Discovery docks with station

Space shuttle Discovery docked with the international space station on Thursday, and its crew prepared to embark on the most challenging construction work ever attempted in a single mission.

With commander Pamela Melroy at the helm, Discovery snuggled up to the space station and latched on after performing a giant somersault to give engineers a close look at the ship's belly and make sure it wasn't damaged during liftoff.

The docking marked the historic meetup of the first two spacecraft simultaneously commanded by women. Space station commander Peggy Whitson is the first woman to be in charge of the orbiting lab.

The astronauts have to install Discovery's primary payload, a pressurized compartment that will be a docking port for European and Japanese laboratories being launched on the next three shuttle flights.

(Via MSNBC)

Hairspray DVD cover

--> This is just plain awful. Awful doesn't even cut it! This is a trainwreck. What happened to the cool art they had for the movie posters? The different-colored light bulbs? I wanted something cool, and purple, and pretty. Tracy isn't even on the front cover, for crying out loud! And this is the two-disc Shake & Shimmy Edition. I can hardly fathom what the regular edition will look like.

It's out November 20th.

2 struck and killed by car while arguing on I-595 on-ramp

A man and a woman who got out of their car and started fighting in the road near Interstate 595 Thursday morning were killed when they were struck by another vehicle, authorities said.

The accident happened on the State Road 7 northbound ramp to I-595 a little after 4 a.m., said Florida Highway Patrol spokesman Sgt. Mark Wysocky.Ramon Perez, 20, of Port St. Lucie, and Marie Mary, 36, of Lauderdale Lakes, got out of their car and fell to the ground in a violent struggle, Wysocky said.

A northbound 2007 Toyota entering the highway from State Road 7 struck the pair.Both victims died on the scene.

The driver of the Toyota, Amanda Dumont, 20, of Plantation, remained at the scene as troopers and paramedics arrived. She was uninjured.

--> That's it. This is definitive proof that human beings are getting dumber.

(Via Sun Sentinel)

Pick Me Up of the Day

Fernando Sippel as featured on Terra.com.

Twin icon of Miami Beach art and party scene dies

Haydée Scull, half of the colorful Cuban twin-sister act who created fanciful mixed-media artwork and spiced up the Miami Beach party scene in over-the-top matching outfits, died suddenly Tuesday at her Collins Avenue apartment, probably of a heart attack, said her daughter, Elizabeth Blandino.

Haydée and her sister, Sahara, are of deliberately indeterminate age, born in Havana on Dec. 5 ''in the 1930s,'' Blandino said.

Haydée once told The Miami Herald that she did the backgrounds and faces, Michael did the bodies and Sahara did streetlights and other details. ''It's like an orchestra,'' Haydée said. "Always we have the same inspiration, always the same idea. Always we work together and always smile when working because we love our art.''

--> It's rather easy to sit here and acknowledge the Scull sisters undisputed influence on the South Florida art world. It's easy to be filled with pride that these two Cuban exile ladies, coming here with very little, followed their passion and made a name for themselves. To rightfully call them legends in their own right, easy. What's not so easy is to grasp the void she leaves in the lives of her family. To that family, and to one granddaughter in particular, we send our thoughts and prayers. Rest assured, she's making Heaven a little more colorful.

(Via Miami Herald)

Microsoft Sinks $240 Million Into Facebook

Rapidly rising Internet star Facebook Inc. has sold a 1.6 percent stake to Microsoft Corp. for $240 million, spurning a competing offer from online search leader Google Inc.

The deal announced Wednesday after several weeks of negotiation values Palo Alto-based Facebook at $15 billion - less than four years after Mark Zuckerberg started the online social networking site in his Harvard University dorm room.

Microsoft also will sell Internet ads for Facebook as the site expands outside the United States, broadening an existing marketing relationship that began last year.

(Via NBC6)

Lance Bass is an author; Heaven help us.

--> The poor guy. He had to come out of the closet to be somewhat interesting. You can purchase his novel, Out of Sync, here.

New Music Tuesday (On Wednesday night)

Carrie Underwood's Carnival Ride

Juanes' La Vida Es Un Ratico

Sweeney Todd film more horror than hurrah

There was a research screening last night of the “Sweeney Todd” movie, in Los Angeles. According to this report, the film plays more as a period horror flick than a full-out musical. Still, it looks pretty damn spectacular.

Check out the second trailer here.

New Britney Spears art: What could have been

Her new album, Blackout, comes out October 30th.

Thanks AP.

The Not-So-Funny Funnies

Cartoon by Daryl Cagle.

Rome's Trevi Fountain Dyed Red by Right-Wing Extremist

The waters in Rome's Trevi Fountain were dyed red by an assailant police later identified as Graziano Cecchini, an "extreme-right sympathizer," according to the AP.

Undertaken in broad daylight in front of dozens of tourists, Cecchini apparently threw the dye into the fountain along with the can it was carried in and fled, but was captured on closed-circuit cameras:

"Police found leaflets near the fountain signed by a right-wing group claiming responsibility for the act. The leaflets said the red paint was a protest for expenses incurred in organizing the Rome Film Festival and symbolically referred to the event's red carpet. Experts cleaned the fountain in a few hours and said the baroque monument, with marble statues depicting the sea deity Neptune on his chariot, had not been permanently damaged."

--> What the heck is wrong with people? Nut jobs.

(Via Towleroad)

Obama Adds Openly Gay Minister to Counter McClurkin Furor

Barack Obama held a conference call with supporters today and announced that he had added Rev. Andy Sidden, a United Church of Christ pastor in Columbia, SC, to his South Carolina gospel tour as a response to the uproar caused by his decision to retain anti-gay pastor Donnie McClurkin.

--> Andy Towle makes a good point: So does adding a voice of tolerance negate the hater on the other end of the scale, which is what Obama's intention seems to be with this move? If a candidate's tour included Fred Phelps but he or she decided to suddenly "balance it out" at the last minute by adding Judy Shepard, what kind of message does that send?

(Via Towleroad)

Bloody-hands protester confronts Rice

An especially aggressive protester confronted Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice Wednesday as she got set to testify before the House Foreign Relations Committee on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

A protester with blood-colored paint on her hands rushed toward Rice as she entered the hearing room, charging repeatedly that the Secretary of State was a "war criminal." The individual was later identified as Desiree Anita Ali-Fairooz.

Fairooz, a member of the anti-war group Code Pink, got within inches of Rice before security officials struggled to remove her from the hearing room.

--> I've always admired ballsy protesters. They get their point across, and always on camera. I'm sure this one will be printed all over the world tomorrow morning. You got it here first! Well, right after CNN, of course.

(Via CNN)

Thaw could threaten coastal cities

Greenland's ice sheet, the second-largest on Earth, is in constant motion as ice melts into the ocean -- an age-old process that scientists say has speeded up because of global warming. The fear is the increasing melt could cause sea levels to rise enough to flood low-lying cities, such as New York City, and Shanghai, China, displacing millions of people.

A recent report from the U.N.'s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, made up of scientists from around the world, estimates the sea level rise by 2100 could be as much as 1½ feet.

(Via CNN)

Quoteables

"In a closed society where everybody's guilty, the only crime is getting caught. In a world of thieves, the only final sin is stupidity."

- Hunter S. Thompson

Keeping Them Honest and Us Horny

--> This made me chuckle. If you haven't noticed yet, the Coop is a blog favorite.

(Via Pretty On The Outside)

Pick Me Up of the Day

Vinícius Postiglione as featured on We Love Guys.

Sneak peak of Drew Barrymore as Little Edie

--> Miss Barrymore is playing Little Edie Beale in the feature film version of Grey Gardens. I'm a big fan of both the Maysles' cult classic documentary and subsequent Broadway musical smash and I have to tell ya, I'm not entirely convinced with the casting here. I love Drew, put she's no Little Edie.

(More pictures via JustJared)

Senate Reverses Bush's Budget Cuts

Senate Democrats have set the stage for President George W. Bush's first-ever veto of a regular budget bill. By a 75-19 vote, the Senate reversed cuts to education, health research and grants to local communities.

The huge health and education spending bill that received bipartisan approval will likely be the first of the fiscal 2008 spending bills to be shipped to the White House. That will begin a veto battle involving the budget for almost every domestic agency.

Bush has so far rejected Democratic pleas for negotiations.

--> I'm not sure what to make of all this. Either Congress is getting a backbone or they're setting us up for another big let down. I love politics, so much uncertainty.

(Via NBC6)

Spring Awakening cast for the Gap

Bush to Warn Cuba on Plan for Transition

President Bush is planning to issue a stern warning Wednesday that the United States will not accept a political transition in Cuba in which power changes from one Castro brother to another, rather than to the Cuban people.

As described by an official in a background briefing to reporters on Tuesday evening, Mr. Bush’s remarks will amount to the most detailed response — mainly an unbending one — to the political changes that began in Cuba more than a year ago, when Fidel Castro fell ill and handed power to his brother Raúl.

The speech, scheduled to be given at the State Department before invited Cuban dissidents, will introduce the relatives of four Cuban prisoners being held for political crimes. A senior administration official said the president wanted to “put a human face,” on Cuba’s “assault on freedom.”

--> I wish this wasn't just more talk from a lame-duck President. But fortunately and unfortunately, it is. Change comes from within, from the very people who are being oppressed. Politicians and world leaders can do all the talking in the world, but until real change is inspired in the hearts and minds of the Cuban people, nothing will come of all the talking.

(Via NYT)

Space Shuttle Launches Despite Bad Weather

The shuttle Discovery thundered off the pad to space this morning on a construction mission to the International Space Station that will bring the new “Harmony” module to the orbiting laboratory.

Despite weather concerns and a small chunk of ice that threatened to delay the launching, everything seemed to fall into place in the final minutes before the scheduled time. Less than a half-hour before the engines roared, the launch director, Michael D. Leinbach, polled the mission team and received the “go for launch” recommendation from each group working toward the decision.

“Booster ignition and liftoff of Discovery,” said the launch commentator, Mike Curie, as the engines started up with their rasping roar, “hoisting Harmony to the heavens and opening new gateways for international science.”

--> I always watch the space shuttle launches. I think I enjoy them so much because they're constant reminders of both the past and the future. They're hope in a shuttle. Good luck & God speed.

(Via NYT)

Quoteables

"One can survive everything, nowadays, except death, and live down everything except a good reputation."

- Oscar Wilde

Pick Me Up of the Day (Double feature)

Micheal Shea & Tyler Moyer as featured on We Love Guys.

Evandro Soldati For Ellus

(Via Made in Brazil)

Obama remains supportive of Anti-Gay Ally

Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama has announced his “Embrace the Change” gospel tour, which includes Donnie McClurkin and Mary Mary, both of whom have anti-gay pasts. It’s McClurkin who’s really caught people’s ire, because the preacher preaches - and practices - ex-gay conversion.

As the fury reached a fever pitch yesterday evening, Obama finally released a statement disavowing McClurkin’s anti-gay ideology:

"I have clearly stated my belief that gays and lesbians are our brothers and sisters and should be provided the respect, dignity, and rights of all other citizens. I have consistently spoken directly to African-American religious leaders about the need to overcome the homophobia that persists in some parts our community so that we can confront issues like HIV/AIDS and broaden the reach of equal rights in this country.

"I strongly believe that African Americans and the LGBT community must stand together in the fight for equal rights. And so I strongly disagree with Reverend McClurkin’s views and will continue to fight for these rights as President of the United States to ensure that America is a country that spreads tolerance instead of division."

--> I ignored this bit of news yesterday because it was my birthday, like Obama, and assumed he'd dump the homophobe by today. But it's not going away. What the heck are you doing OB?? Focus: the gays are going to get you through this election. Don't make us sign our souls away to Hillary.

(Via Queerty)

Elephants electrocuted in drunken rampage

Six Asiatic wild elephants were electrocuted as they went berserk after drinking rice beer in India's remote northeast, a wildlife official said Tuesday.

Nearly 40 elephants came to a village on Friday looking for food. Some found beer, which farmers ferment and keep in plastic and tin drums in their huts, said Sunil Kumar, a state wildlife official.

They got drunk, uprooted a utility pole carrying power lines and were electrocuted in Chandan Nukat, a village nearly 150 miles west of Shillong, the capital of Meghalaya state, Kumar said.

"There would have been more casualties had the villagers not chased them away," said Dipu Mark, a local conservationist.

--> It's a sad story, but what a headline!

(Via MSNBC)

South Florida airports among nation's riskiest for runway near-misses

Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood and Miami international airports are among 20 in the nation that hold the most potential for "runway incursions," where a plane accidentally rolls into the path of another, federal officials said Monday.

The two airports join major hubs such as Los Angeles, Chicago, New York, Atlanta and Dallas, all of which have come under extra federal scrutiny, as the runway infractions have become one of aviation's most common and potentially deadly incidents.

(More at Sun Sentinel)

Study: Gays, lesbians far more diverse than media portrays

To judge from the images on network television and corporate advertising, lesbians and gay men share the same demographic niche: affluent, educated, urban -- and usually white.

Wrong says a new national demographic study that suggests lesbians and gays are more likely to be older, "responsible" suburbanites sharing a mortgage payment and listening to country music than young hipsters partying in the Castro or Chelsea.

This study was based on more than 900 in-person and online surveys conducted across the country in June. While survey respondents were predominantly white, nearly one in five were black, Latino or Asian. An equal number of men and women responded.

Some findings surprised even the researchers:

- African-Americans and Latinos were more comfortable expressing their gay identity than whites, although their gay identity was not the most important part of who they are.

- While whites were more likely to be in live-together relationships than Latinos or blacks, they were less likely to include children in their family plans.

- Gays and lesbians are increasingly open and honest about their sexuality. Two-thirds agreed with the statement, "Everyone knows I'm gay."

- A majority of lesbians and gay men live outside big cities, with about one-third of lesbians and one-quarter of gay men living in small towns or rural areas.

- The average age people realized their sexual orientation was 15, but it was younger for men than for women.

--> Tear out the front page, homo's are diverse! I hate when people do studies about the obvious. File this under "Duh."

(Via Sun Sentinel)

N.F.L. Experiment Aims to Spread Game’s Appeal

On Sunday, the Giants and the Miami Dolphins will play the National Football League’s first regular-season game held overseas, at sold-out Wembley Stadium in London. For the most American of sports leagues, it is a trial balloon to uncharted territory.

If the game goes well — meaning, mostly, that owners of the league’s 32 teams see that it can cause a happy ruckus in London without the trip feeling foreign to the teams involved — the N.F.L. will likely play two overseas games each of the next four seasons, as part of a resolution already approved by owners.

Waller, who leads the league’s international operations, would like each N.F.L. team to play a game on foreign soil every season beginning in five years. His goal is for a team to be based on a different continent by 2020. And he foresees future Super Bowls being played in overseas stadiums, perhaps Wembley.

“I don’t think you can be meaningful forever if you’re not part of the global community, particularly in this day and age,” Waller said.

--> My friend Jayson is in London this week, covering the big European game. I'd have to ask him, but it seems to me that football (as Americans know it) won't take off in the hearts and minds of Europeans any time soon. It's basically the same concept as Americans knowing only two things about soccer: David & Beckham.

(Via NYT)

Woman finds $1 Million dollar painting in trash

One morning, four years ago, Elizabeth Gibson spotted a large and colorful abstract canvas nestled between two big garbage bags in front of the Alexandria, an apartment building on the northwest corner of Broadway and 72nd Street in Manhattan.

“I had a real debate with myself,” said Ms. Gibson, a writer and self-professed Dumpster diver. “I almost left it there because it was so big, and I kept thinking to myself, ‘Why are you taking this back to your crammed apartment?’”

But, she said, she felt she simply had to have the 38-by-51-inch painting, because “it had a strange power.” Art experts would agree with her. As it turns out, the painting was “Three People,” a 1970 canvas by the celebrated 20th-century Mexican artist Rufino Tamayo that was stolen 20 years ago and is the subject of an F.B.I. investigation.

Experts say the painting — a largely abstract depiction of a man, a woman and an androgynous figure in vibrant purples, oranges and yellows — is in miraculously good condition and worth about $1 million. On Nov. 20 it is to go on the block at Sotheby’s as one of the highlights of a Latin American art auction.

(Via NYT)

Bush wants another $42 billion for wars

The Bush administratin on Monday asked Congress for nearly $46 billion in additional war spending for 2008, calling on U.S. lawmakers to approve the money before adjourning for the holidays.

"Parts of this war are complicated, but one part is not -- and that is that America should do what it takes to support our troops and protect our people," Bush said in an appearance with members of veterans groups at the White House.

Most of the $45.9 billion request is for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, bringing the expected cost of those conflicts to more than $192 billion for the budget year that began this month.

--> How's this for a follow-up to the last story? He's got 454 days left in office, hunker down and pray for daylight!

(Via CNN)

Officials don't know where $1.2 Billion went

The U.S. State Department is unable to account for most of $1.2 billion in funding that it gave to DynCorp International to train Iraqi police, a government report said Tuesday.

"The bottom line is that State can't account for where it went," said Glenn D. Furbish, who was involved in putting together the 20-page report for the special inspector general for Iraq reconstruction (SIGIR).

The Department of State's Bureau for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) "did not have the information needed to identify what DynCorp provided under the contract or how funds were spent," the report said.

--> Thought I'd start off the morning with a real gem. We have no money for children's health care, education, or social security but we're tossing a billion dollars plus out the window... It doesn't look good for us folks.

(Via CNN)

Secret postcards

(More at PostSecret)

Quoteables

"One of the signs of passing youth is the birth of a sense of fellowship with other human beings as we take our place among them."

- Virginia Woolf

Pick Me Up of the Day

Leandro Becker as featured in DNA Magazine.

Justin Clynes for Genre Magazine

The November issue of Genre magazine features Terrence McNally and the entire cast of the Broadway revival of The Ritz, a mobster farce set in the confines of a 70's bathhouse. The decadent pre-AIDS world of New York's bathhouse scene is revisited with a look at the entire cast as well as the production's colorful set. On the cover is model and bathhouse patron Justin Clynes, who also shares the stage with, among others, porn icon Ryan Idol.

(Via Towleroad)

Princes William & Harry party like rock star royalty

Princes William and Harry partied into the night on Saturday with members of the English rugby team following their rugby world cup defeat by South Africa at the Stade de France.

--> These guys are my heroes. Pretty, boyish, wealthy, and not afraid to suck a man-nipple every once in awhile.

(Via Towleroad)

If you build him, I will come.

--> Holy howling wind, Batman! Andy Cooper and his guns at the CMJ Film Festival.

(Via Dlisted)

Or donate...

(Via the "blog" of "unnecessary" quotation marks)

Weekend box office

Box Office Top Five

#1 30 Days of Night ($16M)

#2 Why Did I Get Married? ($12.1M)

#3 The Game Plan ($8.12M)

#4 Michael Clayton ($7.1M)

#5 Gone Baby Gone ($6M)

Laura Bush on Middle East tour

First Lady Laura Bush (left) sits next to Emirati breast cancer survivor Nabweia Hussein al-Zaabi at the Sheikh Khalifa Medical Centre in Abu Dhabi on Monday. Bush is on a Middle East tour to highlight the fight against breast cancer and also scheduled to visit Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Jordan.

--> In the spirit of keeping today's posts a bit on the lighter side, this picture was too precious not to post. Brava, Lady Bushwacker!

(Via Sun Sentinel)

J.K. Rowling outs Professor Dumbledore

J.K. Rowling stunned her fans at Carnegie Hall on Friday night when she answered one young reader's question about Dumbledore by saying that he was gay and had been in love with Grindelwald, whom he had defeated years ago in a bitter fight.

The news brought gasps, then applause at Carnegie Hall, the last stop on Rowling's brief U.S. tour, and set off thousands of e-mails on Potter fan Web sites around the world. Some were dismayed, others indifferent, but most were supportive.

"Rowling calling any Harry Potter character gay would make wonderful strides in tolerance toward homosexuality," Melissa Anelli, Webmaster of the fan site the-leaky-cauldron.org, told The Associated Press. "By dubbing someone so respected, so talented and so kind, as someone who just happens to be also homosexual, she's reinforcing the idea that a person's gayness is not something of which they should be ashamed."

--> Randomly wonderful.

(Via CNN)

Birthday Karaoke at Studio in Miami Beach

[Note from the editor] Today is my 22nd birthday! Frighteningly so. In any event, posting might be a little scarce today because I'll be in and out of the office. But here are some pictures of my friends and I, karaoking at Studio in Miami Beach. Talk about ushering in a new year with the a bang!

Quoteables

"Life is a long lesson in humility."

- J. M. Barrie

Making the case for vodka drinkers everywhere

'Trek' film casts its Kirk and McCoy

Chris Pine will play the young James Kirk and Karl Urban will take on the role of Dr. Leonard McCoy in J.J. Abrams' "Star Trek" flick, distributor Paramount confirmed Thursday.

They join previously announced cast members Zachary Quinto as Vulcan scientist Spock, Simon Pegg as engineer Scotty, John Cho as helmsman Sulu, Zoe Saldana as communications officer Uhura and Anton Yelchin as navigator Chekov.

Eric Bana, the star of Steven Spielberg's "Munich" and Ang Lee's "Hulk," is playing a villain in the "Trek" film, which begins shooting in November and is due out in December 2008.

(Via CNN)

Pick Me Up of the Day

Urs as featured on Queerty.

Philly Boy Scouts made to pay for homophobic ways

Philadelphia is taking action against the anti-gay Boy Scouts. The city of Brotherly Love canceled the Scouts’ cushy $1 rent because of their refusal to hire openly gay leaders. And it seems they’ve put a price on discrimination: $200,000. The city has decided that the Boy Scouts chapter there must pay fair-market rent of $200,000 a year for its city-owned headquarters because it refuses to permit gay Scouts.

The organization’s Cradle of Liberty Council, which currently pays $1 a year in rent, must pay the increased amount to remain in its downtown building past May 31.

Now that they have to pay up, Scout officials are playing the “think of the children” card. Scout Spokesman Jeff Jubelirer says “[The money] would have to come from programs. That’s 30 new Cub Scout packs, or 800 needy kids going to our summer camp. It’s disappointing, and it’s certainly a threat.”

--> Haha! Best story I've read this week. I love the guys over at Queerty. They deliver like Dominoes.

(Via Queerty)

Studs turn out for CNN event

Jeff Corwin, Anderson Cooper, and Dr. Sanjay Gupta at last nights premiere of CNN's Planet In Peril.

(Via WireImage)

Amy Winehouse held for drug possession

British singer Amy Winehouse, who has publicly battled drug addiction, has been arrested for marijuana possession in Norway and briefly held by police.

Winehouse was arrested in her Bergen hotel room along with her husband, Blake Fielder-Civil, and one other person, prosecutor Lars Morten Lothe said Friday. He said the arrest came after a tip-off to police.

She was fined 500 euros ($714), after which she was released, Lothe said.

--> When did it start becoming a cool thing to be a drug addict and/or an alcoholic? I must have missed that memo, because I'm as clean as a whistle. All these famous people, struggling with addictions that cripple their lives and their careers have become the norm. I'm not saying drugs and alcohol were not part of fame before- Judy Garland, Marilyn Monroe- it just seems as though these kids are getting hooked younger and far more recklessly.

(Via CNN)

Benazir Bhutto's homecoming motorcade attacked, 136 dead

Former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto has highlighted alleged poor security preparations before a suicide bombing killed 136 people near her motorcade.

"The Pakistan People's Party strongly condemns the attack on a peaceful procession last night," Bhutto told reporters.

"Our calm prayers and sympathies are to those who laid down their lives or were wounded and to their families. They made the ultimate sacrifice for the cause of democracy."

She and others in her group were unhurt. It was her first day back in Pakistan since her eight years of self-imposed exile.

(Via CNN)

Jerry Curl hits 1000 views!

Quoteables

"We must not confuse dissent with disloyalty. When the loyal opposition dies, I think the soul of America dies with it."

- Edward R. Murrow

Murdoch marvels at MySpace acquisition

News Corp. Chief Executive Rupert Murdoch said Wednesday he had no idea when he bought online hangout MySpace.com two years ago how explosive social networks would become.

Murdoch, a stalwart of traditional media, marveled at the $580 million acquisition and called himself a "trainee" still trying to embrace the Internet during a talk at the Web 2.0 Summit in San Francisco.

We hoped it would do very well, but we never imagined it would do this well," said Murdoch.

Since Murdoch added MySpace to his media empire in 2005, the number of registered users on the site has more than doubled, from 90 million to 188 million. MySpace attracts substantially more traffic than rival Facebook, but is facing increasing competition.

A year after the acquisition, MySpace secured about $900 million in guaranteed shared advertising revenues over three years from Google Inc. by making the online search leader the site's exclusive search provider.

(Via Miami Herald)

Rest In Peace Joey Bishop

The Rat Pack's last surviving member, Joey Bishop, the stone-faced comedian who found success in nightclubs, television and movies died at 89.

House Fails to Override Child Health Bill Veto

Supporters of a bill to provide health insurance for 10 million children failed this afternoon, as expected, to muster enough support in the House to override President Bush’s veto.

The vote to override the veto was 273 to 156, or 13 votes short of the necessary two-thirds majority of those present and voting; the bill was originally approved by a 265 to 159 vote on Sept. 25.

The main suspense before today’s vote was over how many Republicans would side against President Bush. Forty-four House Republicans voted for the bill today, compared to 45 on Sept. 25.

Democrats had anticipated defeat, and Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, the Senate majority leader, immediately issued an angry statement.

“Each Republican who voted to uphold President Bush’s heartless veto should be embarrassed that he chose to stand in the way of improving the lives of millions of America’s poorest children,” Mr. Reid said. “While we appreciate those who voted to override his veto, there unfortunately remain too many who are all too willing to rubber-stamp President Bush’s shameful policies and succumb to his misinformation campaign.”

(Via NYT)

John Black dies on Days of Our Lives

Today's episode of Days of Our Lives was one of the best, most touching I've seen in years. Last week, soap-staple John Black was shot and killed by an unknown. Today's episode was a fittingly moving tribute to Mr. Black. Friends, family, and even his estranged father Victor gave the man that opened the door for soap opera actors everywhere to be action heroes a final goodbye. You'll be missed John. See you in a couple of months.

Pick Me Up of the Day

Cristiano Dias as featured on Queerty.

Rest In Peace Debroah Kerr

Kerr starred in The King & I, From Here To Eternity, and my personal favorite, An Affair To Remember. She was 86.

Bush warns of WWIII if Iran goes nuclear

President Bush warned on Wednesday a nuclear-armed Iran could lead to World War III as he tried to shore up international opposition to Tehran amid Russian skepticism over its nuclear ambitions.

Bush was speaking a day after Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has resisted Western pressure to toughen his stance over Iran’s nuclear program, made clear on a visit to Tehran that Russia would not accept any military action against Iran.

Said Bush, “We’ve got a leader in Iran who has announced that he wants to destroy Israel. So I’ve told people that, if you’re interested in avoiding World War III, it seems like you ought to be interested in preventing them from having the knowledge necessary to make a nuclear weapon.”

--> The country is in shambles and this man is starting a world war. I wish I could fast-forward these next 15 months until election time.

(Via MSNBC)

F-Yeah! Swearing At Work Is OK, Study Finds

Allowing staff to swear at work can benefit them and their employers, according to researchers at a British university.

Yehuda Baruch, professor of management at the the University of East Anglia's Norwich Business School, and graduate Stuart Jenkins looked at the use of expletives and swearing in the workplace from a management point of view.

They identified the relevance and even importance of using non-conventional and sometimes uncivil language at work and how it may have a positive impact.

The study found regular use of profanity to express and reinforce solidarity among staff can enable them to express their feelings and develop social relationships.

(Via NBC6)

Maine school to offer the pill to 6th thru 8th graders

Pupils at a city middle school will be able to get birth control pills and patches at their student health center after the local school board approved the proposal Wednesday evening.

The plan, offered by city health officials, makes King Middle School the first middle school in Maine to make a full range of contraception available to students in grades 6 through 8, according to the state Department of Health and Human Services.

--> Holy howling wind, Batman! This is all kinds of inappropriate, methinks. I'm a liberal, by every clear-cut definition of the word, but Middle schoolers getting the pill is a bit too much. High schoolers getting contraceptives, fine. But why encourage 13 year olds to get it on?

(Via Sun Sentinel)

CIA to honor Bay of Pigs vets at its art gallery

The Bay of Pigs invasion has been a low point for the U.S. government since its failure more than four decades ago. Now, the men who volunteered for the mission are being remembered at an art gallery at -- of all places -- the CIA, which plotted the clandestine operation.

Veterans of the ill-fated attempt to topple Fidel Castro -- Cuban exiles, CIA contract pilots and the families of four Alabama Air National Guardsmen who died in Cuba -- will gather Thursday at the Southern Museum of Flight in Birmingham, Ala. There, an oil painting will be unveiled that depicts one of the successes of the covert operation: an April 1961 aerial attack on Castro's forces that took out an estimated 900 soldiers.

''It's been viewed as an embarrassment, but the modern world is recognizing it's part of our history. That's all there is to it,'' said Jorge Del Valle, 63, who was 15 when he walked into a CIA recruiting office in Miami to sign up for the venture. ``We have gained acknowledgment worldwide.''

(Via Miami Herald)

Poll: Black support helps Clinton extend lead

Sen. Hillary Clinton's lead over Sen. Barack Obama, her chief rival for the Democratic presidential nomination, is growing among African-American voters who are registered Democrats, and particularly among black women, a poll said Wednesday.

Among black registered Democrats overall, Clinton had a 57 percent to 33 percent lead over Obama.

--> Hmm, this is a little unexpected news. I naturally assumed that Obama would make a clean sweep of the Black vote. Sounds like these campaigns are going to get a lot tougher from here on out.

(Via CNN)

Thousands throng Bhutto on return

Former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto took to Karachi's bustling city streets in an armored motorcade for protection against the throngs of supporters celebrating her arrival Thursday.

Her arrival ends eight years of self-imposed exile and comes amid threats against her life, which she told CNN was the result of "the rise of extremism" and a "fear" of her return.

Bhutto, 54, was the first woman ever to lead an Islamic nation and hopes to secure a third term as prime minister after January elections. Bhutto's advisor has said she wants only a return to democracy.

--> Brava, Ms. Bhutto! The world needs more symbols of hope like you.

(Via CNN)

High resolution image hints at 'Mona Lisa's' eyebrows

The "Mona Lisa" has long been shrouded in mystery, including one long-standing question about the famous lady: What happened to her eyebrows and eyelashes.

French engineer and inventor Pascal Cotte has found definitive proof that when Leonardo da Vinci painted the original portrait he included "Mona Lisa's" lashes and brows.

Cotte examined the world's most famous painting using a high-definition camera of his own design.

The device scanned a 240-million pixel image using 13 light spectrums, including ultra-violet and infrared. The resulting ultra-high resolution photograph of 150,000 dots per inch yielded a reproduction of the "Mona Lisa's" face magnified 24 times. And there Cotte found the evidence he sought -- a single brushstroke of a single hair above the left brow.

(More at CNN)

Quoteables

"I no doubt deserved my enemies, but I don't believe I deserved my friends."

- Walt Whitman

Miami Beach OK's artist housing district

Miami Beach has become the first city in Miami-Dade County to create a district offering affordable housing for artists.

The City Commission unanimously approved a package of incentives for affordable housing in a new district designated as the Cultural Arts Neighborhood Overlay, or CANDO. Outgoing Mayor David Dermer led the initiative to create the district.

People who qualify for affordable housing must be artists or employees of cultural arts organizations and will ideally earn between 80 and 120 percent of the county's median income, though they could earn less.

(Via Miami Herald)

Bush blasts Congress on several fronts

President Bush attacked Congress on Wednesday, ripping the new Democratic leadership a new one for failing to achieve much in their first nine months of power.

Bush used his opening statement to list areas where he said "Congress has work to do": health care; security; the budget; education; housing; trade; help for military veterans; law enforcement and the judiciary.

He complained about progress on a number of bills before Congress, including children's health insurance, spending plans and internal surveillance legislation, saying Congress has wasted much of the past nine months.

"Now the clock is winding down. In some key areas, Congress is just getting started," Bush said.

--> I can't say that I totally disagree with him. For weeks I've been reading and blogging about the bone-headed blunders Congress keeps making. So much for the long-needed Democratic revival in this country. They're proving to be as inept as the GOP was. So much so that the President of the Bone-headed is calling them out on it!

(Via CNN)

Pick Me Up of the Day

Ryan Barry as featured on We Love Guys.

Vanessa Hudgens not returning for HSM3

OK! Magazine claims that Disney has decided to not have Vanessa Hudgens return for to High School Musical 3.

A source said, “Disney finally decided that they don’t want her back. They feel that as long as Zac Efron is in the movie, all will be fine. He’s the real star – the household name – and, most importantly, he comes without baggage.”

--> Ouch. Well, I for one refuse to watch anything without Zanessa. They could bring out Zac Efron shirtless, in a speedo, covered in honey, wrestling around with Sharpei's gay brother and I'd... I'd..... Well I'd pay-per-view that shizz!

(Via Dlisted)

Turkey approves Iraq incursion

The Turkish parliament has approved a military incursion into Iraq to take on Kurdish rebels.

The move, which is causing great anxiety among U.S. and Iraqi officials, was approved on Wednesday by 507 votes to 19.

Parliamentary approval, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said before the debate, would not necessarily trigger immediate military action and many analysts doubt a full-scale invasion will be launched.

--> Sounds like a bad situation just got twice as bad.

(Via CNN)

Agyness Deyn & Evandro Soldati for Emporio Armani

(Via Made In Brazil)

Lucas Working On Live-Action 'Star Wars' Series

George Lucas said that he is planning a live-action television series spin-off of the "Star Wars" film franchise.

Lucas told The Los Angeles Times that he has "just begun work" on the series, which will not include the films' major characters Luke Skywalker or Darth Vader. "The Skywalkers aren't in it, and it's about minor characters," Lucas said.

The filmmaker already has another television series in the works. Lucas Animation has been working for months on the computer-animated "Star Wars: The Clone Wars."

(Via NBC6)

South Florida IKEA now open for business

Hundreds of South Florida residents were waiting in line, extending from the left side of the IKEA entrance and wrapping around the building.

"I was supposed to be at work today, but unfortunately I suffered a stomach virus," said one man, "Jacob," who declined to give his last name for fear of employer retribution. He and two friends arrived at 10 p.m. Tuesday. They were moving into a new apartment Wednesday and needed new furnishings. There were 50 other people in line ahead of them.

--> It's a sad commentary on the state of things that more people show up for an IKEA opening than they would to protest against the war in Iraq or to demand proper health care in this country.

(Via Sun Sentinel)

Deadly Bacteria Found to Be More Common

Nearly 19,000 people died in the United States in 2005 after being infected with virulent drug-resistant bacteria that have spread rampantly through hospitals and nursing homes, according to the most thorough study of the disease’s prevalence ever conducted.

The government study, which is being published Wednesday in The Journal of the American Medical Association, suggests that such infections may be twice as common as previously thought, according to its lead author, Dr. R. Monina Klevens.

If the mortality estimates are correct, the number of deaths associated with the germ, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA, would exceed those attributed to H.I.V.-AIDS, Parkinson's disease, emphysema, or homicide each year.

--> How's that for a bright and cheery first post? Sheesh. One day we hear cancer deaths are at an all-time low, the next we hear Staph is the next natural killer. There's no winning.

(Via NYT)

Iraq demands Blackwater pullout

Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki asked the U.S. State Department to "pull Blackwater out of Iraq," after an Iraqi probe concluded that the private contractors committed unprovoked and random killings in a September 16 shooting, an adviser to al-Maliki told CNN.

--> Look who grew a backbone!

(Via CNN)

Signs of Another Massacre In Southern Darfur

African Union and United Nations officials are looking into reports of a new massacre in Darfur, in which witnesses described government troops and their allied militias killing more than 30 civilians, slitting the throats of several men praying at a mosque and shooting a 5-year-old boy in the back as he tried to run away.

According to several residents of Muhagiriya, a small town in southern Darfur, two columns of uniformed government troops, along with dozens of militiamen not in uniform, surrounded the town around noon on Oct. 8 and stormed the market. Muhagiriya was a stronghold of one of Darfur’s many rebel factions, but witnesses said there were few rebels there at the time and that government forces turned their guns — and knives — on civilians.

(Via NYT)

...Or whatever deity

(Via the "blog" of "unnecessary" quotation marks)

Anderson Cooper talks trash on Sesame Street

Anderson Cooper reports for Grouch News Network (GNN). I think I'm gonna faint from the cuteness.

(Via Towleroad)

Quoteables

"There is nothing so pitiful as a young cynic because he has gone from knowing nothing to believing nothing."

- Maya Angelou

Pick Me Up of the Day

Dieux Du Stade model as featured on We Love Guys.

New Music Tuesday

R.E.M. Live

Pet Shop Boys Disco 4

Matteo Trisolini photo for GLAAD's OutAuction

Gay brothers may hold genetic clues

1,000 pairs of gay brothers are taking part in the largest study to date seeking genes that may influence whether people are gay. Julio and Mauricio Cabrera hope the findings will help silence critics who say homosexuality is an immoral choice.

If fresh evidence is found suggesting genes are involved, perhaps homosexuality will be viewed as no different than other genetic traits like height and hair color, said Julio, a student at DePaul University in Chicago.

--> When will people realize that we need move away from trying to find genetic justification for homosexuality. Doesn't it feel as if the nature versus nurture debate is moot. I mean let's focus on gay rights, on marriage, on cures for AIDS, on equality for the LGBT community as a whole. I think genetic science regarding homosexuality a pointless waste of time and money.

More on the Cabrera's story, the study, and the debate over the ramifications of identifiable "gay genes" at MSNBC.

Outrage grows over Puerto Rico pet massacre

Angry pet owners and protesters demonstrated outside a town hall in a northern Puerto Rico city on Monday, as outrage grew over the killing of dozens of animals seized from residents of housing projects.

The crowd tried unsuccessfully to meet with Barceloneta Mayor Sol Luis Fontanez, who ordered last week’s seizure of the cats and dogs that were apparently later thrown from a 50-foot-high bridge. Some protesters yelled “murderer.”

Fontanez, who pledged to resign if his government is found responsible, blamed a contractor hired to collect and euthanize the pets.

(Via AP)

Longshot bid aims to save famed Hialeah Park

Once the grande dame of horse racing, Hialeah Park sags like a withered beauty queen, the contours of its Old World architecture and graceful landscape fading amid the decay. When it closed in May 2001, just 3,280 souls showed up to watch the final race.

Alex Fuentes, a mortgage broker who is leading a crusade to preserve the 1925 landmark, sees a future even sadder than the track's recent past.

Almost 3,800 condos and a million square feet of shopping mall are proposed for the ground where Seabiscuit, Citation and Seattle Slew once galloped to the cheers of presidents, prime ministers and a parade of the rich and famous.

Unless track owner John J. Brunetti can resurrect racing, the developer and horse breeder says he has no choice but to turn much of the 200-plus acres he bought in 1977 into the new "hub" of Hialeah.

--> The romantic in me hopes that the Park will be saved and restored. If it were up to me, I'd fix it up nice and make it a pedestrian park. Charge a small fee for maintenance and have people walk the grounds, maybe plant some greenery, a garden. It'd be a shame for such a grand old place to be brought down for another strip mall. But the realist in me understands that something so precious is lost on the city of Hialeah.

(More at Sun Sentinel)

AOL to Trim 2,000 Jobs in a Continuing Overhaul

AOL said yesterday that it would eliminate 2,000 of its 10,000 jobs as it continues its move away from the Internet access business.

The cutbacks are part of a plan by Randy Falco, who took over as AOL’s chief executive last year, to reorganize the company. The new focus is on advertising-supported Web sites and, even more, on selling advertising on behalf of other companies. AOL said last month that it would move its headquarters to New York from Dulles, Va.

AOL has stumbled badly since it dominated the early days of the consumer Internet, growing so valuable that it was able to buy Time Warner. (The Internet operations are now a unit of Time Warner.) After the latest round of cuts, AOL will have fewer than half of the 18,000 employees it had at the time of that merger.

--> My, how the mighty have fallen.

(Via NYT)

Failing Schools Strain to Meet U.S. Standard

For chronically failing schools, the No Child Left Behind law, now up for renewal in Congress, prescribes drastic measures: firing teachers and principals, shutting schools and turning them over to a private firm, a charter operator or the state itself, or a major overhaul in governance.

But more than 1,000 of California’s 9,500 schools are branded chronic failures, and the numbers are growing. Barring revisions in the law, state officials predict that all 6,063 public schools serving poor students will be declared in need of restructuring by 2014, when the law requires universal proficiency in math and reading.

“What are we supposed to do?” Ms. Guadalupe Paramo asked. “Shut down every school?”

--> No Child Left Behind is probably one of the most vile policies the Bush Administration has put forth. With NCLB, schools that fall short of the standard are subject to using proprietary curricula, testing, and tutoring programs from certain companies who have long business relationships with President Bush. Not only that, but the focus on standardized tests narrows the teachers focus on a narrow, and often short-sighted curriculum. We won't even get into how the law allows faith-based tutors to profit from public money. With failed policies like this, we still wonder why our kids can't point out Iraq on a map.

(More via NYT)

Hillary Clinton ahead in money race

Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton has pulled ahead of rival Barack Obama at the bank as well as in the polls and both continue to crush Republicans in the money race.

Clinton holds nearly $35 million three months before the voting starts, to Obama's $32 million.

The Republican money leader, Rudy Giuliani, reported $11.6 million in the bank for the primaries.

--> Mrs. Clinton may not be my first choice for President, but she's a hell of a campaigner. And disappointingly, in a system where money is everything, she's poised to take the primaries. Girl power.

(Via CNN)

Putin: Iran nuke plans 'peaceful'

Iran should be allowed to pursue its nuclear program for peaceful purposes, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday during the first visit to the country by a Kremlin leader since 1943.

Putin, who is in Tehran to attend a summit of Caspian Sea nations, said that he and the other leaders agreed that "peaceful nuclear activities must be allowed" in the region.

"The Iranians are cooperating with Russian nuclear agencies and the main objectives are peaceful objectives," he said.

Russia is building Iran's first nuclear power plant and has resisted moves by the U.S. and its allies to impose stronger U.N. sanctions against Tehran.

--> Oh, oh. Iran and Russia, talk about a duo with something to prove. Don't they look playful...

(Via CNN)

Pick Me Up of the Day

Former Parti Quebecois leader Andre Boisclair.

Athens Acropolis Artifacts to get new home

Something extraordinary happened yesterday in Athens: a 2.5-ton piece of marble was hoisted by a giant crane from the Acropolis (pictured here). It is the first sculpture to leave this ancient citadel since Phidias carved the artworks 2,500 years ago.

The sculptures are being transferred to a new Acropolis museum. Yesterday’s operation will be repeated 153 timesover the coming months as an estimated 4,500 antiquities are moved from the Acropolis to the new museum, which was designed by Swiss-American architect Bernard Tschumi.

(More at Lemonwade)

Review: Elizabeth The Golden Age

I finally made it to a movie theatre this weekend. I think I've been neglecting going to a movie house because Blockbuster Online has quenched my movie-going urges. Who needs to pay, (what I found out this weekend), $9.50 for a movie when you're getting an endless amount of them for $20. Ten-dollar movies are blasphemous. Anyway, I went to go see Cate Blanchett blow me away as Queen Elizabeth.

Elizabeth: The Golden Age is the follow-up film to 1998's Academy Award-winning Elizabeth. This new film depicts Elizabeth's struggles against Catholic rule, the Mary Queen of Scotts debacle, the attack and destruction of King Phillips' armada, and Sir Walter Raleigh's discovery of the New World. I shouldn't give too much plot away because it's a film still out in theatres.

Cate Blanchett was phenomenal. She is the Katherine Hepburn of our time. She has a way of communicating such raw, unapologetic emotion onscreen that one can't help but be taken with her. She has a control and a screen presence that drowns out many of the other actors. Many, but not all. Geoffrey Rush for one, held is own and then some as Sir Frances Walsingham. Powerful, creepy, and ruthless, Rush delivered a performance worthy of award recognition.

I will admit, however, that I was a little bored for about a third of the time. I'm a big fan of period pieces but this one felt a little stretched. Clive Owen for instance, (who I lust after endlessly) seemed rather pointless in the film. He was put there purely for Hollywood purposes.

Overall, the film was pretty good. The acting was superb. The costumes themselves gave a standout performance. Cate B was the resurrected vision of the Queen. The score by Craig Armstrong and A.R. Rahman (who composed the score for the first Elizabeth) was brilliant. And let's be honest, the story of Queen Elizabeth is one hell of a good tale to tell.

Secret postcards

(Via PostSecret)

Michael Lewis for Fox New York

Via Kenneth in the (212)

Vatican Official Insists He's Not Gay

A Vatican official suspended after being caught on hidden camera making advances to a young man says he is not gay and was only pretending to be gay as part of his work.

In an interview published Sunday, Monsignor Tommaso Stenico told La Repubblica daily he frequented online gay chat rooms and met with gay men as part of his work as a psychoanalyst. He said that he pretended to be gay in order to gather information about "those who damage the image of the Church with homosexual activity."

--> How do you say "wide stance" in Italian?

(Via AP)

Amish Boy, 12, Run Over and Killed by Horse-Drawn Wagon

A 12-year-old Amish boy was killed yesterday when he fell off the horse-drawn wagon he was riding on and was run over in Steuben County, NY.

State police at Painted Post say Emanuel Yoder was riding on the wagon with his younger brothers, age 10 and 4, on the family farm.

State police Investigator Allison Regan says the boy was riding in the town of Woodhull when the accident happened. Yoder apparently lost control of the wagon while it was traveling west on a pasture trail. He was struck by the wagon after he fell off, and his younger brothers say he was unresponsive after the accident.

For some reason, the horses circled around and ran the victim over a second time. He suffered multiple severe injuries and was pronounced dead at the scene.

(Via FoxNews.com)

Weekend box office

The Box Office Top Five

#1 Why Did I Get Married ($21.5M)
#2 The Game Plan ($11.5M)
#3 Michael Clayton ($11M)
#4 We Own The Night ($11M)
#5 The Heartbreak Kid ($7.42M)

Cuba, Venezuela faulted on treatment of media

Reports presented to the Inter American Press Association on Sunday denounced the governments of Cuba and Venezuela, accusing them of hampering independent news gathering through harassment and arrests of journalists.

Reports on Cuba and Venezuela -- based on information from IAPA members -- indicated that independent journalists are facing more curbs in Cuba while freedom of the press, long a valued tradition in Venezuela, is facing a grave threat.

--> Let me put on my big "surprise" face. Sometimes I wonder how many independent agencies and foreign governments need to assess the situation in these countries for them to do something about it. I mean, whatever happened to the Domino Theory? Someone get me President Eisenhower on the phone!

On a related note, Cuban leader Fidel Castro was heard live on television and radio Sunday. For the first time since falling ill last year, Castro had a telephone conversation, lasting more than an hour, with his friend and ally Hugo Chávez, president of Venezuela.

(Via Miami Herald)

Making Cash a Prize for High Scores on Advanced Placement Tests

The city of New York is expanding the use of cash rewards for students who take standardized tests with a $1 million effort financed by philanthropists who will pay students who do well on Advanced Placement exams.

High school students who get a top score, a five, on the exams will earn $1,000. A score of four will be worth $750, while a three will earn $500.

The program will be in 25 public schools and six private ones beginning this year.

--> Yet another reason why I need to move to New York City. A-SAP. Not that I would've gotten paid much with my AP scores, but it's always nice to have aspirations.

(Via NYT)

Cancer death rates dropping faster than ever

Good news on the cancer front: Death rates are dropping faster than ever, thanks to new progress against colorectal cancer.

A turning point came in 2002, scientists conclude Monday in the annual "Report to the Nation" on cancer. Between 2002 and 2004, death rates dropped by an average of 2.1 percent a year.

That may not sound like much, but between 1993 and 2001, deaths rates dropped on average 1.1 percent a year.

(More at CNN)

Sen. Craig says he'll appeal

Sen. Larry Craig says he will file an appeal Monday over a judge's refusal to allow him to withdraw his guilty plea stemming from his arrest in an airport bathroom sex sting.

"It is my right to do what I'm doing," said Craig, an Idaho Republican. "I've already provided for Idaho certainty that Idaho needed -- I'm not running for re-election. I'm no longer in the way. I am pursuing my constitutional rights."

Senator Craig told Matt Lauer it was a "tough call" not to tell anyone about the incident.

--> Someone needs to tell Sen. Craig to stop. Just retreat into the shame and disgrace you already know well. Go back to Idaho and fade away.

(Via CNN)

Quoteables

"Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail."

- Ralph Waldo Emerson

Britney Spears' new album cover

People Magazine confirms that this is to be Britney Spears' cover for her much talked about album, poignantly titled "Blackout."

The album will be released on Oct. 30, her label, Jive, announced Wednesday. The original date of Nov. 3 was moved up because of " numerous unauthorized online leaks," the company said in a release.

--> I'm a Britney fan, perhaps not as big as Chris Crocker, but a fan nonetheless. As a fan, I have to admit that this is pretty crumby. Don't you feel like the Britney camp is just recycling the same image? Black hair, fedora, glazed-not-quite-there stare... We're rooting for you Britney, but you need to meet us half way.

(Via ONTD)

Disney abandoning MGM name

Disney-MGM Studios becomes Disney's Hollywood Studios in January.

The name change was likely after years of legal rangling between Disney and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. There had been widespread speculation that the name would become Disney-Pixar Studios, in honor of the animation house that Disney bought last year, or at least Disney-ABC Studios, in honor of Disney's broadcast network.

However, Disney officials maintained that the chosen name is more reflective of the broader, more updated mission of the theme park, which covers all sorts of entertainment, not just Disney and MGM movies.

--> This is a bit of old news, but I thought I'd blog about it for all the non-Disney news following readers. I hope that the name change is just the beginning of an expansive over-haul of the theme park. I've heard rumblings about new shows and attractions being planned for next summer.

(Via Orlando Sentinel)

Matt Laur To Interview Larry Craig and wife

Today show host and hottie Matt Lauer will get the first interview with disgraced Senator Larry Craig.

Said MSNBC, "The interview with Matt Lauer, anchor of NBC’s TODAY morning program, was scheduled to air Tuesday night on NBC stations. The network said Lauer would also interview Craig’s wife, Suzanne."

--> I realize it's a bit distasteful, but I couldn't resist the picture mash-up.

(Via MSNBC)

Ra-Re Clothes ad

Pick Me Up of the Day

CNN's Anderson Cooper

An office or whatever

(Via the "blog" of "unneccesary" quotation marks)

Docs Use Vodka To Treat Poisoning

True story: Some emergency doctors in Australia ran out of pharmaceutical-grade alcohol, so they hung a vodka drip to save a patient.

The incident occurred at Mackay Base Hospital in northeast Australia. Doctors reported that a 24-year-old Italian tourist was in danger of dying from ethylene glycol, a common ingredient in antifreeze.

The usual treatment is medicinal alcohol, but the hospital soon ran out. Doctors said they used vodka instead, drip-fed at about three standard drinks an hour for three days in the I.C.U.

The doctors reported that administrators were very understanding when they explained the reason behind the case of vodka on the expense report.

--> Can you imagine the killer hangover that poor, intoxicated patient must have had after three days of vodka in their blood? Poor guy, probably didn't even get a spritz of lime with his life-saving cocktail.

(Via NBC6)

Condom Experts Told That Size Matters

As the world's top condom experts convene this week to update international standards, one American entrepreneur has a simple message: Size matters. It's shaking up an industry that has generally taken a one-size-fits-all approach.

Frank Sadlo, founder of TheyFit, which makes what he claims are the world's first custom-fit condoms, is pushing for updated standards to allow greater variation in condom size.

"It is time for those who establish condom manufacturing standards to consider whether an expanded range of condom sizes is necessary," Michael Reece, director of the Center for Sexual Health Promotion at Indiana University said.

--> It may not be the most respectable of jobs- condom committee chairperson- but they do a lot of beneficial things. Aside from promoting condom use (which is incredibly important across the board), they also work on getting quality condoms to especially difficult places like Africa, where they are a major part of AIDS prevention campaigns.

(Via Sun Sentinel)

Cop will end slip-and-fall lawsuit as public cries foul

The police sergeant who filed a slip-and-fall lawsuit against the family of a severely brain-damaged toddler is abandoning her case.

Amid heavy criticism from people angry about the suit, the Police Department began an internal investigation and placed Sgt. Andrea Eichhorn on paid leave Thursday. Shortly afterward, her attorney reported she was giving up her lawsuit.

After a story appeared in the Orlando Sentinel on Wednesday, hundreds of people inundated Casselberry City Hall and the Police Department with calls and e-mail, voicing their outrage about the suit.

The outcry got results: Late Thursday afternoon, attorney David Heil reported that Eichhorn was backing down.

--> I actually e-mailed their police department yesterday after I read the story. I was so absolutely blown away by this woman that I couldn't resist. The nerve. Seeing the picture of Joey Cosmillo, I'm glad I wrote in.

(Via Sun Sentinel)

President Bush visits Miami

President Bush will be in Miami this afternoon, speaking to an invitation-only crowd at the Radisson Hotel, 1601 Biscayne Blvd., at 2 p.m.

The topic of his talk: trade and South Florida's economy.

--> Draw your own conclusions.

(Via Miami Herald)

Writer suspect in dismembering girlfriend

An aspiring horror novelist was arrested after police discovered his girlfriend's torso in his closet, a leg in the refrigerator and bones in a cereal box, the Mexico City prosecutor's spokesman said Thursday.

Nearby they found the draft of a novel titled "Cannibalistic Instincts," said the official, who spoke on customary condition of anonymity.

Jose Luis Calva told police he had boiled some of his girlfriend's flesh but that he hadn't eaten it, the spokesman said.

The official also confirmed other details released by the prosecutor's office Wednesday night: that body parts were spread throughout the apartment, and that Calva is being investigated in the deaths of three women whose mutilated bodies had been found in and around the capital.

--> What the hell is wrong with people? Breaking up isn't easy for anyone, but do we really have to let it get to the Dr. Lector level?

(Via CNN)

Gore and U.N. Panel Win Peace Prize for Climate Work

The Nobel Peace Prize was awarded today to Al Gore, the former vice president, and to the United States’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change for its work to alert the world to the threat of global warming.

Mr. Gore “is probably the single individual who has done most to create greater worldwide understanding of the measures that need to be adopted,” the Nobel citation said. The United Nations committee, a network of 2,000 scientists, has produced two decades of scientific reports that have “created an ever-broader informed consensus about the connection between human activities and global warming,” the citation said.

--> Bravo, Al! Well deserved.

(Via NYT)

Alessandra And Diego For Zoomp

(Via Made In Brazil)

Pick Me Up of the Day

Cheyenne Jackson as featured on CheyenneJackson.com

Hunter Finds Abandoned 2-Legged Dog In Woods

A hunter found a 2-year-old Chihuahua that had apparently been abandoned in the woods of North Carolina.

Roo, named because his two front legs have been amputated, was found Monday limping around the Rocky Point woods north of Wilmington.

The dog was malnourished and sick. The hunter brought Roo to a veterinary hospital in Wilmington. Within 24 hours, Roo started eating again and began his road to recovery.

"He's been through some bad things, but we're hoping to change his luck," said Melissa Hiott of Dineen Animal Hospital.

--> File this under "I hate animal cruelty, but there are still some good people out there."

(Via NBC6)

Army Still Prefers Cons To Queers

The Army last year again increased the number of its recruits who have prior criminal records by granting them special exceptions.…

In the fiscal year ended Sept. 30, 18 percent of recruits needed waivers for problems with the law - up from 15 percent the previous year, Maj. Gen. Thomas Bostick, commander of the U.S. Army Recruiting Command, told a Pentagon news conference. He said 87 percent of those were for misdemeanors such as joy riding or violating curfew.

--> I always knew homophobia was a preeminent part of our society. But seeing it seep into the far reaches of our leadership and our armed forces so blatantly and without regard for national security is something to be ashamed of.

(Via Queerty)

National Coming Out Day

Happy Merry Coming Out Day (!) Mazel tov.

What Does It Take to Be a Gay Icon Today?

AfterElton has a great article on the makings of a Gay Icons today.

The Funnies

Thanks Manny

Quoteables

"Any fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more violent. It takes a touch of genius - and a lot of courage - to move in the opposite direction."

-Albert Einstein

Cop sues family of brain-damaged tot

--> This story is too unbelievable to not publish in its entirety. I apologize for the length, but it's worth the read.

A police officer who slipped and injured a knee responding to a toddler's near-drowning has sued the family of the 1-year-old boy, who suffered brain damage and can no longer walk, talk or swallow.

Casselberry Sgt. Andrea Eichhorn alleges Joey Cosmillo's family left a puddle of water on the floor, causing her fall during the rescue efforts. She broke her knee and missed two months of work.

The boy fell into the pool outside the family's home in suburban Orlando in January and now lives in a nursing home and eats and breathes through tubes.
"The loss we've suffered, and she's seeking money?" said Richard Cosmillo, 69, the boy's grandfather, who lived in the home with his wife and the boy's mother. "Of course there's going to be water in the house. He was sopping wet when we brought him in."

Eichhorn's attorney, David Heil, said she has persistent knee pain and will likely develop arthritis. He said city benefits paid by workers' compensation and some disability checks helped with medical bills, but it wasn't enough.

The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages.

"It's a situation where the Cosmillos have caused these problems, brought them on themselves, then tried to play the victim," Heil said.

Eichhorn's personnel file includes numerous commendations. The 12-year veteran has worked as a hostage negotiator and prostitution decoy and wrestled razors away from a suicidal person.

Police Chief John Pavlis said Eichhorn was a good officer, though he urged her not to sue.

(Via Yahoo! News)

Ryan Phillippe is back on the market

Reese Witherspoon and Ryan Phillippe are officially single. The couple's divorce was finalized Oct. 5, according to court documents. Witherspoon cited irreconcilable differences when she filed for divorce on Nov. 8, 2006.

(Via Sun Sentinel)

Two charged with murder of ghost boat crew

They don't have bodies, guns, confessions or witnesses. But federal prosecutors on Wednesday charged Guillermo Zarabozo, who just turned 20, of Hialeah, and Kirby Archer, 35, of Arkansas, who chartered a Miami Beach boat, with murdering its four crew members and dumping their bodies in the Atlantic Ocean.

U.S. Attorney R. Alexander Acosta said the execution-style killings, which had ''torn apart'' families and left two young children orphaned, warranted first-degree murder charges.

And although they acknowledge there is no smoking gun, FBI agents found receipts in Zarabozo's apartment for a Glock 9mm magazine and four boxes of 9mm bullets purchased from Lou's Gun Shop and Police Supply in Hialeah.

--> Sounds like the alleged gay love story went sour.

(More details at Miami Herald)

Sagging pants may be banned in Opa-locka

The City Commission on Wednesday made the first step to ban sagging pants on public property. Commissioner Timothy Holmes said he sponsored the ordinance to stop young residents from "wearing pants below their butts.''

Said Holmes, ''It's not to put kids in jail or put a fine on grown ups, just to make them look decent."

The city is joining a nationwide movement in considering banning baggy pants. Atlanta and Dallas have also considered similar moves.

--> Sounds like the belt industry is gonna see a significant spike in sales pretty soon. The final decision is expected by October 24th. The world will heave a collective sigh of relief once this happens.

(Via Miami Herald)

Guantánamo Detainees Enjoy Historic Protections, Administration Says

The Bush administration, preparing for the next Supreme Court argument on the rights of the hundreds of detainees at Guantánamo Bay, asserts in a new brief that they “enjoy more procedural protections than any other captured enemy combatants in the history of warfare.”

The brief, filed late Tuesday, argues that a 2006 law that stripped the federal courts of jurisdiction to hear habeas corpus petitions from Guantánamo detainees did not violate the Constitution because foreign enemy combatants had no right to habeas corpus in the first place.

--> The situation in Guantánamo is one of the more disgusting abuses of power this administration has overseen. Now, adding insult to injury, this administration has the gull to claim that the detainees have "enjoyed" their procedural protections? What protections?! What rights? This goes beyond being deluded. They are just plain fabricators of truth, their false truths.

(Via NYT)

A 6-Hour Strike by Auto Workers Against Chrysler

The United Automobile Workers reached a tentative agreement Wednesday with Chrysler, only six hours after union leaders sent Chrysler’s 45,000 workers to the picket lines.

Full details of the Chrysler agreement were not immediately available, but it was expected to echo the G.M. contract.

(Via NYT)

Madonna to sign $120M record deal

Madonna intends to sign a $120 million recording and touring deal with live entertainment promoter Live Nation Inc. and leave her longtime record label at Warner Music Group Corp., a person familiar with the contract negotiations said Wednesday.

The pop superstar's management informed Warner last week that she would accept Live Nation's offer after the record company refused to match the deal, said the person, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the confidential nature of the matter.

Under terms of the proposed deal, Madonna, 49, would receive a signing bonus of about $18 million and a roughly $17 million advance for each of three albums, the person said. A portion of the compensation would involve stock, the person said.

(Via CNN)

Literature Nobel for Doris Lessing

English writer Doris Lessing, 87, who ended her formal schooling at age 13 and went on to write novels that explored relationships between the genders and races, won the 2007 Nobel Prize in literature on Thursday.

The Swedish Academy cited her as "that epicist of the female experience, who with skepticism, fire and visionary power has subjected a divided civilization to scrutiny."

Her breakthrough was the 1962 "Golden Notebook," the academy said. Her other important novels include "The Summer Before Dark" in 1973 and "The Fifth Child" in 1988.

--> With so much happening in the world this morning, I thought it best to start off with some cheery news. Brava, Doris!

(Via CNN)

The Funnies

Haha! I think I just found my new favorite blog.

Dems' new logo suggestive of what candidates lack

This clever tid-bit was brought to you by the folks over at Big Head DC.

Ugly Betty: Subversively flamboyant?

British news magazine New Statesman sang the praises of Ugly Betty recently, noting a subversive political agenda underneath Betty's shiny Cinderella story. The article praises the way it gave a human face to illegal immigration but also notes how the show quietly went into uncharted territory with it gay characters:

"Gay characters are not unheard of in American drama, but Ugly Betty went a stage further by introducing a friendship between the flamboyant gay fashion editor Marc St James (Michael Urie) and Justin, Betty's 12-year-old brother (Mark Indelicato), who is clearly (but not explicitly) struggling with his sexuality.

'It's a relationship we've never seen before on television,' says Urie. 'We've seen what America is willing to accept with a gay man in a couple, but we've never seen a positive relationship with a young child before.' One of the show's creators, Silvio Horta, is gay and says that, as Justin ages, he will experience 'the journey'. 'I see myself in him. Growing up, I certainly felt like an outsider at times. But there is this sweet innocence in Justin that sees the positive.'"

While both Marc and Justin have their stereotypical qualities, Betty has done much to define them beyond their flamboyant demeanor, catty gossip and fashion knowledge. Their relationships with members of the Suarez family and with the staff at Mode have given plenty of depth to both.

(Via AfterElton)

Pick Me Up of the Day

Colin Egglesfield as featured on ColinEgglesfield.com.

Maybe drunkdrivers are just supposed to shout?

(Via the "blog" of "unnecessary" quotation marks)

Auto Union Workers Walk Out at Chrysler