Jerry Curl

From Betty White and the Jerry Curl staff!

Follow me @Jerrymeister

Cory Fritz a featured on Nous Models .

Set to open this fall, Lords South Beach is Miami's new alternative longing destination. Or, as they say on the website: an appropriately-oriented hotel. Lords will have 53 rooms with all the modern amenities you'd expect, and there will be both studio styles ('Pads') and suites ('Pied-a-terres'), along with a penthouse. According to the hotel's Facebook page , Lords will be taking reservations from November 21st. (Via Hotel Chatter )

The NY Daily News reports : A grand jury indicted three accused gang members yesterday for their alleged roles in a vicious gay-bashing attack in the Bronx. Elmer Cofresi, 23, Nelson Falu (right),17, and Ruddy Vargas (right), 22, are charged with multiple hate crimes in the anti-gay gang assault this month. Seven alleged members of a homophobic gang known as the Latin Kings Goonies have been charged in the brutal robbery and assault, during which two men were sodomized with wooden objects. Four teens originally charged in the case were released following an investigation by the Bronx district attorney's office. "It's good to know they'll have to answer for what they did," said a cousin of one of the victims. "I hope they go away for a long time." The defendants are due back in court Nov.23.

The AP reports : An internal Pentagon study has found that most U.S. troops and their families don't care whether gays are allowed to serve openly and think the policy of "don't ask, don't tell" could be done away with, according to officials familiar with its findings. The survey results were expected to be used by gay rights advocates to bolster their argument that the 1993 law on gays could be repealed immediately with little harm done to the military. But the survey also was expected to reveal challenges the services could face in overturning the long-held policy, including overcoming fierce opposition in some parts of the military even if they represent a minority. Details on the survey results were still scarce yesterday, with the Pentagon declining to discuss the findings until after Dec. 1 when it rolls out its own plan for repeal. The officials who disclosed the survey's findings spoke on condition of anonymity because the results had not been release

By Joe Heller

Betty White in the new issue of Parade : I don’t care who anybody sleeps with. If a couple has been together all that time—and there are gay relationships that are more solid than some heterosexual ones—I think it’s fine if they want to get married. I don’t know how people can get so anti-something. Mind your own business, take care of your affairs, and don’t worry about other people so much.

They have the BEST JOB on the planet.

People reports : It took several days, but Céline Dion and her husband René Angélil have finally named their twin sons. The name "Eddy" comes from Eddy Marnay, who produced the singer's first five records. "He was like a father to her," says Dion's rep. "Eddy is a major influence in both Céline and René's lives." Nelson is named after Nelson Mandela, whom Dion met two years ago while kicking off her world tour in South Africa. "René said that in just the few minutes they were able to spend with him, they were impressed by the human being he is," says the rep. "Céline and René want their children to be inspired by their names, because they were so inspired by these men," the rep adds.

CNN reports : Democratic Rep. Kendrick Meek said it was Florida Gov. Charlie Crist and not former President Bill Clinton who asked him to end his Senate bid in Florida. Meek talked about the issue today during an interview with CNN's American Morning . Meek denied published reports that Clinton had tried to persuade him to drop out of the race because he might steal votes from Crist. Crist is running for the Senate as an independent. Meek and Crist are in a race with Republican Marco Rubio. "He never asked me to get out of the race. I never told him I was getting out of the race," Meek said, referring to Clinton. "Governor Crist talked to me about getting out of the race. I recommend to the governor that he should consider getting out of the race." The allegations bubbled up Thursday when Crist, the Republican-turned-independent Senate candidate, said he spoke with Meek and "several people" at the White House about having Meek step out of the race. Cri

Trae Pflueger as featured on Queerty .

The NY Daily News reports : The family of one of the victims in the vicious gay-bashing in the Bronx is disgusted with prosecutors for clearing a fourth teen originally charged in the gang assault. Dennis Piters, 17, became the latest teen freed from jail yesterday after the District Attorney's Office admitted there was "insufficient evidence" against him. "How can they let them go after what happened to these poor people?" said a cousin of a 30-year-old gay man who, with two 17-year-olds, was viciously beaten and violated inside a dilapidated apartment in Morris Heights. "Their friends sodomized them with a damn stick. These guys should be held responsible for the parts they played that day," the relative said. Let go Tuesday were Bryan Almonte,17, Steven Carabello, 17, and Brian Cepeda, 17. Of the remaining seven Latin King Goonies gang members still implicated, four have been indicted and a grand jury is still hearing the case agains three of the ot

Twenty years ago, David Wojnarowicz made this piece, Untitled (One day this kid…) . He made it as a 30 3/4-inch X 41-inch photostat, but it’s probably gained more cultural currency as a postcard available at just about every progressive bookstore in New York. Wojnarowicz died of AIDS-related complications in 1992. (Via Towleroad )

ArtsBeat reports : Paula Abdul’s new dance show, Live to Dance , will be scheduled against her former singing show, American Idol . CBS said today that Live to Dance would start on Tuesday, Jan. 4, and then move to an 8 p.m. time slot on Wednesday. The announcement gained notice because Fox has tentatively scheduled the weekly results shows for Idol on Wednesdays at 8:30 p.m. Fox has not yet said what week in January Idol will return. On Live to Dance , she will be a judge, a mentor and an executive produce. Earlier this month CBS announced that the show would be hosted by Andrew Günsberg, a former co-host of Australian Idol , and that Ms. Abdul would be joined by two other judges, Travis Payne and Kimberly Wyatt. On the series, which will be shown live on Wednesdays, a wide range of amateur dancers will compete for a $500,000 prize.

The hills are still alive: They may have said "so long, farewell" 45 years ago, but this week, Maria, the Captain and all seven von Trapp children – now very grown up – will gather on The Oprah Winfrey Show show to celebrate the 45th anniversary of The Sound of Music . The movie's original cast, including Julie Andews (Maria), Christopher Plummer (the Captain) and Charmian Carr (Liesl), are marking the milestone and the Nov. 2 release of the Blu-Ray edition of the beloved film, still one of the highest-grossing of all time. These decades later it may be hard to imagine that there were doubts at the time of its release that the movie would strike such musical gold – critics found it too sweet, and its studio, 20th Century Fox, was still reeling from the massive loses of Elizabeth Taylor's Cleopatra . As Plummer, 80, now recalls, he himself called the movie The Sound of Mucus. "There needed to be a cynic of some kind around to stop it from getting too mawkish,&quo

In related news: This is the new logo for Oprah Winfrey new cable network OWN, which is the third incarnation of the cable queen's branding, but the first to come out.

ABC New reports : From across the country – and Canada – thousands of supporters are expected in Washington to attend Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert's " Rally to Restore Sanity " and " March to Keep Fear Alive " this Saturday. More than 220,000 people have RVSP'd that they are attending on the event's official Facebook page. The National Park Service application, however, only estimated 25,000 people would attend the event, which is scheduled to last from noon to 3 p.m. The rally is billed as a chance for people to voice their frustrations with American politics and the media, and, of course, be entertained. "I personally have been frustrated with what I view as a lot of hypocrisy in politics," Miko Wilford, a 24-year-old psychology graduate student from Iowa State University said. "I feel 'The Daily Show' and the 'Colbert Report' do a good job of pointing out the hypocrisies." Politicians and media representation of

There were few laughs but plenty of tough questions when President Barack Obama dropped by last night to Comedy Central’s The Daily Show with Jon Stewart . Stewart grilled Obama about his executive style, his party’s campaign approach and the health care bill. "You ran on high rhetoric, hope and change, and the Democrats seem to be running on, ‘Please, baby, one more chance,’ “ Stewart said. Obama defended his legislative record, saying his fiscal policies had helped the country avoid the “second Great Depression.” On the health care bill, Stewart commented, “Legislatively, it has felt timid at times. I’m not even sure what you want out of a health care bill.” Obama called the legislation a work in progress and said that it stands as one of the greatest pieces of legislation passed in this nation’s history. “When we promised during the campaign change you can believe in, it wasn’t change you can believe in 18 months, It was change you can believe in, but you know what, we’re going

Adam Lambert has traveled far since his days as a freckle faced, red-headed kid playing “Linus” in his school production of You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown . Along the way, he’s pushed boundaries, reinvented glam-rock and transformed himself into a universal sex symbol. The most beloved runner-up in American Idol history shares his journey to stardom in his own words in the upcoming E! True Hollywood Story , set to premiere November 21st at 9:00 PM, ET/PT. Also sitting down with E! are Lambert’s mother, Leila; father, Eber; brother, Neil; close friends and widely respected music journalists Anne Powers and Vanessa Grigoriadis. Lambert’s family shares intimate anecdotes from the pop star’s childhood in North San Diego County. “I’m very fortunate to have parents that recognized that I was different and recognized how I was special. They didn’t ever try to box me in,” says Lambert. The singer also divulges wild stories from his days performing in various musical theater gigs on cruise s

Roberto as featured on DNA .

The Edge reports : Prosecutors dropped charges against three people accused of taking part in anti-gay attacks on two men and two teens, citing a lack of evidence. Bryan Almonte and Brian Cepeda, both 17, and Steven Carabello (pictured), 16, had been charged with robbery, gang assault and unlawful imprisonment as hate crimes in the Oct. 3 attacks. Eight other people remain accused in the case, which city officials called the worst anti-gay attacks in recent history. It’s possible more people will be arrested because investigators are still working. Family members and friends cheered outside court after the charges were dismissed, and the three boys’ attorneys said they were pleased with the outcome. Almonte’s attorney John O’Connell said his client thought he was at a party in the abandoned home where prosecutors say three of the victims were assaulted. Authorities said a loosely organized street crew known as the Latin King Goonies found out one of their recruits was gay - and when th

He may be gone, but he's not forgotten. In fact, Michael Jackson has brought in so much bank since his June 2009 passing that he's landed the No. 1 spot on Forbes's Top-Earning Dead Celebrities List . According to Forbes, Jackson's estate has brought in a whopping $275 million over the past 12 months – more than the combined earnings of superstars Lady Gaga, Beyoncé, Jay-Z and Madonna, and more than any living artist or group, for that matter. "[Jackson's] kids are going to have grandkids before that money's gone," estate lawyer Donald David, who handled Tupac Shakur's finances, tells the magazine. The beloved singer's good fortune is due in large part to licensing deals cut by executors of his estate, a surge in sales of his music catalog and the $250 million box office of his film, "This Is It." "There is a strong demand for Michael Jackson's music and merchandise, and that will only increase as more material surfaces in th

[ Editor's note ] As a lover of films and list-making, I think this is a work of genius. Why I didn't think of doing this myself I'll never know. But anyway, a lot of the selections are spot on (i.e. the Wizard of Oz for Kansas). But then again, Scarface for Florida?! This thing can definitely stand a re-working. In any case, the debate rages on at Reddit . Your thoughts?

It’s official: James Cameron is going back to Pandora not just for his next film, but for his next two. Mr. Cameron, the filmmaker behind the 3-D blockbuster Avatar , joined 20th Century Fox in announcing that he would make Avatar 2 and Avatar 3 as his next two movies, with the first of the sequels scheduled for release in December 2014, and the second for December of the following year. That assures a lot of fantasy-filled Decembers, as Peter Jackson has already scheduled a pair of Hobbit films for Warner Brothers and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in that month in the years 2012 and 2013. Avatar was released on Dec. 18 of last year and became the highest grossing film in history, with almost $2.8 billion in worldwide ticket sales. Mr. Cameron and the top Fox film executives, Jim Gianopulos and Tom Rothman, jointly said they aimed to begin production on the first sequel in 2011. The film is not yet officially titled, they said. (Via ArtsBeat )

About a fifth of the world's vertebrates are threatened with extinction, a major review has found, highlighting the plight of nature that is the focus of global environment talks underway in Japan. The study by more than 170 scientists across the globe used data for 25,000 species from the International Union for Conservation of Nature's (IUCN) Red List of threatened species and examined the status of the world's mammals, birds, amphibians, reptiles and fishes. The authors found, on average, 50 species of mammals, birds and amphibians move closer to extinction each year because of expansion of farms and plantations, logging and over-hunting. Another factor was competition from other species, particularly those introduced from other areas. But the study, published in the journal Science, also found that conservation efforts had curbed the overall rate of loss. It highlighted 64 mammal, bird and amphibian species that have improved in status, including three species that were

More than 1,200 new species of plants and animals have been discovered in the Amazon rainforest over the past decade according to a new report. "Amazon Alive! A Decade of Discoveries 1999-2009," published yesterday by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), showcases the extraordinary diversity housed in the world's biggest rainforest which spans eight South American countries. Six-hundred-and-thirty-seven new species of plant were found during the period, as well as nearly 500 new fish and amphibians, including 24 new poison dart frogs. Jim Leape, WWF international director general says: "This is report is really intended to bring home the richness of the Amazon forest and how much is there. The Amazon is the single most important place on Earth for biodiversity -- it holds ten percent of the world's known species." The list of new discoveries amounts to more than the combined total of new species found in Borneo, the Congo Basin and the Eastern Himalayas during the

More at Towleroad .

LimeWire, one of the world's most popular peer-to-peer filesharing websites, has been shut down after a four-year legal battle with the US music industry. A federal court in New York issued a "permanent injunction" against LimeWire late yesterday, ruling that the platform intentionally caused a "massive scale of infringement" by permitting the sharing of thousands of copyrighted works by its 50 million monthly users. Founded in 2000 by Mark Gorton, a former Wall Street trader, LimeWire is now restricted from allowing the searching and sharing of copyrighted material. The website will continue "working with the music industry to move forward", a LimeWire spokeswoman confirmed. US judge Kimba Wood ruled that record companies "have suffered – and will continue to suffer – irreparable harm from LimeWire's inducement of widespread infringement of their works", adding that the potential damages were "staggering". The court also ruled

The New York Times reports : Warner Brothers agreed to keep Peter Jackson’s production of The Hobbit in New Zealand after the government promised to change local labor laws and offered extra financial incentives, Prime Minister John Key said today. The deal came after two days of talks between Mr. Key and other government officials and executives from Warner and its New Line Cinema unit. Filming of the two Hobbit movies, which is expected to start in February, had been threatened by a dispute over whether a New Zealand branch of an Australian union could engage in collective bargaining on the Hollywood films, which they have not been able to do in the past. A New Zealand actors union, backed by a larger union, the Media, Entertainment & Arts Alliance of Australia, had demanded collective bargaining for work on the films, but both Warner and government officials contended that collective bargaining with actors was barred by New Zealand law. The unions withdrew their demand and lift

President Obama will make the fusion of politics and comedy official tonight by becoming the first sitting president to appear on Comedy Central’s Daily Show just days before crucial midterm elections that could reshape his presidency. Mr. Obama will sit down this afternoon with Jon Stewart, the comedian-turned-activist who hosts the show, in what White House officials concede is a blatant attempt to seek out young Democratic voters wherever they spend the most time. “The President hasn’t been shy about going to the places where people are getting their information and trying to make his case,” White House press secretary Robert Gibbs told reporters yesterday. “And I think that’s what he’ll do on the show.” The unusual presidential interview will be taped at the Harman Center for the Arts in Washington, where Mr. Stewart has relocated his show in advance of the “Rally to Restore Sanity” he is leading on Saturday. The interview comes as literally hundreds of candidates and their allie

Don't miss it!

Roger Frampton as featured on Nous Models .

ArtsBeat reports : As Madonna would be the first to tell you, there are all kinds of incentives to improve one’s physical fitness, from increased energy and improved health to the possibility that your personal trainer might become the father of your first child. Now that pop icon is looking to share at least some of those benefits with the general populace by starting her own line of gyms, with the first to be opened next month in Mexico City. Press representatives for Madonna said she, her manager, Guy Oseary, and New Evolution Ventures, a fitness and entertainment company in Lafayette, Calif., planned to open a chain of Hard Candy Fitness centers (::giggle::) in various countries including Russia, Brazil and Argentina, as well as locations in Europe and Asia. The centers will offer classes, a bike studio and a mind/body studio, a juice bar and “lavish locker rooms built with the finest materials,” according to the press release. The Hard Candy Fitness location, the partners said, wi

For Halloween and Star Wars geeks alike, this truly a harmonic convergence of awesomeness! (Via NPR )

Thousands of University of Miami students and staff went to the BankUnited Center in Coral Gables this afternoon to hear the Dalai Lama speak on "The Quest for Happiness in Challenging Times.'' Hundreds of South Floridians, including several prominent religious leaders, also visited Temple Emanu-El in Miami Beach this morning to hear the Tibetan leader-in-exile speak on the "Significance of World Religions.'' Both UM and Florida International University broadcasted the event live on their web sites. At the temple, Latin Grammy award-winning flautist Nestor Torres performed a piece for the Dalai Lama, who shared the stage with representatives of Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Jainism and Taoism. Sitting onstage in his iconic red and yellow robe at the Jewish temple on South Beach, the Dalai Lama advocated for "respect'' and "compassion for all religions,'' saying that "religious faith should be part of our daily life.'

The Miami Herald reports : The ugly duckling clubhouse on Hibiscus Island has great value. That much preservationists and the defunct Miami Beach Rod & Reel Club can agree on. Their year-long disagreement lies in just how much that value is: the $3.95 million asking price for the bayfront lot on which the structure sits, or the building's priceless history as a Prohibition-era social club and the former home to one of Florida's oldest fishing organizations. Tomorrow, that argument will come to a head as Miami Beach commissioners decide whether to declare the building historic. Preservationists say the designation would save an important piece of Miami Beach. "There's absolutely no doubt it's one of the most historic structures on Miami Beach,'' said William Cary, head of historic preservation for the city. Club members say the wood-frame building is too dilapidated to be preserved and the historic designation would lower the property's value and mak

This from the Guardian is a MUST READ: The basic facts are undisputed: on 15 April 2004 Ilario Pantano, then a second lieutenant with the US marines, stopped and detained two Iraqi men in a car near Falluja. The Iraqis were unarmed and the car found to be empty of weapons. Pantano ordered the two men to search the car for a second time and then, with no other US soldiers in view, unloaded a magazine of his M16A4 automatic rifle into them, before reloading and blasting a second magazine at them – some 60 rounds in total. Over the corpses, he left a placard inscribed with the marine motto: "No better friend, No worse enemy." Six years later Pantano is on the verge of a stunning electoral victory that could send him to the US Congress in Washington. He is standing as Republican candidate in North Carolina's 7th congressional district, which was last represented by his party in 1871. With the help of the right-wing Tea Party movement, and with the benefit of his image as a w

The Advocate reports : The Mississippi school district that canceled a high school prom because a lesbian student wanted to bring her girlfriend and wear a tuxedo was ordered to pay $81,000 in legal fees to the student, Constance McMillen. U.S. district judge Glen H. Davidson signed the order yesterday, mandating the Itawamba County School District to pay the fees to McMillen. According to court documents, the school district must pay McMillen $67,265 in attorney's fees and $14,400 for other legal expenses. McMillen, represented by the American Civil Liberties Union, sued the Itawamba County School District in March after it initially rejected her request to bring her girlfriend as a date. A judge ruled that officials could not block McMillen and her date from attending the prom, so the April 2 event was canceled altogether, but later reinstated. However, parents organized a separate, private gathering. McMillen, who was not invited, instead went to a "sham" prom, put up

Joseph Jefferson, a 26-year-old gay rights activist based in Brooklyn, New York, committed suicide over the weekend . Author Nathan James writes, on Facebook : I've been working on the story of another sad ending to a promising young gay life this weekend. Joseph Jefferson, a 2002 graduate of Harvey Milk High School, POCC and GMAD worker, and assistant to LGBT event promoters Laurence Pinckney and James Saunders, died by suicide yesterday at the age of 26. Mr. Jefferson, whose Facebook page includes these words, written by him, could not bear the burden of living as a gay man of color in a world grown cold and hateful towards those of us who live and love differently than the so-called "social mainstream". Mr. Jefferson wrote: "Belonging is one of the basic human needs, when people feel isolated and excluded from a sense of communion with others, they suffer. I have been an advocate for my peers and most importantly youth because most have never had a deep emotional

The Huffington Post reports : Less than halfway through his first term, President Barack Obama has appointed more openly gay officials than any other president in history. Gay activists say the estimate of more than 150 appointments so far – from agency heads and commission members to policy officials and senior staffers – surpasses the previous high of about 140 reached during two full terms under President Bill Clinton. "From everything we hear from inside the administration, they wanted this to be part of their efforts at diversity," said Denis Dison, spokesman for the Presidential Appointments Project of the Gay & Lesbian Leadership Institute. The pace of appointments has helped to ease broader disappointment among gay rights groups that Obama has not acted more quickly on other fronts, such as ending the "don't ask, don't tell" policy that bans gays from serving openly in the military. In a sign of how times have changed, few of the appointees – abo

Color us surprised (and sad): Univision announced in August that it was cancelling El Show de Cristina , with its final episode to air on Nov. 1. Cristina Saralegui is often considered the Oprah Winfrey of Spanish media. But her 20-year-old TV talk show is coming to an end with much less fanfare than The Oprah Winfrey Show . "It was something totally unexpected and not only for me but for my husband and manager, Marcos (Avila)," the Cuban-American winner of 12 Emmy Awards said Thursday. "I felt used and discarded," she added. Saralegui said the news took her "completely by surprise" because the ratings of her show "are very good." She also said she was planning to retire at 65, not at 62, her current age. Earlier, Saralegui said in an interview with Spanish newspaper El Nuevo Herald that she thought the decision to cancel the show had to do with her age. Calls to Univision were not immediately returned on Thursday. (Via ABC News )

By John Darkow

Dimitri Athan as featured on DNA .

Miami's Y100 radio sation has assembled the year's biggest radio chart-toppers for this year's "2010 Y100 Jingle Ball," to be headlined by Katy Perry and Adam Lambert. Adam Lambert is currently busy with his successful world tour in support of his For Your Entertainment album. He’ll take the stage in South Florida for the second time in less than three months as part of the “Jingle Ball,” and by popular demand too. He was #1 on the radio station’s poll as to who listeners wanted to see at the show. He hosted last year’s “Y100 Jingle Ball” along with Gossip Girl star Leighton Meester, but did not perform. Katy Perry is sure to perform some of her biggest hits from her new Teenage Dream album, including the #1 title track and “California Gurls.” The “Jingle Ball” is just one of the many appearances she has lined up this year before she kicks off her “California Dreams” world tour in February. Selena Gomez will take the stage for the first time to perform hits fro

More at the Huffington Post .