07/17/2010
This imposing aerial photo of the Empire State Building is part of a collection of pictures taken high above the city earlier this month. A larger collection that includes less recent pics can be found here but I've included a few of my faves AFTER THE JUMP.
Continue reading "Eagle Eye Views Of NYC"
Posted 8:41 PM EST by Steve Pep in New York, Photography | Permalink
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Ne-Yo wants you to stop calling him gay.
A view from space had the parting of the Red Sea actually occurred.
Retired NFL Player
Marcellus Wiley: "It would really be tough for a gay guy in the NFL,
for the locker room to understand him as a homosexual -- I'm not saying
it's impossible to pull off, but I'm saying right now the fear of
coming out of the closet and more so coming out in the locker room
would really be too tremendous to overcome. It's unfortunate because it
shouldn't be that way. I understand that the locker room is pretty
intimate. I do understand that there are 53 guys walking around nude at
times and I do understand how guys may feel uncomfortable, but I don't
think that it should impair someone's decision to live their life, have
their freedoms and express themselves."
CNN lists the 10 best movie dance scenes.
Decrease in hate crimes? Probably not: "A national anti-violence coalition released a report this week that shows declines in the reported number of hate crime victims and survivors, incidents and offenders in 2009. However, those reported drops since 2008 are likely due to many programs facing budget cuts and staff layoffs, rather than an actual decrease in violence, according to the report."
250 attend gay pride march in Valletta, Malta.
Paris Hilton can't stay away form pot.
After Argentina's introduction of marriage equality, could Paraguay be next?
Milwaukee city worker in trouble for sending a gay man hateful messages on Facebook: "You know you are living in sin and will burn in hell
if you don't change your life around. I'm
sorry to hear you married another man. God made Adam and Eve not Adam
and Steve."
Former Air Force Michael Almy testifies that he never admitted to being gay though he was discharged under "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" anyway.
A Skarsgard sandwich sounds delicious.
Senator David Vitter is sorry he implied that Rachel Maddow does not look like a woman.
Get ready for Skins season 5.
Staten Islanders meet to discuss hate crimes.
Posted 6:20 PM EST by Steve Pep in Alexander Skarsgard, Crime, Don't Ask, Don't Tell, Facebook, Malta, Milwaukee, Paris Hilton, Rachel Maddow, Sports, Staten Island | Permalink
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EuroPride was held outside of Western Europe for the first time and organizers chose Warsaw as its host city. As you know, very Catholic Poland is not known for it's tolerant or accepting attitude towards the LGBT community.
According to the AFP, "opinion surveys show that 80 percent of Poles oppose gay marriage and 93 percent believe gay and lesbian couples should not have the right to adopt children. Two out of three Poles oppose gay demonstrations."
The AP reports on the parade:
The parade, part of the EuroPride gay rights festival, is meant to give a boost to the fledgling gay rights movement in Poland. Gay rights were strongly repressed during the communist era, and gays and lesbians have struggled since communism fell 20 years ago for acceptance in a society still strongly influenced by the church. "We feel like they are 20 years behind the Netherlands," said Ad Bakker, a 39-year-old from Holland who traveled to Warsaw to show solidarity with Polish friends. "But the atmosphere is good and we hope that EuroPride will help." A Polish friend of his, Sebastian Blaszczyk, 36, said the situation in Poland "gets better and better every year," but the country still has far to go in accepting gays.
There were, of course, protesters.
"As the activists moved slowly through the city, they passed small, scattered groups of counter-protesters who jeered and heckled them. Police said they arrested eight people — some of whom threw eggs and one of whom attacked a police officer — for trying to disturb the march."
The event drew about 8,000 people. A couple of video clips of the march AFTER THE JUMP.
Continue reading "EuroPride March Held In Warsaw"
Posted 3:00 PM EST by Steve Pep in Poland | Permalink
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OK, well not necessarily no one. Just 40 or so bigots. A couple more pics of the lowly attended event AFTER THE JUMP.
Hate-A-Palooza continues in Albany and NOM is now playing victim by accusing New York drivers of being intolerant rather than what many of them really are: aggressive.
(Photos via Pam and Lez Get Real)
Continue reading "NOM Threw A Hate-Filled Party In Maine And No One Came"
Posted 12:26 PM EST by Steve Pep in Maine, NOM | Permalink
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In an apparent response to Lord Browne's essay in The Guardian this past Thursday, the paper takes on the coming out of high-profile figures and wants to know if revealing your homosexuality is a "career killer." While being gay has become "a non-issue" for politicians (at least those in the UK), many people in sports and entertainment have remained closeted until they've reached a certain level of success and even then those are few and far between. Ricky Martin and Gareth Thomas are both used as examples.
Attitude magazine editor Andrew Todd: "I think that if Ricky Martin had come out in 1999, I don't think he
would have had the career that he has had. In Hollywood, there is still a message that you
can't be gay."
Some athletes, such as openly gay former professional basketball player John Amaechi, are now suggesting that pro ballers should not even be pressured to come out of the closet. Amaechi told the Manchester Evening News:
“I get into trouble sometimes with the gay community by saying it is not the job of sports stars in the closet to come out. That is not how change happens. For an under-prepared and psychologically stunted individual who plays sports at a high level to come out before they are ready is like being born prematurely. Unequivocally, being out is better than staying in, but those who do come out need support.”
When speaking to The Guardian, he expanded upon those thoughts:
"I wish the environment was such that more people felt they could come
out. It's absolutely amazing to me that some people think that not
coming out is a weakness of LGBT [lesbian, gay, bisexual and
transgender] people, whereas instead it's because of a hostile culture.
It's never the responsibility of the minority to make the majority
change."
While it may not be the responsibility of the minority, sometimes the minority has no choice but to take on that responsibility.
Related, Amaechi has just become a patron LGBT History month in the UK which will be observed in February.
Posted 10:40 AM EST by Steve Pep in Gareth Thomas, Great Britain, John Amaechi | Permalink
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Ben Cohen has never shied away from posing for covers to gay publications. The English rugby star has graces the cover of the latest issue of Compete Magazine, which bills itself as the first and only gay and lesbian sports magazine, and he chats with the mag on how he feels about his gay fan base. He also reveals that young people has unknowingly helped some parents accept their children's homosexuality.
I embrace diversity more than just a gay fanbase. I think that everyone should be able to say, think and feel the way they want to as long as no one else is hurt. I don’t think we have the right to judge what is right and wrong. I am happy and content in my life and feel that everyone should have the opportunity of feeling that way and being true to themselves.
I have never really thought about whether I court a gay fanbase. I actually find it quite amazing that people are so interested in me in that way. I don’t see it myself. But it seems that my acceptance of those who like me makes a big difference to a lot of gay men. I have had numerous e-mails, mainly from young men who have been inspired by me in some way, and so have had the courage to come out to their friends and families and so live fulfilled lives. I have also been told that I have helped parents come around to the fact that their son is gay. I have no idea how I have managed to do that, I have to confess – but if my openness has done that then it seems that it is the right way to be.
As for his status as a gay icon:
It is not something I associate with myself really. I can only go by the response I see from the Web and articles. It is flattering of course. It’s nice to be appreciated. Everyone likes that.
Some pics from the Compete piece AFTER THE JUMP.
Continue reading "Ben Cohen Has Helped Parents Accept Their Gay Children"
Posted 9:23 AM EST by Steve Pep | Permalink
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