Monday, May 21, 2012
Arthur He Does What He Pleases
BREAKING: Clay Aiken Is a Bottom
Sexy and They 'Know' It
Nadal Looking Unbeatable Heading Into Paris
Posted by Kenneth Walsh at 1:42 PM 0 comments
Labels:
novak Djokovic,
rafael nadal,
tennis
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Judge: Your Peers Are Idiots -- Here's 30 Days
I'm not alone. The New York Times reports:
Steven Goldstein, the chairman of Garden State Equality, a prominent New Jersey gay-rights group, was displeased. “We have opposed throwing the book at Dharun Ravi,” he said in a statement. “But we have similarly rejected the other extreme, that Ravi should have gotten no jail time at all, and today’s sentencing is closer to that extreme than the other. This was not merely a childhood prank gone awry. This was not a crime without bias.”Mr. Ravi — who also was sentenced to three years’ probation, 300 hours of community service, counseling about cyberbullying and alternate lifestyles and a $10,000 probation fee — was not charged with causing Mr. Clementi’s death, but the suicide hung heavily over the trial, and over Monday’s sentencing hearing. Mr. Clementi’s mother, father and brother all read statements, their voices occasionally quivering as they spoke. “I cannot imagine the level of rejection, isolation and disdain he must have felt from his peers,” Tyler’s brother, James Clementi, said. “Dharun never bothered to care about the harm he was doing to my brother’s heart and mind. My family has never heard an apology, an acknowledgment of any wrongdoing.”
I'll Take 'Manhattan'
Justice for Tyler Dharun?
With Dharun Ravi set to be sentenced today in the Rutgers Webcam trial, The New York Times reports that the world's worst roommate is finding support in an unlikely place: from gay-rights activists:
Kate Zernike writes:
Dan Savage, a gay columnist whose video campaign, “It Gets Better,” began in response to other suicides of gay teenagers just before Tyler Clementi, 18, jumped to his death from the George Washington Bridge, argued that simply locking up Mr. Ravi was a lost opportunity to talk about the other institutions and people “complicit” in Mr. Clementi’s death.
“What was he told about being gay growing up, by his faith leaders, by the media, by the culture?” Mr. Savage said. “Ravi may have been the last person who made him feel unsafe and abused and worthless, but he couldn’t have been the first.
“The rush to pin all the responsibility on Ravi and then wash our hands and walk away means we’re not going to learn the lessons of these kids.”
Read HERE
Sentencing guidelines call for five to 10 years for Ravi's crimes. What do you think he deserves?
Mayor McCheesecake?
Universal-ly Hot

Sunday, May 20, 2012
On the Rag, Vol. 199
A weekly look at what's making news in the free gay rags:



Robin Gibb Is Dead at 62
Saturday, May 19, 2012
Friday, May 18, 2012
Now Growing

Oh, Donna
Still devastated about the shocking death of Donna Summer, which her family confirmed was caused by lung cancer. Sadly, we've started to slip into the "Fault" vs. "No Fault" death phenomenon, something I wrote about a few years ago. It doesn't really matter what caused her death, what's important is that we remember a woman who brought us so much joy. Since the memorial service in her adopted hometown of Nashville is a private affair, what better way to "feel love" than to share memories with others who adored the Queen of Disco? The New York Times has a great roundup of "some of the last remaining denizens of the legendary New York dance clubs Studio 54, the Paradise Garage, 12 West, Flamingo and Xenon recalled their fondest memories of dancing to Donna Summer. At least, as much as they could remember."
Liz Rosenberg, publicist to Madonna, Cher, Stevie Nicks and, briefly, Donna Summer
Ian Schrager, an owner of Studio 54 “The drag queens would get up on stage and emulate her, but they were never as pretty.”Read 'em all HERE.
Post Script on 'MDNA'
Madonna's latest, "MDNA," didn't excite me much (a few cute songs, but too many puerile lyrics and annoying electronics) -- and given that it was the fastest-dropping No. 1 debut of all time, I get the feeling others beyond her devoted base felt the same way -- but I don't really care enough to analyze it much. However, one of its producers -- William Orbit, who collaborated on her classic "Ray of Light" LP -- sure does. On his Facebook wall he wrote:
"All I will say is that certain thoughts about it that I see expressed online by committed fans such as yourself, were blindingly obvious to me from the very get go, well before the release." He continues: "But you won't see me exactly jumping up and down with delight over the way that things have panned out ... we were very pushed for time."
Well, that's not all he will say. Read the full takedown on the Huffington Post HERE, which quotes the KIT212 write-up done by my pal Christopher Carozzo. (Congrats, CC!) While some may feel it's "too soon" to speak about a project that came out in recent months and for which a tour is about to begin, I'm assuming Orbit doesn't see himself working with his hero again -- and feels he has nothing to lose speaking out about project on which so much opportunity was lost. (Did I mention that William Orbit is the guy who produced "Ray of Fucking Light"???????)

































