Saturday, October 31, 2009
Reports of The Advocate's Demise Have Been Greatly Exaggerated?
Queerty is reporting that Regent/Here Media is folding the Advocate as a standalone publication and will turn it into a 32-page supplement in its lifestyle magazine, Out. The story has taken off (I've gotten numerous e-mails about it, and Andrew Sullivan is linking to the story), but my sources inside the magazine say it is not true:
"Queerty doesn't know what they're talking about," the source said. I'm told there will be changes as the brand is "expanded," but they "are different than what Queerty is saying."
There does seem to be a hint of hedging in that response, but then I remind myself that Queerty is the same blog that erroneously reported last summer that Advocate's editor in chief, Jon Barrett, had been fired and escorted from the building, so it's hard to put too much stock in what they're reporting here, although clearly something is up, as it is at virtually all media outlets.
For the official word on what is going on with The Advocate, read the response to David Hauslaib of Queerty from Stephen Macias, senior vice resident of Regent Media, after the jump. ----->
Friday, October 30, 2009
Hold the Caviar
As the recession presses down upon us it can be confusing to tell if you are really poor or just being an asshole. To help, the offensively glamourous Natasha Leggero offers a handy list of tips HERE.
Afternoon Headlights




Dateline: SINGAPORE









Friday Ad Watch



Suddenly 'Susan'


Me: They're great, aren't they?
Him: I know.
Me: I gotta have 'em, man. But 65 bucks?
Him: That is the price.
Me: Forget it.
Him: I like the jacket.
Me: It used to belong to Jimi Hendrix. Yeah, but I bet he'd love it if I swapped it for the boots.
Him: Deal.

The Real World: Starship Enterprise


Of course, if being a Trekkie isn't your thing, click HERE to see Scott decked out as a shirtless sailor, a shirtless superhero or a pantless farmer .
Tickle-Me-Jake

When It's Time to Change
"I always felt like the male from the time I was a child. There wasn't much feminine about me," Chaz told "Entertainment Tonight." "I believe that gender is something between your ears, not between your legs. That is something I discovered in the early '90s. It was just a long process of being comfortable enough to do something about it."
But it was turning the big 4-0 that spurred Cher's little girl into action.
"I was turning 40 and I thought it's now or never. I want to still feel vibrant and be able to enjoy my life in a male body and not wait until I am an old man."

Thursday, October 29, 2009
Returneth the Favor?

Goldie Locks


Revenge of the 'Tard

You've Come a Long Way, Baby
March Toward Equality
It was a great day for equality in American when President Obama signed into law the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr Hate Crimes Prevention Act, the bill outlawing offenses motivated by a person's race, gender, identity, color, sexual orientation, or mental of physical disability named after two men killed in separate hate crimes -- Shepard because he was gay, and Byrd because he was black. It was the culmination of a years-long crusade by crime victims and their families.
"Today, we have taken another step forward," Obama said. "This is the culmination of a struggle that has lasted more than a decade."
"No one in America should ever be afraid to walk down the street holding the hand of the person they love," Obama said in a reception in the East Room of the White House.
"At root this is not just about our laws, but who we are as a people," Obama said.
It was an emotional moment that renewed a little bit of my faith in America. The president? My faith in him has not wavered, and Wednesday only reaffirmed it.
Now where do we go from here? Andrew Kessinger, a graduate student at Columbia University and a senior editor at the School of International and Public Affairs' Journal of International Affairs, isn't impressed and says it's time to start doing something for gays "who aren't hurt."
Is this the best Congress can muster when it comes to advancing gay rights?
The law morbidly protects gays only after they have been attacked; any consideration for their safety and human rights before such an occurrence still seems a congressional afterthought.
Put another way, our nation's dead and hospitalized homosexuals, bisexuals and transgendered people are receiving after-the-fact sympathies, while the healthy gays and lesbians among us are expected to suffer from the same root discrimination. Are rights advocates expected to remain patient, even happy, about such progress?
The proverbial plate is too full, pooh-poohs our political elite. The rationale underlying such sentiments is that reforming our nation's health-care system, improving our economy and winning the war in Afghanistan must of course take priority over gay rights.
Is it too much to ask for more, sooner rather than later? (Read his full piece HERE.)
F-Bomb: Judgment Day 2

Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Center Stage





Music Box: Tegan and Sara
