National Website launches 'No Gays Left Behind' Campaign

Category: Daily News When a gynecologist refused to perform a physical examination on a client in rural Georgia, based on the client's sexual orientation, "we knew something must be done," claims Diversity Builder President Debbie Stanton.
'Whether refusing medical treatment is an ethical AMA practice is a legitimate question, but to me, it is absolutely unacceptable,' Stanton said. 'We are in the new millennium and people will still turn away a patient who they don't realize is just like them and may even be their neighbor.'
Stanton decided that gays, lesbian, and transgender (glbt) patients need a way to locate medical and healthcare services that are gay-friendly and nondiscriminatory - and that she was the one who was going to make it happen.
The current number one search term at www.diversitybuilder.com is 'gay doctor,' indicating a defined need for gay-friendly medical services.
Out of her Tennessee home, she and her partner have launched a full scale campaign, featuring free physician listings for general practitioners and therapists who agree to welcome and service all clients, regardless of sexual orientation. "Unfortunately, we have not found any other sites that offer free physician search services and free physician listings, including longstanding gay supportive medical non-profit sites. "Stanton performs a personalized nationwide search for any patron who can't find a glbt friendly doctor on the site, www.diversitybuilder.com . "We just want to help the community and make a difference," claims Stanton.
Additionally, Diversity Builder's medical campaign includes an aggressive plan to expand Diversity Builder's national database, and add the remaining 30 US states. "We are in the process of contacting select medical corporations and drug companies, who openly support diversity, in hopes of securing a corporate sponsor for the campaign," says Stanton.
To assist those medical practitioners and hospitals who want their staff be 'glbt-friendly,' Diversity Builder offers a diversity training class, entitled 'Diversity Training for the Medical Professional.'
Stanton concluded by saying, "We don't wish to leave any doctors behind and Diversity Builder will ensure no gays are left behind when it comes to obtaining quality healthcare."
© 2005 GayWired.com, All Rights Reserved
Article provided by www.GayLinkContent.com . For more information,contact us at info@gaylinkcontent.com . Reprinted with permission by 4 Gays Web Hosting and 1 Body GLBT Christian Resources

Q Television Signs Exclusive Broadcasting Deal With EuroGames Utrecht 2005

Category: Daily News The Q Television Network has finalized an agreement for exclusive US and Canadian broadcasting rights of the 2005 EuroGames in Utrecht in the Netherlands.
The 10th European Gay and Lesbian Multi-Sports Championships will be held from June 16 through June 19, 2005.
Q Television will have full access to every sporting event and athlete. In addition, Q Television will have full access to a host family of one of the participants and will chronicle the activities of that athlete.
"Not only will subscribers of Q Television get to view these amazing games, subscribers will see the triumphs and struggles these amazing athletes endure while participating," said Frank Olsen, President and CEO of Q Television Network.
"This agreement makes Q Television the only GLBT Network to own both the broadcasting rights to the Gay Games VII and the EuroGames. The demand to broadcast these games shown by advertisers and carriers is significant."
The EuroGames are the high-quality sports and cultural event of the Gay & Lesbian Community in Europe. The city of Utrecht in the Netherlands hosts the 10th European Gay and Lesbian Multi-Sports Championships from 16 through 19 June 2005.
Utrecht is convinced it will meet the standards of the European Gay and Lesbian Sport Federation - EGLSF. EuroGames Utrecht 2005 will embody major events: a four days Sports Competition Programme and a one week Cultural Festival and other festivities. All together EuroGames Utrecht 2005 will welcome some 3,000 Participants and 15,000 Spectators in Utrecht.
For more information, visit www.qtelevision.com
© 2005 GayWired.com, All Rights Reserved
Article provided by www.GayLinkContent.com . For more information,contact us at info@gaylinkcontent.com . Reprinted with permission by 4 Gays Web Hosting and 1 Body GLBT Christian Resources

Ending Months of Speculation, Sir Elton John Sets a Wedding Date

Written By Ross von Metzke Location: London, UK Category: Daily News Entertainment (London, England) — Months after announcing plans to take a trip down the aisle, Sir Elton John has announced he will be one of the first to take advantage of England’s new civil partnerships laws by marrying longtime partner David Furnish on December 21, the first day such partnerships will be considered legal.
John made the announcement on the British TV showThis Morning yesterday, ending weeks of speculation as to whether the pair would sign the register.
John said he is looking forward to finally being able to take full advantage of the Civil Partnership Act, which gives same-sex couples legal recognition for the first time, as well as similar rights and responsibilities as married couples.
He also denied reports that the ceremony would be secretive and low-key.
“The first date we can get married is the 21st of December, and we are definitely going to do it and we’re not going to do it in secret,” John said.
The press has already began reporting on the lavish guest list, including a-list celebrities like Tina Turner, Liz Hurley and the Beckhams. Many speculate the ceremony will be held at John’s Windsor home.
The Civil partnership Act is implemented on December 5th, allowing a cooling off period, which means the first ceremonies will take place on the 21st.
Spokespeople from the Registrar’s Office in Brighton have announced plans to open the office at one second past midnight to be the first in the country to hold a ceremony.
© 2005 GayWired.com, All Rights Reserved
Article provided by www.GayLinkContent.com . For more information,contact us at info@gaylinkcontent.com . Reprinted with permission by 4 Gays Web Hosting and 1 Body GLBT Christian Resources

Mysterious Skin: Preview of Director Greg Araki's Latest Flick

Written By Ross von Metzke Category: Entertainment He’s followed an attractive cast of young 20-somethings (including the then very young Christina Applegate and Ryan Phillippe) through the seedy underworld of LA in 1997’s Nowhere and painted a vivid picture of a modern day threesome relationship in Splendor.
Now, director Greg Araki turns his attention to the teen generation with Mysterious Skin. Based on a novel by Scott Heim, Gregg Araki's Mysterious Skin tells the parallel stories, about two boys growing up in Kansas in the late ’80s and early ’90s, one convinced the nightmares he has are the result of a long past alien abduction, the other, a hustler, caught up in his looks and budding sexuality.
The teens, Brian Lackey (played first by George Webster and then in his late teenage years by Brady Corbet) and Neil McCormick (Chase Ellison, and later, Latter Days’ narrow-minded Mormon Joseph Gordon Levitt), cope with some grim subject matter (including molestation, abuse and abandonment). It’s a important subject most critics seem to agree audiences shouldn’t just want to see but probably should see.
The film is getting some of Araki’s best reviews to date. The New York Times calls it “one of the best movies so far this year” while the LA Times raves that it’s Araki’s “most mature film to date.”
When Mysterious Skin played the festival circuit last year to raves around the country, film studios stood in line to start the bidding. When the smoke cleared, two studios with a long history between them of gay and gay friendly fare (Tartan USA and TLA Releasing) secured a joint release of this film.
“We at TLA have been huge fans of Gregg and his work from the beginning.” explains Richard Wolff, Director of Acquisitions for TLA. “We have always been on the lookout for some way to work with him. When we saw Mysterious Skin in Toronto, we instantly knew that this was it – we had to be involved with this film in some way. Films like this just don’t come along that often.”
Without question, it’s a movie that will make you talk — it might even be a little painful to watch. But the critics have spoken, and Mysterious Skin is definitely a film worth checking out. Mysterious Skin opens throughout California today and rolls out across the rest of the nation this summer.
For more information, visit http://www.mysteriousskinthemovie.com/
© 2005 GayWired.com, All Rights Reserved
Article provided by www.GayLinkContent.com . For more information,contact us at info@gaylinkcontent.com . Reprinted with permission by 4 Gays Web Hosting and 1 Body GLBT Christian Resources

Genre Magazine Redefines Focus

Category: Daily News (New York) - The publishers of Genre magazine, America’s leading gay men’s monthly, are expanding their horizons and revitalizing the magazine’s content as demonstrated by the hot new action-packed Fitness Issue, which is the first issue to feature a slew of re-designed elements that will continue to roll out and expand in the months to come.
The nation’s largest lesbian and gay publishing company Window Media brought the management of Genre under the direction of executive Steven Guerrini in January. Recently hired editors at Genre—Deputy Editor Chris Ciompi, Managing Editor John Polly and Pop Editor Matt Bell—join Senior Editor Mark Liebermann, and this newly formed team is focused on and dedicated to building Genre’s core readership by creating new sections and beefing up existing ones.
Each section and subsection is packed wall-to-wall with vital info on the latest trends, music, and cultural needs for a totally in-the-know lifestyle. Genre is already attracting new readers, new subscribers and new fans (with an average age of 33). These guys are affluent, hooked-in, urban men who crave all things gay from pop culture updates to wholly original fashion photography to humorous and fresh lifestyle coverage. Above all Genre aims to connect with and even to open a dialogue with its readers.
With recent cover stories ranging from Sports Fashion to features on Spring Travel, the ‘made-over’ Genre provides tips on long-haul sojourns to exotic destinations in every detail and what to wear. Genre also features a myriad of topics from cool websites to where to eat when visiting large U.S. cities such as Houston, Washington, DC and Los Angeles. In this aspect, Genre is the perfect glossy that doubles as a well-scribed ambassador to where, when, and wow.
Well-built sections such as The Pulse, The Feed, Equipped, The Map, Destination, Viewpoints, and the essential, new Genre Man pages report globally on what’s-what to who’s-who in each featured city. By recently adding more cities such as Atlanta, Los Angeles and Philadelphia to the Genre Man pages, Genre has made the nation that much cozier. With a focus on individual markets from L.A. to NYC, Genre can now offer what no other gay magazine offers: localized information and advertising to a national audience.
Launched in 1991, Genre is published 11 times annually. Now in its 14th year, the magazine’s circulation has grown to 65,000, a true testament to the significant and ever-increasing gay male readership: currently estimated at over 2,080,000 in the United States.
Genre is published by Window Media, which also publishes several progressive gay publications across the United States such as The New York Blade, Washington Blade, 411 Magazine, Southern Voice, Express Gay News, Houston Voice and David Atlanta. With the addition of Genre magazine, Window Media now reaches more than 1.5 million gay readers each and every month. Along with these other local gay media, Genre is now a part of the most respected and successful niche publishing company in the country.
© 2005 GayWired.com, All Rights Reserved
Article provided by www.GayLinkContent.com . For more information,contact us at info@gaylinkcontent.com . Reprinted with permission by 4 Gays Web Hosting and 1 Body GLBT Christian Resources

Hollywood Celebrity Buzz

Written By Ross von Metzke Category: Entertainment
Scary, Baby, Sporty, Posh and Ginger – long time since you’ve heard those names, isn’t it? Well I am thrilled to report that after months of speculation, it looks like the rumors may just be coming true.
In honor of Live Aid, the London based concert that raises money and awareness for AIDS research, the Spice Girls are reuniting for their first live performance in more than five years.
After officially disbanding in 2001 (smart Ginger — aka Geri Halliwell — packed her bags two years prior), the girls have tried with varied success, at solo careers. Ginger, Sporty and Baby all did well in the UK and Posh got lucky and spends nights getting porked by David Beckham. But none have reached the same heights they enjoyed as the famous quintet.
They couldn’t really sing, couldn’t really dance and their movie was, well, gay camp at best. But we loved them anyway — enough to move 30 million albums (and they only put out three). Whether the concert reunion will lead to a new album is still up in the air, but for now, we’ll take one last foray into GoGo boots and crimped bangs.
Rupert Everett scores nearly $2 million for Hollywood tell all
He’s one of Hollywood’s only out actors and now, after years of managing to play a leading man while still being open about his relationships with them, Rupert Everett has scored a cool $1.8 million to pen his memoirs for Warner Books.
Though Everett and his editors are being vague about what exactly we can expect from the heartthrob’s book, both promise it will be juicy — stories outing certain celebs and detailing choice encounters are bound to surface.
If gay America can just score one pairing — say Jude Law bending Matt Damon over a bar in the back room of Limelight during Rupert’s 40th birthday party — I’ll be happy. Too bad we’ll have to wait until late 2006 to figure out what Rupert has up his sleeve.
Eva Longoria claims she’s over having Brad’s baby — for now
Just weeks after Desperate Housewives’ star Eva Longoria was spotted in West Hollywood wearing a baby doll t that read “I’ll have your baby, Brad,” the petite hottie says she’s over her crush as its obvious she, and most of the women in America, have lost him to Angelina Jolie.
Longoria took a lot of flack from fans of Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston who accused her of making light of the supercouple’s divorce. But Longoria fought back, telling people to lighten up and have a sense of humor. I agree, Eva — fuck them. I’d have Brad’s baby too, and I’m missing a few essential parts.
Eva says she’s giving up for now, but she did make it a point to tell good ole Angie that if she ever goes off the deep end again and starts wearing blood splattered shirts and tonguing Billy Bob in public, she’ll be more than happy to take Brad off her hands.
Mariah’s petite Columbian personal bitch
Ok, so this isn’t really big news, but it’s funny as shit and just one more outlandish tale about Mariah Carey, who is fast becoming one of the craziest and most reliably over the top divas of all time.
It seems Mimi, who is currently riding the coattails of success with her 16th number one single of all time, "We Belong Together", employs a petite Columbian woman to basically do whatever the hell she wants. Duties include keeping Mariah’s long skirts from ever touching the floor and lugging around a Louis V clutch filled to the brim with room temperature water. And you thought the guy who had to wait up nights with the bitch while she comes down from Xenadrine had a rough job?
Underwood joins Idol ranks
Season four of American Idol is officially over and it seems down home Okie Carrie Underwood joins the ranks as the latest diva to be crowned queen of American pop. The bigger news, however, is that through it all, Paula Abdul seems to have been able to mellow out her drug abuse and appear in public simply wired or far too much caffeine. With Ambien, Prozac, meth, Benadryl, booze and the sex scandal behind her, we salute you, Paula. Welcome to the other side.
Food Network
The Food Network is looking for The Next Food Network Star, and leave it to them to dig up a gay couple — big shocker. Beginning Sunday, June 5 at 9pm. Dan Smith and Steve McDonagh are a professional catering team from Chicago, Illinois and will compete against seven other couples for the title of food star. Um, if pastries are your thing, TiVo this. If you’re like me and prefer take out, log onto the internet for periodic updates.
That’s all for this week’s installment. Until we meet again folks, always remember one person’s gossip is another person’s rent check.
© Jennifer Shepherd 2005
Article provided by www.GayLinkContent.com . For more information,contact us at info@gaylinkcontent.com . Reprinted with permission by 4 Gays Web Hosting and 1 Body GLBT Christian Resources

New Tool to Combat Tobacco Use Problems in Gay Community

Location: Washington DC Category: Daily News (Washington, D.C.) - The lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community now has a new tool in the fight against tobacco use. Baltimore-based Persephone Productions has produced and aired a program addressing tobacco control issues pertaining to the LGBT community. A video of the program, called "LGBT Community and Smoking", is now available for community groups to educate people about the disproportionate toll tobacco takes on the LGBT community.
In October of 2001, the American Legacy Foundation provided a $396,000 grant to Persephone Productions for the creation of a series of priority population videos, including "LGBT Community and Smoking". The program was part of a series that aired on PBS’ To The Contrary over the past three years - reaching nearly one million viewers across the country.
Within the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community, tobacco use is a major health issue. According to the American Legacy Foundation, research indicates that up to half of LGBT adults smoke,1 and smoking rates among LGBT youth are estimated to be considerably higher (38 percent to 59 percent) than for all adolescents (28 percent to 35 percent).2
“'To The Contrary' successfully raised awareness of this health crisis,” said Dr. Barbara Warren, director of organizational development, planning and research for New York City’s Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center. “This program brought national visibility to the critical need for LGBT-sensitive and inclusive tobacco prevention and cessation information. We need to continue to work together to ensure that LGBT persons across the country have access to affordable and affirmative tobacco-related services.”
Since the American Legacy Foundation grant was given, Persephone Productions has produced two separate programs each year designed to reach a different racial or ethnic community each program has an accompanying VHS video for community use. The pilot year focused on the African-American and American Indian and Alaska Native communities; the second year focused on the Hispanic/Latino and Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender communities; and the third year focused on the Asian American/Pacific Islander and Low Socio-Economic Status communities. Each program featured prominent expert spokespeople who were influential in each of the specific population groups. Highlights from the African-American, Hispanic/Latino and Native American programs can be found at www.pbs.org/ttc.
“Persephone Productions made a priority of telling the stories about tobacco use and prevention in each of these communities,” said Persephone president, Cari Stein. “The information provided in the series can serve as a teaching tool for community groups hoping to reach very specific populations.”
These programs allowed the foundation to communicate tobacco prevention messages to diverse populations through culturally appropriate programs. Each program aired on 240 stations nationwide and was viewed by more than 100,000 people. The foundation continues to receive requests for copies of the videos from numerous health departments, health educators, smoke-free coalitions, national leadership groups, high schools, colleges and universities, nurses associations, call centers for smoking cessation, medical centers, media outlets, social workers, churches, grantees and community leaders across the country. In addition, 600 outreach kits were distributed by Persephone Productions to small and large groups, including doctors, nurses and social workers.
“The American Legacy Foundation recognized the power of Persephone Productions and To the Contrary’s ability to communicate important issues,” said foundation President and CEO Cheryl Healton, Dr. PH. “We hope to make information about tobacco available to as many people as possible and we’re excited about the potential these videos have as they are distributed in communities across the country.”
In 2003, the American Legacy Foundation received what is likely its final payment from the National Public Education Fund established by the Master Settlement Agreement, meaning a sharp decline in the foundation’s funding resources. Without funding from the American Legacy Foundation, successful community-based grant initiatives like Persephone Productions, which work on tobacco prevention and cessation at the grassroots level, will be in jeopardy. Many of these initiatives service underserved communities: low-income Americans, the less educated, and members of racial and ethnic minority groups. The foundation’s financial situation not only impacts grantmaking, but also signature programs such as the highly successful truth® youth smoking prevention campaign, which has been cited as an important factor in recent declines in youth smoking rates.
Groups or organizations interested in using the video as part of their outreach efforts can visit www.pbs.org/ttc to purchase a tape.
© 2005 GayWired.com, All Rights Reserved
Article provided by www.GayLinkContent.com . For more information,contact us at info@gaylinkcontent.com . Reprinted with permission by 4 Gays Web Hosting and 1 Body GLBT Christian Resources

Psychiatrists Come Forward in Support of Gay Marriage

Written By Ross von Metzke Location: Atlanta, GA Category: Daily News (Atlanta, GA) — Representatives of the American Psychiatric Association, the nation’s top psychiatric group, approved a statement Sunday at their annual meeting in support of the legalization of same-sex marriage.
If approved by the association’s directors in July, the announcement would make the APA the first medical group to publicly stand behind gay marriage.
The statement supports same-sex marriage "in the interest of maintaining and promoting mental health. It follows a similar measure by the APA last year, just over three decades after that group removed homosexuality from its list of mental disorders.
The psychiatric association's statement was approved by voice vote on the first day of its weeklong annual meeting in Atlanta. It cites the "positive influence of a stable, adult partnership on the health of all family members."
The resolution recognizes "that gay men and lesbians are full human beings who should be afforded the same human and civil rights," said Margery Sved, a Raleigh, N.C., psychiatrist and member of the assembly's committee on gay and lesbian issues.
The document states that the association is addressing same-sex civil marriage, not religious marriages, which the association said should remain up to the church. The APA takes no position on any religion's views on marriage. Massachusetts is the only state that allows same-sex marriage — Connecticut, Hawaii and Vermont allow legal civil unions. Eighteen states have passed constitutional amendments outlawing same-sex marriage.
© 2005 GayWired.com, All Rights Reserved
Article provided by www.GayLinkContent.com . For more information,contact us at info@gaylinkcontent.com . Reprinted with permission by 4 Gays Web Hosting and 1 Body GLBT Christian Resources

Maryland Governor Vetoes Protections for Families

Location: Baltimore, MD Category: Daily News (Washington, D.C.) - The Human Rights Campaign this week condemned Maryland Gov. Robert Ehrlich's veto of two bills that would have extended limited protections to same-sex couples.
"Banning a loved one at the hospital room door does nothing to serve Maryland's greater good," said HRC President Joe Solmonese. "These bills had bipartisan support and were extremely limited in the protections they would have offered same-sex couples. In vetoing the bills, Gov. Ehrlich has signaled a serious disregard for the safety of Maryland families."
In an interview with The Gazette, a spokesperson for Gov. Ehrlich hinted that he would veto the Medical Decision Making Act because of amendments that the Maryland Legislature defeated.
"Equality Maryland and the bills' sponsors sat down with people on both sides of the aisle in attempts to pass them with broad support," said Dan Furmansky, executive director of Equality Maryland, the statewide gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender advocacy group. "The Medical Decision Making Act, in particular, was a very open process, and we would have welcomed the Governor's input on this effective measure that would have protected thousands of Maryland families. Clearly, we were amenable to strengthening the bill as we accepted several amendments throughout the process."
"HRC will work with Equality Maryland to override the vetoes on these critical protections," added Solmonese. "The group has done great work on behalf of Maryland families and the Legislature should ensure these protections become law."
The Medical Decision Making Act would have created a statewide life partnership registry for unmarried couples and extend 11 rights to registered couples, including the right to hospital visitation, to make medical decisions on behalf of a partner, to make funeral arrangements and to share a room in a nursing home. The Transfer & Recordation Tax Exemption would exempt domestic partners from the transfer and recordation tax that is paid when one partner is added or removed to the deed of the other partner's property on the home they share.
© 2005 GayWired.com, All Rights Reserved
Article provided by www.GayLinkContent.com . For more information,contact us at info@gaylinkcontent.com . Reprinted with permission by 4 Gays Web Hosting and 1 Body GLBT Christian Resources

Gay + Lesbian Rowing Federation Announces Italian Rowing Clinic

Location: Los Angeles, CA Category: Daily News (Los Angeles, CA) - The Gay + Lesbian Rowing Federation (GLRF) has announced the sponsorship of a 4-day rowing clinic in Tuscany, Italy. The addition of this clinic, Destinazione Italia, to the GLRF 2005 global training campaign, HitTheWater!2005, expands global gay and lesbian rowing clinics to 5 countries: Australia, Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
Destinazione Italia provides the opportunity for European rowers to enjoy the community and camaraderie of a gay and lesbian friendly rowing clinic in the heart of Tuscany, at the Terralba Rowing Camp. Preferred pricing is offered to GLRF members.
The purpose of the HitTheWater!2005 campaign is to assist crews and rowers with the intense training regimens necessary to prepare for the 2006 Montreal World Outgames and the 2006 Chicago Gay Games. The global campaign seeks to develop sweep and scull training camps in North America, Europe and Australia. The continued development of gay and lesbian focused or friendly clinics in the worldwide rowing community underscores the growing recognition and awareness of gay and lesbian rowers worldwide.
The Terralba Rowing Camp is located in San Miniato near Florence. The four- day clinic, offered 22 - 26 Sep 2005, will focus on individualized sculling instruction at a picture perfect lake basin adjacent to the Arno River. Italy's nationally known masters coach, Enzo Ademollo, will instruct clinic participants. Sig. Ademollo serves on the Italian National Rowing Council and is the national coordinator of masters rowers in Italy. Rowers will have twice daily sculling sessions, off the water instruction, and will eat very well (naturalmente!). The clinic package includes meals and lodging, and is open to all rowers, gay and straight.
Headquartered in Los Angeles, GLRF is a web-based global membership organization dedicated to promoting rowing in the gay and lesbian community and fostering an international community of gay and lesbian rowers, coaches, coxswains, and judges at all levels of the sport, including junior, collegiate, veteran/masters, and elite. The organization provides resources and information to rowers and serves as a liaison both within the community and with the larger international rowing world.
For more information about the Terralba Rowing Camp, visit their website at www.terralbatoscana.it/index.html. For more information about the Gay + Lesbian Rowing Federation and Destinazione Italia, visit the website at www.GLRF.info.
© 2005 GayWired.com, All Rights Reserved
Article provided by www.GayLinkContent.com . For more information,contact us at info@gaylinkcontent.com . Reprinted with permission by 4 Gays Web Hosting and 1 Body GLBT Christian Resources

Hollywood Celebrity Buzz

Written By Ross von MetzkeCategory: Entertainment
I don’t know about you, but I just love it when random straight, celebrity couples run off and get married. Remember Julia Roberts and Lyle Lovett? Lisa Marie and Jacko? Britney and that thug she met in Vegas?
The latest celeb pairing might not seem quite so crazy, but when country singer Kenny Chesney married pie faced Oscar Winner Renee Zellweger over the weekend, I watched a lot of homos step back and sign a collective, ‘Huh?’
I, for one, didn’t even know they were couple. Just last week, a co-worker and I were wondering is she was still linked to that Irishman Damien Rice. Well after Renee slipped on a Carolina Herrera dress and said ‘I do’ on a beach in St. John over the weekend, I guess we got our answer.
The two met at a Tsunami relief benefit four months ago (sounds like proper lesbian courting period to me) and were supposedly smitten. But what’s weird is that Chesney has carried a torch for Zelweger for years. The singer says he wrote the 1999 hit “You Had Me At Hello” after falling in love with Renee in Jerry Maguire. Hot, and just a wee bit creepy too.
Kenny a grade A hottie, so for that I offer Renee my congrats. And while part of me wants to take dibs on whether they’ll make it to year’s end without citing “Irreconcilable Differences,” some small thought in my mind wonders if these two crazy kids aren’t just oddly matched enough to pull it off.
Simon defends Paula and unleashes her scariest performance yet
Making the morning talk show rounds before Tuesday’s episode of American Idol, Simon Cowell came to Paula Abdul’s defense, saying he seriously doubts she slept with Corey Clark and supporting her job as “the judge who bonds with and encourages the contestants.”
Sweet, odd and a bit out of character, yes! But not nearly so strange as what happened next.
That night, on the live performance show, Simon could have slapped Paula upside the face with a 2 x 4 — she wouldn’t care. Far as she was concerned, the sun, moon and stars rose in Simon Cowell, her new knight in shining armor.
When he insulted contestants, she nodded in approval. When he called one song cheesy and schmaltzy, she said “You mean syrupy. Syrupy, right?” And at one point, trying her damndest to make an animated point, she slammed her elbow into the table so hard I heard it dislocate — but I’ll be damned if she didn’t miss a beat. So the vote at the moment is that Paula’s definitely on uppers, and if she is indeed sleeping around, I’ll bet I know who got some fierce head Tuesday night.
Wendy Williams comes after Toni Braxton’s nose
A few weeks ago we chatted about Wendy Williams, the New York Radio Talk Host who’s come after Whitney, Britney, Mariah and just about any other diva who has fallen from grace. Well, in a recent interview, Wendy called out Toni Braxton’s nose job — only unlike most divas, she admitted it.
Asking Toni when she got her nose done, Toni said “Oh, bout 11 years ago.” Following it up by asking Toni why her hair’s changed colors, Toni said “girl, half that wasn’t my hair.” Wendy asks Toni if she still has money troubles and Toni says, “Girl, my last album tanked. You know I’m counting the pennies.”
Toni has a new album due out this summer and the lead single “Please” (a seriously hot jam, so check it out) was serviced to radio last week. And I gotta say it’s refreshing to see a diva be front and center with her secrets.
The funny as shit moment came, however, when Wendy turned the focus to Toni’s sister Tamar, saying: “Oh girl, what happened to your nose. One of your nostrils is bigger than the other.”
“She didn’t go to my doctor,” Toni cackled, to which Tamar responded, “The swelling hasn’t gone down yet.”
Well alright for a plastic surgery fiesta live on the radio.
For the interview in its entirety, go to www.toni-online.com and look for the Wendy Williams link.
So the “Home Alone” kids says Jacko never touched him
Macaulay Culkin took to the stand this week and declared for the world to hear that in all of his time spent at the Neverland Ranch as a kid, Michael Jackson never laid an inappropriate hand on him.
At least not that he knows of.
Prosecutors attempted to imply that said molestation could have taken place while Culkin was asleep, a possibility the former child star says he “seriously doubts.”
Well, that’s one person in Michael’s corner, though I’d be curious to see how Mac might fare if he were to square off with, oh say, Nancy Grace.
Hey, given Mac’s recent run in the press, maybe the two could go off and smoke a Doobie sometime and reminisce about the time Mac’s deadbeat dad took Nancy for a roll in the hay behind her childhood barn.
VH-1 gets Mantastic in June
The reality craze continues with two new shows premiering on VH-1, only this time, the two new reasons to tune in promise lots of skin and gold-digging — two great gay American pastimes.
First up on Kept, Jerry Hall will look for the perfect man slave who will serve as arm candy, fulfill her sexual desires and basically do anything she wants. Unless you have a strong stomach, gay men need not apply, but it should still make for fun viewing.
Up next is Strip Search where 15 men will wax, work out and study the moves of Vegas showmen in an attempt to make it on the Strip. Producers of The Thunder from Down Under (you know, those Aussies who strip and make middle aged housewives faint) will monitor training sessions and promise killer abs by the series finale. I’m setting up TiVo now! Both shows premiere May 29th.
And there you have it, another week of celebrity sludge. Hope this week’s gossip finds you well, and as always, one person’s trash is another person’s rent check.

© 2005 GayWired.com, All Rights Reserved
Article provided by www.GayLinkContent.com . For more information,contact us at info@gaylinkcontent.com . Reprinted with permission by 4 Gays Web Hosting and 1 Body GLBT Christian Resources

High School Principal Pulls Gay Articles from Paper, Prompts ACLU Involvement

Written By Ross von Metzke Location: Bakersfield, CA Category: Daily News (Bakersfield, CA) — A high school principal in Bakersfield, Calif., has pulled several articles written for the campus newspaper dealing with homosexuality, prompting students to align themselves with the American Civil Liberties Union in an attempt to combat what they say is censorship.
A spokesman for East High School said principal John Gibson pulled the articles for fear of the students’ safety. Students on the newspaper’s staff told Editor & Publisher the articles were pulled based on content alone.
The ACLU held a press conference in Los Angeles Thursday to tell the students' side of the story.
According to East High's journalism advisor, Randy Hamm, the series of stories in The Kernal contained an interview with a gay student and her mother, interviews with a student against homosexuality and statistics for both sides of the issue.
Gibson said he was afraid the students named in the articles would be targeted by violence, Hamm added, and said if the editors didn’t kill the stories he wouldn’t let them distribute the papers.
The students decided to hold off and try to convince Gibson to let them run it in the next issue. Meanwhile, they contacted the ACLU for their involvement.
© 2005 GayWired.com, All Rights Reserved
Article provided by www.GayLinkContent.com . For more information,contact us at info@gaylinkcontent.com . Reprinted with permission by 4 Gays Web Hosting and 1 Body GLBT Christian Resources

Hollywood Celebrity Buzz

Written By Ross von Metzke Category: Entertainment Well, I hate to start this week’s gossip column on such a downer, but after reviewing the material I had to go into this week’s line-up, I couldn’t really think of any other way to kick things off.
One of our all time favorite babes, Ellen DeGeneres, has come forward with some startling and truly unfortunate claims about her childhood. Ellen talked with Allure magazine about childhood abuse, remembering in the June issue that when she was in her late teens, she was abused by her stepfather.
While Ellen was careful to make sure readers knew the abuse had nothing to do with her being a lesbian (Ellen says whenever she confided the memory in friends in the past, they’d respond, “Oh, that’s why you’re a lesbian!”), she broke down while reliving the experience.
Ellen says the abuse happened while her mother was in the hospital battling breast cancer. Ellen’s stepfather insisted in checking Ellen’s breasts for cancer, and those initial gropes “led to other things,” Ellen says. At one point, Ellen says she had to escape abuse by breaking through her bedroom window and spending the night in the hospital.
Ellen also talked with the magazine about the agony she went through after Anne Heche switched back over to men and left her. But, Ellen says she and girlfriend Portia De Rossi are very happy and she hopes they’ll be “together the rest of our lives.”
“I never would have thought my life would have turned out this way," DeGeneres told the magazine. "To have money. Or to have a gorgeous girlfriend. I just feel so lucky with everything in my life right now."
DeGeneres recently won the 2005 Daytime Emmy for best talk show host.
Justin Timberlake, Jake Gyllenhaal, others go gay
Nothing makes me happier than being able to report that a straight hunk from the movie or the music world is going gay for film, and this issue, we have a few names to add to the list.
Justin Timberlake has signed on for a multiple episode arc as Jack’s boyfriend on next season’s Will & Grace. The pop star has jumped head first into the deep end of acting, with two films under his belt, a third filming now and the W&G commitment. Also, word is Justin plans to go all the way with this character, agreeing to film a kissing scene with Sean Hayes. My guess is it’ll be more funny than romantic, but still, to see Timberlake get some man action — hot!
Val Kilmer gets it on with Robert Downey Jr. in the upcoming thriller Kiss, Kiss, Bang, Bang! I’m intrigued, but not exactly excited. You see, I was ecstatic when I found out Val would be playing Jesus in a musical version of The Ten Commandments. Then I actually sat through it. I’ve learned not to count my chickens …
And of course, this Christmas, Jake Gyllenhaal and Heath Ledger square off in the much-anticipated Brokeback Mountain. But the best news from the set is Gyllenhaal’s report that filming the sex scenes got so hot and heavy, he suffered more injuries than he did in the action scenes. Jake says he suffered multiple bruises and gashes filming a scene where he and Heath “slam each other into walls” kissing each other and “trying to make it toward the bed.”
OK, if he’s serious, I might just stick the popcorn and take a bucket of lube to the theatre.
Miss Piggy returns to prime time
I wish I could get excited about the upcoming Muppets Wizard of Oz! I really do! Miss Piggy is the ultimate diva, and what’s gayer than watching Kermit and Fozzie skip down the Yellow Brick Road? But come on! Ashanti! Must I suffer through yet another off key, warbling rendition of Over the Rainbow just to get my fix of those gay ass Muppets?
References to Manolo Blahniks and a souped up checkered apron outfit make this latest telling of the timeless story seem appealing, and I’d watch Queen Latifah do just about anything (she plays Auntie Em), but in case you’ve missed out on Ashanti’s considerable talents in the past, let’s just call her the Black Britney Spears — Aka, bitch can’t sing! Maybe I’ll TiVo this one and skip past all of her scenes.
Kylie’s fans donate refunds
What a bummer to find out Kylie Minogue would have to cancel the Aussie leg of her Showgirl tour to undergo treatment for Breast Cancer. But with that hunk Oliver Martinez standing by her side, anything seems possible. And Kylie’s legions of fans have proven they care more for her well being than the cost of their tickets. Hoards of fans turned around and donated their refunded ticket cost to Breast Cancer Research. Now that’s class!
So that’s all for this week folks. Until we meet again, remember — one person’s trash is another person’s rent check.
© 2005 GayWired.com, All Rights Reserved
Article provided by www.GayLinkContent.com . For more information,contact us at info@gaylinkcontent.com . Reprinted with permission by 4 Gays Web Hosting and 1 Body GLBT Christian Resources

Africanism III

Category: Entertainment Shopping For those who find the concept of world music about as exciting as a trip with crunchy ol’ Aunt Granola to Pier 1, Africanism III is an epiphany waiting to happen. For U.S. fans already hooked via the previously released import-only albums Africanism and Africanism II—and jonesing for more—the man just arrived, with the domestic (via Tommy Boy) Africanism III in hand.
Is this instance, the man is Bob Sinclar, the French producer whose passion for African music has driven him to seek out, embrace, produce and showcase tracks by some of the genre’s most prestigious artists. On this epic sixteen-track, seventy-seven-plus minute non-stop dance mix, Sinclar brought together a glittering roster of top contemporary African musicians, electronic producers and superstar French DJs, the result being pure Afro-rhythmic alchemy.
Stellar examples are the album’s first single, “Summer Moon”—an impressive collaboration by top French DJs-cum-producers David Guetta, Tim Deluxe, Joachim Garraud and Bob himself featuring Nigerian-born singer, Ben Onono, “Sye Bwa” featuring vocals by Jacob Desvarieux of the famous zouk band, Kassav (with Jamaican toasting by J. Mi Sissoko) and Tom & Joy’s heavily orchestrated “Antigua” which features drums by Afrobeat legend, Tony Allen. (All tracks were produced expressly for this album, except “Voices,” which was simply re-edited.)
Africanism launched in 2001, and was originally meant to be a series of 12” vinyl singles strictly for DJs. However, upon the success of the single “Edony (Clap Your Hands)” by French producer Martin Solveig (No. 1 on the club charts for over six weeks), the CD was released by Warner Bros. (France), selling over 200,000 copies worldwide. Africanism II was released a year later and similarly welcomed. Both albums went gold in South Africa, giving the series an authentic—and deeply appreciated—stamp of African approval, and making it the most successful series on the Yellow Productions label.
Yellow Productions was conceived in 1994 after a chance meeting between jazz, funk, and Brazilian music collector Alain Ho (aka DJ Yellow) and Christophe Le Friant, then a popular hip hop/acid jazz DJ known as Chris The French Kiss. Yellow’s roster reflects Chris and Alain’s enlightened evolution of sounds—from earlier downtempo/hip hop releases (The Mighty Bop) to acid jazz (The Reminiscence Quartet) to the label’s zhoozhy “French House” sound (Dimitri From Paris, Bob Sinclar [Le Friant’s glamorous disco/house alter ego)—to the “Africanism series.” (FYI: A spirited photo of the Yellow Productions staff—shot to duplicate the 1980 Kid Creole & The Coconuts “Off the Coast of Me” album cover—is on the back of the CD booklet.)
Anticipate forthcoming Yellow/Tommy Boy albums by Parisian bossa nova duo Tom & Joy, Paris-based Brazilian chanteuse Salomé de Bahia and the inimitable, Bob Sinclar. Preview MP3s at bobsinclar.com (News).
Africanism III is at the same time a commendable homage to some of the best African musicians on the planet and a chic little (or not so little) mix, perfect for sex on the savannah, midnight at the oasis or twirling on the terrace.
>> Get The CD
© 2005 GayWired.com, All Rights Reserved
Article provided by www.GayLinkContent.com . For more information,contact us at info@gaylinkcontent.com . Reprinted with permission by 4 Gays Web Hosting and 1 Body GLBT Christian Resources

Disco: Spinning the Story Lookin’ for some Hot Stuff this summer?

Category: Entertainment Shopping
Disco: Spinning the Story takes a comprehensive look at the evolution of the music that defined the 70s with the Queen of Disco, Gloria Gaynor (“I Will Survive”) serving as host. "It was great to finally have the opportunity to tell it like it was in so many different aspects of the Disco era. I had fun doing it and I'm sure the audience will be well entertained and well informed" said Ms. Gaynor. From the studios to the dance floors, Disco: Spinning the Story examines this music phenomenon in a way it has never been done before.
The DVD includes vintage performance highlights from the trendsetting artists that defined Disco and changed music forever. Funk pioneer George Clinton, Donna Summer, producer Giorgio Moroder, Nile Rogers of Chic, Earl Young of the Trammps, hip-hop icon Kurtis Blow, remix legend Tom Moulton and even Bob Weir of The Grateful Dead share their personal accounts of disco’s birth and influential power in modern music. The DVD also includes a special bonus feature of Gloria Gaynor performing live on-stage “I Will Survive” – 1979 and “Never Can Say Goodbye” – 1974. Disco: Spinning the Story will be released on June 7. The DVD is currently available for pre-order.
>> Get The DVD
© 2005 GayWired.com, All Rights Reserved
Article provided by www.GayLinkContent.com . For more information,contact us at info@gaylinkcontent.com . Reprinted with permission by 4 Gays Web Hosting and 1 Body GLBT Christian Resources

Army Discharges Gay Soldier Wounded in Iraq

Written By Ross von Metzke Location: Columbus, OH Category: Daily News (Cincinnati, OH) — An Army sergeant from Ohio who was awarded the Purple Heart after being wounded in Iraq and wanted to remain in the military as an openly gay soldier was officially discharged Tuesday, according to an advocacy group.
Sgt. Robert Stout, 23, received the honor after a grenade sent shrapnel into his arm, face and legs while he was using a machine gun on a Humvee in May 2004.
Stout told The Associated Press in April that he wanted to remain in the military and be openly gay but was told that would conflict with the Pentagon's "don't ask, don't tell" policy.
Aaron Belkin, director of the Center for the Study of Sexual Minorities in the Military at the University of California-Santa Barbara, said Sgt. Robert Stout told him he was due back in the United States on Tuesday, the day of his discharge.
“I know a ton of gay men that would be more than willing to stay in the Army if they could just be open,” Stout told The Associated Press in April.
Stout said he was openly gay among most of his 26-member platoon, of the 9th Engineer Battalion based in Germany. He said he’d never faced any discrimination among his platoon.
Army officials at the Pentagon could not immediately confirm the discharge. The Army declined to comment earlier on the case other than to say that soldiers discharged under "don't ask, don't tell" typically receive honorable discharges.
© 2005 GayWired.com, All Rights Reserved
Article provided by www.GayLinkContent.com . For more information,contact us at info@gaylinkcontent.com . Reprinted with permission by 4 Gays Web Hosting and 1 Body GLBT Christian Resources

Won't Somebody Think of the Children?

Written By Josh Aterovis Category: LifeStyle In 1977, the Miami-Dade County Commission passed an ordinance making it illegal to discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation. Anita Bryant, a well-known pop and gospel singer, quickly launched a virulently anti-gay campaign she called "Save Our Children." Purportedly, the point of her group was to save children from recruitment by homosexuals, employing stereotypes and lies in support of her cause.
She made claims such as "If gays are granted rights, next we'll have to give rights to prostitutes, and to people who sleep with St. Bernards, and to nailbiters," and "The recruitment of our children is absolutely necessary for the survival and growth of homosexuality. Since homosexuals cannot reproduce, they must recruit and freshen their ranks." She used God and religion to stir up a backlash of hatred and anti-gay violence. Six months after the ordinance was passed, voters overturned it by a wide margin.
If all of this sounds eerily familiar, that's because it should. Obviously, religious conservatives have remembered their successes and they're once again pulling many of the same tricks. You may recall Republican Senator Rick Santorum's comments on a radio program when commenting on the Lawrence vs. Texas sodomy law case in 2003 when he claimed, "If the Supreme Court says that you have the right to consensual [gay] sex within your home, then you have the right to bigamy, you have the right to polygamy, you have the right to incest, you have the right to adultery. You have the right to anything." He went on to compare homosexuality to bestiality as well. It almost sounds as if he was channeling Mrs. Bryant, doesn't it?
We are once again living in an era of rampant anti-gay sentiment. Browsing LGBT news sites is not for the faint of heart these days. It seems like every day gay rights receive another blow. Politicians become bolder and bolder in their assaults. Once again, religion and "moral values" are being used to demonize and attack gays and lesbians. And once again, children are often the focus.
On May 10, the Oklahoma House of Representatives passed a resolution banning books on gay families from the children's sections of public libraries. The measure does not have the power of law but calls on Oklahoma libraries to "confine homosexually themed books and other age-inappropriate material to areas exclusively for adult access and distribution." It passed, 81-3.
The resolution states that a child's development "should be at the discretion of a child's parents free from interference from the distribution of inappropriate publicly cataloged materials" and that public libraries should not expose children to material "that may be deemed harmful and inappropriate."
The furor began when an Oklahoma City mother became upset after her child brought home King and King, a children's fairy tale book about a prince who falls in love with another prince. King and King, is aimed at elementary school children and helps teach diversity. The book, by Linda De Haan and Stern Nijland, tells the story of Prince Bertie who searches for love through a bevy of eligible princes before falling for Prince Lee. The thirty-two page book ends with the two princes sharing a kiss. Rep. Sally Kern called the book "obscene."
Libraries across the state have already pulled the books from the children's sections and, in some cases, created entirely new sections specifically for the offending materials.
In Troy, Michigan, a poster in a high school classroom has created an uproar from concerned parents. The inflammatory poster's message? "Gay people are everyday people." Ironically, the poster has been on display in the classroom for two years. So far the school is defending the poster, claiming, "We do not allow our students to be harassed for any reason. It is an issue of tolerance."
Patricia Raezler, a member of Parents Promoting Innocence in Bloomfield Hills, which supports Troy parents in the poster issue, said the school shouldn't be promoting sexuality of any kind. "We are promoting innocence," said Raezler, whose children attend private school. "Once, these types of things were left up to the parents. Then there was a push to inform and let pupils know about sexuality. It hasn't decreased sexually transmitted diseases."
Somehow, it is completely incomprehensible to these people that promoting tolerance and understanding of gay people has absolutely nothing to do with sex. It has everything to do with bigotry and discrimination.
In their rush to paint gays as evil sinners, the religious conservatives have forgotten one important fact. While Anita Bryant's campaign was successful in overturning the civil rights ordinance, she also succeeded in mobilizing LGBT people across the country. Thousands marched in the streets of San Francisco, New York City, Chicago, Los Angeles, and New Orleans. Countless individuals came out of the closet, and numerous new local organizations sprang up. Most famously, the LGBT community launched a boycott of Florida orange juice, for whom Anita Bryant was spokesperson, that gained widespread support.
It's time for us to rise up again. We have to fight these mean-spirited and immoral attacks. We need to make our voices heard. We can start by pointing out the absurdity of their arguments. Promoting tolerance of an abused minority has nothing to do with sex. Lovely and charming books like King and King are not obscene, harmful, or inappropriate. And two consenting adults choosing to express their love for one another in a healthy manner has absolutely no correlation to incest, bigamy, or bestiality.
It's time we stop allowing the Religious Right to decide what is and isn't "moral." Whose standards are we using? When did the United States become a theocracy? And when did Conservative Christianity become the State Religion? What if my religious beliefs don't hold that homosexuals are sinners? What if I believe that spreading hate in the name of God is a sin? What if I believe that denying a minority their basic civil rights is an immoral abomination?
It's time we save the children of America from the hateful teachings of self-righteous bigots. In the immortal words of Mrs. Lovejoy, "Won't somebody think of the children?"
Josh Aterovis is the author of the Killian Kendall Mystery Series as well as numerous columns and articles. He can be reached at Aterovis@comcast.net or http://www.steliko.com/bleedinghearts
© 2005 Josh Aterovis, All Rights Reserved
Article provided by www.GayLinkContent.com . For more information,contact us at info@gaylinkcontent.com . Reprinted with permission by 4 Gays Web Hosting and 1 Body GLBT Christian Resources

'Hollywood's Original Queer Guy' Experiences Career Surge

Category: Entertainment Daily News Story brought to us by
As U.S. media conglomerates such as Viacom and Time-Warner seek to capture the gay and lesbian audience on a variety of networks including the new LOGO television network to launch June 30th, 2005—and with Here TV, the first U.S. gay television network already available in forty million homes—independent producer and multimedia entertainment personality Nicholas Snow may very well be a wild card in the gay media race, with crossover appeal at that. In fact, Snow was sought-after to co-host the telecast of the 2005 Long Beach Pride Parade, one of the largest in the United States.

Nicholas Snow—Cover Boy!

The current cover story of The Bottom Line, a leading gay and lesbian publication in Southern California, proclaims Nicholas Snow as “Hollywood’s Original Queer Guy.” In 1993, Nicholas Snow taped the first episode of his long-running, Los Angeles-based television show, “Tinseltown’s Queer.” Described as “a queen’s version of Larry King,” the show reached up to 600,000 households weekly. Snow went on to produce and host The Nicholas Snow Show with co-executive producer and co-host Fabrice Tasendo, one of the founders of GayWired.com.



Nicholas Snow in a promotional shot taken during the production of The Nicholas Snow Show. Photo by Wayne Fredericks Castro.


Nicholas Snow (center) on the set of "Tinseltown's Queer!" with (L-R) Joanie, Dr. Danielle, Fabrice Tasendo and Matt Skallerud.

“Standing a good deal over six feet tall, entertainment reporter and columnist Nicholas Snow is anything but unnoticeable,” writes The Bottom Line’s Executive Editor Mona de Crinis. “He makes his presence known wherever he goes in both in stature and deed, not to mention an uncanny knack for being at the right place at the right time with the right people. And for someone whose goal is to build a multimedia empire in the tinseled land of lavender entertainment, capitalizing on those traits ain’t a bad notion.”


NotesFromHollywood.com Publisher Nicholas Snow with Producer/Director Oliver Stone at the 2005 Bangkok International Film Festival. Photo by Patrick Riviere of Getty Images (All photos by Patrick Riviere courtesy of Image.net through arrangement with the BKKIFF).

De Crinis continues, “Nicholas may very well be one of the original queer guys,” reporting on the exploits of gay, and gay-friendly, Hollywood. Beginning his journalistic endeavors in 1990 with a column called ‘Notes From Hollywood,’ Snow’s column began as an outreach tool for the Alliance for Gay & Lesbian Artists in the Entertainment Industry (AGLA).”



Current Queer guy Carson Kressley gives "Hollywood's Original Queer Guy" Nicholas Snow a kiss.

“Years passed and Notes enjoyed several incarnations in a variety of media, when, in 2001, an inspired Snow set out to establish Notes From Hollywood as a multimedia entertainment brand to exist on radio, television, in print, and online. The online version has proven to be wildly successful in its class, consistently ranking among the world’s top 100,000 web sites by Alexa.com, an Amazon-owned web statistics search engine. The site most recently achieved its highest rating to date, ranking 77,949 among the world’s websites,” reported de Crinis.


Rosie O'Donnell during her first red carpet interview with Nicholas Snow.



Honor Your Inner Movie Star



Last year Snow announced the official slogan of Notes From Hollywood which is “Honor Your Inner Movie Star,” a phrase that is now available on a variety of products linked from the bottom of any page of NotesFromHollywood.com. “I want to celebrate that part of each of us that emanates love and light and attracts the same in return,” said Snow. “I also want to inspire people to honor and express their life force fully in the pursuit of their wildest dreams.”


Nicholas Snow interviews Drew Carey at The Playboy Mansion. Photo by Wayne Fredericks Castro.

Since the mid-80’s, Snow’s mantra is a quote from Goethe. “Whatever you can do, or dream you can do, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it, begin it now!”

Notes From Hollywood Goes Global

In 2005, NotesFromHollywood.com has attracted an audience in over a hundred countries, as verified by Hitbox.com. The syndicated column, Notes From Hollywood, has been available through strategic web partners to over one million people for years, and the syndicated print version of Notes From Hollywood reaches over 100,000 readers in Southern California alone. Efforts are underway to expand the syndication of Notes From Hollywood to English-language newspapers throughout the world with a focus on targeting major U.S. media markets during the month of June.

Snow’s formula for the syndication of Notes From Hollywood is to lock in geographic exclusives with publications at reasonable rates, and as a bonus, Snow provides these publications recognition in “The Envelope Please,” a section of Notes From Hollywood where strategic media partners are acknowledged. National online exclusives for Notes From Hollywood were secured years ago by GayWired.com, Lesbianation.com and MetroG.com and local print publications that carry the column publish Notes From Hollywood on their web sites as well. Video clips of Snow’s work are available in a strategic partnership with OutOfTheCloset.TV.

Exclusive Southern California rights to the print version of Notes From Hollywood have been secured by three publications owned by the same parent company: The Bottom Line and Pulp based in Palm Springs, and Buzz based in San Diego. All three publications are distributed throughout Southern California and have a combined readership of over 100,000 people.

Snow’s search engine numbers are impressive. Click Yahoo.com, the world’s number one web site, and search the words, Nicholas-Snow-Gay. Pages and pages of results are listed. Search Nicholas-Snow-Hollywood for even more results. If you search Hollywood-Coming-Attractions OR Hollywood-Paparazzi, NotesFromHollywood.com scores in the top five results (sometimes number one) in both searches.

Gay Media Pioneer

Nicholas Snow came out of the closet in the early 80’s and has been openly gay in the media for two decades. In 1985, Snow received six credit hours in the College of Public Programs at Arizona State University for doing public speaking on lesbian and gay issues, and on AIDS awareness. Snow went on to serve as one of the full-time staff members on the first-ever National Coming Out Day which took place October 11, 1988.

In the Los Angeles media market, Snow has appeared consistently on radio, television, and in print. He has also served as a talking head in an appearance on the Fox News Channel—this and other historic footage is available for video streaming in the “Now Playing” section of NotesFromHollywood.com, including interviews with Margaret Cho, Academy Award-winning Producer Bruce Cohen, MTV Network president Brian Graden, Stockard Channing, Judith Light, singers Jennifer Holliday and Jimmy Sommerville, and the late, great, gay activist Morris Kight. Viewers may also watch Snow’s broadcast demo reel and discover what happened when a friendly mob at the famous Pink Party in San Francisco’s Castro district chanted to Snow, “Show us your butt!”

Over Six Feet of Snow Hits Los Angeles

In addition to his expanding career as journalist, Nicholas Snow performed at the Comedy Store for a year, he performed as a singer with a four-piece band at the world-famous Cinegrill in Hollywood, and he studied acting at the Lee Strasberg Theater Institute. With his roster of talents, his twenty years in gay media, and the growing popularity of Notes From Hollywood as a mainstream entertainment brand, Snow expects to lock in a relationship with a television network soon.

In the future, Snow intends to produce a feature-length documentary examining how Hollywood changed around gay and lesbian issues in the 90’s and he will use his historic television footage as a primary storyteller. Also in development is a multi-episode series, “Tinseltown’s STILL Queer!”

The Bangkok Connection

NotesFromHollywood.com has been a media sponsor of the Bangkok International Film Festival (BKKIFF) for the last two years and is slated to repeat its participation in 2006.

At the 2005 BKKIFF, Snow moderated all the high-level press conferences attended by dignitaries and journalists and taped for international broadcast. His interview subjects included Oliver Stone, Michael Douglas, Gerard Butler, Joel Schumacher, Miranda Richardson, Jeremy Irons, Lucy Punch, Olivier Assayas, Wong Kar-Wai and others.


Oliver Stone responds to a question from Nicholas Snow during his press conference at the 2005 BKKIFF. Photo by Rebecca Redshaw.


Michael Douglas and Nicholas Snow.

In light of the dramatic response to his work in Thailand, Snow recently announced the launch of NotesFromBangkok.com. Notes From Bangkok will be developed into an international multimedia entertainment brand following the successful model of the Notes From Hollywood multimedia entertainment brand, creating immense synergy between the two.” NotesFromBangkok.com is currently active and Snow is looking for strategic partners in support of this endeavor.


Gerard Butler (The Phantom), Joel Schumacher (The Director), Miranda Richardson (Madame Giry) and NotesFromHollywood.com Publisher Nicholas Snow. Photo by Leonard Cachola.

About his current success, Snow says, “I realize more than ever that life is a team sport, and I would not be experiencing my success today if not for the love and support of my close friends and colleagues, including internet pioneers Matt Skallerud and Fabrice Tasendo of GayWired.com and Ted Trent of OutOfTheCloset.TV; Mona de Crinis, one of the first editors to really believe in my new column; film festival executive Craig Prater; and journalists Rebecca Redshaw, Jorie Parr, Gordon Parr, James Mills, and Thom Cardwell who have contributed quality work to NotesFromHollywood.com.”

Adds Snow, “I’d also like to thank my spiritual family with whom I travel the road to happy destiny.”
© 2005 NotesFromHollywood.com, All Rights Reserved
Article provided by www.GayLinkContent.com . For more information,contact us at info@gaylinkcontent.com . Reprinted with permission by 4 Gays Web Hosting and 1 Body GLBT Christian Resources

LOGO Seeks 'Coming Out' Stories for New Documentary

Written By Ross von Metzke Category: Daily News Coming out at work? LOGO, the new gay network from Viacom and the folks at Mtv, is looking for people planning to come out to co-workers for a forthcoming documentary about coming out on the job.
The show will be part of LOGO’s Momentum series, chronicling the coming out experiences of gay and lesbian Americans. If its an experience you would like to share on TV, LOGO wants to hear from you.
Among the criteria LOGO is looking for — people who are:
• planning on coming out to co-workers or customers and fear negative repercussions? • currently in a situation where being gay in your profession has changed the dynamic of your job for better or worse? • experiencing a change in the way your co-workers treat you at work after coming out? • experiencing a change in your personal life after coming out at work? • Working for an organization that supports gay professionals on the job?
LOGO is looking for people planning to come out on the job this summer or fall. Interested parties should e-mail LOGOoutonjob@mtvstaff.com. Be sure to include your name, where you live, current photo, your phone number and who you plan on coming out to and why.
For more information, log on to www.logoonline.com.
© 2005 GayWired.com, All Rights Reserved
Article provided by www.GayLinkContent.com . For more information,contact us at info@gaylinkcontent.com . Reprinted with permission by 4 Gays Web Hosting and 1 Body GLBT Christian Resources

Attacks on 'American Idol' Star Fantasia's Hit Song "Baby Mama" Miss the Real Enemy

Category: Health and Fitness Entertainment
American Idol star Fantasia's hit single "Baby Mama" is stirring controversy among those concerned about teen sexuality in the Black community. A 20- year-old Black woman, Fantasia Barrino is a single mother with a 3-year-old child.
Remarkably, she's balanced an exploding career with the responsibilities of parenthood; her song honors that achievement, boldly challenging the stigma attached to her place in life by calling her success "a badge of honor." Critics, however, say the song perversely celebrates a tragic outcome: babies having babies, as the phrase goes. (To hear the song and reactions to it, check out an NPR "Morning Edition" segment, aired on May 24.)
Fantasia has simply made a beautiful song that affirms those like her, of any age, who face the mammoth challenge of single motherhood and don't give up. As Fantasia sings, "There should be a holiday for single mothers, but until then here's your song." No one, including Fantasia, wants to promote teen pregnancy. But ignoring young mothers or further stigmatizing them only exacerbates the problem. The real threats to the sexual health of young Black people come neither from pop music nor brave mothers like Fantasia; they are found in the aggressive assault on comprehensive sex education currently underway in our nation's schools.
To be clear, whether it is HIV or pregnancy, sexual activity comes with consequences at all ages. And there is ample proof that a conversation about that fact is desperately needed among Black youth. We account for 56 percent of annual new infections among 13 to 24 year olds. Infections among young Black women are of particular concern. Through 2001, African Americans accounted for nearly three quarters of diagnosed HIV infections among 13- to 19-year-old girls and two thirds of 20- to 24-year- old women.
The youth epidemic is primarily a sexual one. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention tracks youth sexual behavior in an annual survey. In the most recent survey, Black youth reported the highest rates of having ever had intercourse: 67 percent compared to 42 percent of whites. They also reported having more sexual partners: Almost 30 percent of African-American youth reported more than four lifetime partners, compared to just under 11 percent of whites. Most startlingly, almost a fifth of Black youth reported having had sex by the age of 13, compared to 4 percent of white youth.
Simply censuring youth who speak about their sexual lives will not change these realities. To the contrary, research shows that teens exposed to honest and comprehensive dialogue on sexuality are no less likely to have sex at an early age but are more likely to be safe when they do. Comprehensive sex education includes both conversations about abstaining from sex and information on how to avoid diseases and unintended pregnancies when being sexually active. As both the CDC and former Surgeon General David Satcher have noted, the spread of comprehensive sex education throughout the 1990s contributed to a steady increase in condom usage, even as the CDC's surveys charted a decline in sexual "risk."
Yet, Washington is now forcing unproven "abstinence-only" sex education programs down schools' throats. These programs bar any discussion of safer sex strategies. Under the Bush administration, health department funding for abstinence-only education has doubled. A recent congressional review of the programs this money has funded found "false, misleading or distorted" information in the vast majority of the curricula being used. One taught that HIV can be transmitted through tears, another listed "financial support" and "domestic support" as among the five main things women need from a relationship.
Teen sexuality is a topic that adults both inside and outside of the Black community are too eager to censure rather than discuss openly and from a place grounded in the realities young people are living. One newspaper columnist uneasy with Fantasia's song harked back to the days when teen moms were looked upon shamefully. But stigmatizing people has never accomplished anything other than undermining their self-worth. Fantasia has thrown open the door to her life's challenges. If we don't like what we see, we must confront the public policy decisions that make it more likely that others will have to face those challenges as well.
Learn more at www.BlackAIDS.org
© 2005 GayWired.com, All Rights Reserved
Article provided by www.GayLinkContent.com . For more information,contact us at info@gaylinkcontent.com . Reprinted with permission by 4 Gays Web Hosting and 1 Body GLBT Christian Resources

The Charles Hotel Offers 'Out and About' Package to GLBT Travelers

Category: Daily News
Meet not only Craig, Daniel and Matt, but also Charles… The Charles Hotel that is. Located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, home of Harvard University, the hotel is where the hip, well-educated, cultured gay traveler stays.
Starting now through September 5, The Charles Hotel, in partnership with Avalon – host of New England’s best and longest running gay night, Avalon Sundays - is offering an 'Out and About' package to GLBT travelers.
The package, based on availability, is offered on Sunday evenings (additional nights are available). The Out and About package includes overnight accommodations for two in one of the hotel’s guest rooms or suites, two cocktails at Noir Bar in the hotel lobby, transportation to Avalon.
Once at Avalon each guest will have inclusion on Avalon’s VIP guest list, line privileges, complementary admission, a private booth, table service with your own waiter, personal bar service with your own bartender, a complimentary bottle of champagne or four cocktails, a 2pm late check-out, complimentary breakfast or lunch in bed or at Henrietta’s Table and a Hangover Kit (Advil, Alka Seltzer, SmartWater bottled water and an Origins eye mask).
The Out and About package starts at $299 / night based on double occupancy for a deluxe room. Tax and gratuities not included. For reservations call 1.800.882.1818 or visit http://www.charleshotel.com/
© 2005 GayWired.com, All Rights Reserved
Article provided by www.GayLinkContent.com . For more information,contact us at info@gaylinkcontent.com . Reprinted with permission by 4 Gays Web Hosting and 1 Body GLBT Christian Resources