Matthew Izzo opens Old City store

I stopped by Matthew Izzo's new store in Old City Philly last night. Matthew did a great job picking this location and layout - the store is much improved over the old Walnut Street store. Check it out - lots of sales - at 151 N. 3rd Street. Here are a few photos Brian took.

300,000 flock to Sydney's gay Mardi Gras

Revelers decked out in sequins, feathers, wigs and leather danced through the streets of Sydney on Saturday to the cheers of more than 300,000 people at the annual Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras.
More than 130 floats and 9,500 people participated in the procession, which began as a protest march in 1978 by homosexual and transsexual men and women and has flourished into one of the world's largest and most flamboyant gay pride events.

Mister Gay Stir

I just recieved this ad from Stir promoting their Mister Gay Stir event on March 28th. Those interested in entering the contest can contact Holly at holly@stirphilly.com. The winner will go on to the Mr. Gay Philadelphia contest.
Stir is located at 1705 Chancellor Street in Philadelphia.

Smile Happy Hour with MANNA

Last night, Nightlifegay.com held its monthly (1st Thursdays) happy hour at Tavern on Camac. MANNA was there promoting their March 28th "Shut Up and Dance" event taking place at the Forrest Theater. I love this happy hour, everyone is always relaxed and in such a good mood.

Karen Cornell put together this slide show. Thanks Karen!

Mr. Gay Bump crowned last night

Bump Lounge held its annual Mr. Gay Bump contest last night to a packed crowd. In the end Bump's own Micheal won the competition and was crowned by Mr. Gay Philadelphia 2008 John Caputto. Michael will go on to represent Bump at the Mr. Gay Philadelphia event on April 18th at Pure.





Photos by: Ap Smitty

San Diego Mayor speaks out for lesbian daughter

Jerry Sanders, the Mayor of San Diego, came out in support of his daughter and gay marriage at a rally yesterday. Check out this video of him addressing the crowd.

Cali court to gay marriage today

Today the California Supreme Court will begin hearing arguments seeking to overturn Proposition 8 on the grounds that such a constitutional change requires approval by the state Legislature. California's Attorney General, Jerry Brown, is encouraging the court to overturn the November ballot decision....Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger opposes Proposition 8 as well.

Last night's protests:
San Diego:


San Francisco:


Fresno:

Radio pioneer Frank Ford dies

The man who launched Philadelphia's first gay radio program hosted by Mark Segal (publisher of the Philadelphia Gay News) died yesterday. Frank Ford was know for many things in Philadelphia including being credited for implementing the technology that permitted dialogue between callers and the on-air host. He also was a founding memeber of the Valley Forge Music Fair.
Born as Eddie Felbin, he inherited the name Frank Ford when the Frankford Unity Grocery Stores Inc. wanted a radio show featuring broadway, opera and jazz music. He was worried that if the chain did not like the show he would have to fire himself. So, he created Frank Ford that Eddie Felbin could fire if needed.
Frank was married to Philadelphia's District Attorney Lynn Abraham for 32 years. He dided at the age of 92.
Services: 11 a.m. Friday at Joseph Levine & Son Funeral Home, Broad Street above 71st Avenue. Burial will be in Haym Salomon Memorial Park. (source)

Logo saved Sarah Silverman's show

The LOGO Network has saved Sarah Silverman's show from getting the ax. Comedy Central which carries "The Sarah Silverman Program" only had approx. $850,000 allocated to produce each episode the coming season - down from $1.1 million last season. Sarah and the producers declined to produce show with a smaller budget. That decline put the show in jeopardy of cancellation. Sarah then called former Comedy Central executive Marc Leonard, now a senior exec at Logo - Leonard worked out a deal to cover the balance of the costs with a little increase. The details of how many shows Logo will air are still being decided, but it looks like Sarah just landed a two network deal. (source)

Hate crime in Galveston

Galveston (TX) prosecutors charged three men with felony assault for an attack at one of the city’s gay bars - ruling it a hate crime. This is only the second time the District Attorney's Office moved on such a charge.

As a result, brothers Lawrence Henry Lewis III, 20, and Lawrneil Henry Lewis, 18, and their cousin, Alejandro Sam Gray, 17 could face an elevated punishment of five to 99 years or life in prison if a jury convicts them of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and agrees they committed a hate crime.

The trio is accused of hurling large rocks or pieces of concrete at patrons inside Robert’s Lafitte in the 2500 block of Avenue Q around 8 p.m. Sunday, injuring two men, including one who tried to chase them.

Marc Bosaw, 57, needed 12 staples to close a laceration to the back of his head, while James Troy Nickelson, 39, was struck in the jaw.

One of the three suspects later told police their intent was to target homosexuals, said Galveston Police Department Lt. D.J. Alvarez. The trio also hurled homophobic insults, authorities said.

“It’s my understanding they were yelling derogatory comments about (the bar patrons’) sexuality,” Ott said.

Bosaw, who was at the bar with his partner, said he was shocked by the ambush.

“I thought with all the things going on, especially politically, that we would be more accepted and not just randomly attacked,” said Bosaw, a disabled U.S. Navy veteran. “I don’t see any room for hate right now.” (source)

101 Opening Party Video

Could the end be near for "Don't ask, Don't tell"?

Representative Ellen O. Tauscher from California will introduce legislation today to overturn Don't Ask Don't Tell. By doing so, this will put Barack Obama front and center on a promise he made during his campaign. This is also the issue that former President Clinton struggled with early in his campaign. As we all know, Clinton backed off the repeal in his administration - hopefully, Obama will not do the same.

Sean Penn lobbies for Harvey Milk day

After winning the Oscar for playing Harvey Milk in the movie Milk, Sean Penn must feel like he really owes him one. Today, Penn will appear alongside State Senator Mark Leno to reintroduce a bill that would make the late gay-rights activist's birthday, May 22, a "day of significance." Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed the proposed bill last year on the grounds that Milk's birthday should be celebrated only in San Francisco and not all of California. (source)

Gays in Mass. sue for federal rights

Mary Ritchie, a Massachusetts State Police trooper, has been married for almost five years and has two children. But when she files her federal income tax return, she's not allowed to check the "married filing jointly" box.

That's because Ritchie and her spouse, Kathleen Bush, are a gay couple, and the federal Defense of Marriage Act makes them ineligible to file joint tax returns.

Now Ritchie, Bush and more than a dozen others are suing the federal government, claiming the act discriminates against gay couples and is unconstitutional because it denies them access to federal benefits that other married couples receive, such as pensions and health insurance. Plaintiffs also include Dean Hara, the widower of former U.S. Rep. Gerry Studds, the first openly gay member of the House of Representatives.

In Ritchie's case, she and her spouse say they have paid nearly $15,000 more in taxes than they would have if they had been able to file joint returns.

"It saddens us because we love our country," Ritchie said. "We are taxpayers. We live just like anyone else in our community. We do everything just like every other family, like every other married couple, and we are treated like less than that."

The lawsuit was being filed Tuesday in federal court in Boston by Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders, the anti-discrimination group that brought a successful legal challenge leading to Massachusetts becoming the first state in the nation to legalize gay marriage in 2004. (source)

Britney's Circus tour

Here is a glimps (after the Candies commercial) of Briney Spear's new tour Circus. The tour kicks-off tonight in New Orleans. Strangely, the tour does not stop in Philadelphia or Atlantic City...

Nannerpuss

Lets start the day out right with Nannerpuss! I love this commericial!

Cantor says Republicans need to return to inclusion

Representative Eric Cantor appeared on This Week with George Stephanoploulos where he states the Republican party needs to be more inclusive. Check it out.

Winter Party 2009

Winter Party took place over the weekend in Miami. Check out these two videos of the beach party.

Mardi Gras kicks off in Australia

Programmable matter

Very cool!

Asians mad over censorship

Some television viewers in Asia are angry after the annual Academy Awards broadcast in the region censored the words "gay" and "lesbian" from acceptance speeches.

Pan-Asian satellite TV network STAR carried the glitzy Hollywood ceremony in full during the live telecast — held in Los Angeles on Sunday evening, but seen Monday morning in Asia.

However, viewers who watched subsequent repeat broadcasts noticed that the sound periodically disappeared during the acceptance speeches of Oscar winners Dustin Lance Black and Sean Penn, the screenwriter and lead actor of the drama Milk, respectively.

In his speech, debut screenwriter Black paid tribute to the film's subject, slain San Francisco politican and gay-rights pioneer Harvey Milk.

The best original screenplay Oscar winner also sent a message "to all the gay and lesbian kids out there ... you are beautiful, wonderful creatures of value, and that no matter what anyone tells you, God does love you."

When Penn took the stage towards the end of the show, the forthright actor criticized those protesting gay marriage outside the Kodak Theatre on Oscar night and also the Californians who recently voted to ban gay marriage.

"For those who saw the signs of hatred as our cars drove in tonight, I think it's a good time for those who voted for the ban against gay marriage to sit and reflect on their great shame and their shame in their grandchildren's eyes if they continue that support," Penn said.

Malaysian arts commentator Pang Khee Teik published a letter voicing his outrage at STAR's awards gala censorship.

"As a gay man, I am truly offended," he said, adding that the action sends the message "that gays and lesbians are still shameful things to be censored from the public's ears."

Complaints about the altered Oscar speeches also drew criticism online, including in internet forums in India and Singapore.

STAR spokeswoman Jannie Poon defended the action, saying that while there was no intention of upsetting viewers, the company has "a responsibility to take the sensitivities and guidelines of all our markets into consideration."

According to STAR, the leading Asian media and entertainment owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation, the company broadcasts to more than 300 million viewers in 53 Asian countries. (source)

Frank Kameny's home listed as landmark

An inconspicuous, two-story brick home with a screened porch in northwest Washington has been listed as a historic landmark for its role as the epicenter of the gay rights movement in the nation's capital.
It's the home of Franklin E. Kameny, 83, who many historians consider the "father of gay activism," according to the city's Historic Preservation Review Board. Even before Harvey Milk had moved to San Francisco, Kameny was leading a fight against federal policies that discriminated against gays.Milk was the nation's first openly gay man to hold a prominent political office when he was elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in 1977.

"If you are gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender and you get a job in government, it's because of Dr. Kameny. If you need security clearance for a job and you get it, it's because of Dr. Kameny," said Mark Meinke, chairman of the Rainbow History Project. He advocated for the landmark status and credits Kameny with more than just rolling back employment policies that targeted gays.

"If you're not referred for electric shock therapy when you tell people you're gay, it's because of Dr. Kameny," Meinke said.
Kameny fought in World War II, earned a doctorate at Harvard and then moved to D.C. to work as an astronomer. He was fired, though, by the Army Map Service in 1957 for being gay.

In 1961, Kameny argued to the U.S. Supreme Court that a federal policy calling homosexuals a security risk was "no less odious than discrimination based upon religious or racial grounds." It was the first civil rights claim in a U.S. court based on sexual orientation.

From his home, Kameny then led the fight to help overturn the American Psychiatric Association's classification of homosexuality as a mental illness. In 1971, he was the first openly gay man to run for Congress.
The Library of Congress admitted some of Kameny's papers in 2006, and the Smithsonian Institution has acquired some of his placards and buttons.

On Thursday, the architectural preservation board unanimously approved the landmark designation for the house.
"I think it will resonate well, not only with the whole gay community but with everybody," said board Chairman Tersh Boasberg. "Everybody will be able to appreciate how incredibly significant Dr. Kameny is."
Kameny, who still lives in the home, said he's touched by the recognition, though he worries about how the house looks after so many years.

"I haven't been able to maintain it as adequately as I'd like," said Kameny, who picketed in a three-piece suit. "The lawn is a mess, it needs to be put in order." Only a few other sites across the country officially mark the gay rights movement, including Milk's photo shop in San Francisco and the Stonewall Inn, the site of riots in 1969 in New York City. (ap)