Each weekday, Xtra tells you what stories have queer people talking.
Aug 31, 2007
Holiday Inn turns down business from homohaters Americans for Truth, citing safety concerns. They were probably afraid of what all those right-wingers would do in their bathrooms.
Foreign Policy has an interesting chart on global patterns of sexual activity. Canada is in the upper-tier on number of sex partners, and yet no one’s thanked me for bringing up the average.
An Iowa judge strikes down an anti gay-marriage law, meaning gays can get married in Polk county. The downside: living in Iowa.
Aug 30, 2007
Malawi, the African nation of Madonna accessory fame, objects to the appointment of a British High Commissioner who promoted gay rights.
The American Library Association reports that And Tango Makes Three, a children’s book about the true story of two male penguins who raised a baby penguin together, received more formal complaints from library-goers than any other book last year. Shame on nature for providing positive role models.
Tucker Carlson admits to assaulting a gay man in a bathroom, then changes his story. Anyone else have trouble believing Carlson beat anyone up? The guy used to wear a friggin’ bowtie.
Aug 29, 2007
Lance Bass picks a feud with New York Magazine. Lance, when your popularity’s dipping, you’re supposed to feud with other pop stars, not the media.
The Globe tells Harper how he can win a majority government. The secret: be less of a dick, apparently.
Aug 28, 2007
Reports surface that US Senator Craig (R-Idaho) was arrested in June for lewd conduct in a men’s bathroom in Minnesota. How many gay-bashing Republican lawmakers caught in gay sex scandals are we up to this year? And not a single one of them hot.
Tyson Gay wins gold in the 100-metre race at the World Championships in Osaka, Japan. Far be it from me to suggest cheeky puns, but let me just advise not to waste time looking for this guy’s Facebook profile.
HMV slashes prices of its CDs by up to one-third, just in time for Madonna’s new album!
Aug 27, 2007
The Globe laments the lack of girl buddy movies — and they’re right, aside from Clueless, Mean Girls, Thelma & Louise, Because I Said So, The First Wives Club, Legally Blonde, Legally Blonde 2, Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants, Diven Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood, Itty Bitty Titty Committee…
Stephane Dion and Danny Williams have a ‘courtesy meeting’ in St. John’s. Could the end be in sight for Harper and his international love affairs?
US Attorney-General Alberto Gonzales resigns, which is just about the only way you can lose a job in the Bush adminisration.
Aug 24, 2007
Atlanta lawmakers propose a bill that would ban baggy pants that expose the wearer’s underwear. So much for bringing National Underwear Day to Atlanta next year.
Quebec Police admit they had undercover agents among protestors at the Montebello conference this week, but refuse to admit that they were trying to provoke a riot. They weren’t carrying rocks, they were removing a tripping hazard!
The tourism industry joins the campaign to shut up Ft Lauderdale mayor Jim Naugle. Apparently, gay and straight tourists are turning away from the city in droves thanks to this guy’s well-publicized crusade against gays, so it’s nice to see that hate can still unite people.
Aug 23, 2007
Bizarrely, a 54-year-old judo black belt who also happens to be the president of Russia becomes a sex symbol for gays around the world. Remember when Putin was just a sex symbol to NAMBLA?
Racist attacks in Germany prompt fears that minorities may need to stay out of the country for their own protection. Collectively, the world does a double take and says “Wha? Racists in Germany?”
In other news about racism and things that just won’t disappear, Darren Hayes (former lead singer of Savage Garden) is under fire for allegedly making racist comment to a server at a Thai restaurant in London.
Aug 22, 2007
Study shows Toronto has fewer substance users per capita than any major city in Canada. I guess Mayor Miller’s critics are right about the city’s taxes making us less competitive.
“Gay index” creator Richard Florida arrives in Toronto, where he’ll likely spend a lot of time telling the province and city to embrace youth, bohemian, and creative culture in order to maintain economic prosperity. Good luck with that.
South Florida’s whackos keep digging themselves deeper. State Rep Bob Allen apologizes to the NAACP for blaming his gay solicitation arrest on scary black men, while Ft. Lauderdale Mayor Jim Naugle tells a lesbian to vacation in Atlantis.
Aug 21, 2007
Mexican President Felipe Calderon cuts short his dream date with Stephen Harper to go hang out with some guy named Dean. Don’t worry, Stevie. You’ll get him.
The IDF bans gay Israeli entertainer Ivri Lider from performing for the troops because he failed to finish his compulsory military service. Unfortunately, the IDF is probably the only military force where gays are allowed to serve openly but it isn’t really hot to be a member of it.
Perhaps to appeal to the size queens, Canadian Forces has increased the size of its recruiting booth at the CNE this year.
Aug 20, 2007
The Hollywood Reporter raises eyebrows after removing a story from its web site that outed recently deceased TV icon Merv Griffin, after the story had already gone to print and been syndicated around the world. In honour of Griffin’s memory and the damage the Reporter is doing to it, here’s a wonderful clip of outtakes from Griffin-produced Jeopardy, wherein Alex Trebek curses lots.
Also on YouTube: Brokeback by the Bell. My favourite part is when Zack boasts that he’s taking Slater somewhere “big and white, and you need a lift to get to the top.”
Aug 17, 2007
Scott Brison is getting married tomorrow to partner Maxime St-Pierre, and former rivals — each of whose jobs Brison once tried to take — Paul Martin and Joe Clark will be there. I hear tell the couple will accept the leadership of any Canadian political party regardless of ideology in lieu of gifts.
Gay accessibility worker Joe Clark — it’s a common name — kvetches about the Toronto Transit Commission’s request for proposals for a new web site. I hope the “publically call out the TTC for how stupid its demands are” strategy wins him the bid.
Aug 16, 2007
One gay Briton goes to jail for assaulting another who had been pressuring him to get involved in the gay community. Gay-on-gay violence is really terrible, except when it’s consensual (of course, even that’s illegal in Britain). Detail that made me feel bad for chuckling: the victim wants to be a helicopter pilot. Helicoptering remains legal in Britain.
A poll reveals New Jersey “would be fine” with gay marriage. Wow, what a ringing endorsement of human rights!
Yesterday’s Toronto Star front page headline “MacKay’s Hardest Mission” seems to have been altered on the paper’s web site. Either editors realized how insensitive calling a cushy Cabinet job a hard mission is to troops actually serving in Afghanistan, or they’ve remembered MacKay’s, um, work experience with US Secretary of State Condeleeza Rice.
Aug 15, 2007
Researcher complains that scientists can’t get funding to study gay sex in a report titled “Erections, Mounting and AIDS: Incestuous Gay Monkey Sex (or seven words you can’t write in your NIH grant).” Come on guys, leave the poor monkeys alone, at least.
US presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani drops his support for civil unions. Considering the guy’s been divorced three times, it’s surprising he supports any unions.
Once the gay agenda took to the streets, now it takes to the seats. UBC gets trans-friendly toilets.
Aug 14, 2007
Harper invites Mexican president Felipe Calderon over for a sleepover at his cottage. I guess it’s over with French prez Nicolas Sarkozy?
The Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation has changed the rules for it Media Awards, for the first time allowing gay and lesbian media outlets to qualify. *ahem* I’m waiting, GLAAD.
A new rationale for Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell? Somehow, I don’t see the Republicans trumpeting this one.
Aug 13, 2007
Pseudo-gay icon Ricky Martin wants to adopt one child from every continent with an unspecified partner. Yes, combining the family planning dreams of Madonna and Michael Jackson will surely quell those gay rumours.
Toronto’s landmark peeler bar The Brass Rail catches fire. Don’t worry straight boys. You’re always welcome at Remington’s down the street.
Scott Brison announces plans to marry partner Maxime St-Pierre on Saturday, becoming the first federal MP to same-sex marry. The feds just won’t let Ontario have anything.
Aug 10, 2007
The Globe spells out the gay rights struggle for the slow kids. At least I link to my sources when I crib stories from gay papers.
LOGO hosted the
GLAAD releases a study suggesting mainstream TV could be a lot more gay. CBS was faulted for including too many gays and lesbians as victims on their police procedural shows, while CW is praised for making 12 percent of its programming hours being “gay inclusive” — although they all come from America’s Next Top Model. Thank god the CW is out there breaking down stereotypes and boundaries with Jay Manuel and Miss Jay.
Aug 9, 2007
Nebraska town organizes a Gay Shame parade. Calm down, it’s just The Onion.
UK scientists discover a way to make moths gay, but it only works because they’re so terribly near-sighted. Daniel Radcliffe wears glasses, right?
TO’s gay nude beach Hanlan’s Point is shrinking. People, despite the heat, Lake Ontario is still really cold.
Aug 8, 2007
San Diego fire fighters launch a sexual harassment complaint alleging that forced participation in Pride amounts to sexual harassment. The complaint is ridiculous, but so is being forced to take part in a parade celebrating “pride.”
In other fire fighting news, New York City cancels all future fire fighter calendars after it’s discovered that the 2008 cover guy Michael Biserta once stripped (and did all sorts of other wonderful things) on a Guys Gone Wild video before he joined the force. They say the event was an embarrassment. I think it’s really just a massive (NSFW) case of size envy.
Residents of Truro NS get up in arms after the mayor refuses to fly the pride flag during the town’s first ever pride celebrations. Is this going in Nova Scotia’s gay tourism info, too?
Aug 7, 2007
Levis launches a bisexual ad campaign, with straight tv ads for mainstream channels and gay ads for Here and Logo. Gays celebrate the crumbs being thrown at them by buying lots of jeans that make them look like they have no ass.
AP Photographers catch French president Nicolas Sarkozy — whom long-time readers will remember as our prime minister’s euro fling — sunbathing in New Hampshire.
Ontario deputy premier George Smitherman makes an honest man out of partner Christopher Peloso. That’s nice, but Ontarians might have preferred if he had done so to his boss.
Aug 3, 2007
The judge in the gay governor divorce case urges McGreevy and his ex-wife to settle their divorce case rather than bankrupt themselves by pursuing a trial.
A Quebec gay couple wins $10,000 in case against the parents of a teenager who harassed them. That’ll buy them a lot of tolerance.
Aug 2, 2007
The Globe reports on the 237 reasons why (mostly straight) people have sex. How did “to stage an unlikely comeback” not make the list?
Ian McKellan launches a YouTube message of support to gay Singaporeans on the eve of their pride celebrations, in which he brags that he “managed to meet a lot of gay people” in Singapore. Details, Sir Ian! We want details!
Aug 1, 2007
Gay Ontario health minister George Smitherman figures out how to combine his job, electoral campaigning, and a trip to Divers/Cité, by participating in the Friends for Life bike rally from Toronto to Montreal this week. He’s going to be disappointed when he learns the parade was last weekend.
In case anyone’s still watching, it’s official. Desperate Housewives has jumped the shark. (“Male desperate housewives?” Really?)
The Venice Film Festival adds a “Queer Lion” award for the best film with a gay or lesbian character. I know it hasn’t been shot yet, but I’d like to nominate the inevitably hot YouTube video of tomorrow’s gay kiss-in at the Coliseum.
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