Guess Who????

Remember the adorable kid from “Jerry Maguire,” with the glasses and the funny factoids about dogs being able to smell fear? Well, he’s an adult now and has apparently been at the gym for the last few years. He shot a boatload of shirtless weightlifting and wrestling photos (the latter of which have vaguely homoerotic undertones or maybe that’s just wrestling in general) — for a magazine I assume? — and they make me feel weird. I don’t like it when children I find adorable grow up to be super sexy adults.
































thefrisky.com

Australia } Hugh Jackman a Supported of Gay Rights

 One of Australia’s most famous sons pledges support for gay marriage

  BY ANNA LEACH

Hugh Jackman, and two other Australians associated with the movies - Oscar-winning costume designer Lizzie Gardiner and film critic David Stratton - have signed a pro-gay-marriage declaration from Australian Marriage Equality.

The declaration says: 'Marriage should be about love and respect, not discrimination. Australia is at its best when we value equality over prejudice and fear. That's why we support marriage equality for same-sex couples. Marriage equality will help remove discrimination against same-sex couples and their children. It will also benefit marriage by allowing it to embrace more loving committed couples who uphold its values. It's time for Australia to join the other nations that have benefited from this important reform.'

Australian Marriage Equality welcomed their support. 'Hugh, David, and Lizzie are all happily married straight supporters of equality,' said national convener Alex Greenwich. 'They know how important marriage is to a couple and their families, and like most Australians they don't feel same-sex couples should be denied the meaning and benefits of marriage.'

This year is a crucial for gay marriage in Australia. Support built-up throughout 2011. In December, the ruling Labor party voted to support gay marriage at their national conference. But Prime Minister Julia Gillard, who has not expressed support for gay marriage, succeeded in adding an amendment to the policy that requires a free vote in parliament on any same-sex marriage bill. That amendment will make it difficult for a same-sex marriage bill to make it through parliament as it would depend on support from the socially conservative Liberal Party.

In February, a dinner with Julia Gillard won at a charity in auction will be used to present the case of gay marriage to the prime minister by Greenwich and three same-sex couples. 

gaystarnews.com

UK } Young Muslim Say in Court ‘His Duty' in Threatening with Death Gay People

 Press Association

• guardian.co.uk  

Kabir Ahmed, 28, denies stirring up hatred on the grounds of sexual orientation, the first UK prosecution of its kind. Photograph: Rui Vieira/PA

A 28-year-old man has told a court he felt he was doing his duty as a Muslim by handing out leaflets alleged to have been threatening to gay people.

Kabir Ahmed said he handed a leaflet called "Death Penalty?" to a passing policeman and put them through letterboxes around the Madeley Street area of Derby in July 2010 because he was spreading the word of God as taught through Islam.

He said: "My intention was to do my duty as a Muslim, to inform people of God's word and to give the message on what God says about homosexuality."

Ahmed, who is married with a nine-month-old daughter, is on trial at Derby crown court charged with stirring up hatred on the grounds of sexual orientation, in the first prosecution of its kind since legislation came into force in March 2010.

At the opening of the trial last week the jury of seven men and five women were shown the Death Penalty? leaflet, which shows an image of a mannequin hanging from a noose and saying homosexuality is punishable by the death penalty under Islam.

The leaflet states: "The death sentence is the only way this immoral crime can be erased from corrupting society and act as a deterrent for any other ill person who is remotely inclined in this bent way."

It continues: "The only dispute amongst the classical authorities was the method employed in carrying out the penal code," and then goes on to offer burning, being flung from a high point such as a mountain or building, or being stoned to death as suitable methods.

Prosecutor Bobbie Cheema told the court the leaflet was not educational or informative but was simply "threatening, offensive, frightening and nasty".

Four other Derby men – Ihjaz Ali, 42, Mehboob Hussain, 45, Umar Javed, 38, and his brother Razwan Javed, 28 – are also charged with the same offence. All five deny the charge.

Giving evidence to the court on Monday, Ahmed said he had handed one of the Death Penalty? leaflets to PC Stephen Gregory on 2 July as he was passing the Jamia Mosque in Rosehill Street following Friday prayers.

Ahmed told the court he said to the officer: "Something along the lines of 'Is everything OK?' and he said something like, 'Yes, fine,' and I said 'I'm not trying to offend anyone.'"

Ahmed's barrister, Zacharias Miah, asked him whether, if Gregory had told him he was doing something wrong, he would have handed over the bag of leaflets. Ahmed replied: "Of course, without a shadow of a doubt."

He also told the court he felt it was his duty as a Muslim to inform and advise people wherever they may be committing sins, and that he would be failing if he did not.

"My duty is not just to better myself but to try and better the society I live in," he said. "We believe we can't just stand by and watch somebody commit a sin, we must try and advise them and urge them to stay away from sin."

Ahmed said he had studied the texts of many religions, including the Bible and the Torah, to compare what Islam says about subjects such as drugs, alcohol, prostitution and relationships.

Bono’s ONE Charity Campaign } Gives Out only 1% to Charities, Rest 99%?

The Irish rocker’s ONE Campaign reportedly gives just over 1% of its funds to charity.

Photo Credit: PRPhotos.com

Bono has come under scrutiny for news reports that his anti-poverty foundation, the ONE Campaign only gives 1% of its earnings to charity.

Bono had established the foundation back in 2002. The New York Daily News reported that only $184, 732 of its total $14,993,873 in public donations was given to charities. Apparently, more than $8 million was distributed as salaries for ONE Campaign employees.

The findings were reported after boxes stuffed with Starbucks coffee, leather notebooks, $20 water bottles, band-aids, pens, and cookies were sent to New York reporters during a recent PR campaign. The PR campaign was meant to coincide with President Obama’s advocacy for AIDS funding for Africa.

ONE Campaign spokesperson, Kimberly Hunter, wouldn’t disclose how much the reporters’ gifts cost, but said they were meant to get ONE noticed. Hunter told the Post, “Sometimes it’s pretty hard to get through to reporters with the information about the lives of the world’s poorest people. We think it’s important enough to try and break through the clutter… That’s why we sent the boxes.”

Now that Bono is under fire, Hunter insists that it’s all a misunderstanding of ONE’s role. ONE Campaign, Hunter stated, “does advocacy work, not charity work.”

fabulousbuzz.com

George Clooney To Romney } Your Anti Gay Platform On The Wrong Side of History

Both dashing and daring at Sunday's Golden Globes, George Clooney told backstage reporters that Mitt Romney would find himself on the "wrong side of history" because of his anti-gay platform. Details and video follow. 

Echoing his statement last week, Clooney said, "I'm not much concerned until there's an actual nominee...but I think it's the wrong side of history. I think everyone understands it might be the last leg of the civil rights movement. I do believe that. It's certainly not the wedge issue it was in 2004, so that's a good sign.”

(Source: Towleroad via instinctmagazine)

Tebow and Jesus } Comic Strip

posted by 

JP Moore    buzzfeed.com

England Gay Wicketkeeper Davies an Inspiration

 

Davies made his England debut in a Twenty20 international in 2009

By Joe Wilson

BBC Sport

A campaigner for gay rights in the United Arab Emirates says he is

 inspired by the presence of Steven Davies in England's Test squad.

Davies, England's reserve wicketkeeper on tour, came out publicly as gay in February 2011.

Abdulla Alzareei runs a Facebook page which promotes equality for homosexuals in the UAE.

Alzareei said: "Having an openly gay member of the England cricket team play in the UAE is awesome".

 He claims he found it impossible to continue living in the UAE, adding "my parents found out I'm gay and decided I needed to go for "reparative therapy", a hormone treatment."

Mr Alzareei operates his Facebook site from Canada where he says he gained asylum two years ago.

Surrey player Davies has previously played in the UAE since coming out publicly, for the MCC in Abu Dhabi last year. He is the first active professional cricketer to confirm that he is gay.

The former Worcestershire keeper, who was part of the victorious 2010-11 Ashes squad, but who missed out on the 2011 World Cup, came out to his friends and family six years ago.

Alzareei does not believe Davies's sexuality will become an issue, despite the lack of recognition for gay people in the UAE, and believes his status will ensure he is treated respectfully.

"If anything they won't report anything about him being gay at all. They will turn a blind eye to it."

The England and Wales Cricket Board have said they have no qualms about Davies's presence on the tour, and England's players have praised the facilities and their welcome in Dubai so far.

Davies is one of only a few professional sportsmen to come out. Footballer Justin Fashanu, who died in 1998, and dual-code rugby international Gareth Thomas also both did so during their careers.

STEVEN DAVIES FACTFILE

• Born June 1986 in Bromsgrove
• Finished above Graeme Hick in Worcestershire batting averages in debut season
• Top scored for England on Twenty20 debut v West Indies in March 2009
• Won CB40 one-day competition with Surrey in 2011
• Has played eight ODIs for England, averaging 30.5 with the bat and taking eight catches
• 
• 
  

New York's First Gay Wedding Expo } in Brooklyn

 Sarah Hughes

• guardian.co.uk 

Borough Hall in Brooklyn: New York's first gay wedding expo featured more than 70 vendors. Photograph: Sarah Hughes

Seth Slade and Marc Peloquim are feeling slightly overwhelmed. The two men are at Brooklyn's Borough Hall for New York's first gay wedding expo and have discovered, like many an expectant couple before them, that being surrounded by a surfeit of cakes, table decorations and flowers can make even the most hardened of heads start to spin.

"There's a lot to take in," said Slade, 47, who has been engaged to his 48-year-old partner of 14 years since the summer. "But it is very exciting to be planning a wedding – our daughter is 17 and too old to be a flower girl, but she's a writer, so we're going to ask her to write something for the ceremony."

Nor are Slade and Peloquim alone in their enthusiasm. It might not be the most obvious of venues for a wedding fair – Borough president Marty Markowitz quipped: "Imagine what the people who built this building in 1846 would think if they could see us now" – but on this cold January day Borough Hall is strung with rainbow-coloured ribbons and packed with gay couples of all ages and ethnicities.

There are men in their late 70s who never thought they'd see gaymarriage legalised and who are now spending the morning pouring over pictures of venues and sampling canapés; a smartly dressed older couple here to plan their daughter's upcoming weddin; and gaggles of young women, newly engaged and keen to sample everything from dresses to champagne – one exuberant party contains no fewer than three prospective brides.

"I thought it would be fun to come and see what sort of thing was on offer, I've heard it's the first event like this in New York," said Kimberley Jones, a 25-year-old artist's model from Atlanta who is due to marry her partner Kris later this year. "The day that they announced gay marriage was legal in New York I was at the YMCA at a Spice Girls singalong and the whole place went crazy. It was incredible. We came today because we're still getting ideas for the wedding." She paused to laugh. "To be honest, we're not even sure which state we'll be holding it in yet."

Kristen-Alexzander Griffith and Aaron VanderYacht

For 28-year-old Kristen-Alexzander Griffith and his partner Aaron VanderYacht, 25, getting engaged generated more questions than answers. "We got engaged in November, and the first thing we did was put gay wedding through Google, because we realised that we didn't have a clue what to do," said Griffith. "And all that would come up was a bunch of heterosexual businesses with a rainbow flag, which was fine, but really we had so many questions. I mean, do both of you have a bachelor night? Or does one of you have a bridal shower? We have engagement rings – do we both need to also get wedding bands? What about groomsmen?"

The realisation that there was little information for gay couples out there led the two men to set up their own blog.

"It just seemed to me that there was no real information out there about planning a gay wedding, so we thought we'd blog about our experiences and try and help other people," said Griffith.

And top of those experiences was that bastion of wedding planning, the expo. "When we heard this was happening we knew that we had to come along," added Griffith. "And it's been fun. There's lots of businesses here and it gives you a real idea of what's out there. We're having a great time."

Claudia Pignatelli and Melissa Toro

For Melissa Toro, a 37-year-old medical sales employee and her partner of two years, 42-year-old, Claudia Pignatelli, the event has had a practical benefit. "We've found a minister here," said Toro. "Which was great, because that's the sort of thing that can be really hard to track down. And what's wonderful is that she also does baptisms because we plan to have children. We got engaged this summer and it's really exciting to be at an event that recognises us as equal."

The minister, the Rev Dianne Kraus, has been performing inter-faith ceremonies for 24 years, and said she's delighted to offer her services for gay weddings. "I think marriage should be open to everyone, and whatever I can do to help people on their journey through life is my pleasure," she said.

At the table next to her, Rabbi Bill Kurry took the same attitude. "Actually, most non-orthodox rabbis have no problem conducting same sex ceremonies: it's marrying into a different faith that can cause a problem," he said. "Most of the questions I've had today have been from couples where one is Jewish and the other isn't, and they're just glad that I'll marry them despite that."

For other vendors there's the chance to tap into the much written about 'Dorothy Dollar'. Estimates of the US LGBT market put its value at over $650bn in 2006, and as Markovitz joked, "Love is love, green is green – and Brooklyn has always been happy to make money'.

They gay wedding expo featured more than 70 vendors, from local wine and patisserie shops to wedding photographers and jewellery designers. The expo also offered specialist services such as legal advice and honeymoon planning.

For Crystal Gonzalez, creator of the Marimacho clothes line for women who identify as masculine, it was an opportunity to promote her Steampunk-influenced line of tweed suits and bow ties. "We've had quite a bit of interest in wedding suits already," she said.

Kimberlea Jaffe-Kressal is showcasing her newly formed gay wedding planning business – Love, Honor and Be Gay – which designs 'unique, personal and beautiful weddings for queer couples in New York City and The Hudson Valley'.

Even those who don't buy into the American wedding industry admit that the event is a little bit special. "To be honest, I find the whole wedding industry a bit gross," said Mark Thornton, a 32-year-old producer who works for a non-profit theatre group and who is set to marry his partner Travis McHale later this year. "But that said I think an event like this is important. It was great that governor Cuomo passed gay marriage in his first year of office, and events like this continue to push the point that this is a normal thing to do. We want a small event in Vermont, which is where we met, but it's nice to look around and see what's on offer."

Russell Brand The Interview ) Where Did It Go So Wrong?

From the off Russell Brand was different, dynamic and destined to do something. In this 2002 interview you can see the ambition and energy and the desire to get past his drug addiction.

Where did it all goth wrong?

When I met Russell Brand in February 2002 he was on a mission. He’d been sacked from presenting on MTV (for bringing his dealer to work), sacked from TV comedyCruise Of The Gods (something to do with masturbating, prostitutes, fighting and drugs, possibly together), and sacked from DJing on XFM (for reading porn on air). He’d just made Re:Brand, a great series for digital channel UK Play in which he challenged taboos by throwing himself into various confrontational situations, and I was commissioned by Jack magazine to meet him for an interview. He was putting together a documentary on the planned closure of East London’s Spitalfields Market, and I spent a day with him as he visited a school on Brick Lane to educate the kids about their community. Holding court at the front of a classroom, he made them laugh while explaining why the market was important and how they could get involved. They loved him.

I saw him play a lot of stand-up gigs over the next year or so, mostly upstairs in a handful of North London pubs. Everything he did was a fluid, passionate mix of politics and exhibitionism. He was the most charismatic stand-up I was aware of, and fed off crowds; the energy and electricity of those gigs, even with only 20 or 30 people present, was fantastic. Some of the staples of his current arena shows – self-loathing sex rants, tabloid dissections – were there back then, although those small gigs were undoubtedly more anarchic. Working the room, he’d interact with as many people as he could, would sometimes turn up as the Elephant Man, and performed riotous puppet shows with dead mice. Later, when he told me he’d cleaned himself up and got off the drugs, I wondered if he’d lose some of that energy and electricity, but he didn’t; he got his career on track, stopped getting sacked from jobs, and translated that energy and electricity to bigger venues.

Re:Brand was a great, unique series (much of it’s on YouTube). Based vaguely around the theme of exploring his, and society’s, masculinity. He hung out with Eddie Kidd, invited a homeless man to live in his flat with him for a week, hung out with the Youth BNP, had a boxing match with his dad, dated an old lady, and wanked off a man in a toilet. Just like its presenter, it was revealing, provocative and funny. After leaving the kids in Brick Lane, we went to a coffee shop in the market to sit down and talk about it.

The thing that stands out most for me about Re:Brand is your honesty. You almost have a childlike approach to things, like asking Eddie Kidd how it feels when he talks, or muttering about the girlfriend who left you because you’re an idiot. You’re very candid on stage too.

I suppose what that is, is that through some kind of psychological disorder I maintained a childlike sense of wonderment with stuff… George Orwell said ‘In times of universal deceit, telling the truth becomes a revolutionary act.’ Just don’t get too confused and distracted by all the brightly coloured lights and things that are meant to disorientate us, because everything’s quite simple, we’re all motivated by the same things. Even when I’m getting angry with someone, and my baser emotions are being stimulated, and I think ‘God, I wanna fucking kill that person,’ then you can take a moment to reflect that there are people that feel inadequate and just wanna be loved. And if you could keep that in your mind at all times, we are just simple, biological mechanisms that essentially just want to be looked after, it’s very disarming. Life and humans can be very complex, but really everything is so simple, really we’re just tall children, and the same things that scared us and frightened us in our infancy are prevalent in our adulthood.

CLick Here to Continue (adamfoxie* Pages)

Equal Marriage in NJ Will Pass ONly With Gov.Christie's Nod

Andrew Mills/The Star-LedgerGov. Chris Christie

Could it be that Gov. Chris Christie is going wobbly on gay marriage, that he actually could allow it to happen on his watch?

He won’t personally support it — he’s been clear on that. But when asked on Thursday if he intended to veto a bill on marriage equality, should it reach his desk, he wouldn’t say.

“When forced to make a decision, if forced to make a decision on it, I’ll make a decision,” he said.

Gov. Battering Ram doesn’t usually talk like that, with such reserve and mystery. He likes to hit people between the eyes with crisp resolve and certain language. So the waffling is noteworthy.

Our hope is that he treats this issue as a matter of personal conscience and frees Republicans in the Legislature to support gay marriage without any threat of political retaliation.

This is a moral issue, a central civil rights issue of our day. Christie is a smart enough politician to know that the political momentum behind marriage equality ensures that gay couples will eventually gain the right to wed in New Jersey. The only question is when.

Several Republicans in the Legislature have told gay rights activists in confidence that they personally favor marriage equality. But to defy Christie is dangerous. He demands loyalty from his party and he keeps grudges.

So far, he has held iron control over them. One example: When he vetoed a budget provision setting aside $7.6 million for family planning clinics, several Republicans who supported the clinics switched sides and backed the governor’s veto.

When Congress considered its resolution authorizing an invasion of Iraq in 2003, party leaders on both sides told their members to vote their conscience. It was a proud moment for our democracy because it showed respect for the sacred nature of that decision.

Maybe Christie can be convinced to take the same approach on gay marriage. He is no ogre on gay rights. He supports civil unions and says that law might have to be strengthened to ensure full legal equality. That puts him miles ahead of most leading Republicans.

The governor may never be ready to take the next obvious step, for full marriage equality. But he should at least free his fellow Republicans who are ready to make that leap.

By Star-Ledger Editorial Board 

Boston’s Bad Boy } Mark Walhberg

by Jamie Beckman

 

Endowed with talent, acting chops and a hot bod that will forever be frozen in the '90s pop culture canon, Mark Wahlberg is sex-a-licious no matter what professional role he takes — from playing a '70s porn star in Boogie Nights, portraying a dirty detective in The Departed or taking the reins as a Hollywood producer, bringing us hit shows like Entourage (the show was based on his own group of guy friends!). Now, as a reformed criminal who rejoins the smuggling game in Contraband, in theaters now, Mark shows us his best action star yet. We'll kick back and dream about him defending our honor, whether at a red carpet event or on a gritty city street.Tough, savvy and good-looking to boot, we fantasize about having Mark Wahlberg on our arm — a scrappy protector with wicked street smarts.

Mark Wahlberg

Born: June 5, 1971
Hometown: Boston, Massachusetts
Height: 5'8"

 

We'll never forget how he looked in that underwear commercial

Okay, technically he's not rapper Marky Mark anymore, nor is he part of the Funky Bunch. But his legendary sexy Calvin Klein underwear ads are still burned into our brains because...well, do we really need to explain?
Looking back, Mark Wahlberg was almost The Situation-esque with his Boston-boy bravado, but, well, he was smokin'. Sample dialogue from his legendary Calvin Klein TV commercial (featuring a blonde in white panties and sagging jeans orbiting around him): "These are the '90s, man, they just fit good and they hold me snug."
Snug indeed! And we thank you for that, Calvin Klein.

 

 

What is it with Mark and what he has to offer below the belt? 1997'sBoogie Nights was a smash, with Mark playing Dirk Diggler, a newbie to the 1970s porn scene who struggles with his place in the world and substance abuse (among other things). After that, Wahlberg played equally conflicted characters, including his latest role inContraband as a former criminal who's forced to leave his wife (played by Kate Beckinsdale) and children and return to the tangled world of international smuggling. It's no surprise that Mark Wahlberg has drawn from his own struggles with drugs, gangs and violence to bring his roles to life — especially this most recent one.
"I could certainly identify with it, because in my own life. I’ve had a pretty troubled past," he told the New York Daily News about Contraband. "And you hope, too, that these are themes that people can identify with — whether it be on an emotional level or a fighting level."
We think the audience will.

He's grown up to be a caring father and family man

Now a mature dad of four children, including two girls, Mark says having a family has changed him in the best way possible — and given him a newfound respect for women.
"And I tell you, having girls has made me a much better man," hetold the Star-Ledger. "I have friends who are fathers, but they only have boys, and they have the same attitude toward women they always had, you know? And I don’t play that. . . . My girls, you mess with them? I will bury you underground."
You heard him, future suitors!

 

Mark Wahlberg's relationship status

Fun trivia: Back in his hot '90s days, Mark dated Punky Brewster's Soleil Moon Frye. But in 2001, he began dating fashion model Rhea Durham, 33, and the pair married in 2009. They have four children: two girls and two boys. And, cute alert!: Out of respect for his wife, he tries to keep his movie sex scenes at a minimum: "If it has anything to do with me kissing somebody, my wife's not gonna like it so I'll fight to get it cut out," he told WENN. "Those are the more important issues. I usually try to choose my battles wisely."
Awww — we love that kind of consideration for a partner! Way to treat a lady, Mark!

 

sheknows.com

Sometimes We Need More Than Love

   

I just ended a two-year affair. It wasn’t a relationship in the sense of being partners or lovers, it was different from that, but it had endured, and it was good most of the time. He already has a lover, and we were clear about the limits on what we did.

And even though we weren’t “in love” we did love each other in our own way. You can’t really keep on hooking up for that amount of time without caring for the other guy.

But in the end I decided that it just wasn’t good for me. It took up a lot of my emotional energy, yet in the cold hard light of day, I could see that it was time to move on. He was surprised and wounded at the rupture, and so was his partner but obviously to a lesser degree. Yes, it hurt , but I know I made the right call.

And it made me think about the huge weight we tend to put on love these days, our expectations that love is the answer to everything, that love makes it all ok. That’s asking love to carry a lot, and is a relatively new way of thinking.

In the past relationships were formed more around ideas of how to build a stable family, how to work the farm together, keep the community going, and were often set up by families – the idea that we should fall in love first, then settle down, is a very new one.

Of course, for gays, it’s different. We get to chart our own way through the world, as we don’t have thousands of years of patterns of same-sex relationships to look back on and model ourselves on. We have the chance to form new ways of relating. I know men who happily manage living as a threesome. I know others who have different networks of lovers, more part of a group than a couple. And I know lots of couples who will never marry, they have been together decades and see no need for it.

But of course, because of the way we’re raised, being a couple is seen as the gold standard, and the appeal of the romantic “Love is forever and once” model is strong. It also explains the rise in popularity of gay marriage, something that simply wasn’t even on the horizon 30 years ago when Gay Lib was at its most active. Then settling into a couple was almost seen as a bit strange, a bit limiting, blindly following straights, pretending to be like them in a sad little parody of suburban life, when gay men could be out there fucking and loving in all sorts of new ways – or so the theory went.

I know a lot of guys my age and older who are dismissive of gay marriage, see it as conformist, giving in, simply apeing the straights. But for many young guys it’s obviously much more important, and I understand and respect that. It is a lovely thing to have your relationship celebrated by the most important people in your life, whatever the gender mix of the couple. It’s important to have legal recognition as well. And standing up in front of everyone you care about and committing yourself to another person is a big thing.

But love – that magic word – we ask so much of it. We had both told the other we loved each other, in our own way, we both cared for and liked each other. But in the end, I could tell it wasn’t enough.

I know I will love again, and everytime it’s different. But as I age, I see more and more, love alone isn’t enough.

gaynz.com