Continue reading "Encountr - the gay/bi guyfinder app for Android. [Gay Geeks]"...

Cindy McCain recently posed for the NO H8 campaign. The campaign focused on bringing awareness to equality for all, specifically the LGBT community. Although this is a great “get” on the campaigns part… I just feel like saying it’s too late Cindy. Perhaps we should call Mrs. McCain’s photos TOO L8! Photographer, Adam Bouska, told the Advocate.com he spent several hours with McCain and really thinks she understands the need for equal rights for the gay community. So, they snapped, snapped and snapped away during the photo shoot.

It’s a pretty picture, and that’s about it. What does her feelings on equal rights for the LGBT community mean to anyone at this point. There was a moment just over a year ago, when she had a much larger public platform. When her husband, Senator John McCain, was running for the presidency, she had her pick of news shows, talk shows or newspapers to state her opinion on equal rights/marriage equality for the gay community. But, if my memory serves me correctly, that was not the platform her husband was running on. The very same platform she publicly supported and stood on in state after state across this country.

When Bouska was asked if she gave any indication whether John McCain is moving in the direction of supporting marriage equality? He said, “I got that impression. I don’t know that I should speak much about it, but I definitely got that impression.”

The impression I get is different. The impression I get, comes straight from John McCain’s mouth, “People should be able to enter into legal agreements.” That’s what Senator McCain told Ellen DeGeneres on her daytime talk show, when chatting about marriage equality. That’s what the platform Cindy McCain stood for represented. Once again, the LGBT community was asked to be “lesser.” I wonder if John McCain got down on one knee and asked Cindy to “enter into a legal agreement?” He went on to tell Degeneres, “I just believe in the unique status of marriage between man and woman.” As Ellen replied, It seems the statement says, “You can sit there, but you just can’t sit there.”

Looks like gay men and women are still riding in the back of the McCain “Straight Talk Express” campaign bus.

Update: Senator McCain’s office has issued a statement saying he respects his family members’ views, but that he is still opposed to gay marriage.

As social networking sites become more and more popular, us working professionals are often told to be careful of the types of pictures we pose for, and post on the Internet. I guess no one told a then 22-year-old Scott Brown, to be careful of the types of photos he poses for, and has published in Cosmo. That’s right, the newly elected Massachusetts Senator (R) may have posed himself as more independent to win his seat in the Senate. But, he definitely was a little bit more liberal back in 1982, when it came to taking off his clothes… perhaps there’s hope for Levi Johnston after all! Remember Johnston’s Playgirl centerfold?

What did Senator Brown have to say about his body of work back in the day, “I’m not ashamed of my body, I work hard enough to keep it in shape. When you go to the beach, you automatically seek out the best bodies, female and male. Why should it be different in a magazine?”

I will be honest, he’s hot. He and President Obama should hit the beach together. Is it just me, or are our politicians getting younger and hotter everyday?

When  my partner and I travel, we always look for gay accomodations to stay at.  Not just because I want to support my community, but who wants to stay with a bunch of families? I suppose if you have gaybies, staying at a gay hotel is not important.

We do have some gay friends that would rather choose a  4 or 5 star straight hotel, over gay accomodations.

Gay Travelers Prefer Staying in Gay Owned Establishments

Seventy-one percent of respondents preferred to stay in an accommodation that was gay/lesbian owned and operated. That?s not surprising but over 50% indicated they weren?t bothered one way or the other. ?We were surprised that over 50% of the respondents said they would be comfortable staying in a non gay owned establishment. It might reflect society?s changing attitudes towards gay and lesbian travelers,? said Stephen. Future surveys will examine this question further.

Price is the Main Factor for Choosing Travel Arrangements

When it comes to travel arrangements, less than 15% of members said they choose an airline specifically because of its GLBT policy. Based on this data, airlines that have spent time and money promoting gay friendly flights may not see much return. Over 50% said ticket price was a major deciding factor and 35% based their decision on flight schedules.

The problem for me is that I'm friendly with most of these bloggers and they are with me as well; we often collaborate on actions on behalf of the equality movement, share tips, etc. I fail to understand what motivates this hostility in the comments.

Let's just say I don't want to see that kind of crap in comments here at PHB; if you have a criticism of someone's post or perspective (even when it comes to movement leaders, btw), I have to believe that Blenders can find an intelligent, reality-based way of analyzing and communicating your sentiments than what you see above. And it has nothing to do with clamping down expression or making it impossible to hold anyone accountable for what they put out there.

For every self-satisfying toss-off, how many calls do you think these commenters (JT, GAYLIB and TANK) made to their representatives about pro-LGBT legislation? How many even know who their state rep and senator are or visited with them? Even here, I see a fair amount of griping and moaning about the past -- as if we can change it -- and less strategy on how to stop a repeat failure or to actually achieve a sorely-needed victory.

The reason I bring this topic up is that on a regular basis I receive criticism for statements I've never made, positions I've never taken and insults or name-calling that are non-existent on my part. Where does it come from? The Blend comments.  

For whatever reason, people looking for an easy way to discredit an essay or post of mine (or another barista) usually burrow into the comments to find "proof" of some malevolent hoohah, even if it's not anything anyone above the fold has said. I find it a bizarre phenomenon that some readers can't distinguish between a post and comments, but it happens so often that I have to believe people just see what they want to see.

Anyway, I'm just asking to pick up the discourse a bit and help with the problem-solving since we have a lot of work to collectively do ahead, given we have an administration running down the clock, a complex, often thorny relationship between the netroots and our "gatekeeper" organizations, and a well-organized right-wing Dominionist network of barely-tethered-to-reality folks who should not be able to scare our pols, but yet they are.

I know we have a lot of smart, politically aware Blenders here and we need all the brainpower we can get. Save your fire for deserving targets (also, no matter which side they are on). By all means hold me accountable, hold leaders accountable, but try to make your case in a way that is specific, fact-based and productive.

We put ourselves out here to take barbs, threats and all sorts of crap without the cover of anonymity, and at least on my part as a labor of love and desire for equality, certainly not to make a living off of it -- or belly up to a non-existent buffet, lol. They don't feed the journalists (at least not me) at these functions.

Billy Kennedy's web site:billykennedyforcongress.com

Twitter: http://twitter.com/billy4wnc
If you feel so inclined, can donate to Billy Kennedy's campaign directly through ActBlue.

Politico reports that anti-gay Family Research Council president Tony Perkins was disinvited from a prayer luncheon at Andrews Air Force base recently because of his remarks on "Don't Ask, Don't Tell":

 "The Family Research Council has been lobbying lawmakers to oppose the repeal of don’t ask don’t tell. 'Do not let our military be used to advance a radical sexual agenda,' says an item on the council’s web site. Comments like that were too much for the military base...'The Chaplain’s office retracted Mr. Perkins’ invitation after his recent public comments made many who planned to attend the event uncomfortable,' the Andrews base public affairs office said in a statement issued to CNS News late Thursday. 'This was a local decision made by the chaplain’s office who wanted the luncheon to be inclusive for the entire base community,' the statement said. 'The chaplain’s office respects and defends Mr. Perkins right to express his opinions, and regrets any inconvenience to him. We thank and respect him for his prior military service.' Perkins argues that what happened to him is just the beginning of a trend in the military where civil rights will trump the religious freedom to oppose homosexuality."

Perkins talked about gays this weekend at Nashville's Grace Chapel.

In related news, Media Matters notes that Perkins was spreading his misinformation and distortions regarding DADT on FOX News Sunday.

Said Perkins: "You've got 80 to 100 men that will live in one room, shower together, they stay together. I mean, it's -- you don't have much privacy. But, secondly, and I think more importantly is the impact that this will have on national security from the standpoint of its impact upon military readiness. And now we've had 14 congressional studies in the last 16 years or congressional hearings and they've all come to the same conclusion that good order, morale, unit cohesion is essential to military success, and this policy, the current policy -- 'don't ask, don't tell' -- upholds that. So, this is not just our opinion. Congress has come to the same conclusion 14 times in the last 16 years."

Watch, AFTER THE JUMP...

Ted Olson and David Boies, the attorneys leading the federal challenge to Proposition 8 in California, submitted a 294-page document on Friday as part of final filings in the case.

 Said Chad Griffin, Board President of the American Foundation for Equal Rights: "This 294-page filing is only a summary of the overwhelming evidence against Proposition 8. The evidence proves beyond a doubt that Proposition 8, which separates Americans into unequal groups, violates the U.S. Constitution and causes incredible harm to individuals and our nation as a whole."

The document submitted to Judge Vaughn Walker by Olson and Boies is available here.

The San Francisco Chronicle summed up the filings from both sides.

The AP reports: "In papers filed late Friday, lawyers for the sponsors of California's gay marriage ban offered new twists on their claim that allowing gay men and lesbians to wed could undermine man-woman unions. The potential harms they cited included giving bisexuals a legal basis for pursuing group marriages and unmarried fathers an incentive to abandon their children. Lawyers for gay marriage supporters argued that no evidence existed to back those claims. Walker plans to schedule closing arguments in the case sometime soon."

A Bill Moyers Journal special on the Prop 8 challenge aired on Friday night.

Paul Katami, one of the plaintiffs in the Prop 8 case, wrote on his Facebook page of the Moyers special: "A MUST WATCH about our case. It's the best 45 minutes that will explain and deliver what we are doing and why."

Watch a preview, AFTER THE JUMP...

Watch a large portion of the show HERE.

Kid’s baseball card photo/talisman, Berkeley, CA.

Had to wait ’til Monday, since over the weekend the spirits flagged too much. Kept looking at pictures of pictures of my nephew, who would have turned 15 on Saturday. Couldn’t post a picture of anything other than him, but then couldn’t really post about him, either. So, a blank weekend.  Today, just a wee slice.

Every morning I pick up a bracelet I got in his memory right after he died, to keep him and what he teaches me in full view.  Just before I put on the bracelet, I kiss the tip of my index finger and touch it to his face in this peanut league baseball photo, taken several years before he died, and try to connect/summon/say a little something to him. We all do what we can.

My punkin lamb peeping the world through a pair of “100″ glasses.

The girlie’s Kindergarten class celebrated their hundredth school day earlier this week. So, so long ago was her first. An excited, nervous, pre-K little girl ago.

Who’s in her place now? If only I could can catch hold of the happy, self-posessed blur in front of me, I’d tell you.

That’s according to two new studies presented at the 17th Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI) being held in San Francisco.

The first study from the Netherlands followed 4612 newly diagnosed patients between 1998 and 2007. The study excluded those who start antiretroviral therapy (ART) less than six months after diagnosis or who already had an AIDS-defining illness in the first six months. The researchers then calculated the mortality rate of 0.67% a year:

This mortality rate enabled the researchers to compute life expectancies. For a patient diagnosed at the age of 25 the life expectancy came out at 52.7 years – in other words they would die, on average, at the age of 77.7. This was scarcely different to the life expectancy for 25 year olds in the general Dutch population – 53.1 years.

…Men and women diagnosed aged 25 could expect to live just five months less than HIV-negative people and men diagnosed at age 55 would live 1.3 years less (women 1.5 years less). For patients diagnosed with HIV (but not AIDS) symptoms the figure was two years shorter for men and women diagnosed at 25, and six and 7.5 years shorter for men and women respectively diagnosed at 55.

The second study was a much larger one of more than 80,000 patients from 30 European countries. This study didn’t just follow the newly-diagnosed, but all patients who had been on anti-retriviral therapy (ART) since 1998. It found that men who were not injecting drug users and who had a current CD4 count over 500 were no more likely to die during the follow-up period than their HIV-negative counterparts.

The key was maintaining a CD4 count of over 500 for at least three years. Over all, when those with lower CD4 counts were included, people with HIV had a 50% higher risk of death. But when injected drug users and people with CD4 counts lower than 500 were excluded, the mortality of people with HIV was virtually identical to those who were HIV-negative.

Today, the paper’s successor, DCAgenda, announced that they have successfully purchased the print and electronic archives and other assets of the Blade, ensuring that this historical treasure will be in safe hands.

CONTINUED »

Permalink | 10 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Tagged: ryan dobson, soundbites

Kathy Griffin stars in an upcoming Law & Order SVU episode, playing an activist. Sure, these parts are usually reserved for nobody actors, but not always! And it's very important for Griffin to step up her brand, because My Life on the D-List is about to be on no list, as she grows increasingly tired with filming the Bravo series. So, fine, give Griffin a new part, like this one where, while while in the arms (okay, protective custody) of lesbian lust object Mariska Hargitay, Ms. Griffin steals a kiss. But homey don't play that.

CONTINUED »

Permalink | 4 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Tagged: Kathy Griffin, law & order: svu, mariska hargitay, Television

VOGUE HOMMES JAPAN ISSUE 4 - OUT MARCH 10TH!!

read more

read more

Hot:

What Would Sappho Say?

Lectori Salutem! or L.S. (Greetings to the Reader!)

I know, I know, not you, right? Ok, so I am not talking about you particularly, but I do know that Sappho has indulged in watching Zeus and Apollo go at it like the Greek gods they are and so do plenty of my lesbian brethren. Over the years, it has been amazing the number of women that have come out of the woodwork as prospectors of man on man action in their sexual lives.

It’s true. In the privacy of their own bedrooms, lesbians are watching gay male porn videos, surfing gay male porn websites, and looking at their magazines. I remember early on when as Sappho’s Muse I first watched these movies with a male friend and became aroused, I was sure I was the isolated case and it confused the hell out of me. Thank Sappho I have a big mouth and was willing to share my story soon after that and found I was not so alone. I still had big questions.

Why would women who had sex only with women get turned on watching two men go at each other with such intensity? Why would women with no desire to be with a real penis get aroused watching penises have sex with each other? Well, we certainly weren’t getting such real expressions of raw sexuality on screen anywhere else. There is something to be said for gay male porn on its own merits. It does not involve the degradation of women in any way, shape, or form, therefore even feminists could watch with a clear conscious. There is no worry about political power, exploitation, and violence against women. The players are all very hot and the focus is on the sex, not the sentiment. Isn’t that what porn should be about?

All I had to do was google “lesbian gay male porn” and the answer was clear that this topic is one that has been chewed over many times before I got here like After Ellen’s 835 Search Results, Planet Out’s Op-Ed ‘Why Do I Like Gay Men’s Porn. I’m A Lesbian and oh so many more…. It seems to be a pandemic of activity around the the central theme of watching gay men fuck each other. I do know that over the years the number of women in my life that have freely admitted to indulging in the pastime has consistently gone up as the freedom to talk about all things homosexual has risen.

Whenever the topic has come up as a free and flowing conversation, it seemed that many of the reasons for finding gay male porn so sexy was that it released a part of them that allowed the fantasy of total domination over someone else as that is often what gay male sex is all about. They were also allowed to indulge in the rougher stuff, without the distraction of wondering if they are faking it, if anyone is being hurt as men are strong and are incapable of faking it. There is also the fact that these women enjoyed seeing men do to each other what they do to women – yeah, do it to each other and leave us out of it – the power play! No Woman Was Harmed In The Making Of This Movie!

It appears that written gay male porn is even more exciting for some lesbians than are videos as then the imagination rules the day. When you are allowed to create your own mental pictures, the often volcanic cum shots, which can be distasteful for some can lose their significance in the written word.

As far as the penises are concerned, the phallocentric gay male porn is not completely incongruous to lesbian sexuality. It is not much of a reach to imagine why lesbians watch gay male porn when you see how today’s lesbian identity is rich with diverse concepts such as butch, femme, queer, lesbian fag, boi, grrl, daddy, mommy – and all subtle graduations in between all the way to transgender. Some of these roles include the strap-on or hand-used dildos, phallic-shaped vibrators, or “packing” (wearing a faux penis inside the clothes) as a serious intimate life choice.

So, gay male porn has had its impact on the lesbian community, due to the host of reasons above and the paucity and quality of lesbian porn designed by and for the lesbian community. Porn purveyors have known for some time the appeal of cross-orientational watching. We all knew that straight men like to watch girl-girl action (the fake kind). But what other crossover watching besides gay women is going on out there? Well, a number of my gay male friends tell me they like straight porn and I know straight women get off on lesbian (the fake and real kind, whatever they can get their hands on!) porn. Could it be that if gay men were exposed to real lesbian porn they’d get off on it? My instincts tell me NO WAY!!!!! Most of us cannot even stomach it.

Much Love.

Inspired By Sappho’s Muse

QUOTES OF THE DAY
A promiscuous person is a person who is getting more sex than you are.
Victor Lownes

Love is the answer, but while you are waiting for the answer sex raises some pretty good questions.
Woody AllenSimilar Posts:

• TLL Adult Review: Crash Pad Series
• Lesbians and Porn?
• all those questions…
• New Radical Lesbian Feminist Front-NRLFF-Join Us if you Dare

Anyone who knew me as a kid knows that I was downright obsessed with Transformers approximately between the ages of Sesame Street and Power Rangers. So it was with great joy that I’ve been picking up the remastered seasons of Transformers that Shout Factory has been releasing. I have an issue with the fact that they released seasons one and two before they released the super awesome complete set with Matrix of Leadership packaging and seasons three and four won’t be available till April. I’m thinking they went to the George Lucas school of DVD releasing. Speaking of evil ways to steal a nerd’s money by fucking with DVD releases, did you hear that the initial Lord of the Rings blu-ray release will only be the theatrical versions? So you’ll have to buy two versions, or just wait the extra year for the extended cuts. Seriously, and they wonder why we pirate things!

But anyway, I digest! How was it to relive my childhood? It was fantastic! I mean, at first I was a little worried because they weren’t as OMG! Amazing! as I remember. But once I got past the three part series premiere, things really got good. I mean, yeah, it’s super cheesy and very obvious that this show’s sole purpose is to sell toys, but they do a damn good job at it, and the stories aren’t anything to thumb your nose at. But half the fun is seeing how silly it is. I mean, at one point the Decepticons lead the Autobots into a quicksand trap and the Autobots are all but doomed and Megatron is like “Laserbeak, wait here and make sure they sink!” ::Flies Away:: Seriously, Megatron? You have the Autobots trapped and you’re gonna leave their fate in the hands of a flying cassette tape? It reminded me of the Family Guy: Blue Harvest quote: “What, are we paying by the laser now?”

Another fun part about watching the series is seeing the origins of the Transformers and their backstories. Most of my Transformers viewing from the past ten years just comes from the original 1986 movie, so it’s nice to see how the Transformers came from Cybertron, and the creation of the subgroups like the Dinobots, Insecticons, and Constructicons (that’s where the toy selling aspect of the show comes into play full force). It’s also cool to see a lot of the Transformers I completely forgot about since the original group totally got the shaft when the movie came out because they had to make way for new toys characters. So it’s nice to see characters like Sideswipe, Wheeljack, Cliffjumper (voiced by Casey Kasem who sounds like Shaggy), Sunstreaker, and a bunch more that I had either forgotten about or don’t even have any recollection of. All in all, it’s been really fun, and I’m looking forward to rewatching the entire series.

Is there anything you loved as a kid and rewatched recently?

• RainyMood.com
  (tags: noise)
• SimplyNoise.com – The best free white noise generator on the Internet.
  (tags: noise)

• petition @Senate_GOPs & Jim Bunning: stop holding unemployed Americans hostage to your obstruction agenda http://act.ly/1qo RT to sign #p2 #

Children’s musicians Erin Lee and Marci bring us the next of their regular posts with thematic recommendations for kid-friendly music, plus activities to make the songs an interactive experience for the whole family.

Look for Erin Lee and Marci here on the first Monday of each month, or visit their homepage, www.gottaplay.org.

I’ve created links to Amazon for the full albums (click the album image or name), plus links to Amazon MP3 downloads, when available, for those who want only the singles. (Click the song name.) I also have a widget after the jump that will let you preview most of the songs without leaving Mombian.

It seems like March is always a month to travel. Some schools have a March Break and some families are just sick of winter and head South! So whether you are heading to a resort or your relatives, here are some great songs to sing en route.

“18 Wheels on a Big Rig” (Trout Fishing in America, Mine! and the live version Family Music Party)

This is our all-time favorite counting song. Seriously. Do you have an older child who thinks he’s “outgrown kiddie song” and has to pooh-pooh what the younger kids are listening to? Well, he will have met his match with this song! Get Smarty-pants to sing along, first counting by Roman numerals and then dividing the wheels of a big rig by pi.

“Get in the Car” (Miss Cathy, Mornings with Miss Cathy)

We first saw Miss Cathy sing this song two years ago at the Children’s Music Network National Conference – and it’s STILL stuck in our heads (in a good way)! So many songs about cars focus on all the fabulous places you can go – but let’s face it, usually we are in the car to run to the grocery store, and the dry cleaners…and we’re usually running late. This list song of all the places to go in the car can be easily adapted to fit all your errands, so sing it the next time that you are trying to hurry up and get those errands done!

“A View From the Backseat” (Erin Lee & Marci, Snowdance)

It’s hard when you are 9 going on 29 and your family insists on doing everything together – including the weekly car trip to an unnamed place (which remains unnamed at the behest of Erin Lee’s loved ones!) It’s even harder when you get stuck in traffic, which means you idle so long you run out of gas, which means you have to ride in a tow truck, which means… wait a minute… tow trucks are COOL!

Here’s an activity to get this song off the iPod and into daily life:

Plan a trip! It can be a trip to your best friend’s house, or a trip to Disneyland. Get out the maps (or go to Mapquest) and learn how to read one – not such a common skill these days now that we all have GPS! Plot out the route, and how it might be different if you traveled by train rather than a car…or a horse rather than a train…or….

Too good to wait for the next roundup: The Pennsylvania state Superior Court overturned a 25-year-old precedent that said in custody cases involving former opposite-sex couples, where one person is now in a same-sex relationship, the burden is placed on the LGB parent to prove that the same-sex relationship will have no adverse effect on the child.

In the current case, Dauphin County Senior Judge Joseph F. Kleinfelter had ignored the recommendation of a neutral social worker who proposed either a shared custody arrangement or primary custody going to the mother. Judge Kleinfelter, however, awarded primary custody to the father because the mother  was now involved with another woman.

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports his original bias:

He concluded that “when weighing [daughter's] best interests between the two households, we believe those interests are better served by placing her in a traditional heterosexual environment.”

Judge Kleinfelter said he awarded primary custody to the father based on his personal experience as a judge, parent, grandparent and foster parent.

The Superior Court, reports the Post-Gazette, found he, “abused his discretion by both ignoring the recommendations of the social worker and by basing his decision on his personal opinion.” (Remind me again why anti-LGBT people always criticize pro-LGBT people for having “activist judges”?) The Superior Court awarded shared custody to both parents.

(Thanks, Sue!)

All you see in the media is younger people coming out. You hardly ever see the stories of older couples coming out or single gay or lesbians who have had to hide for job security, religion, or other reasons.

While coming out is nearly always a scary proposition, coming out well after adolescence or college can be especially challenging. Younger people may worry about coming out to family and friends, but as you age, your social ties change. You may have to come out to a spouse, children, and co-workers. Your worries, concerns and questions around coming out may be entirely different than those of a younger person.

Be smart about coming out. Make sure that those closest to you hear from you, and not from the local gossip channel. While you do not need to send your cousin Betty an announcement card, your parents, siblings and closest friends should be told directly. Much of the time, co-workers and your boss can wait. Depending upon your age and social network, you may find that it is more or less accepted. Consider telling a dear, trusted friend early on in the process to have a support system available. You may find that there are those in your life you simply choose not to tell, and this is also valid, especially if they are not apt to hear otherwise.

One of the most difficult situations for gay and lesbian individuals coming out as adults is telling a spouse. Regardless of the stability of your marriage, coming out will pose significant challenges to your marriage and nuclear family. If you have already made decisions about your marriage, you should be open and honest about these with your spouse. You may be unsure about what you want. Consider seeing a therapist experienced in helping couples deal with these transitions. Some people opt to stay in their marriages, acknowledging their sexuality. Others hope for a peaceful dissolution of their marriage.

Telling children also poses a number of challenges. Younger children are typically quite accepting. You may wish to consider becoming active in a local gay and lesbian parenting group to allow your children to see families like yours. Address concerns as they arise and be aware of any possible social issues that may come up for your children. Older children and adult children may feel angry, betrayed or confused. They might also simply have already known or thought they knew. You may find family counseling helpful to smooth over these relationships if need be during this time.

There are some great resources about coming out as an adult, ranging from thirty something to a senior. A recent documentary, Out Late, offers a number of coming out stories from older Americans. More information is available at bulletin.aarp.org/yourworld/reinventing. More tips on coming out in adulthood can be found at sexualityandu.ca/adults/. If you have children, or are the adult child of a gay or lesbian parent, colage.org may be of assistance.

National Coming Out Day is October 11.

Joe.My.God and Dan Savage point us to the tourism ad least likely to make men want to visit Israel. I'm sure it's a lovely country, but this is not the way to inspire me to go.

Morgan Freeman has had more airtime during the Olympics than the athletes and the announcers combined.

I was unaware that dogs had an issue with the Law & Order theme song.  Rachel Maddow attempts to get to the bottom of the weird conspiracy theories about what upsets the pups, whether it's the sound of a ball bouncing or something we can't hear (I find that unlikely, television speakers have a limited range).

read more

Meet that special woman at the 100% ALL GIRL lesbian dating site - Meet Her Here. SIGN UP FOR FREE!

A couple of weeks ago, the Grassroots Fundraising Journal asked me to sit down for an interview about the nuts and bolts of owning and managing Bilerico Project. They were gathering information on a myriad of non-profit organizations' IT/communications structure around their blog and I asked if I could publish my Q&A here since it'll only end up in a snippet of the final report.

Every time we have one of our receptions, some of the most common questions are about the behind-the-scenes details of running Bilerico Project. If you want to take a short peek behind the curtain, the interview is after the jump.

Continue reading "Bilerico Nuts & Bolts: The Grassroots Fundraising Journal Interview"...

For more on Lacey and Jessica, visit their blog, follow them on Twitter (@laceystonefit and @jessicaclark) and friend them on Facebook (Jessica Clark and Lacey Stone Fitness). You can also visit sarathefilm.com to find out about Jessica's new role in the short film. Check back on March 15 for a new episode.

read more

Former Battlestar Galactica star Grace Park has signed on to the remake of Hawaii Five-O. Suddenly, I care about Hawaii Five-O.

The actress, who played Lt. Sharon “Boomer” Valerii on the SyFy series, has joined the pilot for the update of the popular Hawaii police drama that ran from 1968 to 1980. Former Moonlight and Three Rivers star Alex O’Loughlin will star Hawaii State Police squad leader Steve McGarrett, the role originally made famous by Jack Lord.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Grace will play Kona Kalakaua, the niece of McGarrett’s squad member Chin Ho Kelly (Lost’s Daniel Dae Kim). She is said to be “a beautiful and smart champion surfer who is about to graduate from the police academy when McGarrett recruits her to join his team.”

read more

He claims he was taken out of context when he said he hated Republicans and everything they stood for and called the partisan differences in America “a struggle between good and evil and we’re the good.” Only when he didn’t say jsut how his remarks had been taken out of context nor did he apologize.  He did say, “I don’t hate Republicans as individuals“, then added:

But I hate what the Republicans are doing to this country.  I really do.  I hate deficits, as you know.  When I was governor, I really was very tough on fiscal responsibility.  Deficits in the long run aren’t good for the country, and they do lower our standard of living.  Every American family knows that you have to pay your bills.  I hate the dishonesty, you know, the idea that you’d put a program through Congress without telling people what it costs, I think that’s wrong.  

Guess he must really hate this Administration, but then, he can’t because, well, he’s a Democrat and right now, only Republicans do the hating.  Yet, given what Howard Dean said back in ‘05, you’d kind of understand it, you know by his standards, if Republicans did start pushing the hate button, I mean, with those big deficits we’re getting from team Obama.  

He is, however, not praising them when he alleges they have the same attitudes toward a spendthrift Administration that he once did:

He also said that the Republican Party holds “untenable positions based on emotion and anger,” and that the GOP won’t be effective until they “stop pushing the hate button.”

To show just how out of touch is this former chairman of the Democratic National Committee, he spouts some nonsense about the Tea Party’s views on social issues.  Guess he has a one-size-fits-all approach to conservatives.  If they oppose a Democratic Administration, then they must be like the imaginary conservative inside his head, harboring hateful views of homosexuals.

Hate to break it to you, Howard, but those Tea Party folks are pretty concerned about the things that got you hating the Republicans lo these five years ago.  Guess you just hate anyone who doesn’t have a (D) after his name and support your wayward left-wing ways.

Talk about the pot calling the kettle black.  This is the crusty old pot which once boasted about its thick coat of soot calling black the kettle just back on the stove after a long scrubbing with multiple Brillo Pads.

Most people know about former Vice President Cheney’s recent hospitalization, but few know that President Obama called him “to wish him a speedy recovery“.  More should.

It was a classy act.

So, let me join other conservative bloggers in tipping my hat to the president for calling one of his staunchest critics to wish him well after his recent heart attack:

. . .this classy deserves some recognition. Good for Obama for swallowing his pride and doing the presidential thing. Why, even Jim Treacher was moved to tip his cap to Barry O — and he just got run over by one of Obama’s guys. Talk about goodwill.

Last night The Sarah Silverman Program had some fun with the issue of gay marriage. Sarah gets into local politics when she campaigns for a fake write-in candidate she calls "May Kadoody". (Think about it). Complications ensue when the write-in campaign is successful and a real "May Kadoody" shows up to take office. Among other things, this real Kadoody is vehemently anti-gay.

Against this backdrop, Sarah's friend Brian (Brian Posehn) decides to make an honest man out of his boyfriend Steve (Steve Agee). What first looks like a bashing (a brick through a window) turns out to be a marriage proposal:

Once they get rid of Kadoody, the newly installed pro-gay mayor (guest star Bradley Whitford) officiates over Brian & Steve's marriage on the steps of city hall.

read more

Just About Write is a resource site for lesbian authors and readers.  JAW’s staff includes Nann Dunne, Editor-in-Chief and Publisher,and Lori Lake, Associate Editor and Manager of Lesbian Fiction Herstory Page.  Both Nann and Lori are well known in the world of lesbian literature and publishing.

Just About Write includes many different sections for new and established authors of lesbian literature.  For example, you’ll find an articles sections covering many different topics of interest, such as eBook writing, copy writing, book marketing and more.  Many of these articles are written by lesbian greats such as Fay Jacobs.

JAW also does book reviews.  Current reviews include - Blessed Twice by Lynn Galli, Compulsion by Terri Breneman, Falling Star by Gill McKnight and more.

In addition to book reviews and articles, you’ll find poetry.  Along with poetry you’ll also find a section for new releases, announcements, current calls for submissions and a resource link.

Just About Write is a lesbian friendly site and a proud member of the Golden Crown Literary Society.  GCLS hosts an annual conference for authors of lesbian works and their fans to come together.

~

Meet that special lesbian woman at Meet Her Here - A 100% All Girl Lesbian Dating Site! Sign Up for Free!

Hot:

Every silicone dildo company needs a generic penis-shaped dildo, but that doesnt mean I have to like it. I’m talking about the Vamp Marilyn. Marilyn is firm, slim, pretty, and without balls. On the site, one potential color combo is aqua and purple, which is gorgeous and what I had hoped mine might look like. Alas, my Marilyn is a swirled black and silver. There’s a small hole in the base sized for use with a bullet vibrator. It’s seven straight inches long by one and a half inches in girth. The length works well for me (with my belly), but I do find myself wishing for an upward curve to work with the g-spot, and to keep it angled upright when strapped on. For that, though, there’s Talula.

I thought Marilyn would be right up my alley, a basic that everyone needs, like a little black dress or Doc Martins. It turns out that while she’s plenty long enough, she’s not wide enough for my tastes and while I like the look of a straight shaft, I miss the curve of other dildos. A lot of harness compatible dildos have some curve, or some widening at the head, but Marilyn’s head is just the same width as the shaft. Even the upward angle of Talula is welcome to Marilyn’s bland figure.

Beginners, and those who do not like any kind of texture might appreciate the smooth shaft and slenderness of Marilyn. The slenderness and length also could make it a good choice for intermediate anal play. Or you might choose to pass on Marilyn and look through Vamp’s pages and find something with a different size and shape, more to suit your needs. To be fair, the description states that Marilyn is a “simple, all purpose dildo,” and she is. If you were a beginner with no dildos at all and you needed something you could use for anal if you so chose but also wanted something suitable for vaginal penetration, you might choose Marilyn.

I had thought the Leo by Vixen was a lot bigger or girthier than Marilyn, but the truth is they’re the same girth. Leo is actually slightly shorter, overall. Leo’s realistic curve is appealing, and the slightly softer silicone of Leo lends to an ever so slightly more realistic motion. They’re both basic, penis-shaped dildos, but Leo pulls it off a little better. The Marilyn is very straight, very smooth, very bland. The biggest difference is that Marilyn’s head is the same width as the rest of her body, while Leo’s head is 1/4 inch larger in circumference. It seems like it’s not that much, but it is, I assure you. Look at the proof.

I’m not doing a bullet list for Marilyn as it is much the same as that of Talula. Use waterbased lube only. Sterilize by boiling, rinsing with a 10% bleach solution, or tossing on the top shelf of the dish washer (without soap and without dishes). Use condoms when you share toys. Marilyn’s going to fit in most or all harnesses. Don’t point a dildo directly at another person while both persons are in motion. Er, wait… maybe you should do that last one. Either way, head over and check out Vamp’s offerings. If Marilyn seems bland, try Elvis! (He’s got balls.)Similar Posts:

• TLL Adult Review: Vamp Talula
• TLL Adult Review: Leo
• TLL Adult Review: Tantus Curve
• TLL Adult Review: Spine Tingler

INTRODUCING JERKIN / THE SKINNY JEANZ MOVEMENT ON HEDISLIMANE.COM

didn't get this at first - but after watching a few of the videos, the silhouette is inspiring. so beyond . head to youtube search - jerkin.

read more