homophobia

In a move of jaw-dropping hatefulness that defies description, a masked gunman opened fire on the Tel Aviv Gay and Lesbian Association club this past Saturday, killing two and wounding tons of others. What makes this even more revolting is the fact that the Association is a haven for gay and lesbian youth - a place where they should feel protected. According to Reuters, one protester at the scene held up a placard blaming a powerful religious Jewish political party whose members have regularly inveighed against gays.

The pic here is from the live performance of "Forbidden Love" during Madonna's 2006 Confessions Tour, and is well worth the watch. Even if you hate her, the performance is very moving. Plus, it features her hottie dancers Mihran and Jason Young in a cute embrace.

Michael Lucas has just released the first-ever gay porn shot on location in Israel - called, duh, Men of Israel - and it was even mentioned/noted/made fun of (before this tragedy, of course) on Chelsea Handler's late night talk show. Panelists referred to it as "the biggest thing to happen to gay Jews since Streisand." See the clip here, and after viewing it, take the time to hug a gay teen today and let 'em know they're important. Dammit... did I just reveal I sorta have a heart? [Shit!]

Now we give permission for all the bitching, complaining, laughing, applauding, etc. to commence. Sacha Baron Cohen's much-talked about and much-maligned in some quarters flick Brüno: Delicious Journeys Through America for the Purpose of Making Heterosexual Males Visibly Uncomfortable in the Presence of a Gay Foreigner in a Mesh T-Shirt finally unspools this weekend and folks can finally make up their own damned mind. (Here's the full theatrical trailer in case you've somehow missed seeing it.)

More drama: Some in the Austrian press claim it's based on a real person.

Last night on the Late Show with David Letterman, SBC showed up in his

Some folks might say what goes around comes around.
Others might say Fergie & Co. need to be jailed.
Either way, it makes for good (albeit sadly sleazy) copy.

Perez Hilton was in Toronto last night for the Much Music Awards show and was (allegedly) assaulted by Will.i.Am of the Black Eyed Peas. According to Perez - who Tweeted right after the bashing - Fergie came up to him at one point during the night and asked why he was always ragging on her. (Y'all remember her pants pee shot, right?) Well, Will.i.Am (Shit, that gets tedious to write after a while!) wasn't having Mario (aka Perez) that night, and verbally assaulted the gay blogger at a club, following him outside, and - according to some - standing idly by as W's manager cold-cocked Perez in the eye several times. (Bashing a fey queen is lame, dude.)

Perez took to his site today, making a 12-minute statement, even welling up at the end. Oddly enough, he even admits to calling W. a faggot at the club. (See it here.) And of course, W. (I know it looks like I'm referring to Bush, but I can't keep typing out Will.i.Am's name over and over... well, I just did. FUCK!) has posted his own version of the dramz. (Click here to view it.) Now discuss.

Unless you've been living under a pop culture rock, you're well aware that Sacha Baron Cohen is about to unleash his latest foray into the world of making self-righteous everyday folk look like complete doorknobs with the release of the deliriously named Bruno: Delicious Journeys Through America for the Purpose of Making Heterosexual Males Visibly Uncomfortable in the Presence of a Gay Foreigner in a Mesh T-Shirt.

For the record: Any type of mesh makes this faggot beyond uncomfortable.
It's just plain hideous.

Queens love the drama, so of course plenty of them have started coming out of the woodwork to express their "concern" that the flick might puts queens in a bad light. (And we know how important lighting is to us. Hello.) Most of course have not seen the film, so take their blabbing with a grain of well-worn salt.

In case you haven't seen it, here's the riotous theatrical trailer, and here's a piece that Third Rail Media - who "want to dig deep into the underbelly of our culture, to take our cameras and microphones into the nooks, crannies and crevices of humanity where there are fascinating stories waiting to be told" - filmed of out (minor) celebs at a recent L.A. event jabbering their jaws. You should definitely post your comments below, too!

In case you hadn't heard the news, as of 1:30pm ET this day after Memorial Day - and don't think the irony ain't lost on us - the California Supreme Court upheld a ban on same-sex marriages that some backwoods hate-filled tardo voters passed last November. But in further treating not only their state but the entire country as mentally deficient children, they allowed about 18,000 same-sex marriages performed before the ban to remain valid.

Gee - thanks for thinking of at least some of us, dickheads!
Ellen and Portia, you're on the safe list and can keep all the presents!

This whole drama is so filled with bullshit I can barely get my head around it anymore. And let's face it, it's not like this decision was a shock. But as of this writing, the ruling was met with chants of "shame on you" from a crowd of about 1,000 people, and protests were starting to form in the streets.

While we're sure this guy here factored into some of how the court voted, I really only have one thing left to say on the matter for today - and that's this.

I'm sure you've heard about it already, I seem to be the last to know. Overwhelmed in some household drama of my own, I didn't learn about all the hubbub till I started opening my e-mail this morning. It seems that Amazon decided that all LGBT books are considered "adult" and are no longer given sales rankings. At first Amazon officials toed to line. But apparently as higher-ups heard about the controversy, they decided to call it a "glitch." As of this moment, there are no sales rankings on any gay book on their site. There's a call for a boycott. And then there are cooler heads urging a wait-and-see attitude. While I'd love for everyone to stop buying from Amazon and start using our books site TLAbooks.com, I am aware that this is not going to happen. I think Amazon will fix the error and people will move on. But while this dispute is flaming, please don't hesitate to visit TLAbooks.com for all of our GLBT book needs (and wants.)