Keepingitreal

Marcus Patrick at Blatino Oasis

MARCUS PATRICK AT BLATINO OASIS from Ron Fulcher on Vimeo.

here! Networks Nominated for Daytime Entertainment Emmy Award

May 14, 2009 (LOS ANGELES) – here! Networks, America’s premium LGBT television networks, is honored to receive the first-ever Daytime Entertainment Emmy Award nomination for an LGBT network. The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences announced today that it nominated here! Networks’ “Ribbon of Hope Celebration” in the Outstanding Special Class Special category for the 36th Annual Daytime Entertainment Emmy Awards. “We are grateful to receive our first Daytime Entertainment Emmy Award nomination for the ‘Ribbon of Hope Celebration,’ which recognizes the excellent work done by the television industry to promote HIV/AIDS awareness and education in the continued fight against this deadly epidemic,” said Paul Colichman, Founder and CEO of here! Networks and Executive Producer of the “Ribbon of Hope Celebration.” “As we continually work to entertain and inform, the ‘Ribbon of Hope Celebration’ is one of the single most important programs broadcast on here!. We are truly honored to be the first gay and lesbian network to be nominated for a Daytime Entertainment Emmy Award by The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.” Presented by the Television Academy of Arts & Sciences, the “Ribbon of Hope Celebration” honors media companies, programs, producers and individuals who have a personal and professional commitment to keeping HIV/AIDS awareness in the forefront of society. Among the projects honored were HBO’s "Life Support," starring Queen Latifah as an HIV-positive woman who uses her energy and regrets to help give back to the community; the film "3 Needles," a view of the HIV crisis related via 3 vastly different stories that all trace back to a common theme and starring Lucy Liu, Stockard Channing and Chloe Sevigny; and "Girl Positive," the Lifetime movie, about a high school girl's relationship with an HIV-positive boy and starring Jennie Garth. The “Ribbon of Hope Celebration” was taped on December 1st – in commemoration of World AIDS Day – at the Television Academy’s Leonard H. Goldenson Theatre in North Hollywood. The show featured celebrities and presenters including Judith Light, Jasmine Guy, Jack Coleman, Adam Pascal and Anthony Rapp. Paul Colichman and Stephen P. Jarchow served as Executive Producers for the “Ribbon of Hope Celebration.” Meredith Kadlec was the co-executive producer, and the show was produced by David Millbern, David Michaels, Susan Fincham, Richard Kaufman, and Cindy Peters. here! and its parent company, Here Media, strive to bring attention toward issues that not only stimulate the consciousness of the gay and lesbian community but that also impact the overall health and improvement of society. In addition to publishing The Advocate and Out magazines, Here Media distributes HIV Plus and MPOWR Plus, periodicals distributed free to medical and service professionals across the country. Both publications are devoted to helping readers live their fullest possible life, while MPOWR Plus places particular focus on men and women of color. The 36th Annual Daytime Entertainment Emmy Awards will be held at the historic Orpheum Theatre in downtown Los Angeles. Vanessa Williams will host the show, which will be broadcast on the CW Television Network on August 30, 2009.

Blatino Oasis: May 8-12 2009 Palm Springs, California

Actor Marcus Patrick and Out Gay Baskeball Player and Logo (MTV Networks) Reality Star Mike Survillion, Headline Blatino Oasis in Palm Springs, California

Palm Springs CA -  Set to take place May 8-11, Blatino Oasis 2009 has after only three years become one of the “Place To Be” destinations for gay and bisexual men of color. Erotica is the central theme of the event and features the 3rd Annual Blatino Erotica Awards (BEA) which recognizes the achievements of men of color in the adult erotic Industry.  This year's host resort is Wyndham Palm Springs, however, the awards ceremony will be held on Saturday, May 9, at the Canyon Club Hotel and will be hosted by Mike Survillion, America's only out gay professional basketball player and star and narrator of the Logo (MTV Networks) reality series “Shirts & Skins,” . As the youngest player on the Rockdogs (23), Mike was robbed of the chance to play college ball because of his sexual orientation. After graduating from Michigan State -- and with the encouragement of his teammates -- Mike made the move out to San Francisco and with astonishing quickness, scoring and leaping ability, and heart, Mike quickly established himself as the Rockdogs starting point guard. Mike now plays semi-pro ball with the American Baskeball Association's (ABA) team the San Francisco Rumble. The Blatino Erotica Award for "Sexiest Hollywood Actor" honor for 2009 goes to actor and soap star Marcus Patrick, who after joining the cast of Days of our Lives, was dismissed after a controversial explicit photo shoot in the September 2007 edition of Playgirl Magazine. Although this Playgirl photoshoot ended Parick’s stint as a soap star, it elevated his image to international sex symbol status. Born in Bath England to Jamaican and Irish parents, Marcus has often been referred to as one of the most beautiful men in the world and has performed on the sitcom “My Wife & Kids” with Damon Wayans and Tisha Campbell, CSI Miami and on Dancing With The Stars. Aside from acting, Marcus Patrick has had a singing career, firstly with the boyband Worlds Apart as well as a solo career. He has also practiced Tae Kwon Do, winning championships at the junior and men's heavyweight level. In addtion to Marcus Patrick, honorees for 2009 include, porn legend “Bobby Blake” (Lifetime Achievement), porn star Eddie Diaz (Best Porn Star), new comer and Grabby Award nominee, Ian Rock (America’s Top Top) who will also have a live dildo casting party , Aarin Driver (America’s Top Bottom), Latin Inches (Best Erotic Magazine), Papi Chulo (Best Erotic Blog), Lee Hayes (Best Erotic Author), and Atlanta's "N'Tyce" (Best Erotic Stripper). Also on hand will be international model and actor Kairon John and other celebrity guest. This year's sponsors include Andrew Christian, BiLatinMen.com, Manhunt.net, JustUsBoys.com, I.D. Lube and Keeping It Real Online TV. In addition to encouraging men of color to step out of their travel comfort zones, event producer Joe Hawkins said that "Blatino Oasis is an attempt to de-stigmatize homosexuality and bisexuality in the gay men of color community and to provide each of us with an opportunity to become more exposed to different gay friendly destinations through travel in order to release, relax, and rejuvenate."

Police have no leads in murder of Gay Oakland man

Oakland police have no leads in the murder of a gay man, and friends are planning his memorial service while still wondering who killed him, and why. Yezal Achadabraheem, 46, was found dead in his apartment at 12th Avenue and 12th Street in Oakland at about 1:25 p.m. on March 4. The Oakland Tribune reported that Oakland Police Sergeant Gus Galindo, the lead investigator in the case, said police believe Achadabraheem surprised someone who had broken into his home and that he was fatally beaten. But when asked about this, Galindo would only tell the Bay Area Reporter that Achadabraheem was murdered in his home, and that it appears the motive may have been    robbery. He said that a friend found Achadabraheem's body, and that police suspect the attack occurred within 10 hours of when police arrived. Asked if there were any indication the death involved a hate crime, Galindo said, "We're looking into the possibility that could be a motive." Friends say Achadabraheem grew marijuana plants, possibly offering a motive for robbery, but Galindo would not comment on that. Galindo said that, so far, police have not received leads in the case that would lead to an arrest. "It's sad that he lost his life this way, and people out there know what happened to him," Galindo said. "Withholding information perpetuates the cycle of violence that occurs daily in this city. Until people stand up, we're limited in what we can do." Some of his friends suspect it was a hate crime. Achadabraheem is being remembered as a free spirit and talented artist. David Carlson, 66, knew Achadabraheem for at least 20 years. He suspects his friend was killed because he was gay. Carlson described Achadabraheem as "an intimate friend," and said the two lived together for most of the last 20 years, until Achadabraheem moved out about three years ago. He said they still saw each other a number of times a week. Carlson said Achadabraheem was "a very straight-acting person" and many people mistook him for being heterosexual, "but if ever confronted with it, he was always proud to say he was gay. He had that [gay pride] flag in his doorway. How much more pride can you have?" But Carlson suggested that the rainbow flag also could have made his friend a target and, considering the apparent brutality of the murder, "I really wonder if it's not a hate crime." CONTINUE READING...

NYC Wants Same-Sex Marriages Counted in Census

New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg and out lesbian City Council speaker Christine Quinn are asking federal Census officials to count same-sex marriages in 2010.Bloomberg and Quinn sent a letter to Commerce Secretary Gary Locke on Tuesday saying that counting same-sex marriages is necessary for state and local officials who use the data to plan for programs and services. The Department of Commerce oversees the Census Bureau.The Census Bureau, citing that the Defense of Marriage Act prohibits the federal government from recognizing same-sex marriages, said last July that legally married same-sex couples from Massachusetts and California would be counted as unmarried same-sex partners. More >

HERE! NETWORKS ANNOUNCES THE RETURN OF “DANTE’S COVE”

Production on the fourth season of the wildly popular gothic soap begins this fall April 8, 2009 (LOS ANGELES) - here!, America’s premium gay and lesbian television network, announced today production will begin on the fourth season of the popular network soap opera Dante’s Cove in fall 2009. The new season consists of 10 half-hour episodes. “The response to the first three seasons of Dante’s Cove has been overwhelming, and our audience continues to want more,” said Paul Colichman, founder and CEO of here! Networks. “We are thrilled to announce that production will soon begin on a whole new chapter of the series. The new season will be sure to please the faithful fan base that has been eagerly awaiting its return, as well as attract a whole new viewership that will experience the intrigue and excitement for the first time.” As Dante’s Cove returns with season four, television’s sexiest guilty pleasure is back with a vengeance. The most thrilling new season yet picks up after the near annihilation and total destruction of the Cove. Still reeling from the dark apocalypse that nearly destroyed the island, hidden secrets and new rivalries bring even more deadly consequences for the island’s sexy young residents.  With mysterious new characters and an even steamier plot, season four shatters lives and contains a mind-blowing twist that leaves the island’s inhabitants shaken to their core. For those who have missed the first three wild seasons of Dante’s Cove, the series continues to air on here! Networks, available on all major U.S. cable systems as a 24-hour subscription service in 96 of the top 100 U.S. markets. Additionally, Dante’s Cove can be found in the Video Downloads section of the here! Networks website, found at www.heretv.com. Recent and upcoming here! original films, series, and specials include: The Lair: Season Three, a provocative and sexy vampire horror series; Sugar Rush, a British series based on the novel by Julie Burchill chronicling the social dilemmas of a lesbian teen; the critically acclaimed Ice Blues: A Donald Strachey Mystery, the fourth installment in the series of original films starring Chad Allen as a gay private investigator; the provocative six-part docu-series Lesbian Sex and Sexuality, an unblinking look inside the world of lesbian culture from award-winning producer Katherine Linton; and the original film Shelter, an indie romantic drama about love, family, and trying to stay true to yourself. To sample here!'s programming, please visit here! Video, the broadband portal of here! Networks, at www.heretv.com/videoplayer.

eHarmony's Gay Dating Site Is Here!

Vehemently heterosexual dating site eHarmony never intended to let gay couples use its profile matching algorithms to find love, but New Jersey's attorney general made the decision for them: Either launch a gay-friendly site or face an anti-discrimination suit. And so the site, founded in 2000 by shrink Neil Clark Warren (yes, the guy in all the eHarmony ads) and proud sponsor of Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi's very gay unions, today launches its same-sex off-shoot: Compatible Partners. If the new site's name sounds sterile, well, you're right. Slugged "Serious relationships for the gay and lesbian community," Compatible Partners will never be confused with a Manhunt or adam4adam. And while the site's name makes no mention of gays, the drop-down list where you select your own gender and the gender you're hoping to meet sends the message home: Compatible Partners only allows men to look for other men, and women for women.Since the criticism for being straight-only began, eHarmony rationalized its decision to exclude gays by insisting the technology behind the site — where applicants are asked dozens of questions and then matched based on a personality profile, which means some folks are told they are unmatchable — wasn't geared for same-sex pairing. CONTINUE READING...

HERE! ORIGINAL FILM “SHELTER” WINS GLAAD MEDIA AWARD

GLAAD names the fan favorite Outstanding Film – Limited Release during its Media Awards ceremony in New York

 March 30, 2009 (NEW YORK) - here!, America’s premium gay and lesbian television network, is pleased to announce that its original film Shelter won the 2009 GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Film – Limited Release. GLAAD honored the festival and fan favorite during the first of the organization’s three GLAAD Media Awards ceremonies, which was held Saturday, March 28, 2009, at the New York Marriott Marquis. “It is a great honored to receive this recognition from GLAAD, which fights tirelessly to ensure the accurate portrayal of the gay and lesbian community in the media,” said Paul Colichman, CEO and Co-Founder of here! Networks. “Shelter became an instant success because it is a gay-themed film that has universal appeal. The issues addressed in the film, including love and family, transcend religion, race, or sexual orientation. We are so proud to have been a part of this film.” Written and directed by Jonah Markowitz, Shelter centers on Zach (Trevor Wright), who is forced to give up his dreams of art school and spends his days working a dead-end job while helping his needy sister care for her son. In his free time he surfs, draws, and hangs out with his best friend, Gabe, who lives on the wealthy side of town. When Gabe's older brother, Shaun (Brad Rowe), returns home, he is drawn to Zach's selflessness and talent. Zach falls in love with Shaun while struggling to reconcile his own desires with the needs of his family. Recent and upcoming here! original films, series and specials include: The Lair, a provocative and sexy vampire horror series; Sugar Rush, a British series based on the novel by Julie Burchill chronicling the social dilemmas of a lesbian teen; Dante’s Cove, ranked “Best Soap of the Year” by The Advocate; the critically acclaimed Ice Blues: A Donald Strachey Mystery, the fourth installment in the series of original films starring Chad Allen as a gay private investigator; and the provocative six-part docu-series Lesbian Sex and Sexuality, an unblinking look inside the world of lesbian culture from award-winning producer Katherine Linton. To sample here!'s programming, please visit here! Video, the broadband portal of here! Networks, at www.heretv.com/videoplayer. For more information about here! or for a sample of its vast array of programming, please visit www.heretv.com.

 

Actor Marcus Patrick and Out Gay Baskeball Player and Logo (MTV Networks) Reality Star Mike Survillion, Headline Blatino Oasis in Palm Springs, California.

The Last Word on 'The L Word'

What’s not to like? It was Dolce & Gabbana glam. (The clothes! The clothes!) It had drama à-go-go. (Bette kidnapping her baby mama’s baby.) It wasn’t afraid to take on the issues of the day. (Pregnant trans-men, the tyranny of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, woman-on-woman bedroom politics. ...)  But in the end, apparently, the show was afraid to answer the burning question of its sixth and final season: Who Killed Jenny Schecter? Instead, with its abrupt, Soprano-esque ending, it left that question (and many others) maddeningly unresolved. Pissed-off fans fired off on the show’s Web site with a resounding, “WTF????”   It was a cop-out of an ending for a show that has always been earnest and honest, treading a fine line between pathos and camp, frequently giving up the fight and sailing right over the top. (Bisexual Alice’s lesbian boyfriend? Love. It.)  Sure, sometimes it could be pretentious and preachy. Sure, everyone had ridiculously fabulous houses with mortgages way beyond their pay grade. (In L.A., no less.) But it was one of the few shows on television that bothered to explore contemporary women’s lives—especially women beyond the age of the Gossip Girl set—deliciously complicated lives filled with lots of hot sex, challenging work and the rigorous pursuit of intellectual curiosity.  And it had Jennifer Beals and Pam Grier and Ossie Davis and Rose Rollins. From the start, Showtime’s The L Word handled race and racial identity with more nuance and knowing than anything else you’d find on the big and little screens. (Though we still don’t get why the producers always cast either an Iranian-American or a South Asian in Latina roles.) Perhaps this was because Angela Robinson (director of the 2004 lesbian teen film D.E.B.S.), an out-and-proud black lesbian, frequently wrote and directed episodes over its five-year span. The L Word tackled light-skinned privilege and racial identity, without once evoking played-out stereotypes of the tragic mulatto.  Beals played a fair-skinned biracial woman whose rich black father (Davis) left his black first wife for her white mother. Naturally, this made for all kinds of resentment and rivalry between Bette and Kit (Grier), the daughter of the black ex-wife. Of course, Kit had her own trunk full of issues: She was a former R&B diva whose drinking and drugging sent her careering off the rails. (Because of her past, her uptight buppie son couldn’t stand her.) But even with all the drama, Kit loved her sister. And she wasn’t above calling out Bette for her sometimes de facto “passing.” In the very first episode, Bette came crying to Kit because her Caucasian lover balked at being impregnated by a black sperm donor. Grier’s character didn’t exactly present a shoulder to cry on. She told the lighter sister that maybe she should go back to being in denial: “Maybe what’s worked best for you all these years,” Kit told Bette, “you getting all these pretty things, put together your pretty life, is you let people see what they want to see. Maybe it’s been easier that way.” SOURCE:THE ROOT.COM

“THE AFTERLIFE” on HereTV

Black and Gay in Hollywood: Doug Spearman

By Clay Cane -- “Noah’s Arc” was a groundbreaking series from the Logo network that followed the lives of four black gay men in urban Los Angeles.  A cult following of the show resulted in two seasons and the feature film “Noah’s Arc: Jumping the Broom,” which is available on DVD today. (2/3/09)

The film, written and directed by creator Patrik-Ian Polk, is a 2009 NAACP Image award nominee for Outstanding Independent Motion Picture and Outstanding Writing in a Motion Picture.  Here, one of the stars of “Noah’s Arc,” Doug Spearman, who is a former Associate Sports Producer at BET, chats about the movie, his character and being black and gay in Hollywood. 

"Noah's Arc: Jumping the Broom” comes out on DVD tomorrow.  What do you think the BET audience will appreciate about the film?
A couple things, the story transcends sexuality.  I think that people are going to appreciate the fact that it's about four friends who come together and their lovers to have this really interesting weekend around a wedding.  They bring everything that we as black people bring to our friends and it doesn't matter that pretty much everyone in the cast is male.  I think it's going to change minds about homophobia.  I hope that somebody is going to watch this and go, "Wow, I didn't realize that," "Wow, I didn't know that," or "Hey, it's no big deal,"—that's really what I want.  I think they are going to like the love story and it doesn't matter that it's two guys.

Tell me about your character, Chance, who is the more conservative one out of the cast.
He's a college professor, perpetually writing a book or a thesis.  When he gets upset he uses really long sentences. [Laughs] He's married in the sense that he's had a ceremony with domestic partnership.  He's in a relationship for about seven years and they are really at the point of, "Do we stay together or do we break up?" They're raising a little girl that his partner has from a previous relationship and they're trying to be as normal as possible.  They face real middle class issues.  At a point that anybody would, seven or eight years into a relationship, you say, "What are we doing?  Do I want to stay in this?  Who are you?  Who am I?  What is important here?" Chance has to ask and answer a lot of questions for himself.  I wouldn’t say he is conservative… Well, considering he doesn't wear a bustier and plaits in his hair.  He really is the most normal.  I don't think conservative is the right word, but of the four big characters he's certainly the one you're more likely to run into in your everyday life.

From the beginning of the series you were openly gay while your other three cast members didn't want to talk about it.  Why did you decide to be openly gay from the start of this series?
I've always been openly gay.  If you Google me, I’ve been out as long as I've been in Hollywood.  I've been out pretty much all of my adult life; it's never been a secret.  You are also assuming they’re gay. CONTINUE READING...

Prop. 8 replay not a sure bet for 2010

Gay rights activists are weighing the wisdom of rushing a repeal of Proposition 8 to the 2010 ballot if California's highest court upholds the state's same-sex marriage ban.While two initiatives seeking to undo the voter-approved November measure already have been submitted to the Secretary of State, leaders of the bitter No on 8 campaign say next year may be too soon to bring the issue back to the ballot."There is one thing worse than losing Prop. 8, and that would be losing again," said Chad Griffin, a Los Angeles political consultant who organized Hollywood's opposition to the ban. He was speaking to about 400 activists who gathered for a statewide planning summit here Saturday.Although several legal challenges are pending before the California Supreme Court, the option of another ballot fight has been discussed as a backup strategy since Proposition 8 passed with 52 percent of the vote. The court could render a decision as early as June.If the Supreme Court upholds the measure, that would leave same-sex marriage supporters with a viable, but very tight window in which to prepare and pull off a November 2010 rematch, said John Henning, executive director of the gay marriage group Love Honor Cherish."The deadline for us to be gathering signatures for a November ballot initiative would actually be this fall," Henning said. "We have to raise money, we have to train people how to gather these signatures and we have to get 10,000 people out doing something they may not be comfortable doing."One of the initiatives submitted to the state for approval this month, launched by a gay rights group in Davis, would repeal Proposition 8 outright. The second, initiated by two Los Angeles residents, would eliminate marriage as a state-sanctioned institution and replace it with domestic partnerships for couples gay and straight.Kate Kendell, executive director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights, said she understands the urgency gay marriage supporters feel. But ultimately, a decision on timing would have to be based on "what makes the most strategic and political sense" and "a full appreciation of the enormity of such an undertaking," she said. CONTINUE READING..

Obama will end 'don't ask' policy, aide says

President Obama will end the 15-year-old "don't ask, don't tell" policy that has prevented homosexual and bisexual men and women from serving openly within the U.S. military, a spokesman for the president-elect said. Obama said during the campaign that he opposed the policy, but since his election in November he has made statements that have been interpreted as backpedaling. On Friday, however, Obama spokesman Robert Gibbs, responding on the transition team's Web site to a Michigan resident who asked if the new administration planned to get rid of the policy, said: "You don't hear politicians give a one-word answer much. But it's 'Yes.' " The little-noticed response, made in a video posted on change.gov, made barely a ripple outside blogs focused on the gay community, but that's not surprising, said those who have been pushing to overturn the ban. Not only was Obama's position expected, they said, but support for reviewing or repealing the policy has grown markedly in recent years, including some from unexpected quarters. The end of "don't ask, don't tell" might not happen immediately, several critics of the policy said. Although they appreciate clarity from Obama on the issue, they anticipate that the demands of the economy and two wars are likely to trump a speedy policy reversal. "The question isn't if we do it, and the question isn't when we do it, it's how we do it," said Rep. Ellen Tauscher, D-Walnut Creek, whose 2006 bill to repeal the ban earned broad support among Democrats in Congress but did not move forward in the face of a near-certain veto by President Bush."I'm going to reintroduce the bill in the next few weeks," Tauscher said. "We've got the American people behind us." SOURCE:SFGATE.COM

4 men sought in gang rape of lesbian

Police are offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of four men who allegedly kidnapped and gang-raped for nearly an hour a 28-year-old Richmond woman, who was left naked when they fled in her car. The crime, which occurred on Dec. 13, is being investigated as a hate crime because of comments the suspects made about the victim's sexual orientation, police said. The woman is openly lesbian and had a rainbow sticker on her license plate, a symbol of gay pride. "The emotional impact has changed her life," said Lt. Mark Gagan of the Richmond Police Department. "It is an absolute nightmare for her to have gone through. For 45 minutes, four strangers brutalized her." The ordeal began around 9:30 p.m. in the 1500 block of Visalia Avenue in Richmond's Belding-Wood neighborhood, said Gagan. The woman was sexually assaulted in that location after she got out of her car, police said. Then she was forced back into her vehicle after the suspects noticed someone approaching. She was driven seven blocks away to the 1300 block of Burbeck Avenue, where she was repeatedly sexually assaulted near an apartment complex, Gagan said. After the attack, the men drove off in her car, police said. She sought help from a nearby resident who called police. She was taken to a local hospital and treated for her injuries. Her car was recovered the next day in Richmond. The attackers are being sought on charges of assault with a deadly weapon, robbery, kidnapping, carjacking and sexual assault. The charges carry a hate crime enhancement. Police described the first suspect, believed to be the group leader, as a Latino man in his 30s, who stands 5 feet 6 inches tall, weighs 180 pounds, and has black hair, brown eyes and a mustache. The second suspect is described as an African American man in his early 20s, about 5 feet 10 inches, 170 pounds with black hair and brown eyes. He is known by the nickname "Blu," police said. The third suspect is described as Latino, 18 to 20 years old, who is nicknamed "Pato." The fourth suspect is described only as a Latino man 18 to 20 years old. "Everybody in our community has an interest in making sure these people are apprehended and brought to justice," said Gagan. Anyone with information is asked to call Detective Ysenia Rogers at (510) 672-1718.

here! Networks Set to Air the 15th Annual Out 100 Awards

LOS ANGELES, CA – December 16, 2008 – here!, America's premium gay and lesbian television network, is pleased to announce that it will be airing the 15th annual Out 100 Awards. The ceremony, sponsored by Bristol-Myers Squibb, honored the 100 most influential people in the LGBT community in 2008. here! filmed the ceremony on November 14th at Gotham Hall in New York City. It will be air on the network beginning Friday, January 2nd. In addition to the awards ceremony, the broadcast features behind-the-scenes footage and interviews with many of the night’s celebrity guests.The special December/January double-issue of Out magazine honors musicians, writers, fashion designers, politicians and social figures who have made significant strides in the gay community in 2008. This year's honorees include Rachel Maddow, host of MSNBC's The Rachel Maddow Show; Gus Van Sant, director of Milk; pop princess Katy Perry; and Browdway star Cheyenne Jackson.Chelsea Handler, star of Oxygen's Girls Behaving Badly and E!'s Chelsea Lately, hosted the night's ceremony along with Out Editor-in-Chief Aaron Hicklin. The festivities included performances from LaBelle, Nikka Costa, and Sam Sparro. The guest list at the Out 100 Awards was made up of over 1500 guests from across the media and advertising industry, along with tastemakers from the national gay community and Out 100 Awards honorees.In addition, the ceremony offered guests the opportunity to join the Light to Unite: Worlds AIDS Day campaign. Guests participated by lighting a virtual candle on the Bristol-Myers Squibb website and making a donation to the National AIDS Fund to help support the fight against HIV/AIDS in the U.S."As in previous years, the Out 100 Awards reflects an extraordinary range of talent and accomplishment in almost every walk of life, including boldface names, both new and old. These important figures soldier quietly under the radar to improve the quality of all our lives," said Hicklin. "While gay men and women continue to face hurdles in our quest for equality, this roll call of names shows how much we have to celebrate. From fresh names like MSNBC correspondent Rachel Maddow and Broadway star Cheyenne Jackson, to living legends such as playwright Edward Albee and actor Ian McKellen, this year's Out 100 Awards list is a paean to our contribution to the cultural and social fabric of America." SOURCE:HERETV.COM

Prince denies anti-gay-rights remarks; New Yorker stands by story!

The singer Prince was asked about religion, politics, abortion and Proposition 8 in a profile in the New Yorker. Here's his response: "You've got the Republicans, and basically they want to live according to [the Bible]. But there's the problem of interpretation, and you've got some churches, some people, basically doing things and saying it comes from here, but it doesn't. And then on the opposite end of the spectrum you've got blue, you've got the Democrats, and they're, like, 'You can do whatever you want.' Gay marriage, whatever. But neither of them is right."Asked about his perspective on social issues—gay marriage, abortion—Prince tapped his Bible and said, “God came to earth and saw people sticking it wherever and doing it with whatever, and he just cleared it all out. He was, like, ‘Enough.’ ”Hold on. The miniature singer who used to perform in bikini briefs, leg warmers and platform boots said what?This is the effeminate musician who played the androgyny card big time with his wild, sexy costumes and provocative lyrics to create album-selling controversy?The guy whose music was so darn dirty that it inspired Tipper Gore  to slap parental advisory stickers on music deemed not suitable for minors?He’s now against gays having equal rights? Wow. Talk about alienating your base. According to Perez Hilton, the New Yorker piece is dead wrong. He quotes a source close to Prince as saying that the New Yorker piece is "grossly misquoted" and all wrong. Something about the reporter not using a tape recorder? Read Prince's defense here. But the New Yorker stands by its story. Prince's anti-gay statement is already reverberating around Los Angeles' gay community. At Train, a popular West Hollywood gym, openly gay spin instructor Tevia Celli told her packed Sunday morning class that she had removed all Prince songs from her playlists. What do you think? Is Prince, now a converted Jehovah’s Witness, totally off base?  Will you continue to buy and listen to his music? Or do you agree with him? SOURCE:LATIMES.COM

The ugly backlash over Proposition 8

A supporter of Proposition 8, fed up with what he believed was the gay community's and "liberal media's" refusal to accept the voters' verdict, fired off a letter to the editor.

"Please show respect for democracy," he wrote, in a letter we published.

What he encountered instead was an utter lack of respect for free speech.

Within hours, the intimidation game was on. Because his real name and city were listed - a condition for publication of letters to The Chronicle - opponents of Prop. 8 used Internet search engines to find the letter writer's small business, his Web site (which included the names of his children and dog), his phone number and his clients. And they posted that information in the "Comments" section of SFGate.com - urging, in ugly language, retribution against the author's business and its identified clients.

"They're intimidating people that don't have the same beliefs as they do ... so they'll be silenced," he told me last week. "It doesn't bode well for the free-speech process. People are going to have to be pretty damn courageous to speak up about anything. Why would anyone want to go through this?"

Let the record show that I absolutely disagree with the letter writer on the substance of Prop. 8. I believe that same-sex couples should have the full rights and responsibilities of marriage. In my view, the discrimination inherent in Prop. 8 is morally and legally indefensible in a society where the concept of equal protection is supposed to safeguard the rights of the minority.

But let me also say that I am disturbed by the vicious, highly personalized attacks against the letter writer and others. Protesters have shouted insults at people headed to worship; temples and churches have been defaced. "Blacklists" of donors who contributed to Yes on 8 are circulating on the Internet, and even small-time donors are being confronted. A Palo Alto dentist lost two patients as a result of his $1,000 donation. The artistic director of the California Musical Theatre resigned to spare the organization from a fast-developing boycott. Scott Eckern, the artistic director of the Sacramento theater group and a Mormon, had given $1,000 to Yes on 8.This out-of-scale attempt to isolate and intimidate decidedly small players in the Yes on 8 campaign is no way to win the issue in a court of law or the court of public opinion.Equally disappointing is the lack of a forceful denunciation from leaders of the honorable cause of bringing marriage equality to California. "We achieve nothing if we isolate the people who did not stand with us in this fight," the No on 8 campaign reminded its coalition in a statement issued after the election.Guess what? Certain advocates of the cause are alienating people - and this approach needs to be called out. Remember, the No on 8 campaign was shouting "blackmail!" at the top of its lungs when the Yes side sent certified letters to major donors threatening to "out" them in a press release unless they also contributed to the marriage ban. Of course, that "threat" had a tinge of absurdity. Corporations such as PG&E, McDonald's and Levi Strauss were not afraid of being "outed" for their association with the marriage-equality cause. They were well aware that their major donations amounted to a public statement that might cause them to lose - and gain - customer goodwill.Opponents of same-sex marriage should not be let off the hook for their post-election tactics. There is already talk of a recall campaign against California Supreme Court justices if they overturn Prop. 8, reminiscent of the unsuccessful attempt to oust Chief Justice Ronald George and Justice Ming Chin after they voted to overturn a law that required parental consent for minors to receive an abortion. The judiciary must not be intimidated in this nation of laws. CONTINUE READING...

eHarmony Settles Suit, Agrees to Offer Same-Sex Matching Services

Excerpt from Advocate.com --Three years after a New Jersey resident filed a discrimination suit against Web-based matchmaking service eHarmony.com, the online dating portal has settled out of court and agreed to offer same-sex matchmaking services to members. Garden State resident Eric McKinley filed suit against the California-based company in 2005. As part of the settlement, eHarmony agrees to provide new services for members identifying themselves as "male seeking a male" or "female seeking a female" by March 2009.  eHarmony did reserve the right to provide a disclaimer -- that its compatibility-based matching system was developed solely on the basis of researched focused on married heterosexual couples."I applaud the decision of eHarmony to settle this case and extend its matching services to those seeking same-sex relationships," New Jersey Division on Civil Rights director J. Frank Vespa-Papaleo said in a statement Wednesday.eHarmony was one of a few Web-based dating holdouts that had not ventured into the world of offering same-sex dating services. Last year Time magazine named eHarmony one of the five websites to avoid, noting, among other things, its discrimination against gay people. Frank Mastronuzzi, who worked for Match.com from 2001 to 2004 as the senior manager of business development and now oversees gay dating portal OneGoodLove.com, says Match has always offered same-sex dating services -- but he says he left the company because it refused to spend ad dollars marketing to the gay community. Around the same time, Match launched Chemistry.com to combat eHarmony, which was increasing in popularity. Though Mastronuzzi says the website is a virtual replica of eHarmony.com once you get past the first page, it gained traction with an ad campaign featuring members who had been rejected by eHarmony -- including a gay man, turned away because the site didn't offer same-sex dating services. Mastronuzzi says he approached eHarmony about developing a same-sex dating site -- albeit a private-label service with no direct connection to eHarmony. "I was told point-blank no," Mastronuzzi says. Neil Clark Warren, Ph.D., who developed eHarmony's matchmaking program, had long rejected the idea of matching same-sex couples -- in part because he said his research was based on heterosexual married couples. He also argued that eHarmony is about marriage and that same-sex couples cannot legally wed in most states. CONTINUE READING...