Like a leaky faucet, more images from the Levi Johnston photoshoot for Playgirl have been leaked to the public for consumption. The photos range from mild to mildly wild as Levi show off his young buttocks, his teen-torso and of course, his smoldering good looks. For the near full monty check out more here.

Today sports fans we tend to that silly little piece of business up ahead called The Holidays. The Holidays are a retail event, created by retailers and it is suggested, strongly suggested that you spend your money! At this time of year we often turn to experts for advice on what to buy and where. We couldn't help but notice that on one Irish website a certain Michael O'Doherty offers this jolly piece of advice: "If you must buy us something to wear, make it something we’d never buy ourselves – cufflinks. Wearing cufflinks is cool; buying cufflinks is gay."

Well then, here we are. How horrible it must be to be a heterosexual: you cannot buy something because it seems gay? This must include moisturizers and hair products, both of which are sorely needy by every straight man—but are too afraid to shop. Well thank goodness for the Internet where all men can discreetly shop for their thongs, cockrings, cufflinks and hopefully, moisturizers. To assist, we found one great place to shop for those gay cufflinks: http://www.cuffart.com/. The cufflinks shown above are Antique American Pen Nib Cufflinks which are are made from antique, American made fountain pen nibs with an average of 75 years! And for two more days they offering a 25% savings on all cufflinks. Next up? Why wearing a wrist watch is so old school and we love it.

In an interview published today in the Guardian, a fearlessly honest George Michael opens up and answers some personal questions including many about his notorious public sex life: "Why does he like to cruise when he could get any man he wanted? He seems astonished by the question. "I do get anyone I want. But I like a bit of everything. I have friends up there, I have a laugh." It's a fascinating interview:

"As I reach George Michael's house, a huge Land Rover draws up and a man in shades gets out. At the same time, two women jump out of a little car across the road and run up to him, panting and shaking. They are middle-aged, German and seem to have been waiting a long time – hours, possibly days. "Would you please have a photograph taken with us?" they say. George Michael obliges with a ready smile. It's cold and windy. "Would you please sign these?" the women say. They produce various George Michael paraphernalia. He obliges, but the smile is not quite so effusive. "I have to go inside now, ladies," he says, "thank you." As we retreat, the panting women tell him they feel a little dizzy and overcome, and that this has been the greatest day in their life. "We've heard the new Christmas single," says one, "and it's brilliant." "Yes, brilliant," echoes the other. "Even better than Last Christmas." Read the entire interview here

via www.guardian.co.uk

LOS ANGELES, Dec. 4, 2009-In response to the appalling Grammy nomination for Buju Banton, a performer whose music promotes the violent murder of LGBT people, the L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center Chief Public Affairs Officer Jim Key issued the following statement:

"We're shocked that Buju Banton, a singer with a long record of performing a song that glorifies the murder of gay people, would be honored with a Grammy nomination, regardless of the artistic merit of any of his work.

Throughout his career, Banton has performed music that promotes a culture of violence against lesbian and gay people; he sings in "Boom, Bye Bye" that "faggots get up and run" when he comes, that "they have to die," and that he will shoot them in the head or "burn them up bad."

He is completely unrepentant, refuses to stop performing the song, and recently said, "There is no end to the war between me and faggots."

Banton's music has helped foster such an anti-gay culture in his home country of Jamaica-where several prominent gay activists and many other LGBT people have been murdered-that Time magazine recently asked, 'Is Jamaica the most homophobic place on Earth?' Banton himself was charged with a violent anti-gay hate crime.

It's an affront to LGBT people, and to all fair-minded people around the world, that Buju Banton was even nominated. We certainly hope the members of the Recording Academy will not bestow the prestigious honor of a Grammy on someone whose music promotes murder."

Which bar will get the bragging rights this year? From stripper clubs to drag bars, you know the best out there. Give us your take and we'll reward you with a chance to win a trip to the bar that garners the most votes. If you don't see your favorite, write it in and campaign for it. Everyone can vote, but you must be a GayCities member to be eligible for the prize, so sign up now. Voting ends on December 31st at midnight ET.

via www.gaycities.com

Pam and Tracy Norrell collect eggs every day from their chickens on a small farm near Fort Worth, Texas. But on Monday, Tracy said he happened upon a misshapen egg. Upon closer inspection, he saw the sign of the cross on the top!

via weeklyworldnews.com

I am no longer gay. I quit. But that doesn't mean I don't still adore my pink high heels (and the questionable stains on them). In fact, my unrepentant love for those smelly old shoes has very much to do with why I am defecting and/or just resigning from the club.

No, it's not just because I'm old and tired (although I am); it's because the love that dare not speak its name is now shouting it out from the rooftops. Gay is everywhere and, paradoxically, gay is also over. But the new gay that is simultaneously invisible and ubiquitous is not the gay I once knew.

I think it was Modern Family that did it. I flicked on the TV – as I always do when I hear of a new sitcom with gay characters – and what a shock! Not only is the gay couple on the show completely accepted by their family as a whole, but there is nothing the least bit gay about them. They are a pair of nice, overweight, unattractive middle-class men obsessed with their adopted Asian daughter. I found myself searching for a camp moment, but I'm afraid neither of them is any nellier than the straight husband on the show.

But, like most mainstream entertainment, Modern Family is merely a symptom of what's really going on. For years, gay neo-con Andrew Sullivan (he's the only gay man you are likely to see on CNN, ever) has been telling us that being gay is all about being a good citizen. In fact, if you speak to the leaders of most gay and lesbian political groups about what it means to be gay today, they will probably answer using the words “love” or “family” or “caring.”

Well, the world of pretty rainbows, church on Sunday, monogamy, respectability and good citizenship is not the world I signed onto when I filled out my gay card.

How did this happen? Well, we live in a cyber-reality of Twitter, blogs and virtual sex. The great movements of the sixties – leftism, feminism, gay liberation and civil rights – are over. That doesn't mean we're done with class inequities, misogyny, racism or homophobia. But political correctness makes us think they're gone – and besides, we have the endlessly satisfying drug of technology to assuage any and all insecurities. Heck, these days no one interacts with anyone in the real world long enough to care about what goes on out there anyway.

In this contradictory era, there is a black U.S. president and yet police officers are still being accused of racial profiling. And Adam Lambert – the gayest American Idol contestant ever – was recently criticized by the gay community for wearing makeup and kissing a guy in his act. (Jennifer Vanasco, editor-in-chief of website 365gay.com, said Mr. Lambert tarnished the reputation of gays in the eyes of middle America, “who think gay life is exactly what he portrayed on the American Music Awards.”)

The contradictions of postmodern culture don't stop there. Though some real-life gay men are adopting Asian children, some are so pressed by the new, perfect, sanitized gay ideal that they end up drowning themselves in suicidal drugs and unsafe sex.

Here's my own personal solution. I reject the gay world. I have a new identity: I'm an ESP (pronounced ESPIE). That means effeminate sexual person. I'm committed to things that are no longer gay: alternative sexual and romantic relationships (promiscuity) and gender play (I prefer my women to act like men and my men to act like women). Don't worry, you can be a butch woman and still be an ESPIE – all you have to do is commit to gender-inappropriate behaviour of any kind and enjoy sex for pleasure alone (please don't do it – yawn – just to beget children).

Lately, Toronto's gay press has been bemoaning straight forecasts of what some have called “the premature death of Church Street.” One gay columnist says that, even if the condos drive the gays out of our neighbourhood, we will always have Church Street (sigh) in our hearts.

But it isn't just Church Street that's on the wane. When being gay is the same as being straight, there's no need for gay anything. Gay bars, books, gay magazines, gay newspapers – gay culture as we know it – will eventually disappear.

But, hey, I'm an ESPIE! So I don't care. And finally I can stop complaining.

Sky Gilbert is University Research Chair in Creative Writing and Theatre Studies at the University of Guelph. His latest poetry collection is A Nice Place to Visit.

via www.theglobeandmail.com

After the fallout from the AMA’s and the following cancellation of Adam Lambert’s Good Morning America concert, it finally looked like all parties were willing to move forward after scheduling Adam for an outdoor concert on Jimmy Kimmel Live!
It seemed his toned-down (and flawless) performances on the CBS Early Show and The Ellen DeGeneres Show were enough to sedate the nervous ABC execs, but that didn’t last long …
Adam just tweeted that not only is his Jimmy Kimmel performance canceled, but it appears they’ve also canceled his appearance on New Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest.
Adam seems to be taking it in stride though, letting everyone know he’s still scheduled to appear on The Jay Leno Show, and that he’s looking for new plans for New Year’s Eve. With any luck we’ll see him on New Year's Eve with Carson Daly or perhaps perform with fellow Idols David Cook and Daughtry on Fox’s New Year's Eve Live.
Wherever he ends up performing, I’m sure it’ll be well worth tuning in for. And as for ABC, well, you have to question a network that cancels an openly gay performer three times but has no problem with letting woman-beater Chris Brown appear on 20/20.

via www.afterelton.com

It’s "Single Ladies" versus "Poker Face" in a Grammy Awards smackdown.Nominations for the 52nd annual Grammy Awards were announced Wednesday night, with pop star Beyoncé topping the field with 10 nominations and gay fave Lady Gaga receiving five nods.According to the announcement from The Recording Academy, “Beyoncé topped the nominations with 10, Taylor Swift garnered eight, and the Black Eyed Peas, Maxwell, and Kanye West each earned six nods. David Guetta, Jay-Z and Lady Gaga received five each; and Colbie Caillat, Michael Giacchino, Kings Of Leon, John Newton, RedOne, Bruce Springsteen, T-Pain, and Keith Urban each received four nominations.”Beyoncé and Gaga will compete against each other in categories including Album of the Year, Record of the Year and Song of the Year. Find the complete list of nominees here. Winners will be announced on January 31.

via www.advocate.com

When Crane was let go/resigned, the Blade began to regain its stature but, still under Unger's leadership it continued to buy other publications and cut benefits. Various business arrangements with other publications, such as HX, entered the Blade world. Who owned what became blurred. Lack of trust from readers and advertisers, a possible fight among partners and an ensuing host of lawsuits spelled the end."

Publishers Jeff Coakely and Sue O'Connell of Boston's Bay Windows write:  "Window Media was blind and deaf to the needs of the local communities they were supposed to be serving. They entered into cities acting like jack-booted thugs, bullying freelance writers, advertisers, and community organizations."

 
NEW ORLEANS — The future is unclear for his character on the hit AMC show "Mad Men," but actor Bryan Batt is taking advantage of the down time here in his hometown since the recent season finale.

Batt — who plays closeted gay art director Sal Romano — is preparing for the holiday shopping season at the home decor and gift shop he runs in New Orleans with his life and business partner, Tom Cianfichi.

They opened their store, Hazelnut, on trendy Magazine Street in 2003. Offering home decorations such as pottery, stemware, fabrics and frames, the store sits in a neighborhood where homes are scattered among antique shops, clothing boutiques, restaurants and bars.

"It's something we always wanted to do," said Batt, as he opened a box of glittery red holiday candles that had just arrived at the store. "I've always loved gifts and shopping and design."

Batt, 46, loves blending and mixing patterns, eras and colors rather than having everything match. His design mottos include, "Don't be afraid of color. What did it ever do to you?" and "If it looks right, it is right."

His personal style is a blend of old and new, he said.

"I love antiques, but I love contemporary and modern things," he said. "I do believe although we can honor the past, we have to live in the present."

One of the popular items at his store is a New Orleans-themed toile that Batt designed himself with streetcar, riverboat and French Quarter images. Hazelnut sells the toile by the yard or as shower curtains, towels, throw pillows, napkins and coasters. The design also can be put on serving trays, tissue boxes and wastebaskets, he said.

His store also carries oyster-shaped serving bowls, pewter alligator letter openers, streetcar and shotgun house ceramics, crab-shaped place card holders and serving trays with painted-on tree frogs.

Story and pictures continue here