Lady Randomocity sent out a couple of forlorn emails last week, but never hearing back from the first winner, she petulantly chose another to receive a copy of Jesse Archer’s new novel, You Can Run. The email-attentive David, from the heart of Utah, says, “Thanks Joe! I guess I’ve never really been one of those people that could say they …

“While we have come a long way since the Stonewall riots in 1969, we still have a lot of work to do. Too often, the issue of LGBT rights is exploited by those seeking to divide us. But at its core, this issue is about who we are as Americans. It’s about whether this nation is going to live up …

The 35-story Carlyle Hotel, at Madison and 76th, was built in 1931 during the golden age for art deco Manhattan landmarks (Empire State, Chrysler, etc.). Originally a residential hotel, today the Carlyle is a co-op with 160 rental units and 60 privately-owned suites. The hotel’s Cafe Carlyle has hosted many famous jazz artists such as Bobby Short, who played there …

My most hated commerical is anything with that incredibly annoying Cockney gecko. Unless it’s the one with that smartass little kid spouting technobabble for Verizon. True quam. Like anybody knows or cares about quadrature amplitude modulation. I’d like to see a cage match between the gecko and that mouthy kid. And the cavemen are getting on my nerves too. Now …

Tomorrow night at 9PM (6PM PST) I’ll be live-blogging the HRC/LOGO Visible Vote ’08 debate between the Democratic candidates. Drop in here during the debate and add your own take as the show rolls. You can watch the show online, on LOGO, or by tuning into XM channel POTUS 130, their new free channel devoted to the 2008 presidential campaign. …

Yesterday a NYC-bound Spirit Airlines passenger smuggled a “fist-sized” marmoset past security at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International by keeping the monkey under his hat. Only after the flight was airborne did other passengers notice the animal “playing in the man’s ponytail.” A day earlier, the passenger got the monkey past security as he departed Lima, Peru. When asked how they could …

“We can’t make John black, we can’t make him a woman. Those things get you a certain amount of fundraising dollars.” – Elizabeth Edwards, speaking about reasons her husband may receive less media attention and fewer campaign donations than Obama and Clinton. Mrs. Edwards continues to deliver better quotes than her husband, doesn’t she? Tuesday, on John Gibson’s Fox News …

“I haven’t been in a relationship since 1982. God, that sounds pathetic. But I was so severely hurt that I’ve never, ever gotten over it. I was so madly and desperately in love that I didn’t see the end coming. It was a routine night on the couch watching television, and he turned to me and just said, ‘I don’t …

Watch their hysterical video. Right fucking on.

One of the many mansions that Stanford White designed for the megawealthy of the time, this Fifth Avenue showplace was built in 1909 for philanthropist Payne Whitney. The lot, which faces Central Park, was a graduation gift from Whitney’s uncle, given when he graduated from Harvard Law. The home features a grand staircase which was used in a scene in …

Glenn Murphy, 33, the newly-elected chairman of the Young Republicans National Federation, who is well known for using the gay marriage issue to promote his candidates, has abruptly resigned amid allegations that he sexually assaulted a 22-year old man at the home of the man’s sister. Murphy has already been scrubbed from the YRNF’s website and their Wikipedia entry, which …

White House spokesman Tony Fratto yesterday said that President Bush plans to veto any bill to which the Matthew Shepard Act (MSA) is attached. Fratto: “The qualifications [in the bill] are so broad that virtually any crime involving a homosexual individual has potential to have hate crimes elements. The proposals they’re talking about are not sufficiently narrow.” Last month Sen. …

Liza Minnelli lives a couple of blocks from me and I see her on the street once or twice a year, usually out shopping. Once I saw her leaving a Chinese joint on 2nd Avenue. She seems to be able to walk around unmolested by fans, at least on the Upper East Side. Still, you have to laugh at the …

Four San Diego firemen are planning to sue the city, claiming they were forced into taking part in the gay pride parade where they suffered sexual taunts from the crowd. The firemen were asked to take part in the parade at the last minute, when volunteers dropped out due to a family crisis. They were chosen because their station is …

Police officers in Thailand will be forced to wear a hot pink Hello Kitty armband if they disobey the rules, thereby shaming their masculinity. A police official in Bangkok says, “Simple warnings no longer work. This new twist is expected to make them feel guilt and shame and prevent them from repeating the offense, no matter how minor. Hello Kitty …

The curved wall and lined ceiling of the F train station at 63rd & Lexington provide one of the neater visual effects of NYC subway. Some people use the F train to travel between Queens and Brooklyn, even though the line detours them all through Manhattan.

Shelter Kitty sometimes keeps a wary eye open during her naps, just in case somebody gets overwhelmed and feels the need to scoop her up for kisses. Her current hobby is batting the wires until she pulls the cable box down on her head. It’s now been over three months since I brought her home from the Harlem ASPCA and …

Pfizer announced today that the FDA has approved its new HIV drug Selzentry (maraviroc). The drug is the first of a new class of HIV drugs to be approved in ten years. Selzentry is intended for patients who have the HIV-1 strain of the virus and are already resistant to multiple HIV drugs. Selzentry is the first in a class …

Yesterday Dubya signed a law expanding the ability of the government to eavesdrop on our international phone conversations and emails without warrants. The law was enacted in order to protect the major telecommunication companies that are now facing numerous lawsuits for having secretly cooperated in previous warrantless wiretappings. These companies have been pressuring the Bush administration to enact legislation freeing …

This is Jingjing, one of the five official mascots of the 2008 Beijing Olympics.