Less than a year after Merck gave up on its initially promising HIV vaccine trial, the U.S. government announced yesterday that it too was giving up on a massive HIV vaccine trial. Plans for a large human trial of a promising government-developed H.I.V. vaccine in the United States were canceled Thursday because a top federal official said scientists realized that …

As Aaron and I were walking in Hell’s Kitchen yesterday on our way to see Yaz, we ran into Cheyenne Jackson leaving his apartment, presumably on his way to Damn Yankees, where he’s moonlighting from Xanadu this month. (It was 7:30. What time do performers have to be there for an 8PM curtain? Seems to be cutting it close, even …

Last night Aaron and I attended the first of three NYC shows by Yaz (Yazoo to you Brits) as they close out the American leg of their Reconnected reunion tour. It’s been over 25 years since Alison Moyet and Vince Clark released the second of their meager two album output, but you wouldn’t have known that by the reaction of …

As usual, Jon Stewart nails it.

I know there’s an “internet sensation” every ten seconds, but you really, really, really have to watch Act 1 of Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog, a singing, acting, evil Doogie Houser bwah-ha-ha-ing bit of genius. Conceived by Buffy the Vampire Slayer creator Joss Whedon, Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog, a three-part musical miniseries, has become an online sensation since Part 1’s release …

Another bit of lovely news from my hometown. The tidy palm lined streets and affordable homes of the Rybolt Reserve subdivision in suburban Orlando have become popular with middle class homebuyers and speculators but if you are a gay or unmarried opposite-sex couple the Homeowners Association has a message – don’t bother to try to rent here according to some …

Rev. Jesse Jackson, who has campaigned against the usage of the N-word by rappers and the film industry, apparently used the word himself in that now-famous whispered conversation caught by Fox News. The Rev. Jesse Jackson used the N-word during a break in a TV interview where he criticized presidential candidate Barack Obama, Fox News confirmed Wednesday. The longtime civil …

That’s the word the Dutch are using to refer to married gay men’s “maiden” name. If you take your husband’s name, of course. It just means “birthname.” C’mon, we can do better than that. Ideas? (Via – Queerty)

Kay Ryan, 62, an openly lesbian woman, has been named the nation’s 16th poet laureate. Known for her sly, compact poems that revel in wordplay and internal rhymes, Ms. Ryan has won a carriage full of poetry prizes for her funny and philosophical work, including awards from the Guggenheim Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, and in 1994, the …

What’s your favorite ethnic or foreign cuisine?

And the United States inches closer to the civilized world…. AIDS Action applauds the Senate for overwhelming, bipartisan passage of the Lantos/Hyde U.S. Global Leadership Against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria Reauthorization Act (S 2731), which reauthorizes the President’s Emergency Plan For AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). The organization particularly commends the lifting of the statutory requirement that bars travel and immigration to …

In a setback for the marriage equality battle in California, this afternoon the state Supreme Court refused to remove Proposition 8 from the November ballot. The state Supreme Court refused today to remove a proposed ban on same-sex marriage from the November ballot. The initiative, Proposition 8, is a state constitutional amendment that would overturn the court’s May 15 ruling …

This is made of the awesome.

Kent Snyder, libertarian presidential candidate Ron Paul’s openly gay campaign chair, has died of pneumonia at age 49. In an ironic twist to Paul’s small government libertarian ideals, Snyder had no health insurance and leaves a $400K medical debt. Both the McCain and Obama campaigns offer full health insurance to campaign staff. Activists belonging to the libertarian wing of the …

I missed this when it came out this weekend. Obama’s run to the center has almost completely erased his lead over John McCain according to Newsweek. Other polls show Obama’s lead shrinking, but still as high as eight points. A month after emerging victorious from the bruising Democratic nominating contest, some of Barack Obama‘s glow may be fading. In the …

There’s trouble between the two biggest backers of California’s Proposition 8, the November ballot measure that would overturn gay marriage. One group of haters doesn’t want the other group of haters joining the fight to keep the measure on the ballot. Because, get this, they hate TOO much. A united front by conservative forces against same-sex marriage in California is …

This billboard went up in St. Cloud, Florida this week. St. Cloud is a one-time cow town just south of Orlando in Osceola County, but now it’s mostly known for its strip of budget hotels not too far from main gate of Disney World. The billboard was put up by some whackjob local businessman and “man of God” who is …

Haloscan, which was recently acquired by another company, is having another meltdown. It appears that your comments ARE being recorded, but the pop-up comment boxes are showing empty at the moment. So damn annoying. UPDATE: The problem appears resolved.

This is unbelievable. Sen. Elizabeth Dole (R-NC) wants to rename the the current AIDS relief bill after Jesse Helms. SA 5074. Mrs. DOLE submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by her to the bill S. 2731, to authorize appropriations for fiscal years 2009 through 2013 to provide assistance to foreign countries to combat HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria, and for other …