I got an email from someone affiliated with Southern Decadence who suggests keeping an eye on their official site regarding updates on the status of the events. At this writing, no events have been canceled, but numerous JMG readers have reported that their hotels are telling them that an evacuation of New Orleans may begin long before Gustav’s landfall is …

According to the latest poll, the ballot referendum to ban gay marriage in California is in serious trouble. A majority of likely voters, 54 percent, oppose ending gay marriage, compared with 40 percent who support it, the poll said. The result is similar to the findings of a Field Poll in July, which found that 51 percent of likely California …

JMG reader Andy in Fort Lauderdale writes: Last night at the democratic national convention, Melissa Etheridge sang a medley which included Irving Berlin’s “God Bless America”. All royalties from performances of “God Bless America” are assigned to the Boys and Girls Scouts of America. The Boy Scouts are an avowedly anti-gay discriminatory organization. Etheridge could have easily chosen “America the …

On the 45th anniversary of Martin Luther King’s I Have A Dream speech at the 1963 March On Washington, many are hoping that tonight Barack Obama can somehow recapture the excitement and optimism of that day. Many veterans of the march will gather at televisions in their living rooms Thursday night, or sit with friends and old comrades and watch …

Barack Obama will be making the most important speech of his life tonight when he accepts the Democratic nomination and John McCain is planning to steal the show. According to the Drudge Report, McCain’s camp plans to leak his VP pick at 6pm and then give some sort of confirmation at 8pm. Classy all the way. So much for the …

The shelves of the Walgreens on the UES are already groaning under the weight of Halloween crapola. Reindeer blow-pops and singing Santas are probably already in the stockroom.

This clip was created by wacko conservative radio star Glenn Beck. It’s to the tune of the national anthem of the former USSR and while Beck means it as a rip on Obama, you gotta admit it’s damn funny. “Hope for the change of the hope for the change.”

The best line of the night came from Clinton: “People around the world have always been more impressed by the power of our example than by the example of our power.” But man, did John Kerry ever hit it out of the park. If only he spoke like this at his own convention.

NYC’s rate of new HIV infections is three times that of the rest of the country. Based on a new model for tracking recent infections developed by the Centers for Disease Control, city health officials estimated that 72 out of every 100,000 New Yorkers contracted the virus that causes AIDS in 2006, compared with 23 out of every 100,000 individuals …

Holy ham slice, you can’t make it up. Speaking of burning pictures onto food, a commenter on the below-linked source reminded me about the much more fun Hello Kitty toaster. If I recall correctly, my SF friend Ggreg Taylor had his Hello Kitty toaster stolen during a party. The thief then taunted him by holding it for ransom and posting …

After Joe Biden’s acceptance speech, Barack Obama made a surprise appearance at the convention. Obama was not expected to show until his acceptance speech tonight.

The Equality Forum reports that 471 of the nation’s 500 biggest companies now include sexual orientation in their employment discrimination protections. That number represents a massive improvement from 2003 when only 323 companies did so. Almost half of the remaining non-compliant companies are headquartered in Texas. Those companies are on the chart to the left, ranked by annual revenue. It …

An interesting survey from the Williams Institute shows that while 38% of NYC’s gay couples live in Manhattan, almost all couples with children live in the outer boroughs. While Manhattan’s gay couples are hitting the city’s hot nightclubs, their counterparts in The Bronx are more likely to be reading kids bedtime stories, a new survey has found. Despite being home …

Some folks are pissed off because the salty spray from Olafur Eliasson’s forgettable Waterfalls installation is killing the trees near Brooklyn Bridge Park. (Note the brownness on the right.) The Parks Department has sent in tree experts to work on the problem. On the upside, this photo embiggens nicely.

Dave Freeman, the co-author of the massive bestseller 100 Things To Do Before You Die, died this week at age 47 from a fall in his home. Freeman’s premature death brings to mind the equally ironic death of The Art Of Jogging author Jim Fixx, who died while jogging. But Freeman’s demise does give rise to this week’s Open Thread. …

My buddy Little Tom just canceled his trip to Southern Decadence as Tropical Storm Gustav appears like it may be heading for New Orleans. On the eve of Hurricane Katrina’s third anniversary, a nervous New Orleans watched Wednesday as another storm threatened to test what the city has rebuilt. Forecasters warned that Hurricane Gustav could hit on Labor Day somewhere …

As planned, when the nomination roll call got to New York, Sen. Clinton stopped the proceedings and asked that Barack Obama be nominated by general voice acclamation. It’s official and it’s history.

Del Martin (at right above in a photo from 2004) has died at age 87 in San Francisco. Phyllis Lyon, her wife of 55 years, was by her side. The co-founder of the world’s first lesbian rights organization and with Lyon the first gay person to legally marry in California, Del Martin lived a long, proud, beautiful life of service …

As LGBT and labor groups continue their boycott of Doug Manchester’s hotel properties in San Diego, the CFO of the company has warned executives that the losses may be in the millions. Several large groups have canceled conventions at the hotel since the boycott launched. Officials at the Manchester Financial Group have argued for weeks that a boycott by gay …

Leave it to Broadway and Pushing Daisies star Kristin Chenoweth to make crystal meth addiction hilarious. Funniest thing I’ve seen in weeks. So many great lines and totally totally totally NSFW.