One British columnist thinks Cardinal Timothy Dolan is the front-runner to replace Palpatine. One of Benedict’s first major appointments was to install an American, Cardinal William Levada, as head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. He resigned last year, to be replaced by a German, but US influence in the Vatican continued to grow. Cardinal Raymond Burke, …

This is the most recent tweet from Ratzi. Twitter is wondering if this is a clue.  Best comment on Facebook so far: “I did Nazi that coming!”

Stay out of the comments if you’ve not yet seen last night’s episode. Otherwise dive in and dish the gay intrigue.

Huge news: Pope Benedict XVI said Monday he lacks the strength to fulfill his duties and on Feb. 28 will become the first pontiff in 600 years to resign. The announcement sets the stage for a conclave in March to elect a new leader for world’s 1 billion Catholics. The 85-year-old pope announced the bombshell in Latin during a meeting …

The 20th annual Winter Party hits South Beach in just a few weeks. I was at the very first one and have only missed four or five in the last two decades. Sure, I no longer have the energy (or desire, really) to attend the giant til-the-break-of-dawn megaclub events that Winter Party is rightfully famous for, but I do so …

Some of the horse meat that’s been labeled as beef in European supermarkets may not even be horse meat. A law banning horses from Romanian roads may be responsible for the surge in the fraudulent sale of horse meat on the European beef market, a French politician said today.  Horse-drawn carts were a common form of transport for centuries in …

“I keep thinking there must be a punchline here. An ex-president and the first lady and three lesbians walk into a bar.” – Folk singer Janis Ian, accepting her 2013 Grammy for Best Spoken Word Album for the recording of her autobiography, Society’s Child.  Also nominated in the (sort of) books-on-tape category were Bill Clinton, Michelle Obama, Ellen DeGeneres, and …

Buzzfeed calls Chris Brown “the absolute worst person at the Grammys.”

Clip description: “Mel had some pretty mean demons — they were exhausting the exorcist! Mel was tormented by ‘demon dreams’ for all of his life. He had drug and anger issues. Hate, Murder and Rage were the ‘demons’ — and they were cast out!”

The usual red carpet hubbub is already underway and the show begins at 8PM Eastern.  Gay R&B star Frank Ocean is up for six awards including Best New Artist, Record Of The Year (Thinkin Bout You), and Album Of The Year (channel ORANGE). Ocean is the first out gay man nominated for Best New Artist, although one might grant asterisks …

All Out writes: OUTRAGE: DC Comics has just hired anti-gay writer Orson Scott Card for their new digital Adventures of Superman. He’s written publicly that he believes marriage equality would lead to the end of civilization. He’s also on the board of a notorious anti-equality organization. We need to let DC Comics know they can’t support Orson Scott Card or …

Romania and Bulgaria both become full European Union members (regarding the right to work) next year and the UK government is reportedly mulling plans to discourage a mass migration to Britain. In response to those reports, a Romanian ad campaign has launched in which Britain’s cuisine and climate are mocked. UPDATE: A reader clarifies that Romania and Bulgaria joined the …

Embiggen this 2013 Oscar nominees photo and play “Where’s Waldo” to pick out the stars amongst all the producers and other behind-the-scenes folks. I see Bradley Cooper, Anne Hathaway, Robert DeNiro, Steven Spielberg, Sally Field, and….that’s about it. A bigger version is at the link. (Via Peter Staley)

The Germany-based supermarket chain Aldi yesterday confirmed that some “beef” products recently pulled from shelves in Britain actually contained as much as 100% horsemeat. Horsemeat has also been found in beef-labeled products in several other British chains. The Guardian reports: The Metropolitan police said in a statement it was not carrying out a criminal investigation. “Although we have met with …

Last night Margret Berger was chosen to represent Norway in the 2013 Eurovision Song Contest.  Sweden’s Loreen was the 2012 grand champion with her international hit Euphoria and therefore her home country will host this year’s finals, where 39 nations will compete. Here’s Berger’s winning entry.

Dan Savage call this “another attempt at Grindr for straights.” By definition the guys a woman meets through Bang With Friends aren’t strangers. These are guys that the women on the site know. (In theory at least—some people are Facebook friends with strangers.) And while a woman can certainly be victimized, infected, sexually assaulted, or knocked up by a guy …

Last week Rep. Edward Markey (D-MA) declared his candidacy for John Kerry’s Senate seat.  Should Markey win, openly gay Massachusetts state Rep. Carl Sciortino will run for his House seat. “I am running to continue the strong progressive leadership that the families of the Fifth District have always counted on,” Sciortino said in a statement. “I look forward to bringing …

(Via Buzzfeed Andrew)

This parody of Dodge’s Super Bowl ad has gone viral in Teabagistan.  With over ten million views, the original Dodge ad has been championed by One Million Moms as an example of what all advertising should be.

Famed gay novelist Amistead Maupin made a Super Bowl bet with fellow writer Laura Lippman in which the loser would pen an ode to the winner’s hometown. Here’s Maupin’s tribute to Baltimore. The Virtues of Baltimore (After Pondering Weak and Weary) Who makes Baltimore so fine? The Duchess of Windsor or Divine? Poe and his Raven or Mama Cass? The …