San Francisco club promoters DJ Jeff Johnson and Kurt Cooper have generated some unpleasant attention for their June 1st “Fag Bash” party , with some taking great offense to both the name and ad image used. The ad appeared in two issues of the Bay Area Reporter and on fliers posted around town. The ad also appears on the Folsom …

Openly gay Dallas mayoral candidate Ed Oakley lost today in that city’s runoff election, defeated by retired businessman Tom Leppert. Surprising poll workers, today’s runoff seems to have had higher turnout than last month’s general election. Oakley, who is CFO of a company that owns several Dallas gay bars, called Leppert late today to concede and congratulate him on his …

Last summer a “gang” of seven young black lesbians partying near the Christopher Street piers attacked a passing straight man after he allegedly made a lewd sexual remark about “turning them straight.” The man was beaten and stabbed. You may recall me posting about it at the time as part of the still-ongoing debate about the situation with unruly minority …

The Flatiron’s rehab has been going on for, what, 200 years? I’ve never seen the building without scaffolding and ad barns around it. These pics embiggen nicely.

“If Travolta was homophobic, dancing in that fat suit with as many gay people as are working on this film, he would have had a heart attack and been dead.” – John Waters, responding to yesterday’s Daily News story about a brewing boycott of his upcoming movie, Hairspray. Waters: “First of all, he is playing a loving mother, not Harvey …

YouTube isn’t allowing me to embed the video, for some reason, but you MUST go and watch I Got A Crush On Obama by Obama Girl. It’s actually a pretty sweet tune and I could totally see it being this summer’s slow jam. The girl in the video is not the singer, by the way. Lyric sample: “You’ll get your …

Openly gay reps Tammy Baldwin and Barney Frank have written to Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice, demanding an inquiry into the abuse and murder of LGBT people in Iraq. The full text of the letter is here. Islamic militias continue to abuct Iraqis suspected of being gay, often leaving their battered corpses for their families to find. In April, the …

The Trevor Project, which operates the nation’s only 24/7 suicide prevention helpline for gay teens, will be holding a gala event on June 25th at NYC’s Millenium Hotel. The event will include a silent auction, dinner, music and comedy performances and an awards ceremony where Nathan Lane will receive the Trevor Hero Award. Also scheduled to appear: Tim Gunn, Carson …

Last night I attended the Queerty-sponsored speech of presidential candidate Sen. Mike Gravel at the Hotel Chelsea’s Star Lounge. While Gravel spoke passionately about ending “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” and marriage equality, he made a couple of missteps. First, when expounding on his position that closeted gays hurt the cause, which all here agree, I’m sure, he said, “Be proud …

From the Really Unimportant News department comes word that the University of Central Florida (my alma mater) has dropped the “Golden” from their team names, now being merely the UCF Knights. I’m still a little freaked out that the little commuter college I attended (back when dinosaurs ruled the earth) is the 6th largest university in the country and is …

These silly sheep are waiting in line at Madison Square’s Shake Shack, Danny Meyer’s insanely popular burger joint where it can take two hours from getting in line to actually eating. Once you order, it can be about another 45 minutes before you get your food. The Shack Shack has a live cam so office workers nearby can assess the …

Lady Randomocity stepped away from the keno table, lit a Marlboro 100, and revealed that Dan of Rochester, NY, was the winner of this week’s Swag Tuesday: a copy of Armisted Maupin’s Michael Tolliver Lives. Dan sez: “Read Armistead Maupin!! Not just the Tales of the City series, but The Night Listener, and Maybe The Moon – two of my …

Andrew Lloyd Webber has been writing a sequel to Phantom Of The Opera, called Phantom In Manhattan. However: “I was trying to write some new music; Otto got into the grand piano, jumped onto the computer and destroyed the entire score for the new Phantom in one fell swoop.” And Broadway was saved. Who’s a good kitty? You are! Yes, …

UPDATE: I neglected to mention that the vote below was much closer than it seems, as only 50 “yes” votes were needed to get the measure on the ballot. My apologies. In a 151-45 vote, Massachusetts legislators just voted “NO” to putting an anti-gay marriage amendment up to a statewide vote in 2008. Putting the amendment on the ballot would …

In a story picked up by today’s NY Daily News, Washington Blade editor Kevin Naff is joining the chorus of critics calling for a boycott of the new movie version of John Water’s Hairspray, charging that star John Travolta’s faith, Scientology, is homophobic. I haven’t mentioned the boycott previously, because I didn’t think much would come of it, but the …

“It’s more her awful appearance in an inappropriate and ill-fitting ballgown with a plunging neckline.” – Former NJ Governor Jim McGreevey, blaming his estranged wife’s attire on Oprah for her book’s poor performance, rather than his having charged her with being homophobic. In addition to dissing her fashion sense, he said her book is “dull” and “poorly written”. Meow!

Last night’s WYSIWYG Gays Gone Wild show was a blast. All the performers were hilarious, with Leigh Thompson’s question and answer routine about his life as a transman being the highlight of the evening. Rod Townsend sang a song about gonorrhea (to the tune of ABBA’s Mamma Mia) and Amnesia Sparkles did a bit about being Satan’s receptionist. Joel Derfner …

I’m a “good” sleeper. I can sleep through noise, through bright light, just about anything. I’ve slept soundly, flat on my back on the bare floor of an airport terminal. And when I wake up, I’m up. Within 30 seconds of opening my eyes, I’m out of bed. No snooze alarm, no comfy half-awake blankey snuggling. In fact, I don’t …

Here’s a fascinating map that compares the Gross Domestic Product of other countries to American states with similar economies. Texas=Canada. California=France. And New York=Brazil. Unreal. Embiggen for the easier reading.

A little cyber-birdie just told me that today is the birthday of beloved JMG commenter Crixi Van Cheek. Have a great one, Crixi! (I suppose I shouldn’t get in the habit of mentioning reader birthdays or that’s all I’d be doing. Hey, when is Lynette’s?)