I was just tipped off by a reader about a LaChapelle-esque ad campaign that the Regional Tourism Committee of Paris has launched in London in a bid to draw visitors to the Rugby World Cup. Embiggen for the kissy hawtness.

My pals Steve Schalchlin and Jim Brochu’s show, The Big Voice: God Or Merman?, a musical comedy about their 22-year marriage, opens in San Francisco at the New Conservatory Theatre on August 1st. The show had a great six month run in New York City, winning rave reviews from Variety and the New York Times. Our contemporary embrace of the …

Basquiat director Julian Schnabel’s new West Village tower has been getting so many atrocious reviews that yesterday Superdaddy and I ducked out of beer bust to wander over to West 11th and see for ourselves. And, wow – is this thing fugly. An 11-story addition to the top of an existing 3-story former stable, its proposed construction was fought in …

If there’s anything better for erasing the blues of a gloomy, muggy, rainy Sunday afternoon than dancing around your apartment in your underwear to Sylvester, I’d like to know what it is. I feel mighty real and yes, I do wanna funk. That’s all I got.

Nicki Grossman, president of the Greater Fort Lauderdale Visitors and Convention Bureau, dropped a comment on one the Flush Naugle posts and I’m reposting it here so that everybody sees it. Hello, I’m writing from The Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention & Visitors Bureau. I wish to reassure you and your readers that Greater Fort Lauderdale is a warmly welcoming destination …

Gay activists interrupted the San Francisco appearance of UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon yesterday, protesting the United Nations’ refusal to address the plight of LGBT people being murdered, attacked and imprisoned around the world. Led by local activist Michael Petrelis, activists disrupted Ban’s speech to the World Affairs Council of Northern California, chanting, “Break the silence! Talk about gays!” (Photo …

The pressure of being second place must be getting to Barack Obama. Yesterday he broke the long-standing “no attack langauge” truce between himself and Hillary, saying, “The reason that this president has failed to lead this country is because he hasn’t been able to unite our country. He’s polarized us when he should have pulled us together. That’s why the …

– Elaine Stritch will do a three week run beginning in January at the Carlyle Hotel in a show called Elaine Stritch At The Liberty….At The Carlyle. Tickets are $125 and you must order dinner – which, of course, is not included. – A revival of Sunday In The Park With George hits Broadway on February 21st. The Pulitzer Prize-winning …

Spiderpig, Spiderpig Does whatever A Spiderpig doesCan he swingFrom a webNo he can’tHe’s a pigLook ouuuuutHe is a Spiderpig Last night, with Squishees and KrustyO’s in hand, Dr. Jeff and I attended the midnight screening of The Simpsons. On the walk home from the City Cinema on 86th Street (strongly disrecommended by the way) Dr. Jeff threatened me with physical …

I ran into Lady Randomocity while she was performing her court-ordered community service and as she hitched up her alcohol-monitoring anklet she mentioned that this week’s Swag Tuesday winner is Buster from San Antonio. Buster sez: “That’s simply amazing! And my first post on your site, too. The last time I won anything was a weekend in Palm Springs in …

The Maine Monument, at the Columbus Circle entrance to Central Park, was created by sculptor Attilio Picarelli and was built in 1913. The monument is dedicated to the memory of the 260 sailors killed when the U.S.S. Maine exploded in the harbor of Havana in 1898, which triggered the Spanish-American War. Several investigations over the last century have given conflicting …

Things have a little heavy on the news from Fort Naugledale in gay blogland, but as a former resident with many friends living there, I am compelled to persist. Therefore, I can’t resist showing you this video from some rinky-dink outfit called Active Christian Media, who ask for support for Nauglepoo. Many are speculating that the Christian right is grooming …

The HRC/LOGO debate for presidential candidates, now titled “The Visible Vote ’08“, has added two more panelists. Bloomberg.com columnist Margaret Carlson and Washington Post editorial board member Jonathan Capehart will join HRC head Joe Solmonese and lesbian rocker Melissa Etheridge in quizzing the candidates. Perhaps taking its cue from last week’s successful YouTube debate, LOGO is soliciting questions from the …

The transit situation in New York City is getting, uh, interesting. – The Port Authority is polling commuters entering the Lincoln Tunnel, asking if they’d be willing to pay up to $30 per entry in order to use a proposed super-fee lane, which could cut their drive into Manhattan by 20-50 minutes. The HOT, or high-occupancy/toll lane would be creating …

The Democrats’ ploy of attaching the federal hates crimes bill (the Matthew Shepard Act) as an amendment to a Department of Defense appropriations bill did not work because the Dems also attached an amendment requiring troops to pull out of Iraq by May 1, prompting Republicans to plan a filibuster on the item. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) pulled …

Haloscan is having its quarterly meltdown. Comments appear to be posting OK, but the number count is not updating. My apologies. Hopefully this will be resolved soon, but in the meantime y’all will have to manually check each post for added comments.

At the corner of 8th Avenue and 14th Street, “where Chelsea meets the West Village”, is the Nickel Men’s Spa, your one-stop mani-pedi-facial-waxing angertwink superstore. The building is said to have been a “historic bank”, but I’ve never found out what it was.

What are you reading?.

New York Magazine is riffing on a survey released last year by the CDC that reports that the incidence of anal sex among heterosexuals has climbed by about 50% over the last 15 years, with 38% of women and 32% of men now saying that they occasionally indulge in backdoor shenangigans. The article, written by sex advice authors Em & …

Matt Foreman, Executive Director of the National Gay & Lesbian Task Force, spoke at yesterday’s Flush Naugle rally, where he issued a blistering call for Naugle to be “shunned” and “not allowed at any gathering where decent people are.” Local police estimated the crowd attending the rally at between 800-1000, staggering numbers, particularly for a town that has been been …