Happy Halloween from Wes Craven - 2008

Boo!

Noah's Arc: Jumping the Broom

The film Noah's Arc: Jumping the Broom, based on the Logo TV series, opened at theaters in New York, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Chicago, and Washington DC last weekend and grossed $32,200 per screen, an average second only to that of Clint Eastwood's Changeling, starring Angelina Jolie.

Not too shabby for a film about gay men of color who travel to Martha's Vineyard for a weekend wedding getaway!

Read more about the film, including how to get a copy of the DVD for those of you who can't get to the aforementioned cities, at the Noah's Arc: Jumping the Broom website.

Also check out Noah's Arc movie coverage on AfterElton.com.

Happy viewing!

Write to Marry Day - NO on Prop 8, from Canada and beyond

Today, 29 October 2008, bloggers around the world are participating in the "Write to Marry Day" in support of marriage equality for same-sex couples and against California's Proposition 8, a measure on the state's November ballot that would take away the right of same-sex couples to marry.

The right for equality in marriage is not an issue of a minority group, i.e the LGBT community, pushing its agenda for self-serving purposes. This is a universal principle that seeks to assure that all citizens of a nation are treated in the same way, regardless of race, sex, creed, and whom they love. Without this equality, no one's rights can ever be secure.

New Jersey, New York, and Vermont likely to follow Connecticut in legalizing gay marriage

Check out this article by Deb Price outlining how the American states forming the northeastern seaboard of the country are taking the lead in gay marriage legislation.

"The next marriage-celebration fireworks will likely be set off in New Jersey and New York, and then Vermont. New Hampshire would likely move next, possibly by 2011, with Maine, Rhode Island and Pennsylvania riding in the region's marriage equality caboose."

If, according to Price, the Northeast is in fact leading the way to gay marital bliss, seven (Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island) of the 13 colonies that originally formed the United States of America will have legalized same-sex marriage in the near future.

Read more.

Absolut Vodka Ad - Mark Will You Marry Me? - Steve

It seems that Absolut Vodka has jumped on the wagon to support gay marriage in the United States.

From the "In An Absolut World" campaign comes the ad "Mark will you marry me? - Steve" in which the matrimonial proposal is displayed on a baseball stadium's large video screen.

The ad is published in Instinct Magazine October 2008 and can also be viewed at absolutads.com.

Cheers!

Did We Vote On Your Marriage? NO on Prop 8

In May 2008, the Supreme Court of California ruled that the state was unconstitutionally discriminating against same-sex couples by denying them the right to marriage. Proposition 8, however, seeks to amend the state's constitution and ban same-sex marriage.

I found this video, and it's quite moving because it shows the pure elation of people, including Ellen DeGeneres, after it was announced that gays and lesbians had won the right to marry in California. And by portraying such joy, the video also represents just how much could be lost if Proposition 8 is passed this November.



How can anyone take so much happiness away from another human being? It would be inhumane.

Jörg Haider's widow, Claudia Haider, requests new autopsy

More drama and speculation regarding Jörg Haider's death. It is being reported that Jörg Haider's widow, Claudia Haider, is requesting a new autopsy by doctors outside Austria after some senior members of his Alliance for the Future of Austria party have suggested that Haider may have been been drugged. Cremation is on hold.

Wow. What a mess. Death is hard enough on survivors, and these additional complications, while perhaps distracting, do get in the way of the grieving process. Just imagine if someone you loved, despite his or her politics, was placed under such scrutiny after death did you part.

Sad story all around for those, like Claudia Haider or Stefan Petzner, who actually were close to Jörg Haider, the human being.

Read more.

Stefan Petzner sacked as successor to Jörg Haider

After admitting in interviews that Jörg Haider was his long term partner, Stefan Petzner has been dismissed as leader of the far-right Alliance for the Future of Austria party.

Petzner will act as deputy under new leader, Josef Buchner.

Not surprising that Petzner has been replaced. Interesting that he remains as deputy leader. Could the far-right be on its way to accepting homosexuality?

Read more.

Widespread international support for Obama

Gallup Polls conducted in 70 countries from May to September 2008 reveal widespread international support for Barack Obama over John McCain in the U.S. presidential election.

You can check out the poll results here.

Hmmm. Wouldn't it be great if countries outside the United States had the right and the power to determine who would lead America? Actually, wouldn't it be great if we all played a role in determining who would lead any particular nation? In this highly unlikely and hypothetical paradigm, we would be citizens of the world living in a global democracy. Just imagine the best of what could be achieved if we all had a say...

Little Britain's Matt Lucas gets a gay divorce

The official ending of the civil partnership between Little Britain star Matt Lucas and television producer Kevin McGee, is slated for today. They 'married' in December 2006.

I suppose some homophobic anti-gay marriage folks might see this as an opportunity to say, "Ha! We told you so," but really, do I need to list the percentage of heterosexual marriages that end in divorce? I didn't think so. Sometimes marriage works well, sometimes...well, not so well.

Trust me. I know.

Best wishes to Matt and Kevin beyond this life bump.

Read more.

Sean Penn plays Harvey Milk à la Gus Van Sant

Milk, directed by Gus Van Sant and starring Sean Penn, is based on the true story of Harvey Milk (1930-1978), an activist and politician, and the first openly gay man to be elected to major public office in the United States as a member of San Francisco's Board of Supervisors in 1977. Check out the trailer.



Harvey Milk was shot and killed, along with San Francisco mayor George Moscone, by rival city supervisor, Dan White on 27 November 1978.

Thirty years later, the struggle for tolerance and equality continues. Harvey Milk helped lead us to an historical point at which we can now, more than ever, participate in the fight for our basic human rights as gay men and women. He gave us hope, and in so doing, he inspired us to give hope to each other and, most important, to ourselves.

Greatness!

Milk co-stars Emile Hirsch, Josh Brolin, Diego Luna, and James Franco, and premieres on 28 October in San Francisco.

Jörg Haider, drunk driving, and an exhibition exploring Nazi persecution of gays

As the speculation continues over right-wing politician Jörg Haider's sexuality, with news of his final evening getting drunk at a gay bar serving as further evidence of his man who sleeps with man status, a traveling exhibition put on by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum has been making its way across America.

The show, NAZI PERSECUTION OF HOMOSEXUALS: 1933-1945, currently on exhibit at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Memorial Library through 10 December 2008, uses reproductions of historic photographs and documents to chronicle the Nazis' arrests and persecution of tens of thousands of gay men from 1933 to 1945. The Nazis regarded gay men as a socially deviant subclass whose sexual orientation threatened the elite and masculine Aryan race they sought to establish.

Haider's parents had been early members of the Austrian Nazi party, and Haider himself had made controversial pro-Nazi comments that suggested his continued affinity with the party.

So Jörg Haider might have been gay or bisexual, or far right or racist, but what is now certain (and largely overshadowed by other speculations) is that he was a criminal, who had four times the legal limit for alcohol in his blood and who drove at twice the legal speed limit when he crashed to his death.

Luckily, no one else was killed.

Hong Kong HIV infections on the rise in gay and bisexual men

From Reuters, experts have warned that up to one third of gay and bisexual men in Hong Kong may be infected with HIV by 2020 if all actions fail to combat the virus through prevention programs and by promoting safe sex.

Currently, four percent of Hong Kong's gay and bisexual men are HIV-positive.

Read more.

Ellen DeGeneres speaks out against Prop 8 in new public service announcement

Check out Ellen's public service announcement urging California voters to oppose Proposition 8, which would ban same-sex marriage.



You can also view the video on Ellen's website.

For non-Californians like me, this is about continually spreading the message of equal human rights across the globe.

You deserve equality. Pass it on.

Canada Elections - Anyone but Harper

For those of you Canucks still wondering how to vote against Stephen Harper on Tuesday 14 October, I came across this video outlining how to do so strategically.



Read more.

Jörg Haider, gay or not, dies in car accident

Austrian far-right leader Jörg Haider, who was a strong supporter of anti-immigrant policies in Europe, was killed in a car accident this past Saturday 11 October. He was 58.

Haider, who led the right wing into a coalition government from 2000 to 2006, drew much international condemnation for his anti-foreigner stance and endorsement of certain Nazi policies.

There has been speculation concerning Haider's sexuality since an article, published in the Berlin-based left-wing newspaper Tageszeitung on 21 March 2000, suggested that he was gay.

Whatever his sexuality, the life and politics of Jörg Haider remind us that not all people view the world with the same lens, and that some, straight and gay, actually believe that diversity and mutual acceptance are unnecessary in contemporary society.

Not all fairy wings are open.

Read more about Jörg Haider.

Connecticut legalizes same-sex marriage

Some great news to celebrate over the weekend!

Today, the Connecticut Supreme Court ruled that same-sex couples have the right to marry, thus reversing a lower court decision that had concluded that the state's civil unions were equal to marriage.

Connecticut, the birthplace of (ahem!) George W. Bush, joins Massachusetts and California as the only American states that allow same-sex couples to legally marry.

Read more.

BBC addresses complaints about EastEnders gay kiss

Check out this clip of an episode of the British soap opera EastEnders showing a kiss between characters Christian Clarke (John Partridge) and new boyfriend Lee Thompson (Carl Ferguson).



In response to the numerous homophobic complaints following the broadcast, the BBC issued this statement:

EastEnders aims to reflect real life, and this means including and telling stories about characters from many different backgrounds, faiths, religions and sexualities.

We approach our portrayal of homosexual relationships in the same way as we do heterosexual relationships. In this instance, Christian is enjoying the first flush of romance and we've shown him being affectionate with his new boyfriend in the same way any couple would. We also aim to ensure that depictions of affection or sexuality between couples are suitable for pre-watershed viewing. We believe that the general tone and content of EastEnders is now widely recognised meaning that parents can make an informed decision as to whether they want their children to watch.

Hooray!

PSA - Wanda Sykes Takes a Stand for Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN)

Actress and comedian Wanda Sykes joins forces with the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN) and The Advertising Council in another clever public service announcement addressing the use of anti-gay language among teens.



Ha!

Knock it off, and learn more.

PSA - Hilary Duff Takes a Stand for Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN)

Actress and recording artist Hilary Duff joins forces with the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN) and The Advertising Council in this clever public service announcement addressing the use of anti-gay language among teens.



Never mind teenagers, many adults could learn a good lesson from Ms. Duff!

Think before you speak, and learn more.

Kyrgyzstan

The message from lesbians, bisexual women, women who have sex with women, and transgender men in Kyrgyzstan is simple - acknowledge that they exist.

According to a recent Human Rights Watch report on the former Soviet republic in Central Asia, "Such an acknowledgement means they are bearers of rights, and that their sexual orientation or gender identity cannot be used to deny those rights or subject them to violence or discrimination."

Makes perfect sense to me.

Read more.

Best, Most Improved, and Worst Places for Gays

British newspaper The Independent has published its take on the best and worst places for gay people in the world.

The Ten Best Places In The World To Be Gay In

San Francisco
Sydney
New York
Mykonos
Paris
Barcelona
Amsterdam
London
Copenhagen
Berlin

The five most improved places for gay tolerance

Delhi
Shanghai
Tel Aviv
Cape Town
Havana

The five least gay tolerant places

Saudi Arabia
Iran
Jamaica
Afghanistan
Nigeria

Hmmm. What about Montreal? It's a great place to be if you're gay!
Urgh.

Ellen DeGeneres on Prop 8 on Jay Leno

Check out Ellen's appearance on Tuesday (September 30) night's The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.



Greatness!

For freedom, equality, and fairness worldwide, spread the word to make sure that Californians vote No on Prop 8.

Read more.