Provincetown’s first annual Restaurant Week ready to set sail!

Twenty Provincetown restaurants will "set their tables" for the town’s 1st Annual Restaurant Week. Participating restaurants will offer three-course (appetizer, entrée, and dessert) prix fixe dinners at either $25 or $35; excludes gratuity, alcohol and tax.

A special off-season Gallery Stroll will be held on Saturday, November 7 from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Gallery strolls are signature Provincetown events during the summer months when galleries along Commercial Street host festive open houses. (Continue Reading-Source/Bay Windows)

Perez Hilton: No such Thing as Bad Press?

Perez Hilton - the showbiz moniker of 31-year-old Mario Armando Lavandeira - has two pop-culture blogs, a Twitter account with nearly 1.5 million followers and a record label. Recently, on the phone from his apartment in Los Angeles, the self-proclaimed "Queen Of All Media" talked about his life in the spotlight:

Q: How did you get into blogging?
A: It's been five years now. It's amazing how quickly time flies. I started blogging as a hobby, not really thinking anyone would read my site, just my friends. Now, well over 10 million people a day are checking to see what I say. It's still mind-blowing.

Q: How did you accumulate so many readers?
A: I was one of the first to use the online medium as a way to talk about celebrity news in as close to real time as possible. ... I was lucky to be one of the first. I also worked hard, and put in the hours - probably 16 to 17 a day.

Q: What's your daily schedule like?
A: I wake up 4.30, make radio calls. ... I check my emails. Then, 5.45am onward, I start posting, writing, answering emails and looking for more stories. I do that all through the day. ... I go to the gym at 4.30pm, come back at 6.30pm for meetings in my apartment. Meetings end at 7.30, 8pm, then I sleep at 10, 10.30.

Q: How do you find stories?
A: Thankfully, readers send a lot of stuff. They see stories in their local newspaper. Or friends of mine email me, what they heard or saw. ... I'm very plugged in.

Q: How would you describe yourself?
A: I describe myself as boring; all I do is work, and I'm a music lover.

Q: What kind of music?
A: I love music that has good catchy choruses and fits into many different genres. ... I like real artists, that write their own material and are great performers. I love Madonna and Lady Gaga. They are my two favourites of the moment.

Q: You often criticise celebrities, but you also have a lot of celebrity friends. How do you balance that?
A: Generally, I love music and I love musicians. I separate them. I'm a big fan of Lily Allen's music, but I'm not a fan of her personality. I differentiate the two.

Q: But does Lily Allen see that distinction?
A: She's not the biggest fan, no.

Q: How do you handle the criticism?
A: I ask myself WWMD: what would Madonna do? That helps me get through those moments of self-doubt.

Q: So what would Madonna do?
A: She would just say, there is no such thing as bad press.

(Cross posted via Tres Fab Sweetie)

Real "Clueless" Housewives of Orange County

I loved what they all shout out when Nancy Pelosi is shown on the screen....priceless!

Question of the Day

How old were you when you came out of the closet?

Hot or Not? Ben Kirby

For more, visit Gay Body Blog.

This post sponsored by: RainbowDepot.com - Full Line of Gay 2010 Calendars

A Wicked Big Milestone :: 5,000 Posts!

I was so excited to see that yesterday Wicked Gay Blog posted its 5,000th post!

I had no idea when I started this blog that it would grow into the readership and support that it has today and I am so humbled that many of YOU come here daily (some of you several times per day) and read Wicked Gay Blog.

I also want to thank the bloggers who link back to Wicked Gay Blog stories and photos. I know who you are and truly appreciate it!

As always, your feedback and comments are encouraged and from the bottom of my heart, THANK YOU once again!

David

P.S. A special thank you to the sponsors of this blog. Their sponsorship allows me to justify the time I spend working on the blog!

Today in GLBT News :: September 30, 2009

Obama’s ’Family Day’ Includes Gay Families; Earns Praise, Blame **Popular Read! By Kilian Melloy | Tuesday Sep 29, 2009 The President officially declared Sept. 28 to be this year’s Family

Court Tosses Suit by Lesbian Allegedly Denied Visitation with Her Dying Partner **Popular Read! By Kilian Melloy A federal lawsuit in the case of a lesbian denied visitation to her dying partner of 17 years was tossed out on Sept. 29.

Transgender lawyer announces candidacy for Oklahoma House By Michael K. Lavers Attorney Brittany Novotny officially announced her candidacy to unseat three-term incumbent state Rep. Sally Kern [R-Oklahoma City] on Sunday.

GLSEN Founder, Now Obama Pick, Is Lightning Rod for the Right
By Kilian Melloy
GLSEN founder Kevin Jennings dedicated his career to creating safer schools for GLBT youth, having been a gay teenager and a gay teacher himself. Now that he has been named to a post at the Office of Safe and Drug Free Schools, the right have targeted him for an array of unsavory insinuations.

Vandalized gay billboard to be restored **Popular Read! A Memphis gay and lesbian group said it will restore its vandalized billboard and hold a rally Sunday against the vandalism.

Doctors settle case for denying lesbian treatment A California woman has settled a lawsuit against her former doctors who denied her artificial insemination based on her sexual orientation, attorneys for both sides said Tuesday.

How Cleveland landed Gay Games 2014 **Popular Read! By Roger Brigham Score this round for the Buckeyes. Entering the race as an overwhelming underdog, Cleveland was selected as the presumptive host of the 2014 Gay Games, knocking out strong bids from Washington, D.C., which finished second, and Boston.

Vatican: Abusive Priests Not Pedophiles, but ’Ephebophiles’ By Kilian Melloy A Vatican official says that "ephebophiles"--abusers attracted to adolescent boys--were more often perpetrators in the clergy sex abuse scandals.

E. Cleveland Mayor Bites Back in Cross-Dress Photos Fracas By Kilian Melloy East Cleveland Mayor Eric Brewer struck back after a TV news report aired photos it suggested were the mayor dressed in drag, clad in negligee and a wig.

’Survivor’ winner asks to finish sentence at home "Survivor" winner Richard Hatch is appealing a judge’s decision to keep him in a Massachusetts prison until the end of his sentence for tax evasion.

Germany’s likely next foreign minister openly gay By Kirsten Grieshaber Guido Westerwelle and his gay partner are Germany’s new "power couple" - at least according to the nation’s leading daily, which splashed a photo of the pair hugging on election night on the front-page above the fold in Tuesday’s paper.

Tufts students calling new dorm sex rule 'unenforceable'

"Responding to complaints from some students, Tufts University wants to bar sexual activity in the presence of another roommate in its dorms.

But some students say it's unenforceable.

The policy - which took effect this semester - reads, "You may not engage in sexual activity while your roommate is present in the room. Any sexual activity within your assigned room should not ever deprive your roommate(s) of privacy, study, or sleep time."

Senior political science major Rick Zeckendorff scoffed at the provision.

"It sounded pretty ridiculous to me the first time that I heard about it," he said. "Because it's unenforceable." (Continue Reading-Source/Boston.com)

Sorry Boston, Cleveland awarded 2014 gay games

Cleveland beats out Boston and Washington, DC.

The Gay Games will have around 12,000 participants and an estimated 100,000. The 14 original contenders for host city were whittled down to three; Cleveland, Boston and Washington, DC. The winning city was announced from Cologne, Germany—the site of the 2010 games.

The City of Cleveland pledged $700,000 if the 2014 Gay Games comes to Northeast Ohio. In-kind donations totaling $1.3 million for police, logistical support and the use of certain facilities (like Cleveland Browns Stadium) are also part of the incentive package. (Source)

Related: Boston will not host 2014 Gay Games

New Britney Spears "3"

Via Manhunt Daily

(Can you guess what the song is about? If your mind is in the gutter, than you would be correct!)

Question of the Day :: Activism or Obnoxious PDA?

(Gay kiss-in against homophobia held at underground shopping center in Paris.)

Michael Biserta Making News Once Again....

But this time, not for his nude pics or his appearance on Guys Gone Wild but according to JMG: "Biserta is back in the news after being named in the divorce suit of a New Jersey reality star who is accused of stabbing her husband."(You may remember the hot NYC Firefighter who was in the NYC Firefighter calendar who it was later exposed has been in a Guys Gone Wild video nude thus stopping the calendar (scandalous). Well we have new photos from his new modeling career and a link to THOSE shocking photos.)

Would you like to see him nude? Click here! NSFW!

Madonna's Greatest Hits "Celebration" Released Today!

Madonna's last album with Warner before she embarks on a $120 million deal with Live Nation, was released today and is a Greatest Hits collection that is sure to please. Here are three new songs that you may or may not recognize:

"Laramie Project" sequel gives voice to Matt Shepard’s killer

A decade after "The Laramie Project" became a theatrical phenomenon, its creators are back with an epilogue highlighted by a riveting prison interview with the killer of gay college student Matthew Shepard - depicting him as candid but not remorseful over the murder.

"As far as Matt is concerned, I don’t have any remorse," McKinney is quoted as saying in the script, which was provided to The Associated Press by the production company.

"The night I did it, I did have hatred for homosexuals," McKinney is quoted as saying. He goes on, according to the script, to say that he still dislikes gays and that his perceptions about Shepard’s sex life bolstered his belief that the killing was justified.

McKinney and his accomplice, Russell Henderson, targeted Shepard at a bar in Laramie in part because they assumed he was gay, according to the script.

"Well, he was overly friendly. And he was obviously gay," McKinney is quoted as saying. "That played a part ... his weakness. His frailty. And he was dressed nice. Looked like he had money."

Early on Oct. 7, 1998, McKinney and Henderson offered Shepard a ride in their car, then robbed and savagely pistol whipped him and left him tied to a fence in a remote area outside town. The 21-year-old University of Wyoming student was found 18 hours later and died in a Colorado hospital on Oct. 12. (Continue Reading-Source/Edge)

Violence Against the Transgendered Only Getting Worse

"Nearly a month has passed since the Aug. 26 murder of Ty’lia "NaNa Boo" Mack, a 21-year-old transgender woman, in Washington, D.C. But the violent crime remains on the top of the minds of transgender advocates nationwide.

In its wake, many are left wondering whether crimes like the one against Mack are given the sort of national media attention they should. While no one disputes the horror of a death like the one of Matthew Shepard the Wyoming college student left to die on a fence, some do question whether more societally "marginal" people--often transsexuals and the transgendered-- received less scrutiny by the media or sympathy from the general public.

Mack’s death, in broad daylight on a sidewalk near the Transgender Health Empowerment (T.H.E.) office is the latest in a series of high-profile killings of transgender people in recent memory.

Some of the more notorious incidents include Lateisha Green, killed last November in Syracuse, N.Y. Angie Zapata was murdered last July in Greeley, Colo.

While these cases did, indeed, receive media coverage from both mainstream and LGBT media, others, such as Paulina Ibarra’s murder last month in East Hollywood, Calif., appear to have been largely overlooked." (Continue Reading-Source/Edge)

Boston to host LGBT friendly college fair

"High school students who want to apply to LGBT friendly colleges will have the chance to check them out this week in Boston.

More than 40 colleges are expected to participate in the GLBT Youth and Allies College Fair in the Great Hall of the Massachusetts State House from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Sept. 30.

Brown, Dartmouth, Harvard, Yale, Tufts, Brandeis, Emerson and the Universities of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont and Texas will be among those institutions that will participate.

Besides meeting with college and university representatives, attendees can take advantage of expert advice about LGBT friendly colleges, scholarship resources and tips for successful campus visits." (Continue Reading-Source/Edge)

GLSEN Study: Gay Middle Schoolers Face Most Harassment

A study by the Gay, Lesbian, Straight Education Network (GLSEN) shows that while anti-gay bullying is a problem at all grade levels, middle schoolers are hardest hit when it comes to harassment for being--or being perceived as--gay.

A Sept. 23 article in the New York Times Magazine delved into the issue at length, interviewing gay middle schoolers and their parents and citing the GLSEN study.

Part of the problem, the article said, was a perception that kids that young cannot possibly know whether they are gay or not, leading adults to look the other way when anti-gay slurs are tossed around. (Continue Reading-Source/Edge)

A wicked culture clash in North End

Alarmed by late-night revelry, residents try to reclaim neighborhood’s family atmosphere.

"When the Central Artery came down five years ago, reconnecting the North End to the rest of Boston, residents hailed the improvements: more light and air, welcoming new parks, and a flood of tourists from Faneuil Hall and Quincy Market, along with visitors from other city neighborhoods who came to eat, drink, and shop.

Now some North Enders fear the influx has hurt more than it has helped.

Alarmed by a burgeoning late-night bar scene, and businesses seeking more outdoor seating and later hours, concerned residents are fighting to contain the drinking and carousing.

Underlying the tension is a fundamental struggle over what the historic neighborhood will become: a late-night playground for 20-somethings, or a haven for families like those who have lived there for centuries." (Continue Reading-Source/Boston.com)

Secret Service investigating Facebook poll asking ‘Should Obama be killed?’

On Saturday, a user on Facebook posted a poll asking, “Should Obama be killed?” The blogger GottaLaff spotted the poll yesterday and called the Secret Service, which has now launched an investigation. “We are aware of [the poll], and we will take the appropriate investigative steps,” said Darrin Blackford, a Secret Service spokesman. “We take these things seriously.”

Facebook has taken down the offensive poll and disabled the third-party application that was used to create it. Barry Schnitt, Facebook’s spokesman for policy, also told ThinkProgress that the company was following up with the developer to make sure that the application has “better procedures in place going forward to monitor their user-generated content.” (Source-Think Progress)

Boston's Own Matt Damon in Esquire

Via VGL

WGB: It looks like he did a great job taking off all that weight he gained for the movie The Informant.

Gay Games 2014 site to be chosen Today

Organizers will announce Tuesday which of the three cities - Cleveland, Boston or Washington D.C. - were chosen for the site of the 2014 Gay Games IX.

The Federation of Gay Games will broadcast the announcement live on its website at 12:30 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. (Source)

WGB: I will be so thrilled and honored if Boston gets to host the Gay Games! Updates to follow!

Report: At least 47 amendments to Senate health care bill explicitly reflect insurance industry’s wish list.

Via Think Progress: "Tomorrow, the Senate Finance Committee will resume its mark-up of health care reform legislation. Last week, Sen. John Rockefeller (D-WV) said that the insurance industry is “running certain people in this mark-up.” Sen. Pat Roberts (R-KS) made clear he was one of those individuals when he called for a provision that would allow health insurance lobbyists “at least 72 hours” to read the bill.

An analysis by The Wonk Room finds that, of the 534 amendments that have been offered to the Committee’s bill, at least 47 of them directly reflect the health insurance industry’s wish list. Igor Volsky has put together this video compilation showing Republican senators making the insurance industry’s arguments!

Democrats Need To Be Challenged

I love this commercial via Boy Culture where an American with no health care challenges a Democrat (you heard me right) on the "Public Option." We need a public option and Democrats should not be backing down on this.

NYPD launches investigation into officers’ response to anti-gay attack

Three men who said they suffered an anti-gay attack over the weekend in Manhattan claim New York Police Department officers failed to adequately respond to it.

WPLJ DJ Blake Hayes told EDGE a man assaulted Broadway performer Danny Calvert and another friend as they walked past McCoy’s Bar on Ninth Avenue in Hell’s Kitchen early Saturday morning. Hayes said the incident began after the alleged perpetrator flicked a cigarette butt that hit his friend. He added the man said "keep moving, faggot" after his friend confronted him. Hayes said the man proceeded to shove Calvert into a parked car and punch his other friend in the mouth.

Hayes said NYPD officers quickly responded after he and his friends called 911. He maintains, however, they did not arrest the alleged perpetrator or even take his contact information. (Continue Reading-Source/Edge)

Obama Needs to be IMPEACHED (Well, this Redneck thinks so anyway!)

This clip via JMG had me falling off my chair laughing so hard. I could only listen to him ramble for about 90 seconds but wait till you see WHY he wants Obama impeached...

This post sponsored by: Durex Condoms (okay, they didn't really sponsor this post but condoms were the first thing that came to my mind after listening to this guy.)

Wicked Good :: New Ad From Protect Maine Equality

Gay Christian Brothers Contestants on Amazing Race

Provincetown West End motel owner bows out of an era

"When John Ciluzzi Sr. turns 86 on Friday, it will likely be a quiet affair, with no particular party or festivities planned.

But the last 50 years that Ciluzzi has spent in Provincetown have been anything but quiet. In addition to owning and operating The Masthead, a year-round motel and cottage colony on the waterfront in the West End, Ciluzzi has taught adult education, served on the water and sewer board, raised three sons with his wife, Valerie, pursued an amateur painting career and played 60 years of intensely competitive tennis.

“If I wasn’t at The Masthead, I was at the Provincetown Tennis Club. I’ve got many, many trophies and many championships. For 60 years that was the greatest time of my life,” he said recently, sitting outside on The Masthead deck watching the tide come in.

Things may soon change for Ciluzzi, however. He has put The Masthead up for sale and is mostly a tennis spectator these days, instead of a competitor. But no regrets, he says. Even though he looks 20 years younger than his age, Ciluzzi wants to slow down a step or two." (Continue Reading-Source/Wicked Local)

Judy Shepard :: A mother speaks

Judy Shepard hates October. The sixth day of that month marks the night her son Matthew was tied to a fence in Laramie, Wyo., and brutally beaten. Within a week, on Oct. 12, 1998, he died of those injuries in a Fort Collins, Colo., hospital, surrounded by family.

Just 21 when he was murdered, Shepard’s death shook a country dealing with GLBT equality as a political issue growing more pressing by the day. Matthew Shepard was not the first -- nor the last -- to be targeted because he was gay. But the circumstances were right for him to become the universal victim of anti-gay violence.

Shepard writes of her son’s HIV infection, his being raped in Morocco on a student trip, and other parts of her son’s life that she might prefer remain private. She also offers bright spots that didn’t make the headlines, like learning that the police officer first on the scene of her son’s attack in Laramie told her that a doe had been sitting in the grass next to Matthew. She writes that she likes to think that doe watched over her son through the night. (Continue Reading-Source/Edge)

Wicked Hottie of the Day :: Simon Dexter

For a lot more of Simon, visit my friends over at Gay Body Blog.

This post sponsored by:

Hooking Up Goes High-Tech

Here’s looking for you, kid
By Padraic Maroney | Sep 28
From social networking dating sites to mobile device apps, such as GRINDR and BoyAhoy, technology is revolutionizing the ways we find Mr. Right or Mr. Right Now. As recently as a decade ago the ability to learn how near or far a potential date may be was unheard of. Nor was the idea of online matching enterprises aimed specifically at LGBTs. EDGE looks at how technology impacts the search for long-term relationships or just one-night stands, which may be why that local watering hole isn’t as jammed as it used to be.

Billboard featuring gay marine vandalized

A billboard featuring a gay marine that was part of a campaign for National Coming Out Day next month was ripped to shreds by vandals.

WMC-TV reports the Memphis billboard had pictured a gay marine and read, "I’m gay and I protected your freedom."

It was destroyed Friday night.

Police have not said whether thre are suspects in custody. (Continue Reading-Source/Edge)