Monthly archive of August 2006
Statehood For D.C.
As a former resident of the District of Columbia and a concerned American citizen, I have long favored statehood for the District of Columbia. Washington's sole representative in Congress, Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton, has been fighting for D.C. statehood for years now. Residents of the District -- mostly black -- pay taxes but don't get a vote in Congress. That violates the principle of "no taxation without representation," the very idea at the heart of the American Revolution.
In this interview on Comedy Central's Colbert Report, Congresswoman Norton gives Steven Colbert a few "civics lessons" on the way the country really works. She's a smart, capable woman, an effective voice for the District of Columbia, and she (and the District) deserves a vote in Congress. Click on the image above to see the interview on YouTube or click on the image below the jump to see the interview on this page.
Posted in politics on August 1 2006, 10:30AM | Read More | Comments (10)
What Not To Do When You're Busted
You could call it "Sunday in the park with George." This is how British pop star George Michael responded after allegedly being busted in a London park recently for having anonymous sex with a man described by the press as a "pot-bellied, 58-year-old, jobless van driver." Michael reportedly told the photographer who spotted him, "I'm not doing anything illegal. The police don't even come up here anymore. I'm a free man, I can do whatever I want. I'm not harming anyone." He then allegedly ran off. Later Michael announced that he planned to sue the man with whom he (never) had sex.
And this is how A-list Hollywood actor Mel Gibson responded to his recent arrest for driving under the influence of alcohol. "Fucking Jews," he yelled at the cops. "The Jews are responsible for all the wars in the world." Gibson said, before asking a police officer at the scene, "Are you a Jew?" He threw in a few other choice obscenities as well.
Tsk, tsk, tsk. These incidents show that it's time for another civics lesson on what not to do when you're busted.
Posted in pop culture on August 1 2006, 2:07PM | Read More | Comments (8)
U.S. Park Officials Try To Block Black Gay Pride Event in New York
U.S. Park Service officials are trying to put the brakes on one of the biggest activities for this weekend's black gay pride in New York City. Every year for the past 5 years, thousands of black gay men and lesbians have convened at Jacob Riis Beach for a Sunday afternoon festival as part of the annual Pride In The City weekend. The events have taken place peacefully and without incident every year. But this year, park officials who administer the beach are trying to halt the celebration.
People Of Color In Crisis (POCC), a local AIDS organization that hosts the weekend, has been engaged in a 6-month back-and-forth discussion with park officials to secure a permit for the annual Sunday afternoon beach party. But late this afternoon, POCC received a letter from park officials that they would not be allowed to use the beach after all, according to Gary English, POCC's executive director.
Posted in sexuality on August 1 2006, 4:11PM | Read More | Comments (21)
V103, Jody Watley Dispute Chicago Radio Incident
A Chicago radio station that banned Jody Watley from talking about her performance at the Gay Games last month is responding with a new statement that explains what happened from its point of view. Angela Ingram, Vice President of Communications for Clear Channel Radio-Chicago, admitted that V103 asked Watley not to talk about the Gay Games during a July interview with Watley, but Clear Channel says the request was made because of time constraints, not in an effort to censor Watley.
Watley isn't buying it. When asked about the station's response, Watley replied "it doesn't make sense." She said the restriction was not presented to her as a time issue. "Being savvy and experienced, if I am given a limited time I can usually manage to get everything in," Watley said. "I have NEVER been told, 'Don't talk about this,' the way it was presented to me that day," she added.
Posted in music on August 2 2006, 10:12AM | Read More | Comments (15)
POCC Hopes To Move Ahead With Black Pride Beach Event
Organizers of New York City's annual black gay pride weekend are hoping to move forward with a Sunday beach event, despite a threat from the U.S. Parks Service to shut them down. Leaders of People of Color in Crisis (POCC), a Brooklyn-based HIV/AIDS service organization, said they still hope to hold their annual "Pride In The City" beach party at Jacob Riis Beach just as they have for the past five years.
"We're hopeful," said POCC's executive director Gary English. "But we also need folks [in the community] to support the effort by calling the offices" of the park service and the local government representatives," he said. Organizers spent much of the day Wednesday in negotiations with park service officials, who English described as much more conciliatory than they had been the day before. At the end of the day, the two sides were close to a compromise agreement, but POCC was still not happy with the most recent offer on the table.
Posted in sexuality on August 3 2006, 12:01AM | Read More | Comments (3)
When Black Men Come Together, Gay and Straight
I have long believed that straight black people will become much less homophobic once they get to know black gays and lesbians who are open about their identity. I found surprising confirmation for this theory from last night's episode of the MTV show, "Why Can't I Be You?" That's the show where a young person gets to follow around someone he or she admires to learn what makes the other person tick. Last night we got to meet Michael and Kyle.
Michael is a young black gay man interested in HIV work. Kyle is a young black straight man who Michael admires. They met at a dinner table at a recent event and Michael decided he wanted to have more confidence like Kyle. Kyle doesn't know anything about Michael until MTV puts the two of them together for 48 hours. What results is an amazing study of black manhood and a model for a positive way in which black gay men and black straight men can learn more about one another.
Posted in sexuality on August 3 2006, 5:15PM | Read More | Comments (28)
Vamos A La Playa! POCC, Park Officials Reach Deal On Sunday Beach Event
After months of negotiations over a gay pride event scheduled for Sunday at Jacob Riis Beach in Queens, the event organizers and the federal agency that runs the beach reached a compromise yesterday, the New York Times reported this morning. Gary English, executive director of People Of Color in Crisis (POCC) actually announced the deal last night at the kickoff reception for black gay pride weekend.
Following a POCC news conference Thursday morning in which event organizers condemned the park service decision to restrict access to the beach, the two sides later hammered out an agreement that would allow the event to go forward near the beach and with live musical performances by artists such as SWV and Kevin Aviance, the gender-bending performer who was beaten in a homophobic attack in June. Park service officials had previously tried to halt all musical performances at the event.
Posted in sexuality on August 4 2006, 4:08AM | Read More | Comments (10)
Where Have I Heard That Before?
"I don’t think anyone could have anticipated the sectarian violence [in Iraq]."
-- General William Caldwell, Aug. 6, 2006
"I don't think anybody anticipated the level of violence that we've encountered."
-- Vice President Dick Cheney, June 19, 2006
"I don't think anybody anticipated the breach of the levees."
-- President George W. Bush, September 1, 2005
-- Condoleezza Rice, May 16, 2002
Posted in politics on August 6 2006, 11:32AM | Permalink | Comments (8)
Living My Life Like It's Golden
Now that the Gay Games and the Outgames are over, it's time to look back at one more moment from the biggest gay sporting events in the world. Steve Ball sent this video to me over the weekend. It's a short clip from the Gay Games 2006 wrestling medal ceremony. If you look closely in the crowd, you'll notice the look of shock and awe when they announce my name as a gold medal winner. You'll see a friend has to pull me out and push me through the crowd.
After losing the first match of the day, I thought I was only in contention for a bronze medal. So as I walk toward the front of the audience, it's clear that I'm surprised. I was waiting for the "real" gold medalist to show up so I wouldn't have to give back my prize. Even as they try to put the medal around my neck, I'm still in disbelief. Check out the video and see for yourself.
Posted in sports on August 7 2006, 11:08AM | Permalink | Comments (7)
NYC Pride Goes On Without A Hitch
After a week of controversy and drama, New York's annual black LGBT pride weekend took place without a hitch. The Pride In The City beach party, which had almost been canceled by the U.S. Park Service, drew thousands of participants who practically took over Jacob Riis Beach and the adjacent ball field where the official events took place. All photos courtesy of No4real4real.
Posted in sexuality on August 7 2006, 12:53PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
Noah's Arc Interview Series
The Complete Noah's Arc Interview Series
- Interview with Jensen Atwood (Wade)
- Interview with Darryl Stephens (Noah)
- Interview with Christian Vincent (Ricky)
- Interview with Rodney Chester (Alex)
- Interview with Doug Spearman (Chance)
- Interview with Keith Hamilton Cobb (Quincy)
Posted in pop culture on August 8 2006, 12:11AM | Permalink
Philly Pulls Controversial Black Gay Ads
You might call it another victory by black gay activists. Two months after launching a controversial HIV awareness ad campaign, the city of Philadelphia has abruptly pulled those ads out of concern that they may glamorize gun violence in the city that is already plagued by crime. Philadelphia's AIDS Activities Coordinating Office had contracted with a company called Zigzag Net to create a social marketing campaign to promote HIV testing for men who have sex with men. The ads were announced in late May, but they quickly came under fire from activists.
The ads show young African-American men in the crosshairs of a gun with the tagline "Have You Been Hit?" Although the ads were aimed at black gay and bisexual men, the Black Gay Men's Leadership Council was not happy with the message it communicated. "Putting the face of a Black man in the crosshairs of a gun paints a damaging message about violence and Black men," said Lee Carson, chair of the council, in a letter to the city's health commissioner. "Given the violence perpetrated against gay men, it is not far-fetched to see how this campaign fosters violence," he added.
Posted in sexuality on August 8 2006, 7:00AM | Read More | Comments (37)
Sneak Preview: Noah's Arc: Season 2
"Is this my Mr. Right?" That's the first question out of Noah's mouth in the premiere episode of the new season of Noah's Arc Wednesday night. Yes, the boys are back, and they're up to their old tricks again. Ricky is having a threesome (or a foursome). Alex is sitting at home putting together a scrapbook and watching a video of his lover. Chance is lying in bed with his man and their daughter. And Noah is once again in the bathroom on the phone with his three closest buddies trying to figure things out.
"I know you think it's silly," Noah tells his friends, "but how do I know if it's real?" Then for one brief moment, they stop their bickering and they all agree. Kiss him and you'll know, they say. As the music rolls in softly, you feel the excitement of love in the air. "If you kiss him and the earth moves, then it's real," Chance tells Noah.
Posted in pop culture on August 8 2006, 7:00PM | Read More | Comments (18)
Voters Revolt Against Incumbents
Incumbents rarely lose in American politics. That's one of the first lessons you learn in college political science courses. Given the structural advantages of name recognition, access to money, and connection to the media, it's next to impossible to defeat an incumbent. Or so goes the logic. But yesterday in Connecticut and Georgia, voters threw out two well-known but highly controversial incumbents.
Joe Lieberman, the conservative Democrat who had defended President Bush and the war, got swept away by an anti-Bush tide of resentment in his party's primary, and he emerged from his defeat vowing to run as an Independent. Meanwhile, U.S. Rep. Cynthia McKinney of Georgia lost in a landslide to her primary challenger.
On the surface, these two elections in Democratic primary races don't seem to be connected. One race saw the defeat of a liberal Democrat while the other saw the defeat of a conservative Democrat. But beneath the surface, the results in Connecticut and Georgia could be part of a larger wave of anti-incumbency that could spell big trouble for the Republicans in November.
Posted in politics on August 9 2006, 8:00AM | Read More | Comments (9)
Jensen Atwood Reveals All
It's been almost a year in the making, but it's finally here. The second season of Noah's Arc, America's first black gay television series, begins tonight on LOGO. And with the launch of the new season, it's a good time to get to know some of the actors on the show. So today we begin a series of interviews with the Noah's Arc cast. The first interview is with Jensen Atwood, the actor who plays Wade, Noah's primary love interest.
Born and raised in South Central Los Angeles, Jensen Atwood studied acting at Cal State Long Beach and Playhouse West in LA. You may have seen him in music videos for Destiny's Child, Toni Braxton or Ashanti. Or you may have seen him in Oprah Winfrey's "Their Eyes Were Watching God." But you haven't seen Jensen Atwood until you've seen him in bed with another hot man on LOGO. He's sexy, straight and single, and I spoke to him this week about the new season of Noah's Arc.
Posted in pop culture on August 9 2006, 12:17PM | Read More | Comments (92)
30 Women, 1 House, 2 Days = Video
What happens when you put 30 women and "trans folk" of color in one house for 2 days? If you're Hanifah Walidah, you come up with a clever new music video and a movie. The movie is a documentary film called "Keep It Movin'," and it features behind-the-scene discussions and "intimate moments" that take place during a 2 day shoot of Walidah's new music video "Make A Move."
It's a simple concept. It's not quite reality TV, but you could call it a "reality music video." Artists, activists, teachers, and others have to interact with one another for a common goal. The people involved are straight, gay, bi, trans, Black, Latin and Asian. "This all made for a thick stew of connection, conflicts and consciousness," the coordinators reported. "Regardless of the differences, there is something that happens when women come together for a mission and the rare moments of complete safety are embraced. Our shoes come off, our baggage is unpacked, our laughter is unleashed, and we let free in a way that has rarely if ever been captured on film."
Posted in music on August 10 2006, 10:36AM | Read More | Comments (18)
When Terror Becomes A Political Weapon
Given everything else the Republicans have done to exploit the tragedy of September 11, I guess it should come come as no surprise that the GOP is already using the latest terror threat against commercial aircraft as a weapon to defeat Democrats. Somehow it still bothers me that they continue to politicize everything into a justification for the failed Iraq War, but it happened it again yesterday. Just a day after the Republicans launched an attack against Democrats for defeating Democratic war supporter Senator Joe Lieberman, they were at it again yesterday, salivating at the prospects that the airline terror threat would win them political points.
"Weeks before September 11th, this is going to play big," a White House official told reporters. The Democrats are encouraging “the Al Qaeda types," said Vice President Cheney. Even Sen. Lieberman, who has essentially left the Democratic Party, was eager to spin the terror attack into a justification for his continued candidacy. Lieberman said his election loss “will be taken as a tremendous victory by the same people who wanted to blow up these planes in this plot hatched in England."
Posted in politics on August 11 2006, 11:06AM | Read More | Comments (9)
Randy Boyd Is Not Happy With Black Gays
Speaking in front of a packed audience at the annual convention of the National Association of Black Men and White Men Together [NABWMT], Randy Boyd, a black gay author of four books, let loose his frustration with the black gay community. “You think you might find a home in the black gay community, and all I’ve mostly found is flat out rejection of me and my novels because of who my main characters choose to love,” he said.
Boyd raises provocative questions about the acceptance of interracial relationships in the black gay community. In his latest novel, Walt Loves the Bearcat, for example, he tells the story of a love affair between a white quarterback and a black cheerleader.
So who's responsible for the rejection? Boyd singled out some of the main culprits by name. He mentioned the television show Noah’s Arc, the black gay magazine Clik, and the Los Angeles black gay pride weekend known as "At the Beach," which reportedly told Boyd that his books weren’t ethnic enough for its literary salon. “These people don’t value my work because they see my work as worth less, meaning they see love between a black man and a white man as worth less,” Boyd said.
Posted in books on August 11 2006, 12:00PM | Read More | Comments (181)
Extra, Extra: Castro Is Alive!
"Reports of my death are greatly exaggerated," Mark Twain once famously said. Fidel Castro may have heard that line before. The Cuban government today released these photos of Cuban President Fidel Castro holding up a recent newspaper to prove that the leader is still alive and well. Some cast doubt on the authenticity of the photos because Castro has not been seen in public since July 26.
What I find most amusing about the pictures of the unsmiling 80-year-old man is his choice of clothing. The "strongman" we're used to seeing in military fatigues has chosen to adorn himself with a Chicago-style candy-striper sweatsuit. And it's not just any sweatsuit but a red white and blue Adidas sweatsuit. Is this a joke? Maybe communism really is dead when the Western hemisphere's greatest living anti-American communist is sporting American-style clothing on his birthday.
Posted in politics on August 13 2006, 11:08AM | Permalink | Comments (16)
Not Another One Of Keith's Crazy Wrestling Stories
I spent the weekend in Long Beach, Long Island at the annual U.S. Northeast beach wrestling championship. I had hoped to compete this weekend, but a sore elbow and an unforeseen back injury kept me in the spectator stands instead of in the wrestling circle. Although I didn't get to grapple during the competition, I almost came to blows on the train ride out to the beach. More on that in a moment.
The beach wrestling competition was fun. Nearly 250 wrestlers registered for the competition, some waiting for up to 7 hours out in the hot sun on the beach or hiding under the boardwalk for shade. I had never seen live beach wrestling before, so I was learning the rules as I watched. There was no "mat wrestling," which usually takes place in freestyle and scholastic matches. Instead, wrestlers scored points with one of three maneuvers: pushing your opponent out of bounds, scoring a takedown or getting a pin, the latter of which ended the match.
Posted in sports on August 14 2006, 12:05AM | Read More | Comments (17)
Bishop Carlton Pearson Says "God Is Not A Christian"
"Do you think Christ died only for Christians? Do you think Christians are too mean? Do you think most people are going to hell? Are you ready to think differently and engage in new thought?" Those are the questions on the first page of Bishop Carlton Pearson's web site, Higher Dimensions.
A protégé of the famous evangelist Oral Roberts, Bishop Pearson seems an unlikely candidate for an unconventional religious message. For many years, Pearson seemed to be in the mainstream of American Pentecostal thought, according to an NBC Dateline profile on him last night. But then Pearson did something that put him on a collision course with his mentors and his colleagues. What was the shocking thing he did? He said that God's love is for everyone, even those who are not Christians.
Posted in spirituality on August 14 2006, 10:30AM | Read More | Comments (118)
When Should Leaders Take Vacations?
The first time it happened was five years ago. While he was on one of the longest presidential vacations in recent history, President Bush received word on August 6, 2001 that Osama bin Laden was "determined to strike in the U.S." but did nothing. The last time it happened was last year. While he was on a five-week trip trying to avoid Cindy Sheehan at his ranch in Crawford, Texas, the President also seemed to avoid the hundreds of thousands of Americans who had been displaced in New Orleans and the Gulf Coast because of Hurricane Katrina.
This time they were determined not to let it happen again. With the midterm elections just three months away, the White House scheduled the president for what may be his shortest "working vacation" yet. But across the pond in London, the president's chief partner in war was starting to feel the heat. While British travelers found themselves stuck at London's Heathrow Airport and Scotland Yard revealed details of a terror plot to blow up planes on British-American routes, newspapers published photos of Prime Minister Tony Blair and his wife Cherie. And what were they doing? Hanging up swim trunks and bathing suits on a clothing rod during an August vacation in the Caribbean. Haven't the Brits learned anything from George Bush?
Posted in politics on August 15 2006, 10:49AM | Read More | Comments (4)
Raw Sex Parties "Peddling Death"
We've been down this road before. Back in May, there was quite a bit of controversy about a raw sex party here in New York. Local black gay leaders were up in arms. Some people didn't see what the fuss was about, and some still don't understand the problem. For me, the issue was never just about sex parties. It wasn't even about having sex parties that allowed men to have unsafe sex. That's troubling, but we all know that goes on anyway. Instead, the issue for me was that this particular party prohibited participants from having safe sex. Thus, even if a particular participant wanted to have safe sex, the promoters threatened to throw him out.
Now the issue of sex parties themselves has come to the forefront of the gay media. The cover story in the new issue of The Advocate raises a troubling question. Are unsafe sex parties peddling death? Yes, says Phill Wilson, the executive director of the Black AIDS Institute.
Posted in sexuality on August 15 2006, 11:58AM | Read More
Can Blacks Be Racist?
Time magazine writer Andrew Sullivan and Washington Post staff writer Frank Ahrens have had the same experience. They've learned that white people sometimes get called nasty names by black people in inner city neighborhoods.
In Sullivan's example, he reports being called "faggot" quite a few times in the inner city neighborhood he's lived in for 14 years. Ahrens, meanwhile, reports a recent verbal assault he experienced by a sidewalk saxophonist who told him "white people suck." That's disappointing to hear, but not exactly surprising. The ongoing trend of white gay gentrification of previously black family neighborhoods has exposed deep divisions between blacks and whites, and more specifically between blacks and white gay men. It's also raised a provocative question: Can blacks be racist?
Posted in politics on August 16 2006, 12:18PM | Read More | Comments (70)
Darryl Stephens Has A Great Voice
I first met Darryl Stephens on the set of Noah's Arc. I don't think he remembers this, but I do. I was in Los Angeles for a speech at UCLA when I got a phone call from Patrik-Ian Polk. Come on over to The Catch, he told me, using the abbreviated term for the popular LA nightclub "Jewel's Catch One." It was the middle of the day and the sun was still shining, so I wasn't exactly thinking about a club. But Patrik told me he was filming a scene at the bar and asked if I would come by. I did, and seconds after I arrived, I found myself roped into the dance scene as an extra.
My job that day in my limited cameo appearance was simple. I had to dance on the dance floor until Noah (Darryl Stephens) and Wade (Jensen Atwood) arrived. Then I would step away as the camera moved in to film their conversation. I said hello to Darryl then, but we didn't really know each other. Some time later, I met him again in New Orleans. We were staying at the same hotel and had a chance to talk for the first time. By that time, Noah's Arc was out on film and it struck me how different Darryl was from the character he played.
Posted in pop culture on August 16 2006, 3:36PM | Read More
...And Now Back To Beenie Man
After all the controversy about his allegedly homophobic music, Beenie Man finally sat down and explained his thoughts to a reporter recently. Now the world can finally understand his vision of love. Beenie says he's not homophobic and says that his music has simply been misunderstood. So when he sings, "Well I'm think of a new Jamaica, me come to execute all of the gays," gay people shouldn't take it so, you know, literally.
You see, Beenie Man is "not homophobic." In fact, I'm quite sure that some of his best friends are gay. So when he complains about all the attention focused on gay murders, we should really try to understand where he's coming from. "Gay men are dead all over the world," he shrugs to a reporter who asks him about the murder of a gay activist in Jamaica. "One gay man's dead in Jamaica, so what's the difference?"
Posted in music on August 17 2006, 2:38AM | Read More | Comments (28)
Could OJ Be Innocent Too?
Wow!! I'm completely shocked by the news that police have finally arrested a suspect in the JonBenet Ramsey murder case. I'm also shocked to learn that the suspect, apprehended in Thailand, has confessed to the crime (see the video of his confession), although he said her death was an accident. These new developments have happened so quickly that it's hard to believe. Although I've never said it publicly, I had assumed for years that the parents had something to do with the murder of their 6-year-old girl, who was discovered dead in the basement of their home 10 years ago. Apparently I was wrong.
Which of course leads me to O.J. Simpson. I never understood the public's reaction to his 1995 murder acquittal. First, I didn't understand why black people were celebrating a legal victory for a person who had distanced himself from the black community, and I also didn't understand why white people were so "shocked" that rich people can sometimes buy their way out of jail in America (remember Claus Von Bulow?). But that's because I was convinced that O.J. actually did it. Despite his promise to hunt down "the real killer," I never really believed there was anywhere for O.J. to look but in the mirror. But is it possible I was wrong?
Posted in politics on August 17 2006, 10:07AM | Read More | Comments (24)
Julian Bond Speaks Out On AIDS, Gay Rights in Black Community
I met him at a coffee shop in Washington, D.C. in the nineties. My friend Mario Cooper introduced us. He didn't know it, but I had briefly worked for his unsuccessful 1986 campaign for Congress when I lived in Atlanta. He was something of a hero to me even then. Ever since I read a 1970s book on the civil rights movement, I had always been impressed by Julian Bond.
Two years ago when I served as president of the National Black Justice Coalition, I contacted Bond to ask him his position on "same-sex marriage." He told me unequivocally that he supported it. Then earlier this year I learned that he had quietly decided not to attend the funeral service for Coretta Scott King, in part because he did not support the teachings of the controversial anti-gay presiding pastor, Bishop Eddie Long. There he goes again, I thought. Julian Bond is rarely afraid to do the right thing.
Posted in sexuality on August 18 2006, 4:24AM | Read More | Comments (12)
Black LGBT Bloggers Flex Their Muscles
It’s official. Bloggers have power. The recent defeat of Senator Joe Lieberman in the Connecticut primary reminded the media that bloggers can help influence elections. But there’s another message about the power of the Internet that hasn’t been as widely discussed.
Ever since MoveOn.org started raising money to promote a progressive agenda and Howard Dean raised millions of dollars on the Internet for his 2004 campaign, the media have been paying attention to the power of the World Wide Web as a political organizing tool. But perhaps nowhere has that been more evident than in the gay blogosphere.
Posted in politics on August 18 2006, 11:00AM | Read More | Comments (15)
Is Tiger Woods The Greatest Golfer Ever?
Yesterday marked another milestone for Tiger Woods.
Only a month after winning the British Open, Tiger Woods won the PGA Championship on Sunday to take his 12th career major. With that achievement, Woods became the first player to win the PGA Championship twice on the same course, the first player in history to go consecutive years winning at least two majors, and the second most successful golfer in history. Only Jack Nicklaus, with 18 majors championships, has won more times than Tiger.
But that's not all. Woods has more wins on the PGA Tour than any other active golfer. He's won the Masters four times, the U.S. Open twice, the Open Championship three times and the PGA Championship three times. He has won 69 tournaments. At 30 years old, Eldrick "Tiger" Woods may very well be the greatest golfer in the history of the sport. And the wealthiest. By the end of 2005, he had won $68 million from playing golf. And that's not including endorsements, investments or other business deals.
Posted in sports on August 21 2006, 1:19AM | Read More | Comments (22)
Busta Rhymes Goes "Directly to Jail"
I'm normally not in the business of providing police reports, but some reports are more intriguing than others. Take, for example, Mel Gibson's anti-Semitic tirade during a DUI arrest a few weeks ago. And there was Eddie Murphy's famous arrest for solicitation of a prostitute back in 1997. No big news normally except the prostitute was transgendered and Murphy was homophobic. So what's the big deal when a rapper gets busted? It happens almost everyday. Maybe so, but it is a big deal when the rapper is the notoriously homophobic Busta Rhymes. He was arrested over the weekend and charged with assaulting a man who spit on his car.
Busta was already in the dog house for attacking a gay man in Miami earlier this year. Then the next thing you know, he was attacking his baby mama for being a lesbian. Apparently Busta has a problem with anger management. In one incident, he cracked a champagne bottle over the head of former Source Magazine founder David Mays. In another incident, he was convicted on gun charges. And he's been sued by a fan who says that Busta and a bodyguard beat him after he asked for the rapper's autograph. Although I hate to see a black man go to jail, some people just don't seem to stop until they're arrested.
Posted in pop culture on August 21 2006, 10:50AM | Read More | Comments (11)
New Black Gay Ads: "I Am Gay"
The New York State Black Gay Network willl officially launch its new anti-homophobia ad campaign tomorrow. It's called the Campaign for Black Gay Men's Lives, and the ads are being placed in subway stations in the Black communities of New York City. That will also include two billboards on the corner of 125th Street & Broadway, in the heart of Harlem. And that's the location of a press conference the group will hold tomorrow morning.
The group decided to create the campaign "to respond differently to HIV." With extremely high HIV/AIDS rates in the community, the campaign hopes to "centralize Black gay men as an integral part of the community," according to an email message from the organizers who are sponsoring the ads. The ads come on the heels of other recent ad campaigns in Los Angeles and Philadelphia, the latter of which was the subject of some criticism by a group of black gays in that city. Mark Jason McLaurin, Executive Director of the Network, Congressman Charles Rangel, and Anti-Violence Project Director Clarence Patton will be on hand for the event.
Posted in sexuality on August 21 2006, 1:46PM | Read More | Comments (33)
Support Our Black LGBT Candidates
Three weeks from today, voters in Maryland may make history. I don't know when this has happened before, but two openly gay African American candidates are running for office in Maryland at the same time, and they both deserve our support. The two office seekers, one male and one female, are established figures in the state, and they have a chance of becoming the first black gay elected officials in the state legislature.
The first candidate, Anthony McCarthy, is a longtime friend I've known for more than a decade. He served on the board of directors of the National Black Gay and Lesbian Leadership Forum and he's an experienced media professional. He's been an editor of the biggest black newspapers in Baltimore. He was the youngest editor-in-chief of the Afro-American Newspaper and he was associate publisher of The Baltimore Times. He hosted his own radio show in Baltimore. And he is an openly gay minister who preaches a much needed affirming message of inclusion. Anthony McCarthy is running for the Maryland House of Delegates in the 44th District.
The second candidate, Mary Washington, is new to me. The oldest of six children, she worked her way through college delivering pizzas, loading UPS trucks and providing direct care and counseling services to adults with mental illness and developmental disabilities. She earned a Ph.D. from the Johns Hopkins University and later taught sociology at Lehigh University. She's running for the Maryland House of Delegates in the 43rd District.
Posted in politics on August 22 2006, 11:26AM | Read More | Comments (3)
Song of the Summer: Deja Vu
Standing in a bar drinking a Cuba Libre last week, I engaged in a light-hearted conversation with a friend about the music being played by the DJ. "Didn't we just hear that song?" I asked. "Yeah, that was about an hour ago," he replied. "And besides, you can never play the hot song too many times."
The song we were talking about, of course, was "Deja Vu," the seemingly ubiquitous tune by Beyonce featuring her boyfriend Jay Z. And it is the song right now.
Every year there's a song of the year or a song of the winter or a song of the summer or something. This year, as the summer draws to a close, I'm convinced that "Deja Vu" is the song of the summer. You know the songs I'm talking about. They're the ones that get everybody running to the dance floor. A few years ago down in Miami, I kept hearing 50 Cent's song "In Da Club" over and over again from the car speakers driving down Ocean Drive in South Beach.
Posted in music on August 23 2006, 2:30AM | Read More | Comments (24)
Christian Vincent Is Not Ricky
When "Noah's Arc" airs tonight on LOGO, the fans won't be the only ones wondering what they'll see. Somewhere in Los Angeles, Christian Vincent and Rodney Chester, two of the stars of the show, will be huddled over a TV screen watching the show together. That's because they haven't seen it either. And since Christian doesn't get LOGO where he lives, he watches the show at Rodney's house.
I've only "met" Christian Vincent two times in my life. The first time was a brief moment on the set of "Noah's Arc." We didn't actually talk, so I don't know if I should consider it a "meeting." The second time was at a "Noah's Arc" event, where once again we didn't actually get a chance to talk.
Posted in pop culture on August 23 2006, 3:00PM | Read More | Comments (24)
ABC AIDS Special: Help or Hype?
I can tell already that I'm going to have some issues with tonight's ABC special on AIDS in Black America. From the moment I first heard about this project a long time ago, I was concerned that it would be used to reignite the demonization of the down low in our community. It's very difficult for network television to deal with the complex social, cultural, political and spiritual issues around HIV/AIDS in the black community without sensationalizing those issues. I put those concerns aside for more than a year until I learned earlier this week that the ABC show was finally planning to air tonight.
The list of guests was already enough to stir my concern. One of the guests is my colleague LaJoyce Brookshire, author of “Faith Under Fire: Betrayed By A Thing Called Love." LaJoyce is the same person who sat with me during a radio interview two months ago and said that black people should put their faith in God and not in condoms. And then there is Boston's Rev. Eugene Rivers, an African-American pastor who has been outspoken in his criticism of homosexuality and same-sex marriage. And there's more.
Posted in sexuality on August 24 2006, 11:23AM | Read More | Comments (55)
Birthday Break
Yes it's another slide show! And yes, that's a strawberry covered cheescake at the top of the site. That can only mean one thing. I've run out of stories to cover? No, I'm celebrating my birthday this weekend. I turn 41 on Monday, August 28, and I will be spending the weekend celebrating in Texas. That means the site will not be updated again until Tuesday, August 29, when I return to New York.
As you may have guessed, I love cheesecake, so I will accept any offers for a good slice of Eli's Famous Cheesecake in Chicago. If you don't have access to Eli's, then you can still drop me a line, post a comment, make a contribution to the site, or contribute to my favorite charity -- the National Black Justice Coalition. Either way, I couldn't do it without you. So on this birthday, I thank you for reading the site and being a part of the community.
Posted on August 25 2006, 8:38AM | Permalink | Comments (51)
One Year Later...
Houston, TX -- A year ago this week I was in Atlanta, Georgia when I heard about the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. Today, as Tropical Storm Ernesto looms off the coast of Florida, I can't help remembering the images from the day the levees broke.
So much has already been said or written about Hurricane Katrina in the past year. Michael Eric Dyson, Kevin Powell, and Earl Ofari Hutchinson have written new books about Katrina, and Spike Lee has created a film about the tragedy. There is not much more I can offer to the words that have already been expressed. So today I invited my friend and colleague Clarence Nero, a New Orleans native and Katrina survivor, to share his own story about Hurricane Katrina one year later.
Posted in politics on August 29 2006, 1:38AM | Read More | Comments (2)
CBS Working Katie To The Bone
Katie Couric starts her new job as CBS News Anchor next month and already they're working her to the bone. Or at least that's what it looks like. On closer inspection, you can see there's something wrong with one of these two pictures. The one on the left is Katie Couric. The one of the right is also Katie Couric. But she's a lot slimmer in the right picture than the other one. That's because the people who put out this photo at CBS allegedly doctored the second photo to make the incoming news anchor more svelte.
Haven't they learned anything at CBS after the whole Dan Rather debacle? Lesson Number One for CBS. If you're gonna PhotoShop a picture, at least be a little clever about it. The left photo was the official photo of Couric released by CBS in May. The right photo was released by the network for the September issue of Watch magazine, owned by CBS.
Posted in pop culture on August 30 2006, 10:27AM | Read More | Comments (6)
I'm A Lover, Not A Fighter
I don't expect to see this commercial on American TV anytime soon. It shows two boxers preparing to slug it out. But one of the boxers wants to get a little closer to the other. At the end of the commercial, you're not sure if the boxers are going to fight or, what's that other F-word? One boxer sits in the other boxer's lap, puts his arm around him and then, BAM! It all builds up the last climatic moment and it's hot. Well, see for yourself.
It seems to be part of a mini trend involving kissing boxers I've seen lately. First there was the video that showed an American boxer knocking out his Japanese opponent because the Japanese boxer kissed him. That came out on YouTube at the beginning of the year (watch the video for that one below the jump). Then there was another image of two different boxers kissing a few weeks ago. I can't seem to locate that one now, but if I do I'll post it here as well. And now there's this.
Posted in sports on August 30 2006, 4:42PM | Read More | Comments (16)
The Many Faces of Rodney Chester
A year ago or so, my partner and I were in Los Angeles and we paid a visit to Rodney Chester. The day we stopped by his office, I only knew Rodney as an actor. I had no idea that he ran his own talent agency in Los Angeles. Rodney is a man of many talents, as I also discovered last year when I saw him do a split on stage during a drag show scene on the LOGO TV series "Noah's Arc."
Without a doubt, Rodney's character Alex is the most colorful of the four principals in Noah's Arc. If Ricky is the slut, Chance is the stuffy one, and Noah is the complicated narrator, then Alex is the most amusing character. But he's more than comic relief. He also plays the role of the jealous husband in a long-term relationship. But as we have discovered in the the most recent episodes, Alex has every reason to be jealous. In real life, however, Rodney Chester has no reason to be jealous. In fact, he's too busy to be jealous.
Posted in pop culture on August 31 2006, 10:48AM | Read More | Comments (26)
