Queer Beacon

The Malcontent's March Gayness - Vote for the Queer!

The fact that we don't know what March Madness is (all I know is that it has to do with a ball: football, baseball, something like that) doesn't mean that we can't have fun in March.  The Malcontent created a game in which 64 blogs "battle" each other.  Readers vote for their favorite blogs and 32 will move on to the next round, then 16, etc., until we have one winner.  Just like them straighties do in sports.

You can take a look at the 64 blogs in the competition and you need to vote (click on the Vote Now! link -- you may vote for just a few of the competitors).  Just remember to vote for the Queer!

The Queer is in game 24 (in the middle of the right column, "against" Stop Touching My Food).  Oddly, 24 is a number that is usually associated with the gays in Brazil (and I'm a Brazilian gay, just in case you didn't know).

10 Couples - ACLU Same-Sex Marriage Campaign

Meet Eric and Stan:

Visit 10Couples.org to take a peek into the lives of regular people.  Like you.  Like me.

[Via my hubby and JMG]

The Queer Went Skiing

I just came back from Big White, a ski resort near Kelowna (which is about 50 minutes away from Vancouver, by plane).

It was my first time skiing and Big White was a great place to learn.  One of my very best friends from Brazil came too (that's him, Rodrigo, in the pic below):

Rodrigo skipped Carnival in Rio this year to be in the snow with the Queer!  Rodrigo, thank you so much for coming!   

I loved my little vacation.  The only way it could have been better was if my hubby was there with me, but he had to work :-(

Guest Reviewer Week

You guys are in for a great week.  I invited a few of my favorite bloggers to post a review of a movie of their choice here at the QB, starting on Monday, February 12.  The range of films selected is phenomenal. We'll have classics, foreign, documentaries, recently released, yet to be released...you name it.

Here's the line-up (in alphabetical order of blog name -- the actual order of the reviews will be a surprise): Arjan Writes, EZCulture, Good as You, Hunk du Jour, Jimbo.info, Jockohomo, Lone Star Verve, Manhattan Offender, Pam's House Blend, Proceed at your own risk, Puntabulous, Queerty, Rod2.0, Tottyland, and Ultranow.

They are my favorite bloggers and I bet you guys are going to love their reviews.

Late Night with Thomas Roberts

Just in case you were wondering, Tommy is anchoring CNN Headline News on the graveyard shift, on weekends...

Come on CNN, put him on Coop360! Maybe he'll be a good influence on Coop and Coop will come out once and for all.

GaySay: "That sounds unfair"

I just got that out of a Love Exiles press release.  On February 1st, Barack Obama said he doesn’t think it sounds fair that US gays and lesbians with foreign partners cannot live in their own country.  Obama said it in a conversation with Love Exile Robert Bragar, during a reception of the Democratic Party in Washington, D.C.

I guess we have to take the crumbs thrown our way here and there.  A comment published on the January 30 of The Advocate nailed it on the head: "Democrats know we have nowhere else to go.  They can count on our vote without having to actually deliver."

Currently, 17 countries allow gays to sponsor their partners or spouses for immigration purposes: Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Israel, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, South Africa, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom.

No 'God' and no 'Homosexuals' for The Queen

You guys may remember that when I reviewed The Queen, I pointed to the use of "homosexuals" as an epithet by James Cromwell, who was playing Prince Philip very well.

On my way back to Seattle from JFK, after a great New Year's Eve, I saw the movie again on the plane (I flew American Airlines), and noticed that they had excised the "homosexuals" from the in-flight version of the movie.  They had also bleeped the word "God."

I was a little puzzled by that, and now, at least for the "God" part of the bleeping incident, we have an explanation: "it was the mistake of an overzealous and inexperienced employee for a California company that edits movies selected for onboard entertainment.  The rookie censor was told to edit out all profanities _ including any blasphemy _ for the version of the movie distributed to Atlanta-based Delta Air Lines, Air New Zealand, and other carriers. So the new censor mistakenly bleeped out each time a character said 'God,' instead of just when used as part of a profanity, said Jeff Klein, president of Jaguar Distribution, the company that distributed the movie to airlines this month." [source]

I believe the mentioned employee decided to bleep "homosexual" because it was used in an offensive manner, and I can understand that.  Apparently, the company released a new version of the movie with some bleeping adjustments, and I wonder whether "homosexual" is still bleeped.

Isaiahgate - I still want him fired!

The issue continues to make its rounds on the blogosphere.  It was lately suggested that Isaiah Washington's character should be outed as a gay man.  People reacted to that saying that being gay should not be a punishment, and I can understand the reasoning behind that reaction; but that is not the problem I see with the "going gay solution." 

I think Isaiah needs to change his bigoted attitude, and playing gay won't do it.  KIT212 pointed to this piece from the L.A. Times, which informed me that Isaiah played gay before:

"A veteran Hollywood television and film actor, the 43-year-old Washington played a gay character in Spike Lee's 1996 movie 'Get on the Bus' who confronts vicious homophobia."

So,it seems he was already "sentenced" to being gay before and that didn't change his homophobia.  Why would it be different this time?  ABC must fire his ass now!  As long as he is fired, I wouldn't mind seeing him go after coming out as a gay doctor.  I queued "Get on the Bus" on Netflix -- so expect a review soon.

Isaiah Washington - The Bigot Must Be Fired!

We need to call this bigot on his homophobia.  The hypocrite should be fired ASAP.  I can't watch the show with him on...

[If you don't know what I am talking about, read about the whole brouhaha here and here.]

UPDATE: I'm all in with Perez on Isaiah's apologies.  Apologies, now, in a desperate attempt to save his job, are not enough.  I want to see Isaiah donating big bucks (like a year's salary) to GLAAD or a similar gay organization.  Then, maybe, we can talk...I'm still furious.

MIKA Fever: Catch it!

MIKA is everywhere on the blogosphere.  And he should be.  I first heard about him in October and now I can't stop listening to him.   

It has been said that "Mika is what you would get if you took the Scissor Sisters and made them into one person" and "If Rufus made you sigh, and Jake made you dance, Mika is gonna make you squeal!"  I couldn't agree more.  Other influences include Freddie Mercury, George Michael, Elton John, Prince...do you get the gist?  Gay gay gay.

Check out his piano rendition of "Grace Kelly":

MIKA's debut album "Life in Cartoon Motion" will be released in the UK on February 5 and on March 27 in the US -- right now, you can get the song "Love Today" at the US iTunes:

MIKA is 23, from Lebanon (raised in France and the UK), and yes, he is a gay homosexual.  Go gays! 

I have been following his progress at Arjan's blog (where you can check out two recent videos from MIKA here and here).  More info on MIKA at Hunk du Jour, Queerty, MIKAsounds, gay.com, wiki, and his myspace page.