It is good to see US President Barack Obama finally affirm what have been thought to be his views on the issue of gay marriage (or his 'evolving' views) - that same sex couples should be able to get married. It has taken him some time to state this plainly, rather than couching his views in decidedly ambiguous language, but this is a sensitive issue in the US and in many other countries and of course it has certainly required some courage in a US Presidential Election year:
Here's a reasoned riposte to the recent passing, 2 days ago, of Constitutional 'Amendment 1' in the US State of North Carolina which outlaws any form of civil union other the marriage of one man to one woman, a very retrogressive step indeed. However, as this video-clip points out, North Carolina has 'form' when it comes to unpleasant legislation as it was only as a result of a Supreme Court ruling (the case of Loving v. Virginia) in 1967 that laws against inter-racial marriage were finally deemed unconstitutional and in North Carolina it was not until 1971 that the first legal mixed-race marriage took place:
One day soon I hope same-sex marriage will be allowed and uncontroversial in the US - and of course of more relevance to me in the UK, too.
PS/ I hope you find my little joke in the title of this article amusing.
At last there are firm details about the start of series 5 of "Brothers & Sisters" on More4. Until Sunday the few announcements about it just mentioned, tantalisingly (and irritatingly), that it was 'coming soon', but I expect that in advance of the TV magazines for the week 15-21 January going on sale today meant that Channel4 could no longer plausibly keep it secret!
According to my Radio Times, purchased today, the series will commence its run at 10pm Thursday 20th January on More4, with a repeat later that night at 12.50am. On past experience it is likely to be repeated at least once more before the next episode airs on 27th January, but I won't know about that until next Tuesday until I get my Radio Times for the following week 22-28 January.
Here are edited excerpts of the final episode of series 4, when 'Senator Robert McCallister' (actor Rob Lowe) was [it would seem] killed in a car accident:
- apart from the 'promo' for series 5, currently being shown on More4/Channel4, I've seen some parts of the coming series 5 episodes online (already shown in the US), so I know some of what is going to happen, but I won't spoil the 'excitement' for others. I'm just looking forward to seeing the gorgeous couple, 'Kevin' (Matthew Rhys) and 'Scotty' (Luke Macfarlane).
I didn't see a segment about today's Pride London event in the BBC1 News at 5.35pm, but they do have an article up about it now, with embedded video-clip. I'm glad to see that some of the players of the Kings Cross Steelers Rugby Football Club (of which I have been a supporting member for many years) were well in evidence near the beginning of the clip.
I started watching Brothers & Sisters two or three years ago and quickly became 'addicted' to it - series 4 of the show is about to begin this evening on More4 at 9pm (with repeats at midnight, next Monday at 11.05pm and on Tuesday at 3am). It's great to see it is coming back!
In fact a couple of weeks ago, before this week's issue of Radio Times came out (geddit? - lol) I had already been searching around on YouTube for clips of the new series, which has already aired in the US, and there are quite a few to choose from, but I won't spoil it for other fans by including any of those here, but here's one of my favourite scenes from an earlier series, when Kevin (Matthew Rhys) goes down on one knee to propose to Scotty (Luke Macfarlane):
- I kind of knew already that Luke is Canadian, and a jolly attractive one, but it had inexplicably escaped my attention that Matthew is not American, but Welsh, until I read a preview of the show today in the Telegraph; according to the interview with both actors on which the preview is based, Luke said that Matthew is a very talented mimic and is able to pass himself off not only as American, but as several different kinds of Canadian, too, with their different regional accents, even down to specific hockey teams - perhaps there was a little hyperbole there? No matter, they are both talented actors and very 'pleasant on the eye'. Apart from this 'gay' interest, there are a lot of other talented and well-known actors in the show - Calista ('Sex in the City') Flockart, Sally Field as the 'mother hen' of the Walker clan, Rob Lowe as the [erstwhile] love-interest for the character played by Calista Flockart and Rachel Griffiths (who plays 'Sarah' - formerly of the equally-magical 'Six Feet Under').
Unlike 'Sex and the City', which I found wet in the extreme (sorry to its many fans out there!), I think Brothers & Sisters has a somewhat wider audience appeal. Of course everyone in the show, male and female, is attractive or charismatic and it deals with people in a comfortable middle-class setting, basically obsessing about themselves - although their finances have been on a roller-coaster at various times none of that sordid detail is allowed to get in the way too much of their fundamental narcissism. Basically it's a great deal closer to my life-experience than some other shows I might mention, if of course shallow. But I don't, frankly, want to see how people live on 'sink estates' in an entertainment show as I really don't have anything in common with the people they portray - I'm happy enough to watch shows featuring such realities in documentaries or 'reality' shows, but on my time off I want something easier to identify with - and which gay man would not want to identify with 'Kevin' or 'Scotty'? Sigh ...
PS/ I neither know, nor do I care, whether Luke Macfarlane and/or Matthew Rhys are 'gay' in real life, but I do think they play the roles assigned to them very well, whatever their personal circumstances - they are actors. No-one should confuse a TV show with real life.
UPDATE (Friday 14JAN2011 16.00 GMT) Series 5 will begin its run in the UK on Thursday 20 Janaury 2011 at 10pm on More4 - read more here.
The BBC report linked to states: 'The Offences Aggravated by Prejudice (Scotland) Bill, which would have the effect of widening the definition of hate crimes, would bring Scotland into line with the rest of the UK.' Also included in the report is this: 'The effect of the new law, Under the legislation, crimes motivated by hatred of gay or disabled people would be considered as aggravated offences.'
I may not be a supporter of the Bill's sponsor, Green MSP Patrick Harvie, but I see passage of this Bill as an unequivocal 'good thing'. The Conservatives, however, are as usual on the wrong side of history apparently as they opine idiotically, according to the report: '... it could create a two-tier justice system, allowing some victims to gain more rights than others'.
If the article reports the Conservative view accurately then what they seem to be saying sounds suspiciously, whisper it please, 'socialist', for they seem to want all victims to suffer 'equally' - have no real idea what they are trying to say here, but it sounds like the worst kind of Labour-lite nonsense.
Earlier reports here and here amplify the debate about this Bill, from the latter of which the antediluvian views of [Scottish] Conservative Justice Spokesman Bill Aitken may be gleaned. It really is time the Conservatives 'get with the programme' and stop trying to dress-up naked prejudice and bigotry as a worry about equality - it doesn't wash! Will I vote 'Conservative' tomorrow in the European elections - I had more or less decided to, but now I'm not so sure.
Young New Yorker Michael makes good use of his talents by reinterpreting pop videos in his own style - humourous, clever, photogenic and sexy, educational even. He's a sign language interpreter and not deaf himself, but he certainly tries hard to engage with his target group (and others) in a very original way:
Britney Spears' song "womanizer" in sign language
- he doesn't just do videos of sign-language, he also has messages to put across, such as this clever spoof GAYS SHOULD NOT MARRY! which he voices with sub-titles for the hard of hearing. His YouTube video channel is here and is well worth a visit; I've just subscribed.
(thru the l'Homme est un concept blog [relevant post here] - a French blog unfortunately hidden behind Blogger/Google's 'morality wall' through which you must 'click' to get access)
There has been credible information coming out of Iraq for at least a couple of years that a purge of gays in Iraq is underway; now there are reports that Iraq is to execute 128 prisoners soon, in batches of 20 starting this week.
This report in 2006 from Amnesty International called on the Iraqi authorities to investigate thoroughly what is going on (Bill remarks: but since then it appears little has happened). A major complication is that the Iraqi authorities do not confirm executions have taken place, nor do they divulge the names of those concerned; the news, such as it is, has to come through 'underground' organisations.
It is a bitter irony that during the time of Saddam Hussein, gays were largely left alone' even if not particularly liked.
Stonewall has published its 2009 list of the top 100 gay-friendly employers in the UK. Top of the list is Lloyds TSB and the list includes a mixture of private and public sector employers. Stonewall chief executive Ben Summerskill is quoted as saying:
"The index is a powerful tool used by many of the 1.7 million gay people in the UK workplace to decide where to take their talent, skills and experience. It is also used by lesbian, gay and bisexual consumers in deciding where to spend their disposable income. And 150,000 gay students studying at UK universities refer to it when deciding where to pursue their careers."
This is certainly a positive evolution of employment practices, although it remains to be seen how it will stand up to the higher levels of unemployment which may be expected over the next few years during the current recession/depression.
Barack Obama is President-Elect and will become the 44th President of the US next January - it is a good result. Blog poll coverage is here (FiveThirtyEight) and the BBC coverage is here. I watched the evening's events in the US until a little after 3am GMT this morning, when it had become pretty clear Obama would win even if he hadn't yet reached the magic barrier of 270 Electoral College votes - I went to sleep happy.
Against this happiness, however, is the news from California that State Proposition 8 has succeeded with 3,854,984 (53.1 per cent) voting for it and 3,168,671 (46.9 per cent) opposing it, although as I've been watching the figures have been slowly changing, indicating that not all results are yet in, but if anything the scale of the defeat (for the 'no' vote) seems to be growing slightly - but see UPDATES below. As a result the right of same-sex couples to marry, granted by the California State Supreme Court only a few months ago, has been eliminated. If you compare the results map on that page, with the map of the California results for US President, the split between most of the coastal counties (Obama) and the inland counties (McCain) is starkly clear - with some of the crucial coastal or near-coastal counties (such as Orange County, Merced County, Stanislaus County, San Joaquin County, Sacramento County, Yolo County and Lake County) supporting Obama for President, but nevertheless supporting Proposition 8 to eliminate some citizens' rights); social liberality seems very much to be a function of being near the ocean.
UPDATE: (08.55 GMT) The Prop 8 result in California seems to be evolving, with the gap becoming somewhat narrower, so perhaps the final result will be less bad (if not different overall) than I had feared - visit the Prop 8 results page to see the latest position. (10.09 GMT) So far about 80.9 per cent of the votes are in, with the margin continuing to narrow, but probably not by enough. (13.54 GMT) Voters in both Florida and Arizona have voted to outlaw gay marriage in these two States.
I have just clicked on to the 'Respect' website (for the present it is here - who knows for how much longer) and the following statement is all that remains; I quote it in full in case the website disappears:
respect
It is with regret and sadness that, after ten years at the forefront of the gay holiday industry, I am left with no option other than to close Respect Holidays.
It is no secret that a combination of oil price uncertainty, the weakness of sterling and the general economic downturn has hit the travel business very hard indeed. Respect held substantial flying contracts with Excel Airways and, since Excel ceased trading, Respect has suffered significant financial losses. Put simply, the financial hit taken in the wake of the Excel collapse has been the straw that broke the camel's back.
Unfortunately, unlike members of the travelling public, Respect has no protection against losses sustained by the closure of Excel and in the current climate we are simply unable to take these losses in our stride. To continue to trade would therefore be dishonest to our customers, staff and suppliers.
Respect is fully bonded with the Civil Aviation Authority under the ATOL scheme and customers currently overseas will be able to complete their holidays. Customers who purchased a package (flight and holiday) and are yet to travel are entitled to a full refund of all monies paid and should visit the Civil Aviation Authorty's website (www.caa.co.uk) for detailed information.
Customers who purchased an accommodation only holiday and who paid a total of more than £100 may be protected by Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974. If you paid by Visa debit card you should contact your bank for advice on making a 'charge back'. In both instances, you should check with your card issuer for further advice. For further advise please call Cega Claims on 01243 621500.
To many people Respect has been more than just a travel company. I would like to thank the many hundreds of regular customers, some of whom have been booking their holidays with us since the very beginning, who have all contributed to making the Respect family such a special place to be. I am very proud of what we have achieved, and devastated that economic circumstances have led to the current situation. I am sorry we couldn't keep it going for you.
Finally, I would like to thank all our staff, past and present, in the UK and overseas for their support and dedication over the past ten years. You are the best in the business and I wish you all every success for the future.
Paul Kilcoyne
Thye 'r' and 'p' of the company were Rob and Paul (its founders and proprietors), formerly with gay travel company 'Sensations'; they left that firm some years ago as a result of a dispute, if I recall correctly, and formed their own travel firm. I travelled once with 'Sensations' (whilst the two were still there) and, I think, three or four times with 'respect', but my final booking with them didn't come off as they had an earlier financial problem before the present one that seems to have put them out of business (or rather the travel firm which actually held the ATOL licence under which they then operated went into receivership and my booking was voided); they had sufficient assets then to find another travel firm willing to cover them under its ATOL licence and so they continued to trade. Because the last financial 'hiccouph' occurred only about 7 or 10 days prior to the date I was booked to travel, and before my refund under the ATOL scheme came through, I was offered the opportunity to pay again for my holiday so that I could travel - I declined this 'opportunity' as I'm afraid that my motto tends when dealing with commercial organisations (the fact that they are 'gay' owned and operated makes no difference to me - business is business) to be:
Once bitten, twice shy!
- and the rather incredulous response I got when I voiced these sentiments over the telephone to Paul at the time, that I should somehow find it quite 'normal' to fork out for a holiday I had already paid for struck me as pretty inept. Although I visited the website regularly thereafter, I had no intention of ever booking a holiday with that firm again.
Incidentally, after the airline Excel/XL went into receivership a couple of weeks ago, the 'message board' on the 'respect' website almost immediately went behind some kind of pseudo-password smokescreen, presumably because there were so many negative comments that it was doing damage to the company. The nonsense that was put on the website was that the number of hits had overloaded the server was, in my opinion, just so much 'whitewash' as their 'message board' was hosted by 'Bravenet', the Vancouver-based web-hosting company through whom I have my own 'message board' and with whom I host a couple of my own registered website domains. I think it was just a way of closing down 'unhelpful' discussions on their 'message board'; they have had a habit of removing 'unhelpful' (i.e. 'negative') messages from the 'message board' for as long as I can remember and whilst they seemed like nice people to deal with when things were going well, there was no sentiment when things turned sour - and why should there be, after all 'business is business', for a 'gay' travel company just as for any other. But the corollary also applies - 'gay' former customers such as me may have liked dealing with a 'gay' travel company because they understood the needs of this market better than most, but sentiment can only be taken so far in both directions.
I am very sorry, despite the rather 'sour' tone of this article, to see the demise of 'respect'; another 'gay' travel company went into receivership a week earlier, the company trading under the name 'throb' - their website announcement is here. It was also a victim of the Excel/XL collapse.
I have checked the Sensations website and observe it still seems to be operating from what I can see, but 'caveat emptor' is probably good advice when paying money out in advance for future services right now. PS/ Of course, 'Sensations' recently merged with 'respect' so I am not sure what its future may be; perhaps only one part of the business of Lidana Ltd (the company operating both travel firms) has folded; no doubt it will become clear in coming days.
Yes, George Takei - better known as 'Sulu' in the original Star Trek has married his partner of 21 years, Brad Altman, in a multi-cultural extravanganza; and how can I fail to feature the procession into the ceremony preceded by a kilt-clad piper!
Assisting were former Star Trek colleagues Walter Koenig ('Chekov') as best man and Nichelle Nichols ('Uhuru') as best lady.
Here's a very interesting interview George Takei and Brad Altman gave last month in which the topics of Star Trek, gay marriage and internment (George, a Japanese-American, was interned as a child during World War II) were discussed:
Thirdly, here's an interview with the two soon after their intention to marry first became known a couple of months ago:
... and finally, here's the lovely video, which I saw a week or so ago, of Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi (see origin of her name here) homely yet glamourous wedding montage and the preparations for it, including a touching comment from Portia's mother, who had come from Australia for the wedding:
Not being in any way 'religious' myself, at least not so far as Christianity is concerned, it is of no interest to me personally whether the mechanism by which same-sex partners may legalise their relationships is by way of Civil Partnership (as we have had here in the UK for some years) or by way of Marriage (as has been legalised recently in California and a few other places in the US and elsewhere for a few years), but it is certainly important that same-sex partners be able to declare their relationships proudly and openly both before their own families and friends and before the state - and to accept the obligations and receive the benefits that accrue to any other legally partnered couple. It is a curious feature that in the US, where the state and religion are separated formally, that religion plays such a large part in most Americans' lives and the consequent importance that so many seem to attribute to the status of 'marriage', whereas in the UK, where religion has a formal role in the legislature, but our politics are almost wholly 'secular', that the status of 'marriage' is important only to the relatively small proportion of homosexuals for whom religion occupies an intergral place in their lives - for the rest, such as me, it is of no imortance, particularly as the regime of 'civil partnership' seems to me to provide a perfectly acceptable level of recognition. But that's not how it is for most of our American cousins, theoretically a constitutionally secular nation, created specifically in rejection of the monarchical regime which we in the UK continue to enjoy or endure (depending on your point of view), but which nevertheless bears on its currency the phrase 'In God We Trust'. It's a bizarre conundrum that affects in profound ways how our two countries operate, but in this context it is necessary to put aside all such deep analyses and simply wish George and Brad, and Ellen and Portia the happiest and most enduring marriages with their chosen partners. Congratulations!
- it's only in recent years that I have come to the conclusion that as I have only one life to live, I may as well get on with it and enjoy it. In earlier years I never made a particular effort to 'hide' anything, I simply didn't talk about it or acknowledge it, except to a few very close friends (rather in the manner of, for example, Peter Mandelson, Matthew Parris, or Michael Brown - all of whom were 'outed' involuntarily, but have probably enjoyed their lives since a lot better). For the last twenty or so years, though, I have basically ceased to care what others may think - if anyone is unhappy with what I am, it is their problem, not mine. A few friendships have come to an end as a result, but more friendships, and better ones, have come along to replace them. I still don't shout it from the rooftops of course, but one very positive result is that the last time anyone, family or friend, has assured me I'll one day find 'a nice girl' to marry is many years ago.
Whoever and whatever you are, the only advice I can come up with is to, above all,
This quite amusing story just shows the ridiculous lengths to which some bigots will go to avoid using the sexual deviants' own word for themselves:
THE American Family Association has a strict policy to replace the word "gay" with "homosexual" on its news website - but it created a problem with sprinter Tyson Gay.
The association's computer's auto-corrected the US sprint star's name to Tyson Homosexual.
Here's an extract of an Associated Press story as it ran on the association's OneNewsNow Christian news website:
Tyson Homosexual was a blur in blue, sprinting 100 meters faster than anyone ever has. His time of 9.68 seconds at the U.S. Olympic trials Sunday doesn't count as a world record, because it was run with the help of a too-strong tailwind.
Here's what does matter: Homosexual qualified for his first Summer Games team and served notice he's certainly someone to watch in Beijing.
"It means a lot to me," the 25-year-old Homosexual said. "I'm glad my body could do it, because now I know I have it in me."
The embarassing blunder has since been fixed, although it's still visible on the site's search page.
There's a link from that article to a blog at the Washington Post, where the blog post is followed by an absolutely enormous number of comments, rather too many of which (for my taste) are completely wacko, for example this is one of many by one MarkF:
Joe G-A-Y,
I don't accept that to believe that same-sex activity is wrong amounts to bigotry.
I lived the same-sex way for over thirty-years. I know it from the inside, thoroughly, as one who was dedicated to it. I always saw the disgusting and depressing side of it, yet I still believed that somehow I could turn all that around myself. I didn't want to look at the evil that was in my own heart. Of course I never showed that side of me to those outside of the same-sex community, because I was ashamed of it. Now I know that the whole concept of same-sex behavior is flawed and deceptive, just like many things in life are. The same-sex life is a never ending search for happiness that always leads to a sad or un-fullfilling end.
A man cannot be happy if he denies his own masculinity. That's a person at war with himself. I stepped off of and out of the same-sex way and things look a lot different to me now that I have.
We have a lot of problems in the world that are caused by immorality... divorce, broken homes, children with no family, kids having kids, and the most common problem of all is heartbreak that comes from casual relationships. No one can believe that this is good for us. It is hypocrisy to just focus on people with same-sex attraction and to ignore all the rest of our problems. But it is also wrong to let it be thought that the same-sex way is not one of pain and suffering, just the same as adultery is.
- a very pertinent question is posed by another commenter:
So, anybody here want to be the first to have newly-straight MarkF marry their sister?
Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, is to participate at London Gay Pride on Saturday and is shown below holding a poster for the Stonewall campaign Education for All:
As a natural 'conservative' and former member of the Party, I would be glad to re-join and support it if I could be really confident that the Party has grown up about the diversity of human relationships. During the campaign for London Mayor, I wrote this about Boris; perhaps he and the Conservative Party are, at long last, 'getting it'!
Unlike in other jurisdictions in the US where gay marriage is permitted, California will allow Americans from out-of-state to avail themselves of the new legislation. It may all come to an end in November if opponents get a question added to the ballot. I hope that won't happen and if it does I hope it will be rejected. Whatever happens, though, there will be several thousand legal gay marriages by then, almost impossible to roll back! It's a good day!
Starting today there will be a weekend of rugby in Dublin, when the Kings Cross Steelers, a London-based mainly gay rugby football club (of which I am a supporting member) join gay rugby teams from around the world to take part in the fourth Bingham Cup rugby tournament, a tournament named after Mark Kendall Bingham, one of the passengers killed aboard 'Flight 93' on 11th Setember 2001.
I will be following the Steelers' progress as best I can during the next three days, but meantime wish them good luck! And an enjoyable weekend for all the teams and spectators!
I may not particularly like the messenger, but I have great pleasure in acknowledging the efforts of Northern Ireland Deputy First Minister, Martin McGuinness MP, to show solidarity with the gay community of Northern Ireland. Northern Ireland has an unfortunate history of homophobia, but recent efforts to tackle this, it would seem with some success, are extremely welcome. The Belfast Telegraph has a second report on the Gay Pride week in [London]Derry.
What is specially heartening about this development is that it seems to indicate that the recent outbreak of peace in Northern Ireland is establishing genuine roots. It is notable that First Minister, The Rev. Ian Paisley MP, is not quoted in the linked articles; he is undoubtedly (I would imagine) as opposed as he ever was to the 'evils of sodomy', but is keeping schtoom for the sake of the peace process he has helped to bring about, along with Martin McGuinness; I don't under-estimate the significance of this. Whilst Paisley's son (who works in the Office of the First Minister, his father) has not resiled from the anti-gay comments he made recently, his father would seem to have decided that maintenance of the recent agreement between the two major opposing wings of NI politics is more important than a reversion to doctrinal posturing. Maybe the Northern Ireland peace process really is for keeps, this time.
Through this story in The Huddersfield Daily Examiner (obviously not one of my daily reads), about local police officer Mark Carter, who happens to be Mr Gay UK 2006, I learned that there is a Mr Gay Europe competition too, and it's to be held this year in Budapest from 1-5 August.
I've never been completely comfortable with beauty pageants, whether of the 'gay' or the more traditional female variety, but on the other hand I like looking at good-looking men just as much as any other [gay] man. The UK competition isn't shown on terrestrial television any more, although it was shown for a couple of years (about a decade ago) on Five - it was quite good, but always struck me as rather 'louche' rather than simply 'camp', mostly because of how (and by whom) it was organised. However, I do think there is a case for holding this kind of competition and the entrants from some of the eastern European countries are probably pretty courageous, coming as they do from some very conservative societies, in social matters. On that subject it is noticeable that there is no entrant from Russia, one of the most anti-homosexual (as well as being 'homophobic' of course) nations in Europe - I imagine it would be just too dangerous for any entrant from this lovely place to 'come out' to the whole of Europe for fear of what would happen when they returned home. I am a little surprised, but pleased, to see an entrant from Poland, though - and I hope his bravery will not have repercussions back home and the same can be said for several other entrants, too.
I had never heard of this movie before (provincial that I am):
I'm not that fond of 'modern' music, but the soundtrack is great, and I will very probably order the DVD here tomorrow (it's a wee bit late, even for me, to be buying things over the internet at this time of night). (thru Alain at We are all made of stars!)
Enrique Iglesias performed on 2nd June at G-A-Y nightclub in London, and had one of the audience up on stage to get the 'treatment' whilst he sang one of his trademark songs. Lucky boy!
