Category Archives: Books
Matthew Mitcham TWISTS AND TURNS Autographed Book
Matthew Mitcham :
the first openly gay man in modern history to win an Olympic GOLD medal.
Gay men and women had medaled before, but they had done so while
keeping their sexuality secret, only coming out afterwards. Openly gay
athletes had won bronze and silver medals before but not gold.
“People kept remarking on how they were surprised that a gold
medal and fame hadn’t changed me. I always responded, ‘Why would I
change? Being me is the easiest person to be.’ I was lying. It wasn’t.”
At
the Beijing Olympic Games, he made history with an unforgettable dive,
the first to ever score perfect tens from all four judges, and won gold
for Australia. Grinning with pride from front pages around the world,
there was no hint of the personal demons that had led this supremely
talented young dynamo to quit diving less than two years before.
Joyously out and proud, Matthew was a role model for his courage both in
and out of the pool. Yet the crippling self-doubt and shadow of
depression that had plagued him all his life forced him into premature
retirement, at one point reduced to circus diving to earn money.
Even
after Beijing and being ranked number 1 in the world, those closest to
Matthew could not guess that beneath that cheeky, fun-loving exterior,
he was painfully aware of how easily it could unravel.
In the lead-up to
the London Olympics, when injury threatened his hopes, he will have to
find the strength again to balance his striving for perfectionism with
the fear of his self-doubt taking hold again.
Matthew was addicted to crystal meth in 2011 that almost
derailed his career. He had treated it with rehab, hypnotherapy and help
from friends, he writes in his new book, “Twists and Turns,”.
Told with the honesty and
courage he is admired for, Twists and Turns is an inspiring story of a true champion, in and out of the pool.
THE BOOK SHOP has a limited number of the books right now, autographed, and at a special price!! ORDER YOURS TODAY!!
Lance Armstrong Being Sued By Readers of his Book
Sometimes, maybe it is better to keep your mouth shut? The truth may set you free….but this guys life is being destroyed.
California this week accuses cyclist Lance Armstrong and his book
publishers of peddling fiction as fact.
The lawsuit mentions two of Armstrong’s books, “Every Second Counts”
and “It’s Not About the Bike.” It accuses the cyclist and his publishers
of fraud and false advertising.
The suit says the books were sold “based upon the false belief that
they were true and honest works of nonfiction when, in fact, Defendants
knew or should have known that these books were works of fiction.”
After years of vehemently denying that he used drugs to boost his
performance during his record seven Tour de France wins, Armstrong
confessed to Oprah Winfrey last week that he lied.
READ MORE at CNN
Taschen Books As Investments
“TASCHEN books are almost designed to be collectible.
It’s very common for a TASCHEN book to gain value almost instantly.”
Since the TASCHEN adventure began in 1980, it has been our goal to make
the greatest books in the world. Whatever the subject and whatever the
retail price—from $10 to $10,000—we strive to produce, design, and
package each of our books beautifully, with a great deal of care and
attention to detail. The collectors who buy a limited edition book early
on will have, in addition to a rare and exceptional book, the added
benefit of seeing their asset appreciate; our collector’s editions have
been known to have their value multiply, in some cases reaching ten
times their original price.
book. Of course, it was just a regular edition. Nothing super collectible. But I loved the titles and topics they published.
Lovers of beautiful books adore Taschen. A publisher of art books, Taschen
was created by Benedikt Taschen in 1980 in Cologne, Germany. It was
originally centered on comics only, when the then-18-year-old Taschen
found himself with an enormous collection of new, rare and collectible
comics, and decided to set up a (25 meters square) shop to display and
sell them. It went so well that by the end of the 1980s, Taschen titles
could be found in multiple languages at prices reasonable enough to make
art more accessible to everyone.
Now, 39 years after its inception, the company’s mission has long
been to publish innovative, beautifully designed art books at prices
that don’t alienate or limit the audience, and they have seven offices
employing over 150 staff. Taschen is well known for its abundant,
gorgeous coffee-table art books, its impressive selection of comics and
graphic novels, and for never shying away from potentially controversial
subject matter, sexuality in particular. While many of their
publications run to design, décor and artist profiles, many taboo or
underground artistic subjects like sexual fetishism and erotica have
been brought more into mainstream notice and availability thanks to
Taschen.
INNdulge Palm Springs
Naked Men in the Desert
Straight Christian Timothy Kurek Walks in Gay Shoes for 1 Year
Timothy Kurek’s motivation to spend a year pretending to be gay can be boiled down to a simple conviction: it takes drastic change to alter deeply held religious beliefs.
He was quickly disgusted by his own feelings, more pious than humane.
In fact, Kurek was so disgusted by his response to his friend that he
decided to do something drastic. Living in Nashville, Tennessee, he
would pretend to be gay for a year. The experiment began on the first
day of 2009; Kurek came out to his family, got a job as a barista at a
gay café and enlisted the help of a friend to act as his boyfriend in
public.
The experience – which stopped short of Kurek getting physically
intimate with other men – is documented in Kurek’s recent book “The Cross in the Closet
” which has received international attention, landed
him on ABC’s “The View” and elicited some biting criticism.
BRAINWASHING OUR CHILDREN –
For years, Kurek says, the only life he had was “his church life.” Being an evangelical Christian was his identity.
He was home-schooled until seventh grade, almost all of his friends
were from church and his social life was a nightly string of faith-based
events, from church sports to a Christian Cub Scout troop. “It was the
only thing I was used to doing,” said Kurek, who attended Liberty
University, the largest evangelical university in the world, before
dropping out after freshman year.
Kurek grew up in an “independent Baptist church.” “We were
evangelical,” he said, “but we were more conservative than evangelical,
too.”
His churchy lifestyle led to some deeply held views about
homosexuality. Most evangelical churches condemn homosexuality as
sinful. Many rail against certain gay rights, like gay marriage.
It’s no surprise that the “The Cross in the Closet,” has spurred strong reaction, especially from the LGBT community.
“I feel for the gay community of Nashville, and for every person who
trusted Kurek enough to flirt with him, hang out with him, and confide
in him about their lives,” wrote Amy Lieberman on the blog Feministing. “If I were in that community, I would feel so betrayed right now.”
In a Huffington Post blog post titled “Pretending To Be Gay Isn’t The Answer,”
Emily Timbol, a religion blogger, expressed a similar opinion: “What’s
sad is that every interaction Timothy had during his year pretending was
fake.”
But we are missing the bigger picture here! Kurek says that that was not his aim. “This isn’t a book about
being gay, I could not write that book, I am not qualified,” he writes.
“What this is about is the label of gay and how that label affected me
personally.”
Throughout the book, Kurek emphasizes that distinction. While much of
“The Cross in the Closet” is about the struggle to understand the gay
community, which he tries to address by enlisting a friend to act as his
boyfriend, much of it addresses how his former church’s community – and
family – reacted to his new lifestyle.
As for his original goal, to radically change who he was, Kurek says
mission accomplished. He says he has conquered his prejudices of the
LGBT community and is happy with the person he has become.
“If anybody had told me back then who I would be or what I would
believe now,” Kurek said, “I would have thought they were completely
insane.”
For example, Kurek now thinks homosexuality is completely acceptable.
BUY THE BOOK The Cross in the Closet
READ MORE
Matthew Mitcham Reveals Crystal Meth Addiction
BEIJING gold medallist Matthew Mitcham will not be excluded from the 2016 Australian Olympic team despite confessing to a crystal meth addiction, a drug that features as a “stimulant” on the WADA banned list.
The Sydney Morning Herald reports that following his Olympic win in 2008 after still failing to be ranked as World #1, he descended into depression:
Self-doubt came crashing back, fueled by injury. Secretly smoking crystal meth to boost his moods, he was soon in the grip of addiction.
He knew the drug’s dangers. But ”taking it was something I did … to take my mind off things that were upsetting me – to make me feel better about myself.”
In therapy still, he believes he is happier and healthier. As for fully understanding himself, he writes: ”The answers continue to elude me. I may work it out one day.”
Said Mitcham to Australia’s Nine News program 60 Minutes: “I certainly was addicted to crystal meth…I just felt like such a massive sham.”
FINALLY! Lover At Last: A Novel of the Black Dagger Brotherhood, by JR WARD
Jessica Rowley Pell Bird (born 1969 in Massachusetts, U.S.A.) is an American novelist. Under her maiden name, Jessica Bird, she writes contemporary romance novels, and as J.R. Ward, she writes paranormal romance.
This eleventh novel in the stunning #1 New York Times bestselling Black Dagger Brotherhood series–the hotly anticipated story that finally unites Blay and Qhuinn…forever.
Qhuinn was vaguely aware that his chest was pumping up and down and
that his hands had become fists-“Pull the f*ck over!” he screamed as he
slammed the dashboard hard enough to send one of the air vents flying.The flatbed was wrenched over and the brakes squealed as their
velocity slowed. But Qhuinn was out of there. Dematerializing, he
escaped through the crack in the window… along with Blay’s exhale.
Lover At Last: A Novel of the Black Dagger Brotherhood
Songs for the New Depression
Author Interview: Kergan Edwards-Stout
Award-winning director and Huffington Post contributor, Kergan Edwards-Stout, who was honored by the Human Rights Campaign as a “2011 Father of the Year”, recently published his debut novel, Songs for the New Depression. The novel has received much critical acclaim and was short-listed for the Independent Literary Awards.
Q: What inspired you to write Songs for the New Depression?
A: Over 12 years ago, out of the blue, a line popped into my head: “James Baldwin once wrote that Americans lack a sense of doom, yet here I stand.” At the time, I didn’t know where that line came from, who was speaking it, or what it would become, but that line stuck with me, eventually becoming the first line of the novel.
Q: Were you familiar with James Baldwin’s work?
A: I’d read Giovanni’s Room many years ago, and that concept, that Americans lack a sense of doom, really resonated. I really wanted to try to capture that moment in time, before the new HIV drugs came along, with all of that raw humor, love, friendship, sex, and danger. Too often, the temptation is to write about such times in sepia tones, but I really wanted to try to capture that moment as vividly as I could.
Q: Your lead character, Gabriel Travers, knows he’s going to die, and is looking back at the choices he has made. Are his experiences based on someone you know, or events in your own life?
A: His journey is entirely fictional, but when I hear his voice in my head, it sounds a lot like my partner Shane Sawick, who died in 1995. He was witty, cynical, passionate, but also had his insecurities and self-doubt. I wanted to honor him, as well as friends who died during that time, and tried to do that with this book. It’s filled with a lot of the love, laughter, and sex that seemed to be so prevalent in those years.
Q: Gabriel makes many mistakes on his journey. What is he hoping to accomplish?
A: Like so many of us, Gabriel really wants to better himself, but doesn’t know how. Growing up, he wasn’t given the tools he needed, and when you don’t feel loved, it’s easy to make mistakes in pursuit of affection. When he realizes that he is dying, however, he is forced to confront his past, in particular a horrific event that happened in his youth and shaped his future choices. Learning to love and accept himself, flaws and all, is what he attempts to do. And I think that is why he and the book resonates with women. That kind of quest and the epic love story really appeal to women, as well as gay men.
Q: Your novel is broken into three distinct sections. What lead you to take that approach?
A: I felt like this story, Gabe’s discovery of himself, was really about peeling back the layers, finally revealing what is at his core and makes him act the way that he does. I like the way we first meet him, in 1995, facing death and trying to make amends. It then skips back 10 years, to when he’s in his 20’s, living that hedonistic L.A. life, and we seeing him making his mistakes. Then it jumps back another 10 years, finally revealing his high school self, his more naïve nature, and the moment which would inform everything that came after. Plus, if I’d told the story linearly, and the readers knew what he’d faced right away, much of the drama would have been gone.
Q: Given the events Gabe experiences in high school, how do you feel about all of the recent news about the bullying of LGBT youth?
A: Clearly, it is terrible. But I also believe that many of the campaigns trying to alleviate the problem are missing the point. We can never get rid of bullies. There will always be another. So the question becomes, what can we do about those who suffer at their hands? What tools can we give them? How do we make sure they have every chance to overcome their ordeal and blossom into well-functioning adults? It is our duty to help them not be defined by that moment.
Q: Where does the title, Songs for the New Depression, come from?
A: It’s the title of Bette Midler’s third album, released in 1976. Gabe is one of her biggest fans, and that album resonates thematically throughout the book.
Q: What did you do before you started writing?
A: I’ve always loved writing, but when I was younger, I got my degree from UCLA in Theatre, focused on acting and directing, and did a lot of production work in film and television. Writing became more of a passion when I realized what a bad actor I was! (laughing) But I have some great stories from those days. I cast and directed Jack Black in his first college productions, one of which went on to perform at the Kennedy Center. I also directed Eric Close, of TV’s long-running Without a Trace, in his first professional production.
Q: What made you leave entertainment?
A: As much fun as all of that was, I wasn’t being fulfilled emotionally. I came to a point where I realized that I needed something more rewarding in my life, and I took a job at AIDS Project Los Angeles. I’d been a longtime volunteer, and ended up working there for four years, running an AIDS intervention program. Little did I know then how much that decision would ultimately change my life.
Q: Is that where you met your then-partner?
A: Yes—Shane was the coordinator of the Southern California AIDS Hotline. We were together for two years before he died, and that experience of fully loving and caring for another really readjusted me. Until then, I’d been pretty self-obsessed. Without that personal awakening, of being a caregiver for another, I don’t think I would’ve been a very good parent, partner—or even a decent writer.
Q: So, you mentioned you’re a parent. How did that come about?
A: My partner Russ and I have two amazing boys, Mason and Marcus, who bring us a lot of joy. Mason was adopted privately at birth, and Marcus came to us at age two, through fost-adopt. Mason is now 12 and terrific at sports, and Marcus is 9, and will likely end up on a stage somewhere.
Q: Do you have another project in the works?
A: I’m currently writing a memoir, based on an incident which made me question every single aspect of my life, called Never Turn Your Back on the Tide.
Q: Do you have any advice for other writers?
A: Absolutely—find your own voice. When I was in college, I worked closely with playwright Michael Sargent, whose writing was so good, so tinged with anger, that I thought to myself “I can’t write like him—I’ll never be a writer.” What I didn’t realize, though, is that I didn’t have to write like him to be a writer. You have to reach inside yourself and discover your own unique voice. And for me, that only came with age and life experience.
Songs for the New Depression is available now at BarnesandNoble.com, Amazon, and fine booksellers everywhere.
ORDER NOW ONLINE Songs for the New Depression
Chicago’s Hermene Hartman – The Barack Obama Book
Fund this new book, The Barack Book, for a $25 pledge, and you get a copy of the book, when it comes in November!
Getting
books published or movies made is a tough business these days. Artists
and writers are taking it upon themselves, to get their own seed money,
to bring their products to the marketplace.
In
2012 many books will be published on President Obama as he comes up for
reelection. But Chicago’s Hermene
Hartman, Bob Starks, and Derrick Baker have a unique perspective on the
man. They were there from the beginning.
And Barack is their friend.
As
the long-time publisher of N’DIGO, a weekly targeted at Chicago’s black
middle class, Hartman was the first to cover the young, black Chicagoan
rising in the political ranks. First he was her friend, then he became
an Illinois senator, and then the President Obama we all know today.
Hartman and colleagues Starks and Baker recognized the political
potential of Mr. Obama early on and since 2003 have covered him from a
unique black Chicago perspective.
If
you have supported Obama from the beginning, now is your chance to
remain involved in spreading the man’s worldwide significance via The Barack Book.
This trio of writers are using Kickstarter to fund the creation of The Barack Book
and need your involvement to help cement President Obama’s legacy.
They have less than 3 weeks to raise the $15,000 needed to get this
project off this ground. And if you pledge $25 – you will get a copy of
the hardcover book, when it comes out this November. If you can pledge
more, there are even more incentives!
Please help fund this very important book from Chicago, on Barack Obama.
Barbra Streisand…A Retrospective Book
A lavish tribute to perhaps the world’s most beloved and enduring star:
the incomparable actress, director, and diva, Barbra Streisand.
Streisand is a record-breaking global phenomenon who has won virtually
every award the entertainment industry has to bestow: Oscars®, Emmys®,
Grammys®, Tonys®, a Peabody, and more.
This large-format, fully
illustrated book celebrates her uniquely brilliant career with hundreds
of rarely published photographs, album artwork, memorabilia, annotated
lists, and special in-depth features on everything from her
trend-setting style to her transcendent voice. Streisand’s millions of
fans will delight in the treasures they’ll discover inside, as they
follow Barbra from her Brooklyn childhood to her nightclub appearances,
emergence as a Broadway star, rise to Hollywood legend…and beyond.
2-7-2012 $20 at AMAZON!
Barbra: A Retrospective
The Complete Wendel by Howard Cruse Coming April 5th
Howard Cruse is an American alternative cartoonist known for the exploration of gay themes in his comics.
Wendel is probably his most famous. It was the first successful, long-lived gay comic strip, run in the Advocate in the years 1983 to 1985 and, after a year’s hiatus, 1986 to 1989.
Wendel Trupstock, the hero, was initially fresh out of college and lookin’ for love in a mid-sized city cosmopolitan enough to have an arts and theater community and, more important, a gay and lesbian community. Every young boys dream, right?!
Wendel met Ollie Chalmers, an aspiring actor. The two became lovers, and the strip thereafter dealt with their relationship, their friends and families, their gay community, and their interactions with Ollie’s ex-wife and small son.
Cruse’s superb comedic sense made “Wendel” funnier than nearly every other gay strip (then and since) and most nongay strips with continuing characters and situations.
Wendel was funny, topical and a heartfelt chronicle of one gay man’s journey through the often-rocky Reagan-Bush years. Cruse covered gay liberation, and he brought AIDS forthrightly into the strip, but his humor and style prevented “Wendel” from being sententious, self-righteous, or maudlin. And one of the strip’s greatest accomplishments was to portray sex as just another component in the lives of characters who do all the other things “regular” people do, albeit more hilariously.
Its influence was such that Tony Kushner wrote, “Wendel unfolds with the narrative complexity, nuance, detail, and honesty of a great satirical novel.” It’s an important piece of our history.
Every episode of the Wendel comic strip series, which was regularly featured in The Advocate, will be waiting to be savored (or re-savored) in The Complete Wendel, along with a new introduction by Alison Bechdel and a newly-drawn orgy of cartooned speculation, “Where Are They Now?”
APRIL 5th, 2011 is the official release date – but you can pre-order now at AMAZON!
The complete collection of the entire groundbreaking gay comic strip series.
288 pages By Universe / Rizzoli publishing.
Roseanne Barrs Big Comeback…and Nut Farm
I loved her show,
(Roseanne Season 1 – 9)
I have followed Roseanne’s blog over the years
and enjoyed her views on life and George Bush!
With a new book out,Roseannearchy: Dispatches from the Nut Farm , and new reality show, she has been hitting the talk show circuit.
She now lives on a farm now – a fully functional, 40-acre macadamia nut and livestock farm on Hawaii’s Big Island, which will be the setting for her new unscripted reality series, premiering later this year on Lifetime.
The show will follow the Emmy-winning comedian, 58, and her long-time boyfriend Johnny Argent and son Jake as they make a new life for themselves in this unusual setting.
“They’ve said ‘Roseanne’s nuts’ for years, and now I’m going to make that a reality,” Barr says in a statement. “I’m all about nuts now. Macadamia nuts!”
Lifetime has ordered 16 half-hour episodes of the as-yet-untitled docu-series, and promises “a funny, outrageous and unfiltered look at the adventures of one of television’s greatest stars transitioning into a new life that is a far cry from Los Angeles,” according to a release.
I’m From Driftwood….The Book!
ACCLAIMED I’M FROM DRIFTWOOD WEBSITE RELEASES NEW COMPANION ANTHOLOGY BOOK SHOWCASING TRUE LGBT STORIES FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD.
The acclaimed website “I’m From Driftwood ” which shares true, first-person LGBT stories from around the world, has just published a companion anthology. The new book, also titled I’m from Driftwood, has compiled some of the most moving stories from the website. The book was edited by Nathan Manske, who launched the web site in March, 2009.
The I’m from Driftwood anthology is available exclusively online through the web site . Book price $15.
“I originally started the I’m from Driftwood web site to demonstrate the wide variety of LGBT people living in America and across the world, especially in small towns,” said Nathan Manske, a native of a small town called Driftwood, Texas. “These honest looks into the lives of LGBT people not only give people a chance to celebrate their lives, but they also inspire others. Since the website began, I’ve received amazing letters from queer youth, telling me how I’m From Driftwood has made people feel a little less alone and a whole lot stronger. I hope this anthology also empowers queer youth and LGBT adults everywhere with the knowledge that they are not alone.”
To promote the 166-page book, Manske and two friends began a 4-month Story Tour this past year, collecting stories and holding readings in every state across America. On January 10, the I’m From Driftwood crew finished visiting all 50 states.
ImFromDriftwood.com offers an astounding variety of true stories and video accounts of LGBT lives, written with candor, humor, tears and bravery. They range from one man’s closeted life in Indiana in the 1950s to another man’s membership in an underground gay-straight alliance in present-day Indonesia. The web site allows everyone to post their personal stories to inform, educate and encourage others.
So what’s next for Nathan and the site? ” So much is coming up!” Nathan told me. ” We still have over 160 Video Stories to edit and post, and I want to still collect a lot more written stories, more Video Stories down the road, as well as get into podcasts, radio, graphic ‘zines, TV, film, etc. We’re becoming a non-profit so are really wanting to make this a long-term project.”
Go buy the book and support this awesome project!
The I’m from Driftwood anthology is available exclusively online through the web site .
Book price $15.
Best Gay News Magazine
Soloflex Fitness Changed America…Model Scott Madsen in Jail
and the launch of a fitness craze,
started in the 80’s…. SOLOFLEX.
The ad made home fitness seem easy, and it made Soloflex a hit. In his book The Soloflex Story, An American Parable, Jerry Wilson writes that the company went from losing money in 1986 to clearing $54 million in pre-tax profits in 1988; since then, he told me, the company has spent $175 million on cable television buys and sold about $1 billion worth of equipment.
Of course, most of those machines ended up as expensive towel racks: “The vast majority of people who bought them didn’t continue to use them,” Wilson told me. Even so, people kept ordering the machines, fueled by late-night dreams that they could have a body like the company’s shirtless, chest-hairless spokesmodel Scott Madsen.
Pretty Boy Madsen, a gymnast who was called “genetically perfect” in the Washington Post, eventually released a book of action photographs called the The Scott Madsen Poster Book . After nearly 20 years the Scott Madsen Poster Book is still one of the best erotic photgraphy book ever published.
Madsen, who was straight, did not care for the attention of all of his male fans.
“I’ve been chased around the room by faggots.
Everyone’s trying to take you for a ride in the East.” he once said.
The 49-ish year old hottie-has-been was living in Vancouver, Washington. In March 2010, Madsen was sentenced to 2 years in a Federal prison for stealing from his former employer. Much more than simple theft from a former employer. Three years of deception, stealing from his uncle’s small business. Scott netted about $80,000 per year in fraudulent receipts. $250,000 later – he was caught.
Back to Soloflex, Madsen helped the company STRIKE RICH! After a couple years of struggling with sales, Wilson hired Madsen to ne his poster boy. SALES FLEW THROUGH THE ROOF. Wilson became a rich man.
A host of imitators soon appeared, parroting Soloflex’s marketing and iconography. “It is a bit grating when people say to me, ‘Hey, you’re the Bowflex guy, aren’t you?’ ” he writes. Wilson made a pastime of suing these companies, and the lawsuits made him still richer. (Bowflex settled with Wilson for $8 million; NordicTrack settled for $18.5 million and soon thereafter filed for bankruptcy.)
Soloflex was once $495 – and is now $1250 these days. In recent years, Soloflex has been eclipsed in popularity by other, more au courant devices that loudly tout their new fitness innovations and bargain-basement prices. Wilson wrote that he could’ve moved production of the Soloflex to China, allowing him to build a cheaper exercise machine to compete with his lower-cost rivals. The Soloflex inventor explained, however, that he would “rather quit business than ship jobs offshore.”
The result, he wrote: “Soloflex is still here, albeit much smaller. That’s fine with me.”
HARVARD Says Urine on Gay Books Was an Accident
The texts apparently had urine poured over them and police are investigating the incident as a hate crime.
According to student newspaper The Harvard Crimson, an empty bottle was found next to the ruined books in Lamont Library.
The vandalism happened on November 24th and library staff apparently delayed reporting the incident because they wanted to assess the value of the books, which was estimated at several thousand dollars.
All had to be thrown away.
OOOPS!
NOW Harvard College library says it was not a hate crime after all, but a simple accident caused by a staffer who spilled a bottle of liquid waste on 36 tomes.
Why a bottle of urine was sitting on a library shelf in the first place has yet to be explained.
“This incident was initially reported as vandalism and characterized as a hate crime,” Evelynn Hammonds, dean of Harvard College, wrote Monday on the university’s website. “We have learned this morning that the books, while indeed damaged, were damaged by our own library personnel accidentally spilling a bottle of what was reported to be urine that had been left on the shelf.”
WTF?
First, how big was this bottle that it spilled and soaked some 30 books?
WHY was the bottle in the library, in the gay section?
AND HOW do you just “accidentally” knock it over and spill it? There was no lid??
Best Gay News
Updated Book With DVD Available about The Double Assassination of George Moscone and Harvey Milk
After assassinating
San Francisco Mayor George Moscone
and Supervisor Harvey Milk,
killer Dan White was given only a
mild sentence for manslaughter.
This true crime thriller explains why White killed the two politicians, and how he got away with murder. This new expanded edition reveals for the first time how after his release from prison White confessed his true murderous intent and his secret plan to kill two more politicians. A companion DVD provides unseen television interviews and the never-before-available recording of White’s gut-wrenching confession.
Double Play: The Hidden Passions Behind the Double Assassination of George Moscone and Harvey Milk
“What really made Dan White assassinate San Francisco Supervisor Harvey Milk and Mayor George Moscone?” asks reporter Mike Weiss. “You might think you know, but the real truth will surprise you.”
Many secrets about Harvey Milk’s life and murder not available from any other source are revealed in Weiss’ updated edition of Double Play: The Hidden Passions Behind the Double Assassination of George Moscone and Harvey Milk, available with a companion 2 HOUR DVD December 1 , 2010.
In addition to providing more insights than any other source on the relationship between Harvey Milk and his assassin Dan White, this new edition of Double Play also includes the first detailed account of White’s suicide and the reasons for it. The book features exclusive information about the first year Harvey Milk spent in California with his lover Scott Smith, more stories than any other source about Milk’s political activities as supervisor, and details unavailable elsewhere about Milk’s last day.
Dozens of previously unpublished photos and illustrations in Double Play include the coroner’s diagram of the Milk murder scene and a police sketch of his body.
“The controversial nature of this book lies not only in the subject matter but also in Weiss’ decision to delve into the real story behind the killings—the nasty mass of innuendo and sordid truth,” wrote Francis J. Moriarty in the San Diego Union. “Double Play will stand as our record, not only of what happened, but why.”
PRE-ORDER TODAY!
Double Play: The Hidden Passions Behind the Double Assassination of George Moscone and Harvey Milk
Best Gay News
Barbra Streisands New Book is Taking Pre-Orders and You Can Save BIG
For nearly five decades Barbra Streisand has been one of the singular figures in American entertainment. From the cabaret to the Broadway stage, from television and film stardom to her acclaimed work as a director, from the recording studio to the concert hall, she has demonstrated that the extraordinary voice that launched her career was only one of her remarkable gifts.
Now, in her first book, Barbra Streisand reveals another aspect of her talent: the taste and style that have inspired her beautiful homes and collections.
My Passion for Design focuses on the architecture and construction of her newest homes, the dream refuge that she has longed for since the days when she shared a small Brooklyn apartment with her mother, brother, and grandparents.
A culmination and reflection of Streisand’s love of American architecture and design between the eighteenth and twentieth centuries, the book contains many of her own photographs of the rooms she has decorated, the furniture and art she has collected, and the ravishing gardens she has planted on her land on the California coast.
In addition to glimpses of her homes, Barbra shares memories of her childhood, the development of her sense of style, and what collecting has come to mean to her. My Passion for Design is a rare and intimate private tour into the world of one of our most beloved stars. It will be welcomed by her many fans and all lovers of the great achievements of American design.
TWO WAYS TO SAVE RIGHT NOW!
The $60 book My Passion for Design is now $38!
or if YOU REALLY LOVE BABS, A Special Deluxe $500 My Passion for Design Deluxe Limited Edition is avialable, through this site for $355. The special deluxe edition is a limited print run of 500 copies. Each numbered and signed copy of this illustrated personal tour of the great star’s homes and collections comes individually boxed and with a beautiful DVD, making My Passion for Design Special Edition the ultimate collector’s item for the true Streisand fan.
Best Gay News
POSITIVELY AWARE Magazine Announces “A Day with HIV in America” Photo Essay
To commemorate World AIDS Day, POSITIVELY AWARE magazine is compiling a photo essay entitled “A Day with HIV in America.” On September 21, people from all across the country, both HIV-positive and negative, care providers, lawmakers, advocates, families, and friends will take a snapshot of a moment from their everyday life.
The photo essay hopes to present a portrait of our world and to put a face on HIV/AIDS in the U.S., in an effort to de-stigmatize life with HIV. Selected photos will appear in a special section of the November/December issue of POSITIVELY AWARE. Additional photo submissions will be available for viewing at A Day with HIV . Social media users can join others who are involved in the project on the Facebook group “A Day with HIV in America,” and also take part in the conversation on Twitter .
Using a digital camera or cell phone, the photos will capture a scene: Getting ready for work. Hanging out with friends. Spending a quiet moment alone. Caring for someone with HIV. The idea is to come up with the person’s own response to the question, “What does it mean to live with HIV?”
Photos are to be submitted by September 23 to artdirector @ positivelyaware.com. Submissions must include the person’s name (and the names of anyone else in the photo), phone number (of all participants), HIV status (optional), and a caption describing the scene, giving the location and time of day the picture was taken. Signed release forms will also be required for submissions to be considered.
Photos can be in JPEG, TIF, or RAW file format, and must have a minimum resolution of 300 dpi at 4 x 5 inches. Photos can be color or black and white. Cell phone camera photos are acceptable, provided that they meet resolution requirements.
POSITIVELY AWARE is an internationally known and respected magazine devoted to HIV treatment and wellness. It has a circulation of over 85,000, and is published bi-monthly by Test Positive Aware Network (TPAN) in Chicago, the only publication of its kind to be produced by a non-profit AIDS agency. Founded in 1987, TPAN is Chicago’s oldest peer-led AIDS service organization and specializes in treatment information, support services, and prevention.
To order copies of the magazine, call (773) 989-9400 or email distribution @ tpan.com. For more information about TPAN and POSITIVELY AWARE magazine visit TPAN and Positively Aware .
Best Gay News
Best Gay Chicago
Anne Rice is no longer a Christian.
Anne Rice
is no longer a Christian.
The best-selling author of Interview With a Vampire and mother to novelist Christopher Rice posted on her Facebook page that she’s left the religion because she refuses to be “antigay,” “antifeminist,” and “anti-Democrat.”
Rice wrote, “It’s simply impossible for me to ‘belong’ to this quarrelsome, hostile, disputatious, and deservedly infamous group. For ten years, I’ve tried. I’ve failed. I’m an outside. My conscience will allow nothing else.”
“In the name of Christ, I quit Christianity and being Christian.”
In 2004, Rice announced in Newsweek that she from that point forward, she would “write only for the Lord.” The author continued to be a vocal supporter of gay rights while touting her Christian faith.
Her son, Christopher, is gay, has frequently contributed to The Advocate, and is the author of five best-selling novels.
“Regarding my recent decision to step away from organized religion, I did an interview with NPR on All Things Considered, which is being broadcast this evening (August 2nd….5:50 p.m on the West Coast.) I welcome your responses to the interview.”
New Books Claims Gay Porn Star Had an Affair with Superman Christopher Reeve
Of course, this is Unauthorized – and Allegedly!
Both stars in question are DEAD. A new book ‘ Hollywood Babylon Strikes Again!: More Exhibitions! More Sex! More Sin! More Scandals Unfit to Print ’, by Darwin Porter and Danforth Prince, digs thru dark and trashy secrets to expose some of the rumors and myths about long-dead superstars.
The authors dug up an old interview made with the late gay porn star Cal Culver (aka Casey Donovan) conducted before his death in 1987, which sensationally claimed that he had an affair with Superman star Christopher Reeve, and gave details of their relationship. Culver, who died of an Aids-related illness, alleges that he met Reeve when they were both auditioning for a Broadway role in the mid-1970s. In the book extract, obtained by the Globe newspaper, Culver claims Superman star Reeve was ‘the man of my dreams’ and says that the pair had a passionate two-month relationship until Reeve discovered Culver was a gay porn star, performing under the name Casey Donovan.
He wrote: ‘Christopher was a great lover and I think I liberated him sexually. I didn’t think he was gay but he seemed willing to try anything once. He was curious.’
Darwin Porter, who co-wrote the book, said: ‘I have no doubt this was legit – I knew Cal for years and at one stage we even lived next to each other. He was a very credible source and all the other stories he has told me checked out.
Hmmmmmmm. We’ll never know.
Why Am I Gay ? By Matthew Richardson
Why Am I Gay?
is a new comprehensive guide book designed to help you better understand Gay Sexuality and how to move towards becoming Spiritually Gay. Giving you insights into what makes a person gay, as well as pages of understanding and support for both gay and straight individuals.
This book covers the physical, mental and spiritual aspects of a gay individual. It also includes answers to: – Why am I Gay? – How does Gay Sexuality occur? How Past Lives, The Mind and Mental Energy affect Gay Sexuality. – Understanding Gay Spirituality. – Advice for parents and gay youth. – The importance of dreams and meditation.
Gay Spirit: Why Am I Gay? Understanding Gay Sexuality (Volume 1)
Written by Matthew Richardson, A gay English author who has recently moved to Latina, Madrid, and who writes to help both gay and straight minded people to better understand themselves.
Barbra Streisand My Passion for Design Book November 2010
At 68, Barbra Streisand
is writing her first book —
but it’s no memoir.
“I’m a little too private. I’m not ready to write about my life,” Streisand said Tuesday at the opening of BookExpo America, a publishing convention.
She said she tried writing a few chapters of an autobiography but quit after deciding that “this is hard. I’d rather write a book about design.”
That $60 coffee table book, My Passion for Design , will be released Nov. 16. It will feature 350 photographs of a complex of houses Streisand helped design in Malibu, Calif.
There’s her “main house,” where she lives; an “elegant barn,” which she described as her art project; her “mill house” with 200-year-old beams; and a guest house, nicknamed “Grandma’s house” by Streisand’s husband, James Brolin.
It’s a long way from her childhood in Brooklyn, N.Y. In a staged interview at the convention with Gayle King, editor at large of O magazine, Streisand mentioned her father, a teacher who died when she was 15 months old, and how her family couldn’t afford a couch until her mother remarried when Streisand was 8.
“Maybe that’s why I love couches,” she said.
She linked her favorite color, burgundy, to a sweater she had as a child and described her love of “pure lipstick red.”
Her passion for architecture blossomed, she said, in 1994 when a movie she was supposed to direct, an adaptation of Larry Kramer’s play The Normal Heart, fell apart. “A house became my project. I made a house instead of a movie.”
King asked Streisand if she kept anything in her California homes that remind her of her New York childhood.
“You mean like egg creams?” Streisand quipped.
King persisted.
“No,” Streisand replied. “We lived in a $40-a-month apartment. Five people shared one bathroom.
I have nothing that reminds me of that.”
PRE-ORDER NOW AND SAVE!!My Passion for Design
We Heart Gay Fashion Designer Chris March – Fabulous, Over The Top, and Larger Than Life
Chris March
is “Project Runway’s”
fashionably outrageous costume
designer from Season 4 of the show.
(He was robbed! He should have won!).
We have been following him on his Project Runway blog with commentary that has been over-the-top and equally hilarious.
He also started his own blog last month, Chris March Explains It All For You . “Somebody already took the title I wanted for my Blog… “Eat a Kitten”….who would take such a name? Here is why I wanted it: My friend Gordon and I used to joke about which one of us was more bitter about life.
One day in our garage, he said, “If I want something warm and fuzzy, I’ll eat a kitten.” This line has been re-quoted between the two of us for years. My personal favorite is, “You haven’t tasted bitter until you’ve bitten into me.” So, the gist of this blog will be bitter, sarcastic, funny, and maybe a little warm and fuzzy.”
March is originally from San Francisco, California, where he worked as a costume designer for the long-running musical revue, Beach Blanket Babylon. His client list includes Madonna, Cirque du Soleil, Prince, Beyoncé Knowles, Thierry Mugler and Meryl Streep. He designed Streep’s dress for the 2010 Academy Awards. He now resides in New York City and in January released a softcover coffee-table book which showcases his many, many fabulous creations over the years.
I HEART CHRIS MARCH is photographic proof of the insane career and creativity of Chris March. Giant wigs, skyscraping headpieces, outlandish costumes, and crazy couture come to life in this full color celebration of Chris’ creations of the last 25 years. From childhood Halloween photos to Bryant Park, this book is chock full of never before seen images. Buy one for your friends and one for yourself–you can finally have Chris March on your coffee table.
“it’s a picture book photographic memoir of 25 years of designing costumes. I have collected so many pictures over the years. I have every costume photographed because most of the costumes are just TOO BIG to keep, so I end up throwing them away and keeping all the photos!”
Last week Chris announced his new greeting card line! “I am so excited to be made into a line of greeting cards! What crazy people would do such a thing? The nice folks at NobleWorks approached me about the whole idea–and voila, you can see (and buy!) them for yourself at Noble Works Cards .
They took some of the images from my book (which by the way, you can also purchase on my website ) photoshopped them, cropped them, gave them funny headlines, and now you can insult your friends with a Chris March original! They will soon be for sale across the country, damaging the minds of people everywhere!!
I will be making an appearance at the National Stationery Show here in NYC in May (the 16th and 17th at the Javits Center from 1 to 4pm) to launch the new line, and meet people to sign cards and my book.
Who would have thought that breaking my neck in those headpieces would pay off one day?!!”
Keep up with Chris on his BLOG Chris March Explains It All or at his design website .
And BUY THE BOOK Damn it!
