Awesome, Jim Butcher explains the "soul gaze"! Thanks again thumbelina blues for introducing me to the series.

Obama World Tour

Obama's on a world tour with stops in Europe, Afghanistan, and the Middle East. I am intrigued.

It's a really good move, like the best it is both obvious and original at the same time.

(Al Jazeera has comments on their website, quite a few of them American. )
<----Tension much? QUIT w/the lean in Karzai!


Perhaps less original, a People story. Still nice tho.

(Also on People.com, Patrick Swayze, the man who may refuse to die)

TOR.COM / COMIC CON

Cool and exciting, near terrifying.

SATURDAY 10:00-11:30 The Black Panel '08— This is not the year to miss the Black Panel, and you know why! Featuring Method Man (The Wu Tang Clan), Reggie Hudlin (president, B.E.T.), Denys Cowan (B.E.T. Animation, "The Origin of the Joker"), Rusty Cundieff (director, Chappelle's Show, Fear of a Black Hat) John Dokes (Marvel Comics), Dwayne McDuffie (Milestone Media, Justice League, Ben 10), and Faith Cheltenham (Tor.com). This is the definitive panel for what's up in black and hip hop culture—and what a year it has been! Look out for some surprise guests. Hosted by Michael Davis (The Underground, Everything You Always
Wanted to Know About Black People, But Were Afraid to Ask). Room 5AB

Congrats to Jolie-Pitt family (EDIT)

In Touch broke the news at everyone's favorite bisexual had given birth. Then retracted, and same day the AP confirmed the birth of a boy and girl. Stargina.com is saying:

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie have given birth to a boy and girl, named Knox Leon and Vivienne Marcheline.

How can we confirm this? Thanks to our uber-investigative instincts, Stargina has learned that Angelina’s lawyers Lavely-Singer quickly snapped up the domains KnoxLeon.com and VivienneMarcheline.com Saturday afternoon.

To celebrate Knox and Viv, a few favorite Angelina photos...

And now for something entirely different, Brandi Carlile

I saw Brandi Carlile perform a few weeks ago w/Indigo Girls in Long Beach. It was an amazing show which words could not possibly describe. Great time was had celebrating my friends same sex wedding anniversary and soon to be "legal" marriage, so good I didn't scan the crowd. Would have seen a favorite cousin in the audience with her partner, so cool! The stupid foul atm's broke at the theater so I had nothing for Brandi to sign when she came out and was horrified. I excused myself to the back of the lobby, all stormy inside when she happened to walk by after. Shocked, all I could muster was, "You're cool, great" and a giant smile. She said thanks, smiled and kept going before the crowd turned collective heads to follow. I wanted to ask her if she wanted to watch some tv, but it seemed a bit forward. :D

The Best of Brandi Carlile on YouTube*

How These Days Grow Long (aka that awesome song she does acoustically that may just be the best song of all time)
My FAVORITE, Fall Apart Again (old school, great audio!)
New Song - Dreams
Creep (Radiohead cover) (high quality)
*(Youtube has saved the video revolution with their platform exchange, thank you)

The Song That Got Me First (high quality)

Segways of Horror to be used in Beijing Olympics

This can't be a good thing. Unless the Segways become sentient and demand for a free Tibet. Then it would be fine.

Sourcey
Oh yeah Bush will be at the opening ceremonies, so...there's no joke here at all is there?

Open Letter to EqualityForAll.com

"Gay and lesbian couples are legally marrying in California. Many more are planning weddings and celebrations."

Your website could read instead:
Lesbian, Gay Bisexual and Transgender couples are legally marrying in California. Many more are planning weddings and celebrations.
OR
LGBT couples are legally marrying in California. Many more are planning weddings and celebrations.
OR
Same sex couples are legally marrying in California. Many more are planning weddings and celebrations.

Bisexuals are up in arms, and such transparent biphobia only hurts the fight!

http://lindasusan.blogspot.com/2008/07/words-matter.html
http://www.feministe.us/blog/archives/2008/06/16/why-this-queer-isnt-celebrating/
http://biwriters.livejournal.com/56649.html
http://community.livejournal.com/_bi_gals_/57293.html

THIS IS WHAT I BELIEVE: "Bisexuals who married same sex partners in California, Massachusetts, New York, or Belgium, the Netherlands or Canada have a distinct perspective on marriage equality. It's not who you love that's important, but how you love and that you love, and are loved in return. All the ways we make families and intimate connection are important and all are equally valuable and worthy of societal support. - Dr. Loraine Hutchins

IS THIS WHAT EQUALITYFORALL.COM BELIEVES?
As with gays and lesbian marriages, bi-sexuals would base their claim on the fact that they are people with a minority sexual orientation who wish to "live out their love(s)" and gain the social recognition of their relationships that they have been denied historically. Like gay and lesbian liaisons, the argument could be that failure to recognized bi-sexual relationships is due to stereotypical treatment causing historical disadvantaged. If it is good for gays and lesbians to be able to marry in accordance with their sexual orientation and procreation no longer provides an adequate argument for restricting marriage to heterosexuals, as courts in Canada have recently ruled, then this must also be so for bi-sexuals. A move to accept bi-sexual marriage, however, means that marriage cannot be limited to merely two people for what is bi-sexuality but the sexual love for both sexes? - Catholic Educational Resource

Beyond Biphobia

There's a reason we use LGBT. When I read lesbian and gay, I cringe because I'm not either and couldn't ever be. There's been some recent uproar in the community as the words "same sex" are tossed out the window in favor for "lesbian and gays", words more palatable to the str8s in terms of marriage. I understand the strategy, but much like HRC's "let's not bring in the trans just yet" debacle it speaks volumes of how much work there still is left to do. Via Bialogue, I'm posting a portion of biactivist's Lindasusan's post re: her stand during recent No on 8 mtgs. There was an apology given, but we must remain vigilant and demand that our LGT allies recognize a long invisible people.

Words matter. Not just some of them, and not just some of the time. Just as marriage is not the same as domestic partnership, bringing the entire queer community along is not the same as throwing some of us under the bus.

Names matter. I have chosen to name myself “bisexual” as a political stand for all people whose attractions span beyond one gender. Even as I acknowledge the word’s limitations, I also understand its rich history and its role in determining our real allies.

During last year’s fight over the non-inclusive ENDA, the queer community came together in extraordinary fashion and true solidarity with transgender and gender-nonconforming people. Organizations and individuals across the spectrum expressed justifiable outrage that some of us were being left by the side of the road, with only vague promises of getting picked up at an undetermined later date.

During this season of celebration, where is the outrage on bisexuals’ behalf? My gay and lesbian colleagues didn’t even notice that fundraising emails from nonprofits fighting the ballot measure kept talking about “gay and lesbian” couples. Why didn’t they get angry for me? If people I consider good friends and allies don’t even have my back, who will?

At the time of the ENDA fight, I suspected that if bisexuals were the ones left to wait at the side of the road, we would never have received the same outpouring of support. Sadly, I couldn’t even imagine it. Even more sadly, it turns out I was right.

Are you like Angie, bisexual and/or open to loving people regardless of gender?

Take the test to find out

Christian Bale, ever the gentleman hero

TBH, this is the best Christian Bale article ever. Forget the lamentations on our dear Heath, this hero of mine continues to shine as a thoughtful artist of monumental grace, charm and talent. Bale was my favorite actor as a child, his work in Empire of the Sun saved my life more than once. Yes, likening my childhood to a WW2 work camp isn't a long shot. The courage depicted was fundamental to my survival, knowing Ballard has made it through something quite terrible. Know knowing that the role helped Bale's family tremendously makes even more karmically cool sense.

"Listen, I am a lucky git. To sit here and say, 'You know what, I don't want to work for the next six months,' and then actually be able to do that? I never imaged I would be in that position. It's luck that I am male; luck that I speak English and luck that I am white. Unfortunately, that's the stereotype in the movie buisness; anyone who isn't any of these things would have had a tougher time than I did. - Christian Bale in the new GQ

Also via ONTD, check out this pic of Heath without Joker makeup

Congrats to the pregnant man Thomas and his wife!

The transgender man who made worldwide headlines dubbed as “The Pregnant Man,” Thomas Beattie just became a father to the baby girl he carried, according to ABC News.

A source told ABC News the birth was natural, despite earlier reports Beatie had gone in for a scheduled C-section. The baby was born at a hospital in Bend, Oregon. - ABC News via Gaywire

Thanks Fish for the Adele tip

Best Use of Fatigues

Hallelujah!

Takes Longer Than a Dr Who Episode: The 4chan Mystery Continues

Internet, what the hell are you doing? Or is it all anonymous?

1) Recent emergence of the smoth, or re-emergence if you ever watched late night tv...

A recent wholly image-based meme that's been flooding /b/, it typically involves a shoop of a random celebrity/notable person wherein the eyes and mouth of the subject are dwarfed. And, of course, a tiny mouth speaks different now doesn't it? Hence "Will Smoth" - the original incarnation of the meme. Unfortunately it has also spawned a new monor of spoking thut os unbolovobly rutordud. To create one of these wacky new likenesses it requires about 10 minutes of free time, about a day's worth of experience with Photoshop, and no fucking life.

(OH ED HOW I LOVE THEE - http://www.encyclopediadramatica.com/Woll_Smoth)

2) Anon scares the crap outta people at Wimbledon?!
(DListed--->ONTD)

All Related to 4chan?

This post might be Rick approved, but I don't give a frak what the kittens think.