From http://seattletimes.nwsource.com:

A top Anglican cleric who was born in Uganda spoke out Thursday against a proposed law in his native country that would impose the death penalty on some gays.

Archbishop of York John Sentamu – who along with the archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, is one of the global fellowship’s most senior priests – condemned the anti-gay law now being considered by the East African nation’s parliament.

“I’m opposed to the death sentence. I’m also not happy when you describe people in the kind of language you find in this … bill,” he told BBC radio.

Although Sentamu seemed to suggest he was the first to attack the proposed law, Williams has also spoken out against it, telling The Daily Telegraph earlier this month that it was “shocking in its severity.”

“Apart from invoking the death penalty, it makes pastoral care impossible – it seeks to turn pastors into informers,” he told the paper in an interview published Dec. 12.

The issue of homosexuality has triggered a debate that has divided the global 77 million-strong Anglican fellowship, including in the United States, where it has splintered the Episcopal Church.

In Thursday’s interview, Sentamu chose his words carefully, restating the content of a 2004 Anglican statement that condemned “the victimization or diminishment of human beings whose affections happen to be ordered towards people of the same sex.”

African churches have been at the forefront of the Anglican backlash against the blessings given to gay marriages and the ordination of gay bishops in the West. Uganda, whose population is nearly 40 percent Anglican, has become a rallying point for conservatives, with some U.S. Episcopal denominations switching their allegiance to the Church of Uganda following the 2003 ordination of openly gay bishop, V. Gene Robinson.

Sentamu said he and Williams had been in touch with his Anglican colleagues in Africa about the proposed law, which has aroused a storm of indignation worldwide. It is expected to go before parliament in the new year.

The bill would mandate a death sentence for sexually active gays living with HIV or in cases of same-sex rape. Anyone convicted of a homosexual act would face life imprisonment.

Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni will not try to block the bill, his spokesman Tamale Mirundi said Thursday, although he did say the president would attempt to convince his National Resistance Movement Party, which has a majority in parliament, to not support it.

“President Museveni cannot block the anti-gays bill,” Mirundi said, saying that if he did so “he will have become a dictator.”

from MTV.com:

Slip on your Manolos and grab a Cosmo, girls, because the first “Sex and the City 2″ trailer is here! The nearly minute-and-a-half trailer reveals few plot points, but the sequel looks like another fun- and fashion-filled romp, centering around a girlfriend getaway to the desert.

The gal pals then hop on a plane and jet to the desert to “get carried far away,” which explains the foursome being spotted in Morocco back in November. Did we mention they ride camels? Oh my! After a back seat makeout between Carrie and Big, the trailer closes on the four friends wandering alone in the desert. “Sometimes you just have to get away with the girls,” SJP concludes.

So to sum up, the two big happenings in the sequel appear to be a wedding and a vacay. We’ll have to wait for another trailer to flesh out more of the story and to see a few of those star-studded cameos we’ve been hearing about like Miley Cyrus, Liza Minnelli and Penelope Cruz.

The trailer (see it after the jump!) opens with quick shots of New York City accompanied by Jay-Z and Alicia Keys’ seriously apropos hit “Empire State of Mind.” “It’s been two years and in two years, amazing things can happen,” purrs Sarah Jessica Parker. Cut to Miranda (Cynthia Nixon) sauntering down a Big Apple sidewalk, Charlotte (Kristin Davis) baking cupcakes with her 2-year-old daughter Rose and Samantha (Kim Cattrall) doing something at what appears to be a wedding (the rumored Stanford Blatch-Anthony Marantino nuptials, perhaps?).

THANKS TO LIZ AT RPULSE.COM!!

http://rpulse.com/sex-and-the-city-2-trailer-video/

http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=101594453

‘ House’ exclusive: Hugh Laurie’s biggest episode EVER!!!

by Michael Ausiello

His name is Hugh Laurie. And he’s a workaholic.

House’s leading man and producer will add to his already sizeable workload when he steps behind the cameras to direct this season’s 17th episode, slated to shoot in January and air March 22. “He starts prep when we get back [from the holiday break],” reveals exec producer Katie Jacobs.

This isn’t Laurie’s first time in the director’s chair — he previously helmed the British dramedyFortysomething in which he also starred — but this marks his first time calling the shots onHouse. “Hugh has been there since day one through every single episode, so he’s phenomenally smart and his instincts are [impeccable],” Jacobs says. “This is going to be great for morale, because there’s no one that the cast and crew and the writers want to work harder for than our leader.”

The plot of the episode is being kept under wraps — grr! However, Jacobs at least lets slip that “it’s not a traditional episode.”

How funny would it be if Laurie was tasked with directing the first real Huddy sex scene? Or even better, a Luddy break-up! What dream scenario do you see Laurie calling the shots on? Sound off below!

Photo Credit: Chris Haston/Fox

http://ausiellofiles.ew.com/2009/12/09/house-hugh-laurie-directs-first-episode/

If you thought Milo was a bit much, hold on to your hat!

Today’s Name of the Day is Ivo, with a thanks to Dearest for the suggestion.

Ivo may be a mere three letters long, but everyone of those three packs a punch:

• Nameberry recently highlighted fashion-forward I names, from Iris to Indigo;
• Nameberry also asked if v is the new z, citing the meteoric rise of Ava, as well as favorites like Olivia and Evan;
• That -o ending, from mainstream Leo to the quirkier Milo and Philo continues to attract parents.

He’s also an obscure saints’ name, putting him in the company of hipster boy choices like Rufus.  And while your sons’ teachers might not recognize the name, your sons’ playmates just might – there’s a Thomas the Tank Engine character called Ivo Hugh.

His exact origins are subject to debate:

• Ivo can be considered a pet form of Ivan – and thus linked to John;
• He could be a form of Ives or Yves, linked to the Germanic iwo – yew, the evergreen tree.  That’s no mere nature name.  Yews were linked to the afterlife in ancient tradition, and are still often found near churches and cemeteries.  They are also a traditional material for crafting longbows.  Writers from Shakespeare to JK Rowling have referenced the yew tree.

History gives us three saints and a crusader:

• Settled since ancient times, St. Ives, Cambridgshire was originally known as Slepe.  Legend has it that a Persian bishop visited in the sixth century, and managed to leave behind his bones.  He’s not found on official saints’ rosters, because stories of his life come from visions reported by a local Sleppite after the coffin’s discovery;
• The eleventh century French St. Ivo of Kermartin is remembered as a lawyer and a selfless advocate for the poor;
• St. Ivo of Chartres went to prison in protest when King Philip I of France divorced his first wife for a second;
• Ivo de Grandmesnil took part in the First Crusade in 1096.

Today Ivo is undeniably international:

• The former prime minister of Croatia is Ivo Sanader;
• In 1961, Yugoslavia’s Ivo Andrić won a Nobel Prize in literature;
• South American athletes, including Ecuadorian footballer Ivo Ron and Brazilian marathoner Ivo Rodrígues, wear the name;
• Dutch politician Ivo Opstelten is the former mayor of Rotterdam;
• French actor Yves Montand was born Ivo Livi in Italy.

As for that train, Ivo Hugh ran the narrow gauge railway.  After he retired, a new engine was named in his honor.  Ivo Hugh is no Gordon, Percy or Thomas, but your little Ivo could have an engine bearing his name.

After all, he won’t share his moniker with anyone else.  Ivo has never ranked in the US Top 1000.

Some rhyme his name with Devo, making Ivo rather close to evil – and perhaps explaining why he’s not more often used – but he’s so rare that you might also use EYE vo and sidestep the association.

If you’re looking for quirky, short and international, Ivo is one to consider.

From: http://www.cosmoguyonline.com/

Warner Bros. has released another new still from the Sex and the City Sequel. Debuted on Thursday, December 10, the picture features Carrie Bradshaw Preston, Samantha Jones, Miranda Hobbes Brady, and Charlotte York Goldenblatt. Each of the foursome is captured holding a microphone and donning glamorous outfits

M. Sturman Jewelry may not yet be a household name, however should the pieces that were sent to the set of the newest Sex in the City movie make final cut that should change. Nothing seems to stamp an item as a “must have” faster then when it is seen adorning Carrie or one of her closest friends on their glamorous romp through life . The fictitious foursome have become a hallmark of what constitutes high end fashion.

It was exciting to learn that not all the pieces selected for the movie, and possibly destined for stardom themselves, are already part of the fashion elite’s wardrobe. This New York City based jewelry designer uses a collection of unique pearls, stones, beads and vintage pieces, includingSwarovski cabochons and blown glass to create the unusual items in her collection. A stand out piece features Swarovski stones ordered by Christian Dior prior to World War II. Inspired by the colors, shapes and textures of the raw materials the designer painstaking crochets or weaves each piece in her New York City Studio.

The designer Peggy Sturman has a background in art history and floral design which is easily seen in her work. Will she be the next “it” girl of the fashion industry? Only time will tell, but Carrie and the girls could certainly give her a leg up. All the pieces featured above and in the gallery are currently on the set of the new movie.

From http://splashnewsonline.celebuzz.com:

Sex And The City 2: Morocco The six week Moroccan shoot for Sex and the City 2 is well underway. We got all the girls looking fabulous as they shoot airport scenes as well as Sarah Jessica Parker with her nose buried deep in a book. We don’t want to start any rumors or spoil anything, but the pink frock that SJP is sporting could be hiding a little sumptin’ sumptin’. Carrie doesn’t usually sport such loose fitting wear. So could it be true? Is there a little ‘Big’ on the horizon?

DISCLAIMER:  I am not affiliated with  Kathy Griffin.  Also, she is not PROMISED to come but I am hoping she will join us on the Sex and the City tour bus when she comes to NYC.  Nothing is set in stone

Please join On Tour Locations (www.screentours.com) and me tomorrow for some D-LIST HISTORY! SPREAD THE WORD – even if you can’t go!!

COME HELP GET KATHY GRIFFIN BACK TO NEW YORK CITY

WHERE: THE PULITZER FOUNTAIN ACROSS FROM THE PLAZA HOTEL
(Take the N, R, W to the “Fifth Avenue-59th Street” Stop)

WHEN: 10:30AM

MORE INFO: We are in talks with comedienne Kathy Griffin and her people to bring her to NYC to come on the official Sex and the City Tour! There will be a donation in her name for the wonderful organization, Broadway Speaks OUT (www.broadwayspeaksout.com).

She has expressed interest, so to make it even better – we are putting together a video that her and her team will watch! SHE WILL NOT BE THERE TOMORROW, BUT SHE WILL BE WATCHING THE VIDEO WE WILL MAKE!!

You’ll be there for about a half hour starting around 10:30AM cheering, holding signs and maybe being interviewed! Bring any Kathy books, CD’s, DVD, or props. Come as you are, bring friends and be ready for a good time!

If you have anymore questions- please message me!

Neal
Fanpage: Neal B. in NYC
www.nealbinnyc.wordpress.com

Dot writes: this is Hugh having his nap last Thursday:

Note that he has nodded off over a book: Baby Touch and Feel: Trucks (Dorling Kindersley), for those interested. As far as Hugh is concerned our sleep situation is really quite good these days. If only he hadn’t had a relapse to 5.50am this morning. And if only Frank hadn’t still been up at 11pm last night…

from MTV.com:

By Holly Lunn

The one and only fashionista is back at it again. With her new movie “Did You Hear About the Morgans?” and highly anticipated“Sex and the City: The Movie 2″ coming soon,Sarah Jessica Parker has a lot on her mind, including her new twin girls. But she still is finding the time to talk about her role as Carrie and give tips on fashion and relationships inGlamour’s January 2010 issue.Since “Sex and the City” started in 1998, it has been giving us ladies tips on how to live the fabulous single life in the big city, how to decode men’s brains and how to deal with major heartbreak. Last year’s movie continued that tradition, but SJP said the sequel won’t be nearly as serious. “The first movie had a lot of sadness in it, and it was very brave about breaking the rules of romantic comedy,” she told the mag. “This one is very much the antidote for that: It’s a romp. It’s about the idea of women’s and men’s roles in marriage, and old traditions versus new ones. The story is really fun, but it’s also about something.”

But Glamour talked to the actress about how movies ofen romanticize love and life — making it hard to understand what happens after the movie ends … after you find love. She responded by saying how easily we all are satisfied with “grand gestures” when you are young, but “when you have children and years invested, it’s much more complicated.” I can see where it could get complicated with Carrie being married to Mr. Big. “You are not meant to know that when you are younger,” she said of the reality of love and marriage. “So I don’t think anybody should regret the choices made in their twenties.” I guess all the mistakes I’ve been making in my twenties don’t really mean much in the long run, thank heaven.

Along with her romantic ideals, Carrie’s eye for style has also developed and changed as she got older, and so has SJP’s. She’s decided to take a simpler approach to style: “I don’t buy anything trendy.” She still has her own idea of fashion though, knowing “what looks good on me and what doesn’t,” which means she vows never to wear a turtleneck.

For those who remember my previous post on Daniel Meadows’ digital storytelling, here’s my own stab at it. Plus some more.

On Friday, through a mixture of luck and illegal drugs (joking), I passed my 100wpm shorthand exam, making me an automatic figure of hate in our class. But before I did so, I made this video about how much I love it. Hope you enjoy.

Dan Bloom – Why I love Teeline shorthand

I thought you might like to see the efforts of some of my colleagues, too. The best video gets a bottle of bubbly – our tutor’s idea of getting a spirit of competition going. Who deserves that prize Cava?

Fiona Roberts – Sloightly on the Huh

James Franklin and Nick Moore – How to be a modern journalist

Ciaran Jones and Caroline Cook – Santa’s career change

Brendan Perring – Paradox

Hugh Morris – LIES

Ella Walker – My sister

Tom Victor & Joe Curtis – Chariots of Failure

Josie Allchin – My Shoes

Andrew Papworth – Trans-Siberian railway

Aimee Steen – Is online taking over?

Mike Brown – Billy Banks

Bankers are the new public enemy number one. Like politicians and journalists, bankers are the new kids on the block when it comes to pointing the finger. The public need a scapegoat and so, there they are, ready to bend over ad take the whipping like the public schoolboys they grew up as. Well, we are paying their wages, and as government employees/receivers of government subsidies/loans they are subject to our scrutiny.

But one wanker is standing up to this. He has had enough. He wants his precious throne back, and will do anything to get it. So he is after the teacher of his son who called all bankers sleazeballs.

It seems that getting state handouts to ensure his luxury lifestyle is not enough. He is now after the people who pay his wages – the honest taxpayer (rather than the tax ‘avoider’/offshore wealth merchant). You see ego is a fragile thing. Obviously, the man must have a really small dick to go after someone on a fraction of the wage that he leeches off the voting public. And unlike ‘Skip Mcgee’, the teacher in question works for a private school, and so he is not on the receiving end of government handouts or soft loans. So while our investment banker labels our private sector teacher as a leftist, he is quite happy to manipulate his government’s policy to ensure that his industry gets as much state aid as possible. Whether it is favourable tax policies, government bail outs or the distortion of our own (rapidly depreciating) cash in order to maintain the status quo…

Comrade, don’t you just love capitalism?

First Official Sex And City 2 Image

Sarah Jessica Parker regrets being part of ‘SATC’ sequel

‘Entourage’ movie a possibility

From rPulse.com:

Meredith Baxter said, “To come out and disclose stuff is very antithetical to who I am.” I sure hope you’re proud of yourself Mario.

Every gay person believes it is their own choice and decision about coming out.

Every gay person except Mario Lavandeira aka Perez Hilton who claims he is gay, and yet he lacks compassion for other gays who he publicly bashes into coming out.

Meredith Baxter, who starred on the successful television series “Family Ties” became Mario’s target on Tuesday of this week when he posted photos of Meredith with her girlfriend Nancy.

This is nothing new for Mario, he forced Neil Patrick Harris and Lance Bass to out themselves as well.

nd now Meredith was forced to publicly announced her sexuality because the rag-gossip media cannot be controlled, yet.

“I am a lesbian and it was a later-in-life recognition,” she told Matt Lauer on TODAY.  “Some people would say, well, you’re living a lie and, you know, the truth is – not at all.  This has only been for the past seven years.”

Meredith who is 62, was not ready to do this, and yet was forced because of the public tabloid chatter.   “I’ve always lived a very private life,” said the actress, who’s never even had a publicist.

“I did not want some tabloid to take the story and make it up — I wanted it to be in my own words,” she told Lauer.

Meredith has now had to explain her relationship with men, which says was complicated and took her decades to understand why.

In 1966 she married her first husband, Robert Lewis Bush, and they divorced five years later; she married her second husband David Birney in 1974, and they divorced in 1989; she married her third husband, Michael Blodgett, in 1995, and they divorced in 2000.

She explained that she deliberately chose to be with men with whom she clashed, so that she could blame them for the end of the relationship.“It never occurred to me to think, oh, [the problem is] me,”she said.

Then, seven years ago, she had a relationship with a woman and concluded that she was homosexual.  Suddenly, things seemed to make sense.

“I got involved with someone I never expected to get involved with, and it was that kind of awakening,” she said. “I never fought it because it was like, oh, I understand why I had the issues I had early in life. I had a great deal of difficulty connecting with men in relationships.”

Meredith has been with her girlfriend, Nancy, a contractor who she met through mutual friends, for the past four years.  Because Nancy is openly lesbian, their relationship has not been kept a closely guarded secret.

“I had to reach a level of comfort because it wasn’t fair to push her back into secrecy,” she said. “We live very out lives in Los Angeles.”

When “Family Ties” ended, Meredith went on to direct and star in several TV movies, winning a daytime Emmy award in 1993 for portraying a lesbian mom in the CBS School Break Special, “Other Mothers.”

These days, she’s taken on a few roles, including promoting her skin care line,Meredith Baxter Simple Works.

She is also a public speaker and advocate, traveling the country discussing her personal battles with breast cancer and alcoholism.

Now that she is coming out, she also sees herself as an advocate for gay rights.

“This is a political act, even though that’s not what it feels like to me,” she said. “If anyone knows someone who’s gay or lesbian … they’re less likely to vote against them to take away their rights. I can be that lesbian you know now…”

From Yahoo.com:

NEW YORK, New York — Former “Family Ties” star Meredith Baxter has revealed she is gay.

Meredith, who starred as Michael J. Fox’s mother on the hit ’80s television show, confirmed the news to Matt Lauer on Wednesday’s “Today.”

I guess I wanted to… say that I’m a lesbian,” Meredith revealed on the NBC morning program. “It was a later-in-life recognition of that fact.”

Meredith, 62, has been living life as a lesbian for seven years and confirmed to Matt that she has been involved in a relationship for four years with contractor Nancy Locke. But it was only after becoming involved with another woman that Meredith realized why her three marriages to men didn’t work out.

I got involved with someone I never expected to get involved with and it was that kind of awakening and I never fought it because it was like, ‘Oh! I understand why I had the issues I had early in my life,’” Meredith said. “I had a great deal of difficulty connecting with men in relationships… Sometimes, I assumed I was a bad picker, which I was indeed, but I also was involved with people who made me think, ‘Oh, they’re the problem,’ because there were problems with the people I chose. It never occurred to me to think, ‘Oh, it’s me.’”

Meredith told Matt that sharing the news of her sexuality with her children, who range in age 25-42, was a lot easier than she expected.

The actress also revealed that her television family co-stars are aware she is gay.

“All my pals in ‘Family Ties’ know,” she said. “They all knew [when we had a reunion on 'Today' two years ago]. We all had dinners together and [TV husband], Michael Gross and his wife and Nancy and I go out, we’ve gone out many times. It’s all OK.”

Meredith said she and Nancy “live very out lives in Los Angeles” and the actress even went on a cruise with 1,200 lesbians not too long ago. But as for why she is speaking out now, Meredith said, in part, it was to share her story in her own words before a tabloid could put their spin on her life.

From: http://www.chinadaily.com

The idea was simple: Set up a bar to attract gay men and then use it to distribute information on AIDS/HIV prevention.

The media loved the idea – but all the attention kept the gay men away.

“They (gay men) refused to show up at the opening for fear of media exposure and potential discrimination,” said Zhang Jianbo, the bar’s founder and a local AIDS doctor in Dali, Yunnan province.

The bar, partially funded by the Dali Health Bureau in collaboration with two local anti-AIDS NGOs that Zhang heads, was meant to facilitate outreach efforts targeting groups facing a high HIV risk, particularly gay men.

Its opening was set for yesterday, World AIDS Day.

Zhang said intense media attention surprised him a lot.

“Had I known it, I would not have told the media,” he said.

Though there are gay bars in major cities in China, which experts estimate has 30 million homosexuals, including 20 million gay men, the one in Dali was dubbed “China’s first government-funded bar for AIDS control” and instantly got widespread media coverage.

“It’s understandable,” said Luke Zhao, executive editor of Beijing-based Gay Spot magazine. “Factors like government endorsement and support, gay men, HIV/AIDS, naturally made the gay bar so attractive to the press and the general public,” he told China Daily yesterday.

“As a long-term medical worker in HIV/AIDS prevention and control, I know how hard it is for us to reach these groups to promote self-protection messages like safe sex,” Zhang said.

He managed to establish contacts with more than 1,500 local gay men.

“To sustain and build more of that, I thought of opening a bar for regular get-togethers with them,” Zhang said.

“We could teach them about HIV/AIDS and how to protect themselves from it,” he said.

Now no one knows what will happen to a bar with no visitors or even a name.

“But it is at least a good signal that the government is beginning to pay attention to gay people as a vulnerable group facing HIV/AIDS and their health,” Zhao said.

The HIV/AIDS prevalence among gay men averages 6 percent in the country and same-sex transmission accounted for about one-third of new HIV infections last year, official tallies showed.

From http://www.reuters.com:

House saldrá en padre de Familia (Family Guy) y Hugh Laurie le pondrá la voz. El episodio, que es el 9º de la octava temporada, será emitido el próximo 13 de diciembre en Fox.

Sinopsis:

Peter da al padre de Lois, Carter Pewterschmidt, la despedida de soltero que nunca tuvo, haciéndole caer en un profundo coma, que ni siquiera el doctor House, (voz de Hugh Laurie), es capaz de sacarlo de él. Lois toma entonces el control y la propiedad de las industrias Pewterschmidt, y Peter la convence para que le permita a él dirigirla en su lugar.