HBO's HUNG STIFFS RATINGS, EX-GAY PENGUINS, JULY LGBT NEWS, VIDEO and PHOTOS!

July 15, 2009
HBO’s new comedy series Hung is stiffing other shows in the ratings, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The premiere was seen by 2.8 million viewers, making it the network's most-watched series debut in two years The second episode grew 29% from its season premiere to earn 3.6 million viewers.

. Jane Adams and Thomas Jane, stars of HBO's hot new comedy Hung

.

Hung follows the path of down and out basketball coach and teacher Ray Drecker (Thomas Jane) as he tries to put his life back on track by utilizing his greatest asset (hence the show’s title) by becoming a male escort.
.

Photo of bare-chested nearly shirtless Hung star Thomas Jane

.

Here’s the set-up: Life for Ray Drecker is not going well. His team loses every game, his wife (Anne Heche) left him, his twins are annoying, his neighbor is harassing him, and his Detroit home just burned down. The idea that his being well-endowed can solve all his problems is a premise previously untried outside of gay porn, but when being played—straight—for laughs can be quite funny.Thomas Jane is quite handsome and is sure to develop a gay following. His credits include dramatic movies Deep Blue Sea, The Mutant Chronicles and The Punisher.

Hung debuted June 28 on HBO, airs on Sunday nights, and stars Thomas Jane, Jane Adams, Anne Heche, Eddie Jemison, Sianoa Smit-McPhee, Charlie Saxton, Rebecca Creskoff, and Loren Lester.

Watch this Trailer video from HBO’s Hung:

"Hung" Trailer
by sfhyu


Check out this video preview of HBO’s Hung:

.

Rev. Gene Robinson, Episcopal Bishop of New Hampshire and the first open, partnered gay person to serve as a diocesan bishop in the church, speaks at 76th General Episcopal Convention 7-13-09 photo

.

USA Today reported that on Monday July 13 the Episcopal Church moved toward affirming their acceptance of gays and lesbians for all roles in the ministry, despite pressure from fellow Anglicans worldwide for a decisive moratorium on consecrating another openly gay bishop.
.

Bishops at the Episcopal General Convention in Anaheim, California, voted 99-45 with two abstentions for a statement declaring "God has called and may call" to ministry gays in committed lifelong relationships. Read the rest of the story here.
.

Shirtless photo of openly gay Hollywood icon Neil Patrick Harris

.

The Hollywood Reporter says CBS says Neil Patrick Harris will host “The 61st Primetime Emmys,” airing live Sept. 20 from the Nokia Theatre. Harris stars in the CBS comedy How I Met Your Mother and is openly gay. He hosted CBS’s Tony Awards broadcast in June, winning critical acclaim. The ratings for that show were the best they’d been in three years.

"We already knew Neil as a fantastic actor and performer, but after blowing everyone away as host of this year's Tony Awards, we couldn't think of anyone better to emcee the television industry's biggest award show," said Nina Tassler, president, CBS Entertainment. "He is not only engaging as a host, but has great instincts when it comes to live television."Emmy nominations will be announced tomorrow, Thursday July 16. "I'm looking forward to the challenge of the show—adding my own voice to it, while honoring the nominees and the entire year in television," Harris said. "But which voice to choose? I'm torn between gangsta, foppish Brit, and robot. Really proud of my robot. We'll see what happens on the night."
.

In case you missed it, watch this video of Neil singing at the end of the 2009 Tony Awards:

.

.

The San Francisco Zoo's gay penguin couple, Harry and Pepper, in happier times photo

.

And then Harry met Linda . . . The SF Examiner recently reported some very sad news for the gay community, although ex-gay ministers are probably dancing in the streets. The San Francisco Zoo’s long-term same-sex Magellanic penguin couple, Harry and Pepper, have called it quits. Apparently, a conniving female came between them.

The couple’s relationship began in 2003 and the breakup came as a shock to the couple’s zookeepers because Harry and Pepper, had long seemed one of the zoo’s happiest avian partnerships, even raising a baby together just last year. “Of all of the parents that year, they were the best,” zoo keeper Anthony Brown said. “They took very good care of their chick. He ended up being the largest chick on the island.”

Photo of newly wed penguins Harry the Heartbreaker, left, and Linda the Slut, right, at the San Francisco Zoo

But this year, after Linda’s lover, Fig, passed away during the winter, Harry was seen in Fig’s old burrow spending time with Linda, Brown said. Then one day, Harry and Linda approached Pepper’s pen and confronted Pepper. Harry began attacking Pepper violently and the three ultimately had to be separated, Brown said.

Harry and Linda successfully nested this year and eventually Pepper was returned to the penguin exhibit from a bachelor pad at the Avian Conservation Center, where he quietly took up his old residence. Zookeepers and fans are waiting with baited breath to see what might happen next.

“That’s the big question,” Brown said. “It’s moulting season in late July and early August, and around that time we see couples getting shaken up. It’ll be interesting to see if Harry spends any of that time with Pepper. We’ll have to wait and see.”

Photo of Lithuania President Dalia Grybauskaite, seen here speaking to reporters July 13 2009 will be required to sign anti-gay bill within 3 days

USA Today reported Lithuania's Parliament on Tuesday approved a censorship bill that aims to keep information about homosexuality away from children, angering gay rights activists who called the measure homophobic. Vowing to defend family values in the predominantly Catholic nation, lawmakers overturned a presidential veto on the legislation, which bans publicly disseminating material deemed harmful to the mental health and "intellectual or moral development" of minors. While critics said the text violated the freedom of speech and international standards of human rights, others said the vague wording would make it difficult to enforce.

"This is absurd. I cannot even imagine how they will implement this law," said Dainius Radzevicius, chairman of the Lithuanian Journalists Union. Lithuania's former president rejected the bill before he left office last week, but lawmakers voted 87-6 on Tuesday to override his veto. Forty-eight lawmakers either abstained or were absent in the 141-member legislature. It takes effect after the new president, Dalia Grybauskaite, signs it into law, which she is required to do within three days.

Supporters said the measure was necessary to defend traditional family values in the former Soviet republic of 3.4 million people, which joined the European Union and NATO in 2004.
.
"We have finally taken a step which will help Lithuania raise healthy and mentally sound generations unaffected by the rotten culture that is now overwhelming them," said Petras Grazulis, a lawmaker who co-sponsored the bill. Grazulis, of the right-wing populist Order and Justice Party, is also seeking a total ban of homosexuality in the Baltic country. Lithuania has banned gay pride parades for years.

Amnesty International issued this statement of condemnation: "The law classifies public information about homosexuality and bisexuality alongside material that portrays physical or psychological violence and the display of dead or mutilated bodies. Also prohibited is material that 'encourages gambling, encourages and suggests participation in the games of chance, lotteries and other games that imply easy win' or 'promotes bad eating, sanitary and physical passivity habits'."

It's worth mentioning that, according to the Word Health Organization, Lithuania has the highest suicide rate of any country in the civilized world. What does that say about its archaic response to homosexuality?

Lady Gaga photo from her official website

The Hollywood Reporter says Lady Gaga just became the third artist in the 16-year history of the Mainstream Top 40 airplay chart to collect three No. 1 songs from a debut album. “LoveGame” rose 2-1, marking Lady Gaga's third No. 1, following “Just Dance” (two weeks) and “Poker Face” (five weeks). The three songs appear on her top five Billboard 200 album, The Fame. The set has sold 1,162,000 copies to date, according to Nielsen SoundScan.
.

The innovative, gay-friendly singer-songwriter, born Stefani Germanotta, joins just two prior artists in accomplishing the triumphant triple play. In 1993-94, Ace Of Base reigned consecutively on Mainstream Top 40 with three cuts from its debut set The Sign: "All That She Wants," the title cut (No. 1 for a chart-record 14 weeks) and "Don't Turn Around." In 2002-03, Avril Lavigne repeated the feat with a trio of tracks from her debut release Let Go: "Complicated" (eight weeks), "Sk8er Boi" (one week) and "I'm With You" (four weeks).

.

On the Billboard Hot 100, "Just Dance" spent three weeks at No. 1, and "Poker Face" led for one frame. As of last week, "LoveGame" was bulleted at No. 5 on the Hot 100, its highest ranking to date. Check out Lady Gaga’s official website for lots of fun stuff. You'll find a couple of videos on this website of her singing here and here.

Sen. Kirtsten Gillibrand of New York stands beside fired Lt. Dan Choi

365 Gay: News reported July 13 that Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) may introduce a bill in the Senate later this week to put an 18-month moratorium on discharges under Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. It would be the first time since the vote on the military ban in 1993 that Senators would be forced to publicly state their stand on gays and lesbians serving in the military. Jason Bellini reports in the Daily Beast that Gillibrand may introduce her amendment on Tuesday to the Defense reauthorization bill. Senator Gillibrand was appointed by New York Governor Patterson to take Hillary Clinton’s Senate seat after Clinton became Secretary of State.

“If the amendment were to pass, gay-rights leaders expect it would stand a strong chance of being approved by the House and could be signed into law by President Obama, who has expressed his desire for the ban to be lifted,” The Daily Beast said. “Rep. Patrick Murphy is trying to build support for a bill that has already been introduced in the House that would repeal Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”
.

Chan Lowe, an editorial cartoonist, drew this picture, which is featured on the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network website

According to 365 Gay: News, the Palm Center at the University of California in Santa Barbara has compiled a list of Nations allowing gays to serve openly in military. As of today, 299 servicemembers have been fired from the U.S. Military since President Barack Obama took office. The enlightened countries are as follows:

Austria
Belgium
Britain
Canada
Czech Republic
Denmark
Estonia
Finland
France
Germany
Ireland
Israel
Italy
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Netherlands
New Zealand
Norway
Slovenia
South Africa
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
Uruguay

Closeup photo of Gypsy Romance Bearded Iris with blue beard from the author's free flower photo website http://www.freefishcaretips.com/photos61

Also visit http://www.galechesterwhittington.com for free humor, short stories, poems, and book excerpts from the award-winning gay author

==copyright 2009==