DONATE TO LA*SURFPUNK HOLLYWOOD
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
WORK!
The subpoena of the President is necessary for the defense to prove that Defendants were following and obeying lawful orders or directives by their President and Commander in Chief, and were therefore under an obligation and authority to act as they did in order to pressure him - in a non-violent, visible way - on this important public issue. In addition, these statements support the contention that Defendants were acting out of necessity, in order to prevent discrimination and greater harm to gay servicemembers now serving.
SAY WHAT?
"I've got a very, very graphic scene coming up that I shot with a man. I'm not a prude. I'm from Sweden, and it's different there. If it makes sense, I'll do nudity, and it's made sense every single time I'm naked on the show. And I love to be naked. It's kind of liberating," quips Alexander Skarsgard.
THE SUN GOES 'ROUND THE MOON
ICE KING DETHRONED
“It’s amazing,” Berdych said. “To play on this stadium, to play such a great player as Roger is, to come here and be a winner, this is really amazing for me.”
Berdych, a hard-serving 24-year-old from the Czech Republic, had never gotten past the Round of 16 at a major championship until this year. He reached the semifinals at the French Open last month, before losing to Robin Soderling.
Federer said in a news conference after the match that he was playing with two previously undisclosed injuries. He said that his right leg hurt and his back stiffened during a tournament earlier this month in Halle, Germany. He said both injuries flared up as this tournament wore on.
“It’s just uncomfortable,” Federer said. “Obviously, I’m unhappy with the way I’m playing. You can’t play freely.”
While Federer had left the court graciously, his news conference played out differently. He dismissed questions regarding his two consecutive Grand Slam quarterfinal flameouts. He said that Soderling played elite tennis at the French Open to beat him and here, Federer said, he “gave away this match.”
Because of the injuries, Federer plans to take at least a two-week vacation. When asked if he would watch the final, he said no.
Someone else asked if he could still dominate the men’s tour the way that he once had.
“If I’m healthy, I can handle these guys,” Federer said.
With that, a second week at Wimbledon marked by upsets now had its greatest one to date. Gone was Federer, departing in the quarterfinals for the second straight Grand Slam tournament after registering a record 23 consecutive appearances in Grand Slam semifinals. It is the first time in eight years he has missed reaching the semifinals at Wimbledon, a tournament he has won six times
Federer lost the first set but rallied to win the second set. Berdych looked uncomfortable, awkward and bumbling at the net, and Federer hit his groundstrokes shorter, trying to draw Berdych in.
On his own serve, Federer held Berdych at bay, with pinpoint control and typical precision. But Berdych regained control. He seized the third set, 6-1, and captured a 23-stroke rally that had Federer hollering to the heavens afterward.
Berdych earned an early service break in the fourth set and never yielded control, serving for the set at 5-4 and fending off some last-gasp rallies from Federer.
LANDON & LETTERMAN
7-0
"In a 7-0 ruling, the court on Wednesday ruled that the 2006 constitutional amendment was properly put to voters in a statewide referendum. The court rejected a lawsuit that claimed the amendment violated a rule that limits referendum questions to a single subject. The lawsuit, filed by a voter opposed to the amendment, argued that gay marriage and civil unions were two different subjects. Justice Michael Gableman says both sentences 'carry out the same general purpose of preserving the legal status of marriage in Wisconsin as between only one man and one woman.'
SCARY MARY
Pediatric endocrinologist Maria New—of the Mount Sinai School of Medicine and Florida International University—isn't just trying to prevent lesbianism by treating pregnant women with an experimental hormone. She's also trying to prevent the births of girls who display an "abnormal" disinterest in babies, don't want to play with girls' toys or become mothers, and whose "career preferences" are deemed to "masculine." Unbelievable.
Two things: Gay people have been stressing out about a day arriving when scientists developed treatments to prevent homosexuality. You can read about the preventing gay sheep freak out here, you can read about Twilight of the Golds here, and I recall—but can't quickly find a link for—a "fellow" at the Family Research Council or the American Family Association who backed in-utero hormone treatments to prevent homosexuality. Well, here we are—the day appears to have arrived. Now what are we going to do about it?
And will the Republicans on the Judiciary Committee invite Maria New to testify at Elana Kagan's confirmation hearings? New could argue that Kagan—childless, unmarried Kagan—is unfit to serve on our highest court because her "low maternal interest" pegs her as abnormal, well outside the "maternal mainstream." Maybe GOP senators would be mollified if Kagan knocked back a few bottles of dex during her confirmation hearings?
“Gender-related behaviors, namely childhood play, peer association, career and leisure time preferences in adolescence and adulthood, maternalism, aggression, and sexual orientation become masculinized in 46,XX girls and women with 21OHD deficiency [CAH]. These abnormalities have been attributed to the effects of excessive prenatal androgen levels on the sexual differentiation of the brain and later on behavior.” Nimkarn and New continue: “We anticipate that prenatal dexamethasone therapy will reduce the well-documented behavioral masculinization...” It seems more than a little ironic to have New, one of the first women pediatric endocrinologists and a member of the National Academy of Sciences, constructing women who go into “men’s” fields as “abnormal.” And yet it appears that New is suggesting that the “prevention” of “behavioral masculinization” is a benefit of treatment to parents with whom she speaks about prenatal dex. In a 2001 presentation to the CARES Foundation (a videotape of which we have), New seemed to suggest to parents that one of the goals of treatment of girls with CAH is to turn them into wives and mothers.
SHEAR EFFECT
NUCLEAR NOLE
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
BIRTHDAY WISHES
FINED RELIEF
Monday, June 28, 2010
PHOTO SLOP
NOLE THE BARBARIAN
SURF STUD
NYC PRIDE 2010
BALLS & BOIS
HEINOUS & HORRENDOUS
SOPEL & STANLEY
Sunday, June 27, 2010
YAHOO GIVING US PROPS FOR PRIDE
Yahoo is showing the Pride colors in a ribbon under its icon.
Click on the logo and one jumps to a special Pride page.
Saturday, June 26, 2010
SO SMOKIN
HAPPY PRIDE NYC
THERE'S A HO IN HOUSTON
TOP BILLING
Friday, June 25, 2010
RELIG-DICULOUS
The painting named "Allegory of the Virgin of Carmen," was concluded 12 years ago by Dominican artist Roberto Flores. The artwork adorns the interior of the church of “Our Lady of Carmen” in the mountain community of Jarabacoa, an agricultural and tourist center located in the Dominican Republic. The priest Johnny Duran sparked the controversy surrounding the painting, after promoting the adoption by the Jarabacoa City Council of a resolution that revokes an earlier statement by the same council that designated the mural as municipal heritage. Explaining his reason to revoke the previous decision and destroy the mural, the priest argues that the church congregation feels uncomfortable by the painting and that the mural does not inspire religious sentiments because the angels there depicted have a “diabolical, homosexual look” in their faces. Further, he contends that it is not clear whether the angels are male or female.
TOM FORD PART DEUX
SLOWBAMA
The absence of a position from the Justice Department in favor of expanding civil rights is as shocking as the absence of a coherent White House policy on gay issues. There is no senior policy person at the White House whose primary responsibility is gay rights. And there is no gay person in Mr. Obama's inner circle of advisers. That matters when trying to get attention for issues in an already overcrowded agenda, and the result is obvious. It's true that this president is no George W. Bush, or John McCain, for that matter. He signed into law a long-sought amendment to the federal hate-crimes statute, which added sexual orientation as a protected class. Many cabinet agencies have taken steps to make their rules and regulations more gay-friendly, most significantly with respect to issues like hospital visitation and, earlier this week, some aspects of family medical leave. That's all good news. Mr. Obama entered office with greater immediate challenges confronting him than most. But after eight years of benign neglect (at best) from Washington, and a campaign in which Mr. Obama promised to be our champion, gay Americans had good reason to expect more from this president, and now are understandably frustrated."