Category: gay

Male Full Frontal Nudity on Netflix: Joaquin Ferreira; 15 Sex Toys; Closeted, Gay, and the NFL

Male Full Frontal Nudity on Netflix: Joaquin Ferreira

If you do a simple search for male full front nudity on Netflix, some things show up, but it’s not vast. You have to be more detailed…at least that’s what I’ve found.

With that said, there’s a Netflix series titled, Club de Cuervos. One of the stars is Joaquin Ferreira. There’s supposed to be male full frontal at certain points in the show. I haven’t seen it yet, but I do plan to watch. Not just because of the full frontal. I’d like to find something decent to watch on Netflix that doesn’t date back to the year 2000.

Yes, he’s got it. Ferreira is, shall we say, very well endowed…and that’s just in his flaccid state. Of course, screenshots of Joaquín’s nude scenes from Club de Cuervos have already found their way onto the Internet. Check out the NSFW images over on Latin Times. Don’t be surprised if you find yourself suddenly craving chorizo after viewing them.

You can check the rest of it out here. Side note: the link to Latin Times in the article didn’t work for me. I tried another link that didn’t work either. But, here you go. This one does work. You’re welcome.

Update: I did check it out last night and it looks like a great show. But it is subtitled. While I love subtitled films and TV shows, I’ll probably save this one for later in the year. I’m editing this week and the last thing I need to do is read more during my down time 🙂

15 Sex Toys

Here’s an article that talks about 15 different sex toys that are supposedly better than a boyfriend.

Number 5 is about the 10 Function Vibrating Anal Wand…ten functions!!

5. 10 Function Vibrating Anal Wand

If you have control issues, then you’re going to want something super flexible. The 10 function anal wand bends in every direction you desire. The 10 different vibration patterns make this toy more satisfying than 10 Grindr dates combined
– See more at: http://www.thegailygrind.com/2016/04/06/15-sex-toys-that-are-better-than-having-a-boyfriend/#sthash.tL9TvhhV.dpuf

Because who doesn’t want to feel like Harry Potter during a self-pleasure session.

If you have control issues, then you’re going to want something super flexible. The 10 function anal wand bends in every direction you desire. The 10 different vibration patterns make this toy more satisfying than 10 Grindr dates combined. – See more at: http://www.thegailygrind.com/2016/04/06/15-sex-toys-that-are-better-than-having-a-boyfriend/#sthash.tL9TvhhV.dpuf

You can read about the other 14 here. But I actually do like this web site a lot. You might want to check out the entire site while you’re there.

Closeted, Gay, and the NFL

A guy named Brendon Ayanbadejo is claiming that there are NFL players who are gay and we don’t know about them.

We already knew closeted players are out there, but Ayanbadejo’s comments to TMZ confirm that some of the league’s most recognizable names are waiting for the right moment to come out.

Until now, Michael Sam is still the only person to be openly gay while on an NFL team. And that hasn’t worked out so well for him.

You can read it all here, which I highly suggest, especially those of you who think Michael Sam has it easy.

According to this article, one of the reasons more don’t come out is because the press always makes such a big deal out of it.

And, once again, some idiot in the comments thinks that being gay is all about who you sleep with, which of course it isn’t. But the article itself is worth reading.

The Rainbow Detective Agency Rancho Mirage

In Print and E-book

Print version

You can find Rancho Mirage here as an e-book

If you have control issues, then you’re going to want something super flexible. The 10 function anal wand bends in every direction you desire. The 10 different vibration patterns make this toy more satisfying than 10 Grindr dates combined. – See more at: http://www.thegailygrind.com/2016/04/06/15-sex-toys-that-are-better-than-having-a-boyfriend/#sthash.tL9TvhhV.dpuf

The Arrangement

Amazon

If you have control issues, then you’re going to want something super flexible. The 10 function anal wand bends in every direction you desire. The 10 different vibration patterns make this toy more satisfying than 10 Grindr dates combined. – See more at: http://www.thegailygrind.com/2016/04/06/15-sex-toys-that-are-better-than-having-a-boyfriend/#sthash.tL9TvhhV.dpuf

Gay Slang Dictionary; Simon & Schuster & Judith Regan; Matthew Camp Sex Scenes

Gay Slang Dictionary

When someone pointed me to this link a while back, I knew I’d wind up posting about it eventually. It’s a web site that’s a gay slang dictionary and I’ve found myself lost there more than a few times reading terms and phrases I never knew existed. From the way it looks, they keep it updated, too.

Here’s one from the “P” section:

paint the bucket

colloq.

Anal intercourse.

And there are plenty more where that came from. You can check it out here, for anything about gay slang you always wanted to know, from A – Z. Once you start browsing it’s hard to stop.

Just one more from the “D” section:

dass

Pomo word for man-woman, homosexual [his body is a man but his spirit is a woman.].

Simon & Schuster & Judith Regan

The only reason this is of interest for many is because of Judith Regan’s past. I’ll get to that below with a link. But first, Simon & Schuster is forming some kind of new distribution in partnership with Judith Regan’s imprint, Regan Arts.

“We are delighted to welcome Regan Arts and its authors to Simon & Schuster,” stated Steve Black, Vice President, Client Services for Simon & Schuster. ”Our sales and distribution infrastructure are poised to provide them with the best possible service and help them to reach the widest possible audience. We look forward to a very productive partnership.”

You can read more about that, here. But here’s where I think this gets interesting. HarperCollins fired Judith Regan when she started a huge shitstorms with a book and an interview with O. J. Simpson. I remember all this when it went down. Up until that point, Regan wielded a great deal of power in publishing because she usually got results…she knew what she was doing. In many ways, she’s a woman to be admired. But she did screw up big time with this:

HarperCollins announced the dismissal, “effective immediately,” in a two-sentence news release that was issued at about 7 p.m. Eastern time. The announcement was made by Jane Friedman, president and chief executive of HarperCollins, who has long had a strained relationship with Ms. Regan.

The Simpson book was to give an account of how he might have murdered his former wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald L. Goldman.

You can read more about this O.J. Simpson debacle here. What I find the most interesting about this announcement about the partnership with Regan and Simon & Schuster is that old publishing always reminds me of old boy Republican politics in a way. They’re all still in bed with each other, and they just keep pushing and recycling the same old faces (and ideas) forward, but never really seem to get anywhere. You never have to wonder why Amazon always seems to get what it wants. I know it was just rumor a few weeks ago, but I’m starting to think that Amazon will actually wind up owning them one day.

Maybe it’s time for some new blood?

Matthew Camp Sex Scenes

These days it seems as if there’s always something new popping up in gay culture. This time it’s go-go dancer Matthew Camp talking about how much he loves to do sex scenes. He talks about a film he’s starring in titled, Getting Go. It’s supposedly about obsessing and crushes.

‘The film is a story about infatuation, love and the internet,’ he said.

‘Some of the more interesting tones in this film deal with very interesting ideas of assimilation of the gay community into the mainstream.

‘I think that the general feeling of this movie is very adult and educated and open, there is no awkward coming out story as a focus.’

Sounds interesting, especially the assimilation part. I hear a lot about that and I’m not sure it’s something that’s ever going to happen completely with gay men. How do you take the most integral part of a gay man away? I’m not sure it can happen. Right now assimilation seems trendy. I guess only time will tell with that.

This makes me wonder, though. It’s not something I would have said while promoting a new movie.

‘I like that there are a growing number of gay characters in media,’ he says.

‘I really loved the way that the relationship was portrayed between the two gay characters in Cloud Atlas. The characters were flawed and lovable.’

In 2012 I posted about Cloud Atlas and the “yellowface” scenes that were highly offensive to many people. I found them offensive. I also mentioned how poorly this was treated by some associated with Cloud Atlas.

You can read more here about Matthew Camp and how much he loves doing sex scenes. There’s a clip and I have to admit that it does look interesting. I hope it’s distributed well. The problem a lot of us are having these days is that we’re all caught in between on demand, streaming, and DVD rentals online. Gone are the days where indie video stores used to stock these films all the time and we didn’t have to look too hard.

Cowboy Christmas Miracle

by Ryan Field

Amazon Link

Gay on Daytime TV; Fashion Supports Russian Gays; Pat Robertson Likes Gay Friends; Obama’s Birth Certificate

Gay on Daytime TV

Guy Wilson played a gay part on Days of Our Lives and he’s saying that he felt privileged to do it. He also says the gay storyline was true, true love.

‘When we filmed that episode and the days leading up to that, with each day it became increasingly powerful for us,’ Wilson told Gay Star News at the recent GLAAD Media Awards in Los Angeles where the show was named outstanding daytime drama.

‘The actual day of filming it, there was no acting. We didn’t have to act,’ he said. ‘It was simultaneously one of the most powerful moments I’ve had as a performer or otherwise and also one of the most fluid moments I’ve had as an actor.’

I normally would get a little irritated by something like this. It almost sounds as if it’s shocking to think that gay men can share that kind of love. But I’m glad he gets it. And I’m even happier because of the stigma that’s always been attached to being gay I actually think this is a step in the right direction, and I hope moving toward a time when we’ll never feel the need to single out things like this again because they are gay related.

You can read more here. So far, no one has bothered to comment on this.

Fashion Supports Russian Gays

This is probably one of the most important pieces I’ve read all week. Fashion icons and celebrities are banning together to support the injustices that have been happening to LGBTI people in Russia.

The Proud To Protest project was the brainchild of English fashion designer Gareth Pugh and SHOWstudio photographer Nick Knight.

The Olympics are over, Johnny Weir got his paycheck, and the mainstream media has moved on to other topics that will increase readership and ratings. But the fight for equality is still ongoing in Russia, and LGBTI people there are dealing with things those of us here in the US can’t even imagine on our worst day.

You can read more here.

Pat Robertson Likes Gay Friends

It’s often difficult to parse things like this, so I’m not even going to try. Anti-gay US televangelist, Pat Robertson, who has clearly stated being gay is a sin also thinks it’s okay to keep gay friends.

‘You don’t turn the light out just because you disagree with somebody,’ Robertson said on Wednesday during a broadcast of his show The 700 Club.

‘The Lord’s not going to punish you for having homosexuals as your friends. But I do think that when you read the Bible very carefully, homosexuality is condemned.’

Actually, I think we all should thank Pat for being so kind. And tell him we feel the same way. I would encourage all of my gay friends to embrace as many ill-informed Christians that think being gay is a sin as they can. Pat is right. You don’t turn the light out just because you disagree with somebody. And, no one is going to stop inviting you to cool dinner parties for having right wing Christian friends. But I do think that when you read the Bible very carefully you’ll find that there are so many different ways you can interpret it the possibilities are endless.

But that’s not all Pat said.

‘There are some very, very creative homosexual people,’ Robertson said. ‘They’re in the fashion industry, they’re in design, they’re in various types of creative arts.

And you would almost need to leave the world not to associate with folks like that.’

I guess no one told him about Michael Sam, you know, the professional football player. Or the guys I posted about last weekend who belong to a gym in New York that focuses only on boxing.

You can read more here.

Obama’s Birth Certificate

I thought all this had died down after it was discovered that the President’s biography on one of his books stated that he was born in Africa. I really did think that was the end of it. After some debate, literary agent Miriam Goderich of Dystel & Goderich who still represent the President stated that she screwed up big time and she was the one who actually wrote the President’s bio for him back then. Aside from the fact that this was a HUGE mistake on her part even if she was young and painfully dumb, she admitted this openly and everything simmered down again. Or at least I thought it had.

According to a report issued by the Associate Press, an Alabama Supreme Court judge stated that Barack Obama should have to prove that he was born in the United States, and that he was eligible to be on the state ballot in 2012.

You can read more here. I really don’t know how accurate this is, so don’t take it to heart completely. I couldn’t find anything else with a simple search and I’m too lazy to go to snopes right now. I just thought it was interesting that it’s still being discussed after all this time, and interesting only in a general sense.

I find it all just too unbelievable, especially in this day an age when privacy is almost impossible and no one can seem to hide anything. One of the reasons why some really great people don’t run for President is because they don’t want this kind of scrutiny in their lives. You really do have to be above reproach, and even then they’ll make things up about you.

Nude Gay Resort; Best Gay Sex Stories

Nude Gay Resort

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:World_Naked_Bike_RIde.jpg

I think a lot of things like this are usually underplayed for various reasons. But we’ve been to many gay resorts over the years and most have been clothing optional. And there’s always a few at these places who choose not to wear clothing. But this story is all about a nude gay resort specially geared toward nudity. It’s a detailed story about a gay guy who went to his first nude resort, with all the surprises that come along with it. It’s also very well written.

I looked around and spotted an empty condom wrapper on the ground nearby. I pointed it out to him, and an empty used condom not too far away. Mike said that it wasn’t that uncommon, that this area used for “turning tricks with your Johns.” I didn’t understand, I was so naive, and Mike hesitated and then explained that when I wanted to turn a trick, we could walk out here for some privacy and use the bench. I started to get the picture, that this was expected, and not unusual.

The light slowly dawned on me as I looked at his bronze arms and perfect tan that he was talking about gay tricks, not straight prostitution and that all I had seen here was all male related. No hint or mention of women at all.

You can read more here. You will have to login, but it’s free and it only takes a moment and the entire site is interesting.

Best Gay Sex Story

It’s Saturday night. It’s cold and there’s another snow storm coming. A web site like this might not make anyone feel better about the weather, but it certainly will take their minds off it for a short time. It’s a place where people go to talk about their best gay sex story. Nothing held back either.

Here’s what I’m talking about.

My best personal story would be when I was 21 & in the Navy, before any of you stud puppies were even around…

I had to drive my Lieutenant from the Subic Bay Naval Base (in the Philippines) to a security conference at the Clark Air Force Base. The conference was cut short by a day. So, he asked if I wanted to go back to the base or kill time. I replied: You’re the boss Lt..

We drove around a bit in some of the countryside. Then he asked: So, if I’m the boss, as you say, how far are you willing to go for a boss’ request?

Okay! I knew exactly what he had in mind. He was just a few years older than me and a very hot looking man of Italian-American ancestry.

I replied: Sir, just make a request & see how far I am willing to honor it.

You can read much more here. It’s eighteen and over, too.

Photo from wiki commons…

Amazon Book Returns; Naked Men in Paris; Blake Skjellerup, Gay, Olympics

Amazon Book Returns

I once wrote a much longer post about Amazon’s return policy on e-books, here. I went into details about several things and I’m only going to link right now. But the reason I’m posting about this again is because I saw something interesting that had never occurred to me before with e-book returns. On social media, I noticed someone mention that an e-book where all the proceeds were going to charity was returned.

From my original post. This is Amazon’s return policy.

Books you purchase from the Kindle Store are eligible for return and refund if we receive your request within seven days of the date of purchase. Once a refund is issued, you’ll no longer have access to the book. To request a refund and return content, visit Manage Your Kindle, Click the Actions button next to the title you’d like to return, and select Return for refund, or contact customer service.
As I said, I’m on the fence about this for many reasons I’m not getting into right now. One reason I’m against the return policy is I do nothing on impulse. I know what I’m buying, why I’m buying it, and I rarely return anything, including books. But not everyone is that focused. I get that. In some cases I can see why someone would want to return a book. Frankly, I’d love to have the ability to return movies.

But to return a book where all the money is going to charity is not only shabby, the person who does this has a cold heart that will most likely melt in hell someday. I’m a big believer in karma and metaphysics. I’m in the process of learning how to do online curses…on a small scale. Karma always comes back to get you. And when you’re laying there and suffering yourself someday, and you will be, make no mistake about that, you’ll remember the day you returned that e-book where all the money went to charity.

Naked Men in Paris

If you haven’t seen the naked men exhibit in Paris at Paris’ Musée d’Orsay Guy Cogeval there’s still time to check it out.

The exhibit running from 24 September 2013 until 2 January 2014 will include over 200 pieces that range from classical pieces like paintings and sculptures to contemporary works by gay artists including Pierre et Gilles, David Lachapelle and George Platt Lynes.

I’m personally a huge fan of George Platt Lynes. I used to sell art books about him when I owned my gallery in New Hope, and I had one artist…a seventy year old straight woman…who would sculpt small figures based on Lynes photos. They were her muses, so to speak. Her focus was often on the penis.

I think the male nude as an art form still has a way to go, especially in the US where anything penis related is often considered taboo. There are also psychological factors, too, and penis envy isn’t just a theory for some people. It’s a way of life.

You can read more here.

Blake Skjellerup, Gay, Olympics

Speed skater, Blake Skjellerup, recently put in a bid to be part of the Olympics in Russia this winter. He’d also planned on wearing a rainbow pin in public, in Russia, to show his support for equal rights. Unfortunately, he didn’t qualify.

He was painfully close missing by just one spot. In all, 32 automatic bids were handed out and Skjellerup finished 33rd, according to Outsports.com.

But not all hope is lost. Skjellerup is the first alternate and could still compete if one of the qualifying nations does not send a skater.

They have until 10 January to notify the International Olympic Committee.

At least he’s standing up for what he believes in. I’m still for the boycott. You can read more here.

Cory Booker’s Woman; Erotic Romance Book Review; Porch Swing Gay Romance

Cory Booker’s Woman

I’ve posted about Newark, NJ Mayor, Cory Booker, in the past, mainly because he’s running for the US Senate right now, he’s a confirmed bachelor, he’s in his forties, and there have been insinuations that he might be gay. He’s denied these insinuations. So far, he’s absolutely not gay.

Cory Booker is also the consummate politician, he’s been preparing for much bigger things than mayor of a NJ city for most of this adult life, and I have no doubt whatsoever that he will win the senate seat this fall, and he will continue to move forward because he’s such a consummate politician.

However, it’s interesting to read a few recent incidents involving Booker, and a female stripper from the west coast who considers herself, “Stripper Model Weirdo.” It’s really all very harmless, and nothing like other sex scandals we’ve seen with other politicians. It seems this stripper woman is somewhat infatuated with Booker and Booker has been responding to her in a friendly way.

At a news conference Thursday, Booker said he communicates with people who send “kindness” his way and he doesn’t “study peoples’ profile(s).”

“That’s really what this is, is me responding to people, which I do every single day,” he said. “And frankly, finally, I just have to say, it is all about just that, is about listening to people and engaging with people no matter what their profession.

“I’ve tweeted people back from all different backgrounds,” he added. “It’s not something I pay attention to. But when somebody’s kind to me, I often say thank you.”

You can read more here. And in this article you can read some of the tweets the stripper woman sent to Booker and actually see a few photos of her. It’s as entertaining as it is creepy.

“I want @CoryBooker to plow me through the night . . . ” she wrote in one tweet first reported on the website BuzzFeed.

I guess this is even more proof that Cory Booker isn’t gay, not if he’s tweeting to a female stripper. And frankly I like Booker, and I’m glad he’s not gay. Because if he were gay, and he’s been hiding it all this time, I would lose all respect for him at this point in my life. I’ve never been one of those people who believe everyone should come out of the closet at one time, and I’ve always believed that coming out of the closet is a highly personal matter and not everyone is ready to do it. I even think it’s okay if a man or woman spends his or her entire life in the closet, quietly and without attention. I feel sorry for them, but I have empathy for them and I understand that. In my own personal life, I even support a few closeted gay men all the time.

But when it comes to politicians, and others in the public eye who are setting examples for younger gay people, I have no patience anymore for high profile liars, including politicians or anyone else who wants to promote the shame that’s always been associated with being gay, with denial of the fact. And that includes all politicians, Democrat and Republican, who try to scam us into believing it’s wrong to be gay. The lives of too many decent gay men and women have been ruined with that kind of mind set.

I know the old argument is that “it shouldn’t matter” one way or the other if a politician, or another public figure, is gay or not. And in a perfect world I would agree with that. In a hundred years, I hope this really is the case. However, right now, that’s not how it works. We are fighting too hard for equal rights. It does matter in some cases, especially if you’re in the public eye and we’re depending on honesty. Younger gay people need role models, too, and they aren’t going to get positive signals from those who continue to hide being gay based on the concept of “it shouldn’t matter.”

It matters.

Erotic Romance Book Review

I may or may not have posted about the following book review I received last spring from On Top Down Under Book Reviews for my stand alone short story, Down the Basement. I know I have posted about Down the Basement a few times over the years, mainly because it’s always surprised me at how well that story was received. When I say I’m surprised, I’m talking more like stunned. When I wrote that story a long time ago and submitted it to a Cleis Press anthology I never thought anyone would even notice it. This is truly one of those deals in publishing where you never know what to expect. It was even part of a Lambda Award Winning book, which I posted about here.

In any event, it constantly surprises me. And this review is truly one of the most entertaining reviews for Down the Basement I’ve read so far. As a side note, I didn’t solicit this review, and I most certainly didn’t pay for it.

It’s Halloween. There’s going to be a frat house costume party and Rush has himself all ready to go – 6 inch black stiletto fuck-me heels, check, black lace-up corset, check, black, tight skirt, check again, black thong-sock, yep. Rush is tanned, terrific and ready to go to the frat house party. He’s not cruising for guys, just wanting to feel sexy all dressed up with somewhere to go.

On the way some guys scope Rush out, ‘pussy-hounds’, commenting they would like to get some of what she’s got. First test passed. Rush looks and feels like the woman she wants to be tonight.

You can read the entire review at the link above. And take the time to check out the rest of the web site while you’re there. It’s a great site, with a strong voice.

As a side note, I post about reviews sometimes, but I don’t always remember to offer this one little hint to other authors who write gay erotica or gay erotic romance. If you’re going to solicit professional online blogs or web sites where book reviews are done for free, please take the time to check out the kinds of books they review. In other words, you don’t want to submit gay erotica or gay erotic romance to this book review site because they don’t focus on gay erotica, and they know nothing about gay erotica or gay erotic romance. They’re great with mainstream romance and some lighter brands of harmless m/m romance, but their concept of what’s gay (gay culture and gay men) comes from hearsay and text books, not actual experience. Make sure you do the homework and find a book review site that fully understands gay erotica and gay erotic romance, or you might be disappointed. Same thing applies for straight erotica and erotic romance. This information is right there. All you have to do is check out what they’ve reviewed well as compared to what they haven’t enjoyed.

I will be posting a long free excerpt from the sequel to Down the Basement later today, so it’s up for the weekend.

Porch Swing Gay Erotic Romance

I’m not even sure there is such a thing as porch swing gay romance. So rather than going into a long explanation of what I consider a “porch swing” romance novel, I think this explains it well.

Though Nora Roberts’s novels are good any time of year (curled up in bed on a cold night, outside on a porch swing in the crisp fall air), summer is when I find myself reaching for her romances most often.

For me, it’s also a feeling of comfort, with a small town feel…without the billionaires, lavish settings, and elaborate backgrounds that include jets and helicopters. Only I rarely see this in any erotic romance, or even gay erotic romance. And I’ve been guilty as charged because I’ve done more than my share of billionaire themed books. We like that, too, and we like the escape billionaire romances bring to us. We can also curl up and read them on a porch swing.

But sometimes there’s nothing more comforting than curling up on a porch swing and reading a romance that’s set in a small town where everything’s quaint and perfect, and where most old homes have old porch swings themselves. And just because you’re gay doesn’t mean you can’t have that. In fact, I would be willing to bet there are more gay people now living in small quaint towns across America than ever before.

So in the next book I’m writing, the first in a western series for Ravenous Romance, I’ll be focusing on the small fictional town of Glendora, Texas. It’s the most perfect little town I’ve ever written about, where the homes are all Victorian or turn of the century craftsman style, and where everyone’s front yard is stippled with pots of flowers and perfectly round boxwoods. They have town celebrations where everyone gathers to sing and dance. They have old cars they treat with pride and love. They even have a sheriff who maintains the kind of perfect structure all small towns would like to have. And most of all, they are all having sex, especially, in some cases gay sex.

My inspiration for this came from many sources. But mainly it’s because I’ve always wanted to read a porch swing romance with erotica, and I’ve never actually found one I liked. I’m about thirty thousand words into this first book in the series, The Sheriff and the Outlaw, and I’ll be posting free excerpts very soon.

NBA Jason Collins Comes Out of the Closet: Cubs Support Him

NBA star Jason Collins coming out of the closet is significant because it’s the first time an active gay male professional athlete in the US has ever done this. I honestly didn’t know that until now. I thought Billy Bean had done it a while ago, but from what I can see he came out after he stopped playing baseball, not during.

Collins makes this announcement in a recent interview with Sports Illustrated:

“I didn’t set out to be the first openly gay athlete playing in a major American team sport,” Collins says a first-person article. “But since I am, I’m happy to start the conversation. I wish I wasn’t the kid in the classroom raising his hand and saying, ‘I’m different.’ If I had my way, someone else would have already done this. Nobody has, which is why I’m raising my hand.”

Someone has to be first, because I’m certain he’s not the only gay person active in professional sports right now…or in the past. In doing this, and in being so open and honest about it, he’s helping to take away the shame all gay people have been living with for so long. I’m hoping others will follow him and they will stop hiding. And I’m not saying this to single anyone out as gay, or as different. But in doing this men like Collins will help make being gay mean nothing in the future. And being gay will be as normal and accepted as being straight.

In this article, it states the Cubs have been supportive of Collins.

“I think it’s kind of a benign thing,” second baseman Darwin Barney said. “Everyone is connected (to the gay community) in some way, whether it’s a family member or a friend. I have family members that are (gay). That’s the way of life and I don’t think it’s really that big of a deal. I think he’ll be protected just fine and I (wish) the best for him.”

I think this comment from Barney is reflective of the way a lot of people feel nowadays. Others have been just as supportive, including former President Clinton.

“Jason’s announcement today is an important moment for professional sports and in the history of the LGBT community. It is also the straightforward statement of a good man who wants no more than what so many of us seek: to be able to be who we are; to do our work; to build families and to contribute to our communities.”

This is a huge event in gay history. I think when people like Collins do things like this it also helps other closeted gay people realize they aren’t as alone as they think they are, they aren’t as odd as they think they are, and they aren’t the only ones who have weathered the storm so to speak.

Maybe Hollywood will follow the same pattern eventually.

You can read more here.

"Gay" in the Edwardian Era; 101st Anniversary of Titanic Sinking

Although the Titanic actually went down on April 15, 1912, it hit the iceberg on April 14, 1912 and I’ve always considered that the exact date that led to its ultimate demise. And since tomorrow is April 14th, and it’s a Sunday, I figured I would post something now in case I can’t tomorrow. It’s not going to be too long because there’s not much to add about the sinking of the Titanic we don’t already know, and there’s also not much info out there about being gay at the end of the Edwardian Era because no one with any amount of sense would have admitted to it.

And that’s because homosexuality wasn’t discussed openly, it was considered illegal in most places, and those who “practiced” homosexuality lived in fear they would be discovered. I wrote about this in a story I released last year with Loveyoudivine.com titled, “Unmentionable: The Men Who Loved on the Titanic.” I’ll repost the plot description below, but I wanted to add that I took my story to an exaggerated extent where one of the main characters actually dressed up as a woman in order to board the Titanic with his lover and not be questioned about it. The reasons why they did this had a lot to do with the emotional attachment they felt toward each other. Mainly that they wanted to just once see how it would feel to be together like straight people in public, which is something they never really had a chance to do.

I really wanted to focus on that aspect, the part about how difficult it was to be in love with someone and never, NEVER, be able to show it in public…or even take the chance of being seen in public. And unless you know how this feels on a personal level, and have experienced this on a personal level, you are not going to ever understand the full impact of how it defines you. Unfortunately, there are still gay men and women all over the world, including the US, where they can’t take the chance of being seen with the people they love. I’ve even experienced it myself.

Of course what I wrote in “Unmentionable” is pure fiction. But could it have happened? Why not? In those days men who fell in love with other men would have been desperate to spend time together. And being denied the ability to spend time with the person you love in public had to be absolute hell, so my characters devised a plan to find out what it was like to actually travel together openly. And even in this case they weren’t traveling as lovers in public.

As I said above, there isn’t much written about being “gay” in the Edwardian Era anywhere because the information isn’t out there. But just because the information isn’t there doesn’t mean there were no men who loved men in those days. And you can be certain of this, make no mistake, there were, indeed, men who loved other men on the Titanic and no one ever knew about it.

One reviewer on Amazon said this about “Unmentionable”

I love this story because it’s really interesting, and sweet, but also because, I’ve always said that Jack and Rose from Titanic, should either both die, or both live, not what actually happened. 🙂

No spoilers from me on this one. But that review pretty much sums up what I wanted people to get from the story.

One hundred years ago on April 14, 1912, the RMS Titanic hit an iceberg on its way to New York. Though it had been considered unsinkable by all standards, it went down in the cold waters of the Atlantic, taking with it stories of love and romance that weren’t discussed openly in those days. This was especially true with stories of love between two men. One of those hidden stories of the Titanic dealt with the unyielding love and strong romance between a young man named Liam and his older lover, Oliver. Because Oliver was a wealthy business man in America with a great deal of notoriety, the only safe way to bring Liam aboard the Titanic was to dress him in fine women’s clothing and claim he was Oliver’s shy, distant cousin returning to America for the first time in many years. They finally begin to relax when they realize that everyone on the ship believes Liam is a woman, until that fateful night on April 14th when destiny intervened and changed their lives forever.

Here’s link to The New York Times where you can read more about the Titanic.

New Pope’s Previous Stand on Gay Marriage and Adoption

A new Pope has been elected, who will stand as the 266th Pope, and will take the name Pope Francis. He’s a Jesuit, the first Latin American Pope, and he’s from Buenos Aires.

During various interviews this week I’ve watched people in the US express what they’d like to see in a new Pope. One of the most popular wishes was that he bring people together. The other was that he reform some of the pasts rules and regulations. Most people when asked were not hesitant to mention things like birth control, the church’s stand on gay marriage, and divorce. For those who don’t know, the Catholic Church only believes in sex as procreation, they oppose gay marriage in any way, shape, or form, and if you are Catholic (straight) and you get a legal divorce you are excommunicated from the church unless you get a Papal annulment. Getting one of those is about as simple and as realistic as the outfit the Pope wears.

I don’t know how the new Pope feels about all of these things, and more, and I do know that he has to remain true to the doctrine of the church first and foremost. I may respect it, but I don’t have to believe it. Here’s his past stand on contraception, gay marriage and gay adoption:

Amid changing mores on sexuality, including same-sex marriage, Francis’ traditional views have clashed with cultural changes in Argentina. Before the nation legalized same-sex marriage in 2010, Francis called it a “destructive attack on God’s plan.”

At the same time, the new pope is expected to uphold church orthodoxy on sexuality, abortion, marriage and contraception. The same year he said same-sex marriage attacks God’s plan, he also said gay people adopting children is an act of discrimination against children.

The last line is interesting, considering the child abuse scandal within the church, not to mention the cover up and all the Catholic Priests who have been prosecuted and handed sentences that often include prison time. Or, or the millions of dollars they’ve paid in civil law suits. It not only shows how out of touch the man is with respect to the topic, but how disconnected the entire church is with the realities of discrimination and life in general. The acts that children have suffered through the discriminatory practices of the church will go down in the history of the world as an abomination.

Whether or not Pope Francis will change his opinions on these issues remains to be seen. I don’t have high hopes. Nowadays as more gay people let go of the shame they’ve been taught thanks to institutions like the Catholic Church, their straight friends, relatives, and co-workers are also letting go of the shame. So it’s not just about gay people anymore. It’s about the gay nephew, grandson, son, daughter, neighbor, doctor, and so on and so on…

George Clooney’s Sister Talks about Gay Rumors

With the link below, you will be directed to a clip where George Clooney’s sister talks about whether or not he’s gay.

He’s not, according to his sister.

And frankly, I don’t think it’s anyone’s business whether he is or he isn’t gay. That kind of pressure isn’t something I support anymore, not with men or women.

If someone is gay and they are ready to come out, wonderful. But if they aren’t, that’s okay, too…especially if they aren’t really gay.

I’ve learned never to make broad assumptions that are basically none of my business.

http://www.aol.com/video/george-clooneys-sister-confirms-his-sexuality/517533546/?icid=maing-grid7%7Cmaing6%7Cdaily-buzz2%7Csec3_lnk2%7C232109