Today is the 4 year anniversary of the famous President Bush speech declaring, "Mission Accomplished" in Iraq.

I don't think there is really anything else I need to say about this. For an up-to-date death count in Iraq click here.

Recently I took an amazing vacation to an idyllic destination – despite the protests of friends and family. This past February my partner and I spent a month in a tropical paradise - Sri Lanka. I chronicled some of my adventures on this site during my trip but I could probably write so many stories of my time there because it was truly amazing.

Sri Lanka is often in the news because of their tumultuous sectarian conflict that has been waxing and waning since the early1980’s (which made many people worried for our safety while we were there.) The conflict in Sri Lanka overshadows other important work being done on the island.

Now, LGBT people in Milwaukee and the United States can lend a helping hand and reach out internationally to make every community in every country a safe, supportive place to live if you are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning.

One of the highlights of that trip was visiting Equal Ground – Sri Lanka’s gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender equal rights organization. I often tell people that one of the best things about being LGBT is that no matter where I travel when I meet another LGBT person it’s like meeting family. I immediately feel a connection with the other person – almost as if we have been friends for ages. That was exactly how I felt when I met Rosanna Flamer-Caldera who is the Executive Director of Equal Ground.

That’s why my partner and I have made a commitment to raise money for Equal Ground to build upon their very vital work in Sri Lanka. Our original intention was to raise $1000 but I’m confident that with all of your support we can easily raise $2000 for Equal Ground. Several people have already sent in checks after reading the column in Q Life and I’ve pledged a donation of $500. The Milwaukee LGBT Community Center is acting as a fiscal agent so all contributions are tax-deductible. You can donate online HERE or send checks with “Sri Lanka” in the memo to:

Milwaukee LGBT Community Center
315 W. Court Street
Milwaukee, WI 53212

Equal Ground is the only organization doing LGBT work in Sri Lanka. They are currently organizing Sri Lanka’s first ever week long pride event. Hosted in the capital city, Colombo Pride, will run from May 20th-27th, 2007. This unique event is a one-week celebration for the LGBTIQ in a country which still criminalizes homosexuality. Attendance at Columbo Pride has grown exponentially over the years with over 650 participants taking part in 2006.

Rosanna Caldera-Flamer plans to lead the organization - and country - down the road to equal protections for LGBT people. Caldera-Flamer is also the Secretary-General for the International Gay & Lesbian Association (IGLA) where she is working hard on building international collaborations.

Equal Ground has set a financial target of $4000 to cover all expenses related to Colombo Pride. Donations will support Equal Ground’s efforts in making Colombo Pride a success and giving the community a stronger voice in Sri Lanka.

By joining us today you will send an important message and lend a huge helping hand. Many of us enjoy traveling and going to places that are welcoming of us and our relationships but less often do we proactively reach out across borders to assist our LGBT “family” in their times of need.

Equal Ground works very hard to provide for the needs of the community each year. Join me in offering our support for their important work so that every LGBTQ Sri Lankan can - for one day, one week, one lifetime - find their own space to stand up tall and be proud.

This week QZAP celebrated a milestone: they have put 200 queer zines, flyers, comix and paper ephemera online.

The collection currently represents 6 languages, 10 countries, and more than 40 years of documents created by and for queers of all persuasions.

Congrats QZAP!

Party-girl Paris Hilton doesn't read her mail. She signs papers when told - but won't really read what she is signing. Being a socialite, party-girl is a tough job.

A Los Angeles Municipal Court judge ordered Paris to a 45 day sentence to be served in a woman's jail in suburban Lynwood for violating her probation. She is set to start her jail sentence by June 5, 2007.

Paris has a penchant for traffic violations. In January she pleaded no contest for reckless driving from her September 7th arrest in Hollywood where she failed her sobriety test with a blood-alcohol level of 0.08%. Her punishment: 36 months' probation, alcohol education course and $1,500 in fines.

But Paris was on a roll. Failing to enroll in court mandated alcohol education and two traffic stops later Paris lands back in court. Paris claimed she didn't realize her license had been suspended. On January 15 she signed a document stating she was not to drive after she was pulled over by the California Highway Patrol. When she was stopped on February 27th - claiming she didn't realize her license was revoked - the police found the signed paperwork in her glove compartment.

What I don't understand is why she doesn't just hire a driver!?! Or take a cab? It's not like she's gonna go broke anytime soon!

Here's the latest video from MassEquality Education Fund using Wisconsin as a cautionary tale to Massachusetts legislators who must decide whether to advance a constitutional repeal of same-sex marriage to voters. Milwaukee's very own activist-extraordinaire Ray Vahey and Sen. Lena Taylor are featured. Also includes Rep. Mark Pocan and Sen. Mark Miller - both from Madison.

Let's hope that the politicians in Massachusetts vote with their better angels.

You have have missed:
Ray Vahey: The Life & Love of an Activist

DIARRHEA OF THE MOUTH?
Former four-term Wisconsin Governor Tommy Thompson couldn’t wait for the debate to end last week so he could use the bathroom. That’s why he said he would leave it up to an employer to decide whether s/he could decide to fire a non-heterosexual employee if they believed homosexuality was immoral. Well that, and his hearing aid battery had died.

"I've been very sick. ... I was very sick the day of the debate. I had all of the problems with the flu and bronchitis that you have, including running to the bathroom. I was just hanging on. I could not wait until the debate got off so I could go to the bathroom."

The question was, "If a private employer finds homosexuality immoral, should he be allowed to fire a gay worker?"

Makes you wonder what he thought the question was. A clay worker? A grey worker? We may never know…..

LINDSAY “LEAD-FOOT” LOHAN?
Lindsay Lohan is being sued for damages by a photographer over a driving incident in March when she allegedly struck Giovanni Arnold while driving away from a night out in Manhattan in March, damaging his foot.

MITT ROMNEY LOVES THE GAYS! (just kidding)
"This isn‘t just some temporary convenience here on Earth, but we‘re people that are designed to live together as male and female and we‘re gonna have families," he tells interviewer Mike Wallace, according to an excerpt CBS released Friday. "And that, there‘s a great line in the Bible that children are an inheritance of the Lord and happy is he who has or hath his quiver full of them."

FORBES LISTS TOP 15 OVEREXPOSED CELEBRITIES
She’s got pretty good company on the list. Paris Hilton, Lindsay Lohan, Howard K. Stern (Anna Nicole Smith's former lover), and Kevin Federline. But the chart topper is the toxic Britney Spears.

This week, May 12-18, is Milwaukee's Bike to Work Week sponsored by the Bicycle Federation of Wisconsin.

Give your car a break and hop on a bike for the week. Plenty of events happening all week. Trade that car for a hot, sexy summer body compliments of your bicycle!

Tuesday, May 15th - sponsored by Wheel & Sprocket
5:30 pm: Tour of the Oak Leaf Trail to the lakefront
Meet behind the Urban Ecology Center, 1500 E Park Pl

Wednesday, May 16th - sponsored by WE Energies
Noon & 5:30 pm: Tours of the Hank Aaron State Trail
Meet at 6th & Canal St

Thursday, May 17th - sponsored by Wheel & Sprocket
5:30 pm: Tour of the Oak Leaf Trail to the New Berlin Rec Trail
Meet at the Outpost in Wauwatosa, 7000 W State St

Friday, May 18th
6:30 pm: On-bike scavenger hunt
Begins in the Media Garden across from 1758 N. Water St

7:30 pm: Bike-in Movie "Breaking Away"
Begins in the Media Garden

BREAKFAST STATIONS
Monday through Friday, 7-9 am: Free coffee and bakery available for morning bike commuters at the following locations:

Alterra Foundry (170 S First St)
Sigma Environmental Group on the Hank Aaron State Trail (1300 W Canal St)
Urban Ecology Center on the Oak Leaf Trail (1500 E Park St) (7:30-8 am)

Every now and again I think we all deserve to treat ourselves. To indulge. Holding your life together in America in 2007 is tough. So, take a moment to pamper yourself... enjoy this Male Model Moment.

Just like Campbell's... MMM MMM good!

The model, Chad White, has been showing his "jewels" all around the country. He's modeled for Bebe, Dolce & Gabbana, Diesel - just to name a few. He can be found on the cover of the June 2007 issue of Out.

MILWAUKEE PUBLIC MUSEUM FOR SALE
The Milwaukee Public Museum, which has been plagued with a surplus of debt, now might be available to the highest bidder. Dan Finley, President of the Milwaukee Public Museum, has recently announced a plan that might help to diminish the $40 million debt. The plan will include selling the naming rights of the museum to a private entity.

OHIO LGBT WORKERS GET EQUAL PROTECTIONS….FINALLY!
Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland signed an executive order Thursday that bans discrimination against LGBT state government employees.
In signing the protections, which cover about 60,000 workers, the governor is actually restoring provisions for state workers that existed for 15 years, but were struck down by Gov. Bob Taft in 2000. The Governor’s order doesn’t need any further approval but will expire when Strickland leaves office.

FACING VIOLENCE & HOMOPHOBIA 87 IRANIANS ARE ARRESTED IN RAID
The Iranian Queer Organisation (IRQO), based in Toronto, recently announced that a private house party was raided in Iran on May 10th which resulted in the arrests of eighty seven gay men.

AN IRQO contact, identified as Kia, reported: “Guests had come from Shiraz, Tehran, Shahin Shahr to Isfahan for Farhad’s birthday. When they were coming out of the house followed by the police, their clothes were ripped, their faces and bodies were covered in blood. They were beaten up badly.”

This latest raid marks the largest single attack on Iran’s gay community, further confirming a disturbing trend of sexual cleansing in the Islamic Republic, made legal through Sharia law. Sodomy is a crime for which both partners can be punished by death, while all types of sexual activity outside a heterosexual marriage are also illegal.

Alright, so I'm attempting to start my weekend a bit early. Maybe way too early as I'm still sitting at my desk. In my office. Slight oversight. My bad.

Well, it actually started out as a work task. See, we just got a new internet connection and I was testing the speed... so, it's partially work.

But, do you really need an excuse to stare at the dreamy Gyllenator? Nope.

Here's Jake cuddling his adorable, Boo Radley.

Or here... looking, well.. just looking pretty despite the wierd "open-mouth-thing" going on.

BUT, the real highlight are the pictures from Cannes this past week. I'd prefer Jake kissing - say me - or even Wentworth Miller - but these pictures with Zodiac co-star Mark Ruffalo are pretty nice too! (Thanks to Towleroad!)

I'm guessing that I won't get many complaints for posting another series of male model pictures but for those of you that prefer more benal substance, I'll have more news tomorrow.

I first came across Matt Loewen's picture when he graced the cover of the French gay magzine, Tetu, in March 2007. I was casually strolling along Paris' le Marais district when a sparkle caught my eye. As I walked over to the newspaper stand I could hear a voice coming inside Tetu ordering me to buy it so I obliged. Good thing I did....

Here's one of the shots from the TETU magazine spread...

Matt Loewen is a 22 year old up & coming model. The Vancouver native is keeping himself busy this season doing shows for Dolce & Gabbana, Ferragamo, Emporio, Navarra, Simachev, Giorgio Armani and many more. Matt also just landed in the new Parasuco ad which is everywhere, and just recently signed with Kenneth Cole.




GM Corporation wants you in a Cadillac!

The ACLU's Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Project successfully reunites lesbian mom with her child in Mississippi after judge wrongfully removed the child and placed her in foster care.

Why are you gay? 60 Minutes recently ran a program on sexual orientation. What are your thoughts??

Lil Mama's new video, Lip Gloss.

I recently came across these pictures and knew that I'd have to use them somehow. They really speak for themselves. I believe they must be from around the time of shooting Moonlight Mile since Jake, Dustin, and Susan are pictured in them.

Doesn't it feel like Dustin Hoffman is getting a little too friendly with his co-star Jake Gyllenhaal?

Now take a moment to create the dialogue for the pictures.

Sometimes bad things happen to good people. And sometimes bad things happen to bad people. But, more often bad fashion happens to - well, many people. These two have a serious case of fashion DYER-eah!

What in the world was David thinking? So, let's imagine how this happened. Duchovny was minding his business tweaking on some grade-A crystal meth which he picked up from some knock-out Asian transsexual he almost ran over. He's rolling through the hills of Hollywood and gets a flashback to 1991. He's too sexy... too sexy for his pants.

Man, I was HAWT then.. he thinks to himself. Friggin' hawt....

BOBBY TRENDY? OR MICHAEL'S FABRICS CLERK GONE WILD?

Seriously, can you be any higher in DYER-eah than this? This guy looks like he's the seriously delusional, obsessive-compulsive craft store clerk that just saw To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar and took the fashion advice a little bit too much to heart.

Strawberries. Strawberries are red. Wild Strawberries. Red and Wild! I've got it.

The brand-spankin' new building that just opened on the corner of Halsted and Waverly in Chicago is an impressive "green" building. Add on to that feat that it is the new home of the Center on Halsted - the LGBTQ community center for the Greater Chicagoland and you just might be blown away.

I went on a tour of the building with a few folks from other LGBT community centers in cities such at NYC and Sioux Falls & Rapid City, South Dakota the other night with Executive Director, Robin Burr. From the moment I stepped into the modern lobby that opens up to the second floor reception to the moment I left I was "wowed" by all the work, thoughfulness, and effort that went into making this building. The Center on Halsted occupies nearly 60,000 square feet of space with a anchor tenant, Whole Foods, utilizing the first floor.

From the Cyber Center with customized tables, meeting rooms with high-tech gadgets such as distance learning video equipment, color monitors, wi-fi (which can be accessed throughout the entire building), to the counseling rooms (designed by the hottie Nate Berkus who also designs for Oprah) and youth space that includes a kitchen for feeding the very hungry youth accessing programs the Center on Halsted has it all. And just when you thought that was enough, COH also includes a full sized regulation basketball court and gym along with a locker room to change in. Every bathroom is furnished with retro-funky chandeliers. They also have a theatre with dressing rooms, full-service kitchen which will cater events, and gallery space along with a stunning view of Chicago on the Richard M. Daly Rooftop Patio.

The roof is green which means that several beautiful plants are growing with plans to perhaps start a vegetable garden. The building also uses a greywater system - which is rain water that is collected from the roof and held and treated in the basement - and used to flush all the toilets in the building.

The Center on Halsted is a beacon for our community. It certainly raises the bar for what LGBT community centers could - and should - be shooting for in their communities. If you are in the the Chicago area make sure to stop by and check things out - in June 2007 they will be having a Grand Opening event - which is already sold out.

Congratulations Center on Halsted! Every single staff person, donor, and volunteer deserves to bask in this tremendous success. And if you happen to see Robin Burr make sure to tell her what an AMAZING job she did making this center happen.