If you used to have a photo attached to your profile you'll probably have noticed that it's been missing for a while. It seems the directory where profile photos are housed got eaten one night by the profile photo gremlins. In any case, the problem is fixed now and you can upload a photo to your profile. And if you've never had a profile photo, this would be a great time to upload one! (You do this by heading over to your "my account" area and then using the "edit" tab to change or add stuff. Profile photos can be no larger than 85x85 pixels and may not contain images that violate any laws.)

Profile photos don't show up with all your posts. Yet. But they do liven up your profile page, so have fun with them! 

If you're in the NYC area, join me in supporting Planned Parenthood NYC at their summer happy hour fundraiser!

The details:

In a good news/even-more-stupid news situation, Atlanta TV station WGCL brings us two updates in the Genarlow Wilson case.

First, yesterday the state Supreme Court reversed an earlier decision and has decided to expedite two appeals by Genarlow Wilson.

I originally posted about this as a Sex Act(ivism) item, and I'm posting again to update based on an email from the Human Rights Campaign folks:

From Human Rights Campaign :

Breaking news: the Senate will likely vote on the Matthew Shepard Act as early as this week. And right now, your Senators' phone lines are filling up with messages like this one: "[The Matthew Shepard Act] will be used to fund anti-Christian, pro-homosexual/drag queen materials for children – and divert scarce federal resources away from fighting Islamic terrorism."

Anti-gay groups like the Family Research Council and the Traditional Values Coalition – who invented that ridiculous lie – have mobilized a dangerously misinformed grassroots army. If we don't call right now, critical votes COULD BE LOST to these scare tactics.

Enter your zip code in the Contact Contress button on the left side bar and tell your senator that you support strong hate crimes legislation.

Original Sex Act(ivism) posting:

The most fabulous Carol Queen is throwing herself a party as she turns a glorious fifty years old, and she wants you to be there! Here's what she's tempting you with:

Disco! (Hey, if you had half as much fun as I did when disco was young, you'd like it too.)
Dress accordingly, or just dress to impress!
Entertainment! A few of my favorite performers will entertain me, and you, with a reading, maybe a lil' dance, or a serenade... Refreshments! A very fabulous raffle! Spin the Good Vibes Wheel of Swag for prizes! And... A ROAST! Yes, listen to my friends and colleagues tell all my secrets. If they leave anything out, maybe I'll tell one of my own!

All the dough generated by the raffle, the wheel-o-prizes, and any friendly non-profit extortion we may engage in will go right to the Center for Sex & Culture! But there's no charge to come to the party. Please drop by if you can! And feel free to spread the word.

Once again illustrating the "Do as I say, not as I do" nature of medieval fundy morality, it seems David Vitter, Republican Senator from Louisiana has gotten caught with his hand in the panty jar. Touting his misogyny in a section of his official website entitled "Life & Values", he spends a bit of web estate telling us how he knows what's best for us regarding our options in the case of an unwanted pregnancy:

In the ongoing travesty that is the Genarlow Wilson case, a rally was held in Douglasville, GA Thursday which drew the Reverend Al Sharpton, among other Civil Rights leaders, and Sharpton did not mince words.

Via CNN:

Travolta says "Hairspray" isn't a gay film

No, really. Straight from the horse's mouth.  According to Travolta, the gay activists who are pissed that an advocate of a homophobic religion (Scientology) is playing a gay icon have got it all wrong, because Hairspray isn't about gayness. Seriously. It says so:

"There is nothing gay in this movie," Travolta told the London Times on-line. "I'm not playing a gay man." Besides, the actor insists, Scientology isn't anti-gay, despite numerous reports that it seeks to "cure" homosexuality.

 A dissenting, view, however, may be had from Paul the Spud over at Shakesville:

Hairspray is gayer than a leather daddy singing “I Will Survive” at Karaoke night at The Manhole.

Just shut up and collect your paycheck, Travolta. You’re not worthy to wear Divine’s tits. Go release a thetan and shut the fuck up.

If Ethan Persoff did not exist, it would be necessary for the Internet to invent him. Perhaps it did. In any case, Ethan Persoff's website is one of the stranger corners of cyberspace. Persoff is a cartoonist and comics artist, and in addition to showing off his own work, he's archived some really fascinating flotsam and jetsam from the pop-cultural subconcious. Especially interesting is his section of "educational" comics called Comics With Problems. The comics here are the free comics that get passed out to schoolkids or distributed at community centers to addressi social issues like sexual abuse, marijuana, and the medical value of wearing an eye patch. The most recent addition to the archive is a real classic: a comic distributed by Planned Parenthood first in 1956 and then in a revised edition in 1962 titled Escape From FEAR.