TONIGHT: Vigil In West Village

In response to last night's hate crime murder of a gay man, tonight there will be a candlelight vigil at midnight at the scene of the crime in the West Village.  Gather at the corner of Sixth Avenue and Eight Street near the Gray's Papaya restaurant.  The location is one block from the Ninth Street PATH station and two blocks from the Christopher Street 1 train station.

UPDATE: The New York Times has released the victim's name.

Mark Carson did not hide that he was gay, and when he went out on the town he would often head to Greenwich Village, where years before he was born, much of the struggle for gay liberation unfolded. Yet late Friday night, just blocks from the Stonewall Inn, among the most important landmarks of that struggle, he was confronted with a man screaming antigay slurs, who then stalked him before pulling out a silver revolver and fatally shooting him, the police said. Mr. Carson, who was 32, had recently moved from Harlem to Brooklyn after scrimping and saving money from his job at a yogurt shop in Midtown, according to Kay Allen, a friend for more than a decade. “He was a proud gay man,” Ms. Allen said. “A fabulous gay man.” She noted that he loved going to the Village. “His spirit was too big for this city,” she said. “He didn’t have a negative bone in his body.”

Much more about the crime is at the link.

UPDATE II: The New York Daily News has published the victim's photo.

From the Daily News story:

Sources said Carson and his 31-year-old friend were dressed in tank tops and cut-off shorts with boots. “Look at these faggots,” one of the suspect’s crew barked at the pair. “What are you, gay wrestlers?” The two groups exchanged words, but Carson and his pal decided it was better to walk away. But as they turned the corner, the suspect and one of his cohorts confronted the pair again and taunted them by shouting “faggot” and “queer,” Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said. One of the bigots got nervous and ran away as the suspect asked the two gay men, “Do you want to die here?” Kelly said. Suddenly, the suspect whipped out a silver .38-caliber revolver and shot Carson in the face. The shooter ran away as Carson collapsed on the sidewalk.

UPDATE III: CNN has named the man in custody. He reportedly confessed to the NYPD early this morning.

Around 4 a.m., a police officer, responding to a radio alert of the shooting, came across the alleged gunman and apprehended him. The suspect turned over a silver Taurus .38-caliber six-shot revolver, according to police. Police later identified the suspect as Elliot Morales, 33. Police said the suspect had forged identification and they used facial recognition technology to determine his true identity. Morales faces a charge of second-degree murder as a hate crime, authorities said. The identities of the suspect's two companions -- at least one of whom Kelly said left the suspect before the shooting -- are still not known.

Denmark Wins Eurovision 2013

Denmark won tonight's Eurovision 2013 finals in Malmo, Sweden. The top ten is above, the full list of where each nation finished is here.

Emmelie de Forest had been the overwhelming favourite among the 26 entries, with her song Only Teardrops. The UK's Bonnie Tyler came 19th, an improvement on last year when Engelbert Humperdinck came second from bottom. There was disappointment for Ireland's Ryan Dolan as he finished in last place with just five points. Second in the vote was Azerbaijan's Farid Mammadov, who was 47 points behind the winner, followed by Ukraine in third and Norway in fourth. Denmark, which will have the job of hosting the contest next year, had previously won the contest in 1963 and 2000.

Romania's Cezar, the operatic Klaus Nomi clone who was my pick to win this year, finished a "respectable" 13th place. Below is Denmark's entirely forgettable winning entry. At least the Azerbaijan cutie and his eyebrows got second place. He had an interesting performance gimmick, too.

FRANCE: Man Fires Gun During Live Show At Cannes Film Festival

Oscar-winner Christopher Waltz was being interviewed live on French TV yesterday when a man fired a starting pistol and rushed the stage claiming to have a grenade.

The drama unfolded when the Django Unchained actor was being interviewed for France's Le Grand Journal at the Cannes Film Festival on Friday (May 17) when gunfire was heard.Speaking to the Daily Mail, Waltz said: ''I was on a panel at the Studio Canal platform off the beach when a man produced a gun. I think it was a pistol and he fired but luckily for me they were blanks. ''Then he shouted he had a grenade and again luckily for me there was no grenade. ''The police have him. They tackled him to the ground. I don't know who he was or where he came from or what his problem was.'' The male suspect was arrested at the scene and police discovered he was carrying a fake grenade and a knife.

The show resumed shortly after the arrest.

NEW YORK CITY: Theater Critic Tosses Cell Phone Of Audience Member

Two days ago libertarian author and National Review theater critic Kevin D. Williamson was slapped by an audience member sitting next to him after he grabbed her cell phone and threw it towards the exit. He was then ejected by theater management. The incident has since spawned discussions on numerous sites, but not everybody is defending his action. Today Williamson spoke to Playbill.

"It's bench seating there in the back, so she was basically in my lap," said Williamson. "I asked her politely if she'd put [her cell phone] away because it was distracting, and her response was, 'So don't look.'" After a back-and-forth argument, Williamson grabbed the patron's cell phone and tossed it across the room — aiming for the exit. The angered theatregoer slapped Williamson and "stormed out," crossing directly in front of the action in Natasha, Pierre. "Maybe ten minutes later," Williamson continued, "the security guy came and got me, and that was that." "At that point, there was already a fair disruption underway," he said. "She'd gotten quite loud when I was trying to talk her into behaving herself. Yeah, unquestionably what I did was a disruption, [but] I think I can make the case that I did it in the greater good, [although] it wasn't quiet."

Williamson's Twitter feed has been quite active since the phone-throwing.

CONNECTICUT: Dozens Injured, Five Critically, In Commuter Train Collision

Last night two Metro-North commuter trains collided near Fairfield, Connecticut after a southbound train derailed at 60mph.  Dozens were injured, five critically.

The derailed train apparently clipped the front of the oncoming train then scraped along its side, officials said. About 700 people were thrown about the two trains when they collided, said MTA spokesman Aaron Donovan. “It wasn’t a straight head-on collision, but the fronts of the two trains struck each other,” Metro-North spokesman Aaron Donovan said.  Malloy said 60 passengers were rushed to St. Vincent’s and Bridgeport hospitals. Five were in critical condition, and one was in very critical condition, Malloy said. The National Transportation Safety Board will lead an investigation with the FBI, the Connecticut Office of Emergency Management and the Federal Railroad Administration to determine the cause of the derailment, but Malloy doesn’t believe the rails were sabotaged.

Metro-North is the nation's busiest commuter rail service.

UPDATE: Commenters on Breitbart are blaming the president. And unions. And "Connecticut libtards."

Porn Industry Eyes Google Glass

You knew this was coming.

Because Google Glass is worn just like a regular pair of glasses at eye level, it allows users to take videos and photos from a distinctly first-person perspective and upload them directly to the Internet. Porn shot from that vantage point, POV style, has, according to Boyer, been popular for quite some time. “Obviously a device that allows you to shoot high-quality video in a truly hands-free fashion will make shooting POV porn that much easier,” Boyer noted.

MEXICO: President Enrique Pena Neito Issues Message Against Homophobia

Yesterday Mexican President Enrique Pena Neito issued the above tweets in recognition of the International Day Against Homophobia. "This May 17, International Day of the Fight Against Homophobia, I endorse my committment to a #InclusiveMexico, free of discrimination. Making Mexico a society of rights implies equality in dignity and eliminating all types of discrimination."

FRANCE: President Francois Hollande Signs Gay Marriage Bill Into Law

As he had promised, French President Francois Hollande signed the marriage equality bill into law this morning.

Hollande acted a day after the Constitutional Council threw out a legal challenge by the right-wing opposition, which had been the last obstacle to passing the bill into law. The legislation also legalises gay adoption. But while gay rights groups hailed the move, opponents of the measures have vowed to fight on.

Hollande made "marriage for all" a central plank of his presidential election campaign last year. On Friday, he tried to turn the page on months of bitter opposition to the measures, arguing it was "time to respect the law and the Republic". And he warned that he would tolerate no resistance.

"I will ensure that the law applies across the whole territory, in full, and I will not accept any disruption of these marriages," said the president. French Justice Minister Christiane Taubira, who steered the legislation through parliament, has said the first gay marriages could be celebrated as early as June.

Manif Pour Tous says they will hold their massive anti-gay rally on May 26th as scheduled.

Big Layoffs At The Village Voice

Gawker reports that the Village Voice has laid off some its best known staffers, including the one person most closely identified with the title.

We hear that executives from the Voice's parent company flew in for today's massacre. Michael Musto, the Voice's nightlife columnist and most high profile remaining staffer, has been let go, as was rumored last week. (There had apparently been some talk of Musto's column hanging on in some form, but that does not seem to have worked out.) Also let go, sources tell us, was Robert Sietsema, the Voice's longtime food critic, and Michael Feingold, the paper's theater critic. Feingold was scheduled to host the Obie Awards for the Voice next week. That just makes the timing that much more shocking.

Musto tells Gawker: "So many people have come out to offer their love (and opportunities). I'll update you on all my new beginnings. My brand will be feistier than ever."

Religion's Gifts To The World

Fifth in a monthly series.

Quote Of The Day - Andrew Sullivan

"Has this president broken the law, lied under oath, or authorized war crimes? Has he traded arms for hostages with Iran? Has he knowingly sent his cabinet out to tell lies about his sex life? Has he sat by idly as an American city was destroyed by a hurricane? Has he started a war with no planning for an occupation? Has he started a war based on a lie, and destroyed the US’ credibility and moral standing while he was at it, leaving nothing but a smoldering and now rekindled civil sectarian war? So far as I can tell, this president has done nothing illegal, unethical or even wrong." - Andrew Sullivan, responding to Peggy Noonan's claim that "We are in the midst of the worst Washington scandal since Watergate."

BERLIN: Protesters At Barbie Dreamhouse

Yesterday German feminists picketed outside the newly-opened Barbie Dreamhouse attraction:

“This dream world suggests that women can’t be anything less than beautiful and slim,” said Franziska Sedlak from protest group Occupy Barbie Dreamhouse. “And life is not about being beautiful all the time.” The movement began in March when members of a youth group affiliated to Germany’s far-left party, die Linke, created an Occupy Barbie Dreamhouse Facebook page.

“Our protest is not directed towards little girls and their dreams,” member Michael Koschitzki said. “But, for us, this so-called Dreamhouse symbolizes the beauty craze and the discrimination of women in modern day life. It presents a cliché of the female role in society.” Demonstrators included a woman with bare breasts holding a burning cross with "life in plastic is not fantastic" written on her body.

North Miami Chose "Luciefer"

"I AM A TRUE CHRISTIAN WOMAN. NOT ONLY I AM COVERED UNDER THE BLOOD OF JESUS...I AM SWIMMING IN IT. MY JESUS HAS CONTROL OVER MY LIFE & THE TITLE OF MAYOR DOESN'T DEFINE WHO I AM AS A PERSON. NORTH MIAMI CHOSE 'LUCIEFER' OVER JESUS. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TRUST & SUPPORT, YOUR FINANCIAL CONTRIBUTION, AND MOST IMPORTANTLY- YOUR PRAYERS ! I HAVE LOST A HARD FOUGHT BATTLE BUT NOT A WAR." -  North Miami mayoral candidate Anna Pierre, writing on her Facebook page. Pierre made national news earlier this week when she declared that Jesus had endorsed her candidacy. On Tuesday she received 56 votes and finished last.

Retweeted By Matt Barber

Gay Dads Meet Their Twin Babies

This week New Yorkers Matt and Josh met their newborn twins in India, where they were born through gestational surrogacy. The couple has been chronicling their journey into parenthood at their blog, New Dads On The Block.  I first met Josh several years ago when he was part of our gay press junket to Key West.  Congratulations to both proud papas!

Tweet Of The Day - Bette Midler

Michelle Malkin's Twitchy is going nuts.

Headline Of The Day

Leesburg Today has the news:

This week, Al Nevarez, Delgaudio’s 2011 opponent for supervisor who is helping lead the effort, confirmed the group of community organizers formed under a group called Sterling Deserves Better had surpassed the 558 signatures—equal to 10 percent of the number voting in the 2011 election—needed for the group to make its case before a judge. But he said that a larger outreach plan was underway to generate more community awareness of the recall effort and Delgaudio’s actions as a supervisor. Delgaudio has served as the Sterling District supervisor since 1999.

The paper notes that there has never been a successful recall effort in Virginia. This would be a fantastic start. (Tipped by JMG reader Blair)

The Periodic Table Song

I would have totally memorized this in middle school.

RELATED: Dr. Jeff suggests memorizing this one too.

BREAKING: France's Constitutional Court Rules In Favor Of Marriage Bill

President Francois Hollande promised yesterday that he will sign the bill immediately. Suck it, Manif Pour Tous!

Allen West Joins Fox News

And now for the most unsurprising news of the day. Via the Atlantic:

Outgoing members of Congress are rarely hard-pressed for jobs (even when they've gone out in disgrace). Tea Party star Allen West just accepted the one that was perhaps the most predictable: contributor to Fox News. The Hill quotes Fox's executive vice president of networking: "Representative West’s congressional and military experience along with his fearless approach to voicing key issues will provide a valuable point of view to the FOX News lineup." How unique that point of view will be on Fox News is open to debate.

Portugal Approves Gay Adoption UPDATE: Not So Fast

UPDATE: The below-linked source has edited their opening sentence to read: "Portuguese parliament has approved Friday a bill that will allow same-sex married couples to adopt their partner’s biological or adopted children."

So it's not full adoption rights. Below is my original post.

Today the Portuguese Parliament narrowly approved adoption rights for same-sex couples. The vote was 99-94 with nine abstentions.

The bills were supported by the ruling center-right Social Democratic Party (PSD) and the progressive Socialist Party (PS). The Portuguese parliament had approved the right to same-sex marriages in 2010, but without adoption rights. The law allowed gay couples the same rights as married heterosexual couples, including taxes, inheritance and housing, but didn’t offer the right to adopt children.  Portugal is among the first 10 counties in the world to allow same-sex marriage. As recently as 1982, homosexuality was a crime in Portugal. Today, Portugal has wide-ranging anti-discrimination laws and is one of the few countries in the world to contain a ban on discrimination based on sexual orientation in its Constitution.

(Tipped by JMG reader Pedro)

FRANCE: Homocons Stage Press Paris Conference With Manif Pour Tous

Note the Manif Pour Tous logo on the rainbow flags. France's Constitutional Council may announce their ruling on the marriage bill today. Check their Twitter feed for messages about item #669. The ruling is expected to be positive.

GEORGIA: Thousands Of Anti-Gay Protesters Force End To Pride Rally

Led by priests from the Orthodox Church, thousands of anti-gay protesters forced the cancellation of a gay pride rally today in Georgia's capital of Tbilisi.

Police in Tbilisi guarded several dozen gay activists and bused them out of the city center shortly after they arrived at the gathering. Those occupying the street held posters reading "We don't need Sodom and Gomorrah!" and "Democracy does not equal immorality!" A number of protesters carrying bunches of nettles threatened to use them on gay activists. They insist that homosexuality runs against Georgia's traditional Orthodox Christian values. Father David, a priest who was one of the organizers of Friday's anti-gay rally, said the parade "insults people's traditions and national sentiments." A gay rally in Tbilisi last year was also short-lived and ended in a scuffle.

VIDEO: Priests and young men chased rally participants to buses.  Seventeen people were reportedly injured.

MAP: Racially Tolerant Nations

The Washington Post created the above map in response to a survey examined by Swedish economists. According to the survey responses, the least racially tolerant places are India, Jordan, Hong Kong, and Bangladesh.

Among the dozens of questions that World Values asks, the Swedish economists found one that, they believe, could be a pretty good indicator of tolerance for other races. The survey asked respondents in more than 80 different countries to identify kinds of people they would not want as neighbors. Some respondents, picking from a list, chose “people of a different race.” The more frequently that people in a given country say they don’t want neighbors from other races, the economists reasoned, the less racially tolerant you could call that society. (The study concluded that economic freedom had no correlation with racial tolerance, but it does appear to correlate with tolerance toward homosexuals.)

The Post notes that some people surely lied to pollsters and that the "unanswerable question" is whether people in some countries are more likely to be honest about their racism.  A follow-up article from the Post examines the countries which are most ethnically diverse.

Human Rights Watch Names 2013 "Hall Of Shame" Anti-Gay Villains

To mark today's International Day Against Homophobia, Human Rights Watch has posted its top four global villains in the battle for LGBT rights. Among those named is Pat Robertson's ACLJ, which has been exporting anti-gay hate across the globe.

The American Center for Law and Justice; President Yahya Jammeh of Gambia; Vadym Kolesnichenko, a member of Ukraine’s parliament; and the Ukrainian political party Svoboda are undermining human rights by actively promoting homophobic policies, Human Rights Watch said. The 2013 Human Rights Watch “Hall of Shame” inductees were selected for endangering the lives and dignity of LGBT people in 2013. They strongly contributed to a homophobic and transphobic environment during the past year, Human Rights Watch said.

Here's what they say about Pat Robertson's group.

The American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ), for attempting to export homophobia to Africa. Founded in 1990 by the Baptist Minister and televangelist Pat Robertson, and headed by Jay Sekulow, its chief counsel, the ACLJ strongly opposes LGBT equality and reproductive rights in the United States and across the globe. It works through offshoot organizations such as the East African Centre for Law and Justice (EACLJ) in Kenya, the African Centre for Law and Justice (ACLJ) in Zimbabwe, and the Brazilian Center for Law and Justice (BCLJ) in Brazil. The EACLJ unsuccessfully lobbied against Kenya’s progressive new constitution in 2010 solely on the basis that the constitution’s anti-discrimination clause could eventually be used to advance LGBT equality and that it allows for abortion when the mother’s health is at stake.

My most recent posts about the ACLJ are here.

Uma Thurman To Play Anita Bryant

Deadline reports on the coming Anita Bryant biopic:

Uma Thurman will star as controversial anti-gay activist Anita Bryant in Anita, produced by Sex And the City creator Darren Star, Howard Rosenman, Jeffrey Schwarz and Dennis Erdman. Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman will direct from a screenplay by Chad Hodge. Those filmmakers, who most recently helmed Lovelace, won Oscars for Common Threads: Stories From The Quilt and The Times Of Harvey Milk. Anita Bryant doesn’t stand a chance here!

I would have cast Delta Burke.

CHINA: Lawyers Petition Government To Consider Same-Sex Marriage

The South China Morning Post reports:

Ten rights lawyers petitioned a key National People's Congress commission yesterday, calling for legitimising same-sex marriage on the mainland, ahead of today's annual International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia. The lawyers, from law firms across the mainland, signed a joint letter calling for the law committee of the NPC to study the legalisation of gay marriage. "The most effective way to eliminate discrimination against homosexuality is to acknowledge same-sex couples' rights to marriage," said Huang Yizhi, one of two female Beijing lawyers who organised the campaign.

The paper estimates that there are 40 million gay people in China.

TODAY: Anti-Gay Scouting Rallies

Dozens of anti-gay rallies will be held across the nation today in a last-minute bid to pressure the Boy Scouts to keep their ban on openly gay scouts and leaders.  Backing the campaign, you'll be shocked to know, is the Family Research Council.

ACLU To ABC: Have Cam & Mitch Marry

The ACLU is prodding ABC to have the gay characters on Modern Family get married.

Having two main characters in a wildly popular show get married would put the issue of marriage equality in living rooms across the country and generate conversations about the importance of allowing same-sex couples to marry – the kinds of conversations that we know change hearts and minds. And because it's a weekly series, the message won't go away during the closing credits. It will be back next week, and the weeks after that, and again during summer reruns. The wedding would demonstrate that marriage —with its unique recognition of love and commitment— matters. And it's a choice that should be readily available.

The ACLU's petition is here.

LAUNCHED: Crowd-Sourcing Ploy To Outbid Koch Brothers For Tribune Papers

Mediaite reports:

In an attempt to make sure neither the Koch brothers nor Rupert Murdoch obtain ownership of the Tribune Company and its major assets like the Chicago Tribune and the Los Angeles Times, a liberal group has started a crowd-funding campaign to raise enough money to outbid both potential buyers and, in their belief, “take back the media.” “The only people who are bidding on [the Tribune Company] right now are infamous right-wing Billionaires,” the campaign says, “who are likely to pay something around a $660 Million pricetag to control a big slice of trusted news media.”

So far they've raised $32K.

TODAY: International Day Against Homophobia And Transphobia

Events and rallies are happening worldwide.

Window To Window

Residents of a luxury Tribeca building are angry about an art gallery's exhibition of photos taken from an apartment across the street.

From his second-floor apartment across the street, artist Arne Svenson secretly took photos of his neighbors through their oversized windows as they engaged in such personal things as bending over cleaning, taking naps and carrying sleeping kids to bed. The shots — which don’t show full faces — are now being sold for up to $7,500 each at the Julie Saul Gallery in an exhibition called “The Neighbors,” which opened Saturday. Residents of the Greenwich Street building — where penthouses fetch up to $6 million — soon caught wind of their involuntary modeling, and are fuming. “This is about kids. If he’s waiting there for hours with his camera, who knows what kind of footage he has. I can recognize items from my daughter’s bedroom,” said one resident who appears in a Svenson photograph.

The photographer says: "For my subjects, there is no question of privacy. They are performing behind a transparent scrim on a stage of their own creation with the curtain raised high."

What Vine Is For

Click the image for the volume icon.

Candice Glover Wins American Idol

Probably like most of you, I haven't watched the show since Adam Lambert's year, but in case anybody here cares, here's last night's announcement.

New Yorkers Rally Against Hate Crimes Outside Madison Square Garden

Hundreds of LGBT New Yorkers gathered outside Madison Square Garden last night in protest of the ongoing spree of violent anti-gay hate crimes, one of which occurred outside the famed sports venue. The protest was organized by Queer Rising and the LGBT Anti-Violence Project. Visit the Facebook page of Gay Marriage USA for many more photos and some of the great signs from the protest. In the top photo above is ACT UP and Occupy activist Brandon Cuicchi, whom I met last year when he was my Bear Week housemate in Provincetown. With the microphone in the second photo is Queer Rising organizer Eugene Lovendusky. In the bottom photo is Miss Stonewall 2013, Frostie Flakes.  (Via JMG reader Murray)

WA Florist Counter-Sues

Last month Washington state Attorney General Bob Ferguson filed a discrimination suit against florist Barronelle Stuzman for refusing to supply flowers for a same-sex wedding. Yesterday the anti-gay Alliance Defending Freedom counter-sued on her behalf. Via World Net Daily:

“The Washington State Constitution, in Article 1, Section 11, absolutely protects ‘freedom of conscience in all matters of religious sentiment, belief, and worship’ and guarantees that ‘no one shall be molested or disturbed in person or property on account of religion,’” according to attorneys representing Stutzman. The countersuit asks for a declaration that Ferguson’s actions are “unlawful” and to enjoin similar future actions, reasonable attorneys’ fees and litigation costs and “such other relief that the court deems just and equitable.” The countersuit was filed by Alliance Defending Freedom attorneys on behalf of Stutzman, whom they already were defending from the attorney general’s complaint.

More from the ADF's counter-suit:

ADF reports the Washington State Constitution uniquely protects the rights of conscience and religion, and the countersuit argues that Ferguson is “constitutionally precluded from compelling Stutzman to use her artistic skill to personally craft expressive floral arrangements” for a same-sex ceremony when it violates her religious beliefs and her conscience to do so, “particularly when there are many other florists willing, ready, and able to create floral arrangements” for such ceremonies.

Gawker: Toronto's Mayor Smokes Crack

Gawker reporter John Cook says he's seen the video.  The Toronto Star says they have too and promises that there is "much more to come."  (Tipped by JMG reader David)

UPDATE:  The Toronto Star has posted their story but emphasizes that they had "no way to verify the authenticity of the video."

Two Toronto Star reporters have viewed the video three times. It appears to show Ford in a room, sitting in a chair, wearing a white shirt, top buttons open, inhaling from what appears to be a glass crack pipe. Ford is incoherent, trading jibes with an off-camera speaker who goads the clearly impaired mayor by raising topics including Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau and the Don Bosco high school football team Ford coaches.

“I’m f---ing right-wing,” Ford appears to mutter at one point. “Everyone expects me to be right-wing. I’m just supposed to be this great.…” and his voice trails off. At another point he is heard calling Trudeau a “fag.” Later in the 90-second video he is asked about the football team and he appears to say (though he is mumbling), “they are just f---ing minorities.”

Giorgio Moroder - Racer

Consequence Of Sound reports:

Italian supercomposer Giorgio Moroder’s having quite a ball lately. In addition to being immortalized by Daft Punk on their latest album — in what’s arguably the best track off Random Access Memories — he’s back with his own new music. No, he’s not churning something out for director Brian De Palma; this time, he’s working alongside Google.

“Racer” is the title track to a new game on Google Chrome that’s either about racing or minimalistic ’70s artwork. (Really, we can’t tell.) According to the game’s website, users can line up their phones and/or tablets to create a race track across up to five screens. Sounds groovy, right? You have no idea.

Information about the game is here.

(Via Towleroad)

NEW JERSEY: Internet "Celebrity" Sought In Grisly Murder Of Gay Man

A homeless viral video star famed on the internet as "Kai, the hatchet-wielding hitchhiker" is being sought for the murder of a gay New Jersey man.

The suspect is identified as Caleb Lawrence McGillvary, a 34-year-old who is well known on Facebook and YouTube. An arrest warrant has been issued for McGillvary in the homicide of Joseph Galfy, Jr. in Clark, New Jersey, WABC-TV in New York reported. McGillvary is homeless but considers himself "homefree" and relies on the generosity of strangers for food, lodging and transportation. He is also known as Kai Lawrence, Caleb Kai Lawrence and Kai Nicodemus. Based on the investigation, authorities say McGillvary has cut his hair in an attempt to alter his appearance. Investigators also released an updated photo of McGillvary, showing him with that shorter hair along with a distinctive face tattoo. The victim, 73-year-old Joseph Galfy, was found inside his home on Starlite Drive in Clark, New Jersey on May 13th after officers received a call to check on his well-being. An autopsy performed the following day determined that Galfy died as a result of blunt force trauma, said Romankow.

Neighbors report that the victim had been living alone since his partner died five years ago. The still at-large suspect is claiming that he was drugged and raped, according to his Facebook post reported by the Star-Ledger:

"what would you do if you woke up with a groggy head, metallic taste in your mouth, in a strangers house... walked to the mirror and seen ... dripping from the side of your face from your mouth, and started wretching, realizing that someone had drugged, raped, and (had sex with you)? what would you do?”

A YouTube interview with the suspect has garnered 3.7 million views since it was posted three months ago.  In the clip, he claims to have "smashed" someone repeatedly with a hatchet, hence his name.

(Tipped by JMG readers Blair and Edward)

UPDATE: He's been arrested.

New Hurricane Names Released

Via the National Weather Service:

The six lists above are used in rotation and re-cycled every six years, i.e., the 2013 list will be used again in 2019. The only time that there is a change in the list is if a storm is so deadly or costly that the future use of its name on a different storm would be inappropriate for reasons of sensitivity. If that occurs, then at an annual meeting by the WMO committee (called primarily to discuss many other issues) the offending name is stricken from the list and another name is selected to replace it.

Sandy has been retired from the list. Forecasters are predicting a "worse than average" hurricane season, which officially starts on June 1st.

White House Mocks Tea Party Hashtag

BRITAIN: Christian Group Asks For Prayers That Gays Don't "Destroy" Marriage

On Sunday I reported that an anti-gay British group is asking Christians to pray outside Parliament next week as the House of Commons finalizes its marriage equality bill. In a video clip posted today, the group further asks for prayers during the 72-hours preceding the bill's hearing.  Watch CEO Andrea Williams of Christian Concern declare that gay people will "destroy and rip the heart out of marriage."

SAN ANTONIO: Christian Groups Threaten To Sue Over Domestic Partners

Two San Antonio-based Christian groups are threatening to sue the city in order to overturn insurance benefits granted to the partners of LGBT city employees.

Pastor Gerald Ripley [left] of Voices for Marriage and Philip Sevilla of Texas Leadership Coalition made the request Wednesday with backing from a few sign-carrying supporters at City Hall. Attorney General Greg Abbott issued an opinion April 29 stating cities that offer marriage benefits to employees' same-sex partners are violating the Texas Constitution. San Antonio has done so since 2011, at an annual cost then estimated at $300,000. Ripley and Sevilla also voiced opposition to Councilman Diego Bernal's proposal to update the city's anti-discrimination policies by adding protections for sexual orientation and gender identity. Further, Ripley and Sevilla oppose funding a city liaison to the gay community. The city's Governance Committee takes up Bernal's proposals on Tuesday.

Pastor Ripley: "We cannot allow this in San Antonio. We are not San Francisco." Ripley's partner in hate, the Texas Leadership Coalition, is a group comprised of "Catholic laymen." San Antonio's city attorney says they will not take action until the Supreme Court rules next month.

More Trouble For Eric Holder

CNN reports:

The U.S. Marshals Service had been “unable to locate” two former participants in the federal Witness Security Program who have been identified as known or suspected terrorists according to the Justice Department's inspector general. The Marshals Service has concluded that “one individual was and the other individual was believed to be residing outside of the United States,” according to the public summary of an interim Justice Department Inspector General's report obtained by CNN.

The tea people are going nuts on Twitter.

Rotary Denies Involvement With Eugene Delgaudio's Pro-Bullying Campaign

On Tuesday I posted the latest video from hate group crackpot Eugene Delgaudio in which he claims to have gotten help from Rotary clubs in collecting one million petitions to Congress in support of anti-gay bullying.  JMG reader John wrote to Rotary International on Facebook to inquire about Delgaudio's claim.  Here is their response to John, direct from their Facebook page:

"Thanks for making us aware of this. 'Protect Our Children’s Innocence' isn’t involved or associated with Rotary International. We’re committed to non-discrimination, and our bylaws prohibit Rotary clubs from denying membership to individuals based on 'gender, race, color, creed, national origin or sexual orientation' and from partnering with organizations that practice discrimination. We’re non-political and we don’t oppose or endorse political campaigns, candidates, and positions at any level, including proposed legislation. No specific Rotary clubs were mentioned in the video, and we’re not aware of any clubs involved with this organization."

Great work, John! And thank you, Rotary International.

Gallup Poll On Sexual Orientation

Gallup today released more details on the poll first published earlier this week:

Currently, 47% of Americans view being gay or lesbian as a sexual orientation individuals are born with, while 33% instead believe it is due to external factors such as upbringing or environment. That 14-percentage-point gap in favor of "nature" over "nurture" is the largest Gallup has measured to date. As recently as two years ago, the public was evenly divided. Sixty-five percent of Americans believe gay or lesbian relations between consenting adults should be legal, numerically the highest Gallup has measured by one percentage point, but not materially different from what Gallup has measured for the past three years. From 1986-1988, only about one-third of Americans thought gay and lesbian relations should be legal.

In other words, 35% of Americans still believe that homosexuality should be criminalized.