• Crazy comedy duo Joey and David drum up some laughs with this Gap-spoof. Also, QueerSighted's Kenneth Hill thinks that David's "hot". Pass it on.

• Hyatt Hotel ain't down with gay romance. A Houston branch of the hotel chain removed gay romance novelist Lauren Baumbach's very homo promotional materials. When she tried to reason with a customer service representative, he cut her off, "I’m not discussing this with you.” Must not be much of a reader.

• Boy George allegedly has a history of hiring whipping boys. From pop bitch: If George's New York neighbours are to be believed, [Auden] Carlsen is not the first escort he's picked up for this purpose. One tells us that George often brought young chaps back to his apartment for a session with whips and chains. The neighbour regularly resorted to banging on the walls and shouting, "Can you just finish him off quietly, for Christ's sake!"

• White House tells Press, "Only you can or cannot support Tony Snow."

• The World of Coca-Cola Museum will host an Andy Warhol exhibit. Because how else will the World of Coca-Cola Museum be taken seriously/get visitors/get press?

• Iron Man's movie suit revealed! (PS: Robert Downey Jr as Iron Man? Our nerd side says, "no", but our inner art fag says, "yes".)

• Illinois lawmakers are considering a bill to abolish the written consent law for HIV test. If passed, doctors will be able to test patient's blood without their approval and/or knowledge. While this may help curb infection rates, it also blurs the line between a person's rights and public health. Should doctors try to stem HIV, even if it means violating a person's right to privacy?

Boy oh boy, Boy George may be in a heap of trouble after Norwegian escort Auden Carlsen claimed the pop-singer and another man "kidnapped" him for a game of sexual exploration.

Carlsen met Boy George on Gaydar and went to the star's house to pose for some photos in exchange for £400. Carlsen claims that George and a friend later grabbed him and restrained him against a wall:

George said he was popping out for milk at 5am. I heard him come back and I walked into his bedroom wearing just my white underpants and a T-shirt. I was jumped on by George and another man.

George handcuffed me to a hook by the bed as they held me down.

Carlsen broke free and fled the scene, "I was convinced I was going to die.” Oh, please. Boy George may be a lot of things, but killer ain't one of 'em...

CONTINUED »

Boy oh boy, Boy George's again picking on Madonna, a woman he's previously described as "a vile, hideous, horrible human being with no redeeming qualities". This time the pop singer and known homosexual has taken on Madge's blessed religion, Kabbalah, saying:

I have investigated it and they are homophobic. I do think it's shocking that somebody who has made so much money out of gay people is now part of an organization which is anti-gay.

You see before you the inaugural installment for The Youth Issue. Pretty exciting, no?

When planning out the issue, we had a bit of struggle deciding how to start it off. Then we realized there's really no better choice than legendary homo-journo, Michael Musto (pictured, circa 1964). He's been snarking it up since before we even knew the meaning, targeting closeted celebrities long before Perez Hilton and generally being fabulous for more years than we can count (but, to be fair, we can't count above seven).

In celebration of the publication of his new retrospective collection, La Dolce Musto, editor Andrew Belonsky and Musto got all cozy like at New York City's B Bar for a little post-work heart-to-heart. If ever there were a conversation to read, this is it - seriously, it's got more delicious bits than an Equinox gym.

Such as? Well, such as Musto's remembrance of ACT UP, a particularly memorable Michael Alig party and his explanation of why Joan Crawford's a total liar.

CONTINUED »

As you know, we absolutely adore tips from our readers. It's nice to have a few extra pairs of eyes out in the homonet, because otherwise so many juicy bits'll go unnoticed. For example, we never would have known that The Observer ran an all-gay music issue yesterday had a charming reader not sent us this link.

While the issue's headlined by an interview between Elton John and Jakes Shears (in which John laments all the teenage sex he could have had had he come out earlier and has some choice words on religion, which we'll get to in the next posting), the really juicy bits comes in the form of more obscure topics.

For example, Jon Savage's piece delves into the history of a gay record producer named Joe Meek, who produced the first gay-pop single only to shoot himself six months later. Meanwhile, Stuart Brumfitt takes a tour through the seemingly-contradictory world of gay ragga clubs, Ed Vulliamy tracks the trials and tribulations of the The Village People and a bevy of gay movers and shakers offer their favorite queer pop culture memories. Don't think you'll see any Lance Bass action here, readers. Boy George remembers his first sighting of David Bowie, Peter Tatchell pens a little ditty on the first pride anthem and Morrissey lauds Bruce Wayne Campbell's glam rock alter ego, Jobriath.

Now that's something to sing about. (If that's not a gay comment, nothing is...)

• Face it, you've got an internet addiction. Don't worry, so do about 12-14% of Americans. [Physorg via Tom's Grab Bag]

• Can Helmut Lang survive without Helmut Lang? Well, sort of... [The New York Times]

• Truly disturbing: a passed out 17-year old kid was found tagged with anti-gay epithets. [Boston Herald]

• Speaking of epithets, Boy George's former bandmates had a few for him. [365 Gay]

• Al-Qaeda's To-Do List: Destroy freedom, make video on America's evils, kill Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie. [Mollygood]

• Would-be killer wants to kill all the homos. What a mensch. [Dallas Observer]

• Lindsay Lohan and Keira Knightley will start in a film with "lesbian undertones." Hey, if Lohan's going to eat something, it might as well be poon. [Pink News UK]

• New ad campaign proves that living in Chelsea make you the coolest douche bag ever. [Copyranter]

• An ex-gay civil war? Sweet! [Los Angeles Times]

• Madonna always gets what she wants. Even if that means kidnapping African babies. [AP]

• CBGB closes shop. For real this time. [The New York Times]

• Boy George says he often pays for sex. Well, duh! No one wants to sleep with him for free. (Also, calls Madonna "vile".) [The Himalayan Times]

• Gay college guide ranks the nation's schools. The system: the gay-point average. Oh, how clever... [Chicago Tribune]

Oh Boy George, do your legal woes ever end?

If AIDS Organization Care Resource has anything to say about it, never. Or, not until they get the $8400 deposit they gave him to perform at a 2005 event. Unfortunately, before Boy Georgie Boy could fulfill his end of the contract, he got nabbed for possession of cocaine following the "robbery" at his house.

Since then, Care Resource has been struggling to get their money, but to no avail. Now they're getting nasty by sending out press releases insisting their struggle shall continue until the former Culture Club front man coughs up the dough. In said press release, Care Resource Executive Director Rick Siclari says:

The $8,400 that Boy George and Red Parrot took from Care Resource would have paid the cost of primary medical care for 9 of our patients for a full year.

CONTINUED »

• In Kansas, the rainbow flag flying at a local hotel in Meade is the site of vandals. Early Friday morning, a brick was tossed through one of the hotel's windows; it had the word "fag" written on it. A second brick found outside the hotel had "Get the fuck out of town" scrawled on it. [Hutchinson News]

• In Toronto, the 16th International AIDS Conference calls efforts to fight AIDS in Zambia a "success." The conference is also the gathering site between grandmothers in Canada and across Africa, who are coming together to cope with the pandemic. [NYT, NYT]

• In Manhattan, Boy George reports for community service duty. [1010 WINS]

• In Florida, police make an arrest in Ft. Lauderdale in a May sex assault case. A homeless man is accused of drugging, assaulting, and robbing another man he met at a gay bar. [Express Gay News]

• In Estonia, attacks on gay pride revelers in Tallinn, the country's capital, on Saturday surprised both police and participants. The violent attack was led by Estonian skinheads brandishing sticks and throwing stones; they left several people injured — the first time in the city's three year march history that protests turned violent. [Monsters and Critics]

• In Arizona, a superior court judge rebuffs an attempt by gay marriage advocates to block a proposed proposed state constitutional to define marriage as a union between one man and one woman. [Advocate]

• In Israel, the skies are quiet — but for how long? [NYT]

Boy George can next be seen performing in Chinatown — with a broom and dust bin. The embroiled former pop star is set to report for community service on August 14 as part of his sentencing from a March guilty plea on charges of falsely reporting a break-in at his home last fall. He'll join Sanitation Department's District 3, with gloves and plenty of plastic bags, as he meanders through New York's streets for five days cleaning up behind uncurbed dogs and littering tourists. A judge gave him till August 28 to complete the community service, or he'll be back behind the velvet rope bars.

Boy George's next gig - broom-hilde [NYDN]

Earlier this week we told you about Boy George striking a deal with prosecutors over cocaine possession charges. Rather than serve jail time, he'd serve the community. (He's picking up trash, we've since learned.) But George's string of bad luck doesn't end there. Now he's on the receiving end of a lawsuit from South Florida AIDS organization Care Resource, who claim the tired pop star canceled on a November 2005 White Party appearance and never returned the $8,400 deposit.

Care Resource, the South Florida AIDS group, signed a contract June 6, 2005, with Red Parrot, Boy George's booking company, for him to serve as celebrity guest D.J. at the annual White Party, the AIDS agency's largest fundraiser, said Terry DeCarlo, a spokesperson for the agency. The total cost for the appearance was $12,000, DeCarlo said.

On Aug. 4, 2005, Care Resource wired $8,400 to Red Parrot as a deposit for George's DJ services, DeCarlo said.

Boy George, whose real name is George O'Dowd, was arrested in New York City on Oct. 7, 2005, and charged with suspicion of drug possession and filing a false police report. He canceled the White Party engagement three weeks before the event was held in November 2005, DeCarlo said. But the $8,400 deposit money still has not been returned, DeCarlo said.

But isn't the real crime that Boy George's quote is only $12,000?

AIDS group to sue Boy George [NY Blade]
Earlier: Boy George Forced To Serve The Community

After being arrested last year when the police found cocaine in his New York apartment, Boy George has since been doing everything he can to avoid going to jail, and his lawyers struck a deal wherein he would do five days of community service instead of jail time. However, it seems that George thought that throwing electroclash parties was service enough, as he has now been scolded again and threatened with jail if he does not complete the community service requirement.

Obviously peeved that he has to contribute to society in some way, George suggested that he may be "teaching basketball in Harlem," which we would most definitely like to see, so long as he doesn't sweat all the dark make-up off of his neck.

Boy George Avoids Jail [AP]