We wrote last week about the Puzzles Lounge bartender seeking assistance for the victims of the Jacob Robida attack. We asked him to give us a little more information, especially since some of our readers were skeptical. Below is his response. Seems legit to us, but feel free to ask him even more questions if you desire them. His email is puzzleslounge@yahoo.com

I just wanted to talk again about the victim's of Jacob's rampage last week and remind everybody of how you can help. Three people in total were injured and many others left hurting and injured with emotional stress as a result of the hate crime committed inside of Puzzles Lounge and continuing off to another state where both a woman, a mother of three, and a police officer were fatally wounded by the hands of Jacob. One victim by the name of Alex received more than a dozen blows to his face and head with a hatchet who is still in the hospital. Another victim, Robert, received a blow to his face with a hatchet and as gunshot wound that penetrated through his back near his shoulder blade, went around his spine and out his back again. A third victim Luis received a single gunshot wound as he was walking out of the men's bathroom. The bullet went through his upper torso tearing apart his liver, and then went out his back. These people have suffered a great deal physically, emotionally and now risk suffering financially as a result of the ignorance of a selfish, uneducated and disturbed individual. There will remain physical scars as well as emotional scars of these three people and others there in the bar that night. I am reaching out to all of you and asking for your help. If you are able to contribute anything at all please do so in confidence to help these people. Here is the info you need.....

Make a check or money order payable to:
Puzzles Victim's Fund

Send your donation to:
St. Anne's Credit Union
c/o Puzzles Victim's Fund
PO Box 0 (zero)
Fall River, MA 02724

• You probably won't tune into The Ellen Degenres Show tomorrow for a Grammys wrap-up. But you will for the Madonna gabfest. [The Ellen DeGeneres Show]

• China has published its first report on homosexuality. Apparently they’ve neglected to include a centerfold which will only ensure they'll accumulate dust on the newsstands. [Shanghai Daily]

• Jacob Robida wasn’t shot by police. After murdering a cop and a female companion, the lunatic turned the gun on himself. [NY Times]

• We don’t really like those queers who insist that everybody is gay. Zogby Polling is one of those queers. [UPI]

• “Ex-gay” and sometime unicorn John Paulk claims that his weight gain turned him straight. Sure. Tell that to our pal Bruce Vilanch. [Sovo]

We received an email today from the bartender who was working at Puzzles Lounge the night of the attack. It seems he is putting together a fund for the victims. He asked us to share his email with our readers:

Hello. My name is Phillip Daggett and I am the bartender that was working at Puzzles the night Jacob began his rampage. I was hoping that you could help me by posting something on your site. I have set up a fund for the victim's of Jacobs attack and I was hoping that you could mention it on your site and for anybody wishing to contact me in regard to a donation can email me at puzzleslounge@yahoo.com It would be with much appreciation if you could do this for me and contact me with any questions. Thank you! -Phillip Daggett

Feel free to contact Phillip directly. We’ll post later on anything specific the victims might need.

• Barney Frank has started a catfight with Condoleezza Rice. Our money's on Frank, but we're not ones to totally discount a Ferragamo-wearing, Lauren Green admiring piano player. [The Advocate]

• It isn't looking good for Q Televison. The've shut down production on all shows. That could leave Friends of Queerty Sandra Bernhard and Riechen out of a job. [Out]

• We'll have a great replacement if the plug is officially pulled on Q TV. Bravo is partnering with PlanetOut on a web-based channel. Could Bravo get any gayer? [NY Times]

• More evidence surfaces that Jacob Robida was unstable. He left a note saying he was planning "something violent." [AP via Yahoo]

• There's no reason why Tony Curtis, who dressed in drag in Some Like It Hot and raves about the homo-friendly Harry Potter movies, should not be a fan of Brokeback Mountain. [Contact Music]

• His ex-wife may look like a drag queen but Tommy Lee isn't really into trannies. [Gay Guide Toronto]

Jacob Robida was shot and killed after a shootout with police in Arkansas, many miles from his home in Massachusetts. The 18-year-old Robida killed his female companion and a police officer before being killed by police.

Robida was on the run after last week’s hatchet and gun attack at Puzzles Lounge, a Massachusetts gay bar. Queerty reader Barry Wick sent us in the above photo, which was a negative. He reversed the colors. The portrait left is haunting and cold and predicted the young man’s fate.

Shootout kills gay-bar attack suspect [CNN]

• Gay bar attacker Jacob Robida's bedroom was decorated with "homemade posters slurring gays, African-Americans, and Jews; neo-Nazi literature and skinhead paraphernalia; a makeshift coffin; and an empty knife sheath." And this guy tried to bludgeon people? You don't say! [The Boston Globe]

• Ryan Seacrest did not storm off a radio show after being asked about his sexuality. But we're sure everyone agrees that the question still stands. [Editor & Publisher]

• We're sure you're all tired of the plethora of Brokeback Mountain trailer parodies. But for those of you who can't get enough, we present Brokeback to the Future. [You Tube via Defamer]

• The New York Times finally discovers gay ski week in Aspen and all the fabulous drag queens that go with it. [NY Times]

• The Elton John/Bernie Taupin musical Lestat appears to be in trouble. Delays and cancellations are never a good sign. [Philadelphia Daily News]

• Effectively ignoring the attitudes of their more progressive Spanish neighbors, Portugal denies some dykes the right to get married. [BBC]

Early this morning 18-year old Jacob D. Robida walked into a gay bar in New Bedford, Massachusetts. He then proceeded to not only pull out a hatchet and a machete, but a handgun too, attacking several patrons and putting three of them in the hospital. Yes, this is undoubtedly a hate crime committed by a walking tool shed.

The events as they occurred:

The bartender said the man came into the bar, ordered a drink, and asked if it was a gay bar. He was told that it was.

A few minutes later, the man drifted to the rear of the bar where two patrons were playing pool, the bartender said.
Moments later, the suspect began attacking the men playing pool, pulled out a hatchet and attacked one patron, the bartender said. Another patron who tried to intervene was attacked with the hatchet.

The bartender said a group of patrons wrestled the man to the ground, but he pulled out a gun. He said the gunman fired one round in the air and then started shooting at the patrons. Police said two men were shot in the torso and one man suffered deep lacerations to this head. Two of the victims are being treated at Boston hospitals and another is being treated at St. Luke's Hospital in New Bedford.

Robida escaped and was last seen wearing the official crazy person uniform, a black trench coat, driving a 1999 green Pontiac Grand Am with a Massachusetts license plate, 85E-C58. Let's get this guy. He shouldn't be too hard to find. Just follow the trail of scattered weapons.

Police identify suspect in New Bedford bar attack [The Boston Globe]