New stories:

• Bases Loaded by stimle (nc coll)
• Hunter: Phone-Sexed Up by Aardvark
• Unfinished Business 2 by Randy Dragon

Apple Tablet

• Malignant Rumor
• Rapidly Pressing The Button Beneath The Counter
• "It's everything!"

App Store

• App Store Is a Game Changer for Apple and Cellphone Industry
• Apple's Schiller Defends iPhone App Approval Process--How efficient can it get?
• Apple relaxing App Store rejections in certain cases?
• Steve Jobs intervenes, approves Knocking streaming video app
• Airfoil Speakers Touch 1.0.2 Is Now Available--The apologists can STFU.
• iPhone Web

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Blogger and entrepreneur Jason Calacanis claims he's been beta testing the Apple Tablet for two weeks, and last night spilled a bunch of details on Twitter, saying his NDA was over. More of his Tweets, AFTER THE JUMP... ...

While a case is underway in a Miami appeals court regarding Florida's ban on adoption by gay parents, a Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Maria Sampedro-Iglesia has delivered the third ruling against the ban, allowing a lesbian couple to adopt an infant relative, the Miami Herald reports: "While the 1977 law remains in limbo, Sampedro-Iglesia's ruling suggests some state court judges already have made up their minds about gay adoption, a thorny political issue in a state with a significant social conservative streak. 'There is no rational connection between sexual orientation and what is or is not in the best ...

In a Daily Beast blog post about her 13 favorite movie roles, Glenn Close says that her role as former Washington National Guard Colonel Margarethe Cammermeyer, who sued after being discharged for revealing that she was a lesbian, was "revelatory": "That’s one of my favorite things I’ve ever done, because Margarethe Cammermeyer was around during the shoot. She was an exacting soldier, very strict about uniform, and how you salute—everything. It was tragic that she was the one kicked out of the Army eventually, because she was homosexual. But the thing that stayed with me—I’ve known many, many ...

The Williams Institute at the UCLA School of Law has released a new study (PDF) that shows approximately 66.000 gay, lesbian, and bisexual people currently serve in the U.S. military. The study also details the costs associated with the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy. Here are the key findings: "Approximately 13,000 LGB people are serving on active duty (comprising 0.9% of all active duty personnel) while nearly 53,000 are serving in the guard and reserve forces (3.4%). While women comprise only about 14% of active duty personnel, they comprise more than 43% of LGB men and women ...

Life imitates art, and so it goes for Bryan Batt, who won't be returning to Mad Men because his character came out of the closet on the job. Said creator Matthew Weiner to TV Guide: “We don’t murder people on our show, but for there to be any stakes, there have to be consequences. [Losing Bryan] was a tough moment for the show, but that’s where we are. I know how people felt about Bryan. I obviously love working with him, and he has been an indelible character since the pilot. But I felt it was an expression ...

A con artist named Michael Manos is facing "two felony counts of possessing a forged driver's license and false impersonation in California" after running up $70,000 on his latest Dallas victim's credit cards and then fleeing town.Some bits from the Dallas Morning News piece: Authorities say Manos used at least a dozen aliases, typically telling a tale that he was the world-traveling son of a wealthy Greek tycoon who shunned him after finding out he was gay. He actually grew up in a middle-class family in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. In New York City, he traveled the red carpets, going by ...

 Justin Waller was returned to NYC from Vermont after being apprehended following the gruesome stabbing murder of his lover/roommate John Lea in NYC's Hell's Kitchen last week. The NYDN reports: "Shortly before Justin Waller, 31, was arraigned, NYPD detectives led him out of the Midtown North Precinct station house in handcuffs. Waller's beard was scruffy and his stare blank as the detectives stuffed him into an unmarked car and whisked him off to face a second-degree murder charge in the gruesome death of affable event planner John Lea, 41. For Waller, Manhattan Criminal Court was a long way from ...

Thirty members of Garden State Equality protested yesterday at a Secaucus, NJ Town Council meeting over what they thought might be the reinstatement of three volunteer firefighters who recently lost a lawsuit brought by a gay couple claiming the firefighters harassed them in a mob attack.The gay couple was awarded $2.84 million in the suit.There was no reinstatement, but one of the firefighters was promoted to superintendent of the Public Works Department. The promotion came as a shock to Garden State Equality chair Steven Goldstein, who said the Mayor neglected to inform him of the promotion ...

So, apparently the gayest thing in London right now is this exhibit called ABBAWORLD which the AP describes as a "museum-cum-theme park": "The exhibition tells the band's story in 25 rooms spread over 30,000 square feet (2,800 sq. meters). Glass cases contain spangly costumes in silk, satin and spandex. Visitors can see recreations of Polar Studios, where the band recorded, and the seaside cabin near Stockholm where Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson composed the band's hits. One corner holds the helicopter pictured on the cover of the 1976 album 'Arrival.' An ambitious interactive element lets visitors take quizzes, recreate ...

Repeating much of the sentiment expressed in a January 2007 New York Times op-ed piece, Former General and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff John Shalikashvili today released a statement through Senator Kirsten Gillibrand's (D-NY) office calling for the repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell". Says Shalikashvili:  “Studies have shown that three-quarters of service members say they are personally comfortable around gays and lesbians. Two-thirds say they already know or suspect gay people in their units. This raises important questions about the assertion that openly gay service would impair the military. In fact, it shows that gays ...

Remember the odd blue spiral that was photographed last month in the skies over Norway? Now, an amateur photographer accustomed to shooting the Northern Lights has captured a jellyfish-shaped object that some say is the reflection of the aurora off a satellite: "In this way it would act like an 'iridium flare.',These are created by sunlight reflecting off iridium satellites and appear as bright white flashes in the sky. One problem with this theory is that the light intensity from the Northern Lights is 100,000 times weaker than the sunlight. But Mr Hansen said this did not exclude the satellite ...

The executive director of New York advocacy organization Empire State Pride Agenda, is leaving to join the staff of Comptroller John Liu, reports Elizabeth Benjamin at the NY Daily News: "Van Capelle is breaking the news this morning to the staff at ESPA, where his seven-year tenure makes his the organization's longest-serving executive director. He will be Liu's deputy comptroller for external affairs, serving as a chief advisor on intergovernmental relations, politics and communications. He will start his new job in early March. Van Capelle's departure comes almost two months after the LGBT community suffered a significant setback ...

A/X features Brazilian model Marlon Teixeira and old favorite Clint Mauro in its Spring/Summer 2010 campaign. Damn! Two more shots, AFTER THE JUMP... Previously... Clint Mauro for Armani Exchange — A/X Underwear [tr] Summer Shower with Marlon Teixeira [tr]   More shots from the campaign at A Cause Des Garcons.   ...

" We need a social whip or something like that, not a liberal ginger cake." — Moscow Mayor Yury Luzhkov, on why he's banning the "satanic" Gay Pride Parade ...

5. Even in the throes of a grave economic crisis, Democrats in Congress could not resist converting the stimulus into an orgy of pork barrel spending that targeted neither job growth nor speedy infusion into the economy. How can you... ...

Yes, another SCOTT EVANS post. But I'm somewhat enamored with the adorable boy. Anyway, check out these stills featuring Scott's humps and luscious lumps which I'm sure helped add to the price paid for him last night when he was put up on the auction block in NYC! Damn, pay day isn't until Friday.[via] ...

  Jon Kortajarena is photographed by Sergi Pons for El País magazine in the editorial ‘Estilos de vida’ with styling by Miguel Arnau.     via Design Scene & VGL + see more Jon Kortajarena | Sergi Pons features ...

Japayork – “Our Now” Japayork is someone you will want to pay attention to. Not only is he a talented artist, but he also make delicious pop that is a bit easy to fall in love with — “Our Now” is his lead single with an animated video he created himself. Nice. ...

A 17-year-old cross-dressing man fought off an attempted rape after being dragged into the woods Sunday evening in Athens by another man, police say. The attack unfolded about 6:30 p.m. when a man riding a bicycle started stalking the teen, who was walking in East Athens, police told the Athens Banner-Herald. The man caught up with the teen and dragged him into the woods. The attacker started to take off the teen’s clothes, tearing his shirt and yanking off his boots; he realized when he stripped off the teen’s pants that the victim was male, too, police said. The victim fought back, but ...