Breion Diamond And A Fan

Oops, that headline should have read "John Legend And A Fan" - but who's to say which one is the fan? Who's the hostage and who's the terrorist?

Have I entered some weird parallel universe in which mainstream, top drawer R&B stars publicly fraternise with top drawer (in more ways than one) gay erotic artistes? Is this real? It can't be. What next - Tom Cruise turning up at a Matthew Rush signing? Will Smith and Tiger Tyson... no, never mind, that's a completely different train of thought.

Here at the ka-os blog, we have a very deep affection for Breion Diamond. His seduction of Shorty J atop a ladder is a classic cinematic moment... (sigh). The Diamond kid has his own blog, which is worth checking out, and you can see plenty more of him here.

Boys Shouldn't Kiss

A couple of days ago, Christian and his new boyfriend Lee shared a kiss in EastEnders, the BBC soap. The gay kiss generated 145 complaints from viewers.

"I am appalled by the display of homosexual kissing before the watershed shown on EastEnders. This is disgraceful whilst young children are watching and sets the wrong example," said one. Another said, "I had to explain to my seven-year-old son what was happening. He now thinks he is gay because he kisses his dad."

Hmm... If your child is thinking along those lines, then maybe you should look at your parenting skills. Mind you, allowing a seven year old to watch EastEnders - and then having nothing better to do than write in and complain about it - says a lot. Oh, and I'd recommend not using tongue during those father-son kisses - that's bound to confuse the little one.

The BBC had this to say: "EastEnders aims to reflect real life, and this means including and telling stories about characters from many different backgrounds, faiths, religions and sexualities. We approach our portrayal of homosexual relationships in the same way as we do heterosexual relationships. In this instance, Christian is enjoying the first flush of romance and we've shown him being affectionate with his new boyfriend in the same way any couple would. We also aim to ensure that depictions of affection or sexuality between couples are suitable for pre-watershed viewing. We believe that the general tone and content of EastEnders is now widely recognised, meaning that parents can make an informed decision as to whether they want their children to watch."

Daily Mail readers and people with nothing better to do also complained about the show's depiction of Muslim characters during Ramadan (110 complaints), the current child abuse storyline (200 and rising), and Max Branning being buried alive (137 complaints). People weren't too pleased to see Dawn Swann chained to a bed by Mad May and threatened with an anaesthesia-free enforced Caesarean (80 complaints). Personally speaking, I feel slicing her open and plucking the baby out would have been the best thing for the silly bitch. But that's just me.

Sex Sirens

It's all eyes, lips, attitude, tattoos, make-up, shade, pouting and jewellery over at Rod 2.0, with a story on the butch queen sex siren ballroom body boys (phew! Try saying that with your mouth full).

Serve The Kids.com is where you can get the DVDs. More at canwebefrank.com.

Justin's Journal

Here at the ka-os blog, we'd like nothing more than to stop you looking at other blogs. Don't look at them! You can get everything you need right here. Trust me.

You might want to spend a little time with Justin, however. He's very cute and very engaging. And he's in moving pictures too - with sound!

Justin B Smith, in case you don't know, is HIV positive, and he's put together a HIV Journal to "hopefully save someone's life." It's a series of YouTube videos following his experiences, and it's incredibly intimate, moving and, thanks to Justin's effervescent personality, frequently funny.

After watching, I was left with a deep sense of anger that this is still happening, decades after the height of the virus in the eighties. That's not a judgement on Justin, it's questioning why we seemingly haven't learned our lesson. Why are gay men still having unprotected sex? I've already talked about my own close shave with the virus, and I know a lot of friends who've confessed (or even bragged) about barebacking. It's been well-documented that complacency has set in, that boys think having HIV can be fixed by popping a pill like a vitamin once a day. Justin's videos show the stark reality, and it's no walk in the park.

Watch his video journal. It's important. Just promise you won't go and download Bareback Cum Party afterwards.

Coming To America

Pape Mbaye gets a lot of attention. Even in jaded New York, people watch the way he walks (his style defines the word sashay) and scrutinize his outfits, which on a recent afternoon featured white, low-slung capris, a black purse, eyeliner and diamond-studded jewelry.

And he likes it.

“I’m fabulous,” he said. “I feel good.”

And so The New York Times reports on Pape Mbaye, who was granted refugee status by the US government after being driven out of his native Senegal. He was attacked by armed mobs, harassed by police and subjected to a poisonous campaign of denigration by the media.

Anti-gay sentiment is rife in Africa, with the media and religious leaders (the Times article highlights Islamic leaders) using fear of homosexuality as a cover for the continents real problems.

Pape's story of riches to rags is grim, but things are looking up for him. He has his own place in the Bronx (where he should fit in well) and hopes to continue dancing, singing and storytelling (in French and Wolof for now). “I want to live with the gays!” he said. “Pape Mbaye is American!”

See the article here.

Review: Bangkok Love Story

It's a nice idea - an assassin and his intended victim become allies, and, in hiding, unexpectedly find love together. Maek (played by Rattanaballang Tohssawat) is the assassin capable only of killing the bad guys. Iht (Chaiwat Thongsaeng) is his target, the lawyer a crime gang wants murdered.

The film is visually stunning, as is Chaiwat Thongsaeng as Iht. I could watch him watching paint dry all day long and not get bored. But as for the plot... Oh dear.

I desperately wanted to like this film. There was so much potential; the idea itself is a bit different - a gay version of Asian action flicks. But the melodrama puts Brazilian telenovellas to shame. It isn't enough that Maek's brother is a hustler who happily passes on the AIDS given to him by his paedophile stepfather, the mother is also infected, and eventually hangs herself. Oh and so does the brother, after a slow, lingering decline into AIDS hell. It isn't enough that Maek gets locked up for most of his life; when he finally gets out, he's gunned down. That's after Iht, who's been blinded by the widow of one of Maek's victims, has waited a lifetime for him. And because it's in a rainstorm, poor blind Iht doesn't realise Maek's been shot dead, and carries on talking about how much he loves Maek, and how Maek will be his new eyes from now on. Then a Hummer runs over both of them. (No, not really, but it might as well have done.)

The first half of the film, particularly the scenes in which Maek and Iht slowly fall in love - and lust, culminating in a steamy rooftop love scene - is promising. But it goes downhill rapidly, plummets of a cliff and is blown to smithereens as one tragedy tops another. And I like a it of tragedy me, but there's such a thing as overkill.

The one miracle is that I didn't try and jump off the nearest viaduct after this little epic.

Pictured: Chaiwat Thongsaeng as Iht. Or Stone, if you read the subtitles.

What Goes Around Comes Around: A Player Gets Played

This article has been moved.

Read the updated version here.

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Jamal Brown

Pictured: Ivy League track & field athlete Jamal Brown, who will feature in Out magazine's Out 100.

First the Olympics, then, er, Gladiators - it's all sport, sport, sport around here lately. However, picture perfect Jamal's account of coming out to his team at Dartmouth College is a rare good news story. You can read it here.

Jamal's photo (above) is part of an ongoing project by Jeff Sheng featuring images of 'out' high school and collegiate athletes. Track and field cutey Jamar (below) takes the silver for me (sorry), but you'll have your own favourites.

Check out Fearless - A Photography Series by Jeff Sheng, here.

Darryl Stephens Speaks. Out

Oooooooooh, what's this? An interview in Instinct with yummy Noah's Arc star Darryl Stephens. Darryl, Darryl, Darryl, how we love you. (Sigh). If you've been paying attention, you'll know that I despise the pack of (usually gay) bloggers who think it's their business to out actors who would otherwise like to keep their personal lives private. These misguided individuals seem to think that actors have some sort of responsibility to the gay community. They don't. They're people doing a job, and it's none of your business who they do. We all want to know, but we don't have any right to, and people seem to forget that. The cast of Noah's Arc, who largely kept silent on the issue of sexuality, came in for some particularly harsh criticism after keeping silent on the subject. Darryl Stephens, who came out after Noah's Arc finished on television, says: “We had seen other gay shows where the straight actors who were playing gay got a lot of the credit for doing all the work and for being braver actors. We were all just trying to avoid that. I think as black actors we are all aware of the fact that the roles we are allowed to play are very limited. To step up and say “I’m gay” makes a lot of other doors close, too.” The fact that he needs to explain these simple facts is a sad indictment on the gay community. Mind you, he could say "I wanna see if this wine bottle fits in you" and I'd probably nod my head and smile dumbly. Darryl, Darryl, Darryl (sigh). See some of the interview here or get the magazine. Oh yeah, the magazine has a shirtless spread of Mr. Stephens. Save a copy for me.

Pictured: Darryl demonstrates talents we'll sadly never experience in the high brow classic, Another Gay Movie.

Tales of the Unexpected

Pictured: Julian Rodriguez and his partner Joel Jusino, with Mr. Rodriguez’s daughters from a previous marriage.

The family is just one of around 1500 same-sex couples with children in the Bronx, New York. The New York Times reports that "same-sex couples in the Bronx are more likely to have children than those in any other New York City borough, according to a study released last month, and perhaps more than any county in the country."

Well, someone has to look after all the orphans abandoned by straight people - assuming that a large proportion of the children raised by gay couples have been adopted...