The Column of Life

Samhain, which is the pagan name for this time of year has evolved into what we now know as Halloween, a unofficial holiday that runs the gamut from emulating monsters and fright nights to people running around in costumes parading up and down streets and drinking themselves silly in bars. It’s the perfect excuse for men to put on dresses or gay priests to wear tutus. It is not in its origins quite all that. The Apostolic tradition usurped this pagan festival and turned into All Saints’ and All Souls’ Days. (Hallows = Holies or Saints; E’en = Eve) The late Scott Cunningham wrote quite a few books on Wicca and Paganism in his short time on the earth. And since this is the time of year to remember those who have passed on let’s recall what he had to say about it. At Samhain … say farewell to the God. This is a temporary farewell. He isn’t wrapped in eternal darkness, but readies to be reborn of the Goddess at Yule. Samhain also known as November Eve, Feast of the Dead, Feast of Apples, H...

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Now, with back-to-back Oscar-caliber movies, the actor with the difficult name is establishing himself as a marquee player who's willing to tackle bold subjects. (Maybe when they read his nominations, they won't trip over his name.) Next Friday, he stars as a third-generation enlistee who becomes an elite Marine sniper in Sam Mendes' "Jarhead." In December, he will appear opposite Heath Ledger in "Brokeback Mountain," a tragic story about two cowboys who meet and fall in love in 1960s Wyoming. "People will have problems with it," Gyllenhaal says. "But it's kind of hard to disagree with what the movie is saying. It's a story about people struggling with how to love each other."

A Republican strategist, speaking on the condition of anonymity to offer a bark-off analysis of Bush's problems, was far gloomier, noting that the situation facing Bush is about as bad as it can get. "What's in front of him are very big structural problems," he said. Ticking off a list that includes a looming winter energy crisis because of high heating oil and natural gas prices, an immigration fight that could further divide his party, negative perceptions of the economy despite strong growth numbers, and overall pessimism about the direction of the country, he added: "It's not like it's a one-shot deal where they hit bottom and then bounce back. I'm not sure they've reached bottom yet." Bush also must consider the degree to which Cheney has now beco me a liability in his efforts to recover politically. Two Republicans privately said yesterday the taciturn Cheney has beco me a major burden to the president, and that his association...

for your dart board, at the very least from Raw Story {rawstory.com} Rove is 'Official A,' Novak's 'indirect' source, lawyers say Jason Leopold and John Byrne Deputy White House Chief of Staff Karl Rove was the mysterious 'Official A' named in the indictment of Vice President Dick Cheney's Chief of Staff, lawyers close to the case have told RAW STORY . Friday's indictment identified "Official A" as a "senior official in the White House who advised Libby on July 10 or 11 of 2003" about a conversation with conservative columnist Robert Novak about an upcoming column where Plame would be identified as a CIA employee. Novak's column ran Jul. 14, 2003. Rove is expected to be identified in several newspapers Saturday. The Associated Press is also close to naming Rove as 'Official A.' 'Bush's brain' is not Novak's 'secret source.' He is, however, the senior administration official who said, ...

There should be no great rejoicing in the troubles surrounding Mr. Bush. A great resounding I told you so from the 50% of the voting population that rejected him for exactly the sa me things that have brought him down in the virtual sense does no good. There is no positive effect from gazing up at the score board in this game. The indict me nt or indict me nts, the torture scandal, Iraq , and Harriet Miers among many other events that erode his power does little to help the nation. A me ricans, or at least their news organizations are terrific bean counters and it all tends to be about the process. The process, it seems, distracts from issues. To be sure there are serious matters at hand in these foibles and definitely point to Mr. Bush and Company plotting to deceive the electorate in order to go to war. The real crime is that this administration exploited the tragedy of September 11, 2005 to accomplish right wing politicians' agenda to establish a foothold in the oil rich ...

'Way to Go! "My purpose for doing it has nothing to do with throwing it in anybody's face," Swoopes said in a telephone interview. "I'm not trying not to make a big deal of it. "I was at a point in my life where I am just tired of having to pretend to be somebody I am not. I was basically living a lie. For the last seven, eight years, I was basically waiting to exhale." Saying she felt empowered by expressing her sexuality, Swoopes ... also admitted to a vulnerability that is not consistent with her image on the court.

As we reach the end of this lunar cycle which peaked with the full moon of the 16 th of October ( 08:13 AM EDT ) was also a partial lunar eclipse, an important celestial configuration. Simplified: it is a cosmic expression of the eternal struggle between order and chaos – Libra, in this case, the sign of order and Aries, chaos. The next polarity of Scorpio/Taurus will be a much more passionate cycle but certainly more honest and straightforward. Currently the frustration and impatience in the air has to do with has to do with the lack of precise knowledge. Soon we find ourselves on the threshold of revelatory experience. While on the subject of Astrology, let it be known that it is an ancient form of Psychology. Accepting it as such opens the door to focusing on W’s Saturn Return. The Saturn Return – The Mythology and the Reality by Robert Wilkinson The Saturn return, occurring between 27 and 29 years of age for most of us, is perhaps one of the most feared, and misunderstood poin...

October 26, 2005 Op-Ed Columnist Dick at the Heart of Darkness By MAUREEN DOWD WASHINGTON After W. was elected, he sometimes gave visitors a tour of the love alcove off the Oval Office where Bill trysted with Monica - the notorious spot where his predecessor had dishonored the White House. At least it was only a little pantry - and a little panting. If W. wants to show people now where the White House has been dishonored in far more astounding and deadly ways, he'll have to haul them around every nook and cranny of his vice president's office, then go across the river for a walk of shame through the Rummy empire at the Pentagon. The shocking thing about the trellis of revelations showing Dick Cheney, the self-styled Mr. Strong America, as the central figure in dark conspiracies to juice up a case for war and demonize those who tried to tell the public the truth is how unshocking it all is. It's exactly what we thought was going on, but we never thought we'd actual...

Please join me for a pre-Halloween witching hour celebration. Erin Torpey who used to play me daughter on One Life to Live will be the opening act and I will be joined as usual, by my partners in cri me , The Lost Tribe : Murray Wienstock, John Miller, Victor Lesser and Gary Fritz. I am looking forward to seeing you on October 28 th !

Bushie

You know what? We told you so ... NEW YORK (AP) -- Documents in the CIA leak investigation indicate the chief of staff to Vice President Dick Cheney first heard of the covert CIA officer from Cheney himself, The New York Times reported in Tuesday editions. The newspaper said notes of a previously undisclosed June 12, 2003 conversation between I. Lewis Libby and Cheney appear to differ from Libby's grand jury testimony that he first heard of Valerie Plame from journalists. The newspaper identified its sources as lawyers who are involved in the case. Libby has emerged at the center of Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald's criminal investigation in recent weeks because of the Cheney aide's conversations about Plame with Times reporter Judith Miller. Miller said Libby spoke to her about Plame and her husband, Bush administration critic Joseph Wilson, on three occasions. Libby's notes show that Cheney knew of Plame's CIA work more than a month before her identity wa...

I. Lewis Libby Jr., Vice President Dick Cheney’s chief of staff, first learned about the C.I.A. officer at the heart of the leak investigation in a conversation with Mr. Cheney weeks before her identity became public in 2003, lawyers involved in the case said Monday. Notes of the previously undisclosed conversation between Mr. Libby and Mr. Cheney on June 12, 2003, appear to differ from Mr. Libby’s testimony to a federal grand jury that he initially learned about the C.I.A. officer, Valerie Wilson, from journalists, the lawyers said.

By now the template for The Washington Blade to the right should have been noticed. All weekend on both straight and gay sites the following editorial from its pages has been posted and discussed. Also, Tab Hunter has achieved new found notice with coming out at the tender age of 74, therefore, we repost it here for those of you who might not have seen it and to remind you of the great newsworthy services, so to speak, that the “Blade” provides. Out, out damn celebs! From Anderson Cooper to Jodie Foster, it’s ti me for the rich and famous to stop playing ga me s and start answering ‘the question.’ Friday, October 21, 2005 NATIONAL COMING OUT Day ca me and went last week without any public declarations from celebrities or other public figures long rumored to be gay, but who simply refuse to acknowledge their sexual orientation. It’s a long and varied list, from A-list Hollywood celebrities to popular television anchors to prominent politicians. These closet case...

O, Billie Jean, wherefore art thou? MADRID (AFP) - Male models will be used as ballboys at the 2006 WTA Tour Championships, officials announced. With female models into their second year of similar duties at this week's me n's ATP Madrid Masters, the Spanish organisers believe they are on to a good thing. Like their counterparts, the males will be kitted out by an international clothing sponsor for their on-court duties during the wo me n's end of season finale which will move to Spain from Los Angeles . Okay, now let's get this straight, so to speak. All male tennis players want female models to do their bidding and, therefore, all female tennistas want male models. What's next? Male cheerleaders for the WNBA?

It begins where it ends. Within the first few paragraphs you know that this is a story of loss and of love. "… yet he was suffused with pleasure because Jack Twist was in his dream. … If he does not force his attention on it, it might stoke the day, rewarm that old, cold time on the mountain when they owned the world and nothing seemed wrong." In her novella, Brokeback Mountain , Annie Proulx leads us through the twenty-year relationship between Ennis Del Mar and Jack Twist that is at times viscerally sexual, but always emotionally harrowing. It's a love story where no one says I love you. No one needs to because love for these two men just is. It survives their separation, their marriages, the lives they are forced, or perhaps choose, to lead. And it always takes them back to Brokeback Mountain, the one place where they can shrug off their real lives and rekindle what keeps them going. "What Jack remembered and craved in a way he could neither help nor underst...

Back in the Swingin ’ Sixties, the era that provided a parallel universe to the rebellious politically correct Sixties of war protest and the Sum me r of Love was that which contained the likes of Burt Bacharach, and his then wife Angie Dickinson. It was equally cool parallel though it may be. It will take too long to disabuse the world of the association with Austin Powers. It has been me ntioned now we ’ ll move on. Mr. Bacharach is responsible for unique songs that populated the airwaves back then and the box set is a must have for anyone who is a serious listener of pop music. The good news is that Burt is still here and still creating. Not only is he still creating but he has brought two parallel universes together again. He ’ s actually done it before with What the World Needs Now and Windows of the World, but this ti me the words are his. NEW YORK (Reuters) - It could be just what the world needs now -- Burt Bacharach writing lyrics. The legenda...

Posted 10/18/05 By Paul Bedard S parked by today's Washington Post story that suggests Vice President Cheney's office is involved in the Plame-CIA spy link investigation, government officials and advisers passed around rumors that the vice president might step aside and that President Bush would elevate Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. "It's certainly an interesting but I still think highly doubtful scenario," said a Bush insider. "And if that should happen," added the official, "there will undoubtedly be those who believe the whole thing was orchestrated – another brilliant Machiavellian move by the VP." Said another Bush associate of the rumor, "Yes. This is not good." The rumor spread so fast that some Republicans by late morning were already drawing up reasons why Rice couldn't get the job or run for president in 2008. "Isn't she pro-choice?" asked a key Senate Republican aide. Many White Hou...

If you've ever wanted to call Ryan Seacrest your queen, or simply a queen head to West Hollywood on Halloween. The host of "American Idol" will be the "Queen of the Carnaval" at the 18th annual West Hollywood Halloween Costume Carnaval on Oct 31. More than 450,000 people will be expected along Santa Monica Boulevard. visitwesthollywood.com

... just call us Pander Bears. Hey! We're on Page Six. It's not so much how important it is to know who donated, but that this is actually news these days. Think about it. October 18, 2005 -- OUT magazine narrowly avoided a smackdown from Hollywood heavyweight Camryn Manheim's lawyers earlier this month by deleting photos of Manheim's son, Milo Manheim, and dropping mentions that his super-secret father/sperm donor is male model Jeffrey Brezovar. Brezovar, who's on the cover of the November issue of Out hitting shelves next week, had given an interview naming himself as Milo's father, and there was a planned photo shoot of him and the 4-year-old child. At first Manheim, who starred in ABC's The Practice seemed fine with everything — even though the magazine planned to name Brezovar as her son's father. From Out.com November 2005 What does it feel like to be young and gay and aching to parent when everyone around you is young and gay and aching to par...

Michael O’Keeffe in Sunday’s Daily News devoted the first part of his column to a real man, Mr. Paul Tagliabue with the headline, “Tags Tackles Homophobia.” The NFL certainly has no shortage of homophobic meatheads – yeah, Jeremy Shockey we’re talking about you – so The Score was delighted to learn that the guy who actually runs the league pays more than lip service to high falutin’ concepts like civil rights. Commissioner Paul Tagliabue and his wife Chandler were honored last week by the New York chapter of Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays for their support of PFLAG’s Stay Close program. The Tagliabues have been significant financial supporters of the program,a series of print ads intended to promote tolerance that features celebrities … and their gay relatives. [New Yorkers were treated to them in the subways. Ben Affleck and his gay cousin Jason was among the most endearing.] Tagliabue’s 36 year old son Drew is openly gay; he’s also a co-founder of the Stay Close...

Compared to Judith Miller Monica Lewinski is a Pollyanna. The New York Ti me s published very few words on which you can rely this past Sunday in re: the so called journalist known as Judith Miller. She has done much wrong – a whole lot of wrong and she was in jail for all the wrong things. The Ti me s is in a quandary because the powers that be would like to support a journalist who has gone to jail for journalistic integrity, but what they have in their employ is a woman who prostituted herself to the current Administration and was instru me ntal in manipulating the public first by propping up the lie about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq and secondly by helping a man who is obviously her paramour put a CIA operative in mortal danger – which, by the way, is treason according to a for me r head of the CIA, George H. W. Bush, the 41 st president and the man who unfortunately sired the current occupant of the White House, a poster child for birth control. The one pa...

Stevie has been a major contributor to American music for well over forty years -- a fixture if you will. finally this week he releases a much anticipated album. From our colleagues at The Post "A Ti me to Love" Motown On his first album in nearly a decade, Wonder turns a blind eye to war and terrorism and says enough is enough, it's ti me to love. The CD's title buzzes with a positive vibe that preaches there's no payoff in hate. The lyrics are uplifting and, musically, it sends the me ssage that Stevie is still a wonderful musician. In the smooth groove depart me nt, Wonder is slick and romantic on the sweet "Blue Moon," but he's tops when dusting off his master-blast funk, as on "Please Don't Hurt My Baby" and "So What the Fuss." By the way, when you hear "So What" on radio, re me mber, Wonder isn't spelling fuss with a "ck" - even though it may sound that way. The Crackerjack prize within ...

We are enamoured of Mr. Hunter and have him all over the place on the BLOG and the site. It's only because -- well, it's just because. You,dear reader, know the reason. Anyway, one more time we will mention him, because he will be here in New York come Tuesday. If you can, go. Keeping Tabs on Hunter == Ben Widdicombe Fifties hunk Tab Hunter is making pacemakers race with a visit to town to promote his new memoir, "Tab Hunter Confidential." The title is a winking reference to a gossip rag that used to harass the blond star for dating the likes of Debbie Reynolds and Natalie Wood in public — and being a big old homo in private. (Not that the magazine had much luck in the courts: In 1957, Liberace sued Confidential for saying he was gay — and won.) "I heard someone was going to be doing an unauthorized book and I just thought, get [the story] from the horse's mouth, not from some horse's ass," Hunter, 74, told me. The autobiography includes a frank dis...

Forgive and Forget is not your run-of-the mill made for TV movie. First airing in the UK in 2000, it's now available on DVD. With a good plot and equally good actors, it does raise some questions after you have seen it. But more about that later. David (Steve John Shepherd who is probably most familiar to North American audiences from the UK series This Life ) is a construction worker who, although at times surly and withdrawn, seems to be like all his other workmates. Except he is hiding the secret that he is gay. Theo (John Simm who had a heart-rending role in the Cracker episode "Best Boys") is David's best friend, someone who depends on David to be his "rock", but who is completely unaware that David is gay and, more importantly, that David is in love with him. When Theo meets Hannah, falls in love and moves in with her, David sees his last chance of telling Theo how he feels slipping away, just as Theo too is slipping away. What transpires whe...