Odds 'N Ends

1) The Film Industry's Romance with the Bromance, Take Two

This cartoon pretty much sums it up.


2) Remember How Gay People Totally Aren't At All Oppressed?

Via The Gatheist Agenda, a woman was beaten in an anti-gay hate crime a man was arrested and charged with a hate crime (under state law) for allegedly beating a woman in Provincetown:

"'Patten was screaming biased, anti-gay language,' Lopes said. 'We took him into custody as quickly as possible, so he would not incite the large crowd that was gathering.'

He fought the police officers, kicking one and spitting on the other, Lopes added.

Patten faces charges including assault and battery with a dangerous weapon (a window), assault and battery under the state hate crime statute, wanton destruction of property of more than $250, disorderly conduct, assault and battery on a police officer, and resisting arrest. He was so combative during the booking process, officers could not get a booking photograph, Lopes said....

The bars had just closed on a busy holiday weekend, and a crowd gathered as the Post Office Café incident unfolded.

'They were very upset,' Lopes said of the crowd. 'There were all these women crying. They were just very agitated and visibly upset, not just by what they saw but by what they heard.

'That's the thing with a hate crime, it's not just the victim who is hurt, the whole community is affected,' she continued. 'You could really see that this morning.'"

Provincetown "is perhaps the best-known gay summer resort on the East Coast."

3) Proposition 8 Update

The California Supreme Court is set to render a decision regarding the state's defense of Proposition 8 today, which removed the right that same-sex couples previously had to marry. Personally, I'm sort of over the whole Prop 8 debacle and here's why you should be too. For one, we've had a string of recent victories in other states, proving that our loss in California hasn't been as ominous as perhaps we thought back in November. Since Proposition 8 passed, Vermont, Maine, and Iowa have legalized same-sex marriage with two of these states doing so through the legislative process.

Secondly, this case isn't even on the merits of same-sex marriage so I don't think it's appropriate to get hung up on the outcome. The issues to be decided are whether the Proposition procedure was valid, whether it violated the Separation of Powers doctrine, and its effect on same-sex marriages that occurred prior to the adoption of Proposition 8. This case isn't about whether same-sex marriage is "good" or "bad," it's about the validity of the process used to amend California's state constitution.


[UPDATE: The Court has upheld Proposition 8, but is also letting the 18,000 marriages performed prior to Proposition 8 stand.]