Punk Smurf pens a bilingual blog

Firstly, I’m going to post about this truly horrible event. When I first saw the footage I could not believe wat I was seeing. So a warning beforehand; it’s not for the faint hearted, and possibly NSFW. What I’m talking about? A vicious attack that happened earlier where a guide dog was attacked by a pitbull type dog. The owner of the attacking dog fled the scene after he managed to get his dog off the guide dog, leaving the visually impaired owner in great distress. Anyone in the London area: keep an eye out!

Staying in the UK for more news: rock band Skunk Anansie is the latest in a line of many public faces to join the “Some people are gay - get over it” campaign.

Hopefully, Danish filmmakers Iben Haahr Andersen and Minna Grooss are taking their documentary “Hello my name is Lesbian” to film festivals around the world. It’s released on DVD. Judging from the trailer (it has English subs!) it looks like an interesting documentary. Watch it here.

In response to “Humpday”, in which two heterosexual guys (played by Joshua Leonard and Mark Duplass) take their relationship to an entirely different level when they decide to participate in an art film project that involves the two of them having sex, Lynn Shelton made a “sequel” called “Beyond gay“. I watched the short and found it disturbing (in a good way) and very amusing. Warning: even though it isn’t graphic, it’s definitely NSFW.

Earlier this week another episode of Cherry Bomb was posted, and I was delighted to see actor/comedian Jason Stuart amidst the ladies. Showcasing a good sense of humor, Stuart also made several very sensible remarks. This week’s episode was about “The gay and lesbian divide” - a discussion I’ve had with several of my gay friends. I found it interesting to hear what they had to say about it.

Photographer Spencer Tunick has started preparing for another one his famous shoots. In March next year he’ll be one the headliners for the 2010 Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Festival. Read more about it here.

Towleroad blogged the following that has me seething:

Barbaric poachers, perhaps signaling a new trend in illegal wildlife trade, allegedly climbed a fence at the Taman Rimbo Zoo in Jambi, Indonesia over the weekend before taking  their prize:

“Sheila, who had been the only Sumatran tiger remaining at the zoo, was killed and skinned on zoo grounds after being drugged by poachers early on Saturday, leaving virtually nothing behind except the innards and a few ribs of the animal, which is critically endangered in the wild. ‘There is no doubt that the killers were professionals because they did their job very cleanly, taking off the skin in the enclosure rather than dragging the 100-kilogram animal out, which could have attracted attention,’ said Didy Wurdjanto, the head of the Jambi Natural Resources Conservation Center.”

There is discussion that the poaching could have been an inside job. There are  believed to be between 100 and 400 Sumatran tigers left in the wild. Now the ones in zoos apparently have to worry as well.

You’ve probably seen it or heard about it since it’s all over the news: the reported 63% to 34% victory by Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has sparked turmoil and rioting within Iran. Personally, I was surprised by the big difference as I had expected both candidates to get about half of all the votes, and that Mahmoud Ahmadinejad declared himself the winner nonetheless. The latter happened. I don’t know if Mahmoud Ahmadinejad really got the majority (whatever the actual majority of votes is) but if young people went out of their way to vote for reformist opponent, Mirhossein Mousavi, and are now crying fraud on the outcome of the elections (risking severe beatings by the police), it makes me wonder. Supporters of defeated moderate Mirhossein Mousavi are being arrested. That makes me wonder even more. Hearing that It’s obvious the younger generation want change, and I hope for them it’s gonna come soon.

Talking about elections; it seemed the majority of Europeans voted right. Whether it’s due to the economic crisis or something else, I don’t think it’s alright. (I voted left.) Read about the Dutch elections from a Canadian point of view.

A Catholic woman is suing a gay couple after her son got placed into their care when she was unfit to take care of him herself. The reason for suing couldn’t be lamer than that; if the couple was deemed unfit, I don’t think her kid would be placed in their care in the first place.

Floating belly up in the Pacific, this is the body of a giant blue whale - killed by a passing ship. (How on earth could you NOT notice running over or bumping into something large as that?!)

The body was found by researchers from Oregon State University in the Santa Barbara Channel off the coast of California. How sad is that?

Chastity Bono, the 40-year-old daughter of Cher and the late Sonny Bono announced her decision earlier this week to undergo a sex change. Chastity will be known as “Chaz” from now on.

Bono’s publicist said, “Chaz, after many years of consideration, has made the courageous decision to honor his true identity. He is proud of his decision and grateful for the support and respect that has already been shown by loved ones. It is Chaz’s hope that his choice to transition will open the hearts and minds of the public regarding this issue, just as his coming out did nearly 20 years ago.”

Read the entire statement on GLAAD.

Kudos to Chaz for coming out as trans; it takes courage to do that. I’m sure he’ll be turned into a spokesperson because he’s famous. (But I think he already knows that.) The good thing is that it might pave the way for other trans people.

A women’s prison in Virginia is - apparently - separating lesbian inmates from straight inmates. Based on appearance. How dumb is that?

The Ausiello Files reported that Stephanie March is staying a little longer on SVU - woo-hoo! While the length of her commitment has yet to be finalized, March’s Alex Cabot will assume ADA duties for only part of the season, as producers have cast a wide net to search for other ADA types as well. NBC had no comment. I’m stoked!

The school censoring a sixth-grade student’s presentation of gay rights activist Harvey Milk has been forced to apologise. Right on!

Towleroad.com offers two views from the High Line Park I blogged about earlier this week. Check them out here.

The ever gracious Terry Moore talked to Publishers Weekly about Echo, his up and coming Strangers in Paradise omnibus, and other works. Read about it here.

Just had to post this:

And the cameraman wasn’t even drinking!

A pink albino baby elephant, the first to be spotted in Botswana (and the fourth known occurrence in Africa) was photographed by a BBC cameraman on a shoot for the network recently:

“While albinism is thought to be fairly common in Asian elephants, it is much less common in the larger African species. Ecologist Dr Mike Chase, who runs conservation charity Elephants Without Borders, said: “I have only come across three references to albino calves, which have occurred in Kruger National Park in South Africa.”

It’s chances of survival aren’t great: “He said that the condition might make it difficult for the calf to survive into adulthood. ‘What happens to these young albino calves remains a mystery,’ said Dr Chase. ‘Surviving this very rare phenomenon is very difficult in the harsh African bush. The glaring sun may cause blindness and skin problems.’

Chase expressed hope that the elephant species’ innate ability to adapt might help the calf.

Two words: juvinile court. That’s where I work. Reading police reports on the crap kids have done, I can’t help but wonder where the world’s coming to? Seriously, if bad childhoods are reason enough to act out then there is seriously something wrong with me. I had a rotten one, but I never “acted out”. I’ve never even played hooky. So, reading about some Canadian teenagers who went out of their way to rescue some trapped dolphins in Newfoundland warmed my heart.

Read the article *here*

On another part of the world a dolphin named Echo stayed with its severely wounded buddy Nari after a shark attack, waiting till the coast was clear to escort it to humans for help. Read the article *here* WARNING: graphic picture ahead.

Last week I blogged about a koala being rescued. I now have an update *here* That’s just heartwarming, eh?

In the meantime Brit popstar Mika is back in the studio recording new material, and is sharing a bit of it with us. Watch the clip. The choir? Two words: OH. WOW. Goosebumps.

I don’t know if you’ve seen the condition Australia is currently in: on one hand part of the country is suffering from serious floods, on the other there are huge fires.

Earlier this week I saw this amazing photo of a rescue working feeding a koala some water amid the burnt out forestland of Australia’s Victoria state. Now there’s a heartwarming video to go along with it. The koala, now named Sam, is a global star.