dude

Eddy.... They are still there.... lower left quadrant... still called "Current Serial Stories/" We just reorganized the Home Page to make for a more logical flow. Authors on far left - New Novels upper Left - Recently Completed Novels middle Left and Current Serial Novels bottom left. Top right for New Short Stories - Recent Short stories middle right. And Awesome Sites on bottom right. Far right is Sound Stuff - with poetry in upper right corner. The Home Page was getting out of control and we wanted to pack as much as we could with minimum clutter. Mike

Staff at a gay support group in Londonderry last night cancelled plans to close for holidays after a 20-year-old man became the eighth person to die by suicide in the area in recent weeks. The Rainbow Project in Derry has issued a plea for anyone affected by the suicides to come and see them as police investigated the death of former 'Mr Gay Derry' Eamon Johnston. Mr Johnston, who had trained as a hairdresser and had helped counsel other gay people, is the eighth person to die by suicide in Derry in the past two months alone. An ambulance crew was called to the young man's flat at Maureen Avenue in the Abercorn Road area of Derry at around 6am yesterday. He was taken to Altnagelvin where he was pronounced dead. Police have confirmed that a crime is not suspected in relation to his death. In a statement issued by the Rainbow Project yesterday, a spokesman said everyone's thoughts were "very much with the family and friends of Eamon ". He added: "This event has sent waves of shock throughout both the gay and wider community, many of whom are struggling to comprehend what is happening. "A sudden death of this nature traumatises communities in a way that is indescribable and causes immense emotional pain for those left behind." He added: "We are acutely aware of the vulnerability of those that knew Eamon and the need for support at this time. "We urge anyone for whom this is having an impact to come and talk to us in confidence. "Our door is open to anyone who would like to talk; in fact the staff team in our Foyle centre are cancelling holiday arrangements and will be keeping the centre open over the bank holiday period to ensure that the opportunity to talk is available to all. "It is vital that anyone - and we emphasise anyone - who is experiencing suicidal thoughts to talk to our staff or to any of the other support agencies." A PSNI spokesman said: "The 20-year-old was conveyed to hospital where he was pronounced dead. "Police are investigating the death on behalf of the coroner, however a crime is not suspected." Four years ago this summer Eamon was crowned Mr Gay Derry and had been one of the favourites to win the Mr Gay UK title. Back in August 2003 he spoke to the Belfast Telegraph about how his parents were really proud of him after he came out. He said of winning the local title: "I was pretty nervous about the Gay UK thing initially but all the feedback and the voting has been really positive and I'd like to thank everyone for that. "My feeling now is this: you have to be seen out there, you can't hide in a corner or we'll never get anywhere".

Kicked out, gay teenager finds role July 12, 2007 BY DESIREE COOPER FREE PRESS COLUMNIST At 47, sometimes I still wonder who I am. But 20-year-old Brandon Kneefel already is certain about who he is -- and he's paid a heavy price for it. "I was 14 when my parents asked me if I was gay," said Kneefel, who was born in Dearborn and raised in Livonia. "I said that I was, and they immediately wanted to get me counseling." For Kneefel, a popular student who holds track and field records at Livonia's Stevenson High School, it should have been a relief finally to acknowledge outwardly what he'd felt inside since he was 4. Instead, it unleashed a nightmare. His family was humiliated and repulsed by his homosexuality. They objected to him running for student body president, fearing he would negatively influence other students. They didn't want him to play football for similar reasons. "All I saw was their fear," he said. When he was 16, the tension came to a head, and they cast him out of the house. He went to school the following day -- still in his pajamas. Kneefel lived with a friend's family until he graduated with a 3.5. Unable to afford college, he applied for an Army ROTC scholarship at the University of Michigan. He got it but relinquished it after his first semester. "I could not be gay and be in the Army," he said. "I wasn't being true to myself." That took courage, but it also derailed the life of the young actor, intellectual and athlete. The cost of self-denial Jorge Valencia knows a lot about teens like Kneefel. He's the executive director of California's Point Foundation, the nation's largest publicly supported scholarship grantor to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender students. "Gay youth are 4.5 times more likely to skip school than their non-gay peers because they don't feel safe there," said Valencia, a gay man who grew up in a Mormon family in Texas. "LGBT teens have three times the dropout rate, are more likely to run away from home and are three to four times more likely to take their lives than non-gay peers." Plus, many LGBT youth often are ostracized by their families, making it difficult to get a college education, he said. That's why the foundation offers scholarships, leadership training and mentoring to promising LGBT youth. Point scholars -- 84 this year -- are supported until they graduate. Kneefel is one of them. To thine own self be true Now nearly a junior and a gay activist, Kneefel is grateful he'll be able to earn his degree in organizational leadership from Pennsylvania State University. "For me, the scholarship is symbolic of how far the LGBT community has come," he said. "It means that I'm affirmed with all the struggles I've been through growing up gay." Acknowledging his sexuality has exacted a high price, but for Kneefel nothing is more costly than self-denial.

Chronicle See original article HERE. July 2, 2007, 6:08PM Spring teen's death spurs fight for hate-crimes bill By PATTY REINERT Copyright 2007 Houston Chronicle Washington Bureau WASHINGTON ? Supporters of hate crimes legislation mourned the death of Spring teenager David Ritcheson today and vowed to push the bill he championed through the U.S. Senate despite President Bush's threat to veto it. U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Houston, credited the 18-year-old's testimony before the House Judiciary Committee for softening opposition to the hate crimes bill, which passed the House 237-180 in May. The bill is now awaiting a hearing in the Senate. "He was powerful," Jackson Lee said of the Mexican-American who survived a brutal sexual assault and beating last year by two teens shouting "white power!" "I was watching him sitting there with poise, with a smiling face and with commitment and courage and dedication and the rightness of what he was saying," she said. "He was not in any way doubtful of what he was saying." In Houston, Dena Marks of the Anti-Defamation League Southwest Regional Office, which arranged Ritcheson's trip to Washington, said she and her colleagues were shocked and saddened by his death, resulting from his jump from a Mexico-bound cruise ship on Sunday. "My own impression of him was that he was doing remarkably well and was very interested in doing whatever he could to fight the kind of hatred that he had been victimized by," Marks said. "He seemed to be a great kid who just wanted to take something very, very bad that had happened to him and make something good out of it for other people. He worked very hard toward that." Jackson Lee said the tragedy of Ritcheson's death could draw attention to the need for the hate crimes bill, as well as one she drafted that focuses on educating teenagers involved in hate groups. She said she intends to amend her legislation, nicknamed "David's Bill," to include funding and counseling support for the victims of hate crimes. "Now we have a greater reason to move this bill as fast as we can," she said of the main hate crimes bill, sponsored by Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich. "We will have a full press forward to have the president change his mind. Maybe he will rethink his position." White House spokesman Blair Jones declined to comment, but provided the Chronicle with a policy statement laying out the administration's opposition to the legislation. The document said Bush's advisors would recommend that he veto the bill if it reaches his desk because the administration believes local and state hate crimes laws are adequate, and that the bill would give protected status to certain groups of victims, but not to others, such as the elderly, military personnel or the police. The legislation would make it a federal hate crime to attack someone if the crime is motivated by prejudice based on the actual or perceived race, color, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or disability of the victim. The current federal hate crimes law applies only to violence against victims based on race, religion, color or national origin, and only when the victim is attacked while carrying out a federally protected act, such as voting. The bill also would make it easier for federal law enforcement personnel to assist local and state police in investigating hate crimes and would provide $10 million over the next two years to help cover the cost of hate crimes prosecutions. Rep. Louie Gohmert, R-Tyler, who led the opposition to the hate crimes bill in the House, told Ritcheson this spring that he sympathized with him but opposed giving what he considered special protection under the law for victims who are gay or transgendered. He said he fears that religious leaders could be targeted under such a law for preaching against homosexuality. On Monday, Gohmert issued a statement saying: "It is heartbreaking that such a gifted young man would bring an early end to such talent. Our thoughts and prayers go out to all of David's loved ones. Though two of his original attackers received 90 years and life, clearly they did devastating long term damage to him mentally and emotionally." patty.reinert@chron.com

Whoops... typo. Shame on me ! I corrected it in my original post but once again the correct Winamp or VLC URL is: http://mega2.radioserver.co.uk:8170/listen.pls Mea maxima culpa. Good news Rog and Makuro are home safe!

For those of you who use your own desktop shortcut to open the AwesomeDude Radio stream in Winamp/VLC or Windows Media... effective immediately our streaming provider has moved our stream to the following url: For Winamp or VLC: http://mega2.radioserver.co.uk:8170/listen.pls For Windows Media listerners (using the orban AAC plug in) icyx://mega2.radiostreamer.co.uk:8170 If you use the AwesomeDude Home page or AwesomeDude Radio page links to listen... they are already updated and you needn't do anything. Thanks

For Article published Jun 26, 2007 Click Here UNCG student fights for gay rights Seth Crawford Northwest Guilford <script type=text/javascript> // This article was written as part of a Multicultural Journalism Workshop at the News & Record. The numbing cold handcuffs constrict his wrists. A firm hand tightly grasps his arm. An attentive man guides him to the sporadic blinking lights of a police car. As he is placed in the back seat, confidence builds up inside him. Unlike most college students, 21-year-old Matt Hill Comer has been battling adversity his entire life. Comer, a UNCG junior, realized he was gay when he was 12. But he grew up in a strictly conservative Baptist home, where he struggled with a decision to make his sexual orientation known. He would sit in church on Sundays, listening to his pastor ? who seemed to point him out ? condemning gays as despicable, vile creatures that would inevitably burn in hell. Comer struggled with his sexual orientation. Maybe he didn't feel the way he thought he did, or maybe it would pass. After two years of wrestling with himself, he finally came out to his parents at 14. "My dad just sat on the couch. He didn't really say anything," Comer said. "My mom gave me the typical conservative Christian reaction saying, 'You're going to hell.' "I cried myself to sleep." After he told his parents, he built up enough courage to confide to a friend in his Boy Scout troop and another friend from school, who told everyone else. It wasn't the way he had planned. But there wasn't much he could do about it, except grit his teeth and take the verbal abuse that followed. Comer remembers being teased by the kids in his Boy Scout troop. That eventually turned to violence. "They tied me to a tree and threw rocks and sticks at me and hit me with wet towels," he said. His father confronted the Scout master, who simply replied: "Boys will be boys." After coming out, Comer leapt right into gay rights activism. He started the Gay Straight Alliance club (one of the first five in the state) at Reynolds High School. After his story appeared in a local newspaper, Comer's Scout master told him that they would have to make a decision about his Scouts' membership. He never told Comer who "they" were. Comer was dismissed by the Boy Scouts a few months later. This incident didn't faze him or his passion to fight for gay rights. In the seven years since admitting he was gay, Comer co-founded the N.C. Advocacy Coalition, a youth-run political action committee that deals with youth lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender issues, and joined UNCG's gay and lesbian group, PRIDE. He also belongs to the Triad Business and Professional Guild, UNCG's student government and the Guilford Green Foundation, an organization designed to promote acceptance of all people. He spends a part of each day reading polls and statistics about the effect LGBT activism has on the country and its acceptance of homosexuality. His biggest goal is to spread the message to gays and lesbians living in fear of coming out, assuring them that it is OK to be who they are. They can also be a Christian and gay at the same time. He says that it was a struggle at one point, but he has now come to terms with his faith and his God. "Unconditional love does not have a 'but' at the end of it," Comer said. Comer recently attracted media attention by taking part in two controversial campaigns. In the Equality Ride, a group of 50 young adults traveled across the country, demanding to be allowed on the campuses of 32 private religious colleges. Comer said their goal was to share intellectual conversations about LGBT issues with students who have been taken down a path of hate and exclusion by pastors and never been informed otherwise. Comer was a member of the East Coast team, which traveled to 19 colleges ? 12 of which barred the team from their campus. Comer believes that ? like Martin Luther King Jr. and Gandhi ? the Equality Ride squad stared discrimination and hate in the eye, and approached it head-on in a firm, nonviolent way. "Throughout history, those who show nonviolent resistance always win," Comer said. The Equality Ride reaches out to gays and lesbians at those universities who have heard their whole lives that it was wrong to be the way they are, Comer said. He wanted them to believe that they would still be loved, and could be happier by being themselves. There were more than 90 arrests combined during the trip. Most recently he was involved in the Right to Serve Campaign. He and two others tried to enlist in the Army, declaring that they were fit college students with high school diplomas and the willingness to serve the country ? and, oh yeah, they were gay. A recruiting officer asked them to leave. They refused and were arrested. "My heart was racing. My adrenaline was pumping," Comer said. He was just one of 11,000 gay youths across the nation to try to enlist in the armed forces during the campaign. Comer believes that the military can implement similar programs to that of the ones implemented by President Harry Truman when the Army integrated June 27, 1950. That's when soldiers were taught to be a colorblind entity. As far as service members having a problem with allowing gays to fight side-by-side with them, a poll conducted by Zogby International reported that 73 percent said that they wouldn't mind. A political science major, Comer wants to work with a LGBT group after college or with the Democratic Party. He could also see himself running for public office in the future. "I will be involved in activism for the rest of my life," Comer says. Seth Crawford Seth, a junior, wants to write for Sports Illustrated. Good thing he has a runner's metabolism because this boy can eat. Two editors ? who often used red pens to mark changes and who will remain nameless ? helped Seth trim his profile to fit the paper. "It's never, like, fun to get pared back and to see all the red. Sometimes you don't agree with all the stuff, but when you read it back over it's like 'That was a really good idea. This is really good.'" <script> if (!window.print) { document.write(' To print this article open the file menu and choose Print. '); } else { window.print(); } Copyright ? 2007 The News & Record and Landmark Communications, Inc. <script language=javascript src="/js/s_code.js" type=text/javascript> <script language=javascript type=text/javascript> s.Account="saxotechgreensboronewsrecord" s.cookieDomainPeriods="2" s.pageName="News-Record.com,NR - Content,NR - Content - Entertainment,UNCG student fights for gay rights:20070626:70626003" s.server="S260608DC2EW23" s.channel="Newsrec0104" /* Traffic Variables */ s.prop1="Story" s.prop2="Printed" /* E-commerce Variables */ /* Hierarchy Variables */ s.hier1="News-Record.com,NR - Content,NR - Content - Entertainment,UNCG student fights for gay rights:20070626:70626003" /************* DO NOT ALTER ANYTHING BELOW THIS LINE ! **************/ var s_code=s.t(); if(s_code)document.write(s_code)

EXAMPLE A: Hair Whorl (Men) Gay men are more likely than straight men to have a counterclockwise whorl. Photographs by Mark Mahaney Read entire article HERE

FBI tries to fight zombie hordes The vast majority of hijacked computers are Windows PCs The FBI is contacting more than one million PC owners who have had their computers hijacked by cyber criminals. The initiative is part of an ongoing project to thwart the use of hijacked home computers, or zombies, as launch platforms for hi-tech crimes. The FBI has found networks of zombie computers being used to spread spam, steal IDs and attack websites. The agency said the zombies or bots were "a growing threat to national security". Signs of trouble The FBI has been trying to tackle networks of zombies for some time as part of an initiative it has dubbed Operation Bot Roast. This operation recently passed a significant milestone as it racked up more than one million individually identifiable computers known to be part of one bot net or another. The law enforcement organisation said that part of the operation involved notifying people who owned PCs it knew were part of zombie or bot networks. In this way it said it expected to find more evidence of how they are being used by criminals. "The majority of victims are not even aware that their computer has been compromised or their personal information exploited," said James Finch, assistant director of the FBI's Cyber Division. Many people fall victim by opening an attachment on an e-mail message containing a virus or by visiting a booby-trapped webpage. Many hi-tech criminals are now trying to subvert innocent webpages to act as proxies for their malicious programs. Many bots are used to send out junk mail or spam Once hijacked, PCs can be used to send out spam, spread spyware or as repositories for illegal content such as pirated movies or pornography. Those in charge of botnets, called botherders, can have tens of thousands of machines under their control. Operation Bot Roast has resulted in the arrest of three people known to have used bot nets for criminal ends. One of those arrested, Robert Alan Soloway, could face 65 years in jail if found guilty of all the crimes with which he has been charged. In a statement about Operation Bot Roast the FBI urged PC users to practice good computer security which includes using regularly updated anti-virus software and installing a firewall. For those without basic protections anti-virus companies such as F Secure, Trend Micro, Kaspersky Labs and many others offer online scanning services that can help spot infections. The organisation said it was difficult for people to know if their machine was part of a botnet. However it said telltale signs could be if the machine ran slowly, had an e-mail outbox full of mail a user did not send or they get e-mail saying they are sending spam.

I never thought I'd write anything about the woman, nor give her this kind of significance, but it's nonetheless true that Paris Hilton has become a potent symbol of the times we live in. Watching the over-the-top media coverage -- and the outrage that ensued when she was let out of jail after only three days -- I couldn't help but think about George W. Bush. True, Paris Hilton had not waged war based on falsehoods, nor deprived the people of New Orleans immediate assistance after a horrific natural disaster, nor allowed the Justice Department to become a political arm of the president, nor brought the faith-based armies into White House. Paris Hilton had not set out to trample the Constitution -- if she has even read it -- nor has she gone about trying to wiretap Americans'telephone calls and monitor their email. And I doubt that Paris Hilton has any grand schemes to wipe out "axis of evil" any time soon. Still, the similarities between the two underscore the collision of political culture and popular culture seven years into the Bush II Era. more on the blog www.signorile2003.blogspot.com

A Welsh teenager lay down in front of a train after being teased about his sexuality. Britain's Western Mail newspaper reports 15-year-old Jonathan Reynolds was struck and killed by the train, which was travelling some 85 miles an hour. Just minutes before killing himself in January of last year, Reynolds sent a series of despondent text messages to his father and sister. He told them not to blame themselves, but rather the "people who were horrible and injust to me." Reynolds had confided to his best girlfriend only weeks earlier that he was gay. The friend, Aimee Murray, told police that Reynolds had been teased about being gay, and was depressed. Last week, a coroner's jury ruled unanimously that no conclusive reason for the death could be established The boy's parents later released a statement saying whether teasing over his sexuality was the reason for his suicide will never be known, but that he knew his family "loved and accepted him unconditionally."

Gay rights activists held in Russia By Jim Heintz The Associated Press Article Last Updated: 05/27/2007 02:56:34 PM MDT A woman in a headscarf typical of devout Russian Orthodox believers attacks British human rights activist Peter Tatchell as gay rights activists try to hold a demonstration in downtown Moscow today. (AP /Sergey Ponomarev) Moscow - Police detained gay rights activists, among them European lawmakers, as they tried to present a letter to Moscow's mayor today in a demonstration that also attracted a hostile crowd of people who punched the activists and pelted them with eggs. The letter, signed by some 40 European lawmakers, appealed the city's ban on a march that would have taken place today to mark the 14th anniversary of Russia decriminalizing homosexuality. Police quickly grabbed about a dozen demonstrators and forced them into a bus, including Russian gay rights movement leader Nikolai Alexeyev. Police then hustled away others, including German parliament member Volker Beck, as opponents threw eggs and shouted: "Moscow is not Sodom!" Marco Cappato, a European Parliament deputy from Italy, was kicked by one opponent as he spoke to journalists. Cappato began shouting: "Where are the police? Why don't you protect us?" and officers hauled him away as he struggled. The gay rights activists appeared to number fewer than 100, while roughly that many police were present. Cappato later told Italy's Sky TG24 that he had been released. He said that when he saw that Ottavio Marzocchi, an official with the Liberal Democrats in the European parliament, had come under attack, he began shouting, and "within five seconds I was taken away by police in anti-riot gear." A total of 31 people were detained, though most were later released, Moscow police spokesman Yevgeny Gildeyev said. He said two Italians were detained for jaywalking and a German was taken away by police to prevent him from being beaten. But Beck, who was later released, told The Associated Press that police beat him and the others and seized their passports. Beck also denied the group was holding a demonstration, insisting they were only trying to hand over the letter. Alexeyev said he and two other activists expected to be held until Monday, Ekho Moskvy radio reported. Cappato denied he had broken a traffic rule. "I was just trying to defend a friend from violent people because the police were not doing that," he said. The Interfax news agency quoted a Moscow city spokesman, Mikhail Solomentsev, as praising the "coordinated and polite actions of the police, who acted in strict accordance with the law." Despite being decriminalized, homosexuality is still widely despised in Russia. Many of the gay rights opponents carried icons or other insignia of the Russian Orthodox Church, and one man wore the garb of an Orthodox priest. The only Russian lawmaker to publicly state support for the demonstrators came from an unexpected wing: Alexei Mitrofanov of the ultranationalist Liberal Democratic Party. "How can one act in such a manner, assuming Russia wants to be a part of Europe?" Mitrofanov said at the scene, according to the Interfax news agency.

Works fine at 5:17 AM Monday from Borneo. That's 5:17 PM Sunday Eastern.

Racoon Recipes

... Camy?

Last summer we reported, a parent's complaint had led to the removal of a gay-themed book from a Rochester-area high school's summer reading list. Well, now it's back on the list. Released in 2001, "Rainbow Boys" by Alex Sanchez is an award-winning novel about gay teen life. It won the International Reading Association's 2003 Young Adults' Choice award, and was selected by the American Library Association as a Best Book for Young Adults. Students are required to read at least two books over the summer and write reports due at the start of the next school year. Critics claimed it had been removed because of its gay content. District officials, however, said the book was only temporarily removed while they reviewed the process used to select books for the list. Webster Superintendent Adele Bovard said a committee reviewed "Rainbow Boys" and had returned it to the list.

On the subject of Fred Phelps - Warner Music is suing Westboro Baptist Church for copyright infringement: The dude has more: Sirius OutQ Report by Dude

Good Riddance to Jerry Falwell by Tommi Avicolli Mecca? May. 16? 2007 In the Castro, Tuesday, May 15 was anything but a day to mourn. News that right-wing Christian minister Jerry Falwell had died that morning brought about 30 queers to the corner of 18th and Castro during rush hour to attend an "anti-memorial" that was full of good cheer. Representatives of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, a group of gay male nuns that Falwell had once attacked, were on hand to help exorcise the spirit of the hate-spewing fundamentalist preacher. On queervision, an internet discussion group, message lines in emails hailed "ding-dong the witch is dead" and "Falwell is dead day." Entries on the SF Bay Guardian blog, too, expressed no regret about the 73-year-old bigot's sudden passing in his office at Liberty University in Virginia. http://' target="_blank">Some may think it's tasteless to speak ill of the dead, but certainly not in the case of Jerry Falwell. The man made a lucrative career out of bashing the LGBT community and fighting any gains that women made, such as Roe v. Wade, which legalized abortion in America. He was also a segregationist who once denounced South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu, a foe of apartheid, as a phony and not a proper representative of Blacks. In 1965, Falwell criticized the work of Dr. Martin Luther King and dubbed the civil rights struggle the "civil wrongs movement." He regularly featured racists such as former Alabama Governor George Wallace on his "Old-Time Gospel Hour" TV Program. His voter registration drive among Christian fundamentalists in the late 70s is credited as having given Ronald Reagan his presidential victory in 1980. While riding high on that newfound political influence, Falwell suffered a couple of rather humiliating defeats, one at the hands of Larry Flynt, publisher of Hustler magazine, after the publication ran a spoof of Falwell's "first time," a supposedly incestuous relationship with his mother in an outhouse. Falwell sued. The case went all the way to the Supreme Court, which surprisingly backed Flynt's right to parody the public figure. It was a great victory for free speech. In 1984, a self-proclaimed gay pagan, Jerry Sloan, sued Falwell after he slammed the gay Metropolitan Community Church during a TV debate. Sloan accused Falwell of characterizing MCC as "brute beasts" and "a vile and satanic system." Falwell denied that he said those things and told Sloan he'd pay him $5,000 if he produced proof. Sloan produced a tape. Falwell refused to pay, so Sloan sued and won. Falwell eventually backed down from his stand on segregation, but never relented on his attacks on homosexuality. He not only described gay sexuality as "Satan's diabolical attack upon the family," but also believed that AIDS was God's way of punishing queers, as well as "God's punishment for the society that tolerates homosexuals." In 1999, Falwell caused a huge stir by outing Tinky-Winky, a BBC children's show character who wore purple and had an inverted triangle on his head. He also carried a magic bag. Producers denied that Tinky-Winky was queer and said that there was nothing wrong with a man carrying a purse. Perhaps one of Falwell's most tasteless quips was after 9/11: He blamed the attack on the Twin Towers on "the pagans and the feminists and the gays." He was later forced to apologize. Falwell's is a legacy that leaves nothing to be proud of. Tommi Avicolli Mecca is a radical, southern Italian, working-class, atheist queer performer and writer whose work can be seen atwww.avicollimecca.com.

This is awful. Johnny is one of our favorite folks here at AwesomeDude... always very supportive of AD and all of us. Thoughts and prayers, sure... Johnny and his Mom have got em. Wish there was more we could do. Anyway... we'll be here for Johnny when he gets better. Mike

There you go!

BAY MINETTE, Ala. (AP) - A gay teenager who was murdered in part over his sexuality pleaded with his roommate to stop killing him, a prosecutor told jurors in the capital murder case. As Christopher Gaines attacked, Scotty Joe Weaver struggled and begged for his life, Baldwin County District Attorney Judy Newcomb told the court Monday. Gaines wrapped a rope around Weaver's neck and squeezed, Newcomb told jurors. Robert Porter, a friend of Gaines, held Weaver's feet. "Please Chris, stop. Please Chris, stop," Newcomb quoted Weaver as saying. "But he just couldn't make it." Newcomb described in gruesome detail how Gaines, girlfriend Nichole Bryars Kelsay, and Porter plotted Weaver's death on July 18, 2004, and then tried to cover it up. Porter and Gaines took the 18-year-old's body to a desolate wooded area and set it afire, Newcomb said. Gaines, 22, pleaded guilty to capital murder and will likely receive a sentence of life without parole instead of a possible death sentence. Despite the plea, state law requires jurors in capital cases to still hear evidence about the crime. The judge will make the final decision on the sentence. Porter and Kelsay pleaded not guilty and are scheduled for trial later this year. Newcomb said Weaver and Porter never got along because Porter had problems with Weaver's homosexuality. Porter once called Weaver a derogatory name, Newcomb said. After the killing, Gaines and Porter placed Weaver's body into the trunk of Gaines' car, then stopped at a service station and filled a 3-liter bottle with gasoline. On an isolated trail, Gaines helped place Weaver's body on his back atop a blanket, evidence showed. The two alleged urinated on the body and set it afire. Gaines showed no emotion as the prosecutor described the slaying. "The actions of Christopher Gaines that night are indefensible," said his lawyer, J. Clark Stankoski. "He has accepted that." For days, Gaines, Porter and Kelsay went about their normal routines before Weaver's body was discovered, Newcomb told jurors. Gaines drove his car around with Weaver's ID and bank card in the glove compartment. "He didn't really have any bad feelings about him, but he didn't feel bad about killing him," Newcomb said of Gaines. --- Information from: Press-Register, http://www.al.com/mobileregister

I can't tell you how tickled and pleased I was to get Untitled Reader Surprise in the email... although I'd agreed to post it - some weeks ago... sight unseen. It was only sent to two sites in this entire world... AwesomeDude and DaBeagle. I noticed it was posted right away there .. the fist new chapter/story post there in three months? Why are two major website owners jumping through hoops? The story that was - in many ways a germinus for AwesomeDude - Alone With Myself - is back! Now listen... I SWEAR on a stack of bibles that choosing Alone With Myself as this month's Dude's Pick Novel was totally coincidental... as I had no idea what was coming. Call it divine intervention? Telepathy? I prefer the former. I bemoaned the fact that Alex and Nicky were separated artificially although their worlds were far apart and so different... and that the story stopped there. I was dissatisfied with the outcome and when I read Untitled Reader Surprise I did a back flip. For you newbies... I hope you'll read Dude's Pick Novel for this month and see if you don't agree we have to encourage WriteByMyself to march gaily forward with Alone By Myself.

When I saw the discussion of this story in the Roamin' Reader... I was taken aback. We have featured the story here at AD for the past couple of years. Somehow, Drake's author page lost it's link from our home page. I have recitified that. However the only story we posted was Through Different Eyes... which I enjoyed immensely, and which deserves to be on Best of Nifty... but I believe I asked you for the link to it's Nifty location for that purpose, dear Pecman, but received no response from you. The link we have is courtesy our friends at The Mail Crew. For the record I made a complete copy of the Drake Tales website when it looked like it was being neglected and about to fade to black... just for safety's sake. I have it on a CD but failing to contact Drake to get permission.. I can't make it available at AwesomeDude which I am willing to do. While I'm at it.. I want to point you all to Nick Archer's Archerland site which has just been revived after several years. Welcome back Nick! http://archerland.disbelieve.org

(Bay Minette, Alabama) One of three people charged in the capital murder of a gay man in 2004 suddenly entered a guilty plea on Monday - a week before his trial was to begin. Despite the guilty plea by Christopher Gaines, 22, Alabama law requires that a jury to hear evidence in the case to determine whether a capital murder charge is warranted. The jury's decision will mean either the death penalty or life in prison for Gaines. He, along with Nichole Kelsay, 21, and Robert Holly Lofton Porter, 21 were charged with killing Scotty Joe Weaver in part because he was gay. All three defendants opted for separate trials. Neither the prosecution nor the defense attorneys would speculate on Monday if Gaines will testify at the trials of the other two. Assistant Baldwin County District Attorney Jim Vollmer had said that had wanted to try Gaines first. Weaver was attacked and murdered in his trailer home in July 2004. He was 18 years old. His body was then carted to a quiet dirt road where his killers set it on fire and then casually drove off, after robbing him of between $65 and $80. A man driving an all-terrain vehicle discovered Weaver's severely burned and decomposed body Two of the accused, Gaines and Kelsay were Weaver's roommates. Porter is described as a friend of the pair who spent a considerable amount of time at Weaver's home. Police said all three suspects were out of work, and Weaver was paying the bills at their home. Gaines and Kelsay apparently had a romantic relationship with each other, investigators said, adding that it appeared the trio plotted Weaver's death several days before the killing. Hallie Dixon, one of the defense attorneys has called for a change of venue, saying that media coverage has tainted a potential jury pool in Baldwin County. The murder drew interest from gay rights groups across the country, and hundreds of mourners attended a vigil for Weaver in Mobile after the killing. An anti-gay group picketed outside the Crossroads Church of God, where Weaver's funeral was held. ?365Gay.com 2007