December 29, 2005 For a limited time only you'll receive half-off standard shipping when you prebook Queer As Folk: The Final Season, currently scheduled for a May 9th, 2006 release at 10percent.com. "Go out with a bang and get folked for the last time" and "say goodbye to all your friends on Liberty Avenue in their final 13 episodes." 10percent's price is $84.95, compared to the $109.95 regular list price. Further details are available at the 10percent website. From Weekly Scoop Magazine (Canada): "At the Studio Café" - Former QAF star and proud part time Toronto resident, Sharon Gless is oblivious to the flurry of recognition as she strides through the Studio Café located at the Four Seasons Hotel, Toronto wearing her trademark oversize black rim glasses and casual velvet noir shirt. During her five years on Showcase’s Toronto-lensed series, Gless ate at the Studio Café at least five times a week, totally hidden from view at table 243 at the back, running her lines with her assistant, April. Gless sat down with Weekly Scoop recently to dish over where’s she’s been, what’s new and her big announcement she is openly sharing with Weekly Scoop readers – she’s becoming Canadian. "I always keep coming back here" she says. "My favourites are the curried chicken, the liver with bacon, and the small pizza with baby arugala and truffle oil. I'd have poker parties in my apartment once a month and had them cater. I also have Studio Cafe cater my American Thanksgiving – turkey, mashed potatoes and all the fixings. I'm a meat and potatoes girl" she unapologetically proclaims. The former Cagney and Lacey star is a rarity: a fifth generation Angelino, born and raised in LA, and the daughter of a well-known attorney. "There are five streets named for us", she says through her unforgettable throaty laugh. "That and two bucks will get you a cup of coffee." Today, Gless is the star of the upcoming mid-season NBC sitcom "Thick and Thin", a frank show about weight. About her award worthy role on "Queer", "they paid me to keep my clothes on," says Gless laughing. In this new venture, she’s affecting change in an industry known for its unhealthy eating habits. What happens to the pursuit of happiness when a girl loses 60 pounds? Its executive produced by Canadian, Lorne Michaels. During the five years Gless spent shooting 72 episodes of "Queer as Folk" she says "Toronto grabbed my heart. I fell in love with the city. I love my apartment overlooking the city and my life here." In fact, she recently applied to become a Canadian landed immigrant. On October 23, Sharon arrived at Pearson airport with immigration documents in hand. When the Customs officially welcomed her to Canada, Gless welled up. "I got tears in my eyes, I was overcome." Welcome home Sharon! David Ehrenstein has written an interesting article about "the gay cowboy movie" that's sure to sweep the Oscars next year, titled, "Pundits can’t stop calling Brokeback Mountain a 'breakthrough.' The question is: Why?" He touches on several subjects, including "slash" fiction and gay actors playing gay roles (Peter Paige is mentioned in a quote). [read more] December 15, 2005 queerplanet has posted the second half of the interview with Phillip Bloch, in which he speaks about his career, including working on The Unseen with Gale Harold and Michelle Clunie. Interesting comments by the stylist-turned-actor. The Sydney Star Observer has published an article about Queer As Folk as the series comes to a close next week on Australian television. John Schwartz, senior lecturer in Media and Communication at Melbourne’s Swinburne University, believes one of the reasons QAF proved so successful was its cross-over appeal. While it was about the lives of gay and lesbian characters, it was not exclusively for that market. [read more] The Baltimore Sun features a new article about the movie Brokeback Mountain written by Miles Christian Daniels, the author who published a column two years ago called "Queer TV: Advancing Tolerance or Fostering Stereotypes?" in which he questioned whether shows such as Queer Eye for the Straight Guy and Queer as Folk were anything more than ratings ploys. "I wondered what viewers might come away with once they found themselves uninterested," he writes. "Would these programs help in showing the normalcy of being gay, or would many viewers come away thinking we were indeed 'different'?" [read more] A new heritage trail in Manchester highlights the locations of important and amusing stories from the city’s gay past. Permanent rainbow tiles have been created by local artist Mark Kennedy and set into the sidewalk to create the Lesbian and Gay Heritage Trail. Walking the trail takes around two hours, and visitors will learn about colorful characters and stories including Police reports which told of "disgraceful proceedings" at a city center venue where 22 out of the 47 who attended a costumed ball were men dressed as women – and this was in 1880! Manchester is one of Britain’s most popular gay and lesbian cities with the gay village focusing on Canal Street where there is plenty of opportunity to 'bar-hop' in the footsteps of Vince, Nathan and Stuart from the original 'Queer as Folk' television series. According to an article in 365gay.com, real-life Pittsburgh police are cracking down on Liberty Avenue. In an action that mirrors a storyline in the now defunct Queer As Folk, Pittsburgh police are cracking down on gay sex on Liberty Avenue. Police said that they are targeting hustling along the street made famous in the TV series. They said the situation has become so serious it is attracting "johns" from across state lines. But unlike the TV episode, police say they are not targeting the gay community, just prostitution. Undercover officers are posing as "johns" to lure the young hustlers. Police say that most of the dozen or so regular hustlers are not gay and are usually street kids trying to find men to rob. When one hustler was arrested police found him armed with a bb gun. Others carry knives and other weapons. From The Conservative Voice: "Hollywood Against Alito" by Sher Zieve - Hollywood celebs have joined the leftist organization People For the American Way, in order to fight the nomination of Judge Alito to the US Supreme Court. Hoping to raise several hundred-thousand dollars, the anti-Alito benefit was held at the Kennedy Center. Heading up the group of stars was actress Sharon Stone, with actresses Sharon Gless and Tyne Daly and members of the cast "Rent" also in attendance. Tickets went for $250 a piece and included were other liberal and leftist groups - the ACLU and Alliance for Justice. People For the American Way President Ralph G. Neas commented on his anti-Alito views by saying: "The religious right already controls the White House, the Senate and the House of Representatives" and that it now wants to "pack the Supreme Court with right-wing ideologues." December 1, 2005 Today is World AIDS Day. It's a day of awareness, and it's about getting involved so that everyone can make a difference in the global fight against HIV and AIDS. The World Aids Campaign, for example, hopes to build on the diverse strengths and contribution of individuals and organisations by first encouraging them to make their own promises to respond to HIV and AIDS at a family and community level. For more infomration, type "World AIDS Day 2005" into any search engine like Google, to find out how you can make a difference. LIFEbeat's "BID 2 BEAT AIDS" is a huge entertainment memorabilia auction with proceeds going to LIFEbeat, the music industry's AIDS fundraising and service charity. The auction started today and will last exactly ten days. Nearly 1,000 items are available for bidding, donated by hundreds of celebrities. Gay and lesbian artists who will be featured in the auction include Elton John, Tab Hunter, the cast of the Logo TV series Noah’s Arc, Melissa Etheridge, Rufus Wainwright, Erasure, Anthony Rapp, John Cameron Mitchell, Charles Busch, Tony Kushner, Holly Woodlawn, BETTY, Peter Paige (a hand-signed a QUEER AS FOLK ThermalTraveller 16 oz. cup with Metallic Foil Insert by VisionUSA, that can be found here), the Pet Shop Boys, Village People cowboy Randy Jones, TV host Brini Maxwell, and many more. Items can be found on eBay by searching for Lifebeat or Bid 2 Beat AIDS. The auctions can also be found under the eBay seller name Bid2BeatAIDS. For more information, go online to www.bid2beatAIDS.com. According to an article in the NY Times today, Showtime is working with marketers to introduce some tie-in merchandise for "The L Word" and "Queer As Folk." To encourage viewers to tune in for the third-season premiere of The L Word early next year, Showtime will launch their own brand of perfume, jewelery, and a book to serve as a guide to the series, with most items being priced between $30 and $100. The company also plans a line of jewelery named after QAF. Could this mean more cowry shell bracelets? By the way, since I get so many requests for the link, check out my cowry shell page, where I have information on ordering a bracelet just like one Brian Kinney wears, from Africa Imports. Get a jump on Showtime! LOL For more on the new lines of merchandise, read the NY Times article.

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