US OPEN 2009: Venus and Serena Win Doubles Title

Venus and Serena Williams beat the #1 seeded doubles team of Cara Black and Liezel Huber 6-2 6-2 to win their 10th career major doubles title and 3rd of the year (Australia and Wimbledon and now U.S. Open).

US OPEN 2009: Del Potro Wins 1st Major Title

20-year-old Argentine Juan Martin del Potro outlasted 15-time major champion, 28-year-old Roger Federer 3-6, 7-6 (5), 4-6, 7-6 (4), 6-2 in a 4 hour, 6 minute marathon to win his first major title and prevent the Swiss great from winning his 6th consecutive US Open title.

Del Potro became the first person to win a major by beating Federer and Nadal at a major tournament. In the semifinals, del Potro handed the Spaniard his worst loss in a major, allowing Nadal a mere 6 games in 3 sets. The Argentine also became the first person in Federer's 21 grand slam major finals to beat Federer other than Nadal (who has done it 5 times out of 7).

Federer was definitely not playing his best tennis, not serving particularly well, finishing with only 13 aces and 11 double faults over 5 sets, a far cry from the 50 aces Federer served in his thrilling 5-set Wimbledon win over Andy Roddick earlier in the summer.
Federer finished with 56 winners to 62 errors (-6) compared to del Potro's 57 winners to 60 errors (-3). Federer was attempting to extend a 40-match winning streak in New York, his last loss coming to another Argentine, David Nalbandian, in 2003. However, despite being ahead in both the second and fourth set, Federer managed to lose them both in tiebreaks and eventually lost the match and his title to the 6'6" 182 pound youngster from Tandil, Argentina.

US OPEN 2009: Serena Apologizes For Saturday's Outbursts

Serena Williams issued a press statement on Sunday which said

Last night everyone could truly see the passion I have for my job. Now that I have had time to gain my composure I can see that while I don't agree with the unfair line call in the heat of battle I let my passion and emotion get the better of me and as a result handled the situation poorly.

and then amended it to include a full apology earlier today

I want to amend my press statement of yesterday, and want to make it clear as possible - I want to sincerely apologize FIRST to the lines woman, Kim Clijsters, the USTA, and tennis fans everywhere for my inappropriate outburst. I'm a woman of great pride, faith and integrity, and I admit when I'm wrong.

I need to make it clear to all young people that I handled myself inappropriately and it's not the way to act -- win or lose, good call or bad call in any sport, in any manner.

I like to lead by example. We all learn from experiences both good and bad. I will learn and grow from this, and be a better person as a result.

I do think it is reasonable for Serena to apologize and completely inappropriate for Mary Carillo to say that Serena should have been prevented from playing the Women's Doubles with Venus (which they won easily earlier today).

US OPEN 2009: Men's Final Preview

Roger Federer SUI (1) vs. Juan Martin Del Potro ARG (6). For the xith year in a row, Roger Federer is in the finals of the US Open, facing a 6th different opponent. His five other victories, in order, were over Lleyton Hewitt, Andre Agassi,Andy Roddick, Novak Djokovic, and Andy Muray.today he plays the 6'6" (or 6'7") Juan martin del Potro from Argentina. del Potro means "young colt" in Spanish and that is what this 20-year-old phenom is. Last year, while most of the major players were in China playing in the Olympics, the youngester ran through the Tour like a bull in a china shop, racking up a record four consecutive tournament wins on the hard courts. These were also his FIRST tour victories.

del Potro has never defeated Federer in 6 tries, although at the French Open this year he came back from a break down in the 5th set to even the match and put a scare in the Swiss great in the semifinal round. Federer came through then, and I expect he will do so again, for his record 16th major singles title.

MadProfessah's pick: Federer in 5 sets.

BOOK REVIEW: Jhumpa Lahiri's UNACCUSTOMED EARTH

MadProfessah's favorite writer, Jhumpa Lahiri, has had her most recent book Unaccustomed Earth listed in the New York Times list of the 10 Best Books of 2008. Lahiri won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for her first book (a collection of short stories titled Interpreter of Maladies) in 2000.

Her second book, The Namesake, was her first novel and was made into a well-regarded film directed by Mira Nair and starring Kal Penn (see MadProfessah review).

I read this collection of stories last summer and am now finally getting around to writing up my review.
To do so, I re-read the first half of the collection again.

Although not packing as devastating an emotional wallop as her first collection of stories Interpreter of Maladies, this latest collection is still full of superb writing, intriguing characters and genuine insight into the human condition.

The collection begins with the story "Unaccustomed Earth" about a widowed father and adult daughter trying to connect as their lives follow increasingly elliptical orbits and both of them attempt (unsuccessfully) use an obligatory family visit to reveal a secret that they have been itching to share with the other.

After the stunning, heart-breaking first story comes "Hell-Heaven" which has very similar characters from her first novel, The Namesake: the father is a professor while the stay-at-home mother is slowly going stir-crazy and the first generation Bengali-American kids confound and disappoint their parents.

"A Choice of Accommodations" is the weakest story in the first half of the book, in my opinion. This is partly because I could not connect fully with the central character who is a married Bengali man attending a wedding of a former college crush with his wife on a rare weekend getaway together. Lahiri does excellent work of dissecting her character for the reader with clear, detailed prose--it's just that in this case the characters are a bit remotely drawn.

My favorite story of the collection is "Only Goodness" which would make an excellent Bengali remake of "Ordinary People." The story is told from the perspective of the older daughter of a Bengali couple who succeeds academically but not as well as her younger brother who goes to Princeton. But slowly we realize that all is not well with the younger brother and his "problem" becomes an unmentionable shame to the entire family with several agonizing scenes depicted with surgical precision and maximal emotional impact by Lahiri.

Part One of the collection ends with "Nobody's Business" which is a bit of a departure from Lahiri--slightly. Instead of focusing on the internal machinations and external challenges of the Bengali immigrant family assimilating in America, the general topic basically all of her writings tend to be about, this story is about a family of choice, of three housemates in Cambridge (only one of whom is Bengali) and the complications that can result when you get more information than you really want to know about the people you live with but are not related to. The central character is a Caucasian male graduate student with an unexpressed crush on the beautiful female Bengali character and Lahiri inserts the Bengali social custom of arranged marriages and the social pressure of "marrying well" as a running joke throughout the story.

The second part of the collection is three paired stories featuring Hema and Kaushik, two star-crossed lovers who also (surprise!) happen to Bengali. The first time I read the collection I felt that part of the problem with the second half is that neither Hema or Kaushik are incredibly likable characters--Lahiri is going for a nuanced portrayal which risks the emotional connection of the reader to her story. Additionally, the end of the story, which is surprisingly tragic is completely predictable. Instead of stomach-sinking dread at the inevitable conclusion one feels a sense of annoyance that Lahiri couldn't avoid the temptation of such a pat conclusion.

All in all, although Unaccustomed Earth is not as uniformly enthralling as her first novel, I do think it is, on balance, a stronger collection than Interpreter of Maladies (which is saying a lot, since that collection won the 2000 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, mainly on one devastating short story) and indicates that Lahiri is growing and improving as a writer, one that I look forward to reading again and again for many years to come.

Published: April 1, 2008. Length: 352 pages (Hardcover).

PLOT: A.
IMAGERY: A.
IMPACT: A+.
WRITING: A+.

OVERALL GRADE: A/A+.

US OPEN 2009: Clijsters Wins 2nd Major Title

26-year-old Belgian Kim Clijsters became the first mother (of Jada Lynch) in nearly 30 years to win a major tennis title, her second in 6 attempts, by defeating 19-year-old Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark 7-5 6-3.

Clijsters won her second US Open four years after her first, following a 2 and a half year long "retirement" from the sport in which she got married, got pregnant, had a kid and buried her father. She now has a 14-match winning streak in New York.

US OPEN 2009: Women's Final Preview

Caroline Wozniacki DEN (9) vs. Kim Clijsters BEL. Unseeded Kim Clijsters should win easily over the ninth-ranked teenager from Denmark playing in her first major final while the young mother of 18-month old Jada is playing in her sixth (one win, four losses).

I suppose the less said about the unfortunate result that lead Clijsters into this final. However, this should lead the Tour(s) to consider video replay, not just electronic line calling that players can resort to when bad calls are made. As I've noted before, it's very curious that these unfortunate incidents only seem to happen to Black players in a predominantly White sport. It was an egregious line call that went against Serena Williams in a quarterfinal match against Jennifer Capriati in 2004 that eventually led to the current electronic line calling that everyone agrees has been a resounding success. I hope that something good can come out of last night's incident that can improve the game again.

Wozniacki is not out of her depth; she absorbed the formidable power of Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova in the quarterfinal, eventually earning the right to (easily) dismiss "America's new sweetheart," the diminutive Melanie Oudin and another Belgian Yanina Wickmayer to reach this final.

However, it is hard to find another person who has been as severe an underdog in a recent Women's US Open final as Wozniacki is against Clijsters tonight. Maybe she'll use this opportunity to play out of her head, with no pressure, but even doing that, this Belgian will be able to turn defense into offense so quickly the result will not be in doubt. Clijsters will become the first mother to win a major tennis title since Evonne Goolagong in 1980.

MadProfessah's pick: Clijsters in 2 sets.

US OPEN 2009: Men's Semifinal Preview

Roger Federer SUI (1) vs. Novak Djokovic SRB (4). For the third consecutive year, Federer's path to the US Open title will go through Novak Djokovic, who was the last person to beat the Swiss great in a hard court semifinal, at the 2008 Australian Open. Federer beat Djokovic in Cincinatti on hard courts in two close sets just a few short weeks ago and knows how to get the job done in NYC.
MadProfessah's pick: Federer in 4 sets.
Rafael Nadal ESP (3) vs. Juan Martin Del Potro ARG (6). This is Juan Martin's second Grand Slam semifinal this year and the 20-year-old is on a very steep learning curve. He has already shown that he can beat Nadal on hard courts, accomplishing that feat a few months ago in Canada. Nadal is not at 100% although he must be extremely motivated to get to his first career final in New York to cement his status as one of the all-time elite players by competing for (and completing) the career grand slam. MadProfessah's pick: del Potro in 5 sets.

US OPEN 2009: OMG! Serena Defaulted On Match Point

Kim Clijsters defeated Serena Williams 6-4 7-5 after out-hitting and out-playing the defending US Open champion for two sets when Serena was defaulted a point for a "code violation for unsportsmanlike conduct" which happened to be match point at 5-6,15-40 thanks to a curious foot fault called on a second serve at 15-30.

Serena went AFTER the line judge in an undisputedly profane way which ultimately lead to her losing the match.

Clijsters will play Carolina Wozniacki in the final Sunday night. I won't be watching.

Caster Semenya Reported To Be Intersex

Rod 2.0 and Joe.My.God are both reporting that South African track & field phenom Caster Semenya who won the 800m gold medal in Berlin last month has been revealed to be intersex. There has been an ongoing controversy and public furor over the supposed "gender testing" of the South African athlete due to her curiously "gender inappropriate" physique and appearance. Now, the reasons have been discovered:

Tests conducted during the world athletics championships in Berlin last month, where Semenya's gender became the subject of heated debate following her victory in the 800m, revealed evidence she is a hermaphrodite, someone with both male and female sexual characteristics.

Semenya, 18, has three times the amount of testosterone that a "normal'' female would have. According to a source closely involved with the Semenya examinations IAAF testing, which included various scans, has revealed she has internal testes - the male sexual organs which produce testosterone.

[...]

When quizzed by South African magazine You on the gender issue, Semenya said: "I see it all as a joke, it doesn't upset me. God made me the way I am and I accept myself. I am who I am and I'm proud of myself. I don't want to talk about the tests - I'm not even thinking about them.''

The use of the word "hermaphrodite" to describe people with both male and female biological characteristics is considered offensive, similar to the use of the word "homosexual" to describe people sexually attracted to people of the same sex. Joe.My.God has posted useful information on the topic from the Intersex Society of North America:

RELATED: The Intersex Society of North America notes that although the term "hermaphrodite" is commonly used to describe intersex people (and this is already happening with Semenya), hermaphrodite literally means "fully male and fully female," which is a physical impossibility. "Intersex" is the proper way to describe a person who may have one or several of a very broad range of atypical gender characteristics, ranging from ambiguous or mixed external genitalia, internal conditions (as in Semenya's case), or an atypical chromosonal makeup. Some intersex characteristics are extremely rare, others occur much more frequently, and studies indicate that some aspect of being intersex occurs in about 1 out of 100 people.

Celebrity Friday: Alan Turing

Alan Turing

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown released a statement apologizing for his government's past treatment of a famous gay mathematician, the icon Alan Turing:

2009 has been a year of deep reflection - a chance for Britain, as a nation, to commemorate the profound debts we owe to those who came before. A unique combination of anniversaries and events have stirred in us that sense of pride and gratitude which characterise the British experience. Earlier this year I stood with Presidents Sarkozy and Obama to honour the service and the sacrifice of the heroes who stormed the beaches of Normandy 65 years ago. And just last week, we marked the 70 years which have passed since the British government declared its willingness to take up arms against Fascism and declared the outbreak of World War Two. So I am both pleased and proud that, thanks to a coalition of computer scientists, historians and LGBT activists, we have this year a chance to mark and celebrate another contribution to Britain’s fight against the darkness of dictatorship; that of code-breaker Alan Turing.

Turing was a quite brilliant mathematician, most famous for his work on breaking the German Enigma codes. It is no exaggeration to say that, without his outstanding contribution, the history of World War Two could well have been very different. He truly was one of those individuals we can point to whose unique contribution helped to turn the tide of war. The debt of gratitude he is owed makes it all the more horrifying, therefore, that he was treated so inhumanely. In 1952, he was convicted of ‘gross indecency’ - in effect, tried for being gay. His sentence - and he was faced with the miserable choice of this or prison - was chemical castration by a series of injections of female hormones. He took his own life just two years later.

Thousands of people have come together to demand justice for Alan Turing and recognition of the appalling way he was treated. While Turing was dealt with under the law of the time and we can’t put the clock back, his treatment was of course utterly unfair and I am pleased to have the chance to say how deeply sorry I and we all are for what happened to him. Alan and the many thousands of other gay men who were convicted as he was convicted under homophobic laws were treated terribly. Over the years millions more lived in fear of conviction.

I am proud that those days are gone and that in the last 12 years this government has done so much to make life fairer and more equal for our LGBT community. This recognition of Alan’s status as one of Britain’s most famous victims of homophobia is another step towards equality and long overdue.

But even more than that, Alan deserves recognition for his contribution to humankind. For those of us born after 1945, into a Europe which is united, democratic and at peace, it is hard to imagine that our continent was once the theatre of mankind’s darkest hour. It is difficult to believe that in living memory, people could become so consumed by hate - by anti-Semitism, by homophobia, by xenophobia and other murderous prejudices - that the gas chambers and crematoria became a piece of the European landscape as surely as the galleries and universities and concert halls which had marked out the European civilisation for hundreds of years. It is thanks to men and women who were totally committed to fighting fascism, people like Alan Turing, that the horrors of the Holocaust and of total war are part of Europe’s history and not Europe’s present.

So on behalf of the British government, and all those who live freely thanks to Alan’s work I am very proud to say: we’re sorry, you deserved so much better.

Gordon Brown

Woo hoo!

VIDEO: Obama Calls Death Panels "A Lie, Plain and Simple"

Whitney Houston Album Debuts At #1

Whitney Houston returned to the top of the Billboard 200 Album charts with the debut of her latest release I Look To You at #1, her fourth album to do so.

"I Look To You" becomes Houston's fourth No. 1 album on the Billboard 200 chart, selling 304,801 copies during the week ended September 6, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

It's by far Houston's best opening sales week since Nielsen SoundScan began tracking data in 1991.

"I Look To You" is also the singer's first chart-topper since the Houston-fueled "The Bodyguard" soundtrack spent 20 weeks at No. 1 in 1993. The albums are joined by Houston's two previous toppers: her self-titled set in 1986, and her 1987 sophomore set, "Whitney."

Early returns showed "I Look To You" also debuted at No. 1 in Canada, Germany, Italy, and Switzerland, according to her Arista Records label.

Houston's previous album, "Just Whitney," debuted at No. 9 in 2002 with 205,000 copies.

Go, Whitney! I haven't bought the album yet, what do you all think of it?

US OPEN 2009: Nadal Kissed By Male Fan

After his 6-7(3) 6-3 6-1 6-3 victory in the 4th round over Gael Monfils to clinch the World #2 spot again after Andy Murray was dispatched by Marin Cilic in straight sets 7-5 6-2 6-2 earlier that day, Rafael Nadal was kissed on the cheek by a fan who ran out on to the court after the match.

Watch the video:

AD-53: Money Changes Everything?

The new front runner in AD-53?

The race to replace Ted Lieu in the 53rd State Assembly District has taken a strange turn since MadProfessah first reported on it in May. One candidate, Al Muratsuchi, has decided not to run and another has surprisingly joined the race, and the newcomer happens to be the ex-boyfriend of one of the other top candidates (not the gay one)!

According to a Daily Breeze article by Gene Maddaus, Jim Aldinger is the former boyfriend of Betsy Butler and she once sued him for $5,000 after they broke up to get some furniture back he attempted to bogart.

Aldinger and Butler parted on bad terms about seven years ago. He refused to relinquish some furniture that she'd had delivered to his house, and she had to sue him to retrieve it.

In 2004, a judge ordered him to pay her $5,000.

Both candidates say that episode is in the past and should not be relevant to the coming campaign. But their history together is likely to make the race somewhat awkward, at the least, and also raises questions about Aldinger's motives for running.

Aldinger, 48, said he is not motivated by resentment or hostility toward an ex-girlfriend who took him to court.

"This is something that's been in my mind for some time," he said. "This is not something that I would take lightly. I think I'm the most qualified."

Well, I guess all's fair in love, war and politics?

The question is, who is the frontrunner in this race? The August 2009 fundraising reports (pdf) by the Fair Political Practices Commission reveal some surprising data:

CANDIDATE                  CASH ON HAND       $RAISED    $SPENT
Jim Aldinger               $0                  $0         $322
Kate Anderson              $131,199           $135,090   $3,891
Betsy Butler               $101,487           $81,229    $25,277
Nick Karno                 $110,003           $115,768   $10,457
James Lau                  $211,030           $211,435   $2,267
Mitch Ward                 $32,725            $60,380    $29,154

The most important number is the amount of cash on hand right now, and clearly James Lau (who was not even on my list of potential candidates in May) is in the lead.

Interestingly, the openly gay Mayor Pro tem of Manhattan Beach Mitch Ward has spent the most money (so is clearly doing the most actual campaigning for the seat) is also way back in the middle of the pack on both money raised and cash on hand.

So, who is James Lau? According to his facebook page, he is the Director of the California League of Conservation Voters Education Fund and Chair of the 53rd Assembly District Democratic Central Committee. He is also apparently active on ActBlue and other online political junkie websites, like TotalCapitol.com.

MadProfessah will be continue to follow the contested Assembly races in Los Angeles County, especially where there is an openly LGBT candidate running.

AD-50: Lara Is Apparent Frontrunner

Ricardo Lara is an openly gay, Latino candidate for California's 50th Assembly District. The 50th Assembly District is in Los Angeles and contains the entire cities of Bell, Bell Gardens, Bellflower, Commerce, Cudahy, Lynwood, South Gate, and Walnut Park. Lara is the District Director for the only openly gay Latino Assemblymember in California history, John Perez who represents the 46th Assembly District. Lara is supported by HONORPAC, the LGBT Latino political action committee in the June 8, 2010 Democratic primary.

UPDATE 09/09/09 17:06 (CORRECTION): Lara is the Communications Director for Assemblymember Kevin DeLeon, in the 45th District, not District Director for Assemblymember Perez in the 46th.

This is interesting, because in 2006 Lara initially ran against his future boss in the 46th District but was convinced to step aide and clear the field for Antonio Villaraigosa's cousin (Perez). However, now that the 50th District seat (currently held by Hector de la Torre) will be an open seat in 2010 the two former rivals appear to have joined forces to double the Latino LGBT representation in the California Assembly.

According to HONRPAC, Lara apparently has raised over $100,000, the most money of the three Democrats declared to be running for the seat, with Carmen Avalos, [UPDATE 09/11/09 18:06 (CORRECTION)] (a de la Torre staffer) (City Clerk of South Gate and Chair of the Cerritos Community College Board of Trustees) his most formidable rival. The other Democrat Art Chacon, is a member of the Central Basin Municipal Water District. FPPC records show Lara with about $70,000 on hand.

MadProfessah will be keeping track of this race very carefully. It's very important that openly LGBT members be elected to replace retiring members of the California LGBT Legislative Caucus, especially people of color which reflects the diversity of California.

US OPEN 2009: Kuznetsova Blows Lead Against Wozniacki

2009 French Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova blasted 59 winners in 3 sets of play against 16 winners by 19-year-old Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark and lost 2-6 7-6(5) 7-6(3) in the fourth round in New York City last night. Unfortunately, the Russian had 63 unforced errors to the Dane's 25.

Clearly, the result of the match was on Kuznetsova's racquet; in fact she was up an early break in the third set but managed to lose that advantage and did well to save several match points and force a deciding set tiebreaker. In the tiebreaker Kuznetsova was very streaky again. She lost the first three points, then won the next three points and then lost the last four points and the match.

Kuznetsova was blasting the ball on both sides in the first set, completely overpowering Wozniacki. Starting in the second set she would blast the ball occasionally but when she started missing she curtailed this strategy, which was working for her. Wozniacki did well to stay focussed and defended well to maker her first Grand Slam quarterfinal, where she will face Melanie Oudin, the youngest American quarterfinalist since Serena Williams in 1999.

Eye Candy: Edilson Nascimiento (Reprise)

I have previously called Edilson Nascimiento one of the hottest guys in the world. These pictures above are some of the rejected shots from a photo shoot that the Brazilian model did with the French magazine Tetu that Queerty got their grubby little hands on. Imagine what made it INTO the magazine!

US OPEN 2009: Clijsters Beats Venus; Pennetta Survives

Kim Clijsters beat an injured Venus Williams 6-0 0-6 6-4 to set up a quarterfinal showdown with Li Na and a semifinal with defending champion Serena Williams, who demolished Daniela Hantuchova 6-2 6-0 earlier in the day.

The showdown between the two former US Open champs (Venus, 2000 & 2001) and Clijsters (2005) was a hard-hitting somewhat ugly affair with far more errors than winners with the Belgian coming through with more consistently aggressive shots throughout. Williams was clearly hampered by her left knee, and admitted as such later on after teaming with Serena to get to the Women's Doubles quarterfinals by defeating the team of Sorana Cirstea and Caroline Wozniacki 6-4 6-2.

The match of the day was Flavia Pennetta's 3-6 7-6(6) 6-0 win against Vera Zvonareva. Zvonareva had 6 match points in the second set against Pennetta and the Italian consistently kept her cool and played long points until she found her spot and hit clean winners on 5 of the 6 match points down. It was quite a display of mental toughness. After losing the second set, Zvonareva dissolved into tears and quickly lost the deciding set in rash of errors and rushed shots while Pennetta smartly kept the ball in play.

Pennetta plays Serena and Clijsters plays Li Na in the quarters on Tuesday, setting up a mouth-watering semifinal in the bottom half of the draw. The top half of the draw is a completely different tournament (Craig Hickman called it a Tier III) with only 3 seeded players remaining (Nadia Petrova (13), Svetlana Kuznetsova (6) and Wozniacki (9), the last two who play each other today) and only one of them can make it to the semifinal!

I smell a Serena Williams-Svetlana Kuznetsova final. The last time these two played at a major, the winner went on to win the entire thing, and that is the only Grand Slam match Serena has lost this year!

We're NOT #1: U.S. Ranks #28 In Internet Speed

One of the enduring myths promulgated by many conservatives is that "the United States is the best country in the world," usually condensed to a meaningless slogan "We're #1." For example, during the ongoing health care reform debate, Republicans keep on claiming that "The United States has the best health care in the world" when most independent assessments rank France as having the world's best health care system.

Recently, a report ranking the world's countries on average internet speeds came out and the United States (home of Microsoft, Google, Yahoo, etc) was listed at #28. South Korea was first with an average speed of 20.4 Mbps, ahead of Japan with an average of 15.8 MBps. The Los Angeles Times covered the report from Speed Matters, a publicationof the Communications Workers of America and said:

The study also pointed to the relatively slow rate at which the average U.S. broadband speed rose in recent years, gaining only about 1.6 Mpbs since May 2007. That was a much slower increase than was seen in the U.S. states with the fastest speeds.

California, perhaps the nation's most high-tech-friendly state, ranked only 11th among the 50 states, well behind the national leaders. Still, the state's 6.6 Mbps average put it ahead of where it was two years ago, when it ranked 22nd among states, with barely more than 3 Mbps.

Delaware residents now enjoy the nation's fastest broadband at 9.9 Mbs, nearly twice the national average -- and up more than 5 Mpbs since 2007. At the lower end of the speed range, sparsely inhabited states such as Idaho, Alaska and Montana were well below the national average, clocking in around 2.5 Mbps.

Hat/tip Harry Shearer of KCRW's Le Show.

US OPEN 2009: Blake, Roddick, Safina, Sharapova GONE!

Maria Sharapova. Andy Roddick. Dinara Safina. James Blake. All these seeded players lost on Saturday at the US Open. Former champions Sharapova (2006) and Roddick (2003) both lost to up and coming Americans who hail from Georgia. Sharapova lost to 17-year-old Melanie Oudin from Marietta, who had beaten MadProfessah-pick Elena Dementieva in the round before (and first came to attention earlier this summer for beating former World #1 Jelena Jankovic at Wimbledon). The 6'3" Sharapova served up a bucketful of double faults and lost 3-6 6-4 7-5 to the 5'6 Oudin.

Roddick lost to 6'9" John Isner from Athens, Georgia despite only losing his serve once in a tough 5-set match 7-6 (3), 6-3, 3-6, 5-7, 7-6 (5). Roddick played well (only 20 unforced errors to 51 winners, compared to 90 winners to 52 errors for Isner, including 38 aces for the taller American).

Safina lost (finally) to Petra Kvitova while James Blake lost to Tommy Robredo.

Meanwhile Serena Williams is already in the quarterfinals and her sister Venus plays Kim Clijsters for a quarterfinal berth later today.

Brandon McInerney Pleads Not Guilty To Hate Crime

Brandon McInerney, the teenager who shot and killed an openly gay classmate in February 2008, has pleaded "not guilty" to murder. The 15-year-old is being tried as an adult.

Ventura County Superior Court Superior Court Judge Bruce Young set a pretrial hearing for Oct. 23 and a trial date for Dec. 1.

[...]

McInerney’s lawyers, Scott Wippert and Robyn Bramson, filed a legal motion Thursday to dismiss the special circumstance of lying in wait that was tacked onto the felony criminal charges by prosecutors after a three-day preliminary hearing.

Attaching a lying in wait special circumstance to a murder charge in a juvenile case, by law, automatically transfers the case to adult court.

[...]

McInerney is accused of murder and a hate crime in the killing of King, who wore female clothing to school and told classmates he was gay. Prosecutors allege McInerney waited 15 to 20 minutes in a classroom before shooting King, constituting grounds for adding the lying-in-wait charge.

McInerney faces as much as 53 years to life in prison if convicted of all charges in adult court. Prosecutors have offered to agree to a sentence of 25 years to life if he pleads guilty to first-degree murder and the hate-crime allegation.

Prosecutors allege McInerney, who was 14 at the time of the shooting, subscribed to a white-supremacist philosophy.

Hat/tip Joe.My.God

Celebrity Friday: Harvey Milk

Legislation that would declare May 22 "Harvey Milk Day" in California passed the California legislature for the second year in a row on Thursday. Last year, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed a similar bill but this time there will be a lot more attention given to how he deals with SB 572.

A few weeks ago, Schwarzenegger and his wife, Maria Shriver, announced that Milk would be one of a dozen men and women -- including pilot Chuck Yeager, entertainer Carol Burnett and "Star Wars" filmmaker George Lucas -- inducted into the California Hall of Fame this year.

In July, Obama awarded Milk a posthumous Medal of Freedom. And in February, Sean Penn won a best actor Oscar for the title role in the critically acclaimed film "Milk."

A spokeswoman for Schwarzenegger said the governor has not taken a position on Leno's bill. But the senator feels bullish, given Milk's burnished image in Hollywood and beyond.

"If there's one thing Arnold Schwarzenegger understands, it's box office," Leno said. "And Harvey Milk now has box office."

To encourage the Governor to sign the bill, go to http://www.eqca.org/harveymilkday

Indian Government Supports Sodomy Decision

The Indian Government has agreed not to appeal the recent New Delhi court ruling striking down the country's sodomy law, effectively decriminalizing homosexuality in the world's second most populous country.

The Indian Supreme Court had previously rejected an appeal of the Delhi decision, but the action of the Cabinet means that enforcement of Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code will not be applied to homosexual acts between consenting adults in private.

CA-10: Garamendi Wins; Black Gay Candidate Gets 8%

Anthony Woods, the telegenic and youthful openly gay, African-American candidate for the 10th Congressional District of California failed to get the most votes in the Tuesday September 1 special election. Instead, Lieutenant Governor John Garamendi placed first among all candidates with 26.15% of the vote and will face a run-off against the top Republican vote-getter David Harmer with 20.58% on November 3rd.
(Hat/tip Rod 2.0)

MOVIE REVIEW: District 9

District 9 is summer 2009's surprise late summer hit. Executive produced by Peter Jackson and directed by a surprisingly young wunderkind from South Africa named Neill Blomkamp on an incredibly small budget of $30 million, the film is surprisingly effective and entertaining.

MadProfessah and The Other Half saw the movie in its first week of release. He liked it more than I did; I felt that it got a little slow in the second act.

The basic story is about an alien ship which appeared suddenly above the city of Johannesburg a few decades. When humans explored the ship they found hundreds of thousands of malnourished and stinking aliens (who look like some kind of arthropod so that they get the nickname "prawns") who are then housed in horribly slum-like conditions. The movie has the form of a faux documentary covering the actions of a private corporation (Multi National United) who has received a contract to relocate the now 1.8 million prawns from their ghetto near the heart of a major South African city to a remote area hundreds of kilometers away which are a thinly disguised concentration camp.

The star of the documentary is a bureaucrat with clearly less-than-average intelligence named Wikus van der Merwe, played by the completely unknown actor Sharlto Copley.

The plot has a number of surprising twists and the visual effects are stunning.

District 9 is an excellent piece of film-making reminiscent of the original breakthrough hit 28 Days Later created by Danny Boyle (Sunshine, Slumdog Millionaire) which is not perfect but is a significant innovation in the way action films are regarded. District 9 had a stunning marketing campaign (realistic signs on bus benches with "Restricted Area: For Humans Only") that raised the anticipation of the film to a fever pitch among fanboys and others, and then lived up to those expectations (89% on rottentomatoes.com).

Running Time: 1 hour, 52 minutes. MPAA Rating: Rated R [See Full Rating] for bloody violence and pervasive language.

OVERALL GRADE: A.

ACTING: A-.
IMAGERY: A+.
PLOT: A.
IMPACT: A.

VIDEO: First TV Ads by Protect Maine Marriage Equality

Here are the first television ads in the ongoing fight to protect marriage equality in Maine this fall.


Encouragingly, Protect Maine Equality/ No On 1 has decided to take a different tack from the failed No on 8 campaign last year. Although the second ad with Bill Whitten also uses a straight parent as a surrogate for the campaign message to vote no to protect equality, it is different in two aspects from the Thorons ad last year (which was the first ad run in the Proposition 8 fight last year). 1) This time the parent's masculine bonafides are reinforced through his military and football past and 2) his body language clearly communicates that he was uncomfortable with homosexuality and marriage equality, but now he has changed his mind to embrace full equal rights for the child he loves.

The other ad with Sam and his lesbian moms is completely different from anything that No on 8 aired. It shows the impact of denying equality on straight kids who are growing up with LGBT parents. This is an important innoculation against the inevitable attack from the heterosexual supremacists who will claim that marriage equality somehow confuses abd endangers children. Sam is clearly neither of these. This is an excellent ad.

Both ads appeal to different segments of the Maine voting public but still send the same message: to protect the Maine value that everyone should be treated equally they need to vote NO on Question 1 in November.

Featured Flora: Pink Beauty

Gymnocalycium denudatum 'Pink Beauty'

This small, dome-shaped cactus has flattened, spidery spines; no threat to anyone! This variety has pink flowers rather than the usual white. The Other Half purchased this one at Huntington Gardens Desert Collection by appointment.

Happy Birthday, Mom!

US OPEN 2009: Williams Sisters Advance to 3rd Round

Venus Williams and Serena Williams made it into the third round on Wednesday, defeating Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Melinda Czink, respectively 6-2 6-4 and 6-1 6-1. Serena looked very sharp, making only 9 unforced errors to 25 winners (Venus had 24 unforced errors to 29 winners).

Venus plays Magdalena Rybarikova and Serena plays Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez, the Spaniard who cheated against Serena in the 3rd round of the French Open earlier this year (but still lost). The two are on track to meet in the semifinal, but I think it is increasingly likely that Venus will not get past a resurgent Kim Clijsters who dispatched Marion Bartoli for the second time in about a month.

Utah Governor Doesn't Understand Basic Civil Rights

The new Governor of Utah Gary Hebert doesn't even realize how offensive he is being (or maybe he does and just doesn't care?) with the following statements:

In his most definitive comments yet on gay rights, Herbert told reporters he doesn't believe sexual orientation should be a protected class in the way that race, gender and religion are. "We don't have to have a rule for everybody to do the right thing. We ought to just do the right thing because it's the right thing to do and we don't have to have a law that punishes us if we don't," Herbert said in his first monthly KUED news conference.

In Utah, it is legal to fire someone for being gay or transgender. The gay rights advocacy group Equality Utah has been trying to change state law for several years but has always been rebuffed by the Republican-controlled Legislature. Last year, the group got Republican Gov. Jon Huntsman's support for extending some rights to gay people, although none of the bills it backed became law.

But, wait, there's more!

Herbert stopped short of condemning Salt Lake City's proposed anti-discrimination ordinance during his first appearance on the governor's monthly news conference on KUED Ch. 7, but said a fair-housing and employment law for the state's lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community would unnecessarily create a new "protected class."

"Where do you stop? That's the problem going down that slippery road. Pretty soon we're going to have a special law for blue-eyed blondes," Herbert said, adding "we get bogged down sometimes with the minutiae of things that government has really no role to be involved in."

The very first follow up question should be whether Governor Hebert supports the current classes protected against employment discrimination under state and federal law in Utah, which are age, race, religion, sex, national origin, color and disability (by virtue of state and federal law) and pregnancy, childbirth or pregnancy-related condition (Utah law only. An esteemed reader wrote in to make sure I made it clear that discrimination on the basis of pregnancy is illegal under federal law as well, but I do believe that Utah's statute goes even further in prohibiting discrimination in this area than under federal law).

If he does not support those laws, then he should be called out for the anti-historical bigot he appears to be. If he does support those laws, but doesn't see any need to expand them to cover sexual orientation and gender identity, he should be educated as to the vast amount of discrimination which openly LGBT workers face all over the United States (and I expect, in Utah) unlike the mythical history of discrimination against blue-eyed blondes the Governor seems so worried about.

And isn't it shocking that it is a wealthy white male who is making these statements of how unnecessary llegal protections for minorities are. Color me surprised. Not.

AD-51: Bradford Wins Easily; Defeats Homophobic Baiting

Steve Bradford won Tuesday's Special Election to replace now-State Senator Curren Price in the State Assembly by getting the most votes in the 51st district Primary election.

Los Angeles County - Assembly District 51

100.00% (158 of 158) precincts partially or fully reporting as of Sep 1, 2009, 10:52 p.m.

Candidate	Votes	Percent
Steven Bradford (Dem)	7,145	52.93%
Mervin Leon Evans (Dem)	164	1.21%
David Coffin (Rep)	2,308	17.10%
Thomas Jefferson Cares (Dem)	626	4.64%
Robert Pullen-Miles (Dem)	666	4.93%
Gloria D. Gray (Dem)	2,591	19.19%

Although the result was widely expected (and Bradford was endorsed by Equality California, Stonewall Democrats and MadProfessah) in recent days before the election there had been rumors and press stories that Steve Bradford was backtracking on his previously vocal position supporting marriage equality (despite the fact that the 51st Assembly District voted overwhelmingly in favor of Proposition 8 in November 2008).

In fact, MadProfessah was quoted in an article at The Daily Breeze last week urging Bradford to stay strong:

Ron Buckmire, a gay black activist who blogs under the name the Mad Professah, recently endorsed Bradford, noting his support for gay unions.

"The gay community definitely thinks it's a big deal," he said. "The black community's position has been of particular interest to both sides."

Buckmire also said he knew several volunteers who were supporting Bradford because of his stance on gay marriage.

"I think Steve Bradford has made it clear that he's in favor of equal rights for all people, including marriage for same sex couples," Buckmire said. "I think it is important for a legislative leader, as he intends to be, to lead his community to see that's the right position to take."

Let's hope that Assemblymember-elect Bradford lives up to his promises to be a champion for equality for all people.

Mike Rogers Outs South Carolina Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer

Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer (R-SC)

Mike Rogers is a blogger and citizen journalist who has a 100% accurate record in outing closeted gay men. He appears in Kirby Dick's documentary Outrage (see MadProfessah's review) which includes footage of Rogers largest scalp, U.S. Senator Larry Craig (R-Wyoming).

Yesterday, Rogers outed South Carolina Lieutenant Governor Andre Bauer as a closeted gay man on his blog, blogactive.com:

And for those reasons I am now able to confirm a rumor that has circulated in South Carolina for years. South Carolina Lt. Governor Andre Bauer is a closeted anti-gay politician who stands to replace Mark Sanford should Sanford resign or be impeached (a real possibility as Sanford is caught in his own sex scandal.)

[...]

I was led on a path to chatting with acquaintances of the source and two former employees of Bauer who served on his staff between 2004 and 2007. They reported to me that on a total of three occasions Bauer spent hours alone with men in hotel rooms. Each of them explained that the visits were with younger men who were not on the staff of the Lt. Governor nor had any official reason to be with him. The two men each confirmed that they had not known each other and each described similar circumstances under which these interactions occurred. One of them confirmed that he was told by the Lt. Governor's visitor he had a sexual encounter with Bauer.

[...]

His record? The bachelor is a right wing Christian conservative. He's done everything from defend the state issuing "I believe" license plates (complete with a cross on them) to defending the right of schools to use corporal punishment. In the presidential election he supported Mike Huckabee.

It will be interesting to see what impact whether South Carolina Republicans will want to replace their adulterous Governor for a closeted homosexual one!

Disney Buys Marvel For $4 Billion

Disney announced on Monday that they are buying Marvel for $4 billion. The details of the deal are available at Wonder Man's blog, who is worried that The Mouse will "bring Ororo, Jean Grey and The Wasp into the Disney family and make them princesses."

What do you think?

Vermont Same Sex Marriages Start Today!

Same-sex marriages begin tomorrow in Vermont, the fifth state in the Union to allow them, after Massachusetts (May 17, 2004), California (June 16, 2008), Connecticut (November 13, 2008), and Iowa (April 27, 2009). Due to California's Proposition 8, as of September 1, 2009 there will only be four states where same-sex couples CAN get legally married.

Depending on the disposition of Question 1 in Maine's special election on Tuesday November 3, starting January 1, 2010 there will be either five or six states where same-sex couples can get married, since New Hampshire's marriage equality law goes into effect on that date and whether Maine still has marriage equality will depend on the results of the November election.