Celebrity Friday: Serena Returns To Tour With 6-0 6-0 Win

Serena Williams returned to the WTA Tour this week after her 4th round loss at Wimbledon to Marion Bartoli to defeat Anastasia Rodionova 6-0 6-0  (ouch) at the Bank of the West tournament in Palo Alto, CA. It was her first hard court match on U.S. soil since the 2009 U.S. Open semifinal where the defending champion was eliminated from the tournament by a point penalty on match point after verbally berating an official who inexplicably had called a foot fault on a second serve at 4-5, deuce.

Bartoli won this tournament by defeating Venus Williams last year, so we shall see if she has to go through another Williams sister to defend her title.

Celebrity Friday: Luis Lopez, Latino LGBT candidate for AD-45

Luis Lopez is an openly gay, Latino candidate for the 45th
 Assembly District, which is located in Los Angeles

Luis Lopez, a friend of mine, is running for a state Assembly seat in California (he would actually represent the 45th Assembly district in which my house and work is located).

Recently, Luis won the endorsement of the Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund, the national organization devoted to promote the election of openly LGBT candidates.

Also, this week The Advocate ran an article called "The Other Gay Contenders" which includes Luis:

Sacramento politics are not for the faint-hearted, but Luis Lopez just may have the chops to effectively take on such an unwieldy beast. Running next year to represent California’s 45th state assembly district, Lopez currently serves as a planning commissioner for the funky, diverse L.A. neighborhood of Silver Lake, where he lives with his partner. Lopez, 38, is also part of a parks oversight committee for his city, co-chaired his neighborhood council, and started a Latino LGBT political action committee (his full-time job is as a communications director for a health center).

Aside from that impressive resume, Lopez has some powerful friends who will help him when he faces a primary in June. Jackie Goldberg, a lesbian who represented the Democrat-friendly 45th district from 2000 to 2006, is supporting Lopez in his race, and Lopez’s good friend, John Perez, the out California Assembly speaker, will likely endorse him as well. It’s not yet clear who Lopez will face off against as the current assemblyman, Gilbert Cedillo, is termed-out next year and possible candidates are still coming forward.

“We need to look at leaders who’ve earned the respect of their peers,” Lopez says. ”People who are respected can move an agenda along—there were many times when my colleagues on a given board haven’t agreed with me, but we were still able to make decisions.”

Protecting labor is paramount to Lopez, who grew up in East Los Angeles and started working not long after his mother passed away when he was eight. Voters in his district, which stretches from Hollywood to Chinatown to East L.A. and includes thousands of diverse gay people, are inline with his platform, he says.

I strongly encourage all MadProfessah.com readers, especially if you live in the 45th Assembly District to support Luis Lopez.

1st Openly Gay U.S. District Court Judge Approved By Senate

As I blogged about earlier this year, J. Paul Oetken is the first openly gay man to be nominated for a lifetime federal judgeship. On Monday, the United States Senate approved Oetken's nomination by a vote of 80-13 to a seat on the Southern District of New York, which covers New York City and is one of the busiest and prestigious federal courts in the country. Amazingly, Oetken will join the same bench that the nation's only openly lesbian federal judge sits on. Deborah Batts is an African American lesbian judge who was nominated by President Clinton and approved by the Senate in 1994. All 13 Senators voting No o Oetken's nomination were Republicans.

Chris Geidner reports:

Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), who has been supporting the nomination, praised Oetken's background and experience on the Senate floor shortly before the vote, saying "His confirmation will only improve the workings of one of the best and one of the busiest courts in the country."

Of Oetken's place as the first, Schumer said, "At this moment, Paul is not just an excellent candidate, as the first openly gay man to be confirmed as a federal judge and to serve on the federal bench, he will be a symbol of how much we have achieved as a country in just the last few decades."

Before the vote began, Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) -- the ranking Republican on the Judiciary Committee -- also announced that he would be voting for Oetken, who was born in Iowa.

When the vote did come, all Democrats voting approved the nomination, with Sen. Kay Hagan (D-N.C.) the sole Democrat not voting. Moreover, a majority of the Senate Republican caucus -- 28 members -- voted to approve the nomination, with 13 Republicans opposing the nomination and six members not voting.

The "no" votes came from Sens. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), John Boozman (R-Ark.), Thad Cochran (R-Miss.), Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), Jim DeMint (R-S.C.), Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas), Mike Lee (R-Utah), Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), James Risch (R-Idaho), Pat Roberts (R-Kan.) and Roger Wicker (R-Miss.). The Republicans not voting were Sens. James Inhofe (R-Okla.), Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), Rand Paul (R-Ky.), Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) and David Vitter (R-La.).

This is great news. Someone should ask all the Republican presidential candidates whether they would nominate an openly LGBT person to a federal judgeship. President Obama has also nominated an out lesbian, Ali Nathan, to a federal judgeship as well. That nomination is now pending on the Senate floor.

2012 Oscars: The Best Actress Race Starts Early

Meryl Streep (left) has 2 Oscars (1979 Best Supporting Actress, Kramer v Kramer;
 1982 Best Actress, Sophie's Choice) and 16 nominations. Glenn Close (right) has
5 nominations and no wins (but 3 Emmys and 3 Tonys).

Ever since it was released that Glenn Close was playing a man in a film called Albert Nobbs she was producing and had co-written the screenplay for tongues have been wagging about her as the one to beat for the 2012 Best Actress Oscar. I have a sweet spot in my heart for Ms. Glenn Close because she is the best thing in one of my favourite movies of all time: Dangerous Liaisons.

Check this scene out and ask yourself why the Best Actress Oscar went to Cher that year!

However, now comes word that Meryl Streep, the most nominated actress of all time, is set to play former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in an upcoming film called The Iron Lady. The trailer for the latter has been released and La Streep has done one of her famous accents and incredible transformations:

Most people give the edge to Glenn because her film also has her brandishing an accent (19th century Irish), has a better director (Directed by Rodrigo Garcia, a well-known director of episodes of HBO series like Six Feet Under, Carnivale and In Treatment), a better cast (Oscar-winner Brenda Fricker, up-and-comer Mia Wasikowski (The Kids Are All Right, Alice in Wonderland), Jonathan Rhys Myers), and Glenn co-wrote the freaking screenplay and has been trying to get the movie made for 15 years! She also played the role on stage and won a Canadian Tony award (called an Obie). However, don't count out Ms. Streep either. The Iron Lady is directed by Phyllida Lloyd who directed her in her biggest box-office smash, the execrable Mamma Mia! and stars Oscar-winner Jim Broadbent and the always good Richard E. Grant.

If the movie is even half-way good, there's no question in my mind that the Academy will want to reward Glenn with atleast one Oscar (Anyone remember Emma Thompson's Oscar for Adapted Screenplay of Sense and Sensibility?) Also, Glenn currently has no Oscars on her mantel while Meryl has two.

I really don't know who I will be cheering for, I really really want Meryl to win her 3rd Oscar, but I also think Glenn Close was robbed decades ago so I really really want her to win as well.

Celebrity Friday: Joe Manganiello

Joe Manganiello plays Alcide the werewolf on HBO's True Blood. He is  34-years-old, 6'5" and 225 pounds of solid muscle, as these pictures from Muscle & Fitness magazine illustrate. He's today's Celebrity Friday but you can also see he would qualify as Eye Candy as well!

Celebrity Friday: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga Poses Nude

Here's a little break from our coverage of the 2011 French Open. French tennis player Jo-Wilfried Tsonga posed nude for the July 2011 UK edition of Cosmopolitan and said "My favourite part of my body is my buttocks."

Hmm, I think there some other parts of his body which would be my favorite!

Hat/tip to Rod 2.0

Vanessa Williams Is A New Yorker for Marriage Equality

Celebrity Friday: Jackie Lacey Could Become LA County DA

Jacquelyn Lacey is the front runner to become the first female (and first African-American)
District Attorney of Los Angeles County

Los Angeles County District Attorney Steve Cooley announced that he would not be seeking a 4th term next year and endorsed the #2 person in the office, Chief Deputy District Attorney Jacquelyn Lacey as his replacement.

Jackie Lacey had already been running for Los Angeles County District Attorney. If she wins, she will become the first Black and first female District Attorney in Los Angeles County, the state's largest. Interestingly, Kamala Harris was the first Black female District Attorney of San Francisco and famously defeated Lacey's boss by a razor-thin margin to become California's first Black and first female Attorney General earlier this year.

CNN Weekend Anchor Don Lemon Comes Out!

Don Lemon, CNN's Weekend Anchor, is revealing in a new book coming out this week that he is a gay man. The 45-year-old African-American television celebrity reveals in Transparent that he was abused as a child and never knew his father.

The New York Times reports:

Few national television news anchors or hosts have publicly acknowledged being gay. Rachel Maddow is perhaps the best known. Her MSNBC colleague, Thomas Roberts, has also come out as gay.

Mr. Lemon has not made a secret of his sexual orientation in his work life; many of his CNN co-workers and managers have long been aware that he is gay. But he still acknowledged that going public in his book carries certain risks.

“I’m scared,” he said in a telephone interview. “I’m talking about something that people might shun me for, ostracize me for.”

Even beyond whatever effect his revelation might have on his television career, Mr. Lemon said he recognized this step carried special risk for him as a black man.

“It’s quite different for an African-American male,” he said. “It’s about the worst thing you can be in black culture. You’re taught you have to be a man; you have to be masculine. In the black community they think you can pray the gay away.” He said he believed the negative reaction to male homosexuality had to do with the history of discrimination that still affects many black Americans, as well as the attitudes of some black women.

How long does Anderson Cooper think he can stall before affirmatively answering the question that everyone already knows the answer to?

Celebrity Friday: Schwarzenegger and Shriver Separate

Maria Shriver and Arnold Schwarzengger, former Governor of California (2003-2011), have announced that after 25 years of marriage, they have decided to separate.

The Los Angeles Times has the joint statement:

"This has been a time of great personal and professional transition for each of us. After a great deal of thought, reflection, discussion and prayer, we came to this decision together. At this time, we are living apart while we work on the future of our relationship." 

"We are continuing to parent our four children together. They are the light and the center of both of our lives. We consider this a private matter and neither we nor any of our friends or family will have further comment. We ask for compassion and respect from the media and the public."

Schwarzengger, 63, and Shriver, 55, have four children together. Shriver has moved out of their Brentwood home.

Celebrity Friday: Monroe Cannon and Moroccan Scott Cannon

 The names of the twin baby boy and girl that Mariah Carey gave birth to on Saturday April 30th have been revealed: the boy will be Moroccan Scott Cannon and the girl will be called Monroe Cannon (notice both of them thus will have the initials "MC." Mariah said she didn't want Monroe to have a middle name, because she didn;t have one. Monroe was named after Marilyn Monroe, and Moroccan was named after a type of interior design that Mariah loves. She has a Moroccan room in her Central Park palatial apartment and that was the room in which her husband Nick Cannon proposed to her.

Mariah Carey Has Her Twins (Boy And Girl)!

Mariah Carey, 41, and Nick Cannon, 30, welcomed their twin babies, a boy and a girl, on Saturday April 30.

Carey's representative, Cindi Berger, confirmed the births to The Associated Press. The singing superstar gave birth Saturday at 12:07 p.m. EDT at an undisclosed hospital in Los Angeles. Berger says the baby girl was born first, weighing 5 pounds, 3 ounces, and was 18 inches long; her brother was next, at 5 pounds 6 ounces, and was 19 inches.

The two will celebrate their third wedding anniversary on Sunday May 1st.

Celebrity Friday: Julianne Moore as Sarah Palin

Julianne Moore is one of my favorite actresses, and should have won an Oscar for her work in Far From Heaven years ago. According to the Hollywood Reporter, she is going to be starring as Sarah Palin a.k.a. "Moose Mess" in the upcoming HBO film, Game Change, based on the 2010 best-seller Game Change: Obama and the Clintons, McCain and Palin, and the Race of a Lifetime on the 2008 presidential race by John Heileman and Mark Halperin. She looks amazing!

Celebrity Friday: Serena's Back On The Court

Serena Williams tweeted her return to practicing on a tennis court earlier this week and most tennis fans rejoiced. Of course, being Serena she did it in style! Love the outfit, girl! (I wonder where I can get one?)

Celebrity Friday: Mardy Fish, Highest Ranked American Player

Mardy Fish, Andy Roddick's childhood friend, has overtaken his buddy as the highest ranked American male player on the ATP Tour by reaching the semifinals of the Sony Ericsson Open, defeating David Ferrer 7-5 6-2. Fish's defeat of Ferrer followed a breath-taking 7-5 7-6(5) win over 2009 US Open champion Juan Martin del Potro in the 4th round.

Fish could meet Novak Djokovic if the Serbian can extend his winning streak to 23 games for 2011 by defeating Kevin Anderson. In the other half of the draw, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal could meet for the first time on American soil in over 4 years, if both win matches against Gilles Simon and Tomas Berdych, respectively.

Celebrity Friday: Elizabeth Taylor (1932-2011)

Elizabeth Taylor, glamorous Hollywood film star for decades and AIDS activist and gay icon, died on Wednesday March 23rd.

Her New York Times obituary, written by a guy who died in 2005, described her:

In a world of flickering images, Elizabeth Taylor was a constant star. First appearing on screen at age 10, she grew up there, never passing through an awkward age. It was one quick leap from “National Velvet” to “A Place in the Sun” and from there to “Cleopatra,” as she was indelibly transformed from a vulnerable child actress into a voluptuous film queen. 

In a career of some 70 years and more than 50 films, she won two Academy Awards as best actress, for her performances as a call girl in “BUtterfield 8” (1960) and as the acid-tongued Martha in “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” (1966). Mike Nichols, who directed her in “Virginia Woolf,” said he considered her “one of the greatest cinema actresses.”

Even here in Cape Town, South Africa, her death was huge news.

Celebrity Friday: Rick Palacio, Openly Gay Chair of Colorado Dems

Rick Palacio, a 36-year-old openly gay, Latino man was recently elected Chairman of the Colorado Democratic Party.

The Denver Post reports:

Palacio, a sixth-generation Coloradan from Pueblo, received more than 50 percent of the vote from members of the state central committee of the Colorado Democratic Party at its biennial reorganizational meeting.

He defeated Polly Baca, a former state senator, and Adam Bowen, the former Larimer County Democratic chairman.

"I'm very excited," Palacio said after the vote. "I'm excited for our party. We have a lot of work ahead of us as Democrats. I look forward to working with Democrats from all 64 different counties to make sure that we succeed in 2012."

Palacio, who will resign his current position as deputy director of member services for U.S. House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer, D-Md., said it's also important to ensure that all divergent opinions within the party are heard so Democrats can all move forward in the same direction.

Colorado Democratic brass were among the 450 people who attended the morning event. Gov. John Hickenlooper, [Sen. Michael] Bennet and fellow Sen. Mark Udall all gave rousing speeches, trying to energize the base on a day of new beginnings for the state's Democratic Party.

Colorado went blue in the 2008 presidential election and currently has a Democratic Governor and two Democratic United States Senators. Republicans hold the lower state House by 1 vote (out of 65) and Democrats control the state Senate by 5 (out of 35).

Celebrity Friday: Sam Arora Reneges On Marriage Equality Support

Maryland Delegate Sam Arora ran on a campaign of support
 for marriage equality and accepted thousands of dollars in LGBT donations

As the bill to legalize marriage equality in Maryland, HB 175/S 116, appears to have run into some very serious legislative hurdles in the lower House right before a key Judiciary Committee vote despite passing the Senate 25-21 last week.  LGBT activists are shocked and appalled by the shameful actions of a young progressive politician named Sam Arora who co-sponsored and ran for election on a platform of marriage equality but who has now indicated he will will vote against the bill if it reaches the house floor but will vote for it in the judiciary committee.

John Aravosis and other LGBT activists are perplexed by Arora's traitorous actions since as recently as a month ago, Arora had tweeted his support for marriage equality.

Now that tweet has been deleted from Arora's twitter stream and he is telling associates he doesn't think his religious principles allow him to "redefine marriage," which is basically a right-wing talking point. marriage is not REDEFINED when discriminatory legal barriers to those who can access it are removed. It's about treating LGBT people equally regardless of the gender of the person they love and their sexual orientation.

For his traitorous actions is possibly assisting in the demise of Maryland's civil marriage protection act, Sam Arora is todays Celebrity Friday. Democrats hold a 98-43 advantage in the Maryland House of Delegates but the floor vote (if it happens) is now expected to be close.

UPDATE 03/04/2011 0943 PST
Arora has released a statement saying that even though he opposes marriage equality (he supports civil unions) he will vote for the bill on the floor:

"I have heard from constituents, friends, and advocates from across the spectrum of views and have thought about the issue of same-sex marriage extensively. I understand their concern--this is a very serious issue, and one that many people feel passionately about. As the vote drew nearer, I wrestled with this issue in a way I never had before, which led me to realize that I had some concerns about the bill. While I personally believe that Maryland should extend civil rights to same-sex couples through civil unions, I have come to the conclusion that this issue has such impact on the people of Maryland that they should have a direct say. I will vote to send the bill to the floor because it deserves an up-or-down vote. On the floor, I will vote to send the bill to the governor so that Marylanders can ultimately decide this issue at the polls. I think that is appropriate."

Hmmm, I guess online pressure works! Hat/tip to Gay.AmericaBlog

WATCH: ESPN Says Serena Could Be Out For A Year

Serena Williams Hospitalized For Bood Clot and Hematoma!

Serena Williams at the Vanity Fair post-Oscars
party on Sunday February 27, 2011

Oh my goodness! Serena Williams was rushed to a hospital in Los Angeles this week when it was discovered that she had a blood clot in her lung with a spokesperson releasing a statement:

"Serena did indeed suffer from a pulmonary embolism last week, and the hematoma was another unexpected scare. Thankfully everything was caught in time. With continued doctor visits to monitor her situation, she is recuperating at home under strict medical supervision."

"Says Serena, 'Thank you everyone for all of your prayers, concerns, and support. This has been extremely hard, scary, and disappointing. I am doing better, I'm at home now and working with my doctors to keep everything under control. I know I will be ok, but am praying and hoping this will all be behind me soon. While I can't make any promises now on my return, I hope to be back by early summer. That said, my main goal is to make sure I get there safely.' "

The injury does not appear to life-threatening, but will probably keep her off a tennis court for another 6-12 weeks.

Dr. Mark Adelman, chief of vascular and endovascular surgery at NYU Langone Medical Center, said that Williams' lungs should heal completely. The length of time to heal the original clot, whether it was in her leg or in her arm, could vary depending on its size and other factors. Adelman estimated that for anywhere from six to 12 weeks her doctors would not want her to play tennis at all. After that, Williams might be able to play at a high level, but because the anticoagulants will put her at additional risk of bruises and bleeding, she'll want to avoid getting hit hard during play.

Last week, Williams had told the New York Post that she was aiming her comeback for the French Open in May. From the statement released Wednesday, though, it is clear she is now hoping to be ready for Wimbledon, which opens play June 20.

Get well soon, Serena!!