Morning Edition - 11/9/05

Billionaire Buys Apple – Again
With $5 billion in his bankroll and at his disposal, NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg used $74 million in a victorious push to stay-on as the first Republican candidate to win with a 20-point lead. This will be Bloomberg’s second term as mayor. Over $30 million of the campaign funds were used for advertising alone. His opponent, Fernando Ferrer, would have been the first Latino man to hold the office of mayor in New York City. Bloomberg, a moderate Republican, supports gay marriage and abortion rights. For the record, he’s also a former democrat. Ferrer is Puerto Rican and needed ALL the black and Latino vote to trump Bloomberg, but he consistently failed to gain their support – primarily the black support – when he said the shooting of a black immigrant by police officers was not a crime. This was Ferrer’s third attempt at capturing the mayor’s office. He is a former Bronx borough president.

CDC Report; When Big Is Bad
When the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) release a report most folks stand at attention and listen. This time the report showed an increase in the spread of syphilis among gay and bisexual men in the U.S. Two-thirds (64%) of all new cases of syphilis in 2004 belonged to gay men. The disease is especially a threat to metropolitan areas such as San Francisco and Atlanta who have the highest number of new cases; topping the top-ten list. Following, in order, are Baltimore, New Orleans, St. Louis, Washington D.C., Dallas, Jersey City and Chicago; remarkably, New York City ranks 19th on the list. Everyone is cautioned to use protection – including during oral sex, which some gay men have turned to in an effort to reduce their chance of HIV infection.

Noah’s Arc; Tonight at 10
Tonight, my boys are back on the tube with the issue of masculinity and the “thug” culture. Chance will explore another side of himself as he struggles with the reason behind why his partner, Eddie, cheated with a thug. A couple of weeks ago, we found out that after moving in with Eddie, Chance was rocked to his foundation when he discovered an affair that had him turn a critical eye on himself. Will Chance transform into a thug or will he simply find out that a man is a man regardless of how feminine or masculine others perceive him to be? If you missed the last episode, please tune-in to the Logo channel a half-hour earlier (9:30 p.m.) to catch last week’s episode with the current episode airing at 10.

La Isla Bonita
My crumb cake T had a vacation planned to the Dominican Republic with his friends in the coming months, but has opted to switch-it-up and join me for an island rendezvous in Puerto Rico this month. The spontaneous decision has me both smiling hard and scrambling to find a more appropriate bathing suit. Keep me in your prayers as I make the scary introduction – T to my parents. I just don’t want to have the Puerto Rican version of Meet The Fockers happening to me! T and I will be fleshing the trip out when he joins me tonight for a little Noah’s Arc and nookie. That-a boy!

On Blast
Toys, toys and more toys. A friend of a friend mentioned the use of toys last night and how they enhance her sex life. Toys can very well be the spice to invigorate a bored lover or awaken new sensory spots. What (if any) toy would you recommend and why? What are the drawbacks of toys?

Keep passin’ the open windows…