Morning Meme: Ellen DeGeneres Levels Up, Adam Lambert Goes Metal, and Spirit Day Celebrity Roundup

Tuesday night, hours before our start of Spirit Day, 19-year-old Corey Jackson hung himself. There’s no direct evidence of bullying of the gay Oakland University student, but let’s face it, we get bullied everyday just for being gay.

As evidence of that statement, I offer Maggie Gallagher’s editorial for the New York Post. She cites out of context “evidence” that marriage equality wouldn’t reduce the suicides, using Massachusetts as a sample. It hardly counts when that marriage isn’t valid when you cross the state line, Maggie.  Or when newspapers think that there are two sides to this story that need to be aired. There is no opposing viewpoint to dead children.

It’s so bad that Facebook has teamed up with MTV, GLAAD, The Trevor Project, GLSEn and PFLAG to create a “Network of Support.”

Meanwhile, thanks to a Facebook campaign, Ireland is looking at the possibility of having their first openly gay president in Senator David Norris.

When it comes to Halloween, I like decorating. I enjoy carving the pumpkin. But I don’t do costumes more elaborate than my orange t-shirt that says “This is my costume.” But here are 11 costume ideas based on events and people in 2010.

Von Neumann machines are a science fiction staple. They’re machines that make copies of themselves out of available raw materials, generally used for terraforming. This is the Lego version of that, and it’s awesome.

It’s looking like Kiera Knightly will make her West End debut in The Children’s Hour, in which she’d play a lesbian.

Newsweek does a reasonable analysis of the options that President Obama could use to end Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. It turns out he’s not using any of them. It’s worth reading to the end.

The New York Times, meanwhile, takes a look at the It Gets Better Project. They talk to Dan Savage, professors, and just regular people who have put videos up about growing up gay.

Bob Guccione, founder of Penthouse, has passed away at 79 after a long battle with cancer. As a teenager, I always appreciated the occasional naked dude in Penthouse, and some bisexual stories in the letters, so thank you, Mr. Guccione.

Adam Lambert is performing in New Zealand and Australia this week, and when he did his Auckland concert, he rocked out a credible glam version of Metallica’s “Enter Sandman.” He later told a local radio station how that came to pass. h/t disturbed1ne

Following the sudden death of his brother, Joseph Gordon-Levitt has canceled his hitRECord Fall Formal show in New York City. Refunds from Ticketmaster will be automatic. Our thoughts and condolences are with Joe while he mourns.

Because it’s the kids that really lose in this situation, I’m trying not to laugh about the Mormon dad who is being told he can’t be a scout leader because Mormons aren’t the right kind of Christians for the scouts.

New York City has released the city’s most popular baby names: Isabella for girls, and Jayden for boys.

Ellen DeGeneres  has signed a new multiyear deal with Warner Bros to produce her own show and to produce scripted pilots. She has a pre-built deal with Fox from her time on American Idol to pay for pilots already. Ellen has brought in Lauren Carrao from Comedy central to expand her production company. If you want to know Carrao’s taste in programming, she gave the world The Sarah Silverman Program, Chapelle’s Show, Drawn Together, and Reno 911!

How to pet a kitty.

A lawsuit relating to the raid on the Atlanta Eagle in 2009 alleges that the police destroyed evidence despite being ordered to preserve it by a federal judge.

Lance Bass hasn’t completely forgiven Perez Hilton for dragging him out of the closet, but he does acknowledge Perez has been helpful in the last week when he was being bullied online with a threat to release embarrassing information that turned out to be fake.

The White House has reportedly rejected a recommendation for what would have been the first openly gay federal judge appointed to the bench because of the man’s past statements concerning “Merry Christmas” and “In God We Trust.” Tell me how we gays are oppressing Christians again?

Richard Cohen is being allowed to make the “thought police” argument against hate crimes laws in the pages of the Washington Post, and says that the sentences for hate crimes are a bigger crime than the offense. Richard Cohen is an asshat. The Washington Post ombudsman has a lot to answer for this past week.

The 9^th Circuit has issued a temporary stay of the ruling halting Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell pending briefs. This is a temporary stay until they decide if the ruling should be stayed pending appeal, or the Obama administration coming to its senses.

 It Gets Worse, according to the True Christians™.