• Mombian: It’s back-to-school time, when we LGBT parents face the dual challenges of getting our children in an academic frame of mind and readying all of us to face a new batch of questions about our families. My own son is about to start kindergarten, and I’m trying to follow these five basic principles to create the best possible school environment for him... Five Principles to Start the School Year
• Towleroad: "The first of two bars to reopen after Ike's onslaught on Saturday, Robert's Lafitte is a haven in the storm -- for gays, straights, anyone who needs a place to drink and find comfort. 'You can see there's not too much worry and stress on people's faces,' said Dixie Monroe, a transgender barmaid who wore a tiger-print cowboy hat and a low-cut top. Outside, Black Hawk helicopters clattered overhead and emergency teams searched for people stranded in the flooded city of 60,000 people. Up the street lay a huge field of splintered wood." Galveston Gay Bar Becomes Place of Comfort After Hurricane Ike
• New York Times: ...As he contemplated his next step, he had an epiphany: He wanted to be a parent. “But I never thought that life as a single Gay man could include a kid,” he said. Members of his family thought otherwise. “My cousin, Helen, took me to lunch and said, ‘It would be a shame if you could not have a child,’ ” he recalled. “My grandmother sat me down and told me, ‘Children bring joy.’ ” A Bachelor-Father Balancing Act
• The Associated Press: Never mind all those questions about who will win the election: The more pressing concern for many viewers is whether Tina Fey will return to play Gov. Sarah Palin on "Saturday Night Live." The guest appearance by the show's former cast member and head writer was by all accounts a virtuoso impersonation and a viral hit. But Fey stars in NBC's weekly prime-time comedy "30 Rock," and it's unclear if she'll be moonlighting on "SNL" to skewer the Republican vice presidential candidate, to whom she bears a much-remarked-upon resemblance. Will Tina Fey encore on 'SNL' as Sarah Palin?
• South Florida Blade: Lucia Mendez, the Mexican telenovela queen and pop singing sensation, struts down the stairway at Brasserie Les Halles Restaurant in Coral Gables in a fierce flurry. She’s fashionably late to the press conference, which has been arranged by local Latino GLBT organizations to “straighten out” an image problem—just as the diva is preparing to launch a tour of mostly gay clubs. Latin Pop Queen Embraces Her Gay Audience
• Barack Obama goes on the offense in this new video

• In The Life: The Scots/Indian filmmaker, Pratibha Parmar, has been making documentaries for 20 years, chronicling the unique experiences of gays and lesbians throughout the world. In her feature, Nina's Heavenly Delights, Parmar celebrates food, family, and lesbian love with a unique blend of Scottish/Bollywood sensibility.

• Gay Agenda: As reported earlier on GayAgenda.com, Doug Manchester, the owner of the Manchester Grand Hyatt and The Grand del Mar donated $125,000 to support Proposition 8, a California ballot measure that would ban same-sex marriage. The GLBT community immediately  started a boycott of the hotels which have been largely successful. Manchester can now be sued by his investors for the lost revenues. According to on-line sources, hotel rooms normally selling for $238 a night at the Grand Hyatt are going for $95 on Priceline. Manchester Hyatt Feeling Crunch From Boycott

• US Magazine: Self-proclaimed "hockey mom" Sarah Palin had a private tanning bed installed in the Governor's Mansion in Juneau, Alaska, Usmagazine.com confirmed on Monday. Sarah Palin Installed Tanning Bed at Governor's Mansion

• Variety: Britney Spears' second comeback is in full swing: She's due to release a new album in December, on her 27th birthday. "Circus" is set for release Dec. 2, a little over a year after she released last November's "Blackout," which was perhaps her most critically acclaimed CD, but came during her infamous year of erratic behavior, rehab, custody battles and at least one hospitalization. She barely promoted it, and the album - though it was certified platinum - was one of her least successful. Britney Spears Preps for 'Circus'

• Pink is the New Blog: Prince William has opted for a full-time military career and is to train to become a pilot in the Royal Air Force’s search and rescue teams, his office announced Monday. “The time I spent with the RAF earlier this year made me realize how much I love flying,” William, 26, said in a statement. “Joining Search and Rescue is a perfect opportunity for me to serve in the Forces operationally, while contributing to a vital part of the country’s Emergency Services.” His training is 18 months long, starting in January 2009 and concluding by summer 2010 when he will embark on a tour of duty typically lasting up to three years. Prince William Decides To Become A Military Man

Score's Planeta Macho on Tuesday, September 16^th, in conjunction with Club Papi and Granada Entertainment are proud to have La Reina de Reinas Lucia Mendez.  General Admission tickets are available as well as VIP Meet & Greet.  Party begins at 9 PM and DJ George Ferrero spins. 

G. Bar Ybor City (Tampa) will have the DVD release party for Dirty Sexy Money:  The Complete First Season on Tuesday, September 16^th.  The box set includes exclusive features and VIP set tour through the Darling mansion.  DJ Greg Anderson spins. 

Sawmill Camping Resort in Dade City (between Tampa & Orlando) Enjoy Sawmill's clothing optional pool, delicious food and drinks poolside. Take a stroll around Ricky Lake with towering Cypress trees and through our nature trails.  Visit James @ Splash Pool Bar & Cafe @ 6PM for Wet & Wild Tuesdays!  4PM - 7PM HH @ Splash Pool Bar & Cafe. 

Books & Books Bal Harbour Shops. Join us for this special evening – Indignation Day -- as we show a live Webcast of Philip Roth being interviewed about his new book, Indignation (Houghton Mifflin, $26) by author Ben Taylor in New York City. This broadcast is only being shown at select bookstores across the country, and Books & Books Bal Harbour Shops was one of the chosen few. Indignation, Philip Roth’s twenty-ninth book, is a story of inexperience, foolishness, intellectual resistance, sexual discovery, courage, and error. It is a story told with all the inventive energy and wit Roth has at his command. A studious, law-abiding, intense youngster from Newark, New Jersey, Marcus Messner, is beginning his sophomore year on the pastoral, conservative campus of Ohio’s Winesburg College in 1951, the second year of the Korean War. And why is he there and not at the local college in Newark where he originally enrolled? Because his father seems to have gone mad with fear of the dangers he sees in every corner for his beloved boy. He leaves them and, far from Newark, in the Midwestern college, has to find his way amid the customs and constrictions of another American world. Customers will be able to purchase signed first editions of Indignation – one per customer – in advance. There is limited number. The books can be picked up at Books & Books Bal Harbour Shops at the event on Tuesday, September 16 – the book’s publication date. For more information call 305-864-4241 or email orders@booksandbooks.com. Presented in collaboration with the Florida Center for the Literary Arts. 8pm