Here's an e-mail from author Scott D. Pomfret. I'm setting up an interview with the satirist for EDGE: I'm reading from my new book "Since My Last Confession: A Gay Catholic Memoir" on 1 p.m. on Monday, June 9 at Borders Books in Downtown Crossing and at 7 p.m. Friday, June 20 at Calamus Books, 92B South Street. If you're interested, I'd love for you to come and post on the events. "Confession" is a funny, irreverent faith journey by a gay Catholic pursuing his Archbishop in the style of Michael...

Because Sunday’s Ding Ho Reunion benefit sold out quickly, organizers have planned another show at 7:30 p.m. Monday, May 5 at the Regent Theatre in Arlington Center. Here’s the lowdown: For those who long for the good ol’ days when Inman Square’s Ding Ho was the center of Boston’s comedy universe, you’re in luck. A handful of old-time Ding Ho regulars are gathering for a two-night-only benefit to help out comedian Bob Lazarus called "One Of Our Own." Local stand-up legends like Steve...

We’re here. We’re queer. We want a beer. The Guerrilla Gay Bar folks are taking over the only straight hangout in Boston with its own mechanical bull. Yes, they’re infiltrating the Liquor Store, 120 Boylston Street starting at 9 p.m. Friday, May 2. According to the e-mail blast, organizers Daniel and Josh want to teach Boston’s straight masses "how to ride." Of course, they’re referring to the Liquor Store’s mechanical bull. The guerrilla gay bar idea is a great concept: a group of G...

For the seventeenth consecutive year, the MFA presents a dynamic, international roster of films exploring gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender experience and culture. This year's festival comprises 24 programs including the men's opening night screening of "A Four Letter Word." In the edgy romantic comedy about gay life in NYC, Luke flits from guy to guy until he meets his match in the gorgeous Stephen. Their blazing romance has Luke contemplating monogamy, but Stephen is hiding a secret that ...

On Tuesday, April 29, turn off your car alarms, lock up your dogs and hide your precious glassware. Every few years, Madonna releases a new album. And on that day, the high-pitched shrieks heard round the world will emanate from every gay man, Gen-X girl and occasional, interloping straight man ("I’m just buying it for my girlfriend!") who line up like cattle on the dance floor to see what the Divine Miss M is delivering next. In 2008, prepare to crunch on "Hard Candy." The album is Madonna’...

Thanks to the pioneering work of Omarosa Manigault-Stallworth on the first season of "The Apprentice," producers of the so-called unscripted TV genre have a template to work with when casting and crafting a successful reality show. Reality rule No. 1: You need an Omarosa. You know, the show’s villain, the anti-hero, the hellraiser, the bully. MTV and VH1’s latest crop of reality shows embrace what I call the "Omarosa Effect," with a slew of series villains that raise Omarosa’s over-the-top...

Looking for that perfect Mother's Day gift? Povo.com is organizing a must-read online guide chock full of ideas: * Is your mom an EVOO fanatic like the Food Network’s Rachael Ray? The limited edition Chateau d’Estoublon Le Flacon Olive Oil may be the perfect Mother’s Day gift for the die-hard foodie mom. * Why not honor your mother by making her a permanent part of Boston history? Organizers at the Rose Kennedy Greenway Mothers' Walk are offering 6" x 6" pavers as a way to honor your mom. ...

Avalon, which closed Oct. 1, 2007 and was sold to the House of Blues by the Lyons Group, is slotted to be transformed into a live-music complex that will accommodate 2,500 including a 350-seat lounge and a 125-seat restaurant. Click here for more photos from the "Loaded Gun Random Shots" series.Boston-based pop culture blog focusing on the controversial voices who fuel the local news, media, arts, film, politics, music, LGBT and comedy scenes. ...

What happens when an admitted non-confrontational filmmaker confronts the many monsters from his past--including the man who murdered his brother as well as the adult predator who took his 12-year-old virginity? The result is "Meadowlark," an explosive film-school project turned tour-de-force documentary by Taylor Greeson. The beautifully shot full-length feature is making its world premiere at the Independent Film Festival Boston (IFF Boston) 10 p.m. Thursday, April 24 and 8 p.m. Saturday, Apri...

Celebrities pulling rabbits out of their hats? Score. VH1 dabbles in a little hocus pocus with their new celebreality show "Celebracadabra!" premiering 9 p.m. Sunday, April 27. For the handful of folks who got a sneak peek of the program last Sunday at midnight (VH1 aired the premiere episode to test the waters), you know that openly gay comedian and "Celebrity Fit Club" host, ANT, steals the show—for better or worse. Whether he’s vying to be "Celebracadabra’s" Omarosa or he seriously has ...

Povo.com posed the question: How Boston are you? Hundreds of Boston Marathon enthusiasts along the race route on Monday, April 21 responded by customizing free signs provided by Povo with their creative words of encouragement--notes ranging from “You Rock!” to “Can I have your number?”--cheering on their favorite runners. I started off at Cleveland Circle at 9 a.m. and walked to the Boston Marathon finish line handing out Povo.com signs along the way. I ended up distributing around 500 f...

In town filming the romantic comedy "The Proposal," actress Sandra Bullock and her husband Jesse James of TV’s "Monster Garage" were hit by a drunk driver Friday night in Gloucester. While both cars in the accident were totaled, no one involved in the wreck are hurt. Back in August 2007, adult film star Ron Jeremy and XXXchurch founder Craig Gross--in Boston discussing the pros and cons of pornography in the "Great Porn Debate"—had a similar experience last year after a drunk driver almost c...

In case you haven't heard, the Bruins battled against the Canadiens today forcing a game seven in Montreal. I was walking around the North End this afternoon and snapped the above photo outside of The Greatest Bar on Friend Street. There was a definite anti-Canada sentiment on the streets. Go figure.Boston-based pop culture blog focusing on the controversial voices who fuel the local news, media, arts, film, politics, music, LGBT and comedy scenes. ...

After laughing through the premiere episode of MTV’s "The Paper" this week, a few red flags were raised while watching what seems like one of the network’s not-so-real reality shows like "Laguna Beach" and "The Hills." Back in 2007, MTV held an open casting call looking for video submissions from students willing to give the inside scoop from their newspaper office, including their responsibilities at the paper, what interests them about the news as well as important stuff like who they’re...

Have you checked out the new Web site, RateMyCop.com? The California-based start-up allows users to comment on uniformed police officers based on their fairness, professionalism and satisfaction. "Officer Baston is a great officer," comments debarros on RateMyCop.com. "She does not put herself above someone just because she is on the police force." While the handful of posts focusing on Boston cops are complimentary, there’s at least one rant slamming the BPD. "Steven P. Ashman is a young, rud...

I spent the past two days walking around Copley Square taking in the sights and sounds of folks preparing for Monday’s Boston Marathon. From my perspective, there’s nothing more authentically Boston than the annual trek from Hopkinton to Copley Square area. Some of the world’s top runners converge in the Bay State on Monday, April 21 bringing with them the thrill of competition and the agony of de feet (I know, bad pun). Wanna check out the Boston Marathon? The closest MBTA stations to the...

After a scandalous debacle in 2006 when Boston-based film critic Paul Sherman pled guilty to copying and selling DVD promo screeners of soon-to-be-released films, the writer has re-emerged from the ashes to release a new book, "Big Screen Boston: From Mystery Street to The Departed and Beyond." Sherman, who was axed from the Improper Bostonian as well as the Boston Herald, is slotted to do a book signing at the Museum of Fine Arts’ Remis Quditorium at Noon, Saturday, May 3. At the MFA shindig,...

According to the Associated Press, the daily rag known as BostonNOW announced its immediate shutdown today after a year of competition with papers like the Boston Metro and long-time stalwarts like the Boston Globe and the Boston Herald. BostonNOW had 52 full-time and 100 part-time staffers now out of work. Like many Boston-based writers, I contributed to BostonNOW for awhile. However, after not receiving checks for my freelance work and the editor accusing me of holding an article "hostage," I ...

Loaded Gun is featured here in an article by EDGE writer Scott Kearnan: Once upon a time, blogging had a bad name. In the early days of the Internet, blogs (you know, online, regularly updated repositories of first-person musings) were not considered venerable written work. No, back in the gay old ’90s--when I used to walk 20 minutes uphill in the snow, just to get to an FTP server--blogs were not widely written, widely read or widely esteemed. Online blogs were perceived as the domain of angs...

There must be slim pickings in the topsy-turvy world of unscripted programming. With the continued onslaught of reality TV shows hitting the small screen, I’ve had a lot of déjà vu lately. Here’s my list of recycled reality stars: *Vinci Alonso, the 26-year-old bad boy model from MTV’s "8th & Ocean," is starring in the new reality show "VH1’s Viva Hollywood." *Megan Hauserman, a former contestant on the Season 3 of "Beauty and the Geek," recently vied for the affections of Poison's...