Is John Travolta Gay?

Is John Travolta gay? And, "so what?" if he is. The reality here is that if John Travolta is gay then he has some serious conversations that need to take place with members of his immediate family; starting with his wife.

The rumours regarding John Travolta and his sexuality are not new. To some, like Carrie Fisher (whatever happened to that exceptionally beautiful Princess Leia of Star Wars fame that I remember from my misguided youth?), it was an open secret in the circles of "know" in Hollywood. Fisher describes that secret knowledge in this way:

"Wow! I mean, my feeling about John has always been that we know and we don’t care. Look, I’m sorry that he’s uncomfortable with it, and that’s all I can say. It only draws more attention to it when you make that kind of legal fuss. Just leave it be."

One can just imagine John Travolta slumping in his chair going "Thanks Carrie!"

Yet, it has been reported that Travolta has opted for a course of action that goes along the lines of 'leaving it to people to believe what they want to believe'. So, if he refuses to acknowledge the rumours then how does one prove the rumour? Pictures?

What he chooses to do, and how he chooses to respond, is really a matter for him. Nevertheless, it would seem that Kelly Preston, who is set to become the "long-suffering wife" in the event that the rumours are substantiated, is apparently begging her husband to come clean and tell her the truth. It happens all the time where women marry men who at some point in the future, willingly or otherwise, come out as gay men.

On a personal level, I wonder how one maintains the deception for so long? This is particularly so where the actions are ongoing. It does not seem that the rumours circulating about Travolta's gay spa jaunts are a case of a one-off visit many years ago that has not been repeated since. Once Travolta has dealt with his wife's plea for honesty about his sexuality, I wonder how the Church of Scientology views homosexuality? To be honest, I have never really researched the Church (is it really a Church?).

I really do not care whether John Travolta is gay or not. His sexual preferences are matters and choices for him. To be truthful, I am not bothered one way or the other, if someone is gay or lesbian, then they are gay or lesbian. I am not the one to decide whether they are right or wrong in their choice of sexual and life-time partners. And, this does not change with the degree of fame the person has. I really do not care whether Oprah Winfrey is a lesbian for instance and that is the same for Joe Bloggs up the street.

Yet, I do wonder how we get passed the stigma that "we" as a community attach to being gay or lesbian. I wonder this within the framework of creating safe environments where all people, irrespective of their sexuality, can achieve and realise their hopes and dreams.

Serial Killers Marrying Drug Dealers....

I am not sure that this is an only in Indonesia scenario, but this particular story is out of Indonesia. Yet, no matter, as the very idea is worthy of a blog post.

It appears that Verry Idham Henyahsyah, aka Ryan, who came to fame as a gay serial killer sentenced to death for the murder of 11 people, is not set to get married to a woman. It is all a little weird but, then again, not so weird. It is not unheard of gay men to marry women for myriad of different reasons. I think this is a little weird because Ryan was sentenced to death for his crimes and is awaiting execution in Kesambi Prison in Cirebon.

The weirdness for me is a personal one. I have never really understood why women meet, fall in love and ultimately want to (or do) marry men on death row. I guess I just need to read a little more widely, I am sure the literature is out there somewhere.

Ryan argues that marrying the recently released drug dealer, Eny Wijaya, fits his personal philosophy that marriages is the process of regenerating life. Maybe I need to read more widely on the nature and nurture debate as it relates to serial killers; are they born or bred?

The other reason Ryan feels it necessary for him as an openly gay man to marry a woman is that it would makes his mother happy. It seems Ryan's mum really wants him to get married.

Normally, people would want to wish you a long, happy, and fruitful marriage together, but I wonder what is the "right" thing to say to a fellow that is sitting on death row with respect to marriage? Let's face it, he might not know the exact date of his death, but Ryan does know that the final walk to the firing squad is going to happen, and it is going to happen sooner rather than later.

Ho hum...

MUI and the Q Film Festival...

The MUI, the Indonesian Ulema Council, is always good for coming up with creative ways to characterise all manner of things, but let's face it human rights is not one of their fortes. So, it was mildly amusing to read that the MUI has decided that its position for opposing the Q film festival being held in Jakarta is that homosexuality is a breach of human rights.

The Q film festival is Asia's largest gay and lesbian film festival. The fact that it is being held in Indonesia is a victory for Indonesian gay and lesbian activists and for moderate Islam. Nevertheless, there are always those hard-liners who cannot accept nor tolerate difference. These people are not only the fanatics of the Islamic Defenders' Front (FPI) but also the upstanding interpreters of God's words at the MUI.

The rest of the MUI argument is that the French, German and Japanese governments are violating Indonesia's sovereignty by allowing gays and lesbians to screen films using their facilities. According to the MUI, homosexuality is just not the Indonesian way, it is not culturally acceptable, and besides all of these countries call themselves defenders of human rights but actively engage in permitting the abuse of human rights by tolerating homosexuality.

Aside from not being culturally acceptable in Indonesia, the MUI also makes the point that homosexuality is not tolerated in Islam either. But, most Indonesians would know this already in light of Tifatul Sembiring's recent tweets and his quoting of some relevant Sura. Yet, I can think of a few places where the practice of Islam is less moderate than in Indonesia but seems to be tolerated in the turning of a blind eye sense. Maybe, Ma'ruf should watch The Kite Runner, he might learn a thing or two about life.

Yes, if you are shaking your head and wondering whatever are they talking about, then you are not alone.

However, head shaking aside. The argument that homosexuality is a violation of human rights deserves a second look because it is an argument that I have not heard before. It is also an argument that I had to think about in order to get my head around it. After all, I figured that if we are all children of God then we are products of God and as such will be responsible to her (or him) come judgment day. But, it would seem, according to Ma'ruf Amin of the MUI, argues that homosexuality is a breach of human rights because God gave rights to men and women to marry each other, but not to men to marry men or women to marry other women.

Uh huh, now I get it, gay marriage is forbidden in Islam. Although, I am not a big fan of Wikipedia as an authoritative source of information, it is worth a read because it can quite often point one towards more authoritative sources. However, this Wikipedia entry on homosexuality in Islam is worth a read, particularly the part about the history  of homosexuality.

John Travolta, Cheating, and Gay Sex...

I figure the commentary I do on Indonesia is more interesting and, generally, more important. But, the reality of blogging is that sometimes getting the punters in means that you blog about something that is likely to pique the interest of a larger majority. Maybe, some of those looking for John Travolta and gay sex or lewd sex acts, might just stick around and read some of my other posts. Then again, truth be told, I doubt it. I figure that if one is on the hunt for John Travolta and gay sex, then a post on the intricacies of a PDI-P visit to the KPK is not going to do it for you!

Well, it seems, at least according to Perez Hilton's site, Mr. Travolta has been cheating on his currently pregnant wife for almost two decades. It is further reported that Mr. Travolta has been a regular on the gay spa scene for nearly as long. The juicy bits are the allegations that he regularly engages in lewd sex acts with other men. I wonder what makes it lewd? Particularly in 2010. Is it lewd because it is man on man?

Anyways, enough of the wondering about the sex acts. Although, the wondering can never cease. I wonder what the good 'ol boys and girls down at the local cult office (aka Church of Scientology) think about Mr. Travolta's second lifestyle. Maybe he is getting in touch with his inner thetan?

Nothing like a little bit of celebrity gossip to kick off a Saturday morning.

Tiger Woods and Gay Sex...

It has been a spectacular fall from grace for the world's first billion dollar sportsperson. However, no matter how spectacular the fall, there is always an opportunity for redemption. The game now is whether Tiger Woods can trek that path to redemption.

In many respects the only way that things can go from here are up. There are probably some who might wonder how a professional golfer with a squeaky clean image can recover from one affair let alone fourteen or so of them over a relatively short period of time. Perhaps, therein lies the answer. Tiger Woods is the golfer of his generation, and perhaps overtime the greatest golfer of all time, and herein lies the opportunity for redemption. His name and reputation may be forever marked by this myriad of indiscretions, but the situation is not beyond repair in most facets of his existence.

That said, I would reckon the situation might be beyond repair on the marriage front, but being a divorced father is probably not the end of his world. I don't envy the man's task in having to tell or explain to his children how and why things went the way they did. Nevertheless, we are all human and we all make mistakes, the key is getting back up off the ground when we get knocked down, either by our own doing or by someone else's.

Tiger Woods will be back.

Considering the title of the post, I guess there should be a few words about the allegation that Tiger Woods has either indulged in, or had fantasies about, gay sex.

Now, one of the women Tiger is alleged to have been doing the deed with has decided to write a tell all book. The major selling point of the book seems to be not only Tiger's appetite for sex with women, but also with men. According to Loredana Jolie, she has seen Tiger having sex with men. Not sure that there are any photos floating around of these gay sex encounters, but if there were I am guessing that they would be selling for a pretty good price.

The idea is not outside the realm of possibility. It seems that Tiger had a bit of a fetish for threesomes and had a fantasy of being part of one with one of his other mistresses, Rachel Uchitel, and Derek Jeter or David Boreanaz. Derek Jeter is a New York Yankees legend and David Boreanaz is the star of the show Bones.

In any event, the timing of the recent Vanity Fair cover was particularly opportune, don't you think?

Barack Obama and His Nazi Policies...

I really do not get the connection between the Obama Health Care plan and the Nazi policy of eugenics, or any other Nazi policy for that matter. I can understand that some people might not agree with the policy or the plan, but comparing it to anything that Adolf Hitler or the Nazis did in Germany through the 1930s and 1940s is just plain stupid and way out there in terms of exaggeration.

So, it was with a good deal of laughter that I watched Barney Frank's reply at a recent town hall meeting in Dartmouth, Massachusetts, when one of the attendees asked him, "Why are you supporting this Nazi policy?"

Frank's reply, "On what planet do you spend most of your time?" He then gets a little more serious and talks about the beauty of the first amendment allowing for such "vile, contemptible nonsense" to be propagated.