Unless you've been living under a rock without WiFi access, you'll know that one of the biggest news stories of the past day or so is about NBA player Jason Collins coming out.

Arguably, the most interesting part of this story are the reactions from various individuals. Take for example, ESPN writer Chris Broussard's stating that a gay NBA player is a
"rebellion against God" or this op-ed by Ari Ezra Waldman about the significance of the event and how it plays into identity politics. 

Or how about President Obama responding to news reporters, stating that he had spoken to Collins and couldn't be prouder.

And still on a sports tip, Vice magazine speaks with Roger Brigham, a coach at Golden Gate Wrestling Club, a gay wrestling team based in San Francisco.

After yesterday's blog post and op-ed on sexual health, I thought it might be a good time to include a few stories about sexual health.

- The Chronicle Herald talks about oral sex.

- Capital Health, HRM's health provider, also posted an interesting piece, titled "Helluva Lot of Unsafe Sex in Halifax," discussing how public health is looking at the situation.

- And The Atlantic looks at the recent talk around HIV "cures" and what "functionally cured" means in today's medical world.

I love the idea of crowd funding.

Websites like Indiegogo and Kickstarter are great ways for people to get much-needed funds for their projects from untraditional sources or even directly from fans of their previous work. 

Case in point: Veronica Mars, the cancelled TV series about its eponymous character, is looking to be made into a movie, so its producers went to Kickstarter. Well, it is now the fastest campaign to reach the $1 million mark, and then the $2 million mark. Even The Atlantic got in on the story, but in their case, praising the show for its depiction of the life of a rape survivor. 

Former Kickstarter user Malcolm Ingram is now finally screening his film Continental, about the impact that New York's Continental Baths had on gay life during the 1970s on everything from sex to drugs to music and more. Check out his interview on Queerty.

As for a contemporary campaign, Alfredo's Fire is looking to tell the story of an Italian writer who kills himself by self-immolation. His reason: to protest the Vatican's views on homosexuality.

This edition of The Reading List goes up to New Brunswick, delves into MMA and goes highbrow pop with Owen Pallett.

- CBC Saint John interviews Jenny Gillingham and Troy Morehouse, the owners of Pump, Saint John's only gay club. The club is closing its doors at the end of the month. Listen to it here. 

- Still in New Brunswick, an online survey is looking to find out more about the sexual health of youth. The CBC talks to the organizers of the survey.

- Fallon Fox, an MMA fighter, comes out as being trans. Outsports has the story. 

- And Owen Pallett, formerly known as Final Fantasy, is taking his latest creation, a violin concerto, to the stage of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra.

Although it's too early to tell who will win this season of RuPaul's Drag Race, it is easy to see who is the most entertaining. 

I've already talked about Ms Jinkx Monsoon, but I recently discovered that someone has created a Twitter feed dedicated entirely to Alyssa Edwards' face.

Genius.

*

Speaking of genius, I recently found out that West Coast drag legend Jackie Beat is having a bit of a hard time with ill health. In fact, Beat is now in need of a double hip replacement. Beat has gone the crowd-sourcing route to help with the cost of the operation, since Beat doesn't have insurance. "I have ever given you a chuckle or made you crack a smile; please slip a little something into the brandy snifter here on mama's piano," Jackie says. You can donate by checking out their Give Forward page. 

To remind you of how awesome Jackie is, check out "Beaver."

This edition of The Reading List is all about sexual health.

- If you haven't had the chance, check out Xtra's recent coverage on sexual health issues. Nancy Irwin wrote a great piece on the rise of syphilis amongst men who have sex with men.

- Andrea Houston reports on the rise of STI infections in large urban centres in Ontario.  

- Over at The Atlantic, Alice Dreger, a professor of clinical medical humanities and bioethics at Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine, looks at a recent report by the United Nations looking to repeal health practices such as "genital normalizing therapies" for individuals born with genitals that are sexually atypical. Read it.

- And if you're interested in healthcare practices and issues, prideHealth is holding a Trans* Community Forum next week. In partnership with the Canadian Professional Association for Transgender Health (CPATH), prideHealth is hosting a discussion on ways to expand access to healthcare for the trans community. The event happens March 6 in the Parker Reception Room at the IWK. For more information, contact prideHealth at 902-473-1433 or pridehealth@cdha.nshealth.ca.

The best way to start the week is to know what's going on. So here are a few stories about what's been happening today.

- Anonymous has decided that the Canadian government is worth its attention. Interesting. Weren't they just attacking the Westboro Baptist Church? Nice to see the Harper government is in good company.

-  It's no secret that I love Azealia Banks. But she got in a bit of hot water this weekend via Twitter. Seems like she called Perez Hilton a "faggot." He's a lot of things. And there a lot of names he could be called. But Banks ended up pissing off a lot of people, and she may have lost her record contract. Here's a recap, via Queerty.

- Liberace was one of the gayest men to exist. So how come a bunch of studio heads thought that a movie about him would be "too gay"? (Via Gay Star News)

And finally, a new video by Ab Soto. Mildly NSFW, but entertaining nonetheless.

The Reading List returns with all sorts of goodies to tempt your brain and your heart.

First, a serious note from a serious site: Poynter, a website by and for journalists, discusses how a Christian college in the US banned a blog by gay students. 

Halifax's Dalhousie University has new gender-neutral washrooms on its campuses. (via CBC)

When the push is on, it's on. Amanda Seyfried goes on Letterman to plug the new film adaptation of Les Mis. She ends up talking about how drunk she is, but in the most charming fashion. 

We often talk about how art imitates life. But what happens when pop culture imitates itself? At the recent American Country Awards, Kristin Chenoweth dressed up as Honey Boo Boo. And nailed it. The mind reels. (via Just Jared)

And remember that story about the little boy and girl who wanted the Easy-Bake Oven in gender-neutral colours? Well, a bunch of chefs got together to show their support.

Although readers of this column will note that I've already posted about the best bits of yesterday's election (hint: it's not the politics) there were still a few doozies I wanted to share with you before they got stale.  Although in the case of the political stories, the subjects themselves are beyond stale.

Example 1: Donald Trump.

Upon discovering that Obama had won the election, Trump took to Twitter to kvetch that the election was "a total sham and a travesty" and that "the world is laughing at us." No, the world is laughing with Obama for his election and laughing at you, Donald, for being such a whiney sad sack. 

Another person laughing at you, Mr Trump? Brian Williams, who thinks that Trump has "driven well past the last exit to relevance."

Why do I feel like this just happened?

Oh, and then Trump deleted a bunch of his tweets. Whatever happened to standing by your words? Hmm. Maybe Mr Trump should learn to censor himself before he presses "send." 

Oh well.

Example 2: Victoria Jackson's Twitter Feed.

Read her meltdown on Twitter. Go ahead.

***

In other bits of celebrity craziness, Kirstie Alley has joined John Travolta in spouting out to the tops of the mountains that he's not gay. Okay then. Sure.

Doesn't anyone remember the fact that Alley is also a Scientologist, just like Mr Travolta? I think Alley should read Kate Bornstein's A Queer and Pleasant Danger. Oh yeah, I forgot. She can't. Because Bornstein is viewed as a Suppressive Person.

***

And last but not least, Los Angeles County voted that all performers in porn films have to wear condoms. Even though the industry has threatened to move due to the passing of the new statute. 

***

For today's edition of Gay Voices in The Huffington Post, the artist known as Homo Riot penned an essay/manifesto detailing how he and his work came to be.

Homo Riot in Halifax

My belief was, and still is, that that vote to take away the option of marriage for gays and lesbians was mostly a reaction to fear -- fear that if homos were allowed to legally marry and have their marriages recognized by the state as equal to those of straight people, then all manner of depravity would follow. Drag queens would parade outside churches, leather-clad men in chaps would fondle each other in front of Walmarts, and tattooed dykes with strap-ons would aggressively seek to convert teenagers to the "homosexual lifestyle." So I told myself that if that's what they were scared of, then I would bring it to them.

Until recently, street art has generally been a site- and city-specific form of expression. Although there have been instances of certain street-based art becoming global phenoms -- Andre the Giant has a posse comes to mind -- the speed at which Homo Riot spread outside Los Angeles is rather remarkable. I wrote about Homo Riot one year ago, and his work has continued to spread around the world. A quick look at his Tumblr will give viewers a look as to how much his work has resonated with so many people in so many places around the globe.  

Near the end of his essay, he states:

With my own street art, I had no idea of the impact it would have on people. In the same way that the Mormons and Orange County Republicans who financed the Prop 8 campaign couldn't have imagined that their hate and ignorance would spawn Homo Riot, I had no clue that my anger-fueled work would communicate positivity and pride.

I would argue that Homo Riot's work communicates more than positivity and pride. It also communicates a desire to be heard, in as many places and in as many ways as possible. It is how democracy and art and the free expression of ideas is spread in the 21st century.