ROLLING STONE, ROVE & ME

Over the years I have had news articles published and have won a national news writing award. But nothing prepared me for the reaction that my story on my old friend Louie Rove created.

Over thirty different blogs picked it up. Most of them were fringe types but a few are considered "legitimate" ... none of them picked the story up from here -- all of them picked it up from BME ... even Rolling Stone read BME and included it their latest issue -- the so-called "hot" issue.

What is confusing to some are the two versions of that story -- simply put, there is the "gay" version and the "piercing" version. My more astute friends have asked me why I was surprised that the "gay" angle of the story was NOT picked up while the "read" was on the piercing angle ... "Hell," one of them said, "gay is old, piercing is new."

One aspect of publishing the story was the level of intolerance that folks on the conservative political spectrum expressed. While I never explicatively identified my own sexual orientation, some of them called me a "fag" and a "fruit cake" because I had a gay friend!

So what did I learn? I learned that the web is a massive communication tool. I've learned how to track people using something as simple as Google and I've learned that nothing is private anymore.

If you Google your email address people can not only find out what you bought on eBay but what you said at a city council meeting or that your old friend, Louie Rove, had a gold ring now on display at Anomaly Studios in Pasadena.

I am not sure if that is awesome or scary.