A Louisiana justice of the peace said he refused to issue a marriage license to an interracial couple out of concern for any children the couple might have.

Keith Bardwell, justice of the peace in Tangipahoa Parish, says it is his experience that most interracial marriages do not last long.

“I’m not a racist. I just don’t believe in mixing the races that way,” Bardwell told the Associated Press on Thursday. “I have piles and piles of black friends. They come to my home, I marry them, they use my bathroom. I treat them just like everyone else.”

Bardwell said he asks everyone who calls about marriage if they are a mixed race couple. If they are, he does not marry them, he said.

Bardwell said he has discussed the topic with black people and white people, along with witnessing some interracial marriages. He came to the conclusion that most of black society does not readily accept offspring of such relationships, and neither does white society, he said.

“There is a problem with both groups accepting a child from such a marriage,” Bardwell said. “I think those children suffer and I won’t help put them through it.”

— full story at NOLA.com

[thanks, Tyler]

I’ve said it 1,000 times: I loathe nostalgia. But sometimes, I can’t help myself.

Yesterday afternoon, I was standing in line at the only grocery store in my neighborhood. (I use the term “grocery store” loosely. Yeah, technically the place sells groceries, but it feels like everything on the shelves fell off a truck from Slovenia. Translation: shady.) Anyway, I was standing there, watching the steampunks ahead of me pay for their ramen with pennies, when Diana Ross’ 198o hit, “I’m Coming Out” started blaring from the boombox behind the counter.

I can remember exactly where I was when I heard that song for the first time: the Sunshine Skate Center, halfway between the Asteroids machine and the carpeted half-wall that wrapped around the skate flooor. My friend, Robin, was singing along and seemed to know all the words — but then, she seemed to know a lot I didn’t.

Now, I’m not a huge Diana Ross fan (snatch my gay card if you must), and frankly, I’ve never liked that song, but I have to admit, it’s sort of a time capsule. To me, it’s about the evolving Civil Rights movement, and particularly about gays and lesbians, who by 1980 had finally begun to appear in film, on TV, and on the news — not as monsters or outcasts or circus freaks, but as fairly normal people who just had a thing for cashmere sweaters and pleated pants. “I’m Coming Out” was celebratory, a moment of jubilation — an all-too-brief moment that ended a year later when people began dying and we became vilified overnight.

But really, what was striking during that moment in the grocery store had nothing to do with me. What was more interesting was the cashier’s reaction to the song. He looks to be about my age, or maybe a little older, and he’s generally brusque. I’m pretty sure he’s a Russian ex-pat Jew — mostly because I think he’s related to the owners, who are all Israeli, and he tried to chat me up about Passover this one time when I was buying matzo. (I’m not Jewish; they were just out of rice cakes.) Also: he speaks with a thick, eastern European accent, and I’m 99% certain I once overheard him speaking in Russian on a cell phone.

Regardless of his religion, nationality, or creed (as if I’d know the man’s creed), what’s important was his expression when “I’m Coming Out” came on: this beefy guy who’s been around the block, this man who’s ordinarily gruff and distant, he was beaming. Literally beaming — like that creepy baby/sun thingamajig on Teletubbies. He started singing along, smiling, clearly happy to be alive.

And here’s what I want to know: where was HE when he first heard that song?

Boise, ID — A local high school math teacher has been arrested for obscene conduct in a public place.

…Kyle Dennis, 37, was arrested after multiple instances of “obscene live conduct” that took place at two Boise retail outlets starting in February of this year.

According to court documents, Dennis “knowingly engaged in obscene conduct…by manipulating his penis with his hands while walking around a Costco store with an erection.”

…Greg Sutton, a therapist at Warm Springs Counseling Center, says when an arrest involves a teacher, it can be difficult for students to talk about.

“I think it’s really important for parents to to talk to them and try to have a dialogue about what this really has meant,” Sutton said….

—2News.TV

I will tell you what it meant: DUDE WAS MAKING VIDEOS FOR XTUBE.

I mean, duh.

Seriously, I don’t know what to think.

[via CTRL+W33D]

1. Katie Holmes has put Tom Cruise on a “sex diet” to help him lose weight. In a nutshell (har), she thinks Tom’s turning chubby (har har), and she wants him to get more exercise. By having sex. Presumably with her. Which is, I suppose, one way of going about it.

2. Project Runway is going to be a videogame. Normally I’d say “feh”, but the game’s going to roll out on the Wii platform, which could be kinda fun:

As with the show, players will compete to create different designs, but they will also have the opportunity to become the model and showcase their creations on the runway, using the Wii Balance Board.

Sounds like a very short runway, but hey, they didn’t ask me.

3. Speaking of iffy fashion projects, I believe it’s time to dig out the shoulderpads (you know you’ve been storing them in the back of the sock drawer like everyone else):

Dynasty star Joan Collins is fronting a new TV special as part of her personal mission to revive style in Britain.

The veteran actress is appalled with the current state of fashion in the U.K. and is hosting a one-off show, Joan Does Glamour, in which she helps three women learn to dress stylishly.

Werque, bitchez.

4. Have you ever wondered what the most beautiful object in the world might be? As it happens, I can tell you. It is this fireplace:

[via BoingBoing]

Good news: the Faubourg Marigny has been named one of the “10 Great American Neighborhoods” by the American Planning Association. But what makes a great neighborhood, by APA standards?

“They are enjoyable, safe and desirable. They are places where people want to be — not only to visit, but to live and work every day. America’s truly great streets, neighborhoods and public spaces are defined by many criteria, including architectural features, accessibility, functionality and community involvement.”

Frankly, I think the Marigny fits that bill to a tee. My friends from out of town often comment on the neighborhood vibe, how it’s walkable, relatable, manageable. How we speak to one another, say hello on the street (usually). We’ve got a good mix of inhabitants, rich and poor; straight and gay; black and white; steampunk, hipster, and square. If only we had a grocery store, we’d be freakin’ Mayberry. You know, just like Lincoln, Nebraska, Fargo, North Dakota, and everyone else on the APA list.

Bad news: St. Louis Cemetery No. 2 and Phillis Wheatley Elementary School are among 93 sites from 47 countries named to the World Monument Fund’s 2010 “Watch List” for endangered architecture. That list focuses on “cultural heritage sites worldwide that are endangered by neglect, overdevelopment, vandalism or disaster.” Funny thing is, many people come to New Orleans precisely because of the decay — and its etymological cousin, decadence. But I suppose there are limits to the romance of all that.

Yet more proof that life isn’t fair. And that the world may be ending. Like, TOMORROW and shit: