Rosa Parks passed away Monday. She was a pioneer in the civil rights movement for saying no to segregation and oppression. But her spirit lives on in people like Cindy Sheehan, because, as of press time, there are 2,000 noble reasons to say “no more” to the war in Iraq. (Now, I’m not comparing Cindy to Mrs. Parks, so don’t start sending me hateful mail.) The elections are coming, and let’s send a strong message to Arnold by defeating all of his initiatives, 73 to 76. Jerry or Donna? Just as long as we all go out and vote. Congratulations to Robert Gleason and Marc Matys on the birth of their son, Maxwell. Britney Spears threatened to sue anyone for distributing photos of her newborn child on the Internet. Who cares? She does, because she’s reportedly sold the rights of the pictures to a tabloid, and they’ve been scooped. Now there are reports that Janet Jackson may have a secret grown-up child. Who cares! Give me my Ambien.

Despite the fact that a lot of the department stores are already sporting holiday décor and having sales, there is Halloween to celebrate first this weekend. Aside from the annual Nightmare on Normal Street on Saturday, Oct. 29, sponsored by The Center, every bar in town will have their own costume contest – and all offering cash prizes. Even the restaurants are gearing up for the weekend with theme parties. The boys at Martinis Above Fourth will be wearing skintight superheroes gear, while the girls at Lips (and I use that term very loosely) will be donning their booty pirates outfits, with hot go-go boys provided by Capt. Morgan. On Monday, Oct. 31, Rich’s is hosting Lifestyles of the Rich’s and Famous Celebrity Costume Party, which includes a costume contest with $600 in cash and prizes. Bourbon Street will also be hosting a costume contest with cash and prizes on Halloween, so make sure to check it out. I will be hosting the costume contest at Bacchus House, which is giving away $1,500 in cash and prizes. I suggest hitting all the bars and winning lots of money. In fact, because Halloween is not ’til Monday night, you have four nights to play dress-up!

And speaking of dressing up, all the vintage clothing places on Fifth Avenue in Hillcrest have rolled out their inventory of fun and inexpensive costumes. Be creative and have fun with it. Thumbs up to Wear It Again Sam for a really classy “mummy” window display! Flashbacks moved to larger quarters next door and stocked up their old space with just Halloween costumes – a lot of it. Buffalo Exchange will not be outdone, and has quite a collection as well. And if you’re doing drag, there is only one place to go for wigs: Maria, the queen of big hair, at Secret Wig Design on University Avenue in North Park has a large selection of over the top “wigs to go.” Be crazy and go all out – this is one night the fashion police will not be giving out citations.

Lots of changes are happening in the Hillcrest area. A new fast food place is coming to the old Moo Time ice cream place on Fifth Avenue next to Starbucks. L&L Hawaiian Barbecue restaurants have been sprouting up all over San Diego, and are known for their barbecue pork, chicken and beef short ribs. What’s interesting is that they also serve spam and eggs with rice. Over on University Avenue and Fourth, in the old Golden Dragon restaurant, a new Asian bistro is coming. I haven’t heard what type of food they’ll be offering, but I hope they decide to keep the historic neon sign. Over at Martin and Wall they’re having a huge sale of up to 50-percent off, and all you bargain hunters should take advantage of the savings, and even stock up on holiday gifts.

A couple of weeks ago, I took a quick trip to New York to attend the N.Y. Gay Erotic Expo. I took Bacchus House assistant manager Allan with me for the ride, and what a ride it was. Saturday night was the official pre-party at Splash, my all-time favorite bar in N.Y.C. Splash has remained the number-one gay dance bar for the last 15 years, and the reason is that they keep reinventing themselves – they’re always renovating and adding new and more exciting things to the club. Their bartenders and go-go boys are always the best looking as well. All Worlds Video was one of the featured studios that night, and they showed Desperate Husbands on their large video screens. I don’t know how they get away with it, but Splash is the only bar in N.Y.C. that shows adult videos on Saturday nights, and their go-go boys bare it all. My friend Aaron Tanner is the show manager, and we were treated royally.

The trade show was held over the Columbus Day weekend at Webster Hall. Webster Hall was the location of my first feature film, To Wong Foo, starring Patrick Swayze and Wesley Snipe as two drag queens. It was also seen in one of the episodes of “The Apprentice.” Because this is a club and the show is held at night, it took on a more party-like atmosphere. And the stage shows featuring porn stars from many different studios and Web sites were no-holds barred. Any sexual fantasy you can imagine, they did it on stage. For porn aficionados, it might be worth planning a vacation around this expo.

On our last night in the Big Apple, Allan and I attended the Bar People’s Ball at the famous Copacabana. The Bar People’s Ball is an annual dinner dance put together by people involved in the gay bar and restaurant industry. It started 29 years ago at the original Copacabana on 64th Street near Central Park, and is still one of the best parties in N.Y.C., now at the new Copacabana on 34th Street and 10th Avenue. Allan and I were all decked out in formal outfits, and we started a lot of gossip with, “Who’s that cute young guy Coco’s with?” I just smiled demurely and said, “Oh, he’s just a friend,” followed by a wink. What a nice way to end a fun weekend in New York.

Numbers and The Flame are touting two brand new parties on Tuesday nights. Numbers has the all-new Go-Go Boy Contest with $250 in cash and prizes, and $1 well drinks from 11:00 p.m. to 12:00 midnight. Across the street, the original Boys Night Out is back, and they’re offering $1 well drinks from 12:00 midnight to 1:00 a.m.

Bacchus House has guest DJ Hex Hector spinning this Saturday, with $10 presale tix available at www.InThePix.com. Bacchus House also has a brand new Friday night party, Game Girl, with $2 Bacardi cocktails, drafts and domestic beer. And soon they will be opening their new smoking patio. Go see all the new improvements that have been happening at this premiere North Park bar. And now you can catch Monday night football at Flicks every week, where they’ll be serving free pizza. Stay on after football for the hilarious Dating Game with Nicole at 10:00 p.m.!

Pamper yourself as you deserve under the expert care of Dr. Parvin Mani, whose office is located at 5555 Reservoir Dr., near the Alvarado Hospital. Dr. Mani offers free consultations, $12-per-unit Botox treatments (with no minimum requirements), very competitively priced laser hair removal, microdermabrasion for only $69, spider vein treatment and collagen/fillers. She also offers Vela-Smooth, the FDA-approved, non-invasive anti-cellulite and body contouring medical treatment, and you get 50-percent off with a purchase of 10 sessions. These treatments are perfect gifts for the holidays or to help with any troubled area you have, to make you feel extra sexy. Mention her ad in the GLT and get an additional $25 off, so what are you waiting for? Call her at (619) 583-7555.

If you need something splashy to spice up your humdrum life, how about the redesigned 2006 Corvette and the all-new retro SSR and HHR from Jimmie Johnson’s Kearny Mesa Chevrolet? These cars are guaranteed head-turners, or you might just pick up someone interesting. Go see Anthony D’Amico at Jimmie Johnson’s Kearny Mesa Chevrolet, or call at (866) 311-6999.