Got Gaydar?

It's really odd seeing what we think of as commonplace queer vernacular make the mainstream media, especially when it's a bitchfight of a lawsuit.

Owndership of the term 'gaydar' is being disputed in a lawsuit.

A British company -- Qsoft Consulting Limited, based in Twickenham, Middlesex -- is claiming it owns the name as part of its gay and lesbian dating Web sites and online digital radio service.

The company, founded in 1997, claims in the lawsuit filed last week to have registered Internet domain names with "gaydar" as far back as 1999 and registered GAYDAR as a trademark in the European Community in 2003.

In November, the lawsuit alleges, a rival company operated by Teddy Tong, called TDTong Ltd. in Princeton, N.J., and San Francisco, began using similar Internet domain names for rival gay and lesbian Web sites.

I'd say Tong is way behind the times, and the Brit Co. has had the term for way too long to have it stolen. But then, maybe the court could just have the two company's heads try to pick out the homophiles in a crowded room using their gaydar. Whoever wins "spot the gay" most wins.

Sometimes, you have to use your gaydar to read between the lines of mainstream news. The London failed bombing attempt: did it have anything to do with Pride celebrations taking place the next day? Those celebrations went on, despite bomb scares and pouring rain. But few media put two and two together, in thinking that this stupid yet scary attempt may have been not unlike the failed bomb attempt in Jerusalem.