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By Nicole Powers

Despite being grounded by a seemingly paradoxical levity, which comes across in the form of wry humor throughout our interview, Peter Murphy, a leading light in the gothic underworld, has remained an enigma for over three decades.

He first came to prominence with the preeminent goth band Bauhaus - their seminal cut "Bela Lugosi's Dead" being forever imprinted in the minds of those who appreciate the dark side thanks to its inclusion, and Murphy's mood setting appearance, in Tony Scott's 1983 cult horror classic The Hunger (which starred Catherine Deneuve, David Bowie, and Susan Sarandon).

Comprised of Murphy, Daniel Ash, and brothers David J and Kevin Haskins, Bauhaus had an initial lifespan of four years from 1979 to 1983. Following the band's demise, Murphy went solo, while his three former-bandmates regrouped under the Love and Rockets moniker. Both camps went on to enjoy a level of commercial success in the US that surpassed anything their former band had achieved. Murphy's third solo album, Deep (1990), spawned the #1 modern rock hit "Cuts You Up," and his fourth, Holy Smoke (1992), a #2 on the same chart with "The Sweetest Drop." Cascade (1995), with its unabashed romanticism and melodic drive, and Dust (2002), an atmospheric recording steeped in the mysticism and tradition of Murphy's adopted Turkish homeland, are also more than worthy of note.

However fans refused to let the corpse of Bauhaus rest in peace, its legend having grown in the years it had been confined to the crypt. After much speculation and several false starts, Bauhaus reformed in 1998 for the Resurrection Tour. The band was revived again for an unforgettable 2005 Coachella appearance, which opened with Murphy singing "Bela Lugosi's Dead" while hanging upside down from the rafters. This time the quartet stayed together long enough to tour both the US and Europe (including some dates with Nine Inch Nails) and record an album, Go Away White (2008). But the bats left Bauhaus' bell tower, seemingly for good, shortly after the album's release, following an emotionally charged breakup that continues to have an aura of finality.

Appearances on stage (and descending from the rafters) during Nine Inch Nails' 2009 farewell tour, coupled with a cameo as "The Cold One" in the third Twilight film, Eclipse, in 2010, exposed a new generation to Murphy's mesmerizing vampiric presence. With a new album already complete (his first since 2004's ill-fated Unshattered, which was beleaguered by record label issues), he embarked on the Dirty Dirt Tour in the summer of 2010 while he looked for a suitable distribution channel. In March of this year, it was announced that Murphy had signed with the Nettwerk Music Group, and on June 7 the long awaited new full-length, Ninth, finally achieved its release.

Having attempted to catch up with the elusive minstrel numerous times over the past few years, I pinned Murphy down for some quality phone time the day the video for his new single "I Spit Roses" hit the web.

Read my exclusive interview with Peter Murphy on SuicideGirls.com.

And you think your boss is bad. Workers at a Hindu shrine in southern India had to take their case to the local human rights commission in order to win the right to wear underpants at work. Their employers at the temple had banned underwear in an attempt to stop the theft of offerings stored in shrine's vault.

The men were forced to work in nothing but shoes, and a cotton wrap, which they wore around their waist. After being forced go commando for five years, the men complained to their union, who in turn took the matter to the Kerala State Human Rights Commission, who upheld their case. Temple authorities are now looking into more high tech security measures.

A British teenager faces prosecution after displaying a sign which called Scientology a "cult" during a protest against the church.

The un-named teen was participating in a May 10th protest organized by the web-based Anonymous anti-Scientology group. Within minutes of joining protesters outside Scientology's London headquarters, which are located near St. Paul's Cathedral, the teen was approached by a police officer who warned that "the word" was not allowed. The teen refused to remove his sign and was the formally cautioned by a female police officer. After again refusing to take his sign down, he was served with a court summons.

The anonymous teen posted an account of the incident on a forum on the anti-Scientology Enturbulation.org website the following day. "I was read the Section 5 Public Order Act of 1986, and was told I was strongly advised to remove the sign," writes the teen. "I was given until 11:30 to remove the sign. At around 12:05 the police caught up with me, I was given a Court Summons and my details were taken down."

The police also confiscated the sign, claiming it contravened Section 5 of the Public Order Act which outlaws "threatening, abusive or insulting words or behavior or disorderly behavior in a public or private place...with intention or awareness that such behavior may be threatening, abusive or insulting within the hearing or sight of a person likely to be caused harassment, alarm or distress."

In a statement released to The Register, the City of London Police said they "had received complaints about demonstrators using the words 'cult' and 'Scientology kills' during protests," and that "following advice from the Crown Prosecution Service some demonstrators were warned verbally and in writing that their signs breached section five of the Public Order Act 1986. One demonstrator, a juvenile, continued to display a placard despite police warnings and was reported for an offense under section five. A file on the case will be sent to the CPS."

It should be noted that the City of London police have come under fire for their association with The Church of Scientology. A Freedom of Information Act inquiry by The Guardian revealed that more than 20 high and low ranking police officers had been plied with lavish entertainment and hospitality that was laid on by the church.

Freedom of speech and civil liberties advocates are up in arms over the possible prosecution. "This barmy prosecution makes a mockery of Britain's free speech traditions," said Shami Chakrabarti, the director of U.K. human rights organization Liberty. "After criminalizing the use of the word 'cult', perhaps the next step is to ban the words 'war' and 'tax' from peaceful demonstrations?"

In his own defense, while being cautioned (as seen in the above video), the teen quoted from a 1984 high court ruling in which Justice Latey described the Church of Scientology as a "cult." The judge also said, "Scientology is both immoral and socially obnoxious," and went on to call the church "corrupt, sinister and dangerous."

Meanwhile the teen is contemplating his legal defense, and writes in his Enturbulation.org post, “What's the likelihood I'll need a lawyer? If I do have to get one, it'll have to come out of my pocket money...”

The California Supreme Court has ruled that gay couples should have the right to marry. The Republican-dominated high court voted 4-3 in favor of applying and expanding constitutional race and gender protections to sexual orientation and the institution of marriage.

In his ruling, Chief Justice Ronald George wrote that, "...retaining the designation of marriage exclusively for opposite-sex couples and providing only a separate and distinct designation for same-sex couples may well have the effect of perpetuating a more general premise - now emphatically rejected by this state - that gay individuals and same-sex couples are in some respects "second-class citizens" who may, under the law, be treated differently from, and less favorably than, heterosexual individuals or opposite-sex couples.... Accordingly, we conclude that to the extent the current California statutory provisions limit marriage to opposite-sex couples, these statutes are unconstitutional."

With couples already lining up at San Francisco City Hall for appointments to get marriage licenses, the judgment could be a boon to California's economy should it go unchallenged. Unlike other states, California has no residency requirements for obtaining marriage licenses, meaning that same sex couples could flock to the Golden State for ceremonies (though same-sex marriages performed in California may not be recognized in other states).

As comedienne and GLBT activist Margaret Cho pointed out, "just the ice sculptures alone" could be worth a small fortune to the local economy. Living in West Hollywood, the Daily Mantra can think of a new reason to hold on to our tax refund/stimulus payment when it arrives. With the slew of gay marriages that are likely to happen over the summer we anticipate that we'll have to allocate a rather large budget for wedding outfits and gifts in 2008! Yay! We love a good wedding!

"Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" are the big three inalienable rights set out in our Declaration of Independence, but a female politician in South America is hoping to build on this, and improve things south of the border for her fellow countrywomen, in more ways than one.

Ms Soledad Vela, a member of Ecuador's ruling party, is proposing that women should have the right "to enjoy sex in a free, fair and more open society" under the country's new constitution, which she is currently helping draft.

Not surprisingly, the measure is not popular in all quarters. One male politician called Ms Vela's proposal "ridiculous," another accused her of trying to enact “orgasms by law.” Ms Vela maintains she is just trying to ensure a better distribution of wealth and rights. Sounds fair to us.

Are you boring your goldfish to death? It seems we may have seriously underestimated the intelligence of our tiny, finned friends, who, it turns out, can be just as smart and playful as dogs.

"There is mounting evidence that fish are more intelligent than people give them credit for," says Dr. Dean Pomerleau. The 41-year old fish expert, who lives in Los Angeles, California, has developed a fish training program that will help owners realize the full potential of their aquarium bound pets.

"With the correct tools and the basic promise of a food reward, fish can very quickly learn complex tricks," claims Pomerleau, who used his techniques on Comet, the 2-year old common goldfish, who is featured in the promotional video for his owners' Fish School Training Kit (click HERE to view).

There is nothing common about Comet though, since the goldfish is well on his way to snagging the fish trick world record, which is currently held by fellow Fish School alum Albert Einstein, a 3-year old calico fantail also owned by Pomerleau.

"We've used techniques that we've customized for pet fish, but are based on those used to train dolphins and other marine mammals," explains Pomerleau, who uses fish food as an incentive for correctly executed stunts. "The basic idea is to reinforce successive, increasingly accurate approximations of a desired behavior…with a little time and repetition, the animal will learn to perform the complete behavior to receive the reward."

Pomerleau's Fish School Kit, which is available via Amazon.com, gives you all the apparatus, tools and training you need to teach your star swimmer basketball, fetch and football. With the help of an instructional DVD, which is also included in the kit, you'll also learn how to teach your fish new skills such as the limbo, slalom and tunneling.

With Pomerleau’s Fish School raising the bar on the fun that can be had with fish, he hopes that people will see these innately social and curious creatures in a new light. "Now people in the market for a dog might want to consider a fish instead.”

A meeting between representatives of the Dalai Lama and the Chinese government took place in Shenzhen, north of Hong Kong this past Sunday (May 4). It's the first time that the two sides have come together for direct dialog since violence erupted in Tibet in March.

According to a press release on the Dalai Lama's official website, his special envoy Lodi Gyaltsen Gyari and envoy Kelsang Gyaltsen traveled to China for the talks, which began on Sunday morning.

It is too soon to say if any tangible progress has been made beyond the window dressing the Chinese needed to placate various governments around the globe, including our own, who've been putting mounting pressure on China to resume talks with the exiled Tibetan leadership in the run-up to the Beijing Olympics. However, China's official news agency, Xinhua, has reported that a second round of talks are planned, though a firm date for these has yet to be announced.

Speaking at a gathering marking Asian Pacific American Heritage Month at the White House yesterday, George Bush said he was working "to extend the hope of liberty throughout Asia." The president then followed up with a series of statements about the situation in Tibet. He said that any dialog between the Chinese government and representatives of the Dalai Lama must be "substantive" and address the "legitimate concerns" of the Tibetan People.

"I welcome the recent statements by the Chinese government expressing its willingness to meet with representatives of the Dalai Lama, precisely what I had suggested (Chinese) President Hu Jintao do," said Bush. "It's important that there be a renewed dialogue -- and that dialogue must be substantive so we can address, in a real way, the deep and legitimate concerns of the Tibetan people."

As we first reported on April 25 (see story), the official Chinese government press agency, Xinhua, announced that direct talks between government officials and a representative of the exiled Tibetan leader were likely to begin in the "coming days." However the Dalai Lama's spokesperson, Tenzin Taklha, said that though they would "welcome" an invitation, they had yet to be contacted directly by the Chinese government with regards to such talks.

We're enjoying the irony that one Chinese garment factory has been caught manufacturing forbidden Tibet freedom flags. The factory owner claims he had no idea what the brightly colored flags meant. He was shopped by some workers who saw images of similar flags on TV.

Police seized thousands of boxed flags from the factory, which is in the country's richest province, Guangdong, in Southern China. Chinese authorities fear thousands more may have already been exported in time for Olympic torch protests in Hong Kong and beyond. I'm sure the Dalai Lama would be most amused, since he's well endowed in the humor department.

With the Olympic torch serving a catalyst, it seems that the Chinese government is bowing under the weight of international pressure and is seeking to resume a dialog with the Dalai Lama. Xinhua, the official Chinese government press agency, has announced that direct talks between government officials and a representative of the exiled Tibetan leader are likely to begin in the "coming days." Xinhua quoted an unnamed official government source in a statement released today (April 25).

"In view of the requests repeatedly made by the Dalai side for resuming talks, the relevant department of the central government will have contact and consultation with Dalai's private representative in the coming days."

The Chinese government has repeatedly claimed that the Dalai Lama is behind the recent protests and violence in China, and has accused him of "scheming and instigating."

Referring to the charges in his statements, the official is quoted as saying, "It is hoped that through contact and consultation, the Dalai side will take credible moves to stop activities aimed at splitting China, stop plotting and inciting violence and stop disrupting and sabotaging the Beijing Olympic Games so as to create conditions for talks."

As we reported last week, the Dalai Lama had indicated that "some efforts" were being made with regards to diplomacy. When asked about China's latest overtures on Friday, the Dalai Lama's spokesman, Tenzin Taklha, said they had yet to be officially contacted by the Chinese government, but would be open to talks.

"Since His Holiness is committed to dialog, we would welcome this," said Taklha. "We also have to look at when the offer does officially arrive."

With the Tibetan troubles threatening to overshadow the Beijing Olympics, and mounting pressure from international governments (including our own) for China to resume talks with the Dalai Lama, it's questionable whether this is merely a public relations exercise or a sincere attempt at meaningful dialog. The Daily Mantra therefore thought we'd consult with a practitioner of the ancient Chinese art of astrology to gain some insight into the situation.

Looking at the Dalai Lama's astrological chart (he's a home loving Cancer BTW), our experts tell us that the "transiting Saturn in Virgo is weighing heavily on the 72-year-old" and that any talks with the Chinese are likely to be "stymied and frustrating."

On the plus side, since Saturn also rules accomplishment, we're told that "these talks may ultimately create a stronger foundation from which to negotiate Tibet's freedom." Oops sorry, since freedom is a dirty word as far the Chinese government is concerned when used in reference to Tibet, perhaps those pesky, all-seeing stars are just predicting some form of "autonomy" (a word The People's Republic seems marginally more comfortable with). For now, we'll just have to wait and see how the fortune cookie crumbles.