Happy Pride Day World!

Escherize YOUR patio!

GeckoStone makes tesselated paving stones that look like Escher's interlocking lizards.

Next I want to see the stairs that lead to Nowhere!

Can't Stop Won't Stop

Every year members of Toronto’s queer community nominate and vote for the individuals and groups they feel should lead off the Pride Parade and the Dyke March. Those chosen are not only prominent members of the community, but also personify Pride Week’s theme, which this year is “Can’t stop, won’t stop.”

While those chosen this year — at a Pride Toronto general meeting back in April — are known to many, they may not be known to all. Here is a primer on just who will be leading your Pride Parade and Dyke March.

Sports heroes to exchange hockey skates for figure skates

After the ruckus last year about the "pansification of hockey" statement on Hockey Night in Canada, this could spell the end of Sports Machismo forever!

NHL Hall of Famers and Stanley Cup winners like Lanny McDonald, Glenn Anderson and Stéphane Richer are among the sports heroes who'll exchange hockey for figure skates in an upcoming CBC reality competition series.

CBC-TV announced Tuesday the male contenders for this fall's Battle of the Blades, which will pair world hockey stars with Canadian female figure skaters for a televised, elimination-style contest.

Joining McDonald, Anderson and Richer as competitors will be Bob Probert, Tie Domi and Craig Simpson. Their female partners are yet to be announced.

Hockey Night in Canada's Ron MacLean and celebrated Canadian skater Kurt Browning will co-host the seven-week series, which begins in October.

The Pink Ceiling

Queers trying to climb the corporate ladder face barriers that limit their career advancement, says a new report.

"LGBT women and men are highly engaged in workforces globally," states the report. "Nevertheless the difficulties that LGBT employees face in the workplace are often unnoticed or ignored by organizations."

Conducted by the Toronto office of the international research firm Catalyst, a nonprofit organization that focusses on the advancement of women in the workplace, the report also found that queer women experience less positive relationships with their work managers compared to queer men and straight men and women.

[ Follow this LINK to an article about the same thing in the UK ]

Buh-Bye Miss California!

Even though I don't agree with her, I was willing to defend this woman's right to express her opinion against same-sex marriage when asked during the Miss USA competition. But, she has subsequently ignored her responsibilities to the public 'office' to continue speaking out against it every chance she got.

This is one time I agree with you Donald Trump. I won't be shedding any tears over her de-crowning at all.

Wave email Gooooodbye

Google Wave is a new tool for communication and collaboration on the web, coming later this year, that promises to transform the way we email, share pix, links, and more. This video of it's launch at a recent conference is about 1.5 hours long, but it really gives you a good idea of what it's about. Very exciting!

This LINK will offer more discussion of the basic idea.

This LINK is a discussion of it being proposed as a new multi-client platform.

Positive and Negative attract

Motifo mosaic packs contain everything you need to create a stunning mosaic artwork. They come in different color schemes and include all the necessary magnetic pieces along with six funky designs and full instructions. Many more designs are freely available upon request.

Could this be Sarah Palin's weekend getaway?

Come out to Mukluk Land - Alaska's most unique visitor park and Alaskana museum. Many have described their visit to Mukluk Land as the highlight of their trip to the wonderful state of Alaska!
(My apologies to all northern Indigenous People!)

Don't judge the book by the ... bookcase?

While it becomes easier to store digital media, it seems to become more interesting to store the real deal. Your book collection in particular says a lot about your personality, so why shouldn’t your book shelf do the same? Here are 20 of the most brilliant bookcases for stylish readers.

"Dancing Ninja men who know how to twirl"

Okay ... I am a HUGE 80's music fan, but when you break a video down literally it just becomes hilarious! Here we have the literal version of Bonnie Tyler's Total Eclipse of the Heart ... lock up your sons!



This one is pretty funny too ... Meatloaf sings (I would do) Anything for Love

There are lots more on YouTube if you do a search for "Literal Versions" or click on this LINK

Do You Want a WHAT?!

If you can suggest that the woman here is saying something other than the obvious, PLEASE let me know!!! LOL

The hills are alive

I luv the design of these sofas called 'montanara' by Gaetano Pesce. They may not work in every home decor but they are still really cool!

How sweet it is!

This is an interesting site that gives us a direct comparison of how much sugar we eat in our everyday foods. Find out where sugar is hiding.

They've used regular sugar cubes (4 grams of sugar each) to show how the sugars in your favorite foods literally stack up, gram for gram.

Note: They don't differentiate between different types of sugar - i.e., sucrose, fructose, cane sugar, corn syrup, honey, etc., although there are differences in how these sugars are metabolized. Cubes of white sugar are a visual aid. Nutritional information was taken from package labels, manufacturer websites, or the USDA nutrient database. Calorie amounts are based on 4 calories per gram of sugar unless otherwise noted.

The colourful underground of Tel Aviv

Inspired by their street art muse, Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz, Artists Bar&Shay altered public lighting in Tel Aviv's open underground tunnels.

Live Long and Prosper, Rabbi

The "live long and prosper" hand gesture or "Vulcan salute, " originated on the set of the original Star Trek series by Leonard Nimoy during the filming of the second-season opener, "Amok Time." In this episode, Spock goes into something like a male estrus cycle, called pon farr and he must return to Vulcan to mate with his betrothed bride, T'Pring, or die trying. The wedding ceremony was to be the first glimpse of Spock's homeworld in the series.

Nimoy felt that there should be some kind of distinctive greeting among Vulcans, analogous to a handshake or a bow. Nimoy drew upon his own Jewish background to suggest the now-familiar salute.

The Vulcan greeting is based upon a blessing gesture used by the kohanim (koe-hah-NEEM) during the worship service. The kohanim are the genealogical descendants of the Jewish priests who served in the Jerusalem Temple.

Ottawa's Canada Day Lineup

Ottawa's National Capital Commission announced the musical lineup Thursday for the city's July 1, 2009 Canada Day celebrations.

At the top of the bill for the Parliament Hill show are Juno winner Sarah McLachlan, country singer Shane Yellowbird, and rapper K'Naan.

This year's celebrations, the NCC and Heritage Canada announced, will also feature a tribute to the country's winter athletes as they gear up for the Olympics in 2010.

Along with the musical performances on Parliament Hill, at Majors Hill and Confederation parks, there will also be some activities for sports enthusiasts.

Jacques-Cartier Park will be the end point for several races — including a five-kilometre run — and will feature skiers and snowboarders in an aerial acrobatics shows.

And as usual, the noon show on Parliament Hill will feature several flyovers — this year, by the Snowbirds, CF-18s, and the Golden Centennaire Tutor jets.

Here's a list of when the musicians from across the country will perform in Ottawa:

Parliament Hill — noon show (begins at 12 p.m. ET)

• Sarah McLachlan (British Columbia).
• Shane Yellowbird (Alberta).
• Gregory Charles (Quebec).
• Les Respectables (Quebec) with Gordie Johnson (Manitoba).
• Marie-Jo Therio (New Brunswick).
• Marie-Mai (Quebec).
• Hannah Georgas (Ontario) and Said the Whale (British Columbia).
• DRUM! (Nova Scotia).

Major's Hill Park — noon show (from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. ET)

• Caridad Cruz (Quebec).
• David Myles (New Brunswick).
• DRUM! (Nova Scotia) – world rhythms.
• The CBC Songwriter Circle featuring the Six String Nation Guitar.
• Julie Doiron (New Brunswick).
• Justin Rutledge (Ontario).
• The Sojourners (British Columbia).
• Maybe Smith (Saskatchewan).

Confederation Park (Ottawa Jazz Festival) (daytime)

• Amanda Tosoff (British Columbia).
• Michael Kaeshammer (Alberta).
• Bell Orchestre (Quebec).
• Gypsophilia (Nova Scotia).
• Carmen Souza (Ontario).
• Coeur de Pirate (Quebec).
• The Worst Pop Band Ever (Ontario and Quebec).
• Jazz Youth Summit.

Parliament Hill — evening show (begins at 7:30 p.m. ET)

• Sarah McLachlan (British Columbia) — pop.
• Chic Gamine (Manitoba).
• Shane Yellowbird (Alberta) and Cassiopee (Quebec) — country.
• Les Respectables (Quebec) with Gordie Johnson (Manitoba) — rock.
• Marie-Jo Therio (New Brunswick) — pop.
• Marie-Mai (Quebec) — rock.
• K'Naan (Ontario) — hip hop/world music.
• Said the Whale (British Columbia) with Hannah Georgas (Ontario) — indie pop.
• Cirque Fantastic Concept (Quebec) — circus arts.
• Nico Archambault (Quebec) — dance.
• Alex Wells (British Columbia) — hoop dancer.
• Cassiopée (Quebec) — soprano soloist.
• Chic Gamine (Man.) — Roots.
• The Canadian Tenors (Ontario) — Classical and contemporary pop.

Major's Hill Park — evening show (from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET)

• The Sojourners (British Columbia) — roots.
• Dominique Reynolds (Manitoba) — pop.
• Alex Cuba (British Columbia) — Latin, pop, soul.
• Ellen McIlwain (Alberta) — blues.
• DRUM! (Nova Scotia) — world rhythms.

Jacques-Cartier Park (from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET)

• IMA (Quebec) — pop.
• Radio Radio (New Brunswick) — Acadian hip hop.
• David Jalbert (Quebec) folk, pop.
• Beast (Quebec) — electronic.
• Julie Doiron (New Brunswick) — folk, pop.
• Marie-Pierre Arthur (Quebec) — folk, rock.

For more information about what's happening in Ottawa on Canada Day, call the NCC at 613-239-5000, 1-800-465-1867, 613-239-5090 (TTY), or 1-866-661-3530 (toll-free TTY) or visit their website at www.canadaday.gc.ca.

You are getting sleepy ... and thinner

A woman in England has lost nearly 60 lbs after being hypnotized into believing she had surgery for a gastric stomach band.

A therapist convinced Marion Corns, 35, she had had surgery to fit the band by talking her through the procedure while in a trance. Hospital smells were even pumped into the room to boost the effect.

Housewife Marion, who has slimmed from 216 lbs to 161 lb , said: “Bizarrely I can even ‘remember’ being wheeled into theatre, the clink of the surgeon’s knife and smell of the anaesthetic.”

Looking for TAIL in your aerobics class?

OK. This is just funny!

What do you mean you haven't seen 2 men dance together before?!

I watched this episode of SYTYCD, and was really disappointed that the judges weren't able to appreciate these same-sex dancers. Nigel said several times, "If I just look at the dancing ..." - which is EXACTLY what the judges are supposed to look at.

Read this guy's opinion and judge for yourself.

I've written before about So You Think You Can Dance's Nigel Lythgoe and his cretinous attitude toward what he terms "effeminate dancers." Well, that condescending attitude was on full-blown display during last night's auditions in Denver as the show returned for its fifth season.

The show featured its first same-sex couple — Misha Belfer and Mitchel Kibel — who were introduced with incredibly condescending dramatics including a clip of "It's Raining Men" and many "dramatic" shots of the two swirling about.

During the couple's audition (Misha is gay and Mitchel is straight), Lythgoe and fellow judges Mary Murphy and Sonya Tayeh kept exchanging bemused looks, and at one point Nigel covers his eyes as if he's too horrified by what he's seeing. Then when the two guys take a tumble, Nigel laughs at them.

Okay, much of the above can be expected during auditions when you get folks who aren't always great. But what came next definitely shouldn't have happened.

After the two dance, Nigel comments that it's the first time they've had two guys do a Samba and he says he doesn't really know what to say. He notes their styles were good, if he just "sticks with the dancing" and ignores their gender, but that the pair would probably alienate a lot of the SYTYCD audience. Nice way to assume your audience is as intolerant as you are, Mr. Lythgoe!

Nigel also shares that that he "likes to see guys be guys and girls be girls on stage."

Read to the bottom of the article for an interview with one of the participants.