... and while we're on the theme of Star Trek

Ran across this video while I was putting together the last post about Astrology and thought it was cool. Check it out.

I, for one, welcome our new Overlord

Paul the octopus lived in a tank at a commercial attraction, theSea Life Centre in Oberhausen, Germany and became internationally famous after his feeding behaviour was used to correctly predict the winner of each of Germany's seven matches in the 2010 football World Cup, as well as the outcome ofthe final.

The Sea Life aquarium just unveiled a creepy yet fitting 6 1/2-foot tall monument of an oversized Paul the octopus limply crushing a large ball featuring the flags of all the 2010 World Cup nations' flags. I'm assuming this represents how for one summer, an octopus used the game to become overlord of the human world.

Some people got too much time on their hands...

Fans around the world had asked for a memorial to the psychic mollusk

"For the world is hollow and I have touched the sky"

Despite a number of uncanny experiences with Town & Country magazine's back page, and a statistically improbable collection of Gemininian friends (cuz only a Gemini can really understand another Gemini!), I do not believe in Astrology. In fact, over the years I have unwittingly started several angry arguments with people who are into Astrology by questioning their pseudo-science. 

"Okay, I understand that you can calculate the position of the sun, moon, planets and stars to exacting degrees, but who decided that the positions of the spheres when someone was born indicate particular qualities?"

"HUMANS, that's who! The interpretations are completely subjective!"

They would usually assume their fallback position by accusing me of not understanding the precision of their charts, and that they are merely describing where things are - stars don't lie.


But, until a few weeks ago, I never imagined that even their math was flawed ... that's just crazy talk!


Turns out that their "precision" forgets about "precession" and the actual positions of objects in the sky don't match what their charts say. Not only do all of the Zodiac signs have the wrong dates, but there are actually 13 signs, not 12. And, it is a lot harder to draw things with 13 sections than it is with only 12.

New Zodiac Signs

Capricorn • January 20 - February 16

Aquarius • February 17 - March 11

Pisces • March 12 - April 18

Aries • April 19 - May 13

Taurus • May 14 - June 21

Gemini • June 22 - July 20

Cancer • July 21 - August 10

Leo • August 11 - September 16

Virgo • September 17 - October 30

Libra • October 31 - November 23

Scorpio • November 24 - 29

Ophiuchus • November 30 - December 17

Sagittarius • December 18 - January 20

Have a listen to this short interview with the scientist that has stirred up a scandalous storm of stellar proportions by suggesting that Astrologers' charts are wrong.

THAT means that, even if I DID believe in Astrology, rather than being a "

dual-natured, elusive, complex and contradictory

" Gemini, I am actually a 'solid, practical, extremely determined and strong-willed' Taurus. But, me and 'Bull' rarely see eye-to-eye. Now, 

I am going to have to redefine my entire personality to match the magical truthiness of Astrology.

With this new information, I really wish I had been born at the beginning of December so that I could identify with Ophiuchus ( being careful not too mis-pronounce it though ) because then everyone would assume I was wielding a big snake (nudge, nudge, wink, wink).

Ophiuchus holds a huge snake, Serpens, in both hands as shown in the Atlas Coelestis of John Flamsteed. Serpens is unique in being divided into two halves.

Chances are the people who believe what they want to believe rather than the facts will continue to do so, hoping the truth will slowly fade into the background for another 2,000 years (when I guess I will be an Aries). But unfortunately, to quote an old friend and her Tarot cards, the stars don't lie.

I predict that a new cult of 'True Astrologers', flanked by their newfound Ophiuchian (pron.?) friends will now descend from the heavens and tell us all that THEY are the aliens that seeded our planet with Life, and we should now call them God... I can hardly wait.

Until then, I guess I should start calling up all of my old, happily twinned, Gemininian friends and tell them that it's over, cuz things get REALLY CRAZY when a bunch of bulls get together.

"For the world is hollow and I have touched the sky"

Cocktail anyone?

French furniture retailer Conforama has put together a great ad illustrating how different people's lifestyles can be.

Give Adam Levine a hand

I like this campaign much better than that mustache-thing! LOL

In a case of life imitating art, Maroon 5 frontman Adam Levine has brought the name of the band's recent album, "Hands All Over," to life in a stunning nude pictorial – all for a good cause.

Levine, 31, appears stripped down in the February issue of British Cosmopolitan with the hands of his girlfriend, Victoria's Secret model Anne Vyalitsyna, covering his privates.

The shoot was done on behalf of Everyman, which is "the UK's leading prostate and testicular cancer campaign," according to its website.

Canadian-design aims at Africa

A Kenyan Canadian has put together a portable FM radio station that can be powered by solar, battery or conventional electricity station. It fits in a briefcase and he hopes to use it to reach remote parts of Africa.

He got the idea for a portable radio station after Kenya's last election, when violence erupted across the country. People in rural areas especially were experiencing an information blackout.

The government of South Sudan will be using about a dozen of the units to educate rural voters in the upcoming referendum on separation from North Sudan. And dozens more are being used to broadcast health and education programming in Western Africa.

Listen to Broadcast

Seeking Hidden Lives in Art

PBS's LGBT series In The Life produced a really interesting discussion of the Smithsonian Institute's groundbreaking exhibit Hide/Seek. The segment helped me understand the context that inspired the Smithsonian to put the exhibition together in the first place.




Controversy erupted recently surrounding the removal of David Wojnarowicz's video installation, "A Fire in My Belly," from the National Portrait Gallery's Hide/Seek show at the Smithsonian. The video, which represents the artist's anger as he faced death from AIDS ignited outrage among conservative lawmakers and religious leaders. READ MORE

Fire in My Belly was recently screened here in Ottawa:
About 100 people took in A Fire In My Belly by David Wojnarowicz during three successive screenings in the single-room exhibition space of Bank St's Gallery 101 on Saturday night. Two screenings were originally planned, but organizers added a third due to demand. Most people had come out to see for themselves what was creating so much controversy but couldn't understand what caused the United State's most well-known museum to remove the film.
READ THE REST OF THIS ARTICLE HERE


The film was subsequently purchased by the Metropolitan Museum of Art. READ MORE
Read my previous post about the show.

Sex, Drugs, and Rock-and-Roll

People like music for the same reason they like eating or having sex: It makes the brain release a chemical that gives pleasure, a study says.

The brain substance is involved both in anticipating a particularly thrilling musical moment and in feeling the rush from it, researchers found.

Previous work had already suggested a role for dopamine, a substance brain cells release to communicate with each other. But the new work, which scanned people's brains as they listened to music, shows it happening directly.

At last! Another place to go in Ottawa!

At the end of January, a new gay club in Ottawa will flash its tail feathers!

For the past three months producers have been preparing for the debut of The Flamingo on Jan 28.

The bar has the financial backing of Ottawa entertainment guru Aydin Kharaghani, of York Entertainment. York Entertainment is one of the city’s club powerhouses, with a stable of nightclubs that includes The Cabin, The Drink and On Tap in the Byward Market. The Flamingo marks Kharaghani’s first foray into gay clubs.


Programming will reportedly run the gamut, from dance to live acoustic music. Each producer has his own night. Provost was tapped for Flamingo Live on Fridays, where, he says, the club will turn into a jazz lounge, echoing the main concept behind the bar.





Since I moved to Ottawa I have listened to people complain that there are no interesting gay venues in this city.


With this announcement, I am now hearing people complain that it won't last, that no new gay bars ever last, that it will likely be horrible.


OK PEOPLE ... I, for one, am happy to give this place a chance, if for no other reason than because it is an alternative to CP! And frankly, a bit of jazz while I am having a drink and hanging out with friends sounds great to me! So, please, keep an open mind.


Once it opens, I will keep you posted on my reactions to it's format.

Curioser and curioser

Sarah Palin: “Stand With Our North Korean Allies”

Sarah Palin inadvertently pledges her allegiance to the Supreme Leader of North Korea on Glenn Beck's radio show.




... and yet there are 'those' who still sing her praises ...



The world's only chance is that she will win the Republican Leadership Race only to then be definitively trounced by Obama thereby guaranteeing him another 4 years in office.
(Please, God. Please, God! LOL)

Move it! Shake it! JUST DO IT !

The vast majority of Canadians aren't moving enough to reap fitness benefits, Statistics Canada reports.

A study released Wednesday compared the physical activity levels of Canadian adults to those who are sedentary, and found only 15 per cent moved enough to get substantial health benefits. 


Take the survey after the link ~

Get Outta My Way (Boys) Tribute

I'm not a huge Kylie Minogue fan but most of the men in this tribute to her are porn stars!

It's probably not suitable for work [ NSFW ], but it's still perfectly clean ... just sexy.


Get Outta My Way (Boys) Tribute from Jeremy Lucido on Vimeo.

Let's call it "swimming"

Lots of us have dreamt of this, often in the form of flying dreams.

In Stockholm, a group of men facing middle age find unlikely fellowship as members of Sweden’s all-male synchronized swim team. Yes, there is such a thing.

Watch the full episode. See more Independent Lens.