The Royal Family goes SEXY

The Royal Family neverlooked like this before. Click on the link below to see more pictures of Kate Middleton's
Burlesque-Dancing cousin, Katrina Darling

SEE THE PICS HERE ...

Cloud tsunami

Fog rolls up along the shore of Panama City Beach, Florida on Feb. 5th, 2012. Be sure to see the other pictures in the series HERE ...

Flying over Earth

Amazing imagery, although I wish I was 'flying' a bit slower !

Earth | Time Lapse View from Space, Fly Over | NASA, ISS from Michael König on Vimeo.

Shooting locations in order of appearance:
1. Aurora Borealis Pass over the United States at Night
2. Aurora Borealis and eastern United States at Night
3. Aurora Australis from Madagascar to southwest of Australia
4. Aurora Australis south of Australia
5. Northwest coast of United States to Central South America at Night
6. Aurora Australis from the Southern to the Northern Pacific Ocean
7. Halfway around the World
8. Night Pass over Central Africa and the Middle East
9. Evening Pass over the Sahara Desert and the Middle East
10. Pass over Canada and Central United States at Night
11. Pass over Southern California to Hudson Bay
12. Islands in the Philippine Sea at Night
13. Pass over Eastern Asia to Philippine Sea and Guam
14. Views of the Mideast at Night
15. Night Pass over Mediterranean Sea
16. Aurora Borealis and the United States at Night
17. Aurora Australis over Indian Ocean18. Eastern Europe to Southeastern Asia at Night


READ MORE ABOUT IT ...

The Look of Love

Can't blame a guy for dreaming a little!

Pretend it’s Friday night, you’re in a bar and you are people-watching. It’s dim in here but what do you see? 

Strangers exchanging glances with each other from across the crowded room? 

Their eyes meeting?

Eye contact being established?

A look that is held a bit longer? 

...the game of love has begun. 

A man peers around the room and becomes suddenly intrigued by a person returning his glance. The glance turns into a gaze. Initially beautiful, now the magnetism of prolonged eye contact has amplified attractiveness.

People perceive people as more attractive when they are engaged in eye contact with us and when they shift their direction of gaze towards us [Mason et al in 2005]. 

This directed gaze signals interest so we find them even more appealing. In other words, if someone who you find attractive locks eyes with you, they automatically go up a notch on your love barometer.

READ THE WHOLE ARTICLE

Sports stars show their support

OUT magazine has gathered together a beautiful series of images "of straight sports stars who have stood up for fairness and tolerance, shoulder-to-shoulder with their LGBT peers."

Ben Cohen, Hudson Taylor, Michael Irvin, Mike Chabala, and Nick Youngquest

The world of pro sports is notoriously unwelcoming to out athletes, one of the last bastions of homophobia. From hate-filled fans to teammates who won’t share the showers to bigoted sportscasters, the toxic environment can ruin a career or even end a life. But at the vanguard of a move to change that is a small band of straight sports stars who have stood up for fairness and tolerance, shoulder-to-shoulder with their LGBT peers. Here, we salute them.

CLICK ON THE POST TITLE to see the whole series.

Sometimes a kiss is NOT just a kiss

Anyone who thinks same-sex couples in the United States should be allowed to marry was invited to Lush outlets across North America to pucker up and smack lips on June 18th. The smoochers were then invited to sign postcards telling the U.S. government to allow gay marriage.


This campaign took place on June 18 at the Byward Market location of Lush Cosmetics in Ottawa.

Photo by Abder

Same-sex marriage is allowed in Canada. In the United States, however, same-sex couples cannot get married under federal law, so they are not covered by the federal rights provided for married couples.

Guide to the gravity-defying Donald Trump combover

Rather than invest any of his considerable fortune in a transplant or wig, Donald Trump, the 61-year-old property magnate, insists on using a series of elaborate measures to plaster strands of hair across his balding pate.

Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert were going to cover the media frenzy over Donald Trump and Obama's birth certificate, and they did not disappoint.

What a waste ! ;-)

Darren Criss, the singing dreamboat from Glee, may seem a bit wet behind the ears, but he's not! He is a seasoned performer who just happens to look sexy a bit wet behind the ears and everywhere else!

CLICK HERE for more pictures of him!

...

Blaine released Kurt’s hand and launched into Katy Perry’s “Teenage Dream,” flirtily crooning it his way. For Kurt, the moment was a first glimpse at a future in which he could be himself and belong.

The next day, Glee’s version of “Teenage Dream” shot up the iTunes charts, becoming the most downloaded song yet from a show that had recently surpassed the Beatles’ record for the most singles to chart on Billboard’s Hot 100. And in a world teeming with undeserving reality TV insta-stars, Criss became a bona fide overnight sensation. 

...

This is more than just a teenage dream, or even a gay one. As a top 10 show among men ages 18 to 49, Fox’s kooky jukebox musical has a fanbase that extends beyond the usual coalition of teenage girls and gay guys who tune in to Gossip Girl or90210. Commercial time on Glee commands top dollar (behind only Sunday Night Football and American Idol, according to Advertising Age) and big-name stars like Gwyneth Paltrow and Britney Spears line up for guest appearances. Its coveted berth after the recent Super Bowl -- of all things -- shouted one thing: Glee has become the only true network TV breakout hit of the last few years.

On Ellen, however, he came out as 'not gay'

Japanese Whalers forced to Stop Hunting Whales

Last year Sea Shepherd's harassment of the Japanese whaling fleet halved the number of whales killed. Now it's come out that the whaling fleet has halted whaling in the Southern Ocean, citing Sea Shepherd's constant hounding of them, blocking supplies from reaching them and blockading whaling ships as the reason. Since February 10 whaling has ceased. The season normally extends to mid-March.



Sea Shepherd's activities are the subject of Animal Planet's Whale Wars series.

Do you see spots?

I thought this ad was clever. Open it full-size by clicking on it, then focus on the pink bottle for 30 sec. or so. Hopefully the product works as well!

BC gives us this year's Mr Gay Canada

Rob Goddard is Mr. Gay Canada 2011

A Vancouver bartender from Smithers B.C. has won the title of Mr Gay Canada and will represent the nation at the third annual Mr. Gay World competition on March 9 in the Philippines.

Rob Goddard, who says he moved to the city so he would be more readily accepted as a gay man, released a statement calling the win, "an incredible opportunity to meet courageous men from around the world who all have a unique story, and who want to make a difference in improving the human rights conditions that they face in their home country and around the world."

"It is a great honour to use the platform of 'Mr. Gay World' to share my experiences as a gay man privileged to come from a far less discriminating nation such as Canada - a country that borders a 'free' super-power country that is STILL divided over the rights and acceptance of non-straights," he continued.

Online voting for My Gay World begins on February 21, 2011. Representatives of 24 countries will take part in the event.

You can follow Rob on the Mr. Gay Canada Facebook page

The Sound of a Free Egypt

Protesters in Tahrir Square celebrate after Mubarek steps down.

For all 18 days, I witnessed on TV the determination, the terror, the frustration, the love, the peacefulness and the joy of the Egyptian Revolution.

This video and song depict the people of Egypt in Tahrir Square as the rest of us watched history unfold. Whether you understand the words or not, the song carries a genuine feeling of strength, joy, peace and the Humanity of the Egyptian people. Beautiful!



Click on the link to read a partial translation of the words.

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.

Fractals : Seeing a Hidden Dimension

This video is cool, captivating, colourful AND it comes from the show NOVA on PBS.

It's about 52 minutes long but,
if you can stream it, you can dream it !

[ OMG, can't believe I just said that ! LOL ]

Watch the full episode. See more NOVA.

How true the last post's title was ... on so many levels

The word "Home" can mean so many things. When Mom and I boarded our plane home to Canada, neither one of us had any idea of how the next few months would unfold.

Turquoise was Mom's
favourite colour.

Mom passed away four weeks later after a systemic collapse, and a brief recovery which allowed her to visit with her entire family beforehand.


I feel proud to have done my part to make her last days as comfortable and happy as possible.


I couldn't have coped with everything without the support of my sister, Linda.

Everyone had a chance to
spend some time with her.

The rest of my extended family brought joy, flowers, kindness and strength for all of us to share.

I love you, Mom.

On our way home from seeing Mom at the hospital for the last time, stopped to watch a show of fireworks over the Ottawa River. It reminded us to celebrate Mom's long and beautiful life, and that she would be alive in our hearts forever.

... isn't that just like Life.


Since then I have moved, been overwhelmed by everything required to put another's affairs to rest, and made other dramatic changes in my life as a result.


... but,


I am ready to do something for myself again. Writing this blog was that for me - something for myself in happier times. And now, it can also serve as a record of our last time together, too ... a place to remember my last trip with Mom in a detailed way that a mere memory could never allow. I am grateful for that.

A celebration of friendship and goodbye

As we returned to the village, we were invited under the giant thatched roof again, this time to participate in a friendship dance that includes everyone. A simple 6-piece 'band' played for us as we joined the Embera on their dancefloor.

Some final pictures, a bit of shopping from the overflowing tables of fine crafts and a warm goodbye followed. We loaded ourselves back into the dugout canoe and headed back down the river to the diminishing sound of the Embera Puru's happy music.

WHAT AN EXPERIENCE! I had only ever seen such people in National Geographic magazines and TV. But, to meet them live in their own habitat and to understand their ingenious methods of survival, how much like us they are, and how fragile is their existence, gave me a whole new respect for indigenous cultures.

If you ever come to Panama, you must make this part of your education.

Dinner and some ancient wisdom

We were all brought under the same roof and introduced to their culture by way of a presentation and Q&A, with Anne as translator.

We learned that this village is part of over 100,000 Empera in Colombia and Panama, and that a woman can be chief as easily as a man.

They explained how they extract the materials they make their crafts from and showed us how they weave bowls that are virtually watertight out of local plants.

After that we were invited to join in a simple lunch of fried fish and plantains, with fresh pineapple and papaya served in bowls made of palm leaves.

We rinsed our hands in the basil-water and were offered tattoos - either simple wrist or arm decorations or full-body illustration for the bold among us! They used a 2-pronged piece of bamboo and ink made from a special palm-nut.

Once painted some of us went on a tour of the jungle with a shaman who showed us some of the many medicinal plants that they use on a regular basis. Treatments for snakebites, dementia, toothache (my mouth was numb for half an hour! LOL), diarrhea, erectile dysfunction (although this remedy takes about 3 days to work - plan ahead!) and an antibiotic cream for cuts. All of these plants were found within 100 metres of the village.

We meet the village

After the waterfall, we continued upriver until we reached the village. The sounds of music and laughter rose over the birds and insects to greet us. Thatched roofs atop the river bank and children swimming in the river.


We met Anne's father-in-law and mother-in-law and several other members of her adopted family - none of them much taller than 5 ft. tall but all adorned in beautifully patterned dress and beads.



A large, thatch-roofed structure served as a meeting place and display centre for woven and carved crafts made from died plant materials. We were free to move around the village and take pictures.



The people were engaging and anxious to try broken English with us although their Spanish was much better.

We also tried to learn some of their words:
meera chaba = Hello friend

An inspiring odyssey back in time

Yesterday was a remarkable day. After a 1 hour drive to meet up with our tourguide, Anne Gordon, we arrived at our embarcation point on the river where we caught the first sight of the dugout canoe that would take us to the Embera Puru village.

These are remarkable people with a simple life focussed around family and nature. They were as curious about us as we were about them and the whole day was a rich and meaningful experience.

The dugout ride took us across a lake that has been damned to supply water to the Panama Canal, but these people were here long before that.

As the lake narrowed into a winding river, our drivers found a small stream off to the side which lead up to a beautiful little waterfall.

We got out of the canoe and walked upstream to appreciate it's beauty up close. Warm, fresh water coming out of the jungle that we didn't want to leave.