I was Born This Way

Lady Gaga emerged from a cosmic egg with pointy prosthetic shoulders at The Grammys last week to make a simple but powerful statement about being true to oneself.

You can listen to her new song called Born This Way here.


She may have had the outfits and choreography but the message is the much the same as the Born This Way blog which posts pictures like the one below that illustrate it's Statement of Purpose:

A photo/essay project for gay adults (of all genders) to submit pictures from their childhood (roughly ages 2 to 12) - with snapshots that capture them, innocently, showing the beginnings of their innate LGBT selves. It's OUR nature, our TRUTH!

Click here to see a nice collection from Born This Way on BuzzFeed.

The Epic Story of Sapporo Beer

This commercial (short film?) for Sapporo, by the firm Dentsu out of Canada, is just so astonishingly good: a two-minute upward vertical scroll through the bowels and history of Japan. It's embedded below, but do watch it in a larger format for the full effect.

One big step forward ... Human Rights Act to shield transgender, transsexual Canadians

2. The purpose of this Act is to extend the laws in Canada to give effect, within the purview of matters coming within the legislative authority of Parliament, to the principle that all individuals should have an opportunity equal with other individuals to make for themselves the lives that they are able and wish to have and to have their needs accommodated, consistent with their duties and obligations as members of society, without being hindered in or prevented from doing so by discriminatory practices based on race, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, marital status, family status, disability or conviction for an offence for which a pardon has been granted.

OTTAWA — The House of Commons passed a bill Wednesday that will amend the Canadian Human Rights Act and Criminal Code to protect transgender and transsexual Canadians from discrimination.

"It's a great day," said the bill's author, NDP MP Bill Siksay. "It's been in the works for six years, and it's great to see people from all parties supporting the bill. This is not a partisan issue, it's a human rights issue."

When all heads were counted, 143 MPs voted for Bill C-389 and 135 voted against.

The amendments proposed in the bill prohibit discrimination on the basis of gender identity and expression through adding "gender identity" and "gender expression" to the list of prohibited grounds for discrimination in the Canada Human Rights Act, and through adding transgender and transsexual Canadians as identifiable groups in the Criminal Code's hate crimes law.

The term 'gender expression' refers to an individual's outward expression of their inward sense of gender, Siksay said.

A majority of Conservative members voted against the bill, prompting opposition members to applaud Tory ministers and members Lawrence Cannon, Lisa Raitt, John Baird, John Moore, Shelly Glover and Gerald Keddy when they rose to their feet to support the bill.

Caravaggio comes to National Gallery

Ottawa's National Gallery is set to thrill art audiences this summer with the rare chance to see the paintings of Italian master Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio.

The painter gained attention in 1600 by painting with bold realism, dramatic lighting and a sensitivity to his subjects.

David with the head of Goliath by Caravaggio

Caravaggio was the subject of the 1986 art-film by gay film director Derek Jarman.

Feeling blue? Go to Montreal.

Maybe this is why we all have so much fun when we go to Montreal!

A significant amount of antidepressant medicine exists in Montreal's waste water, affecting fish tissue and brain activity, a study by the University of Montreal's chemistry department has found.

... 

This study's authors, however, want to reassure people that the effect of water-borne antidepressants on humans is likely negligible, given the amounts involved. 

Sauvé said the actual amount of the drugs in the ecosystem is quite small, despite the potential impact.

A very loose interpretation of 'Queer'

Kingston will once again be home to one of the country's most important celebrations for the queer community: the 12th annual Reelout Festival 

"It has been amazing to see the festival grow and evolve over the years. Originally, it was run as a collective by dedicated community volunteers. "

"Now Reelout is at a point where it runs very much through self-generating revenue, we now have full-time staff and office space," he says. "It's a real credit to them that we're now recognized as a festival that shows the best films, and pays each artist - something that is really crucial to us."

Salton explains that there are 13 countries represented at this year's festival, such as South Africa, Dubai and the Netherlands.

"We still try to look for between 45 and 50 per cent Canadian content, but there are films from all over the world," he says.

For more information about show times and the films featured at the festival, or to learn more about Reelout's activities throughout the year, please visit www.reelout.com.

The Sky is Falling

This news story came and went really quickly. So quickly, in fact, I wondered to myself if something was being hidden from us ... for our own good.

This map shows the pattern of mass deaths of birds and fish around the world.


View Mass Animal Deaths in a larger map

... and the link will take you to an article that tries to separate the truth from the non-truth.

Personally, I believe these birds and fish are the proverbial canaries in the coal mine, and whatever is going on, whether natural or induced by man, they appear to be an indication of something or some things going awry.  DR. MERCOLA 

I'm a Gemini. I'm a Taurus. I'm a Gemini ... again!

After the universal cafuffle about how the stars don't match up with the Astrological signs due to precession, I did some digging.

Following several leads I learned that Tropical Astrology, the version that is used here in North America, is quite different from Sidereal Astrology, the version that purportedly uses star maps.

So in reading this:

Tropical astrology is based on the idea that astrology is based on the configuration of the solar system relative to the Sun, not to the remote fixed stars. For tropical astrologers therefore it is irrelevant that the solsticial points (tropics) have drifted from one constellation to another over the millennia, due to the precession of the equinoxes. The names of the zodiacal constellations that became the star signs are supposed to suggest the characteristics of (the sun in) each segment of the year. Thus, Aries (House 1), representing the sun just returning to the northern hemisphere at the vernal equinox, Leo (House 5), representing sun of mid-summer, Sagittarius (House 9), representing the retreating sun close to the winter solstice, etc. In its emphasis on the symbolic or metaphorical meaning of the star signs tropical astrology differs from sidereal astrology which claims intrinsic meaning for the star signs and wishes to preserve those meanings by laying out horoscopes against fixed stars.

... I had to think that all of the hubbub over changing signs didn't actually apply to us here. Western Astrology doesn't even use the stars to make it's predictions.

But THEN, I started to think about all the people who have paid to have their charts done, according to some very complex maths interpreting the positions of heavenly bodies, were being ripped off. It's all bollocks anyway.

... just tax the STUPID people !!!

... A favourite quote from my favourite episode of Absolutely Fabulous! ~ video below ~

I was one of the first people I know to ever object to stupid people walking down the sidewalk while texting, obviously oblivious to their surroundings and the people in them.

I jumped for joy when Ontario first banned the use of cellphones while driving - although just yesterday I saw a driver on Bank St. with a phone to his ear.

Never did I dare dream that reason would eventually triumph over stupidity.

Come on cellphone users, no matter what you think, you CANNOT walk, talk, drive, or even listen when you are using your phone! WAKE UP!

Or maybe we should just let the stupid people kill themselves off by walking into traffic.

Below is a link to an audio clip from CBC Radio:

CBC News - World - AUDIO: States mull texting bans while walking

Gays in SPACE ... space ... s p a c e !!!

Photo ~ blastr.com

Brannon Braga: Star Trek ... Not forward-thinking about gay relationships



When it comes to specific television shows and movies that have lacked gay visibility over the years, the Star Trek franchise has probably received the most scrutiny — and criticism — from AfterElton.com. After all, despite having produced more than a dozen feature films and 726 episodes over the course of six series (including the 22-episode animated series) the franchise has never managed to include an out gay character in a movie or series.

This despite the fact that in 1991 Gene Roddenberry told The Advocate that the fifth season of The Next Generation would at least show gay crewmembers as part of ship life. Unfortunately, Roddenberry died that year and none of the subsequent episodes featured gay people at all.