Gaga gaga over 'Peg girl

Maria Aragon, 10, of Winnipeg is getting a lot of attention on YouTube thanks to an endorsement by pop superstar Lady Gaga.

Maria posted a YouTube video of herself playing keyboard and singing a cover of Lady Gaga's latest song, Born This Way. It was posted on Feb. 16 but was pushed into the spotlight on Thursday when Gaga herself mentioned it on her Twitter page.

"Can't stop crying watching this. This is why I make music. She is the future," Gaga's posting stated.

As of this post, the number of Views is: 12,747,000
... you're amazing!
Here is the original post on YouTube:

Prayers for Libya

Al Jazeera is currently in Preview on Rogers Cable here in Ottawa.

With all that has been happening in Northern Africa, I have been watching it more and more - finding that it gives a variety of perspectives that put North American news channels to shame.

Heard about this website there and found the post below.

Not only am I struck by the poignancy of the messages, but the technology itself - publishing voice recordings through cellphones where internet is not available.

We (North Americans) may pride ourselves on our technological advancement here in Canada, but the people in the Middle East are forging new ways of communicating which leave us far behind.

I am not a religious person, but I am praying for Libya to make it through this without further pain. ...

Libyan Army !!! 
Start PROTECTING THE PEOPLE from Ghaddafi & the mercenary forces that he has hired ... BEING NEUTRAL IS NO LONGER NEUTRAL !

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.

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