Punk Smurf pens a bilingual blog

Taylor Mitchell, a talented 19-year-old singer-songwriter from Toronto, ON, was tragically killed while touring Nova Scotia. Taylor died in a hospital in Halifax, her death a result of a coyote attack while hiking Cape Breton’s Skyline Trail.

Read more in this article by Globe and Mail, watch the news report here (the site’s Flemish, but the report’s in English).

Click this link for more info.

… why I don’t like Stephen Harper. At. All.

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper hires homophobe speechwriter: “Referring to former Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau’s 1969 decision to decriminalize homosexuality, Hannaford wrote in 2005, ‘Fine, said lots of people. Leave gays alone? Fair enough. But, let ‘em be Boy Scout leaders? Have each other’s benefits? Adopt kids? Marry each other? Ridiculous. Anybody seeking political office who suggested it would have been laughed off the hustings. Yet, the Liberals are ready to legalize gay marriage. How did we get to this point?’”

I am very excited - I was planning on visiting TO again anyways:

Toronto is already planning the festivities for when it hosts the World Pride event in 2014.

The city beat out Stockholm to host the international political and cultural event that promotes lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender issues.

Mark Singh, chair of the city’s World Pride committee, said the festival will highlight the acceptance of the gay community by Canadians.

So far the program calls for an opening ceremony with a parade of nations and an international human rights conference. There will also be an AIDS candlelight vigil along with three parades including a Trans March, a Dyke March and Pride Parade.

The 2014 events will replace the city’s usual Pride Week, and will be scheduled to celebrate Canada Day and the U.S. Independence Day.

Toronto resident Matthew Middleton celebrated Sunday’s announcement on Church Street. “This is fantastic for strictly gay tourism, and for showing how accepting a city we are,” Middleton said.

Organizers estimate that it will cost $10 million to host the international event. Coun. Kyle Rae said he hopes Ottawa will help cover part of the cost.

“I would expect the federal government would get on board and highlight our achievements as an equity-seeking society,” Rae said.

Rae said the decision to give the event to Toronto is a reflection of the city’s reputation as a gay-friendly city.

“I think people in other jurisdictions recognize that there’s something speical in Toronto,” Rae said.

Pride Toronto officials said last summer’s Pride Week contributed more than $100 million to the province’s economy. Organizers said World Pride could contribute five times that much.

The effort to have World Pride in Toronto was led by Pride Toronto. Read its press release here.

I was catching up on Dorothy Snarkers blog when I came across a picture of Ellen and her dog Patti:

I’m thinking the mutt is named after Patti Smith… (I kinda like Hilary Swank and her beasty bunch.)

While Ellen Page is currently starring in “Whip it”, an article in today’s Globe and Mail caught my eye: it’s one on Canada’s only male roller derby team:

Currently listening to Sarah McLachlan (album: Mirrorball - the complete concert)

I haven’t blogged about it, but you’ve undoubtedly read about the passing away of Senator Ted Kennedy. He was laid to rest alongside slain brothers John and Robert on hallowed ground at Arlington National Cemetery, celebrated for “the dream he kept alive” across the decades since their deaths.

Vice President Joe Biden’s said:

“I think the legacy of Teddy Kennedy can be measured in no small part as a consequence of how we in America look at one another. How blacks look at whites. How gays look at straights. How straights look at gays. How we literally look at one another. And in turn how we look at ourselves. Because when you were with him you had to measure yourself against him. And it always required you to be larger than you were inclined to be.”

To read more about him click here or here. May he rest in peace.

I have a thing for harmonies (must be musical gene in me that also enables me to play the guitars and drums without ever having had tuition. Anyway, from the moment I heard “Two weeks” by Grizzly Bear I have been humming along with them. Now a fan’s taken it upon himself to remake the video into something queerer. Watch the new, animated version here - ain’t it sweet?

As off Friday, there’s an actual Gay Tourist Information Center in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.

Welcoming everybody, they’re specifically aimed at helping queer tourists find their way in the Dutch capital. They can be found at Spuistraat 44, Amsterdam.
Hours: Mon-Sat 11.00 - 20.00 hrs,  Sun 12.00 - 18.00 hrs.

In the meantime, internet television and radio programming platform based in Manchester Fruit TV revealed some of its programming. I hope they’ll add programs to pull and appease female viewers.

Last night hurricane Danny made it’s way through Nova Scotia, bringing buckets of rain and strong winds. It caused power outages in Halifax, but nothing major (it lasted about 4 hours before the power came back on).

Here’s an example of a dog who is indeed man’s - or in this case, a woman’s - best friend. Unfortunately, the story has no happy ending.

And who knew George Eads (Nick Stokes on CSI) is such an avid fan of superheroes? And from what I read he’s got quite a hand at drawing them, too!

I was up late chatting to my friend AJ online, so when I woke up this morning… Let’s just say I could’ve added another hour’s worth of sleep easily. (To give you an indication it was 05:50 hrs Halifax time, or 01:50 hrs San Francisco time.)
Radio host Diederik called me to see if I was ready for the interview, told me that “Cup of Blood” by The Dudes was released in The Netherlands several weeks ago (oh? I didn’t have the heart to tell him that song is on the previous album), then explained shortly what he was going to do. It was all very simple, and nothing I hadn’t done before… Except this was going to be aired live.

With a minute left of an Oasis single he called me and told me we were going to go on air when the song had finished. And we did.
Before you start wondering what I was doing for Kink FM, here’s a short explanation: I’m their one time “Zomerscout”, meaning that I share whatever good music I heard in the country I visited. Always up to plug good Canadian music, I submitted an E-mail telling Diederik I’d like to put in my two cents.

I recently sent him another to share what music grabbed my attention, and of which I thought fits the station’s format.
I told him about The Lost Fingers, who are hot in the French province of Canada, Bif Naked, The Dudes and (of course) Serena Ryder. Diederik likes them all, but decided to plug The Dudes.
On air he asked me what I was doing in Canada, how much Canadian music I’d heard, and general questions about Calgary’s finest “The Dudes”. I tried to answer all the questions without trying to sound like a rambling idiot (I didn’t, according to my brother). There were a couple of silences, which - as Diederik later explained - was all thanks to him trying to locate a certain radio jingle to prelude the single.
All in all I think the interview went pretty well. It’s going to be online, but I don’t know when (Diederik couldn’t tell me either) so I’m going to keep you updated on that.

The Dudes’ current single “Pretty lies”

Ain’t those kitties the cutest?

Apparently there’s a new Canadian Sci Fi series called “Defying gravity”.

Defying Gravity launches on ABC and CTV in Canada on August 2 with a two-hour premiere, and then will air on Sundays at 10pm. All 13 episodes have already been shot, and the series will also air on Canada’s CTV, Germany’s ProSieben and the BBC in the U.K.

Described by one exec as “Grey’s Anatomy in space” (not sure how I feel about that), the series revolves as much around the relationships among the crew — who are living in very close quarters for a long period of time — as it does things like wormholes, mechanical problems, and unexplained happenings.

Or as the same exec put it, it’s a show with “a sci-fi premise but told in a female-friendly way.” And by “female-friendly” he apparently means less of that tricky science stuff, and more talking about your feelings, but I’m going to pretend he didn’t say that so I can enjoy the show.

Here’s how CTV describes the two-hour premiere:

In the two-hour series premiere (Sunday, August 2 at 9 p.m. ET), two of the eight novice astronauts onboard mysteriously develop heart ailments only hours after leaving Earth’s orbit for Venus and a six-year inter-planetary sojourn aboard the spaceship Antares. Replacing the ill engineer, Ajay Sharma (Zahf Paroo) and Mission Commander Rollie Crane (Ty Olsson), are experienced astronauts Maddux Donner (Ron Livingston) and Ted Shaw (Malik Yoba). Donner’s arrival disturbs the ship’s geologist Zoe Barnes (Canadian Laura Harris), who is linked to him by a strange dream and a romantic encounter from their early training days.

Although nearly every facet of life on the Antares is broadcast to avid viewers on Earth by documentary producer Paula Morales (Paula Garces), there is also a hidden force that appears to be controlling events from within the spacecraft. With the real purpose of the mission known only to flight director Mike Goss (Andrew Airlie) and a select few, the Antares finally leaves Earth’s orbit for the immensity of interstellar space.

In the second hour, some rocky and intriguing developments confront the crew as they learn to adjust to life on board the Antares, now well on its way to Venus. In spite of the libido-suppressing HALOS supposedly worn by everyone on board, pilot Nadia Schilling (Florentine Lahme) continues her seductive designs on Donner. Zoe still hears strange cries, seemingly coming from Storage Pod 4 — which is off limits to most of the crew. After Ted, now spaceship commander, is briefed by his wife, scientist Eve Shaw (Karen LeBlanc), about the true nature of the mission, he enters Pod 4 and is confronted by a frightening maelstrom.

Meanwhile, back at Mission Control, Commander Goss holds a press conference, ostensibly to explain the abrupt removal of Ajay and Rollie from the Antares. Skeptical British reporter Trevor Williams (Peter Howitt) is determined to discover the truth.

The facts that it’s made in Canada and stars Christina Cox (I wouldn’t mind a work out with her) are a bonus, but they started losing me at “Grey’s Anatomy in space”. The “a sci-fi premise but told in a female-friendly way” is where I switched off completely.

I dragged my letlagged ass to work this morning, and the longer the morning wore on the worse I felt. I was tired, had trouble staying focused and something triggered a headache (good thing the vertigo wasn’t bad).

People asked me about my vacation and the more I talked about it, the more I felt like taking the first plane back to Canada - just like I thought I would *sigh*

Anyhoo, I still have the last part of my trip to recount.

Canada Day starts early (with Krista waking up even before I do): we wanted to be early for the free pancake breakfast at the Grand Parade. Our friend Kelly was supposed to come along as well, but since her boyfriend left in the wee hours of the morning she let us know she’ll sleep in and meet us later.
Halifax mayor Peter Kelly was at the Grand Parade handing out sweets, all dressed up for the day, and doing a short (but good) speech after a choir sang the national anthem. And the pancake breakfast? I prefer my friend Amanda’s who makes killer pancake breakfasts!

It was drizzling throughout the breakfast, and after that Krista and I headed to the boat club… And ended up catching up on some sleep. Then it was time to go back and head for the Citadel for the 21 gun salute. Despite the fog, or maybe because of it, the shots rang out loudly through the harbor as well. How could I have missed those all this time? (They traditionally shoot the canons at noon.) After that we have a bite at Mexicali Rosa’s, where Kelly joins us. Then it’s on to Pier 21, where one of the guides I meet turns out to be Dutch. He and I talk a bit about heritage and the Netherlands… Kelly suggested we try Bannock, a kind of indigenous bread. People were invited to take a little piece of dough, roll it out and add a little filling to it (I picked coconut and butterscotch) before putting it on a big skillet. Bannock is simple, tastes good, and is very filling. I have to say that between the multicultural festival (where the concert at Alderney Landing took place) and this I had sampled some interesting new foods.
We headed back to the boat after that and went for another boat ride; woo-hoo!
By the time the fog started to drift inland again, we had docked Foxglove and were driving home. We ended up missing the fireworks (better next time, eh?), and watching Empire Records instead.
The next day was to be my last in Halifax. Krista and I had planned on meeting one of her friends for lunch (she dressed up for it ’specially - in what she calls her trailer trash outfit. I’m fashion impaired, but it didn’t look too tacky to me…) but he texted her he couldn’t make it. We had a bite at a pub called Durty Nelly’s. The food was good (my dish was a generous portion, and Krista ended up finishing my salad *LOL*), the ladies room even better. Even though I generally try to avoid public toilets this one was a treat with screens mounted into the walls next to the sinks, enabling the ladies to check out music videos instead of their mirror images (the super vain aside). When I went in I definitely felt like dancing, despite the Scissor Sisters singing about the opposite.

And besides Krista picking up volume 13 of Terry Moore’s ECHO and picking up the last of my developed film at the photo lab, the rest is pretty much a blur. The day seemed to pass way to fast, and before I knew it Krista drove me to the airport. It was pretty foggy when we left the apartment, and it was foggy when we reached the airport. I did not want to leave, and Krista joked she could turn the car around. (I was wishing the fog would be too dense no planes would be able to fly out.) Although extremely tempting, I decided to be good and get on that frickin plane.

In Amsterdam I’m surprised to find my brother waiting at the gate - with my mom. I knew my mom was coming to pick my up from Schiphol airport, but I hadn’t expected my brother, too. Yay!

On Sunday my brother Arnold and I drive to Stellendam for a navigation course. It was an introduction really, but really interesting!

That’s what I did on the very last day of my vacation.

I flew to the Maritimes on Jean-Baptiste Day, a national Holiday in the French province. When I arrived at Halifax’s airport it was just as hot and sunny as it had been in Montréal. Krista looked smashing in her business outfit - and I couldn’t help but grin to myself as I noticed how some of the guys’ heads turn. We start catching up almost instantly, and making plans on our way back into the city. It feels great to be back in Halifax!

Krista made a very yummie veggie chilli, and we invited our friend Kelly (who’s a vegetarian) over for lunch. We caught up on Kelly’s life, who swapped the west coast for the east coast. After we dropped Kelly off at her 2pm appointment, Krista and I headed for the local comic shop (to stock up on additional “Echo”). Then we shopped for a hoodie for me. The one I got two years ago is starting to get holes… I think I drove Krista a little crazy by being fussy (her words, not mine): I knew exactly what I wanted (a red one with a certain font) and I didn’t feel like settling for second best. I ended up getting a fire truck red hoodie that has HALIFAX across the chest - instead of CANADA. Hey, works for me!

Our friend Anie invited Krista and me for a BBQ at her new crib that night. A great new home, I must add. Her pets (a kittie and a doggie) are just an adorable bunch. We briefly talked about my relocation, and that’s when Anie said she thinks Krista should marry me… Long story short: I freaked out.

The next day I met up with one of Krista’s coworkers who relocated from Denmark for lunch. Being an ICT person herself, she had no trouble getting a job. She’s certainly given me some food for thought.

On Friday Krista and I finally took Foxglove for an actual test “drive”. Thanks to a very weak reverse (there is something wrong with the motor) she has trouble docking the new boat. Trusting me with her life she wanted me the first person to accompany her on the first real outing.
I got a general run down on Foxglove and what she expected me to do when it came down to docking; jump off the boat onto the dock with the lines of both bow and stern, and basically pull the boat in.

Krista is now a member of the Armdale Yacht Club (she suggested it as a place for our wedding ceremony) and so we left from there to McNabs. Once we got to the island we tried docking - and it went fairly well. By the time we were completely done, we suddenly noticed that a pretty heavy fog had rolled in. Me being the laid back person I am talked Krista into going back via the Halifax harbour coast.
And by the time we had turned the boat fog was starting to cover the other side of McNabs. It suddenly seemed like a very bad idea to go back (especially without GPS). Needless to say we had to dock again. The second time went extremely well, and I was instantly promoted to First Mate. The downside: we were probably going to spend the night on the island. I really wouldn’t have mind if I hadn’t a prior engagement to meet two friends for a concert at Alderney Landing.

Long story short: Krista called friend Mike Tilley aka Captain Redbeard for help. He dropped me off at Alderney Landing, and dropped Krista off at the yacht club (where the car is).
The concert was good: Sarah Slean was a great new find (musically), Divine Brown reminded me of a Motown singer (she totally had the attitude according to my friend Kelly) and Paula Cole was awesome. She delivered, in my opinion, and I am glad I was there to witness that.

I crashed at a friend’s place, one who’s been promising me a pancake breakfast for the longest time. So, while I was enjoying a pancake brekkie with friends Krista hauled ass: Foxglove had to clear off the dock at McNabs (government regulation). She called me and asked me to meet her ASAP, as she was on her way to meet Mike to get the boat.
In the end Kelly and I took a cab to Bishop’s Landing (that’s on the Halifax side). We took Kelly for a little cruise along the harbor and back to the Armdale Yacht Club. The sun was out and it was a beautiful day.
The docking went perfect. Krista wants me to stay the entire Summer. I wish!

We went out on a little road trip: I wanted to see the tides at Bay of Fundy, so Krista drives us to Annapolis Valley aka The Valley. Also a great region for fresh strawberries, crisp apple cider and Nova Scotian wine etc. I buy some presents for the family and a friend. At one point, Krista turned on the radio after getting back into the car, and I was instantly happy: Serena Ryder’s “All for love” was on! She dubs Serena Melissa junior *lol* because she thinks Serena sounds like Melissa Etheridge.

I happened to cook us dinner a couple of nights in a row, and on the second night Krista was sitting in (what she calls) her “man chair”, watching TV while I slave away in the kitchen, when she says all that’s missing is a beer and *belch* that she feels like the husband *snickers* An interesting analogy, eh? Anyhoo, I teach Krista how to boil rice - NOT the instant kind - the Asian way. (She thinks it’s funny I don’t know how to boil potatoes… Eh, dude, I’m Asian!) After a few good attemps I think she now has the hang of it.

One rainy morning I decided to install Saffron’s cat door. Having to use pre-millennium tools it took me much longer than anticipated. We had dinner at her mom’s place (I really liked her chicken) and went out for boating after that. While Krista noticed I take to it very quickly, I have to admit I was enjoying boating very much.

I suggest you now get a refill of whatever beverage you were having. There’s one more post to go…