Posts Tagged “canada”
I first heard of Jully through a duet with fellow Canuck Serena Ryder (”My heart cries for you”). Now Canada’s queen of R&B has a new album, and a new single that stands for liberty and freedom. Check out the stylish video for “Running” that was directed by Marc André Debruyne. Jully Black has been nominated for multiple Juno Awards over the last few years, and won Best R&B/Soul Record of the Year in 2008.
On November 23, Jully Black will be releasing her third studio album “The Black Book.” First single “Running” is a bit of a cry for tolerance and change. “Our liberty and freedom is what we should stand for. The situation is hostile, the people need answers. Seconds away from rebellion, you gotta do something,” she proclaims.
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Posted by: punksmurf in Music, tags: canada, death
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).
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Click this link for more info.
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… 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?’”
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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.
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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:
The newest breed of roller derby player sports a beard, answers to “Quadzilla” and never, ever wears fishnet stockings.
This rare species will be introduced to Canadian audiences next week, when Canada’s only men’s roller derby team faces their American rivals in Victoria. It’s their first match on home turf, and those expecting to see scantily clad young men clobber each other while rolling around on roller skates will be severely disappointed.
“We’re just guys playing a women’s game,” says the team’s founder, Jeff Tichbourne, of Vancouver.
Thirty years after the derby craze of the 1970s meant that both men and women could make money playing the rough-and-tumble sport on television, the sport has been redefined. Modern roller derby is athletic, overwhelmingly female and its campy sex appeal is about to go mainstream: Wh ip It, a roller derby drama that marks Drew Barrymore’s directorial debut and stars Halifax native Ellen Page, will debut next week at the Toronto International Film Festival.
But with women hogging all the fun in recent years, perhaps it’s no surprise that men are elbowing into the fray.
Despite some criticism from women’s teams, the number of men’s roller derby leagues in the United States has grown from zero to 20 in less than three years, according to the Men’s Derby Coalition, an umbrella organization representing North American leagues. They include the New York Shock Exchange, Harm City Homicide in Baltimore and the Minneapolis Twin City Terrors.
The Canadian Maple Beats, as they are known, are about a dozen guys hailing from Vancouver, Montreal, Edmonton and Saskatoon. By day, they are fathers, husbands, entrepreneurs and custodians. On the rink, they are the Dutch Dangler, Mickey Mental and Referee Dalmer: speed demons who pummel their opponents while trying to score points by lapping members of the rival team. “It’s a train wreck out there,” says Mr. Tichbourne, also known as Noah Backtalk.
The Canadians started a year ago, when Mr. Tichbourne discovered that men’s leagues were cropping up in American cities but not in Canada.
He began recruiting male referees from the women’s circuits in Western Canada. Most who responded had been introduced to the sport by their wives or girlfriends, and were either referees or devoted fans.
They played their first bout a year ago against the Puget Sound Outcasts, an experienced men’s team based in Everett, Wash. Almost as soon as the so-called “Border War” got rolling, however, the Beats were in trouble.
“Honestly, the group of us that went down from Edmonton, I would say, we didn’t have any business playing,” says Mike Baker, a recruiter for an environmental safety company. “We all thought, we’ve been around the game. We can skate. We assumed that we could do it just as well as the women. But we didn’t have the same experience.” Adds Dave (Googie Gruesome) McGugan of Edmonton: “We got our butts handed to us.”
They hobbled away sore and bruised: One player took a skate to the eye, another suffered a serious shoulder injury.
It was a painful reminder that since 2000, derby has evolved from a grassroots movement into a serious sport. Good teams practice two or three times a week, with some players adding cardiovascular and weight training to their workouts. There are also drills and strategy, which include hitting people properly, learning how to take hits, how to fall and not get too injured.
Determined to improve, the Beats held a boot camp in the spring. A few players travelled to tournaments in Boston and Minnesota, and the team also added more players from Saskatoon and Montreal.
A rematch with the Puget Sound Outcasts has been set for Sept. 19 in Victoria. “I think we’re going to beat them,” Mr. Tichbourne says. “I really do.”
The rules and scoring system are identical for men’s and women’s games, but there are other differences. The guys don’t bother with sexy outfits: T-shirts and mesh shorts are worn along with helmets, mouth guards, knee and elbow pads – and a cup (highly recommended).
And while the women’s game can be extremely strategic, Mr. Tichbourne says the men’s game is more about brute force.
“It’s not for the squeamish,” says Nolan O’Dell, or the Lord’s Thug, of Saskatoon.
Despite the growing enthusiasm for men’s derby, most guys have said they’ve gotten flak from female players, who disapprove of men invading a sport that they have struggled to establish.
“They don’t like it,” Mr. McGugan says. “They think that others are going to think: It’s not a real sport until guys start to do it.”
Caroline Stoeser, a member of Hamilton’s Hammer City Rollers who goes by the name Mean Little Mama, says she’s heard other female players complain, but she welcomes them. “I like to watch the men because they’re harder hitting.”
Besides, she says, women have nothing to worry about: If given the choice, most derby fans would rather watch women go at each other. Mr. Tichbourne agrees. “We’ll always be the half-time show or the first bout of a double-header.”
Male players do have fans, however. Most of them are derby girls out to cheer on their friends and partners, including Mr. Tichbourne’s wife, Jen Boose, who goes by the derby name Lamb Baste-Her.
“She thinks it’s an absolute blast to watch me get my butt kicked,” Mr. Tichbourne says.
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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!
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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?
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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.
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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.
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