Punk Smurf pens a bilingual blog

Currently listening to Fleetwood Mac (album: Greatest Hits)

Apparently, I’m not entirely fashion impaired: Canadians are warming up to Electra Bikes. Hee! Mine’s not an Electra (a Schwinn, maybe?) but resembles the Punk model from the Cruiser collection. Check out the site.

You’ve probably read about it or seen it on the news: hurricane Bill is set to lash Nova Scotia in about 12 hours. The Armdale Yacht Club, home of Foxglove, made today’s newspaper. Read the article here.

The Canadian Press: Beach goers flock in the thick fog to watch the approaching waves on Lawrencetown Beach, N.S.

Further south Florida Governor Charlie Crist half-joked to a group of real estate agents that the state’s lack of hurricane activity is because God is listening to him. Uh yea, mr. Crist, can you spell idiot?

Another thing that possibly hasn’t escaped your attention is the controversy surrounding 18-year-old Caster Semenya. Breaking records and winning gold, she’s not to enjoy her 15 seconds of fame.

The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) subjected Semenya to a gender verification process both in her native South Africa, and since her arrival in Berlin. The official investigation could take weeks to draw conclusions with an endocrinologist, a gynaecologist and a psychologist all involved.
What baffles me is the following statement by someone of the IAAF: “It’s a medical issue. It’s not an issue of cheating. We’re more concerned for the person not to make this something which is humiliating for her and something which is going to affect her in a negative way. This is why you will appreciate we have to be discreet. She is a human being who was born as a woman and who has grown up all her life as a woman but who is now in a position where this is being questioned.”
WTF?! Pardon my language, but the medical issue actually trumps cheating?
Even though I’ve read about Semenya being used to this ridicule (apparently, she once asked a police officer who stopped her outside the ladies room if she needed to drop her pants to prove she’s a woman) I can’t help but feel sorry for her; she should be celebrating her gold medal - like fellow sprinter Bolt - but instead she’s being scrutinized, and disrespected by some of her peers. Anyhow, this inspired me to write a new column on gender for EurOut.

In the meantime writer this article is a shining example of how some people need more than just a sensitivity training (how rude is that?!), while in Australia two trans men have won a court appeal allowing them to be legally recognized as men without having to have their female reproductive organs removed. And star of the Rocky Horror Show, Richard O’Brien, has suggested that society should allow people to grow up and not feel like they have to conform to a certain gender. Read that article here.

I also read about a gay and trans recruitment day by Scottish police. Although I am all for equal opportunity, I also wonder why they have to have a seperate recruitment day. The people coming in that day could be the proverbial sitting ducks: ignorant homophobes and religious hate mongers know where to go to for a bit of fun…

In response to the report from Human Rights Watch that came out earlier this week, CNN talks to gay Iraqis about the atrocities being committed by militias in that country, and the hundreds of executions that have happened since 2004. Watch a clip here.

CSI creator Anthony Zuiker, friends with co-founders Missy and Sean Suicide, called on the Suicide Girls to do a photoshoot for the release of his new cross-platform Digi-Novel, Level 26: Dark Origins. Read more on it here.

About a week and a half ago I came across a lesbionic-ish video on 8Asians.com that was banned from YouTube. Read the post and watch the video, but be warned it may be NSFW! It certainly is an attention grabber, eh? Hopefully, the upcoming feature film The People I’ve Slept With is just as interesting.

Finally, I go back to Nova Scotia to end this post on a happy/positive note. It’s good to know there are still plenty of decent people out there who pass it on to their children. The article of a bunch of kids rescuing a stranded dolphin is heartwarming, eh?

The Canadian Hurricane Centre in Nova Scotia has issued its first bulletin about hurricane Bill, confirming the storm will have an impact on Atlantic Canada on Sunday.

The centre says Bill is expected to transition into a tropical storm by 9 p.m. Atlantic Time on Sunday as it tracks well south of Nova Scotia, churning out maximum winds estimated at 148 kilometres per hour. Once a Category 4 storm, Bill has weakened to a Category 3 but has the potential of strengthening again.

The Canadian Hurricane Centre’s website — www.hurricanes.ca — includes advice on how to prepare for severe weather, as does a site offered by Public Safety Canada at www.getprepared.ca.

Let’s hope it won’t be a repeat of hurricane Juan (in 2003), which lashed Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and parts of New Brunswick. A Category 2 hurricane, its sustained winds reached at least 154 kilometres per hour, causing $100 million in damage, mostly in Nova Scotia.