Tuesday, September 26, 2006

MADONNA UPDATE: ON THE COVER OF A MAGAZINE ...



Madonna is one of the artists chosen for the covers of Q Magazine's 20th
Anniversary Special. This special issue has 20 covers and of course
Madonna had to be one of them. The shot used is a never before
seen photo from the Steven Klein Confessions photo shoot.
It is the second time in three months that Madonna
has donned the cover of Q.

:: posted by Ray of Delight, 2:50 PM | link | 0 comments |
Where are they now?
:: posted by Ray of Delight, 1:12 PM | link | 0 comments |

Monday, September 25, 2006

MADONNA UPDATE: ANOTHER RECORD FOR THE QUEEN

US Billboard has announced that Madonna's Confessions Tour, which ended in Tokyo on September 21, is officially the highest-earning show of all time by a female artist. 1.2 million people attended the shows, making $193.7 million. The previous record was set by Cher's Farewell Tour, which played 273 shows over three years. Madonna played only 60 shows in less than five months ... I guess she really is the Queen afterall!

In other news, Madonna is threatening to no longer allow NBC to air her television special due to the fact that the network has asked her to edit-out the 'crucifixion' scene of her tour.
:: posted by Ray of Delight, 10:30 AM | link | 0 comments |
WORD OF THE WEEK

iPad (noun) - a very small, one-bedroom apartment

Background: The word iPad most certainly takes its inspiration from iPod - the popular mp3 player by Apple. The property developer that first started using the word denies any relation to to iPod, and has registered iPad as an independent trade mark.

Example: Yesterday, 11 homos gathered at my iPad for gay magazine reading, a week's worth of season premieres on video, 3 servings of take-out, and new hair styles from Peter's Mop-Top-Hair-Shop.
:: posted by Ray of Delight, 10:00 AM | link | 0 comments |

Sunday, September 24, 2006


THE END



The Atlantic film festival is over and it's time to leave film behind and get into the new TV season ... at least until the Oscar race begins!

Friday night we saw Half Nelson starring Ryan Gosling. He played a cocaine addicted high school teacher and let me tell you that sketchy has never looked so sexy! Other than looking unbearably hot, his performance was stellar and I smell oscar buzz if not an actual golden statue. It was gritty, humorous and very real.


Saturday I was one of the few people in Halifax who did not face the torrential rain to see the Stones and Kanye. I, along with Jeff and Joseph and Charles decided to go see the closing film instead. After the Wedding is a Danish film and I think perhaps it had the best acting I saw in the entire festival. It was a beautiful film and a perfect way to bid farewell to AFF.

It's not all just about the films ...

After the movie, we went back to my place to get ready for the closing celebrations. We fabulized and Charles came to pick us up again to head to Andrew's. What a party. We had intended to just stay for a drink or two and head to the closing gala but that just did not happen. We were having so much fun (and so many drinks) that we wound up staying until almost 1 a.m. At one point Andrew looked at me and said "do you think it's bad that I am 3 hours late for my own party?"


We did make it to the party a little later, and it was great. It took quite some time to get served at the bar but Joseph passed the time making friends with an older women who looked like a drag queen! I felt proud as I watched my old deli waiter from Pasta Plus in Newfoundland play drums in the band. He was fantastic and I couldn't help but think back on all those times I had him make ceasar salads and strawberry crepes ... oh how the blance of power has shifted!

We actually didn't stay at the gala very long as we got the itch for some gay dancing and so we left for Reflections. Lucky for us the rain had stopped and so our walk was a pleasantly dry one. Little did we know what a wet night we were in for ...
:: posted by Ray of Delight, 11:50 PM | link | 0 comments |
FLOOD NIGHT AT REFLECTIONS

Reflections has officially given new meaning to the expression "gay watering hole." We really thought we were being smart by missing the Stones' concert and avoiding the rain ... boy were we wrong!



The clean-up crew

After the AFF closing party we walked into Reflections and were literally up to our ankles in toilet water. They actually kept the bar opened, despite the fact that the entire bar had flooded and despite the fact that the bathrooms had to close. People who wanted to use the bathroom had to line up on the stage to use the office bathroom ... it was hilarious. They even charged a dollar extra than normal that night because it was staying open an extra hour! I think that they were in violation of some serious health codes, but considering what normally goes on at that bar I don't think the managers cared!

Most people left by 2:30 a.m., probably sickened by the fact that their shoes were now filled with god-knows-what, but like the troopers we are myself, Joseph, Chase, Brendan and his friend Andy stayed to the wee hours of the morning. The dancefloor was the only dry spot in the bar and lucky for us, we were in the mood to dance! At one point I went up to bartender Ross and said, "this is the best theme party you guys have EVER HAD!"




We had fun, despite the wetness. It turned out to be quite an interesting evening and I'm really glad I decided to stay ... and ... THAT'S ALL!
:: posted by Ray of Delight, 11:34 PM | link | 0 comments |
A GAY 'OLE SUNDAY ...

All day today was AFF detox! Myself, Peter, Jo, Jeff, Scott, Stephen, Marcus, Charles, Gilles, John Allan, and Brendan all gathered at my place to catch up on the premieres we had missed throughout the last week-and-a-half due to the festival. We had a lot of TV to watch on video, plus several shows that were coming on tonight. We also had a lot to talk about from our adventures on Saturday night. So we watched our shows, read gay magazines, gossiped, ordered Alexandria's (TWICE) and Swiss Chalet, and made a dozen or more trips to the pop machine. The gang even got to see my Eastlink beauty in action on Welcome to my Kitchen, FINALLY! It was soooo good!

Peter set up shop in our kitchen for the day, giving a "change of hair" to Jeff, Charles, Marcus and Joseph. There was some Japanese hair straightening, blow drying, cutting and styling. Joseph's was the most drastic change and he looked fantastic when it was done! In the beginning though he slightly resembled Prince Charming from the Shrek movies. He even donned Marcus' drop cloth at one point! It was a fun, relaxing day.

Everyone's hair turned out fab, the shows were great and the company was even better. We officially closed out the festival and started the new fall TV season.
:: posted by Ray of Delight, 11:23 PM | link | 0 comments |

Friday, September 22, 2006


A LOVE TO HIDE



While searching for a pic to put in this post about the gay movie I saw last night - A Love to Hide, I found the image that AFF used to promote the film in the program. I find it very interesting that they chose this one. It really goes to show what people believe gay men want to see when it comes to gay film. I guess this could also be why most gay films are such complete fluff! To see these two good looking guys with no shirts on in a locker room, most would think there is some sexual aspect to the movie. Nothing could be further from the truth. There was not so much as a single sex scene. And in fact, the two characters depicted in this photo are brothers, one of whom is straight! I found plenty of other images that they could have used, ones of real significance to the storyline, yet THIS is the one AFF chose. I guess even film festivals fall prey to stereotype marketing!

With that rant aside, I have to say that I've been really impressed by the line-up of films in this year's That's So Gay series, and A Love to Hide was definitely a great movie. In essence, it was about a gay man living in France during the German occupation of World War II. It was somewhat epic in that it involved an entire family of characters who had their own individual stories over a number of years. But the main point of the film was to address an aspect of the Holocaust that we don't normally hear a lot about - how homosexuals were affected by it.

It was a sad and disturbing story that once again made me think about how lucky I am to enjoy the freedoms I have. There were no happy endings for any of the main characters, but then I guess this was the reality of living during that period. It certainly left a clear message that we can never forget what happened, and pointed out how truly significant the Holocaust was/is to gay history. The film also delivered some interesting historical tid bits by addressing things like where the symbol of the pink triangle originated. Gay men were forced to wear pink triangle tags as clear identifiers of why they were in captivity. The triangles were pink so as to humiliate the men because pink represents femininity.

Generally, when I think of the Holocaust I think of the millions of Jews who were slaughtered. In most peoples' minds it was a Jewish attack. I generally forget about the some 100,000 gays who died in concentration camps or the thousands of others who suffered through torture. It is funny that we don't feel that connection to this major event in history ... in OUR history.

I would say that all Jewish people, no matter where they come from or whether or not they had someone in their family involved in the Holocaust, feel a connection to that event simply because they are Jewish. And yet, as a gay man I don't generally feel that connection, unless of course a movie like this one reminds me of it. This probably stems from the fact that the gay deportation intentionally went unrecognized by governments and historians. People simply refused to talk or write about that part of the Holocaust, as if it was not important. Anyone not directly impacted by the Holocaust, didn't even realize the connection even existed until much later. I guess this is why movies like this one are so important, even today.

As depressing as it was to sit through, it was an important film to see, and a great one at that!


:: posted by Ray of Delight, 9:50 AM | link | 0 comments |

Thursday, September 21, 2006

LILY

I just received the first professional photos of the newest member of my family, Lily McEvoy. The last time I saw her was the day after she was born. She's a little angel and I can't wait to get home to see her again next week!



:: posted by Ray of Delight, 10:12 AM | link | 0 comments |

THAT'S SO GAY!



"Sure it's only one o'clock!" Those were the words out of Joseph's mouth as I told him I was going home at one this morning. Already it becomes easy to tell what kind of night we had at AFF.

Myself, Jo, Jeff, Brendan and a gaggle of other Halifax gays attended the screening of a gay Spanish musical called 20 Centimeters. It was ... ummm ... interesting! Think Rocky Horror Picture Show meets Dancer in the Dark meets Grease meets Priscilla Queen of the Desert. It was about a trannie (who looked like a cross between Tim Curry from Rocky Horror, Andrea Martin and an ex of mine) who works as a prostitute so that she can have her "20 cm" cut off. Hilariously enough, she is a narcoleptic and keeps falling asleep at the oddest moments. During sleep she dreams she is a complete woman and she performs these very strange and elaborate musical numbers! It was gay, campy and gratuitous and I loved every minute of it.

A major highlight for me was when the trannie performed Madonna's True Blue as one of her musical interludes. I said that the number was actually better than Madonna's own video for the song!

My favourite line from the film: "You can't trust the Chinese! They eat cats, and cats are treacherous!"

There was also a little person in the film who I fell in love with. He was kinda hot and I turned to Brendan at one point and said, "I'd date him!" To which Brendan replied, "I was just going to say that!"

Get this gay party started...

The fun did not end when the film did. Chase and Brian joined us and we went to the Argyle for the That's So Gay Party. A few familiar homos turned up for the event. We posed for snaps on the red carpet, drank all the free vodka/Red Bull, champagne and shooters we could get our hands on (some of us drank a little more that others ... you know who you are!), and I even did an interview with Eastlink Television ... check your local listings :-)

Myself, Joseph, Dimitri, Rob, Charles and a friend, who was in town doing pyrotechnics for a movie, shut down the Argyle. We were seriously the last to leave. Jo and Dimitri were not about to let me go home so we went to another party at Tribeca. On the walk there Jo asked Charles' pyro friend which movie he was working on. He gave the title and Jo said, "what movie is that?" The pyro replied with shock, "it's only the biggest thing going on in Halifax right now." Jo looked at me, shrugged his shoulders and said, "sorry, MY BAD!"

We stayed at the party for a little while and then Jo, Dimitri and I went to Reflections "just for a peep." And a peep it was. There was barely a soul there! We quickly decided to go to pizza corner instead. I had donair pizza for the first time and it was sooooooo good! We danced and sang a little to Sexy Back, Dimitri made some sweeping racist generalizations, and then we left for home. It was definitely an "oh my god" morning when I woke up, but well worth it!

It was a gay ole time at the AFF last night. Gay film, gay friends, gay fun!
:: posted by Ray of Delight, 9:15 AM | link | 0 comments |

Wednesday, September 20, 2006

MADONNA UPDATE: MADGE MAKES "HISTORY"


Madonna will be releasing a never before heard song called History as the B-Side to her next single, Jump! And speaking of Jump, Madonna just started shooting the video for the single in Japan.

Watch for the Jump maxi-single in stores on October 10th!
:: posted by Ray of Delight, 12:00 PM | link | 0 comments |

Tuesday, September 19, 2006


HAMPSTERS AND OTHER SHORT THINGS



Tonight was the PS Atlantic Shorts Gala at the Oxford. Jake's film, Copain de Paix, was absolutely wonderful. Like the first movie, the continuing story of Copain and Henry was innocent and sweet and the visuals were stunning. I was very impressed with how much further Jake took this film compared to the last. He is very talented and I cannot wait to see what he comes up with for next year's AFF.

Mainly I go to this event to show support for Jake, but I have to say that I really enjoyed the other films in the series as well. There were three shorts from Newfoundland, one of which had a song by Ron Hynes and was narrated by Gordon Pinsent. Another had a guy in the cast who I know from my Liquid Ice days.

To keep with tradition, the night did not go without a celebrity sighting. Copain, Jake's hampster and the star of both his films, was in the back of the theatre signing autographs as we left. I gave him a humble congratulations but was too star struck to say anything more.

Afterwards Jeff, Jo and I went to the Shoe Shop. I had my first glass of red wine in a very long time and I'm afraid you were right Jo - I had a TERRIBLE headache afterwards! We discussed the films and planned for the upcoming AFF events.

20 Centimeters followed by the That's So Gay party is on tomorrow's agenda.

:: posted by Ray of Delight, 11:40 PM | link | 0 comments |
Cadbury's Rum & Butter Chocolate Bars ...

Where are they now?

:: posted by Ray of Delight, 11:45 AM | link | 1 comments |

Monday, September 18, 2006

THE AFF DIET ... SOOOOOO GOOD!

On tonight's AFF menu:

Main Course: Nachos with cheese, salsa and holy jalapeno canker sores.
House Wine: 1/2 litre Pinot de Diet Coke.
Desert: Cheesecake Secret Treat.

Can't wait for tomorrow's AFF menu selection. It's going to be soooooo GOOD!
:: posted by Ray of Delight, 10:44 PM | link | 0 comments |

VOLVER



On today's AFF schedule was Volver, a Spanish film by Pedro Almodovar starring Penelope Cruz. Jo, Jeff, Scott, Stephen all went to the movie together and I helped smuggle in the "secret" treats that Jo had brought for everyone. I knew it was going to be another good evening at AFF when the grandmother from Garfield sat next to me. I am doing really well with the celebrity sightings at this year's festival!

The movie was obviously a popular selection for AFF as the Oxford Theatre was full ... and rightfully so. It was a fantastically entertaining film. Colourful, funny, sweet, campy at times, with the undertone of some very serious issues and a touching message about family. I figured out the supposedly surprising twists very early in the film but it was still fun to watch how it all came out. Penelope, who I normally don't like, was really good (minus the lip syncing), and the actress who played her daughter was stunning. There were some loose ends that were all together forgotten about, but this seems to be Almodovar's style, and I love it.

Two pinky fingers way up for Volver, Pedro and Penelope!

Tomorrow I will go to the screening of Jake's short film, Copain de Paix . I am very excited and nervous for him. More on this and Requiem after tomorrow.
:: posted by Ray of Delight, 10:11 PM | link | 0 comments |
WORD OF THE WEEK

Rate Tart (noun) - Someone who continually switches credit card providers in order to get the lowest rates available.

The expression rate tart is derived from a combination of the word rate, 'the percentage that a bank charges or pays when you borrow money or keep it in an account,' and tart in its sense as an offensive word for a prostitute, a metaphor for financial, as opposed to sexual promiscuity.

It has been estimated that the practice of rate tarting costs the lending industry over a billion dollars a year. (Tarts on the other hand are known to make a significant profit for the pimping industry each year!)

Word of the Week is taken from the Macmillan English Dictionary.


:: posted by Ray of Delight, 2:39 PM | link | 0 comments |

THE FIRST FEW DAYS



The film festival is in full swing and I've been very busy attending the screenings and other fabulous events. On Thursday everyone came out for the opening ... drinks at Charles' and then to Argyle Street for the party. Everyone was dressed to kill for the red carpet, and Joseph and I got our picture taken with Jill Barber, one of my favourite local talents.


Friday night was Strangers With Candy. A fun film with some hilarious moments (and a very surprise appearance from Sarah Jessica Parker), yet it didn't quite live up to the hype for me. It started out good but got a little cookie cutter, teenage movie-esque towards the end. There was a great party afterwards at Ryan Duffy's Speakeasy. My celebrity cousin, Ron Hynes even made an appearance.

Saturday night was the documentary Small Town Gay Bar accompanied by the short documentary Confessions of a Drag Queen. Confessions was funny and light, which was good because STGB was anything but. It was a great documentary and I enjoyed it, but it certainly is not the type of film you want to see on a Saturday night before going out! That being said, watching the intense reality of living as a homosexal in the Southern U.S. really heightened my appreciation for the freedom I have here in Canada.

Sunday I saw On the Road with Mary, a rather poorly assembled documentary that tried to make a statement about faith and the cruelty and blindness of society. Unfortunately, it just didn't make sense and at times, was a bit of snooze fest. I did enjoy some of the commentary from the very real people being interviewed though.

The highlight so far, definitely has to be Sarah Polley's directorial debut, Away from Her. It was a beautiful and moving film that left me in tears. My favourite line from the film ... "People are too demanding. We expect to be in love every day." Sarah sat right behind us during the screening. She is raw talent in every sense of the word. I envy the vision and drive she has at such a young age. I was especially impressed by how poised and articulate she was during the Q&A session.

Tonight's film is Volver, starring Penelope Cruz, and I have a full schedule of movies and parties for the duration. It's going to be a busy week ...
:: posted by Ray of Delight, 10:00 AM | link | 0 comments |

Friday, September 15, 2006

MADONNA UPDATE: LIVE TO TELL



Madonna's television special will air on Wednesday, November 2nd at 10 p.m. on NBC. The two hour extravaganza is entitled Live to Tell: Madonna's Confessions Tour Live from London!

"I have a tale to tell ..."
:: posted by Ray of Delight, 4:40 PM | link | 0 comments |

Thursday, September 14, 2006

Don't miss my friend Jacob Owens' latest film, Copain de Paix, showing in the Atlantic Film Festival as part of the PS Atlantic Shorts Gala at 7 pm on Tuesday, September 19th at the Oxford Theatre. Click on the poster below to view the trailer for the film and see some of Jake's other fantastic work!

Buy your tickets for the film here.



:: posted by Ray of Delight, 9:54 AM | link | 0 comments |

Wednesday, September 13, 2006

BOOK CLUB: EVERYTHING IS ILLUMINATED

Last night, I finished reading the most fantastic book - Everything is Illuminated, by Jonathan Safran Foer. The writing is like nothing I've read, although there were moments it did remind me of Yann Martel's style in Life of Pi (my favourite book of all time).

I love a book that can make me laugh and cry at the same time. And I especially love a book that can leave you wondering what the hell is going on and then make everything come into focus in such a wonderful way. It was hilarious, tragic, and moving, and I would have to say, one of the best books I've read.

It's about a young man, also named Jonathan Safran Foer, as he travels to the Ukraine to learn about his family's history there, and to find the woman who supposedly saved his grandfather from the Nazis. He is led by a young translator/tour guide named Alex as well as Alex's grandfather, who both have their own histories to discover and stories to share. Their lives are all connected in some manner or meaning.

I will admit that the book makes absolutely no sense in the beginning and at various points throughout, but this is what makes it so wonderful. Even the confusing parts are made enjoyable by the laugh out loud language. And as the story unfolds the confusion can be appreciated even more as "everything is illuminated" for us in such a great way. Mainly, I loved the many messages throughout the book about war, the Holocaust, politics, religion, love, loss, history, family, friendship, courage, selfishness and the nature of man.

As I read, I was moved by some of the things the characters said and the ideas behind them. I wrote down some quotes as I read ...

About Love: "This is love, she thought, isn't it? When you notice someone's absence and hate that absence more than anything? More even, than you love his presence?"

About Death: "Death is the only thing in life that you absolutely have to be aware of as it's happening!"

About Good vs. Bad: "Everyone performs bad actions. I do. Father does. Even you do. But we are not bad persons. A bad person is someone who does not lament his bad actions."

-- About God/The Holocaust: "It is said that the Messiah will come at the end of the world," she said. "But it was not the end of the world," my grandfather said. "It was. He just did not come!" "Why did He not come?" "This was the lesson that we learned from everything that happened - there is no God." "What if it was all a challenge of your faith?" I asked her. "I could not believe in a God that would challenge faith like this." "What it if was not in His power to do anything?" "I could not believe in a God that could not stop what happened." "What if it was man and not God that did all of this?" "I do not believe in man, either!"

The book has also been made into a movie, starring Elijah Wood and I can't wait to see it.
:: posted by Ray of Delight, 11:32 AM | link | 1 comments |

Tuesday, September 12, 2006

CHRISTMAS COMES EARLY ...


Deck the halls, the 26th Atlantic Film Festival hits Halifax this Thursday, September 14th! I always say that this event is just like Christmas to me and Santa's bringing lots of goodies this year (Santa being my dear friend Mandrew). There are so many great films to choose from ... perhaps too many as there are some conflicts in my schedule, but that's half the fun!

That's So Gay has a fantastic line-up (as verified by programmer extraordinaire and personal AFF tutor, Mandrew), and there is going to be a big ole That's So Gay party this year.

My most anticipated event is my friend Jake's short film, Copain de Paix! This is the sequel to his film from last year's festival, Copain de Paris, which won the prestigious Excellence in Art Direction award. The trailer is absolutely fantastic so I can just imagine how great the film will be!

Other than the countless great films in this year's program (noteably Strangers With Candy and Half Nelson), all of the parties and receptions make it the must event of the year. I'm especially interested to see what AFF does for the Closing Gala Party this year ... it's at The Marquee.

Mandew's made his list and he's checked it twice and I like what I see ... AFF is comin' to town!

www.atlanticfilm.com


:: posted by Ray of Delight, 11:31 AM | link | 0 comments |

GET YOUR SEXY ON ...

... GO AHEAD BE GONE WITH IT!


The wait is over...

September 12, 2006 will forever be known as the day
Justin Timberlake brought Sexy Back!

:: posted by Ray of Delight, 9:19 AM | link | 0 comments |

Monday, September 11, 2006

WORD OF THE WEEK

Surcease\sur-sees; sur-SEES\, noun -- Cessation; stop; end.

With no promise of surcease in sight, Rocky continued to pound back glasses of white wine while attending a get together in Hatchett Lake. He woke up the next morning and yearned for surcease to his headache and projectile vomiting. Despite his hangover, he was determined there would be no surcease to his plans to go out and get his buzz-on again Saturday night.

Surcease comes from Old French sursis, past participle of surseoir, "to refrain," from Latin supersedere, "to sit above, to sit out," from super, "above" + sedere, "to sit."

(Word of the week is the newest Ray of Delight feature. Each Monday there will be a new word posted. Try and use it in conversation as much as you can and before you know it , the breadth our vocabulary will have no surcease :-)
:: posted by Ray of Delight, 11:44 AM | link | 0 comments |

RANDOM THOUGHTS BY MANDREW ... LIVE FROM TIFF

"As my friend Karen and I sat staring at the 20 year old girls dancing on the booths at the Drake Hotel at 3 a.m., we got to thinking: Just how many slut busses did it take to ship all these bitches in from Markham?"

Mandrew is on location at the Toronto Internation Film Festival. In addition to his random thought, I also got this text message from him on Saturday: "Samuel L. Jackson shared a VIP room with me tonight!" Love Mandrew long time ... want his life!
:: posted by Ray of Delight, 11:23 AM | link | 0 comments |

Sunday, September 10, 2006

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CHARLES!

Last night we all got together to celebrate Charles' B-Day. He is now 27 years and one thesis old.

It was a great party complete with one of Chase's famous birthday cakes, Connect Four, an all-Charles slide show, and Deb. There were a couple of celebrity sightings including a young Goldie Hawn and Olivier Martinez in some very revealing pants. A highlight of the evening for me was when Deb asked me to go to the porch and guess which shoes were hers and bring them back to her in my teeth. A pair of fabulous gold strappy heels amoung sneakers, rubber sandals and one pair of granola vintage Mary Jane's made the guessing game very easy for me!



Later we made our way downtown. We were barely inside the door when we established that Reflections officially has a new "hottest," who mesmerized us all night long on the booty box. Princess Diana was there as was the Friendly Giant ... I had to keep jumping up and down in order to see Marcus dancing behind him. We realized, to our dismay, that the EASY button was jammed. Of course, this did not stop Marcus and I from trying continually to hit it to snag the "hottest." It has become the DIFFICULT button.

Despite a lack of back to school action, it was a fun night. The music was fantastic and we really brought dance back. Most importantly Charles had a great birthday and we were happy to celebrate it with him!


:: posted by Ray of Delight, 9:50 PM | link | 0 comments |