Depending on your views, this could be a Halloween treat or nightmare.

The Advocate recently posted an article saying that 1990s comedy show In Living Color will return to television for two half-hour specials. I have to say that I was a big fan of the show. But during its original airing, one skit in particular polarized the show’s gay fans: “Men on Film,” a segment starring Damon Wayans and David Alan Grier as two gay men talking about movies, making double entendres and reviewing films with their famous “Two snaps up!”

 Although the article did not state whether the famed skit will be revived for the upcoming specials, I’m curious to know what readers think of the skits, both then and now.

If Halloween for kids is all about candy, it seems like Halloween for adults is just a reason to put on a pair of trashy fishnets, no matter if you’re queer or not.

Screenings of Rocky Horror pop up in cities all across North America, and everyone wants to be somebody else, often in the form of Frank-N-Furter, Magenta, Columbia or Rocky himself. Seems like nobody ever wants to be Riff Raff. (I always did.)

Tonight and all weekend long at Reflections Cabaret, the Dalhousie Theatre Society is putting on a live performance of the hit show/film. Performance times vary from night to night, so check out their Facebook page for more info.

If you’re looking for a screening on Friday night, University of King’s College queer student group, King’s Pride, is hosting a screening of the movie. For more info, check out their Facebook page.

For something completely different and a little less Halloween-y over the weekend, you can check out The Company House. They will be having a fundraiser for the In the Dead of Winter Festival, featuring such artists as Jenn Grant, Ryan MacGrath, Amelia Curran and more. You can buy tickets and find more info here.

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And to top it all off, a little gift for you, dear readers, as you head out toward your weekend. Jessica 6 is an electronic trio with vocalist Nomi Ruiz, formerly of Hercules and Love Affair. The track also features vocals by Antony Hegarty, whom Ruiz collaborated with on the H&LA track “You Belong.”

Have a great weekend!

Why does it always seem like everything happens on the same day? And it’s not even the weekend.

Today at Dalhousie, noted speaker and executive director of the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network, Richard Elliott, will speak on the issue of criminal prosecution in cases of alleged nondisclosure of HIV status in Canada. You can find out more info here. The lecture takes place from noon until 1:30pm at the Weldon Law Building in Halifax, 6061 University Ave in Room 207. This is a topic that Xtra has covered at length, and continues to do so.

Nineteen years ago today, the Supreme Court of Canada made a decision that changed the lives of many closeted service members. It ruled that gays and lesbians have the right to serve openly in the forces, after Michelle Douglas challenged her dismissal from the forces and won. To celebrate, the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic will offer free admission to its Hello Sailor exhibit and will have guest speaker Frank Letourneau on hand. Letourneau was discharged under the same regulations and will talk about his experiences.

In other news, have you read this? It’s an article about the history of Pink Triangle Press.

You really, really should.

Attention, all queens, queers and former denizens of the Continental Baths:

Bette Midler is auctioning off some of her things.

You can thank me later, or bitch me out because you are now broke.

 

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

#culturalstereotypingnowfulfilled

 

It's amazing what will pop up on your dashboard.

Screen grab from The Daily Beast.

Andrew Sullivan, a noted political commentator, is often credited as being both openly gay and openly Catholic. These two adjectives may be perceived by both queer and non-queer audiences (not to mention audiences of faith and those who are without religious beliefs) as being at odds with each other. But in this video, Sullivan tries to clear the air and explain why and who he is.

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And now for something completely different:

Duck Sauce, the brains behind the über-hyped sampladelic club track "Barbra Streisand" have just come out with a new video for their latest release, "Big Bad Wolf," which gives a distinctively different context to the term "dick head."

 

Click on image to view the video.

Duck Sauce is composed of Montrealer A-Trak and Armand Van Helden. Van Helden is best known for dancefloor bangers such as "The Funk Phenomena" and remixes of work by such artists as Tori Amos and Sneaker Pimps (for which he is blamed for popularizing speed garage, a genre that died as quickly as it rose).
Enjoy this NSFW treat.

Over the weekend, I had a vision. It was dressed in glittery silver pumps, a sequined gown and a wig that was a foot high. My vision, a talented young drag performer, was getting ready to go on stage. She was well put together, her makeup flawless, her wig properly pouffed and her manners refined and rehearsed. While her drag momma was helping her put on her eyelashes (she was wearing special contacts and was having a hard time doing detailed work), I told her she looked like a young Ronnie Spector.

“Who’s that?”

My vision soon became blurred.

I asked her a series of questions: Do you know who Ethel Merman is? Dusty Springfield? Nope. No. I felt a little at odds. “Where is your sense of history,” I said. She admitted her ignorance but vindicated herself when I mentioned that Spector had sung with the Ronettes. “Didn’t they sing ‘Be My Baby,’” she asked. She joked with me when I asked her if she knew who Etta James was, saying, “Didn’t Beyoncé play her in a movie?” She winked at me.

Her momma looked at me and rolled her eyes. “I’ve tried,” she said. Her momma and I went on to talk about Carol Channing’s raspberries, Merman’s heinously bad disco record (and how we both loved it) and Stevie Nicks’s bleat-iful voice.

How could a performer not know who paved the way for her? I’ve always made a point of digging deeper, digging back, no matter what the subject. From my background in journalism and researching the history of a person or an event, to crate-digging in record stores, looking for the links from my favourite house track, to a disco backbeat, to the funk and soul records that came before it (and so on, and so on, and so on).

I shrugged it off and went back to what I was doing. I thought about my beautiful up-and-comer. There was no denying the talent that this performer has. She does a better Amy Winehouse than Winehouse could do herself. And then she came on stage, performing a ridiculously campy and fun number to a song I didn’t know.

It was then it donned on me, that maybe because I was stuck in the past, I couldn’t see the future. History is made of consecutive presents. Who am I to say who will and will not be the next gay icon? Who is to say who is and is not worthy of drag treatment? Not me. I wasn’t the one on stage, channelling heartache, camp and drama for the world to behold. She was.

So I give it up to that bejewelled and brazenly coiffed diva-in-training. I’ll make you a deal. You show me the future, and I’ll show you the past. Deal?

There’s something for everyone this weekend in Halifax.

As previously mentioned, the Halifax Pop Explosion is going on, with events at various spaces and places across HRM.

For something a little different, Pink Velvet Burlesque is putting on a burlesque show this weekend at Menz & Mollyz. Black Stocking Theatre: Revamped is a continuation of the troupe’s regular Hallowe’en shows. Vamps, Ghouls and all sort of sexy characters will be present. There will be two shows, tonight (Friday the 21st) and Saturday the 22nd. Show starts at 8 pm.

On the other side of town, the Nova Scotia Rainbow Action Project is hosting a fundraising gala and awards ceremony. The event takes place on Saturday, October the 22nd, at the Marriott Halifax Harbourfront.

The gala is hosted by Candy Palmater - who was recently featured on this site - with keynote speaker Matt Alber. The evening will also present two community awards to two local heroes, Maggie Haywood of Venus Envy and Northwood, a living community for seniors.

For more information about Pink Velvet Burlesque's Black Stocking Theatre, check out their Facebook page.

For more information about NSRAP's Gala, check out their website.

A lot can change in a week.

Namely, I have already gotten used to writing these daily blogs.

But I could use a little help. Here’s where you come in.

I’ve been researching and Googling and digging around looking for stories, events, anecdotes and more from readers here in Atlantic Canada. There is a lot going on here, but I can’t do it without your help. If you know or hear of any interesting community events, please don’t hesitate to contact me. You can follow me on Twitter, or you can email me. I’m looking forward to hearing from you.

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Today is a day to dig out purple. Even if it’s only your underpants.

Today marks the second annual Spirit Day. Spirit Day was started when a teenaged girl from Ontario, Brittany McMillan, took to her Tumblr account and asked people to wear purple on Oct 20 in remembrance of the recent rash of publicized gay teen suicides across North America.

The idea and the event gained steam quickly online, with more than one million people signing up to the event on Facebook. When the day came, everyone from students in schools to celebrities such as Kim Kardashian donned purple garb.

If you’re looking to participate beyond your fashion choices, you can tweet about it by using the hashtag #spiritday on your Twitter account and through other forms of social media.

This week in Halifax is the Halifax Pop Explosion. There are two shows that I really want to attend, and they couldn’t be any different.

The first is a DJ set by Juan MacLean. The second is a live performance by Fucked Up.

Juan MacLean, aka The Juan MacLean, aka John MacLean, is a musician, producer, DJ and singer/songwriter who started his career in post-hardcore band Six Finger Satellite. After the group disbanded, MacLean went on to record electronic music under the moniker of Juan MacLean, his efforts released by DFA Records. MacLean’s anthemic “Happy House” is a cosmic love binge made for dancefloors.

MacLean is also well recognized as a DJ in his own right, having recently released a mix CD on connoisseur label !K7’s DJ-Kicks series. He also recently released a 12-inch via DFA under the name of Peach Melba, the track being a love song to glitzy Chicago house.

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The other upcoming HPX 2011 performance that has me excited can be summed up in a simple image:

Fucked Up is a Toronto-based hardcore band, fronted by one Damian Abraham, aka Pink Eyes, aka Father Damian. The band is known for its aggressive tendencies, both in its music and its live performances, where Abraham is known to strip down to next to nothing and bash beer bottles on his head.

Harder-edged music hasn’t been this interesting since Iggy Pop was covering himself with broken glass.

But my admiration of Abraham is less about his music and more about his persona off the stage. Sure, I’m looking forward to the possibility of dropped trousers, but Abraham has made a name for himself as an intelligent and articulate man who has a degree in gender studies and has commented on Fox News. He’s even been known to appear with kid-friendly phenom Yo Gabba Gabba. Abraham is also the current host of MuchMusic’s The Wedge, where his honest enthusiasm for his interview subjects and “aw shucks” self-effacing quality is in large supply.

We, as a music-loving audience, are better for it.

Fucked Up performs an all-ages show at The Pavilion, as well as a 19-plus show at The Palace on Saturday, Oct 22. The Juan MacLean plays at The Palace on Friday, Oct 21.
Check out the HPX schedule for more info.

 

Actor/writer/artist/student/jack-of-all-trades James Franco recently directed a film called Sal, about the life of actor Sal Mineo. The film opened at the Venice Film Festival in September.

Mineo is best remembered for his performance as Plato in 1955’s Rebel Without a Cause. When I first heard about Sal, I was excited. Mineo, as an actor and a celebrity, has always fascinated me. The first time I watched Rebel Without a Cause, all I could think about was how the most rebellious act in the film wasn’t the fights between youths or the hyper-aware Jim Stark (as portrayed by James Dean) trying to explain why he’s so unhappy. It was the bond between Jim and Plato.

Fast forward to the 5:40 mark for a touching moment between Dean and Mineo.

I wondered what it would’ve been like to have been a gay kid living in the 1950s and seeing Mineo look at Dean in a way that only I probably picked up. It was almost like the film spoke in a secret code or handshake. Mineo’s depiction of Plato – a misunderstood and undervalued young man – could even be considered to be a parable for his career. Mineo was often typecast as “the troubled one.” He even tried to play a more dangerous side to this type in the 1965 film Who Killed Teddy Bear?

Mineo’s career stalled somewhat in the late 1960s. But the role that may have pigeonholed him is also that which makes him memorable. I, for one, am anxiously waiting for Sal to finish its tour of the festival circuit and find its way into theatres.