Saturday 30 June 2012

Time for One More Pride Party!


Well, another successful Translesbigayapalooza draws to a close . . . . Thanks, everyone, for reading and commenting all month long! I love hearing from all you translesbigay peeps and all you straight-but-not-narrow folks too!


This calls for one last Pride party to end the month on a fun note! Go on, help yourself to a nice, big slice of rainbow cake. It has no calories . . . honest!


Friday 29 June 2012

Farewell, Akbar and Jeff!


Long before he invented The Simpsons, Matt Groening created an ongoing comic strip called Life in Hell which has been syndicated in many alternative newspapers since 1977. The strip also generated a lot of books and calendars during the 1990s.

Life in Hell was one of the first syndicated strips to feature gay characters. I've always loved this cartoon's crazy couple, Akbar and Jeff, with their matching Charlie Brown t-shirts and red fezzes. As Groening explains: "Akbar and Jeff are either brothers or lovers -- or both. Whatever offends you most, that's what they are." They fight constantly but always end up skipping off together holding hands.

But alas, the alternative newspaper biz is not what it used to be. Due to an ever-shrinking number of publications, Life in Hell is officially ceasing production in mid-July after 1,669 installments.

So farewell, Akbar and Jeff, as you skip off together into the sunset! I'll miss you boys!


Thursday 28 June 2012

Christian Funnies Blowout!

Well, here we are -- nearly at the end of June and the conclusion of this year's Translesbigayapalooza! And like an overstocked shoe store, I have too many Christian funnies left over. So here's my one-day-only inventory blowout at fire sale prices! Whatta deal!







Wednesday 27 June 2012

Kwan Yin: The Original Gender Outlaw

The Buddhist bodhisattva Kwan Yin embodies the Divine Feminine. She is the Goddess of Compassion -- her very name means "She Who Hears the Cries of the World." Beyond this characteristic, however, Kwan Yin is a much more complex being.


Kwan Yin originated in India as a male deity and was brought to China in that form. Ancient representations of Kwan Yin often include a pencil-thin mustache and a small goatee. But because compassion and mercy were categorized as "feminine" virtues, portrayals of Kwan Yin got progressively effeminate over time as artists tried to capture that essence in their work. During the Song Dynasty (about 1000-1200 C.E.), Chinese artists just threw in the towel completely and turned Kwan Yin into a woman.


So today Kwan Yin is a willowy figure in a flowing white dress and veil, with the hairdo and jewelry of a beautiful woman. But, in recognition of Her male origins, She is always portrayed as completely flat-chested. Unlike virtually every other representation of the Divine Feminine, there are no big breasts for Kwan Yin! She is the most androgynous of all spiritual beings.

Her journey from one gender to the other mirrors the transgender journey that so many people undertake today. Taking our cue from Kwan Yin, mercy and compassion should always be our response to that most profound of all transformations. It is quite literally a divine journey.

Tuesday 26 June 2012

Yes, Canadians are Smug!


And not only do we enjoy same sex hipster cred, hockey is still OUR game, dammit!


But we look forward to the day when same sex couples all over the world can tie the knot and pass around the rainbow wedding cake. Be it so!


Maybe even someday a gay wedding between NHL hockey players!

Monday 25 June 2012

Lesbians and Cats


It's no secret that many lesbians luuuuuuuuv cats. And it's a reciprocal love affair. A popular button and t-shirt from a few years ago proclaimed that "4 out of 5 cats prefer lesbians!"


Leaving aside the obvious jokes about petting pussies, I think lesbians love cats because cats are:
  • beautiful and sensual,
  • extremely independent,
  • willful,
  • demanding, in the cutest possible way, and
  • more than capable of defending themselves.
Cats always put their own interests first and don't take crap from anybody. And their purring is irresistible.


Just like most lesbians, in fact!

Sunday 24 June 2012

Friday 22 June 2012

Rural Prairie Pride


I've often mentioned on this blog that I grew up in a little one-horse prairie town in Manitoba. When I was a kid, our "bright lights, big city" was the small nearby city of Brandon. It was (and still is) a very conservative place focused on traditional rural values like farming and family. Not known to be particularly gay friendly. So imagine my surprise when I recently read in the Winnipeg Free Press online edition that . . .  could it be? . . . GLBTQ Pride has come to Brandon!

The Brandon Summer Fair is held every June and a parade has long been part of its festivities. Starting in 2011, a few out members of Brandon's Pride Committee now march as participants in the summer fair parade. As one Pride marcher stated, "It's largely farm equipment and horses and us." But the Pride marchers have been well received so far, getting "a few discreet thumbs-up from parade-watchers and even big hoots of support from a group of seniors."

I never thought I'd see the day. Way to go, Brandon!

Wednesday 20 June 2012

Glorious Sunshine

Happy Summer Solstice! Who doesn't enjoy the longest day of the year and all that glorious sunshine? So celebrate the sun in your own way today. Maybe do some ritual sun worship . . .


. . . or dress up in a crazy costume and embody the sun yourself!


Or just find your favourite sunbeam and have a nice snooze.


Or write a blog post!



Monday 18 June 2012

The War of 1812


Two hundred years ago today on June 18, 1812, the United States declared war on Great Britain. The U.S. was just a young nation then and Britain was the world's main superpower, so it was a bold move. Since Canada was a British colony, it meant we were at war with the United States too.

The War of 1812-1814 is one of the world's oddest conflicts because both sides are convinced they won. In actual fact, the war was essentially a stalemate. Neither Britain nor the U.S. really gained or lost very much by it.

However, for Canada, the War of 1812 is of critical importance because we successfully repelled the foreign invasion of our country by American troops who made several attempts to seize both Upper Canada (Ontario) and Lower Canada (Quebec). These victories set us on the path to ultimate nationhood and sovereignty later in the 1800s.

The War of 1812 also has personal significance for me because my Upper Canadian forebears were caught up in the conflict. Some served in their area's local militia. My great-great-great grandfather Samuel Green was killed at the Battle of Stoney Creek in 1813. Like so many settlers on the Niagara peninsula, he was a United Empire Loyalist fighting against his former American countrymen.

So over the next couple of years, I will write periodic posts marking major events in the War of 1812-1814 as their bicentennial anniversaries arise. Stay tuned in October for the Battle of Queenston Heights!

Sunday 17 June 2012

Saturday 16 June 2012

a SHOCKING Gay Kiss


Where, oh, where will all this perversity lead?

Friday 15 June 2012

The Mystery of Puberty, Part 2


The other girls' astonishing and inexplicable transformation at puberty remained a mystery to me until I was grown up and finally understood my true lesbian nature. Then everything fell into place and I finally understood.

When all those girls hit puberty, it jump started their heterosexual orientation. I reached puberty too but no heterosexuality kicked in for me. Boys remained the complete doofuses they always had been, as far as I was concerned. Why on earth would anyone go all gaga over them?

It probably speaks to my good self-esteem or perhaps my big ego that never once did I think that perhaps there might be something wrong with me. Oh no, it was the other girls. They were all weirdos. I knew I was perfectly fine. And I was, LOL! A perfectly fine young lesbian, although one who was completely clueless about that fact.

Thursday 14 June 2012

The Mystery of Puberty, Part 1


How well I remember the summer when all the adolescent girls in my class at school simultaneously hit puberty!

The previous June when the school year ended, all the girls were just like me. We were interested in  everything -- school, books, art, sports, growing up and achieving our best. In September when we came back after the summer break, all the other girls were suddenly concerned with one thing only -- boys. Previously intelligent girls started pretending to be dumb and uninterested in books or school. "Everyone knows that boys don't like girls who are smarter than they are." The girls all started dieting and obsessing about their looks.

For the life of me, I could not understand this sudden and inexplicable change. It was like aliens had come down from the sky and hijacked all their brains. Why were they acting so weird? I was still the same as always -- why weren't they?

Tomorrow . . . mystery solved! (eventually)

Wednesday 13 June 2012

So . . . a threesome, then?


Who knew Methodists were so kinky?

Tuesday 12 June 2012

Rainbow Dogs Pride Post

Do you really know what your pooches get up to when you're not home?


Hey! A whole new meaning for "doggy style!"


Sometimes, dogs discover alternative lifestyles completely by accident . . . .



Monday 11 June 2012

Rainbow Cats Pride Post

Hello everyone! Her Royal Highness the cat here. You silly self-centred humans don't realize this but GLBTQ pets are all around you. In your homes. At the park. All over your neighbourhood. Pooping in your flower beds and on your lawns.

And we celebrate Pride Month too! Today we'll hear from the Rainbow Cat Community . . .




. . . and tomorrow the Rainbow Dogs will bark!

Sunday 10 June 2012

The Lake of Fire

During Alberta's recent provincial election, much controversy swirled around an unsuccessful right-wing Wildrose candidate and Christian pastor who wrote a blog post saying that all gays will burn in a "lake of fire" for eternity. He also called the Edmonton Public School Board "profane" and "wicked" for its anti-bullying policy to protect sexual minority students and staff.

So, needless to say, here's the hottest T-shirt at Edmonton's Pride Festival this year: