Take a peek

There’s lots to look at today, especially for movie buffs who’ll now strive to take in all the films nominated for Oscars yesterday. Surprisingly, “The Dark Knight” was left out of the major categories (except for the posthumous nod to Heath Ledger on the anniversary of his death — a lovely coincidence) and “Milk” did better than expected, though still short of the whopping 13 nominations for “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.” That movie has apparently inspired a lot of hatred and boredom but it’s exactly the kind of well-photographed actor’s showcase the lazy Academy voters love. Let’s just hope Brad Pitt remains unzipped when he collects his Oscar!

Meanwhile, LA gossip site Defamer says, “In honor of the Oscar nominations, we’re launching a new feature: Movie
Montages You’ll Never See at the Academy Awards
. What better way to
kick things off than with this steamy gallery of men kissing?” Can’t argue with that!

No sign of Toronto Mayor David Miller in that montage but he is in Los Angeles, trying to woo back Hollywood film production with tales of the 79-cent loonie. The real Canadian success story today however is the revamped website for the National Film Board — hundreds of classic short films, cartoons, documentaries and film clips are now available to view on the site. I got a big kick out of the homoerotic 1960 exercise documentary “I Was a Ninety-Pound Weakling” but it’s the hilarious Oscar-winning classic “The Big Snit” that will always make my heart swell with patriotic pride.

Speaking of swelling, it turns out there’s a lot more homosexuality in Iran than we’d figured — despite their government’s attempts to kill them all.

Hey kids! Still hoping to meet that daddy of your dreams? Former “family values” Republican (and IM enthusiast) Mark Foley now has a Facebook page! Poke away!

 

I’m gonna go out on a limb and declare this the week’s weirdest news headline: “Former French President Chirac hospitalised after mauling by his clinically depressed poodle”

And finally, some straightforward eye candy — both nerdy (the outdoor webcam collection made for a James Bond villain) and musclebound (the next phase in the “Surf Camp” vote):

A former editor of the late, lamented fab magazine, Scott has been writing for Xtra since 2007 on a variety of topics in news pieces, interviews, blogs, reviews and humour pieces. He lives on the Danforth with his boyfriend of 12 years, a manic Jack Russell Terrier, a well-stocked mini-bar and a shelf of toy Daleks.

Keep Reading

Samantha Josephs in front of the cover of 'Carrying'

Samantha Josephs gets dirty

The author of “Carrying” talks writing erotica, trans pregnancy—and her novel’s upcoming movie adaptation
A cartoon of two people standing close together; one is holding a puppy, the other is holding a book

How a Canadian kids’ book became the centre of a U.S. Supreme Court case

“Pride Puppy” was written to highlight the joy of Pride. It became a political flashpoint
A cartoon of people raising their fists with police officers facing them. There are flowers in the background

Queer censorship isn’t new in Canada, but we’ve won the fight before

Key figures from censorship fights in the 20th century reflect on what we can learn from them today
A cartoon of a nondescript personified animal riding a horse

Trans Albertans are strong. We aren’t going anywhere

Trans Albertans reflect on what makes their home province special, even in the wake of Premier Danielle Smith’s legislative attacks and book restrictions
Advertisement