Looks like it isn't over for Jenna Talackova.

Various news organizations announced Wednesday morning that the beauty queen and Miss Universe Canada pageant contestant would soon be starring in her own reality-TV show. But by the afternoon, it was announced that this was not true and that someone had misspoken. During a screening of upcoming shows for Lifetime TV, a clip featuring Talackova was shown. According to the Winnipeg Free Press,"[w]hen a reporter asked if a reality show about the beauty queen was headed to Lifetime, Williams answered 'yes.'"

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The Scissor Sisters launched their latest album, Magic Hour, this week and released a new (and official) single, called "Baby Come Home."

Personally, I can't wait for them to come up with a video for "Let's Have A Kiki." Enjoy!

PrideHealth is hosting a community forum tonight at Fred, 2606 Agricola St, to discuss a recent outbreak of syphilis in Halifax.

"This is an opportunity for the rainbow community to learn what is happening with the syphilis outbreak, how big it is," says Cybelle Rieber, of prideHealth. "It's an attempt to try and change misinformation while engaging the community to be part of turning around the outbreak."

According to Rieber, there have been as many diagnosed cases of the STI in the past four months as there were last year. "We’re still waiting to see if the raise is due to more testing, or if it’s a similar number of people being tested and diagnosed positive. We’re hoping that we will have that info by the night of the forum."

On the agenda are the mechanics of how the disease spreads, as well as forms of treatment and prevention.

"Anyone can come from any community. We want to engage the pride community in all ways," Rieber says.

I love this story.

A few weeks ago it was announced that the lead singer of Against Me! had come out as trans and had started transitioning. The singer, who had chosen the name Laura Jane Grace, came out in an article in Rolling Stone. Last Friday, Grace performed for the first time since delivering the news. According to Rolling Stone:

"The quartet played six new songs, including the rollicking anthem "Transgender Dysphoria Blues," the title track of an album they're working on. Decked out in a loose-fitting black tank top, tight black jeans and black eye shadow, Grace was in high spirits as she delivered her trademark, throat-shredding screams."

Bon courage, Laura Jane. Keep 'em coming, and keep 'em strong.

Antony Hegarty, of Antony & The Johnsons fame, has recently released a new song entitled "Rise."

It features beautiful images of coral reefs and the lives that teem inside them, all set to Antony's sweeping arrangements and accompanied by his voice. The track is being used as a trailer for a documentary entitled Coral Rekindling Venus. You can download the track for free or with a donation at the website.

This is why I love Newfoundland.

A food truck in St John's, Newfoundland, has opened up, selling sausages. The name of the truck? Long Dick's Sausage Emporium.

The truck is named after the owner's ancestor, who was known colloquially as "Long Dick," to distinguish him from the other Dicks in the town.

Check out the video here. 

#atlanticpride

A couple months ago I had the chance to interview and write about blogger/curator/artist Graham Kolbeins, of Future Shipwreck fame.

Kolbeins had mentioned that he was working on a video series for a new project produced by Ashton Kutcher (yes, that Ashton Kutcher). That project is called Thrash Lab and Kolbeins' specific work is on various subcultures. The first video is about a colony of people living off the grid in California, in a place called Slab City.

The video is a mix of both gonzo and traditional journalism, with crazy characters counterpointed by Kolbeins' relaxed narration. It's not video journalism à la 60 Minutes, but the stories told in Subculture aren't stories you would find in traditional media. They are -- so far -- interesting slices of life of people you may not know about. Take, for example, the most recent episode, where Graham meets a bunch of aspiring young magicians vying for spots in a club for magicians.

Cute? Yes. Interesting? Definitely. Will I keep watching the series as they keep coming? Absolutely. And so should you.

Leave it to pop (and porn?) connoisseurs in Japan to create what is perhaps one of the greatest and strangest memes in internet history.

Remember Rickrolling? Forget that. In Japan, they have "stylish gay wrestling." Totally NSFW and totally hilarious. Someone please make real porn like this. Please.

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When I was a teenager, Edmund White was a bit of a literary hero of mine. I was saddened to hear that he recently had a stroke, his second. But it seems that he is already well on his way to recovery. White recently was featured in an article in Out magazine talking with John Irving about sexuality and literature.

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And you know, the more I hear about it, I think I should watch Anderson Cooper's show more often. I like the fact that he's not afraid to take his guests to task. Recently, he asked one of his guests to leave the stage, saying "I have nothing left to say to you." Awesome.

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Bad date story: I remember going on a date with a guy once and before we started eating, he reiki'ed his food. Well, Rob Anderson seems to have nothing but bad dates.  Really? The guest towel? 

Hot Chip has released a video for their latest single, "Night & Day," featuring a lovely cameo by a typically disaffected Terence Stamp (The Limey; Priscilla, Queen of the Desert).

The video is directed by Peter Serafinowicz, who worked with the boys on their hilarious "I Feel Better" video.

Personally, I think my favourite part of the video is when Stamp mouths the lyrics, "I don't got no Abba. I like Zapp, not Zappa." Someone, please make this into a T-shirt that I can wear when I DJ at parties.

This is a great #summerjam.

The word "diva" is often bandied about these days to describe any female pop star with a bit of flash, a bit of success and, it seems, only a bit of talent. That term used to be reserved and revered for grand dames of music: first opera, then into the pop field. Divas used to be harsh but beautiful characters, comprising mystique and charisma, larger than life not only in their careers, but in their persons and personas. They made grand sweeping gestures, became muses for artists and were emblematic of an era.

If there would be one woman who could truly reclaim the title of a musical diva, it would be Grace Jones.

This weekend Grace Jones celebrated her 64th birthday. In honour of that, a small bit of herstory is in order.

Born in Jamaica, Jones moved to Syracuse, New York, as a teenager. Not long afterward, she found work as a model. She could often be seen dancing and cavorting at Studio 54, which is where Andy Warhol spotted her and asked her to pose for him. Jones would go on to work with all sorts of artists, including Richard Bernstein (who would design many of her early album covers) and Keith Haring. She has also worked as an actress, with featured roles in Conan the Destroyer, View to a Kill and Vamp. She even did a car commercial for Citroen.

But Jones would be better known as a musician than muse, or rather, a singer. Her first album, Portfolio, was released in 1977; it included the single "La Vie en Rose," a disco cover of a Piaf classic. The album was produced by disco wunderkind Tom Moulton -- the man who is credited with creating the extended mix or edit -- who would go on to produce her next two albums. Jones would then go on to change her musical style, recording her albums in the Bahamas at Compass Point Studios, arguably one of the greatest studios of the early '80s. The sound was dubby and dirty and brought her such hits as her cover of Iggy Pop's "Nightclubbing," "My Jamaican Guy" and "Pull Up to the Bumper." Jones would change her style (and her look) once again with the recording of "Slave to the Rhythm," produced by Trevor Horn, of Art of Noise fame.

In 2008, Jones released her first album in nine years, Hurricane, which featured many of the musicians who had worked with her at Compass Point, including Sly & Robbie. She toured to promote the album, garnering good reviews as well as a lot of attention from fans and the media for her fashion statements during her performances.

Happy birthday, Miss Jones. Keep turning it out.

The woman behind the moans of "Love To Love You Baby" and the swooping vocals of "I Feel Love" has danced her last dance.

Donna Summer passed away Thursday, reportedly from cancer. She was 63.

Summer with composer Giorgio Moroder

Summer's big breakthrough came in 1975 when "Love To Love You Baby" was released on Casablanca Records. The song became such a dancefloor hit that it was re-released on her album as a 17-minute disco opus, arguably one of the first extended disco edits ever released. Summer continued to work with Moroder, and with the release of "I Feel Love" solidified her reputation as a disco queen.

The sound of her voice on disco dancefloors also helped cement her image as a gay icon. Unfortunately, due to rumours that she had pronounced anti-gay sentiments, she lost her biggest fan base for a while during the '80s. The rumours were later disproven.

For many, Summer will always be the Queen of Disco. Long live the Queen.