Anderson Cooper decided to throw in his own two cents on the recent Halifax mayoral run. Mr Cooper's choice: Tuxedo Stan, a cat (unofficially) running for the Tuxedo party, on a platform to have stray cats spayed and neutered. In his piece on the Ridiculist, Cooper states that he wishes he was invited to a dinner party in Canada, where the topic of a cat running for mayor becomes a good idea. I have a better idea, Mr Cooper. Come to dinner at my house, we can discuss the issues in Halifax's mayoral race, and then you can host a debate between the candidates.

Let's do it.

CKDU, Halifax's campus and community radio station, is hosting its annual funding drive! This year's goal is $28,000, all in the name of sustaining Halifax's independent radio station on the airwave. 

I have to admit, I love CKDU. For years, I hosted a Tuesday-morning music program called Moody Morning Music where I played whatever my heart desired. From Stereolab to The Smiths, PJ Harvey to Patti Smith and a whole lot more. It was great to reach out to people in that way.

This year's events include the third annual Halifax Is Bowling event and plenty of others, including pancake luncheons and lobby shows at the station. Check out the funding drive's calendar of events here.

It's hard enough trying to keep up with news, so we here at Down East try to make it easier for you with the Reading List. Here are some of the most interesting (and occasionally entertaining) bits of news online today.

- First things first. The mother of Andre Denny, the man accused in the death of Halifax activist Raymond Taavel, spoke to the media today, stating that her son is innocent, that the system failed her son, and compared herself to Donald Marshall's mother. Yesterday, a report published by both the justice and health departments of Nova Scotia asked for changes to the current modes of practice put in place at the East Coast Forensic Hospital. Denny was on a one-hour leave from the ECFH on the day of Taavel's death but did not return on time.

-  In a strange bit of editorializing mixed with facts, the National Post talks about the recent census data on families, stating that "The sanctity of marriage as the bedrock of the Canadian family is steadily eroding as the country’s social fabric evolves, new census data released today reveals." Okay then. 

- In other ridiculous things that were reported today, both Towleroad and Gawker posted about a supposed conversation that Paris Hilton had. Why do they (or anyone) care? Because Hilton allegedly said, "Ewww. Eww. To get f**ked? Gay guys are the horniest people in the world. They're disgusting. Dude, most of them probably have AIDS."

- In case you're depressed and disgusted by humanity, here is a video of Maya Rudolph singing Prince's "Darling Nikki" -- as in the song that made Tipper Gore mad at her daughter and the entire recording industry -- with The Roots. Amazing.

The ticket wicket is now closed.

After three years and multiple cupcakes, Michael Cyril Creighton's Jack in a Box web series is finally over. Creighton talked about the end of Jack in a previous interview with Down East in August: 

"Creating this show for the past three years has been a really important and huge part of my life. It was instrumental in my development as an actor and writer. And it has flown by. I never intended to go this long, but I just couldn't stop. It's kind of like my thing with tacos. Just. Can't.Stop."

Audiences couldn't stop watching, either, waiting to see how Jack would handle everything from new bosses to learning that his goody-two-shoed co-worker is "way pierced." Posting on his Facebook wall, Creighton said, "The final episode leaves Jack full of unsureness. I plan to take my own unsureness and use it for good. I have no idea what or when I'll create next . . . but I will. And when the time comes, I'll definitely post about it 575 times a day . . . 'in case you missed it.' Squeezies, MCC/'Jack.'"

Goodbye, Jack. Jack is gone. Long live Michael.

Mondays are often less than pleasant. So why not make it a musical, rather than manic, Monday?

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Queer singer/songwriter Frank Ocean peformed on Saturday Night Live this weekend. Ocean performed "Thinking About You" as well as "Pyramids," accompanied by John Mayer.

Cat Power, aka Chan Marshall, released a video from her new album Sun. Entitled "Cherokee," the video is directed by Marshall herself and looks like a post-apocalyptic world styled by fashionistas who spent too much time at Burning Man.

Graham Kolbeins, the blogger and filmmaker from Future Shipwreck and Thrash Lab fame, has waved his magic fairy wand once more and come up with a new video series and a new project.

Entitled Rad Queers, the project is a way for Kolbeins to combine his favourite things: queers and storytelling. "There are a lot of amazing queer people out there, and I wanted to use 'Rad Queers' as a sort of spotlight for them," he says via email. "I also just love meeting new people and getting to know their stories, and making documentaries is a great excuse to do that."

Kolbeins jokes that his spirit guides for Rad Queers are RuPaul and Ira Glass. "I'd been mulling over Rad Queers in the back of my mind for a while. I wanted to make something that explores the lives of queer people leading fiercely individual lives and doing good things."  

When Kolbeins was introduced to the Los Angeles group the Payasos, he knew he had found what and who he was looking for. Payasos are a group of gay Latino men who -- through sexy and imaginative events, as well as a little bit of clown makeup -- create a space that Kolbeins says "make the world a better place for future generations."

"I met with Leo (the founder of the Payasos) to see if he'd be interested in the documentary and he was absolutely gracious and inviting," he says. "I shot some preliminary footage with the group and presented it to a production company I'd been working with to see if they'd be interested in doing a single-day shoot with the group. The company was a little terrified of the subject matter, so I decided to film it myself without a crew or budget. It actually worked out great that way! Instead of rushing it into a single day, I hung out with the Payasos over several months and attended a wide variety of their events. I ended up getting a much more intimate and multi-faceted perspective on the group than if I'd come in with eight crew members and a van full of equipment."

When asked what he likes about the Payasos, Kolbeins is enthusiastic in describing the sheer amount of fun that he was able to view and experience during filming. "When you're in clown face, it's kind of hard to have a bad time! Random strangers on the street get excited to see you. I had my makeup done a couple of times and it was almost jarring how different people's reactions are towards you . . . it's a simple gesture that makes you feel almost like a superhero, and encourages communion with those around you."

When Sigur Rós released their last album, Valtari, they decided to go a different route in the creation of videos for the album's songs. They gave a group of artists and directors similar budgets and gave them carte blanche to create what they felt best encapsulated the feel of the songs they were given.

On their website, the band members are quoted as saying:

"We never meant our music to come with a pre-programmed emotional response. we don’t want to tell anyone how to feel and what to take from it. with the films, we have literally no idea what the directors are going to come back with. none of them know what the others are doing, so hopefully it could be interesting."

One of the most talked-about videos to come out of this collaboration was a video by Alma Har'el featuring a very naked Shia LaBeouf.

But the most recent release is perhaps the best of the bunch, with a video written by John Cameron Mitchell (Hedwig & The Angry Inch) and directed by Dash Shaw. The duo are currently working on an animated feature.

The video looks like an animation created by the love child of David Hockney and Paul Gaugin. Check it out.

A recent story out of Halifax tells of how a gay man is now facing charges, including assault with a weapon and possession of a dangerous weapon. Why? Because he pepper sprayed a 14-year-old girl who allegedly harassed his boyfriend.

According to a CBC interview with the accused, Christopher Whittle, the girl had allegedly been coming in "every few days" to his boyfriend's place of work at a local mall and would call him "a faggot, fruit whatever," according to him. He told the CBC, "After so much of this going on, and seeing how this affected [my boyfriend] – someone you love being tortured in this way, it does something to you. It really does."

Whittle claims that after hearing of and witnessing the taunts, he "snapped" and went to his car to get pepper spray, which he says he keeps for purposes of self-defence. He discharged the spray near the parking lot of the shopping mall. Whittle has also been quoted as saying that he did not know the age of the girl, believing her to be older.

The girl's father says that his daughter is not homophobic and that in fact, "Anyone who knows her knows that she is just not like that. Her godfather is gay.”

Firstly, I don't believe in violence, nor do I condone it. This is not to say that many of us, myself included, have not had urges to do or say something violent toward another when we feel that we or someone we love has been wronged. It is human to feel that we must protect those we love.  

Having said that, I don't agree with Whittle's supposed actions in pepper spraying the individual he says harassed his partner. It doesn't matter what age they are or appear to be. There are many other ways to deal with this situation. Some people might say to call the police, but then again, we don't know if Whittle or his partner would be comfortable in doing so. Whittle and his partner may have also spoken with the administration of the store or the mall, as well as the security company that patrols the mall. It is, after all, a private space that allows the public access to it; therefore, they have the right to block the person who was harassing Whittle's boyfriend.

But to me, that is not the biggest issue here.

The father of the 14-year-old girl is trying to defend his own daughter against what he perceives as a potential public smear of her reputation by branding her as homophobic.

The parents seem, at least by virtue of their comments, to be mortified by their daughter's alleged actions and are looking to reprimand her for her behaviour.  I think they should be applauded for that. Let's say that she was a victim of peer pressure and just "fell in with the wrong crowd," made a mistake,  and may even ostensibly be repentant of her actions.

But we can not say that these supposed actions were not homophobic. Because that is exactly what they were. Let's say for the sake of argument that she did indeed do these things. It doesn't matter if they are out of character for her; it doesn't remove the fact that one can make a choice to go into that store and say things that were not appropriate, warranted or deserved. Just like it's never okay to go out and pepper spray someone -- no matter what your intentions, frame of mind or character -- it's never okay to direct homophobic language toward another human being. It's never okay to be violent toward another human being in any way.

In a recent article in The Huffington Post,  a repentant Brother Ali remarks that even though he is apologetic and sincere in his remorse about his use of the word faggot in his lyrics, he knows that his actions have "left an indelible print that can not be erased." These two individuals will always be known, either publicly or privately,  as individuals who commited acts that may brand them as being homophobic or violent. This is not to say that the alleged actions by these two individuals are not worthy of acts of contrition. If anything, Whittle has already begun to do so in a very public manner in his media interview, stating that "I do regret how I handled it. I could have handled it differently." 

Dealing with homophobia and violence are difficult things. But there is always room for improvement, and part of that comes through forgiveness. It may be easier for everyone involved, including the public who reads about these stories, to forgive these two. They are the ones who will always remember and know what happened, longer than we ever will. 

Once again, proof that we live in a completely post-modern society comes to us through its most perfect of mediums, reality television.

It's been announced that RuPaul would like to work with Alana Thompson, aka Honey Boo Boo, on a duet. Xtra's own Jeremy Feist puts his two cents in as well.

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Speaking of music, the record industry is trying out all kinds of new business models in the era of the MP3. To see how quickly and effectively music is traded and treated online, The XX released their latest album as a stream. They released the website's addy to one individual, and then followed it through links, tweets, etc, to see how and where it would travel. This is how much is shared today.

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Pussy Riot is still in the news. 

According to pitchfork.com, there are plans in the works for the creation of an eBook entitled "Pussy Riot! A Punk Prayer for Freedom," with contributions by such artists as Yoko Ono, JD Samson from Le Tigre, Justin Vivian Bond and more. Members of the band/collective also recently put out a thank-you video for all the support they have received. 

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On a Friday afternoon, a staff member is putting together what they like to call “treat bags” for the night. The bags are filled with condoms, lube, a small snack and a bottle of soda. They are distributed to the city’s street-based sex workers, all done by the people at Stepping Stone.

Stepping Stone is a non-profit organization that works with street-based sex workers in Halifax. Because they are non-profit, much of their funding comes from places such as the United Way, government programs (for housing) and legal foundations (for court support). “We work with over 100 individuals on a monthly basis on all of our programs,” says Renee Ross, the executive director of Stepping Stone.

“It's hard to get people to donate and support a cause for one of the most marginalized populations,” Ross says. She notes that although they are a non-profit charitable organization, they don’t have the same cachet as others. “It's not a favourite cause for many. Finding donations and corporate sponsors is a huge challenge. We occasionally get donations of goods and services, but most of the things we need come out of our own pocket," she says. So that means a lot of the things that could potentially be donated can become costly at the end of the year. Things like condoms. "We go through 16,000 condoms a year," Ross says. 

Last year, Ross decided to create a fundraiser event for Stepping Stone. Named The Lobster Trap after a former strip club in the city, the event was a success, and so Ross decided to try to recreate that magic. This year, the event is named after the famous Peppermint Lounge. "It's a tip of the hat to the former sex workers that we still work with and support," she says. "We want to let people know that the sex trade in Halifax has a history, good and bad. We want to have a fun night and use the opportunity to get the word out."

The event is being held on Friday, Sept 28 at Michael's Bar & Grill on Young Street and features a showcase of some of the best of the city's punk scene, including The Scoop Outs and King's Eden. Ross is reluctant to say how much money she is hoping to raise ("I don't want to sound greedy," she jokes) but says that any and all funds will be greatly appreciated. 

For more information, check out the Facebook event page.