Although it's two months away, I already know what I want for Christmas.

A Damian "Pink Eyes" Abraham Throbble-Head.

I've written about Damian for Xtra before and mentioned him here on this blog, so the fact that I am a fan is no real surprise.

The "Throbble-Head" is made by Aggronautix, which has also created bouncy plastic effigies of such counter-cultural icons as Jello Biafra, GG Allin and Wendy O Williams. Abraham is quoted on the site as stating, "To know that I will now be able to stand myself shoulder to shoulder (on a toy shelf) with my heroes like Jeff Clayton, Keith Morris and J Mascis has made all the nights away from my family and stitches in my head worth it."

Abraham has joked about the bobble-head on his Twitter feed, saying that he is now available in a "home version" and posting such things as, "Now my Bobblehead can beat my son's Blue Jay Bobblehead's asses!"

It's nice to be reminded that just because you don't fit a certain paradigm doesn't mean that you don't fit at all.

In a recent story posted on The Atlantic's website, the author discusses the recent changes and publication of the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, or DSM-5. This is the same manual that did not fully remove homosexuality as a psychological illness or condition until 1987. The author, Amelia Rachel Hokule’a Borofsky, demonstrates that the same desire amongst gays and lesbians to have the DSM changed is now being echoed by people who identify with the transgender spectrum, specifically around the diagnosis of gender identity disorder:

"It is hard not to see the parallels between the diagnosis of homosexuality and the latest heat around gender identity disorder (GID). At the annual APA meeting in San Francisco in 2009, protesters once again gathered to lobby against continued inclusion of this diagnosis in the DSM-5. During the comment period, GID received more comments than any other diagnosis up for discussion. It's worth reading the entire diagnosis, but the last version of the manual, the DSM-IV (TR), identifies the disorder as "a strong persistent cross-gender identification ... [and] a repeatedly stated desire to be, or insistence that he or she is, the other sex." Basically, the diagnosis is "transgendered."

One theme that Borofsky mentions in her article is how the DSM-5 is essentially a distillation of Western ideology around gender and sexuality. She goes on to mention that many other cultures don't ascribe to binary gender norms:

Native activist and scholar Will Roscoe found documentation of third and even fourth genders in more than 150 North American tribes. In Samoa, the term fa'afafine refers to a biological man who lives as a woman. Samoans appreciate fa'afafine for their hard work and dedication to family, and for the large part offer them social acceptance. 

Perhaps it is Western society that needs to have its head examined more closely and not the people it wishes to diagnose as "ill" simply for being who they are.

A little bit of Halloween weekend boogie for you.

Giorgio Moroder, the architect of disco and countless other genres of music that grew forth from disco, has joined SoundCloud, the music-sharing site. The tracks on the site range from his early 1960s experiments to such wonders as "Chase." The website's collection is a must for any serious Moroder fan, and for electronic and dance-music aficionados as well.

In other musical news, DJ and producer JD Twitch is releasing a new single this Tuesday, a reimagining/cover/palimpsest of musical wunderkind Arthur Russell's "Is It All Over My Face." The track, which features that signature opening beat, is titled "Is It All Over the Place." As the original lyrics would say, "It's got me love dancing."

Talent lovers and seekers, drag queens and kings, poets and performers: many have graced the stage at Halifax's 5 Minutes of Fame. 

Unfortunately, that stage is a little quiet right now. Or rather, it's been lost.

Host Eureka Love recently announced on the show's Facebook page that 5 Minutes will no longer be hosted at Reflections Cabaret. When contacted by Xtra, Love stated that the bar wanted to go in a different direction. Love, who has been hosting the show for six years, took over for the original host, Lulu LaRude, when Lulu fell ill.

"This February would have been nine years; I was trying to take it to 10 for Lulu," says Love.

The show has been a stepping stone for many performers in Halifax, especially amongst this city's drag performers, both kings and queens. "I would have never done drag if not for Lulu. I was happy enough just producing the show for her."

As of now, the weekly variety show has no home, but Love is looking into finding a new venue. "I've got a FEW ideas for where we can move to and I'm open to suggestions," she says. 

Early this spring, a group of people met up looking to create an LGBT chamber of commerce. Now, the Halifax LGBT Chamber of Commerce will be holding its first general meeting this Thursday evening at Statement, 2534 Agricola St.

“The need to bridge between the business environment and LGBT workers and customers has always been obvious but business has been timid,” committee chair Justin Schurman said in a press release. “However, we are in unprecedented times: nowadays successful businesses understand the connection between LGBT positive practices, thriving workers and happy, loyal customers."

Jules Chamberlain, the marketing chair for the organization, as well as one of the key people in the creation of Inter-Q, a networking organization, points out, “When 483 of the Fortune 500 companies specifically include sexual orientation in their workplace policies, you know that connection to business success to which Justin refers has been made. This chamber is here to help Halifax and the Atlantic region to build on and incorporate that level of success.”

Check out the Facebook event page for more info. 

This latest edition of the Reading List could easily be renamed the Viewing List. Check it out.

For people of a certain generation, the name Jerry O'Connell conjures up images of a chubby Vern from Stand by Me or the geekily awkward Andrew from My Secret Identity. O'Connell has done a lot to shed that image, and a lot of that poundage. So it is rather bizarre to see him not only rather thin on the Ellen DeGeneres Show, but in a sparkly swimsuit.  

He helped crack the Enigma code. He arguably helped create the first wave of computing. And he was chemically castrated because of his sexuality. A new documentary about Alan Turing, called Codebreaker, tells the story of how one man who helped save the Western world was then harshly judged by it for being who he was.

Another reason Nick Offerman is amazing. Last week, I posted a link about Offerman's recent foray into stripping for money. Now he's talking about the wonders of growing mustaches for Movember.

Singer-songwriter Mo Kenney is releasing her self-titled debut album this Wednesday at The Seahorse.

The album, produced by Joel Plaskett, is garnering favourable reviews, while her single "Sucker" is working the charts. All of this while Kenney continues to tour and promote the album. After the launch this Wednesday, Kenney is off to do shows in Iceland as well as at Nova Scotia Music Week, where she will take part in the Songwriters Circle.

The doors open at 7:30pm Wednesday, with the show beginning at 8.

Nick Offerman, best known as the meat-loving and bacon-obsessed Ron Swanson from Parks And Recreation, has teamed up with New York Collaborates for Autism in a genius fashion. Swanson is offering his time and his body, for money. That's right: if you want to see Offerman strip down to his birthday suit, from "nips to nuggets," you can make a donation to NYCA, and not only can you contribute to what many would argue is a great organization, but you could also help the internet become the place it was meant to be: a sea of naked images of Nick Offerman.

That way, when you look up images of Offerman online, you can find more than just this:

But you could see what that eagle is hiding. All in favour, say "Aye!"

Aye!

  ***

And as it's Friday, that means it's time for your weekly Office Dance Party. I've been digging around lately looking for records that were made for voguing, walking and whacking. Junior Vasquez, he of the "If Madonna Calls, I"m Not Here" fame, created a fiercely tribal homage to the House of Xtravaganza with his record "X."

Now you can strike a pose and duck walk in your office as you wait for the weekend to start.

This morning, CBC's Nova Scotia website reported about a recent upswing in cases of syphilis.

The article states that 47 men in the HRM have tested positive this year, up from 35 last year. The story also discusses how many of the men who tested positive often met other men online. Holly D'Angelo-Scott, a senior epidemiologist at Capital Health told the CBC that "when we look to see the connections between cases, a lot of our cases are meeting their sexual partners through the internet. That's probably a common link between some of the cases."

It's a tricky business to talk about sexual health to the masses, especially when you're hoping to reach certain demographics -- in this case, men who have sex with men. It can be tricky with men who have sex with men (MSM) because you're dealing with a population that doesn't always want to be identified, or even identifies with that moniker.

Let's say you're a straight-identified, married man named X. To X, sex is what he does with his wife/girlfriend/et cetera. He loves her and enjoys having sex with her. Sex involves very specific forms of physical intimacy with that one person. But X also happens to occasionally meet certain men to do certain things. It could be in public places, it could be online, it could be in a bathhouse. For X, what happens in those locations and in those times may not be viewed as sex, because it isn't the same forms of physical intimacy that he engages with his wife/girlfriend/et cetera. So when a local news source posts a story about a recent upswing in STI rates amongst MSM, it doesn't faze him, because it doesn't affect him. He doesn't think what he's doing is having sex with men.

So how do you reach X? How do you reach a population that doesn't want to be identified or outed?

At this stage in the game, the best way to do this is to use broad strokes when talking to the public.

The CBC story never uses any terminology that denotes sexual orientation in its description of the men. It does, however, indicate that "all the 115 confirmed syphilis cases since that time have been men" and includes a quote from a Capital Health staffer: "It is possible that there will be a progression from this population of men who have sex with men to women." Here, they are talking about X. They are talking to X. And hopefully X will get the message.

This is not to say that X is emblematic of every MSM who doesn't want to be identified. X may be closeted. X may have myriad reasons for not wanting to be counted amongst MSM. Those reasons are X's alone. But X is amongst the population of MSM. 

I am amongst that population. And I have many friends, as well as current and former lovers, who are as well.

It doesn't matter what the STI is or how and when a person may or may not contract it. What matters is getting the information out there without a heavy-handed message or propagandist polemic. And I take it as my personal responsibility to share that information with as many people as possible. With friends, colleagues, internet followers and more. Because it's an important story. It's a story about your -- and everyone's -- health.

I love how much love Tuxedo Stan, Halifax's feline mayoral candidate, keeps on popping up all over the pop culture planet.

During her monologue on Monday's episode, Ellen DeGeneres talked about how Google has changed the way we seek information. For example, how many cats are there in the world who are mayors, or running for mayor?

Tuxedo Stan has gotten his fair share of publicity. Even Anderson Cooper is a fan of Stan. Although Stan can't really be voted in to Halifax City Hall, he can still give the other candidates a run for their money when it comes to great publicity.