"As long as there's some sort of communication, gays will work out how to use that for sex," says comedian Nath Valvo in the intro to The Grindr Guide, a series of mini-vignettes about the lives of Australian gay men who use the social networking app Grindr.

Although Valvo may have his tongue planted firmly in his cheek, he does bring about an important point: gay men now have more ways to communicate with one another. And with the seemingly instant accessibility to potential partners/dates/boyfriends/contacts that phone apps bring, the dating scene has changed.

Damien Dunstan's The Grindr Guide looks into the lives of a group of men at the issues, situations and shenanigans that living and dating in a Grindr world bring about. What could easily be a promotional fluff piece for the app delves into both personal and cultural issues that are experienced by its users.

Case in point: issues around race.

The series is slated to run about eight episodes, with five already posted. Keep an eye out for upcoming videos.

 

In September of this year, I had the opportunity to interview and write about filmmaker Paul-Émile d'Entremont's latest work, Last Chance, about the risks and difficulties queer immigrants face in this country.

Now, the National Film Board of Canada (NFB) has announced that in honour of Human Rights Day on Dec 10, d'Entremont's film will be available free online from Dec 7 until the 9th.

If you were unable to catch the film at the Atlantic Film Festival in Halifax, at Image+Nation in Montreal or at any of the other screenings, this is a great opportunity.

Last Chance by Paul Émile d'Entremont, National Film Board of Canada

 

When Westerly Windina refers to occasions from the past, she never uses the first person, "I."

She says, "Peter did this" or "Peter was."

The Peter she speaks of is Peter Drouyn, the man who brought surfing to great heights of popularity. Peter Drouyn is the name given to Windina at birth.

Directors Alan White and Jamie Brisick are looking to Kickstarter to help them fund their film about Westerly. With the working title of Westerly: A Man, a Woman, an Enigma, the film hopes to tell the story of a person who rose to the height of their game and then almost disappeared.

According to the Kickstarter website, in 2002 Windina, then still living as Peter, almost drowned:

"It was a supernova," said Westerly. "It just kicked in one night, and suddenly Peter went, Westerly was there."

Check out the trailer for an idea of who Drouyn was, and who Windina is. 

In the 1980s, people infected with HIV were dropping like flies. In retaliation for the lack of help and action from government, ACT UP (AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power) came into being. ACT UP was a powerful force in the world of HIV and AIDS. It was a reaction to the lack of compassion and care for people affected -- directly or indirectly -- by HIV and AIDS. 

Popping up on the internet today is a trailer for a documentary entitled How to Survive a Plague, a film that details the story of ACT UP and TAG (Team Action Group), two organizations that worked to help those affected.  

It's almost 30 years now since AIDS became a predominant theme in the lives of gay men. Harm-reduction initiatives and policies have been put into place, and drugs have been and continue to be created. But those things are in vain if we don't remember how and why they have come to fruition.

How do you survive a plague? You remember it.

Do you care about details? Does trivia excite you?  

Then I have a project for you: WikiQueer.

WikiQueer is the brainchild of The Aequalitas Project, a non-profit organization. The site depends on user-created content, just like any other wiki, but with a focus on LGBTQ ideas, issues and individuals. It is still in its soft-launch stages: the first two names I put in, "serosorting" and then "Gore Vidal," turned up nothing -- but that also means that there is a lot of room for content. 

In that same vein, Halifax's Gay Halifax website/wiki even has its own entry, as it is currently one of the content partners of WikiQueer.

***

It's no secret that for the past few years, certain queers living in urban centres have been creating new spaces to socialize and party. Think of the now-defunct Jackie 60 in NYC or Monteal's recent Faggity Ass Fridays.

But in Los Angeles, Wu Tsang decided to take the party to the next level: a documentary. Tsang was the host of "Wildness," a party that happened at the Silver Platter in East Los Angeles. The film documents the parties and the people who flocked to them, namely immigrant Latin queers, many of them living outside gender norms, even if only within the confines of the Silver Platter.

The film was recently made part of the Whitney Biennial, where Tsang was interviewed about the film and the people who populate it. Check it out.