You just have to admire people who really put themselves out there -- people like Robert Vézina, founder of Montreal's Black and Blue festival, or out gay actor John Barrowman, who's traded in his action hero Torchwood coat for something a little more glamourous in a new UK production of La Cage Aux Folles:

Hey, it worked for Patrick Swayze!

There's always a risk, however -- go too bold and you get the seemingly crazy decision to make a sequel to Showgirls(!!!) or the way The Onion's latest parody of homophobia flirts uncomfortably with being the real thing. (Still, I could never stay mad at the Onion -- they had me at "cock magnet!")

But no, none of this praise of boldness can include that awful stunt by Stephen Harper we're still reeling from days later.  While it certainly had the election-friendly result of making him appear to be a biological human, can we ever forgive Yo-Yo Ma?

Today, a disturbing number of things that just don't belong together, like:

-- Carrie Prejean and books: the former beauty queen has scored a big paycheque for her story of how the gays have silenced her.  Irony is dead.

-- John Barrowman and race cars: while appearing on "Fifth Gear" this week, the "Torchwood" star forgot that while his character is immortal, he is not!

-- MC Hammer and Twitter: 140 characters makes one for every minute of his career. 

-- Chris Brown and a teleprompter: he may be trying to beat criminal charges like he did Rhianna but blankly reading canned speeches? "Take You Down," indeed:

-- "Harry Potter" and voodoo: Geraldo Rivera on FOX News mixes the new movie, Christian exorcisms, "True Blood" and transphobia into a big gumbo of crazy:

-- Henry Louis Gates Jr. and, apparently, his own house: the renowned Harvard professor was arrested on a SAHWB (Sitting at Home While Black)!

-- Rick Astley and Nirvana:  here's where I give up though -- if loving this is wrong, I don't want to be right!

 

Sure, the economy is tanking but that doesn't mean wishes can't come true. Lots of people are still getting what they want:

 

It wasn't enough for Mike White and his father Mel to be, respectively, the writer of "School of Rock" and the leader of gay Christian activist group Soulforce -- no, this family duo dreamed of reality television!

Stephen Harper needed someone with charisma to read his conciliatory Throne Speech yesterday and there was the adorable Michaelle Jean, covering his ass and debuting her brainy specs for the occasion. Take that, Michael Ignatieff!

Lynette worried that our cute-and-snarky Canadian ex-pat actor Chris Leavins was "going downhill."  Chris crushed those fears, along with the rest of Lynette:

When I interviewed "Torchwood" star John Barrowman last summer, he admitted to wanting to host his own variety show on BBC One.  If you're an aspiring UK singer, looks like it's Captain Jack to the rescue once again.

Hong Kong audiences are in love with 3-D movies! But will their desire for having things thrust in their face extend to the first 3-D porn film?

At 62, Sylvester Stallone seems determined to maintain his late '70s "Rocky" physical peak. I don't know what demonic ritual is responsible but, on the set of his new movie, he seems to be pulling it off in vein-tastic style: 

In younger, prettier news, Paulo Henrique wanted to be a model.  Now he is and I couldn't be harder happier for him!

"I don't know how to be sexy," says "Harry Potter" star Daniel Radcliffe, adding, "when you know a gay guy has a crush on you it is the most flattering thing." I think Daniel's naked plea for manly attention will pay off very soon.

I once drank too much white zinfandel and imagined an album that would combine Pet Shop Boys, Girls Aloud, Final Fantasy, the Smiths and Tchaikovsky. My dream comes true in March!  And here I thought the Boys' cover of a classic Madness song was already closer to heaven:

"I don't know how to be sexy," says "Harry Potter" star Daniel Radcliffe, adding, "when you know a gay guy has a crush on you it is the most flattering thing." I think Daniel's naked plea for manly attention will pay off very soon.

Out gay singer Matt Alber set out to make a lush, gorgeous video for his heartbreak song, "End of the World."  I think he succeeded:

William Shatner wasn't invited to George Takei's big gay wedding and he's awfully unhappy about it! Be warned -- this clip is rated A for Awkward:

In other big gay sci-fi news, the second season finale of 'Torchwood' airs this Friday at 10pm on Space!  Even better than the show, however, is the way the cast keeps making out with each other at conventions!

Drab no more: Gabe and Max have got your guide to style!

Why does the American election scare me so badly?  This lady.

But then again, the prospect of an Obama presidency terrifies the other side just as badly...

Blatant plug:  if you've never seen the classic 1985 film 'Kiss of the Spider Woman,' Amazon is now the exclusive distributor of a lovely 2-disc remastered DVD so do yourself a favour and check it out!

This morning, everyone will be sending everyone this link to Saturday Night Live's debate parody. It's just awesome. For me, the money line was Tina-Fey-as-Sarah-Palin's opinion on gay marriage: "I believe marriage was meant to be a sacred institution between two unwilling teenagers." Zing!

The next month will be a rocky one for Barack Obama -- John McCain is devoting all his resources to attack ads and the racists are coming out of the woodwork -- but he's got a solid counteroffensive with a new website detailing McCain's dreadful financial history and there's this letter from March 2007 showing how Obama anticipated the mortgage crisis and tried to take action before disaster struck. Wouldn't that be a refreshing change?

But first, we need some attack ads in Canada! Artist Fred Gaysek thinks Stephen Harper seems awfully familiar and he's betting you might think so too:

And while we all ponder how to vote out an "arsehole" like Stephen Harper, we ignore the larger danger: can John Barrowman be stopped? The gay Broadway star is filming the third season of 'Torchwood,' has kids playing with his action figure and is clearly out to conquer CHUM-FM with this mushy first single from his upcoming album: