From the sunny shores of the Caribbean to a field adjacent to Kanata and Barrhaven; the first Ottawa Rhythm Fest will kick off Sept 1. 

The inaugural event aims to celebrate the best of soul, Latin and Caribbean music. Staged to coincide with the 50th anniversary of Jamaica and Trinidad's independence, the festival will feature artists from these nations and, naturally, plenty of tasty regional treats will be on hand.

If you're looking to jerk a chicken or rage to some raggae, make your way to Twin Elm Rd this weekend.

Ottawa Rhythm Fest

Sat, Sept 1 - Sun, Sept 2

Passes are $35 or $50 for VIP access 

4075 Twin Elm Rd, Ottawa 

For more info, visit the festival's official site.

Alison Hinds, "Roll It"

Lesbian comedian Kate Lambert has produced a hilarious video parodying cash-for-gold commercials. The faux ad exists in an alternate-universe United States where queers can trade in their unattainable civil rights for cash. As funny as it is, I'm sure American gays would still rather have the right to marry. We're already more affluent per capita, after all.

Choice quote: "As a lesbian I had fought for my right to marry. Then some woman at a rally yelled something at me that really opened my eyes. She said if I was able to marry another woman, then she might as well marry a llama. Then I realized she was right. Me marrying my partner of eight years was the exact same thing as her marrying a Peruvian farm animal." 

Cash 4 Rights  

Openly gay actor John Barrowman discussed the representation of gay characters on television during a panel at Toronto's Fan Expo, Sunday Aug 26.

Barrowman, who portrays bisexual sci-fi Captain Jack Harkness on Torchwood, says he is disappointed that most gay characters on TV are reduced to stereotypes. 

"I'm so proud of Captain Jack and so proud of what... the BBC allowed me to help create... the fact that I'm a hero. I'm not a flouncing queen. And there's nothing wrong with that; don't get me wrong but there's a very diverse group of gay men and women out there... We need to be represented on television in the proper way. We don't need to be all stereotyped on television. That's what's happened in the mainstream and unfortunately certain audiences around the world only identify with types. For writers and people that are creating new shows and doing things differently and not just writing sterotypes, those are the shows we should stand up for and be proud of."

In the late '90s, Barrowman auditioned for the male lead in a little show you may have heard of- NBC's Will & Grace. It came down to Canadian Eric McCormack and Barrowman. Producers chose straight McCormack, as they felt actually gay Barrowman wasn't "gay enough." 

Barrowman's next project, the CW's Arrow, premieres Oct 12. 

Pride means many things to many people. It is a time for remembrance, a time for action; yet for some, it's simply a time for fun. Here are five unobvious gay pride songs to act as your Capital Pride weekend soundtrack. I could have easily loaded up this list with Cher and dance tracks, but I prefer an alternative tilt. Each entry may not be celebratory, but songs like "Fast Car" and "One More Hour" explore seldom heard aspects of queer life.

Joan Jett, "AC/DC" 

This Joan Jett cover of a 1974 Sweet track is for all the lovely ladies celebrating Pride this weekend. This song is a perfect match for Jett and details a bisexual woman's hold on the sexy singer. 

Electric Six, "Gay Bar"

Perhaps this next entry is obvious. Electric Six are known for their unconventional songs and this queer track came about from a case of mondegreen. While listening to another one of my favourite songs, Devo's "Girl You Want," band leader Dick Valentine incorrectly heard the lyrics as "just a girl in a gay bar." The shirtless Lincolns in the video have beome legendary, however the original video featured Tony Blair and George Bush look-a-likes singing the lyrics and was subsequently banned in several countries. The lyrics "nuclear war" are still replaced with whip lashes in many edits. 

The Magnetic Fields, "Andrew in Drag"

Now a song for all my queens out there, "Andrew in Drag" was written and composed by prolific queer Stephin Merritt. Featured on the 2012 album Love at the Bottom of the Sea, Merritt has said "Most of the synthesizers on the record didn't exist when we were last using sythesizers." The record remains ultra-modern and this track remains a celebration of drag superstars and the ones who love them.

 Tracy Chapman, "Fast Car"

Call me inept, but I didn't realize this song was about a same-sex relationship until recently. Chapman's deep tale of hard times and burning love won't get people moving on the dance floor but it may move some to tears. This Grammy-winning account of lesbian lovers was ranked at #165 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time and a cover version recently re-entered the charts in the UK.

Sleater-Kinney, "One More Hour" 

Another song depicting lady lovers, Sleater-Kinney's "One More Hour" details the rocky and rapid break up of the band's two singers, Carrie Brownstein and Corin Tucker. At 21, the duo, who both identify as bisexual, were outed by a writer at Spin. "I hadn't seen [the article] and I got a phone call. My dad was like 'Um the Spin article is out. Do you want to let me know what's going on?,'" Brownstein recounted. "The ground was pulled out from underneath me. My dad did not know that Corin and I had ever dated or that I even dated girls." Tucker went on to marry a man and have a child, while Brownstien continues to date both genders and now stars on Portlandia, in addition to rocking with Wild Flag. Happy endings do come ture. Happy Pride!

Join Ottawa Centre MPP Yasir Naqvi tonight at the Canadian Tribute to Human Rights as he pays homage to Toby's Act.

Bill 33, which guarantees the right to be free from discrimination and harrassment because of gender identity and gender expression, was officially passed in June of this year. 

Prolific Ottawa activist Zelda Marshall will be joined by Amanda Ryan of Gender Mosaic and Capital Pride board director Joanne Law to read from Toby's Act, discuss the progress being made in the fight for Bill C-279 and contemplate what this landmark legislation means for trans Canadians.

The vigil will be hosted by Capital Pride chair Loresa Novy and Capital Pride secretary Melissa Girard.

Capital Pride Human Rights Vigil

Thursday, Aug 23, 8pm

Canadain Tribute to Human Rights 

A new study by Ritch Savin-Williams, a developmental psychologist at Cornell University, claims pupil dilation is an accurate indicator of sexual orientation. 

The study found that when people watch porn featuring their gender preference, their pupils dilate in response to arousal. 

In several previous studies, subjects were asked to look at pornographic material with instruments hooked up to their genitals to measure sexual arousal. However, Savin-Williams says some people can suppress genital arousal or just aren't keen to get turned on in a laboratory setting.

"Some people just don't want to be involved in research that involves their genitals," Savin-Williams told Live Science.

The connection between pupils and sex dates back centuries. In the 1600s, Italian women would administer eyedrops containing poisonous belladonna to dilate their pupils, a feature that was considered seductive at the time. 

Read the full study on livescience.com. 

Adult store Venus Envy may be seen as being tailored to the girls of Ottawa, yet tonight the sensual shop is offering a free workshop for boys.

Sex Toys 101 for Queer Boys will address everything from anal and sensation toys to the proper use of lube. 

The workshop will be led by Mark Schaan, who, aside from leading educational, sex-positive workshops such as this, has been an integral part of the Ten Oaks Project for many years.

The workshop is open to any man who plays, or wants to play, with other men, regardless of identity.

Sex Toys 101 for Queer Boys

Tues, Aug 21, 6:30-8:30pm

Free

Venus Envy, 320 Lisgar St  

I believe it was Margaret Cho who once said, "What about slut pride?"  

On Saturday, Aug 18 the sluts of Ottawa will congregate at the Canadian Tribute to Human Rights to show their pride; however, the reason for this event is anything but comical.

Organizing team member Christopher Doyle says the idea for the walk came from a comment made by a Toronto police officer who said that if women didn't want to be victimized, they should stop dressing like sluts. 

"Blaming the victim is a systemic problem that requires a change both in social climate and policy," Doyle says.

Team member Angie Renwick participates in the walk for extremely personal reasons. She says that last summer she was accosted by a man who exposed himself to her in Sandy Hill. The perpetrator then physically assaulted her before she managed to escape to a male friend's house.

"As soon as my friend realized I was okay, he started in on me, [saying], 'What were you expecting leaving the house dressed like that?' I was really hurt and confided in someone else and got the same response."

Renwick followed up with police but found that the officers minimized the crime committed against her.

"The Slut Walk advances the position that no one deserves rape, no matter what his or her sexual history is or what he or she is wearing."

Renwick went on to say men should come out and support the Slut Walk because, chances are, they know a woman who has been assaulted.

"They can march for those ladies and let the rapists know all men aren't like them. We want guys in our corner showing support."

2012 Ottawa Slut Walk

Sat, Aug 18

1:30pm, the Canadian Tribute to Human Rights

Visit the Slut Walk Facebook page. 

If you're an office gopher looking to escape the doldrums of your standard lunch hour, shimmy on down to Sparks St, Thursday, Aug 23.

Natalie Fraser and Meena Rajulu have organized a massive lunchtime dance party to lift spirits dampened by over-conditioned air and whiteout.

The dance-minded duo were the recipients of a $1,000 Awesome Ottawa grant to stage the party. Fraser told the foundation's members that the unconventional event is meant to add some spice to Ottawa office workers' bland routines. 

"Dance Dance (Office) Revolution will break your solo lunchtime routine and get you out into the city for a dance party. This will be your most important business meeting of the week," Fraser says.

Office dance parties have become popular in Sweden, and Fraser and Rajulu say this is our city's chance to become a Canadian trendsetter.

The party will take place at noon in front of the CBC building on Sparks St. In the event of rain, the party will be moved to Aug 30 .

Awesome Foundations can be found in cities across the globe. Each chapter is headed by a group of trustees who donate $1,000 to finance flashes of micro-genius. If you think you have an awesome idea, apply for a grant.   

British author Sarah Luddington's Knights of Camelot series may be burning up the Amazon Kindle charts, but this historical fiction collection has also caused a firestorm of controversy.

After the first book in the series, Lancelot and the Wolf, was re-released on Amazon Kindle in June, the novel was bombarded by one-star reviews affixed with messages of hate.

Luddington's alternate history suggests that not only were Lancelot and King Arthur both involved with Guinevere, but they also engaged in a sexual relationship with each other.

Comments posted on Amazon Kindle's site called the books "disgusting" and "perverted." Soon after similar anti-gay messages began to pour into the publisher's office and to Luddington herself.

"People seemed outraged that I could suggest that King Arthur and Lancelot were in a gay relationship," said Luddington, who is also a medieval historian, in a press release dated Aug 13. "Yet when one looks more deeply into the original legends, the undercurrent is clearly there. There had to be more to that love triangle than the simple infidelity of Guinevere."

In response to the homophobia, Luddington has released a special edition of Lancelot and the Wolf. Royalties from sales of the special edition will benefit Stonewall, a gay UK charity. 

Purchase the Stonewall Kindle edition of Lancelot and the Wolf for $3.