Congratulations, Canada! 14 gold medals! The most won by any country during a single winter Olympic games. That's news! And as a resident of the host city, let me tell you: I've never been prouder to be Canadian. There's been a lot of talk about the cost and at what cost, but if you had seen the streets last night after the men won gold in hockey, if you felt what Vancouver felt during the Closing Ceremony, you'll know it was worth it. This was a celebration of our country and our culture... and it's about fucking time, eh!

**I've been advised by the organizers of WinterPRIDE (which starts today and goes until March 8) to warn anyone thinking of coming up to Whistler for what will surely be one of the most historic Pride celebrations in North America, to get your tickets to events now. They are selling out fast. Don't be left in the proverbial cold**

Now on to post-Olympic things: there's a fashion event coming to Vancouver on March 11th called Rock the Hem Line. It's been billed as Fashion Rocks (a Toronto event) for Vancouver and proceeds go towards the Play 4 Phil Foundation. 

Why am I letting you know? Well, I'm hosting of course, so come out and support my ass — or else. More importantly, it's also profiling some great local designers, including Red Jade, McKillop Underwear, CC 1827 Fashion House & Malene Grotrain.

They are also looking for models. Click here for more info.

It turns out a certain somebody from our general Vancouver vicinity is in the running to be one of the 16 finalists for MuchMusic's new VJ search and from what I've seen in the rankings, he has a pretty solid shot. Rob Trinh has appeared once or twice here on Up Your Alley for the charity work he's done for the Play 4 Phil Foundation and deserves a shot at VJ stardom. He's put his time into the industry and dances like a he-banshee.

You heard it here first: Robbie Trinh is island fresh. I've known him since he was about 14 and like the bad penny he is, he turned up again in my life after I moved to Vancouver from Victoria in 2005.

So here's the deal: do him a solid and vote for his sexy ass by clicking here. Give him five stars and send him to TO this fall.

Here's his entry vid if you need further convincing before clicking above:

Rob also invited me to a photoshoot last Sunday with the fantastic Peter Taylor. He shot the shit out of us down in a studio off Cambie Street near the Olympic Village. Check out his website at www.petertaylorphoto.com for his portfolio and contact info.

I am notoriously picky when it comes to photos (just ask my director Nicky Forsman and my producer Philip Webb at OUTtv). These are raw shots, people, with no cropping or editing at all (so I'm sure Peter is going to murderize me for posting them here) but I definitely am feeling them. What do you think?

Looks like I need a quick chat with Mr. Manners.

Let’s say your friend sometimes has a very similar taste in men as you. And let’s say that when you go out with that friend, he points out an object of interest and you may or may not feel something spectacular in your banana hammock region.

Sure, you can walk away.

Sure, you can tell him to do whatever he needs to do, wherever and whenever he feels so long as he can make it happen and feel something that feels like feelings, wherever and whenever those feelings need to occur.

Yet here, again, is a tetherball of sorts. You hit the ball. It comes back. You hit it away again—and  it comes back. So on and so forth. Ball. Balls. Beating. Etc. It’s a relationship that most of us can relate to.

But think, for a moment, about the pole.

The pole is there. It’s always there. Upright and pole-like, standing tall and proud by your side, as poles always do, doing their poley good work with the gusto and pizzazz that one expects from a modern day pole of good character and fine upstanding polemanship…

Now, I like friendly poles, but I REALLY like free-spirited balls.

All analogies aside, I don’t know what to do any more, loyal Cocked & Loaded reader. I need your help.

 If the ball, in this case, takes a pass on the pole, am I free to liberate it from what may first appear to be a fruitless tetherball match? Or do I walk away and let the pole and ball continue their eternal dance, uninterrupted by my well-meaning fist?

A good friend of mine recently invited me to The Snatch on Venables. Okay. He actually invited me to The Cultch, which is a historic and respectable theatre off Commercial Drive.  I misheard him on the phone and was unsurprisingly disappointing in a number of ways, but rewarded in a number of others.

It turns out that the Quebecois dance troupe Cas Public was in town to perform Diary/Journal Intime, choreographed by Canadian dance sensation Hélène Blackburn. Rumour has it that some of the female/male dancers may or may not be queer, which naturally made me think that this would be a nice, non-club oriented change of pace to my column.

I won’t deny that I was temporarily captivated by a Viggo Mortensen-esque performer. That said, the performance itself reminded me of a 50-minute contemporary dance spectacle, a la Mia Michaels of So You Think You Can Dance fame. It was a chest-pumping, hand-fluttering affair featuring one man-on-man dance love segment that mirrored my own romantic pursuits.

It’s also worth pointing out that the target audience for this performance was teenagers and young adults. For anyone in doubt: times have changed and Canadian art is now reflecting the diverse social fabric of our country. Amen.

After a long summer of sexy shenanigans, a group of friends and I also decided to visit the Health Initiative for Men clinic on Davie Street and take advantage of their rapid, 60-second HIV test. If you like a good prick, this is the test for you. Check out http://www.checkhimout.ca/ for more information.

What should you be doing over the next couple weeks? I’m glad you asked.

Queer Bash launches on WED OCT 14 at the Anza Club on 8^th and Ontario. This is a new dress-up, mess-up monthly queer cabaret dance party. This is one of my favourite venues in town. There’s also a good chance that I will be bartending for an hour at this one so come down and grab a drink.

Maybe you’ve seen the bus stop ads around the Lower Mainland. And if you haven’t: in the spirit of alternative queer offerings, Zee Zee Theatre and Screaming Weenie Productions have produced Nelly Boy, a play that explores suburban gender preconceptions. It’s running THU OCT 22 to SUN NOV 1 at PAL Theatre. Visit www.ticketstonight.ca for show times and ticket info.

The Vancouver International Film Festival is also in full swing. I’ll be checking out 65_RedRoses by queer filmmaker Philip Lyall on FRI OCT 9. There are a number of queer selections this year. For a full listing of all movies, times, venues, prices and passes go to www.viff.org/tixSYS/2009/filmguide/.

So here we are and with so much to do this weekend, there's a good chance that maybe you don't know what to do with yourself. I understand. You can check out yesterday's blog posting for your Saturday plans. Here's what you're gonna do Sunday...

It's the finale folks...Hook Me Up:I Want A Modeling Contract...Doors open at 7:30. Show should start around 8-8:30. Let me tell you: these models are model-contract worthy. And they are hungry for your votes. All funds go to the Play 4 Phil Foundation. And what better way to end your weekend then with me and my partner-in-crime Rob Easton at Pulse?

So who caught the latest round of Hook Me Up: I Want A Modeling Contract Sunday night at Pulse? Those models...ughn! Congrats to Rob and Brandon and team for putting on a great show. I hosted the bejeesus out of that shit with my partner in crime Rob Easton. Hope y'all had fun.

Okay. The countdown in on for the Vancouver Queer Film Festival. In advance of the opening gala this Thursday, I sat down with Amber Dawn, who took over the role as Director of Programming this past January, for Up Your Alley's most recent Xtra Xposed segment. Former Hero of the Year winner, Amber is a writer, community activist and performance artist extraordinaire. I've had the pleasure of sharing a stage with her on multiple occassions. Here's what she had to say about the upcoming festival:

I would recommend “Fist of the Spider Woman: Tales of Queer Fear and Desire.” It’s an anthology which asks 15 women authors “what do you fear most?” and “what do you desire most.” The stories and poems range from lesbian vampire erotic fantasy fiction to a poetic conversation between a third-wave feminist and the Marquis de Sade.

I truly believe that my greatest art is “making sh*t happen.” I thrive on art that engages a larger community and I love to collaborate with others. Out On Screen is my perfect work environment. The have a 21 year history of making magic happen on a dime and a dream. The Queer Film Festival is like no other event I know of for it’s ability to bring our community together with integrity, spirit and celebration. I very much hope to do the Festival audience proud.

It was fairly easy to program a dynamic festival because there is an ever-growing pool of queer films to choose from. From horror flicks to sweet romantic comedies to eye-opening documentaries to family films … there isn’t a genre that queer directors have shyed away from. You’ll notice in the Festival guide the Focus on Hope and Focus on Asian Voices – Focus on Hope showcases documentaries that aim to inspire dialogue and change. These documentaries feature many outstanding queer heroes from around the world. Focus on Asian Voices brings us the best from queer Asian directors.

First off, it’s fun. Secondly, the message is about encouragement. We’re encouraging our audience to experience their desires, hopes, thoughts and passions to the fullest at our Festival. Last, it speaks to our aim that we bring a little something for everyone’s tastes, whether that be it political documentaries or quirky musicals or one of our many parties.

Gosh, it’s hard to say. FIG TREES is by my favorite Canadian director, John Greyson, and I believe it is his very best work. I knew within the first 5 minutes of watching that film that I wanted to bring it to our Festival. HALF LIFE is part of our Focus on Asian Voices and is a very unique, very beautiful science fiction domestic drama; very fresh story line that will keep you guessing what will happen next. The STRACHEY gay detective double feature on Saturday August 15th will be a ton of fun and was filmed here in Vancouver. And TARNATION … whether you’ve seen this film before or not, I’d strongly suggest coming out to meet our Spotlight Director Jonathan Caouette and watch his very brave and personal autobiographical documentary about growing up queer in Texas with his mentally ill mother; this is a hard knocks story with a lot of heart.

Are you kidding, I’m sticking around the Festival for the next three years at least. Oh, and I have my first novel coming out with Arsenal Pulp Press in Fall 2010; it’s a magical realism novel about runaway girls called SUBROSA.

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Hey, if you're looking for something fun to do on Sunday night, come down and join me and my co-host Rob Easton at Pulse. Here's the details - all proceeds go to the Play 4 Phil Foundation.