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2B Magazine

August 17 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 26, 2012 2B Magazine

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Index News

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Out with 2B

...13

Ottawa Special

...18

Flesh Garden

...24

Hot Spots 2B

...34

Fashion

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Reviews

...46

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Yoga Jam w/ Line Trepanier @Edson Emilio GarcĂa A.K.A. El Negro

Credits

Publisher Editor Contributors

Art Director & Photography

Graphic Design

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André Gagnon andregagnon@2bmag.com Jordan Arseneault jordan@2bmag.com Mark Ambrose Harris, Dannny Légaré, Michael Hawrysh, Shawn Thompson, Sanita Fejzic, Antoine Aubert, François Bernier, Jason Crawford, Julie Podmore, Marie Pilon, Sean Martin César Ochoa 514.439.4636 publicite@communicationsetre.com Carolina Ramírez 514.439.4636 carolina@communicationsetre.com

Cover photo Felipe Alejandro Bracelis by Claudio Poblete

Pierre Druelle pierre@communicationsetre.com 514.903.9463 Luc Barrette 514.439.4737 / 1.866.521.3873 luc@communicationsetre.com

2B Magazine A division of HMX Group Vol.10 No.5

Arturo Abreu 514.521.3873 arturo@communicationsetre.com

Montréal Postal Address P.O. Box 222, Station C Montréal, QC H2L-4K1 Montréal: 514.521.3873 Ottawa: 1.866.521.3873 2B Magazine

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Ontario passes anti-bullying bill

Editor’s letter

by 2B Staff

The Ontario government voted in measures to prevent school bullying, approving the third and final reading of the Accepting Schools Act. The bill will finally allow Gay Straight Alliances to exist in all schools, in spite of strong resistance from Catholic leaders.

The ongoing struggle for legal rights and social recognition for the LGBT community may be over 40 years old, but right now, it’s all about adolescence. While activists at London’s World Pride Conference meet to work on the tough topic of homosexuality still being criminal all over the Commonwealth, here in Canada, the debate has moved from the bedroom to the classroom. Since 2010’s “It Gets Better” video campaign, political reactions to teen bullying have become the standard by which we now judge the advancement of our society on gay rights, which, considering the recent passage of Bill 13 in Ontario, you could say we’re winning. But in other areas, such as the right to freedom of assembly and refugee rights, the picture is decidedly less rosy. Having made its way to the Senate level already, the Conservative Bill C-31 is likely to become law soon, perhaps even before this issue hits the stands. When it does, C-31 will grant sweeping powers to the already powerful Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, Jason Kenney, to decide which countries are “safe” for refugees to return to, and allows for the federal government to revoke refugee status even after it has been approved. The law will have particularly harsh effects on applicants from Mexico, Canada’s NAFTA trading partner whose status for LGBT people is ambiguous. What this means for LGBT refugees, is that the “True North” may no longer be the safe haven for oppressed people that it has earned a reputation for being since our parents’ generation. Queer Canadians tend to be proud of the major legal and social hurdles we have surmounted to get us to the point now of being able to openly reach out to teenagers in schools, but our ability to extend help to our brothers and sisters coming from more precarious situations across the 2B Magazine

Manuel Sanchez at anti-deportation demo, June 19 © Edson Emilio Garcia

globe is being curtailed for strategic political reasons. Keeping refugees in a precarious state sends a message to the Conservative support base that the government is about the bottom line, and no longer about humanitarian commitments; it also makes sure that a growing number of immigrants will be forced to go underground in an attempt to avoid deportation, which will further criminalize them. And speaking of political strategies, how about that Bâtisseur prize that Fierté Montréal awarded Justice Minister Jean-Marc Fournier the same night he voted in Law 78, as we mentioned last month? The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, roundly condemned the law for “restricting rights to freedom of association and peaceful assembly,” in a speech on June 18. In response, Federal Conservatives have defended the law, saying that it’s not a human rights concern because “people can challenge the government’s decision in court,” which the student federations have already done. While Fierté’s obvious goal was to acknowledge Fournier’s part in the creation of Québec’s anti-homophobia Bureau last year, their refusal to revoke the award makes them strange bedfellows with a conservative-backed Liberal government intent on crushing one of the biggest movements for access to education in Canadian history. In the build-up to the anticipated Québec election in September, LGBT voters will have to weigh the possible merits of a government which has used unfair judicial and police measures to suppress the student movement with the possible benefits that a pro-gay bureaucracy could hold. When it comes down it, we will stand with the bullies, or with the bullied? - Jordan Arseneault

The bill is the first one to pass (65 to 36) in the minority Liberal government, with the help of the NDP. An NDP amendment to the bill by education critic Peter Tabuns specifically grants students the right to use the name “GSA” for their clubs, in an effort to combat homophobic bullying. Premier Dalton McGuinty has said specifically that his motivation for the bill came from the high-profile bullyingrelated suicide of Ottawa gay teen Jamie Hubley last year. Another snag in the months-long debate over the passing of the bill was that Conservative MPP Elizabeth Witmer had proposed an anti-bullying bill of her own last year (Bill 14), which Tories say had tougher “accountability measures.” While both bills had similar principles for addressing all forms of bullying, only the Liberal’s Bill 13 specifically addressed the issue of GSAs. For months, Roman Catholic leaders and other religious groups had opposed the legislation, claiming that it promotes a “radical sex education agenda.” Education Minister Laurel Broten was amongst the politicians hearing deputations from both anti-gay religious leaders and students fighting for GSAs in their schools. “It should not be up to us at Queen’s Park to determine what these groups should be called. We believe it should be up to the students. Student voices are what really matter,” the Minister said after the bill passed. NDP Member of Provincial Parliament Cheri DiNovo is also credited with helping obtain much of the support the Liberals needed to pass the bill in a minority legislature. A provincial GSA alliance, including EGALE and Jer’s Vision, was created to lobby for the bill. “I’m so excited that over 10,000 youth in Canada signed petitions to get this passed, and I’m happy that the government was listening to what

Dalton McGuinty_Bill 13

youth want,” says Jer’s Vision director Jeremy Dias. “It’s a serious win for LGBT youth in schools.” Dias was enthused to know that Catholic schools, which have been some of the more resistant to GSA’s, can use this legislation to benefit the inclusion of all youth. “I think the most exciting thing about it is that it really enshrines LGBT rights in the education system, and if it is challenged in court, we’ll make it an easy victory,” Dias said defiantly. Advocacy group Queer Ontario was also a vocal supporter of Bill 13. “We feel very strongly that LGBTQ-identified youth, who we know are heavily targeted for bullying, should receive the protections and supports they require regardless of what school board they are enrolled in,” says Nick Mulé, chairperson of Queer Ontario. “We expect the province’s Catholic School Boards to abide by this new legislation or [else] reconsider accepting public funds.” Catholic Bishops have already said they have no intention of challenging the legislation, which has unleashed dormant questions of public funding for religious schools in Ontario. Passport Canada admitted to La Presse on May 9 that the possibility of adding a third gender “X” on Canadian ID papers was “under review.” In the same week, Québec’s Justice Minister Jean-Marc Fournier said through his press attaché that the possibility of allowing trans people to make such changes without having to undergo surgery may be reconsidered as well, suggesting they would rather resolve the problem without going through the courts or the Human Rights Commission.

Special Laws

After months of deliberation with Conservatives, Bill 13 was approved in its third and final reading on June 5 in the Ontario legislature. The antibullying bill, which will soon become law as the Accepting Schools Act, was the subject of divisive debate over the ban on Gay Straight Alliances (GSAs) in Catholic Schools.

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Dany Morin proposes

anti-bullying plan By 2B Staff

“It’s so important that this kind of strategy be put into place in 2012,” Dany Morin said. “Since I was elected as an NDP MP a year ago, I have sadly too often had to stand and bring to attention the suicide of youth who suffered bullying. I’m referring particularly to Jamie Hubley and Marjorie Raymond. And every time I stood up, I asked what the Conservatives were going to do to protect children. And sadly, from what I can tell, it’s been the status quo.” Morin wants the House of Commons to show leadership on the issue, and put aside partisan politics. He also hopes that the issue becomes a subject of discussion across the country. The committee would be assigned to undertake consultations with families affected by bullying and with organizations that work with youth, in order to build a country-wide strategy. At the press conference, three young people shared their stories of bullying with the press. “I suffered from bullying during childhood in Toronto,” says Faye Estrella, Jer’s Vision’s conference coordinator. “From age 6, people had a hard time telling if I was a boy or a girl. They assumed that I must therefore be gay and would put me down. They would also make fun of my weight, the way I talked, my clothes, the music I listened to and the books I read. For a long time, I just put up with it.”

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Estrella contends there’s a way to stop bullying, that you can “unlearn,” the habit, by sharing stories with perpetrators of bullying to help them understand its consequences. “But we need the government to take a stand,” Estrella added. Dany Morin also spoke of being bullied as a youth, and knows that it is an experience shared by too many young people. “There’s no magic solution,” he says. “However, every stakeholder in society has a role to play. Currently, provinces are very proactive in implementing anti-bullying measures.” School teachers are better equipped for dealing with bullying in the classroom, even if it can still happen outside the schoolyard. “It’s also happening in the street and on the internet,” Morin explains. “Cyber-bullying is definitely an area where we can play a role at the federal level. With telecommunications regulations, for instance. The problem is that the federal government has no strategy at this time.” And that’s why Morin says the commit he’s proposing is important. The strategy he hopes to build with the committee will be based on five key points. First, a study of the prevalence and impacts of bullying, then adopting better practices in preventing bullying based on the best scientific evidence available in Canada and elsewhere. “They we have to share this information with Canadian families whose youth are affected by bullying in their community,” Morin explains. “We must also help the organizations that work with these youth.

Finally, and most importantly, the key word to remember here is prevention and not criminalization.” Since often the pain inflicted by bullies has lasting scars, the logical course of action is to focus on prevention and education, he contends. Dany Morin’s motion would target all forms of bullying as a way of extending help to LGBTQ youth, who are, studies show, 4 times more likely to experience bullying than the average student. 2B Magazine

Dany Morin, deputy LGBTQ critic for the official opposition, has presented a motion to fight bullying at the federal level. The NDP Member of Parliament hopes to strike a special parliamentary committee to look at various forms of bullying, including physical, verbal, indirect and cyber-bullying.

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All about us By Shawn Thompson

Montreal’s Mile-End queer bar, the Royal Phoenix throws an extended family celebrated its first year of existence with staff, promoters and DJs in the limelight. We sat down with RP owner and booker Val Desjardins to take the pulse on the year that was.

A year ago, the off-Village, queer-run venue opened on what seemed like a cursed corner in the hip Mile-End area: bar names changed faster than people could remember, presaging that no late-night dancing bar could last in the area. But then, the Royal Phoenix flew in and after a year, the kid is well alive and kicking. Baby steps Desjardins explains that they had to wait throughout the year to accumulate the funds needed to pay for the bar’s adjustments. Little by little, the sound was fixed, lights and gear added, bathrooms and doors changed and lastly, architects hired to redo plans so they could up their capacity, legally passing from 125 to 300. “Which in bar language means 400”, chuckles Desjardins, “But all the money made this year has been re-injected and we plan to do that for a couple of years. That’s the whole point of the project and I think that’s why it’s going well. When you have business owners who take profits and spend it in their personal lives, that’s when business go down.” Pleasing queers Managing the bar’s philosophy brought its own set of test runs. When you have everything from radical queers to trans to straight

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men coming at any given day into your bar – be it for a Roller Derby after-party or posher house DJ dance night, the term “queer” itself is bound to lose some of its political charge. “What we do is all under one premise though: it’s queer-run and people have to accept and respect that,” says Desjardins. She explains that there is radical queer politics brought forth through specific performances night or via DJs who identify as femmes for example, “but it doesn’t always have to be about the struggle,” she continues. “The struggle is what’s fueling it and the reason why, but it doesn’t have to be on the microphone every single night and that doesn’t mean we’re not aware that life is difficult and that there are queer battles going on. It’s hard for some radical queers to, I guess, accept this space which calls itself queer but that’s not constantly being outright and political about it,” she adds. Desjardins stresses that “queer” for them doesn’t stand for “anything goes” either. There had been cases, throughout the year, where DJs brought a crowd that didn’t “get it” and one time is enough for Desjardins to end partnership. “It’s like, I will sleep with people once, you know? I mean, metaphorically speaking, but it’s like okay let’s try it and then if tomorrow morning we wake up and the sex is not too good, we you just part ways and forget about it,” says Desjardins.

The future looks bright The bar aims at becoming a neighborhood hangout more than just a nightclub. That’s the reason behind their ever-expanding hours of operations: “so people can stop at any time to have a drink or grab a bite.” To that extent, it’s now opened every day for lunch on weekdays making it a place that serves food pretty much all the time with the weekend brunches and dinner options. A year ago, Desjardins wished for the Royal Phoenix to be part of history and still be open in ten years from now, a wish she believes in even more now that the business has been running for a year. “And later on, I’ll open the Royal Phoenix gym, a queer-run gym, that’s what’s missing,” says Desjardins, a Roller Derby champion, “and then, I’ll be a whole new debate within the community and what bathroom decision we are going to make,” she laughs.

Out with 2b

If you missed RP’s bangin’ birthday party in June, you can still soak up the sweet line-up in their July calendar: Mec Plus Ultra graduates Antoine Bédard + François Guimond take over for Audio Porn Club Sat. July 14, and NYC queer rap sensation Mykki Blanco owns the stage July 27. Not 2B missed. Royal Phoenix Bar 5788 St-Laurent blvd. www.royalphoenixbar.com

Glam Gam Productions, Tom McGraw and POMPe got together to raise over $1000 for STELLA and AIDS ACTION NOW! at NO PANTS, NO PROBLEM! (Théatre Ste-Catherine, June 16) Photos by Emilio Edson Garcia aka El Negro 2B Magazine

“We’ll shut down the streets and have Ariane Moffatt and Pierre Lapointe other times, celebrating one year is all about us,” says Val Desjardins, the bar’s artistic director and one of the co-owners.

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Movie dates by Jordan Arseneault

20 centímetros

The first month of Image + Nation’s Thursday night screenings in the Parc de l’Espoir culminated in the 2008 Midsummer Night’s Dream remake Were the World Mine, about a high school student who casts spells to make his straight classmates gay. Although they might not change anyone’s orientation, your date might be get a kick out of seeing these fabulous queer films on something other than the computer overheating on your lap.

Jonathan Rhys Meyers’s lips, and Christian Bale’s innocence lost. As if it needs any introduction, John Cameron Mitchell’s Hedwig and the Angry Inch keeps up the musical theme with its original rock soundtrack: every queer kid who’s ever affected a German accent will be out to sing along to “The Origin of Love” and “Wig in a Box” and for those who haven’t seen it, this is your chance to understand what a “queer cult classic” really is.

As Katharine Setzer and Charlie Boudreau gear up for the festival’s 25th anniversary this year, they’ve pulled a few gems from their collection for Image + Nation Thursdays. In addition to a night of Québécois queer short films, they reach back to Québec’s first gay feature-length film, L’Escorte which gets a rare screening this month. Known for his 2005 feature Amnesia, director Denis Langlois’s earlier feature from 1996 is part comedy of manners, part psychological study. Referencing Pasolini’s Teorema, the film centres around the mysterious hustler Steve (a young Robin Aubert) and the uncanny effects he has on Philippe and Jean-Marc, the couple whose lives he bursts in on. With some unusually hot sex scenes, L’Escorte hails from around the same time the Parc de l’Espoir was inaugurated, letting us read into the story of “love, friendship, lies and betrayal” a possible metaphor for the impact of AIDS.

Another transgender musical, the Almodóvaresque 20 cenímetros is a surrealist spin into the mind of a narcoleptic transsexual sex-worker named Marieta who dreams about losing her “20 centimetres” even though her boyfriend Raúl doesn’t seem to mind her keeping them. As in Transamerica with Felicity Huffman (also from 2005), cisgender Spanish actress Mónica Cervera deftly plays the part of Marieta with wit and pathos. Her fully choreographed musical hallucinations are part dissociation, part imaginative escape, with a not-so-hidden moral of self-acceptance that many of us still need to hear. Ramón Salazar’s much-loved second feature won the coveted Rosebud prize for best film at Germany’s Verzaubert Film Festival, capping off a perfect month of movie dates for the perfect price: free!

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For the full schedule, check out: www.aireslibres.com 2B Magazine

Also from the late 90’s, the queer glam rock homage Velvet Goldmine by Todd Haynes (Far from Heaven) will get an outdoor screening to allow you to fully appreciate the superb costumes, Ewen McGregor’s ass,

Les jeudis Image + Nation Thursdays in July @ 9pm, Parc de l’Espoir, corner Ste-Catherine and Panet

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side and sweet on the inside. The first three issues reveal a complicated childhood and the beginning of what is sure to be a complicated relationship with Detective Sawyer, a blond with short hair and glowing blue eyes.

By Sanita Fejzic

At the beginning of the year, DC comics created international buzz amongst anxious readers by announcing a major character would come out as gay. In early June, the Green Lantern came out to the whole world. And that’s just the latest in a list of comic book heroes that are coming out... Comic book fans have waited a long time to see their superheroes, favourite sidekicks or side characters come out as gay or lesbian. In fact, the Comics Code Authority systematically censored homosexual content in North America until 1989. The 90s were not explicit about homosexuality thought they included more suggestive content — but rare were the stories that proudly embraced alternatives to the heterosexual status quo in the world of comic books. Northstar, a Marvel Comics X-Man superhero has just married his partner in Astonishing X-Men #51, published this week. Originally a Québec member of Alpha Flight (the first Canadian team of superheroes created in 1979), Northstar is known for his superhuman speed, flight and capacity to manipulate light.

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Readers everywhere had to wait until last summer, in 2011, for superheroes came out. One such example is DC Comic’s Batwoman. Very American in dialogue and plot: “Kate Kane survived a brutal kidnapping by terrorists that left her mother dead and her twin sister lost.” Brilliantly intertwining national pride with American affairs and news; you can almost hear low-tone American film commercial voice: “following her father’s footsteps, she vowed to serve her country and attended West Point until she was expelled under ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.’ Now she is many things: estranged daughter, grieving sister, proud lesbian, brave soldier, determined hero, she is BATWOMAN.” Co-written by W. Haden Blackman and J.H. Williams III who is also the artist, green-eyed, redhead Kate Kane is the stereotypical lesbian: tattooed, mysterious, rough on the out-

Rated T for teen, the third book ends with a luscious kiss between Kate and her detective. What’s next, one can only imagine. “A lot of superheroes are represented as being openly gay,” says Rebecca of Silver Snail comic book shop located in Ottawa’s village. “We have lots of gay and lesbian customers coming here. Many have always loved superman — he’s the Boy Scout fighting for the underdog type.” She forgets to mention “with big muscles and wearing tight spandex.” “All of DC was revamped last summer,” explains her colleague Heather. “Many have consequently introduced gay, lesbian and even trans characters to appeal to a wider audience.” “There was a really big buzz last summer,” explains Heather. “For example, when Archie’s friend Kevin Keller got married to his boyfriend. We had a huge stack that was sold out almost right away.” In fact, Archie’s Number 16 stirred a huge online controversy with certain conservative groups such as The American Family Association and the website OneMillionMoms. com condoning the issue altogether, claiming it was “too complicated” for children to understand.

The issue sold out even in the face of their boycott call. “It’s probably a collector’s item now,” adds Rebecca. There was also a marriage proposal in Marvel Cimics’ The Young Avengers, this time between two superheroes, Wiccan (Teddy) and Hulking (Billy). Also by Marvel, Runaways has a lesbian couple that go on to marry — marriage being a recurring theme for comic book’s openly gay and lesbian couples. Runaways is the incredible tale of a group of teenagers who find out their parents are evil members of a group called The Pride. The teens also find out they’ve inherited their parents’ superpowers — and the story goes on from there. Of the original six heroes, Karolina Dean is a lesbian, in a relationship with Xavin. Interestingly, Xavin first appeared in the series as a black man, but later shapeshifted to a female in order to be with Karolina. Throughout the plot, Xavin, short for Xav,

shape shifts between her male and female bodies. “I can’t think of many transsexual characters off the top of my head,” says Heather. “There is a side-character named Desire in Sandman.” The character first appeared in the DC Comic books series in 1989, making it avant-garde in this regard. Desire is attractive and androgynous, and is made both male and female, or both or nothing in the series. So far, public reaction to the newly outed characters seems to be largely positive. Particularly in the US, where the equal marriage debate is still a hot-button issue, the Northstar and Green Lantern stories have become manifest touchstones in the ongoing fusion of gay culture with the mainstream. Silver Snail Comics 391 Bank Street, Ottawa www.silversnail.com 2B Magazine

Comic Books: the Queer Revolution

Apart from the regular menu of supervillains, we are also introduced to the sexy Agent Cameron Chase who works for a skeleton head (literally) at the Department of Extranormal Operations. She is mandated with figuring out the identity of Batwoman and she doesn’t look like she has the best of intentions. But she sure acts and looks like a butch.

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Hottawa July 2012 by Sanita Fejzic Piknik Elektronik Ottawa-Gatineau is one of three cities (including Montréal and Barcelona) to welcome open-air electronic parties every Sunday this summer. If music is your sanctuary, then don’t miss these hot picks: Master Faders and MR. THECAT on July 8, Poles of Abstraction on July 22 and ANA STAËL’s crazy malicious beats on July 29. Photo inset: Master Faders (July 8) Until August 12 Outdoors: River Park, Museum of Civilization Indoors: Le Petit Chicago piknicelectronikgatineau.com Van Gogh: Up Close Featuring 40 paintings by the Dutch post-Impressionist painter, this exhibition is the city’s cultural tour-de-force this summer. It’s been over a quarter of a century since the artist’s bold brush strokes, raw emotion and beautiful landscapes have been exhibited in Canada. Until September 3 The National Art Gallery gallery.ca/vangogh

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‘Almond Blossom,’ by Vincent van Gogh (1890) at the National Gallery of Canada. (Loan from Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam) 19

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A hot summer for PTS Sanita Fejzic

Ottawa queer youth org PTS is moving up this summer. The organization is literally moving, recollecting to another location this summer. It’s also growing, in terms of programs and events it has to offer the community. I can’t tell you exactly where we’ll be moving,” said Claudia Van den Heuvel, Executive Director at PTS. “We’re down to three choices. All in Centretown.” The new building will have proper accessibility and amenities and the exact location will be announced in early July. Van den Heuvel expects the move to happen in July or August. The organization will also be getting a muchneeded face-lift. “We know our old website is a piece of shit,” said Van den Heuvel. “[The new one] will be user-driven and it will include a resource directory and a calendar of events.” Other people and organizations will be welcome to post their events — so long as it’s legal, PTS will gladly share and build a one-stop shop website for Ottawa’s queer community. It will be launched on June 26 at the queer youth org’s AGM. This year’s general meeting

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will probably have a lot to celebrate, least of all PTS’ new source of funding, the United Way. It’s allowed the organization to grow and introduce new programs.

she says. “It’s a discussion group to talk about experiences around different intersections of oppression and how that impacts and relates to discrimination based on skin colour.”

One of three staff members, Kayla Miller finds and goes through the volunteer orientation process. She also creates and manages programs for PTS.

The group has seen the light of day several times before, each time it dwindling away due to low participation. Demand for it is back, and Miller is excited at the prospect. She is also very proud about PTS’ new counselling program.

“Depending on when we move, we’ll have an open house either in August or September,” she explains. “Pride is between August 17 to 27, [so if we move] during pride, we will more likely have the open house in September.”

“It’s a sliding-scale fee based program,” she says. “Social workers come on location. They’re kind and they want to give back to the community.”

PTS will be present at the parade and offer body painting to the public. But that’s not what Miller is most looking forward to this summer: “Starting on May 29, our newest group Qpoc-it is for queer people of colour,”

The LGBTQ social workers do the work pro-bono, rotating shifts and working flexible hours. “Right now counselling is on Mondays from 5 to 8 p.m.,” says Miller. “Otherwise, it’s appointment based. People

©Sanita Fejzic

can call and ask to be put on the list for counselling or they can email celebrating. self@ptsottawa.org”.

older men’s experiences. “Being my age, I don’t fully understand everything, it’s nice to learn from others.”

a social worker and novelist,” he explains. “I highly recommend his work. It’s smart, the storytelling is captivating.”

The momentum is on high this year. In the near future, we can expect two new social programs: movie night once a month and a gaming-fitness program with Xbox Connect.

Andrew Primeau, the volunteer librarian had an entirely different take on what’s hot this summer at PTS. “I’m excited for the fire sale,” he says, eyes beaming. “There will be music. We’re cutting 2,000 to 3,000 books that are outdated and they’ll be free.”

PTS currently hold seven discussion groups: Pink Triangle Youth (PTY), Men’s Group, Women’s Night, Biamore, Gender Quest, Qpoc-it and Youth 4 Youth. They are all held between 7-9 p.m. except for the Youth 4 Youth, which is from 5-7 p.m. Days and frequency vary, for more information contact Kayla Miller, Volunteer and Programs Coordinator. It looks like the staff and volunteers at PTS will have their hands full this summer. That’s the cost and glory of organizational growth and the queer community in Ottawa is all the better for it.

From the perspective of Kiel Harris, longtime volunteer at PTS, the best thing to look out for this summer is the Men’s (discussion) Group, from 7-9 p.m., the first Tuesday and third Thursday of every month. “It’s menspecific and the discussion are funny,” he says. “A topic is given and the discussion develops over the course of the meeting. The facilitator is really good at directing and moving things forward.” Harris says it’s a friendly and relaxed atmosphere where it’s “easy to talk and listen.” He learns from

PTS’ library, which is open every night from Monday to Friday from 5-9 p.m., is the largest and oldest queer library in Canada. In fact, says Primeau, “It is the second largest in North America, after San Francisco.” With about 8,000 books, anthologies, biographies and even some DVDs and VHS tapes, the space it feels and smells like memory and history. Primeau recommends the Alex Sanchez Rainbow Boys series for summer reader. “He’s

PTS (formerly Pink Triangle Services) 613 563-4818 www.pinktriangle.org

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Falldown... Get back up

PLUS QU’UN AUTRE POISSON DANS LA RIVIÈRE RIVIÈRE!!

12 Cadieux, Île du Grand Calumet Québec, J0X1J0 www.horizonx.ca

1-866-695-2925

By Sanita Fejzic

That’s not to say he’s been completely out of the game. In fact, two days after Flamingo’s closure the Chairman of the Tulip Festival approached him with a special request. “I was hired to do their opening ceremony,” explains Provost. “That was a really good experience because it was a big budget. It was also a big challenge because it was 10 days from start to finish to execute.” The experience set the tone for the kind of work Provost wants to do, which is to get back to production work. The ball started to roll from that moment on and he’s once again become a multifaceted and talented production coordinator with a few projects on the go. “I started to get inspired again,” he says. “I didn’t want to be stuck in a job that was repetitive. I excel and do my best when I get to do various events. Whether that’s a special event party, corporate work, my own production — I need to have that constant change in my life to keep me happy.” The idea of doing a limited amount of parties was something that he was feeling strongly about. GhettoFag, a monthly event, was something he’s had in the works for a few years. “What I want to do is something that’s really interesting, solid and fabulous,” he says. “And have some time in between for people to really get excited and miss it, instead of just taking it for granted. Which I felt the city did a little bit, and does.” He’s making an allusion to Flamingo, which closed its doors about two months ago partly due to lack of business. “This is cheeky, but I almost had a point to prove,” he says. “This is what happened because you didn’t support and now you’re going to go back to your old ways and you’re going to have those same conversations about how Ottawa has nothing.”

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Point taken. I think this time around people may appreciate the kind of work and talent that goes into making damn good party. “What we did at Flamingo was pretty epic,” he says, smiling but serious. Not only did the club bring artists to Ottawa for the first time, but it also created unique experiences for the artists and the partygoers. “As an example, when we brought David Morales down, he actually stopped his set mid-way to explain how wonderful a time he’d been having.” That was the first time the DJ had done so in his life, which goes a long way to show the kind of attention to detail and professionalism behind the scenes. Still —the club may have closed its doors, but its spirit remains. Provost, who is moving to Montréal, will keep pouring his talent into Ottawa. “I didn’t want to do a project that would fail,” he admits. “GhettoFag for me means unconventional. We’re not going be in a bar or a club that has an agenda on its own. We’re going to be in places in Ottawa that are cool and hip and unexpected.” Provost got everybody together: the plastics, the drag queers, the trans, the lesbians, the fags, the hookers, the strippers and the dykes. Everyone: as they are. “The more excess, the better,” he says. “What we’re seeing is kind of a renaissance to 1995. Think New York underground with club kids and over the top takeovers of the most unexpected spaces. Everyone is welcome and they just have a really good time.” This vision comes from Provosts’ personal life experience. “I got to see that and I got to be part of that when I grew up,” he says. And he’s sharing that with a generation that’s never had the chance to actually experience it. “I’m not using a DJ from Ottawa,” he says. “I got one of the youngest hottest DJS from Montréal, Alain Jackinsky.” GhettoFag launches June 23 at the Falldown Gallery. It’s full of graffiti and it’s a cool space. It’s also an affordable party. The cover is $8 and free before 11 p.m. No excuses Ottawa: it’s a hidden gem that’s unique, cool and underground.

Sebastien Provost took a two-month vacation after the closing Flamingo. “I worked on average 80 hours a week,” he says. “So creatively, I had nothing left.” He needed that space to become Sebastievn Provost again and not just “Mr. Flamingo.” With his GhettoFag monthly, Provost is back in the game...

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Two Boys, One Garden By Jordan Arseneault

Santiago has been in the news lately for many of the same reasons Montréal has. Gigantic student and unionist demonstrations have repeatedly taken to the streets of the Chilean capital, with many of the same struggles for access to education at the centre of the social debate. From his apartment overlooking Santiago’s Plaza de Armas (the equivalent of Place Émilie-Gamelin for protests), editor and curator Felipe Bracelis has been busy working on a different cause, that of queer representation and emerging talent in the visual arts in Latin America. “My apartment is right on the main square of the capital, I have seen protests, riots, and the whole thing. The main issues that people are confronting is education and the price of tuition,” Bracelis explains. Activists in Chile are painfully aware of how state and economic oppression intersect, having survived American meddling, dictatorship, and the impacts of globalization. “Since the Pinochet coup, the neoliberal system was tried here, and now 40 years after, today’s generation is aware that the model has failed. The poor are getting poorer, the rich are getting richer. People are dumber, there is less education. I think it’s more like a global awakening to the issue,” the young bearded curator tells me. While there are a lot of queer artists doing performance

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interventions during the protests in Santiago, the works he has included in the delicious Flesh Garden show coming to Ottawa are of a decidedly more aesthetic bent. For Bracelis, the show is “a view on the history of art and how it has been represented. The curatorship is based more on the body through art, than on society,” he proffers. Although the massive surge of social dissent in Chile won’t be manifesting itself on the gallery’s walls, the radical element will come in the mingling of queer artists from South and North whose work is underrepresented in galleries and museums. Body/culture Bracelis found himself on Bérubé’s radar through the web avatar of the Chilean’s YESSR magazine, which is dedicated to queer visual art in Latin America. “He reminds me of myself, he’s like a little brother to me,” Bérubé says of his 24 year-old co-curator. The two out gay provocateurs share a desire for fresh takes on painting and photography, and a love of images that toe the line between sexy and serious, grotesque and magical.

Though the styles and origins of the works in Flesh Garden may differ, they are linked by the cheerful themes of “disintegration, disfigurement, and dysmorphia.” Bérubé’s choices range from the quiet and painterly ‘Profil de Marc’ by Montréaler Martin Douvil to the visceral ‘Too Many Late Night’ by Peter Shmelzer, alongside almost twenty other pieces that explore corporeal extremes. Bracelis brought in artists from Brazil and Argentina to complete the bi-continental array of 18 striking works. Francisco Navarrete Sitja’s ‘Fisura’ recreates the nostaglia of turn-of-the-century homoerotic photography, but is scarred to appear as if it had been saved from a fire or flood. The show lends itself to a game of compare and contrast, with Brazilian Celio Braga’s use of collage next to that of Amsterdam-based artist Ashkan Honarvar’s ‘La Grande Bouffe’ and Bracelis’s own ‘Frat Origami [pig]’ taking up an old technique in new ways. Bérubé favourites James Huctwith and Scooter Laforge round out the show’s eclectic mix of outsider art and more classic figurative work. The other game you can play in the show, of course, is “North or South?” where you can try and guess where the artist is from, which will no doubt lead to a few surprises, as it did for me with ‘CristoCrucificado’ by Canadian painter Juan Carlos Noria. The cartoonish remake of “Jesus” on the cross has all the hallmarks of a queer culture-

Francisco Navarrete Sitja, ‘Fisura’, 2010, Digital Print, 30 X 20 cm 2B Magazine

Celebrating the gallerist’s 50th birthday and a year-long collaboration on their touring exhibit, La Petite Mort’s Guy Bérubé and Chilean curator Felipe Bracelis will host the summer’s gayest art show opening, Flesh Garden, on Friday, July 6.

< < < jam and anti-religious statement that underground artists are often compelled to make when they live in Catholic countries; though he is now based in Spain, Noria’s work takes on hybrid elements of the two Americas: the European art tradition and the total rejection thereof. “The first time I saw the show together, with Guy’s selections and mine, I wanted to abstract myself from the show, and try not to label certain artists as Canadian or Latin American,” Bracelis says after Flesh Garden had shown in Buenos Aires and most recently, in Santiago. “It’s a very global show. The histories of North and South America are very similar, with the European background and [that they are] similarly young countries. The public will enjoy the show because there are very good painters, but they also have something to say, which makes it very contemporary.” Known for its smashing opening parties, La Petite Mort is pulling out all the stops for the Flesh Garden vernissage. Performance artist Theo Pelmus promises to venture into the realm of playfulness “where martyrs are made from candy, and blood is made from caramel,” and Toronto “apocalyptically gay” dance-rock band Kids on TV will somehow also fit into the gallery to play songs from their forthcoming album Pantheon. That’s a lot of flesh for one room, and a lot of wild and colourful flowers for one big, queer garden. Flesh Garden Collaboration with YESSR July 6 - 29, 2012 Vernissage: Friday, July 6, 7-10pm with Kids on TV

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Ashkan Honarvar, ‘La Grande Bouffe’, 2011, Collage, 21 X 28 cm

La Petite Mort Gallery 306 Cumberland Street, Ottawa www.lapetitemortgallery.com

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growing up in the 80s in rural Manitoba as “living amongst the cultural detritus of the end of the Seventies,” which may be why so much of his music is imbued with a deliberate anachronism. Trubiak’s preoccupation with the analogue past is reminiscent of the nostalgia and eccentricity of certain other Prairie visual artists with tendencies toward the pre-digital. Is it about reclaiming the tough times?

CC Trubiak’s They Say I’m Different By Jordan Arseneault

When you go to C.C. Trubiak’s website, the first thing you see is a Joe Dallessandro/Peter Berlin-inspired photographer of the musician’s lower torso and crotch. The “Enter” icon wittily appears as your cursor hovers over the fly in his jeans. What you see when you enter – as 2B did when we visited his charming apartment in Ottawa’s Gliebe for a private concert in his living room – is an artist living a trunk-full of paradoxes: the sensitive diva, the exhibitionist introvert, and perhaps the most contradictory of all: the gay folk musician... When I arrive at C.C. Trubiak’s charming home in Ottawa’s historic Gliebe neighbourhood, it’s the morning after a big show with collaborator Danniel Oickle at the Mercury Lounge. Dressed as satyrs in vintage fur pants with ornamental horns, the sprightly Trubiak had sung and read in Oickle’s song cycle Corruption of the Flesh. Readers may recall Oickle and Trubiak as coverboys for the Capital Pride special issue in a sexy series shot by Dan Ziemkiewicz. Over the past year, the two have evolved in tandem, each singing on the other’s albums – Oickle sings on the track “Blue” – and supporting their live shows. Though their styles may differ, their drive to create is their common ground. While Oickle seeks inspiration in Kate Bush et

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al, Trubiak workships at the altar of one great diva: Dolly Parton. From Fags to Bitches For the folkster and photographer, Dolly represents the contradiction “between something glittery and shiny to look at, but underneath there is so much more depth.” On this, he picks up a copy of Dolly’s autobiography, My Life and Other Unfinished Business, and reads a passage about her rags to riches story. “Materially lacking but more than rich in spirit,” is the mantra that Trubiak returns to when he’s mustering up the fire needed to make it as a queer musician. (We decide that our shared middle class semi-rural stories aren’t so much

rags to riches as fags to bitches, possible title to a memoir, depending on who writes theirs first!). Icons like Dolly, mixed in with some Joni Mitchell and Peter Berlin, were the inspirations that helped the pensive songster overcome his emotionally difficult childhood in remote Flin Flon, Manitoba. “The primary message that I learned from growing up in Flin Flon was ‘you’re different, you’re not welcome, you make us uncomfortable,’” Trubiak recalls. “What I learned from that was ‘don’t express yourself.’ That was where the birth of my art and writing started in high school, soaking in books and film, alone.” Trubiak describes

The transition from loner to performer was a decade-long process, and one that paralleled Trubiak completing a social work degree, which may take him back to Flin Flon some day. The country influence on his music stays low-fi, including a Tammy Wynette cover - “Till I Get it Right” – that he sang to me live, finishing with the wet eyes of someone who lives the emotions of the song every single time. “One of the toughest things about performing live is that I feel like I could cry every time I sing,” he says as I wipe my own eyes. Check out CC Trubiak’s “Lonely Blue Waves (I Want You)” on Youtube. They Say I’m Different is available on iTunes or at www.cctrubiak.com Photo by2B José Perez Alvarez Magazine 29

Getting it Right

“Back then, my influence musically was with folk and country: Joni Mitchell, Dylan, the confessional aspect of their music.” The otherwise mild-mannered empath says he sticks to folk because he loves the idea of being able to tell a story. “I’m in pain, are you in pain?” he asks in his plaintive but rich tenor. The pain of being a queer boy in an unforgiving rural place could have made Trubiak into a statistic: in high school, like so many who feel different, he struggled with feeling suicidal. “Prairie Boy” was written for the occasion of Victims’ Voices Matter, a conference he was invited to perform at by the GLBTTQ Community Centre and the Department of Justice. The pun on “fairy boy” is a part of healing his teenage self, much as his photographer side expunges any thoughts of shame around his sexuality. (Seriously, folks: check out his photos.)

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Wakefield Escape by Sanita Fejzic

About an hour and a half from Montréal, Wakefield is a small village of about 2,000 inhabitants. Situated in the lovely Gatineau Park, it seems to have it all: the beauty and vastness of nature with lovely forests, lakes and beaches; a lively local culture of fine arts, theatre and music; enough fine restaurants and relaxing cafés to please the refined gastronome or lazy vagabond in us all. That’s exactly why Marilou Lapain, Christian Chartrand and Scott HébertDaly moved there. The three recount their personal stories and anecdotal tales of the village under the roof Wakefield’s best-kept secret, the Earl Hall. Situated on the second floor of Kaffé 1870, a popular local hangout, the old town hall was used as a local movie theatre before becoming obsolete. The lighting is dim and the conversation is lively. “I moved up here five and a half years ago,» says Chartrand. “I needed peace and quiet from the city. I wanted to simplify my life.» He lives with his partner in nearby Mont-Cascade and is the owner of the village’s first sushi shop, CC Sushi. Lapain chose Wakefield about a decade ago. “I moved here [from London, Ontario] because of the music scene,» she says. “And it’s close enough to work in Ottawa.» She’s a residential councilor in a group home for disabled adults during the week and a local cultural buff the rest of the time.

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The Village of Wakefield www.wakefieldquebec.com

“My partner and I moved up here in 2000,» says Hébert-Daly. “[At the time, my partner] Erik was the National Director of the NDP Party.» Life was hectic and stressful. “I’m a high school teacher, and I’m also busy,» he adds. “We rented a car and explored the area. We saw Wakefield and loved the village. The art scene is amazing.»

And even though Wakefield doesn’t have a Pride parade or an official LGBTQ organization, the village is definitely gay-friendly. “It’s a non-issue,» says Chartrand. “Everyone is welcome, no matter who they are or what their life story may be.” That’s their mantra and they stick by it.

Erik and Scott Hébert-Daly got married in 2006 and the wedding wasn’t without controversy. The couple wanted to marry in their local United Church, but a small minority of people made their dream impossible. “The whole village was angry,» he says, reminiscing. “Our Minister was supportive. It became a defining thing for the whole village. The artistic community, the hippies, everyone was startled.»

“This village feels like an alternative family,» adds Lapain. “I don’t really need a gay-specific thing, just a loving family.» To really bring the point home, Hébert-Daly tells of the time his partner brought him flowers in a restaurant. “Nothing,» he says. “No one cares!»

And it seems everyone from the village ended up coming to their wedding, which took place in the United Church of Chelsea, a nearby village. “It was heartwarming and difficult,» he says. “We had 250 people at the wedding. It was a huge party!» The wedding exemplifies the spirit of the village and its inhabitants. The show of support for everyone’s individuality, and the accepting and loving nature of Wakefielders is something the three friends agree on wholeheartedly. The village’s church has since grown too. In fact, its current Minister is an openly lesbian woman, D’thea Webster.

The Black Sheep Inn at night

It’s as simple as that, when in Wakefield, do as the Wakefielders: be yourself and have a good time. Sip a cool beer at Pub Earl or Kaffé 1870 overlooking the Gatineau River. Wind down and check out a cabaret at the chic Le Hibou bar and restaurant, or listen to some amazing music at the Black Sheep. “The Black Sheep is a must,» says Lapain. “It’s got top [musical] acts from across Canada.» Oh, and don’t forget to wave when the village train goes by: it’s a local tradition.

theblacksheepinn.com / kaffe1870.com / cafelehibou.com

Scott Hébert-Daly, Marilou Lapain & Christian Chartrand 2B Magazine

There comes a time in every urbanite’s life when they’ve had enough of the commotion, the noise and the pollution. You know––it’s that Sunday morning hangover that’s got you raging at the big city lifestyle: the stress, the endless to-do-lists and the speed of it all. In these rare moments so easily forgotten, you wonder what it would be like to live slow, take a walk in the forest or read a good book by the beach.

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Relax (take it easy) TIME STANDS STILL

Whether you’re breezing in from out of town and want to stay close to the action, or looking to unwind without leaving the city, the combo of Hotel Felix and Apsara massage is just what the doctor ordered. by Boísin Murphy When I step into the Hotel Felix on the corner of Ste-Catherine and de la Visitation, the first thing that strikes me is how surprisingly peaceful it is. With the Aires Libres in full swing, and Claude Cormier’s pink balls stretched over the strip, the Village is busier than ever, but inside Jaroen Saenkot’s quaint bed & breakfast-style hotel, quiet reigns. A co-owner of the hotel since 2008, and manager since last year, the discreet hotelier came to the business with experience in spa and massage management, having started the Apsara salon in 2006. But more on that later. “We have a mostly gay customer base because of the location,” Saenkot says, seated on plush couch in the wooden-decorated salon of the hotel’s main floor. The owner/operator’s personal touches of Thai décor throughout the hotel give it at once a homey and refined feel, which is part of the point. “As a 2-star hotel, we’re a hybrid of the hotel and B&B,” Saenkot tells us. While a continental breakfast is included in an overnight stay, guests benefit from BBQ and kitchenette access, and can enjoy affordable massage therapy offered in the cabana on the back patio. Also, unlike many similar-sized establishments, all 14 rooms in the hotel have private bath, flat-screen TV, DVD player, and the added bonus of 24-hour check-in. Visitors (and locals) working or doing business in the Village can avail themselves of a 15% discount when they make their reservation, as another incentive. As we enter high season, you have

to make sure to book well in advance, since the hotel’s prime Beaudry métro location makes it a popular destination for seasonal travellers. Meanwhile, back at the salon... It had been a stressful week, and I knew that I would packing and carrying boxes in an impending move, so I decided to take my host’s advice and try a 30-minute massage at his Apsara salon, just a block away. Booked for a back massage with a handsome young man named Bryan, I figured it would be the best way to unwind between meetings, and I was right. Impeccably clean and tastefully lit, Apsara was (until now), one of the better-kept secrets of the strip, as the only all-male massage parlour in the Village. Bryan was adept at getting at the

clusters of knots under my shoulder-blades, and had a natural ease that made you feel like you deserved this little slice of self-care. Although my masseur was shirtless, and the technique not overly technical, it was thoroughly relaxing and professional. As promised on the website, it was an experience I did not want to see end: luckily, my next appointment was, like everything from Apsara and Hotel Felix, only a bustling, gay block away.

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BEAuTIfuL SANDy BEACH juST STEpS AWAy fROM DOWNTOWN

Hotel Felix 1274 Ste-Catherine Est, Montréal www.hotelfelixmontreal.com Apsara Massage 1333 Ste-Catherine Est, Suite 301, Montréal www.apsaramassage.com

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HOT SPOTS 2B july 2012

For their first live show in Montréal, this brazen 9-member troop will bring audiences an energetic spectacle featuring “vibrant vocals, kitschy costumes, provocative videos and spontaneous dancing - all set in a 1950s living room strewn with retro furniture, radios, minks, and (sometimes) trees.” Well-known in the queer scene in their native Ottawa, the Peptides’ Bobards show may show off some songs from their forthcoming Love Question Mark album. Queer funk, anyone? 9:30pm @ Les Bobards, 4328 boul. St-Laurent, Montréal. Facebook: The Peptides @ Les Bobards (Montreal).

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Hump of the Week for 2boys.tv ACCM 25th Anniversary Picnic Wed. July 18 After an acclaimed 2-week run at Toronto’s Sat. July 14 Celebrating 25 years of support for people living with HIV and AIDS, AIDS Community Care Montréal is hosting a “Southern Carnival Picnic” in Parc Lafontaine. With a delicious menu of BBQ, sweet potatoes, coleslaw, sangria, lemonade and “sweet tea”, the picnic will also feature a strawberry dessert competition, dirty bingo and “foolery.” Enjoy a slice of watermelon with the lovely staff and volunteers of this crucial organization. RSVP to 25@accmontreal.org 1-6pm in Parc Lafontaine (near corner of Calixa-Lavalée and Sherbrooke Est)

Buddies in Bad Times Theatre, then at the Musée d’art contemporain, and a magical performance of their Tightrope drag + music elegy at Mexico City’s Museo de Bellas Artes, Montréal performance duo 2boys.tv are back, and they’re broke! Collaborator Alexis O’Hara (aka Guizo La Nuit, who will be hocking some of his kingly duds for the cause) has summoned all of Stephen Lawson and Aaron Pollard’s favourite collaborators for a benefit cabaret that should be one of the highlights of your queer calendar. @ La Sala Rossa, 4848 boul. St-Laurent. $1015 PWYC

Ghetto Fag Sat. July 28

Mykki Blanco Sat. July 27

Mec Plus Ultra “Mirage” Sat. July 28

On the cutting (and cunty) edge of New York’s explosive queer hip-hop scene, Mykki Blanco is perhaps the most gender-outlaw of them all. Often performing with fellow Brooklynite Zebra Katz (“Ima Read”), Blanco (aka Mikey Quattlebaum Jr.) casts spells with club-focused hip-hop in songs like “Wavvy” and “Join my Militia”. He’s a self-proclaimed “flower child soaked in gasoline and burning wild.” Not 2B missed.

Reuniting for a one-off killer club night with Torontonian synth-pop band Parallels, MPU is going all out for an illusion-themed dance night that will let you sample the sweet beats from this New-Order-esque act fronted by the dreamy-voiced Holly Dodson. Often referencing the work of synth master Giorgio Moroder, Parallels will find a bevy of new Montréal fans after this dance night with Antoine Bédard and DJ François Guimond

It’s what everyone always said Ottawa was missing: a dirty dance party for the queers and rejetés, with a lot of 90’s glamour thrown in. Seb Provost is bringing int Montréal cuties DJ Alain Jackinsky + “Chicky Boom” remixer Nico Concerto for this sweatfest at the skater + graffiti artist haunt in the heart of Ottawa’s newly minted Village. With the motto “So wrong it’s right”, this could be the closest thing the Capital has to a homosexual loft party as in the days of old. (Tip: early is the new late)

10pm @ The Royal Phoenix Bar, 5788 boul St-Laurent. BTYB Rough Diamond Collective

Doors 10pm @ Le Belmont, 4483 boul. StLaurent. $7 before 11pm, $10 after.

10:30pm @ Falldown gallery, 288 Bank Street, Ottawa, $8 2B Magazine

The PepTides July 12

Yoga in Stereo by Boísin Murphy Photos by Edson Emilio Garcia aka El Negro

“As we age, and become adults in the grey banal world, how did it happen that we suddenly rely on 12 coffees just to feel ‘on’?” Line Trepanier asks as we talk about her fabulous new project, the Yoga Jam at Stereo. Like many yoga instructors, Trepanier’s new venture is a second career and altogether different from her first path, as a high-powered metallurgical engineering consultant. When she asks why we rely on so much coffee just to feel ‘on’, I feel like she is staring into my soul...

The monthly Wednesday night Yoga Jam Trepanier hosts at Stereo is meant to explore the invigorating aspects of yoga, rather than the meditative side. “The original meaning of Hatha Yoga is ‘sun-moon position’,” Trepanier says, explaining that the club music and lighting are meant to work the participants up and expand their energy. “With Stereo’s state-of-the-art lighting and sound system, [we] can make it a party, but without the consumption,” she says, suggesting that this is yoga truly geared to recovering party people. In a Yoga Jam, you don’t need to deal with the traditional chimes and chanting that can sometimes make one cringe: just feel the deep base thumping through the floor, and can get carried away by the kaleidoscopic lights around you.

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When I attended the April Yoga Jam, Montréal DJ guru Robert de la Gauthier was at the decks, spinning some truly beautiful mixes, while Trepanier called the poses into a Madonna-like head-set. This is the real thing: the sun salutations, standing poses, and lunges were at times challenging, leaving room for more intermediate practitioners to “go deeper” as they like to say. A delightful assistant weaved through the class during the 1.5-hour session, giving tips and helping translate as necessary. Although the class is taught in French, Trepanier is totally bilingual and the sequences are easy to follow if you have done any yoga in the past. Line Trepanier will take her Yoga Jam to an even bigger venue during Pride this August 18, when her Pop Yoga project will summon all of the queer yogis of Montréal and the world to Place Émilie-Gamelin. She hopes it will surpass Toronto Pride as the biggest outdoor yoga gathering in North America. “If health is the most important thing in life, we should devote ourselves to our bodies, to deal with our emotions and train our mind,” she concludes. So perhaps the secret to not relying on those 12 coffees may some day be revealed? Yoga Jam @ Stereo Montréal, 858 Ste-Catherine Est + Sat. August 18, 3pm @ Place Émilie-Gamelin for Fierté Montréal Pride www.yogajammtl.com 2B Magazine

Standing in the centre of the Stereo dance floor, with a group over thirty students around her, the beautiful 30-something instructor looks right at home, even though the contrast of the ancient practice with the afterhours surroundings seems a little jarring at first. “Spirituality is getting involved in life, not fleeing from it,” Trepanier explains. “Calling one thing yoga and another not, as the purists do, subscribes to the duality that is contradictory to the unifying aspect of yoga.” And that unifying aspect is exactly what she has done in her personal and career life, combining the best parts of her party past with the grounding influence of yoga. “Maybe there was an exploratory aspect to my earlier life – I saw the limits of the other way of being,” she admits, with a honestly and without judgement, as a yogi should be.

by Boísin Murphy

17 SAULT-AU-MATELOT VIEUX-PORT, QUÉBEC G1K 3Y7 418 692-1334

I had eaten several times at Be Bap, given its convenient location on Amherst and Ste Catherine, before finally sitting down to talk with owner and chef Jung-Kwom Seo. Passionate about Korean food and the bibimbap, their national dish, Jung is a former soldier who has applied his skill and discipline to serving delicious, healthy food, with a little help from Mom...

Mom Mrs Seo is the mentor, he says: “she will correct and comment, she has the skills and palette.” Chef Jung-Kwon recommends the Seo family’s famous seafood green onion pancake (panjeon) as an appetizer, followed by the bulgogi, the house speciality consisting of marinated stir-fried beef served with rice and vegetable side dishes. The prevailing

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flavours in a Korean meal, and this is what makes Be Bap authentic in the end, are garlic, onion, chili, kimchi and fermented soy paste, a misolike condiment that is the basis for many of their soups and sauces. Rather than the traditional sweet rice and bean desserts, Be Bap’s are basically European with a Korean twist. Try the crème brûlée with black sesame seeds, a flavour to be found again in the ice cream choices, along with favourites green tea, red bean, and ginger. Made by Jung’s cousin who also makes the green tea ice cream, the sweet potato cake is velvety, blended with cream cheese, and layered on a sponge cake lightly flavoured with vanilla. Yum...

71, RUE SAINT-PAUL VIEUX-PORT, QUÉBEC G1K 3V8

418 692-1991

WWW.RESTAURANTSSS.COM

It’s always a treat to know that the sustenance you’ve been enjoying comes from someone who has thought of all the details, making Be Bap a welcome new staple amongst the family-run restos in the Village. Restaurant Be Bap 1429 rue Amherst, Montréal H2L 3L2 514-524-7878 restaurantbebap.com

Avec la participation de : • Bureau de la Capitale-Nationale • Ministère de la Culture, des Communications et de la Condition féminine • Ministère du Tourisme

“My personal goal is to promote Korean food,” Jung says with a smile. The young owner-chef is aware that his lunchtime bibimbap is not the classic Korean presentation, so he makes up for it with a slower, more authentic dinner service (bring your own wine!) “It’s a way to serve two different styles: the lunch time, which is quick and accessible, and the evening menu, with its own bibimbap.”

THIS EXHIBITION WAS ORGANIZED BY THE LOS ANGELES COUNTY MUSEUM OF ART (LACMA) AND THE MUSEO DE ARTE MODERNO (MAM), MEXICO. IT WAS MADE POSSIBLE THROUGH A GENEROUS GRANT FROM THE TERRA FOUNDATION FOR AMERICAN ART. THE ORGANIZERS ARE GRATEFUL FOR THE SPECIAL COLLABORATION OF THE NATIONAL COUNCIL FOR CULTURE AND THE ARTS (CONACULTA) AND NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF FINE ARTS (INBA), MEXICO. ROSA ROLANDA, AUTORRETRATO (SELF-PORTRAIT), 1945. GOUACHE ON PAPER, 40 X 33 CM. COLECCIÓN BLAISTEN.

kitchen open 7/ 7 until midnight...

As the son of Mr and Mrs Korea House themselves, i.e. Mr and Mrs Seo, Jung-Kwom Seo comes by the restaurant business naturally. Hailing from the area around Seoul, the Seo family made a reputation for fine Korean fare in Côte-des-Neiges before seeing their son take up the torch in the wave of popularity that the Asian nation’s cuisine has enjoyed recently. With very little deep-frying, lots of flavour, Be Bap is an excellent introduction to this lesser known culinary tradition. Often eclipsed by Japanese and Chinese fare, the hearty bibimbap is now on the map, at Be Bap! Although there are multiple ways to serve Korea’s national dish, the bibimbap is usually presented in a hot stone pot with a fried egg on top. The individually-sized bowls contain your choice of jasmine, brown, or sticky rice, vegetables, and stir-friend chicken, pork, beef, or tofu. Catering to a busy lunch crowd, Jung has tweaked the standard ingredients, using julienned omelette instead of the fried whole egg, so that you get your lunchtime bowl of goodness with the quality of homemade fare, but the speed of fast food.

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Jeff Alarie @ Mews Photos by Olivier Boivin-Carrier

Designer Jeff Alarie with models

For the forth instalment of DYDH’s Mews events at Royal Phoenix bar, fashion took a back seat to accessories, and new jewelry was the order of the day. Stylist and photographer Danik Yopp and PINK28’s Nina Habib selected a stunning team of models to show off sculptor Jeff Alarie’s new collection, with a “less is more” approach. Using found materials, feathers, stones and beads, Alarie’s line of necklaces, earrings, nose-rings and assorted headgear was displayed using the models’ bare bodies as canvas. Familiar faces – such as Glam Gam’s Julie Paquet and Tristan Harris – mixed with newer ones, like Aman Ahluwalia (on the recent Être cover for their Québec City edition), along with fashion student and blogger Kim Ninkuru. Generally taking place the third Thursday of the month at the Royal Phoenix Bar, the goal of DYDH’s Mews events is to provide a platform of visibility for young artists and designers. From the models to the make-up and seductive presentation, Mews and Jeff Alarie made for a symbiotic experience of accessories based on natural forms and a chic, witchy sensibility. Alarie’s designs, currently available online – and more prestigiously at the Patricia Field boutique in New York City – were a perfect fit for their Spring edition.

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Model Kim

Ninkuru 2B Magazine

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Naked Jewels

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Pier Pressure By Boísin Murphy

NYC Pride, the grandmother of Pride festivals, is changing venues for its main party event, but the spirit stays the same: this year’s “Share the Love” slogan melds vintage gay rights messages with inspiration for today’s struggles – and celebrations!

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the diatribe raging in the US over extending marriage rights to same-sex couples continues to bring up some tired old attitudes: gay love is different, different is bad, so shut up. “Just because marriage exists in NY State, doesn’t mean that we can stop advocating for LGBT rights,” says Chris Frederick at Heritage of Pride NYC. When we spoke, Americans were

still waiting with bated breath for Barack Obama to openly state his support for gay marriage, which he finally did in an interview on May 8. The “Share the Love” theme was chosen for 2012 to encourage people to “come out about their love,” whether that be for their partner or their community. For their parade marshals this year, NYC Pride has chosen Phyllis Siegel and Connie Kopelov, the first same-sex couple to

The banner image on NYC Pride’s revamped website is a black & white photo from an early pride demonstration: one man in the crowd wields a hand-made sign that says “HOMO IS HEALTHY”. The message of the Christopher Street Gay Liberation Day march in 1970 still applies today, particularly in America, where it’s all too clear that divisions remain. Whatever your thoughts on gay marriage,

< < < be legally married in New York state last year, and Cyndi Lauper, whose True Colors Fund supports LGBT youth initiatives and advocates for equality nationally. “The organization always likes to concentrate on the community... there are so many creative minds and leaders in the city!” Frederick emotes. But the real news this year is the big change in venue for the post-march Dance on the Pier. After 20 years of partying outdoors on Pier 54 on the Hudson River, safety concerns have obliged the organizers to move to a larger indoor venue, Pier 57 at the end of 15th Street. “Every year we lose about 100 feet off the end of the Pier,” Frederick admitted, and when this year’s environmental review threw them lemons, they decided to make pink lemonade. Pier 57 is almost twice as large as its predecessor, “which will help with the number one complaint from previous years, that it was too crowded.” As an indoor space, not only can the gigantic structure accommodate up to 7,000 people, it can also stay open until 2am, unlike the outdoor venue which had to close at 10:30pm due to noise regulations. “It’ll be great for visitors, and for keep everyone together,” Frederick adds, assured that the extra time and space will mean people won’t have to disperse into other smaller venues. You can stay and really get your money’s worth – and save $25 if you purchase your ticket by May 31. The big-name DJ’s for the event are a play in contrast, with real-life brothers the Perry Twins (LA) playing to a daytime upbeat crowd, while DJ Eddie Baez and DJ Boris finish off the night with harder House beats. This year’s NYC Pride continues to prove that different is good!

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Dance on the Pier @ New York City Pride Sunday, June 24. 5pm-2am Pier 57, Hudson River Park www.nycpride.org 45

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Lone Wolf By Michael Hawrysh

You may remember Montréal queer novelist Daniel Allex Cox from his last novel, Krakow Melt, about a pyromaniac Polish rebel re-enacting the great fires of history. That is, if you’re not still lingering on the image of him on the cover of Inches magazine. Well, get ready for some more Cox, but without all that pesky burning… Daniel’s third novel, Basement of Wolves has just been released by Arsenal Pulp Press. 2B caught up with the writer on the eve of his Montréal book launch. His new novel is about a Hollywood actor, Michael-David, stuck in the no-man’s land of being between the ages of 40 and 45, on the verge of becoming a has-been. He gets hopelessly caught up in a terrible film about a man being raised by wolves (and no, this is not some gay slang metaphor) and sequesters himself in a hotel room to hide from his seemingly inevitable fall from stardom. A chance encounter with a young skater earns him a Kato-style roommate whose pseudorelationship provides him with a glimpse of human connection, amidst all the paranoia. Cox confessed to us that he “wanted to use a profession where it would be believable that someone so loved could be so lonely.” Throughout his three novels, Cox’s main characters have consistently grown in age, paralleling his own ageing process. We couldn’t help but ask if this novel was a reflection of the author’s own identity crisis. “Writing always throws me into identity crisis,” the charismatic author admits. “I think it’s because I use writing to break the shells I’ve made for myself to inhabit. I think many people, including artists working in the public eye, realize at some point that the persona they present to the world is an outdated construction in need of renovation. The renovation can never come soon enough,

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because we are constantly changing. That’s the crisis.” As with all of his novels, his characters carry an articulate cynicism that is one of Cox’s trademarks. It is reminiscent of another Canadian author who also happens to be gay, Douglas Copeland, (who popularized the phrase “Generation X” with his first novel). Cox’s characters display that same kind of sarcastic wit and charming cynicism that are characteristic of generations X and Y. To this, Cox concedes: “I’m not sure what my generation is! I think younger generations get cynical sooner. Though we all have to work hard to keep our hearts open, it is a constant battle. One way to do that is to allow ourselves to be surprised -- letting our kinks out in bed, cooking with unfamiliar vegetables, seeing the poetry in the everyday. Not only can surprise help us fight the conservatism inside us, it also destabilizes the enemy.” Though Cox calls Montréal his home, his novels have so far taken place in New York, Poland and Los Angeles, but he has hinted that this might change... “I would not be surprised if Montréal eventually made an appearance. It has enough change and urgency to keep me interested.” Basement of Wolves (Arsenal Pulp Press) is now available in bookstores.

There Goes the Neighbourhood Donald W. Hinrichs’s Montréal’s Gay Village, reviewed by Jason B. Crawford, PhD and Julie Podmore, PhD As researchers who study Montreal’s gay and lesbian history, culture and geography, we were excited to discover Donald Hinrichs’s Montréal’s Gay Village. Surprisingly, the Village– a district that has played such an important role in the city’s queer geographies – remains relatively under-researched. Written by a former US professor of urban sociology, this book promised a refreshing new interpretation of our “gay” district. However, as we dove into this particular “story” of the Village, we grew more and more perplexed by this self-published book. Hinrichs’s objective is to provide a sociological study of the Village that is accessible to readers less accustomed to academic books. This is a very laudable objective. The text is written so that a wide audience can understand his findings and Hinrichs offers a breadth of topics from demographic data to different ways that people use the Village. One welcome item in the book is a discussion about Saint-PierreApôtre parish in the Village and the spiritual services it provides to gay men, an issue rarely discussed in research on the Village However, as academic research, the book has some serious problems. First there is the quality of the source materials. Much of the “story” is told through newspaper accounts

rather than archival materials or existing research. Then, there is the problem of context. The research does not integrate perspectives from Montréal-based research on sexuality and urban space. This is especially problematic in the section that seeks to frame the development of the Village within the framework of the US gay rights movement. While Hinrichs is careful to point out that he is not attempting to provide “a history of gay life in Montreal”, the exclusion of a historically-grounded and contextual approach to studying the Village limits what kind of story can be told. Grounding one’s research in the historical developments, social movements, and cultural politics of our communities is essential to understanding the realities of people’s experiences of the Village. For these reasons, we hope that it will not become the seminal text on Montréal’s Village.

understanding trans women’s work and life in Montreal’s history. These are all well-written texts by bilingual Montréalers and are widely respected. Montreal’s Gay Village: The Story of a Unique Urban Neighborhood through the Sociological Lens by Donald W. Hinrichs. Published by iUniverse, 2011, 232 pages.

For those who wish to learn more about the development of the Village, we suggest the collection Sortir de l’ombre. There are also a number of very reputable research projects that have been published on the Village such as Julie Podmore’s 2006 article “Gone Underground” and Brian Ray’s 2004 paper “The Diversity Paradox: Montréal’s Gay Village.” We also urge readers to pick up Viviane Namaste’s 2005 book C’était d’un spectacle about transsexual performers of “la Main” which is necessary to 2B Magazine

Montréal novelist Daniel Allen Cox is back

< < < Club music album reviews:‘genre-defying’ vs ‘genre-defining’

By Danny Légaré

Kaskade – Fire & Ice (Ultra) Let’s cut Kaskade some slack for surviving through his own transition of going from being a deep house impresario for the OM record label to now designing house music built for a stadium. “Fire & Ice” comes equipped as a double cd: “Fire” – the up-tempo counterpart to the chilled “Ice”; both illicit Kaskade’s mastery as songwriter and dance-floor filler. While his nods to his past are present, F&I remains to be a testament to his evolution (there’s that buzz word again) as a DJ and producer. Songs like ‘Lick It’, with subtle wobs-wobs courtesy of Skrillex, the fun ‘ICE’ with Dada Life and ‘How Long” with Inpetto and Late Night Alumni (Kaskade’s moniker side-project) fit nicely at the dance dens and after-hours, while it’s the gorgeous “Ice Mix” of “Room for Happiness” (featuring the sultry vox of Skylar Grey), that reminds us that electronic music can be just as effective sitting down. Kaskade plays the Olympia on June 16

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Ferry Corsten – WKND (Flashover/Ultra)

Chez Nous3 : Mixed by Steve ‘Bear’ Sas (Mile-End Records) For the last few years, Mile-End Records has been steadfast in promoting that irreplaceable Montreal ‘house’ music sound with single releases and DJ compilations and the latest Chez Nous 3, helmed by Steve Bear Sas is one for the time capsule. A veteran to the scene for over 20 years, Bear has got nothing to prove, and with a track selection featuring Angel Moraes, Blond:ish, Honey Dijon and Tone Depth, Bear lets the music speak for itself. Simple, unabashed and true to form, Mile End Records is Montreal house.

The mature, moody and trancey atmosphere of Corsten’s previous effort, “Twice in a Blue Moon”, is almost totally absent and replaced by pop-ish dance tracks flavored mostly with current nu + electro-house sounds and oodles of catchy vocals on ‘WKND’. For the veteran fans of Corsten, there are luckily some inklings of his trancier days left: “Take Me» and “Not Going Down” are the pod-worthy tracks combining melodica with driving Corsten-style basslines. Another highlight is the proggy collaboration with Armin van Burren, “Brute», which has been hammered by both DJs in their recent sets. While the album does have the standard 6+ minute trancey-opuses, it’s in the radio friendly “In Your Eyes”, with vocal chops from JES and the poppy ‘‘Live Forever’’ sung by Aruna, that devises the core of the album. While it won’t soon be hailed as a classic outing, Corsten still has the gusto to make him one of the more forward-thinkers in the realm of EDM. Question is, will we follow him on his next night out?

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EDM’s search for sonic balance

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Sonic nudity:

Montag bares all with PHASES

By Mark Ambrose Harris

For anyone interested in the methodologies behind a musician’s process, Montag’s PHASES project is an engaging documentary and a growing roster of fantastic singles. Each month, Montag sets up musical parameters and then writes, records, and releases a song accompanied by a “making-of” audio doc, in addition to a music video. Montag is otherwise known as Antoine Bédard, who along with Julien Repentigny and François Guimond, created Mec Plus Ultra, the hugely successful but now extinct hors-village dance night. Montag’s most recent single, “P.I.E.C.E.S.,” features a lyrical contribution from Pierre Lapointe. We spoke to Montag about his practice, stylistic comfort zones, and collaboration.

2B: How did come to collaborate with Pierre Lapointe? AB: Pierre and I have some friends in common and many of them told me that we should meet. Eventually we met and we got along amazingly well right from the beginning. Pierre plays a role when he’s on stage, the arrogant singer, borderline pretentious—people find the character really entertaining—but in reality he’s one of the most humble people I’ve ever met. It

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was an instant friendship. I’m really happy with our collaboration. 2B: What brought the curtain call to Mec Plus Ultra? AB: It was fun to do, but eventually Julien Repentigny left the city and it was a lot of work for François Guimond and I, despite the regular helpers that we had around us. I felt like it was keeping me from writing my own music. It was good thing to end the night when it was still well attended and fun. François and I are now playing the music we like every month at Royal Phoenix. The night is called Audio Porn Club—dirty, I know! 2B: Can you speak about Montag as a personality? AB: It’s hard for me to describe exactly what Montag’s personality is like. It’s a bit more serious than my true self, a lot shyer too. Maybe because making music is always a source of immense pleasure but also a lot of anxiety. I think it explains in part why I used the name Montag as opposed to Antoine Bédard. Although I feel like Montag is not 100% me and that I am not 100% Montag, I do find Montag to be the thing I do that allows me to get to know myself the most. Of all the experiences I had in my life, Montag is one of the most enriching and thrilling. www.montag.ca

Montag’s newest single, “Next Life” is available now on iTunes. Photo by Jérémie Battaglia Graphic design by Curious Flux 2B Magazine

2B: On your website, you’re transparent about your creative process. Why is this level of documentation important? Antoine Bédard: I got the idea after watching a documentary about the recording of Blondie’s “Heart of Glass.” I thought it was fascinating, not just because I make music, but because I love music enough to be interested in the “how» of music making. The process is more exposed in the visual arts or in cinema, so I thought it would be interesting to talk about how the songs of PHASES were put together. The audio documentaries for each single require quite a bit of time to produce but I’m happy with them so far. I’ve been getting positive feedback because it’s unusual for musicians to talk about how they work, and there are music fans out there who crave that kind of information.

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Brewing Good times in Gatineau By Antoine Aubert

If you ask a local where you can go to get a good beer in Gatineau, they will no doubt lead you straight to Les Brasseurs du Temps. Over the past few years, this microbrewery, restaurant and local beer museum has both celebrated and carried on Hull’s proud brewing tradition. Beer is a long-standing institution in Gatineau, particularly in Hull, the oldest and most central part of the city. Decades ago, during prohibition, the city was almost considered a “little Chicago.” “We called it Happytown,” recalls Alain Geoffroy, one of the four pillars of Les Brasseurs du temps. In May of 2009, the owners decided to renovate a historic building in Hull that had remained unoccupied for 5 years and left in a state of disrepair. The building housed a brewery/distillery from as early as 1821, when Philemeon Wright, an early settler to the Hull area, established the first brewery in the region on the banks of what would become the Ruisseau de la Brasserie (Brewery creek). The building later served as a medical dispensary, an axe factory, and even a water tower.

Their food is carefully prepared with locally sources ingredients and the menu features many dishes made with beer – like elk made with Le diable au corps and bouillabaisse made with Blonde facile – as well as a selection of standard fare such as tapas, burgers and sandwiches. They also have a large sunny outdoor patio as well as a cellar where they host events such as cabaret nights and beer tastings. Les Brasseurs du temps 170 rue Montcalm, Gatineau (819) 205-4999 ext. 1 brasseursdutemps.com

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443, RUE SAINT-FRANÇOIS-XAVIER MONTRÉAL (QUÉBEC) H2Y 2T1 Auberge: 514 844-1448 Restaurant: 514 844-4368 www.restaurantbonaparte.com

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www.ambroisie.ca 4020 Saint-Ambroise, Montreal

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Let there be beer

Today, Les Brasseurs du temps (BDT for regulars) is a hotspot of life in Gatineau, as much for staights as it is for gays and lesbians, who often frequent the establishment.

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230, RUE SAINT-PAUL OUEST MONTRÉAL (QUÉBEC) H2Y 1Z9 (514) 845-5866 www.restaurantgandhi.com

The masters of the house are deeply proud of their 35 different beers, of which 17 are available at any one time. L’Allumante (hazelnuts and caramel) or the very pious and sweet Messe de Minuit (“Midnight Mass” – anise, orange and grape), Et la lumière fut! (“Let there be light” – pear, honey, grains) are among the beers recently featured.

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Cupcakes Perfected By Boísin Murphy

If you asked anyone who attended 2B’s 10th anniversary party, one of the stars of the night was definitely the scrumptious cupcakes made lovingly by Robert Plante and Ken Lee at D-liche. Be careful, though, one bite and you’re hooked!

Or in the case of D-liche, that only a perfectionist gay couple could make. Before opening their gleaming white storefront confectionary on rue St-Denis in June of last year, Ken and Robert were known for bringing their cupcakes to friends’ parties and events. Both halves of the couple had successful careers in marketing already, but the desire to branch out and do something on their own took over, and D-liche was born. “We decided to pursue the sweeter side of life and help bring a little more joy to everyone,” Ken explains. After

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honing their recipes for 8 years, and looking at the cupcake trend that has swept the continent in recent years, they were convinced they have what it takes to outlast the profusion of lesser fare on the market. “Everybody tries to get into the market, but only the good ones stay,” the baker and entrepreneur says with a grin. Having already experienced their exquisite Red Velvet and chocolate creations, I sat down to enjoy mini versions of the Raspberry Raspberry, Piña Colada and Dulce de Leche cupcakes – each finished simply with naturally coloured sprinkles – accompanied by a perfect espresso allongé made with beans by Montréal roaster Café Union. (I can still taste them now.) The textures and flavours that make D-liche cupcakes so special are a function of their high quality ingredients. Every detail has been hand-picked to pleasure your palette: the

Madagascan vanilla paste, secretly-sourced 90% chocolate cocoa, dark Cuban rum, and ubiquitously used real butter deliver a mouth feel you won’t taste anywhere else. “We are fastidious about the quality of our cupcakes. We don’t need to have the most number of stores, or even a franchise. We want to become the Schwartz’s of cupcakes, and have people lining up outside the door!”

The Canadian Museum of Civilization and the Canadian War Museum are the must-sees of Canada’s Capital. Discover Canada’s cultural and military history within life-size environments. From May 18 to October 28, 2012, take a journey through the mysteries of Maya: Secrets of their Ancient World at the Museum of Civilization. From June 13, 2012 to January 6, 2013, learn the history behind the war of 1812 at the War Museum.

Whether you’re stopping in to enjoy one on your own, or ordering 250 for a wedding or anniversary party, you’ll feel like each cupcake is made just for you, and for that sweet quiet moment of pure, individually served pleasure. D Liche 3964-A rue Saint-Denis, Montréal (closed Mondays) 514-500-2505 www.dliche.ca

100 Laurier Street, Gatineau, Québec 1-800-555-5621 • www.civilization.ca

1 Vimy Place, Ottawa, Ontario

1-800-555-5621 • www.warmuseum.ca

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When I bit into the Triple Chocolate cupcake by D-liche, I was transported back to my childhood, to Sarah Campbell’s 6th birthday party in 1986. The moist cake and powerful cocoa icing brought me back to the origins of my love of this supremely sought-after confection: the kind of cupcake only someone else’s mother can make.

Our history lives here.

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Prizefighters are the new Jocks By Boísin Murphy

Has anyone else noticed the style revolution happening with jock straps lately? If you’ve ever seen the “New Jock” from Timoteo on a go-go boy (or on your trick’s bedroom floor), then you know what I’m talking about. Cellblock 13 is the kid brother of the more well-known line, started by Los Angeles-based designer Timoteo Ocampo. His 2012 collection of underwear and more “fetish-inspired” men’s intimates are all centred around the Prizefighter, a “Jock Brief that shows off all your assets.” The Cellblock 13 spin-off “came from people who wanted something new and exciting every season, with the quality and fit we had become known for,” says Creative Director Timoteo Ocampo, who established his eponymous line after starting as a retailer in West Hollywood. While Timoteo (the brand) has expanded into doing athletic wear and jeans, the Cellblock 13 collection is more fetish and fashion driven. “We took the colours that signify something to the fetish community and incorporated them into the design of the underwear,” Ocampo explains. For those who don’t remember what the hanky codes are for red, blue and yellow, LOOK IT UP (as Madonna would say). The über-homoerotic undergear line features a variety of items, from wrestling singlets, gauntlets, and hoods to assless “Jock Singlets” and the two new variations on the jock strap which have been flying off the shelves: the Gridiron “Square cut Jock” and the emblematic Prizefighter Jock Brief. “It’s a new way of looking at the jock,” the unexpectedly sweet designer asserts. The allure of these new styles seems to come from how the cut from the front is so classic, but the totally cut-out “open back” shows that you’re a trouble-maker, or at least that you have an appreciation for raunch. The doubled-up nylon spandex sports mesh is also a nice touch, as is knowing that the entire line is proudly Made in LA, which gives Ocampo and his team control over “stitches per inch,” a measure of quality that’s harder to ensure when the sewing is done overseas. Now available all over Canada at Priape stores, Cellblock 13 may just be the gateway jock that lets you bring out the prizefighter within.

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6075 Ghana Sexy, handsome black, guy 30, looking for serious man to meet soon. 6076 A good-looking, honest, intelligent, manly Ukrainian boy, 24 y.o., H. 177 cm, 74 kg, dark-blond hair, green eyes, with university education, good health, nice body and good character. I do not smoke and do not drink alcohol. Seeks my special man, real best friend for correspondence, good meetings, holidays together, friendship, romance, love and for happy long relationship. 6077 46 ans, 5’6’’, 142 Lbs, 8’’ Non-circoncis, séro+, cherche mec 40-55 ans, pas bedonnant, enjoué, cochon, comme moi : pisse, odeurs naturelles (cul, aiselles, couilles, sueur), tendre et versatile. Black+ Têl XXX bien venus ! 6078 40 y/o, 1.80cm, 82 kg, mulato. Cantante profesional, deseo contactar amigos en Canada y el mundo para correspondencia en mi club del amor y la amistad. 6079 Ghana I’m Robert, sexy romantic Black guy looking for any man to be my lover and to treat him cordly, gay friends welcome too. Any age is welcome plus meeting. 6080 Cuba 44 años, bisexual con preferencia por hombres, trigueno, ojos cafés, 1.70m, 65 kg, sagitario. Me gusta la playa, el cine, las discotecas. Busco amistad

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o relación estable con hombre bisexual o gay completo relations sexuelles occasionnelles. Doit être propre et entreprenant. Nous sommes grassouillets, honnêtes et (activo/pasivo) entre 19 y 50 años. discrets. Prière d’inclure informations pertinentes et une 6081 Cuba 26 y/o, White hair, Black eyes, clear skin. Gay photo (visage) dans votre réponse. looking for a friend. I need love and peace. I like music, 6088 Cuba 58 años, 1.54m, 64kg, pelo canoso, ojos parcycling and chocolate. I’m simple and complete. dos, romantico, cariñoso y agradable. Busco pareja de mi 6082 Rétraité soixantaine, barbu, poilu, chevveux grison- edad o mayor hasta 70 años. Soy sastre y me gusta la múnants, Allure véome et intello. Doux, respecteux, discret, sica, pasear por la playa y los animales. Espero su respuesta. passionné. Cherche homme mur, libre le jour en semaine, pour donner libre tours à un échange de fantasmes…cares- 6089 Suisse Beau mec de 28 ans, tendre et coquin, ser tes rondeurs et lécher tes pieds me conduiront au 7e ciel. cherche contact au Québec pour correspondance et amitié. Je serai en vacances à Montréal en 2012. 6083 Saguenay 2H, 48 & 52, 165 & 145 lb, 6’ & 5’8 cherchent amis et couples semblables pour profiter des plaisirs 6090 Cuba Mido 1.75 cm, peso 64kg, piel blanca, ojos à la campagne. Aimons nature, musique, art, livres, voyages. pardos, pelo negro. Mis gustos preferidos: la música, la televisión, el deporte y los celulares. Estoy interesado 6084 Cuba Mulato, 29 y/o, tall, elegant, serious, honest. en buscar pareja. Me puedes enviar SMS. Masseur. Looking for a serious and stable relationship with a 6091 Cuba Mulato, 31 años, licenciado en enfermería, busco gay man, 30-60 y/o. Friends write me back. pareja y amigos de 30 años en adelante. Me gusta el cine, 6085 Montréal Renouveau au Qc. après 25 ans d’ab- leer y bailar. Soy muy divertido y prometo ser fiel a mi pareja. sence, cherche ami(s); 45 ans, 5’9, 170 lbs.,instruit, cultivé, artiste arts visuels, bilingue, pas d,acl, cigarette, 6092 Belgique Jeune homme blanc, sportif en short, 27 ans, passif cherche blacks, actifs et de plus de 18 ans. drogue. Bel apparence. 6086 Montréal 62 ans, 5’7”, 165 lb., italien, look Même agés, pour correspondance, rencontres. J’aime Jeune, gym 3 fois/ semaine, cheveux chatains, deux voyager. Envoyer lettre avec photo. ambrés, aime Tous les plaisirs de la vie. Cherche Idem 6093 Québec H. 56, 5’8”, 140 lb, belle apparence, instruit, pour rélation sérieuse. Fumeur s’abstenir. très cultivé cherche H. 45-60, agréable à regarder, mince 6087 Montréal Couple masculin dans la soixantaine [un qui sera un plus dans ma vie et pour qui je serai un plus bottom (passif) et un versatile] cherche TOP (actif), poilu, dans la sienne. SVP pas d’homme à problèmes, d’aventurier âgé entre 55 et 70 ans, qui pratique le safe sex, pour ou de manipulateur. De préférence, un homme de Québec. 2B Magazine

6074 N.B. Canada Homme début 50e, désire faire la connaissance d’un bel homme costaud, sportif, poids proportionnel, poilu de préférence, âgé entre 18 et 35 ans, non fumeur si possible. Aimant la nature. But amitié et possibilité de relation plus profonde. Bienvenus aux haltérophiles.

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