TROY - The Latest Strip

--Wizard's Note: I have updated all the TROY posts to reflect Michael Derry's new domain. Links are no longer broken--

This a gay-themed comic



Click Above Then choose 'Current Strip'.

Troy #242 “The Real, Hot Life” is out in the magazines and up online. Nick finds out what’s hot and what’s not.


And Michael's book “Troy: From 1 to 200 The First Ten Years” is now available on LULU.com. What a great book for the beach or just relaxing by the pool, huh?

The Absolute BEST Unsubscribe Confirmation

Do YOU want to punish Derrick?

Click here.

*Thanks, Calvin

The Muppets: Bohemian Rhapsody

Urgent notice for Friday!

ALIENS ARE COMING TO EARTH ON FRIDAY AFTERNOON

AND THEIR MISSION IS TO ABDUCT ALL GOOD LOOKING AND SEXY PEOPLE.

YOU WILL BE SAFE, I'M JUST POSTING THIS TO SAY GOODBYE.

*Thanks, Gary

Saskatoon Shines!

*Thanks, Darcene

La Presse en Rose

A statement from the mother of Jorge Steven Lopez Mercado

By Jennifer Vanasco, editor in chief, 365gay.com
Miriam Mercado gave this statement to the team organizing the weekend’s vigils:

“When my son told me he was gay, I told him, ‘Now, I love you more.’ I want to tell the world that hatred is not born with human beings, it is a seed that is planted by adults and is fostered creating a climate of intolerance and violence. We must change our ways and understand that anyone …could have been my son. And I want everybody to know that Jorge Steven was a very much loved son.”

Below, a heartbreaking video where Mercado thanks those who have supported her after the death of her son.

Corvino: The slippery slope of religious exemptions

By John Corvino, columnist, 365gay.com

This morning, I didn’t feel like getting out of bed. I wasn’t sick; just tired. But I had a full workday scheduled.

Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared unto me and said, “Behold, today is a sacred day, and you must not work.” Sweet!

Okay, maybe I was dreaming. But as the 17th-century philosopher Thomas Hobbes pointed out, there’s no useful distinction between “I dreamed that God appeared to me” and “God appeared to me in a dream”—and if the latter is good enough for Biblical prophets, it’s good enough for me.

Before you render judgment, note that the angel added that my readers—this means you!—should take the day off too. Indeed, he presented me with platinum tablets (gold is so old-school) commanding that the day on which this column appears is sacred and must be honored with a Sabbath.

I’ve since lost the tablets, but trust me: that’s what they said.

Now, suppose you believe all of this, and suppose you phone your employer and tell him that you’re not coming in. He might try to fire you. But (assuming that other employees get accommodations for religious holidays) that’s religious discrimination! Tell him so.

He might counter that Corvinianism, as my followers like to call it, is not a valid religion. But why not? Because it’s new? All religions were new at one point. Mormonism is less than two centuries old. I have knickknacks that are older than that.

Moreover, if religious accommodation should vary according to the age of the religion, then many forms of paganism should get more deference than Christianity. Forget Christmas break. I want the Feast of the Unconquered Sun. (Oh wait—they’re the same. Bad example.)

I’m joking here to make a serious point: religious accommodation is a slippery part of the law. And those who cite it in the gay-rights debate need to start acknowledging that.

--more--

World AIDS Day at AIDS Saskatoon

by Megan Morman

The theme for World AIDS Day 2009 is 'Universal Access and Human Rights'. Global leaders have pledged to work towards universal access to HIV/AIDS prevention, treatment and care, recognizing these as fundamental human rights. Valuable progress has been made in increasing access to HIV/AIDS services, yet greater commitment is needed around the world if the goal of universal access is to be achieved. Millions of people continue to be infected with HIV every year. In low and middle-income countries, less than half of those in need of antiretroviral therapy are receiving it, and too many do not have access to adequate care services.

Here in Saskatoon as well we continue to confront quickly-rising HIV rates. Why not check out a few of this year's World AIDS Day events, which aim to illuminate HIV/AIDS in both its global and local contexts.

AIDS Awareness Week Condom Blitz
Friday, Nov. 27
Sponsored by AIDS Saskatoon, in conjunction with the Saskatoon Sexual Health Centre and the Saskatoon Health Region. Watch for our safer sex superheroes in 13 bars and nightclubs across the city. Volunteers will hand out free condoms from 9-11pm; head to Diva's later and make sure you tip the person who takes your coat -- AIDS Saskatoon volunteers will be working the coat check all weekend in exchange for donations.

Glimmers of Hope - World AIDS Day Party
Tuesday, Dec. 1, 1:30-3:30pm in the 601 Outreach Centre
Come help us celebrate personal success stories! Cake will be served at 2pm.

Water Meets the Sky Screening
Tuesday, December 1, 5-7pm in Arts 241, U of S
AIDS Saskatoon short presentation on HIV/AIDS in Saskatoon, followed by a screening of the film Where the Water Meets the Sky. Room For Improvement Youth Development Inc, a student group on the U of S campus, sent 11 young people to film a documentary in East Africa highlighting specifically an orphanage in Rwanda while also visiting Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda. Where the Water Meets the Sky is the result. The presentation is at 5:15pm, followed by the film from 5:30 - 6:30pm. Hosted by Room For Improvement Youth Development Inc. See www.watermeetssky.com to view the trailer.
FIX: Story of an Addicted City
Thursday, December 3, 7-9pm Francis Morrison Library Theatre
Screening of the 2002 documentary by Nettie Wild. Follows drug users and harm reduction advocates as they battle for the opening of North America's first safe injection site in Vancouver's Lower East Side.

Caribbean Christmas
Sunday, December 6, 6pm-midnight, Odeon Event Centre
Join AIDS Saskatoon's Fundraising Committee for a Caribbean Christmas! This delectable dinner will include Caribbean chicken kabobs, green beans and Jamaican rice. There will be live music and drinks will be available for purchase. Plus, if you're still looking for that perfect Christmas gift for that special someone, check out the Silent Auction. We'll have all the fixins for a reggae good time! Tickets are $20, and available at AIDS Saskatoon's office (ask for Cathy), or from any AIDS Saskatoon Board Member.

Watch for AIDS Saskatoon all around the city -- including at Midtown Mall and the University of Saskatchewan.

--more--

Why do we hate? Academics seek answer in new field

By The Associated Press

(Spokane, Washington) Why did the Nazis hate the Jews? Why did the Hutus hate the Tutsis?

Hate is everywhere, but the fundamental question of why one person can hate another has never been adequately studied, contends Jim Mohr of Gonzaga University, who is developing a new academic field of hate studies.

The goal is to explain a condition that has plagued humanity since one caveman looked askance at another.

“What makes hate tick?” Mohr, director of Gonzaga’s Institute for Action Against Hate, wondered. “How can we stop it?”

Gonzaga founded the institute a decade ago after some black law students received threatening letters. It has since started a Journal of Hate Studies, hosted a conference and offered its first class on hatred last spring.

The hope is that other universities will follow suit, said Ken Stern of the American Jewish Committee in New York, who has been involved in the effort. “We wanted to approach hate more intelligently,” he said.

Stern, who has spent 20 years battling anti-Semitism, said the need for hate studies became obvious when people started fighting groups like the Aryan Nations, which once flourished in this area. Opponents galvanized against the Aryans, but didn’t really know how best to fight them, Stern said.

“We were flying by the seat of our pants,” he said. “There was no testable theory.”

There is not even a good definition of hate, Stern contends.

Philosophers have offered numerous definitions: Rene Descartes said hate was the urge to withdraw from something that is thought bad. Aristotle saw hate as the incurable desire to annihilate an object.

In psychology, Sigmund Freud defined hate as an ego state that wishes to destroy the source of its unhappiness.

Gonzaga, a Jesuit university best known for its basketball team, offered a class on the subject taught by five professors from different disciplines.

Student Kayla De Los Reyes was in that class, and said the information both horrified her and gave her hope.

“Hate is something that is part of the human emotional makeup,” she said. “Everyone feels it at one point or another. You have to learn to control it.”

--more--

La Press en Rose ©, 2009, The Wizard of 'OZ'

Squirrel Power

Click above

Would you like Fries with that?

Where's the beef?


It's at a Pennsylvania pub that serves the world's biggest burger -
weighing in at NINE lip-smacking pounds!


That's no whopper - you can actually get this meat monster for $23.95 USD, loaded with all the fixins


- Two whole tomatoes
- a half-head of lettuce
- 12 slices of American cheese
- a full cup of peppers
- two entire onions
- plus, a river of mayonnaise, ketchup, and mustard.


Anyone up for seconds??

Find The Difference

Find the difference in the following 2 pictures. It a toughie!

Click here.

Rub-Dub-Dub.. 1 Boy In A Tub!

A three year old little boy was examining his testicles while taking a bath. "Mama," he asked, "Are these my brains?" Mama answered, "No, not yet."

BrokeTrek

New Moon - The Twighlight Saga

Feeatured reviewer: Allan Ford, FilmoFilia

Starring: Kristen Stewart ... Bella Swan

Christina Jastrzembska ... Gran / Bella

Robert Pattinson ... Edward Cullen

Billy Burke ... Charlie Swan

Anna Kendrick ... Jessica

Michael Welch ... Mike

Justin Chon ... Eric

Christian Serratos ... Angela

Taylor Lautner ... Jacob Black

Ashley Greene ... Alice Cullen

Jackson Rathbone ... Jasper Whitlock

Russell Roberts ... Mr. Berty

Cam Gigandet ... James

Michael Sheen ... Aro

Jamie Campbell Bower ... Caius

Twilight - New Moon Poster
24 in. x 36 in.
Buy at AllPosters.com

Framed   Mounted

Synopsis: ***Warning! This synopsis contains spoilers***
The second installment of Stephenie Meyers phenomenally successful Twilight series, the romance between mortafeefl and vampire soars to a new level as Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart) delves deeper into the mysteries of the supernatural world she yearns to become part of only to find herself in greater peril than ever before.

Following Bellas ill-fated 18th birthday party, Edwarn Cullen(Robert Pattinson) and his family abandon the town of Forks, Washington, in an effort to protect her from the dangers inherent in their world. As the heartbroken Bella sleepwalks through her senior year of high school, numb and alone, she discovers Edwards image comes to her whenever she puts herself in jeopardy. Her desire to be with him at any cost leads her to take greater and greater risks.

With the help of her childhood friend Jacob Black (Taylor Lautner), Bella refurbishes an old motorbike to carry her on her adventures. Bellas frozen heart is gradually thawed by her budding relationship with Jacob, a member of the mysterious Quileute tribe, who has a supernatural secret of his own.

When a chance encounter brings Bella face to face with a former nemesis, only the intervention of a pack of supernaturally large wolves saves her from a grisly fate, and the encounter makes it frighteningly clear that Bella is still in grave danger. In a race against the clock, Bella learns the secret of the Quileutes and Edwards true motivation for leaving her. She also faces the prospect of a potentially deadly reunion with her beloved that is a far cry from the one she'd hoped for. With more of the passion, action and suspense that made TWILIGHT a worldwide phenomenon, The Twilight Saga: New Moon is a spellbinding follow-up to the box office hit.

[Official synopsis by Summit Entertainment]

Twilight - New Moon Poster
24 in. x 36 in.
Buy at AllPosters.com
Framed   Mounted

Review: by Allan Ford, FilmoFilia

“The Twilight Saga: New Moon” is the second movie based on the series of four vampire-based fantasy and romance books by author Stephenie Meyer. The New Moon movie continues the story of the first Twilight movie about the ill-fated romance between mortal Bella Swan, played by Kristen Stewart, and vampire Edward Cullen, played by Robert Pattinson.

New Moon goes through great pains to present itself as a descendent of Romeo And Juliet, except without all that icky tragedy in the end. There are warring clans—in this case, werewolves and vampires—a rival suitor, tragic miscommunication, and at the center of it all, two self-absorbed teenage lovers. Throw in a revenge subplot and an ancient, power-hungry clan of evil Italian vampires, and it all sounds potentially thrilling. But in spite of its wealth of conflict, New Moon suffers from a dearth of accompanying tension and excitement, thanks to the increasingly tedious relationship at its center.

--more--

Oh that Jean-Luc!

SANCTUS

*Thanks, Daryn

Jest Jokes...

There was a little old lady who was nearly blind. She had three sons and they wanted to prove which one was the best son to her.

So son #1 bought her a 15-room mansion thinking this would surely be the best any of them could offer her.

Son #2 bought her a beautiful Mercedes with a chauffeur included thinking he would surely win her approval.

Son #3 had to do something even better than these so he bought her a trained parrot. This parrot had been trained for 15 years to memorize the entire Bible. You could mention any verse in the Bible and the parrot could quote it word for word. How useful his nearly blind mother would find that!

Well, the old lady went to the first son and said, "Son, the house is just gorgeous but it's really much too big for me. I only live in one room, and it's much too large for me to clean and take care of. I really don't need the house, but thank you anyway."

Then she explained to her second son, "Son, the car is beautiful, it has everything you could ever want on it, but I don't drive and I really don't like that driver, so please return the car."

Next, she went to son number three and said, "Son, I just want to thank you for that thoughtful gift. The chicken was small, but delicious."



The local sheriff was looking for a deputy, so Gomer, who was not exactly the sharpest nail in the bucket, went in to try out for the job.

"Okay," the sheriff drawled, "Gomer, what is 1 and 1?"

"11" he replied.

The sheriff thought to himself, "That's not what I meant, but he's right. What two days of the week start with the letter 'T'?"

"Today and tomorrow."

The sheriff was again surprised that Gomer supplied a correct answer that he had never thought of himself.

"Now Gomer, listen carefully: Who killed Abraham Lincoln?"

Gomer looked a little surprised himself, then thought really hard for a minute and finally admitted, "I don't know."

"Well, why don't you go home and work on that one for a while?"

So, Gomer wandered over to the barbershop where his pals were waiting to hear the results of the interview. Gomer was exultant. "It went great! First day on the job and I'm already working on a murder case!"



COMPUTER TERMS - TEXAS TRANSLATION:

LOG ON: Making a wood stove hotter.

LOG OFF: Don't add no more wood.

MONITOR: Keeping an eye on the wood stove.

DOWNLOAD: Gettin' the farwood off the truck

MEGA HERTZ: When yer not keerful gettin' the farwood

FLOPPY DISC: Whatcha git from tryin to carry too much farwood

RAM: That thing tha splits the farwood

HARD DRIVE: Gettin' home in the winter time

PROMPT: What the mail ain't in the winter time

WINDOWS: What to shut when it's cold outside

SCREEN: What to shut when it's black fly season

BYTE: What them dang flies do

CHIP: Munchies fer the TV

MICRO CHIP: What's in the bottom of the munchie bag

MODEM: Whatcha did to the hay fields

DOT MATRIX: Old Dan Matrix's wife

LAP TOP: Where the kitty sleeps

KEYBOARD: Where ya hang the dang truck keys

SOFTWARE: Them dang plastic forks and knives

MOUSE: What eats the grain in the barn

MOUSE PAD: That's hippie talk fer the mouse hole

MAIN FRAME: Holds up the barn roof

ENTER: Northerner talk fer "c'mon in, y'all"

RANDOM ACCESS MEMORY: When ya can't 'member what ya paid fer the rifle



A bar owner locked up his place at 2 AM and went home to sleep. He had been in bed only a few minutes when the phone rang. “What time do you open up in the morning?” he heard an obviously inebriated man inquire.

The owner was so furious, he slammed down the receiver and went back to bed. A few minutes later there was another call and he heard the same voice ask the same question. “Listen, the owner shouted, “there’s no sense in asking me what time I open because I wouldn’t let a person in your condition in—“

“I don’t want to get in,” the caller interjected. “I want to get out.”



A lawyer was cross-examining the doctor about whether or not he had checked the pulse of the deceased before he signed the death certificate. "No," the doctor said. "I did not check his pulse." "And did you listen for a heartbeat?" asked the lawyer. "No I did not," the doctor said. "So," said the lawyer, "when you signed the death certificate, you had not taken steps to make sure he was dead." The doctor said, "Well, let me put it this way. The man's brain was in a jar on my desk but, for all I know, he could be out practicing law somewhere."

Well they do have a spring in their step...

*Thanks, Gary