Since I knew almost nobody when I moved to Vancouver in November, with the gentle prodding of my co-workers, I decided to give online dating a try…I’d done it with some success in the past (a year-long relationship on my first attempt and a fizzled romance but strong friendship on my second) so I thought it was a good place to start. I sheepishly reinstated my account on lavalife, and decided to try Plenty of Fish this time around as well- it’s free after all! Unfortunately, this time, the results have not been quite as encouraging…

A couple of weeks in, I ran into Homorrazzi cast member, Patrick, in his shop on Davie. After not seeing him since we went to University together about 8 years ago, we traded the usual “how’s work?”/”how’s your family?” pleasantries, but being two urban singles, naturally the conversation quickly turned to dating. Instead of being the supportive, sympathetic friend I was hoping for, when I began to tell him about some of my dates, Pat laughed his head off! When he picked himself of the floor and stopped laughing long enough to speak again, he suggested I document my adventures and share them on the site (just in case I was looking for further humiliation). But Pat is a good friend, so I obliged. The names have been changed to protect those involved, but the stories are, unfortunately, true…

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Well Vancouver, our very out and proud, community oriented and sweet as puddin’ pie NDP MLA Spencer Herbert will soon not be Spencer Herbert. Did you know last Saturday (Mar 27th), he got MARRIED?? Well, he’s actually been off the market for about a decade, because he wed his long time partner and LGBT community activist Romi Chandra on their 10 year anniversary. So congrats! *Insert round of applause here*

Well he’s actually taking his partner’s surname as well as his own and will legally change his name to, and campaign with, Spencer Chandra Herbert. Has kind of an exotic ring to it. I’ll support it!

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As you may or may not know, Glee has an open call audition for three roles next season, for people between the ages of 16 and 26. Glee is the biggest craze right now and I imagine they are going to get an overwhelming response from this open call audition.

One audition video that I have come across is actually by a friend of mine / customer at my store – Brett Owen. He’s 21 years old, recently moved to Vancouver from a small town in Manitoba, and he wants to be Kurt Hummel’s boyfriend on Glee! You can tell a lot of work went into this video, and that they had a lot of fun making it. The really crappy thing is, while he was waiting for it to upload, he was informed that they were only going to be accepting auditions that feature people singing “Glee songs.” So – this audition may not be accepted after all. Either way – Brett should be proud of this work – it’s really well made!

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As I plan for my trip down to Seattle this weekend, I take a quick second to check out the restaurant/bar we’ll be boozing at for our friend Chris’ 30th, and was annoyed to find out that the venue we’re taking over boasts a great deal on liquor and appies during their EIGHT HOUR “Happy Hour”.

I know, why should that anger me? Because the LST (Liquor Sales Tax) obsessed goons of the restaurant and bar businesses in Vancouver rarely if ever offer the same deals up here. One of my friends’ absolute favourite part about the occasional jaunts down South (other than the slew of boys we’ve never tapped) is the offer of painfully cheap booze and food. You Americans may not get your politics right a lot of them time, but god damn you know how to make Bacchic gorging affordable! I’m sure fellow writer Nic is the most pained as a wine-lover and not just because of the copious varietals offered at your local Ralph’s grocery store, but because of how CHEAP their prices are in comparison to our costly “import fees” up here grrr. And, for those youngin’ too newborn to have seen shows like Cheers and the “parent scenes” from Dawson’s Creek, “Happy Hour” is a time usually around 4PM till about 6 or 8PM offering near half-price deals on beer, cocktails and sometimes appetizers. The name is actually an understatement for how great you feel by the time you get the bill: both because of the tiny number on it and because of how drunk you get attempting to pound 5 Bud Lights by the time 6PM rolls around ;)

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So sad. Recently I wrote about 41 year old Andrew Koenig having gone missing since Valentine’s Day here in Vancouver, and his last activity (cell phone, etc.) being traced back to Stanley Park, downtown. Well a couple hours ago they found the Growing Pains star’s body. He was supposed to back in the US on February 16th

His family has sad that he suffered from depression and he was last in Vancouver staying with Burlesque star Jenny Magenta. She was very worried about him and even commented on my last article, since I was helping spread the work and Police tip line. It must be a terribly sad time for her, as well as Koenig’s family.

At the last Olympics in Beijing, he was arrested for protesting China’s Human Rights Violations. Even though he was suffering from depression, I wonder if there was any connection with this year’s Olympics and he was perhaps making a statement of some sort? Just a thought. No word on whether or not he had left a note or how he committed suicide.

The video of Koenig’s father’s heartbreaking statement from Stanley Park after the jump…

Yeesh – a lot of tragic things happening in Vancouver these past few weeks. Most recently, the guy who played Boner (Richard ‘Boner’ Stabone” in Growing Pains, Andrew Koenig has gone missing here in Vancouver, and his family and friends are extremely worried about him. They have stated that he’s been very depressed. He was staying at the home of Vancouver burlesque star Jenny Magenta. She had updated her Twitter to say the following:

“One friend in suicide mode another friend gone missing left notes to his parents after he stayed with me and left on Sunday.”

He was supposed to back in the US on February 16th and now, a week later, he’s nowhere to be found. I hope he’s okay.

Coincidentally, his name also came up during the last Olympics in Beijing when he was protesting China’s Human Rights Violations. The Vancouver’s Police Department has set up a tip line at 604.717.2534. His last activity reported on his cell phone and bank account was February 16th when he was reportedly in Stanley Park.

Check out the video of him being arrested at the Beijing Olympics.

Video after the jump…

Christina Maria is an exceptional local talent and for anyone interested and a fan of the folk/pop/acoustic genre, you need to hear her new album. “Straight Line” mixes a unique quality of folk with blues, adds a heavy serving of soulful lyrics and puts Christina’s beautiful elastic voice to work handing you a satisfying product. Released on the 15th of February, everyone should get a copy. Her first single “Carolina” give you a classic sing along, and my favorite track, and the title of the album “Straight Line”, transports you into a smokey bar in a time past, sipping scotch with a cigar.

I had the pleasure of Skyping in with the lovely and sweet Christina, from where she’s staying outside Zurich, to ask her about the new album, talk a little about her spirituality, and what inspires her to keep doing what she does so well.

Interview & Music Video after the jump…

I know Donovan is cringing as I write this as he refuses to let me become “one of those non-stop Jersey quoting people”- and I love him for that- but I just had to for this article.

What is up with Vancouver gays and Robbery?? To establish this term for those not on board the latest and greatest in television reality-show tragedy, “robbery” is when you swoop in and take someone who’s been flirting with someone else. From what I understand it primarily occurs between friends, not just between complete strangers.

Recently, I’ve been hitting the Vancouver nightlife a bit more often as the trips down south have slowed some with the return of school, and as such I’ve been re-introducing myself to the Shakespearean-esque scene we live it: no joke, this place is either a comedy or a drama (nothin’ in between) and there are definitely some main characters due to the tininess of our homo-friendly city! Doing the normal circuit of Fountain Head, 1181, Odyssey, Numbers, Celebrities and the Pump Jack (good god not all in one night though), I’ve had the chance to see some grade-A robberies going on within our gay brotherhood… is nothing sacred anymore?

[Pause for laughter as you realize I'm the author of that "How To Cheat Well" article! Still, let me explain.]

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