Party Reminder

Judging by the many Instant Messages Tomais and I have received today concerning The Elopement Party I guess many of you need a reminder.

Poster by Tomais Ashdene

WHY: Tomais and I eloped and were married on January 1st, 2014. This party is not a wedding, we just want you to come, relax, have fun and share and celebrate our happiness at being together.

WHEN: Today Saturday March 8, 2014, at 1 PM - 3 PM SLT

WHERE: The Lounge in the Sky at Southern Charm (SLurl)

WHAT TO WEAR: The theme is "A Night at the Movies", so come as your favorite movie characters or just come as yourself. It is more important that you are there than what you are wearing.

WITH: DJ's Ryder Yowman and Rylan Sirnah will be providing the musical entertainment.

WHO: Everyone who cares about us and bring along your friends also! The more the merrier!

No gifts please! We have however set up two donation boxes for charities Tomais and I believe are worthy of your generosity, one for ACT (The AIDS Committee of Toronto) and the other for Second Pride. 

Lets have some fun!

Stop Telling Women To Smile

It's International Women's Day again and time to honor women's advancement and reminding us all of the continued vigilance and action required to ensure that women's equality is gained and maintained in all aspects of life.

As a gay man I may sometimes encounter homophobia and oppression in my life, but that is next to nothing compared to what women in our societies have to go through. 

The structural indoctrination and prevailing views teach us all from an early age - whether we are men or women, gay or straight - that women are worth less and less important than men. That a woman's place is to please, aid and support men everywhere and all the time. This gender discrimination leads to women being bought and sold like cattle, treated worse than animals, being underpaid, exploited, used and abused, maimed and killed at an incredible rate worldwide. 

We should use this day - atleast - to reflect upon this phenomenon and to consider how we as individuals, and as part of the societies we live in, can modify our ways of thinking and acting to change this horrific situation. One first step could be to do what the American artist Tatyana Fazlalizadeh suggests, to stop telling women to smile.

"Stop Telling Women to Smile" is an art series by Tatyana Fazlalizadeh that started in Brooklyn in the fall of 2012. It is an ongoing, traveling series that will gradually include many cities and many women.

To find out more about the project and how you can get involved with it, have a look at the website. 

Picture of the Day - 19

"War Pigs" Photography by Pet Petrov

If you would like to see more of Pet's photography please visit his Flickr photostream here.

Picture of the Day - 18

"joshua_super2_feb2014" Photography by Joshua Drew

If you would like to see more of Joshie's photography, please visit his Flickr photostream here.

Home Again

Yay, I am home again after a short trip, so I am celebrating by sharing this song by Michael Kiwanuka with ya'll.

Picture of the Day - 17

"A kind of magic" Photography by .::Minna::.

If you wish to see more of .::Minna::.'s photography please visit her Flickr photostream here.

Delicacy of the Day

This is what millions of Swedes have been eating today. Well, actually some untraditional bakers started making them right after Christmas and some likewise untraditional consumers have been stuffing themselves with them since that time too...

We call them "fastlagsbullar" or "semlor" (further north). They were traditionally eaten before the forty days of fasting prior to Easter started.

I only eat one of them a year and only on this day!

The recipe below for the delicacy comes from this website Hovkonditorn. Passion for food and baking. This is the traditional version of the buns.

Dough
5 dl milk
50 g yeast / 2 bags dried yeast
2 dl sugar
½ tbsp ground cardamom
2 tsp salt
1 ägg
200 g butter, melted
15 dl flour

Filling
almond paste / jam
whipped cream

Heat milk to 37C. Stir in yeast, melted butter, sugar, salt, and ground cardamom. Add flour into mixture until dough is firm and pulls away from the side of your bowl. Cover the dough in the mixing bowl with a clean towel and let rise until doubled, about an hour. Punch down the dough, then remove from bowl. On a floured base, knead dough lightly until smooth and shiny. Shape into round balls and let rise another 20 min. Brush with egg and bake in 225 degree oven about 10 minutes. Fill buns with almond paste or jam and whipped cream.

You can easily make your own almond paste; equal parts almond flour and powdered sugar whipped with an electric mixer, add a splash of water at a time to a good consistency.