VANCOUVER'S NEXT GAY TOP MODEL
Come on down, you're the next contestant on...

So last night was pretty fun, after all. Turns out that Danny didn't bail on me, so off we went to Pulse - from this point on to be known as (Anything With A) Pulse - in the good 'ol Davie Village for Vancouver's Next Gay Top Model "Winter Wonderland" event, in support of the Vancouver Friends for Life Society.

First of all, the venue. As you may or may not know, the real estate at 1138 Davie Street in Vancouver has undergone a few changes in recent times. After a decades-long stint as a 24-hour cafeteria-style eatery (the name of which escapes me at the moment) with totally groovy half-moon shaped booths, the location experienced an impressive metamorphosis in 2007 an became The Majestic lounge, managed by Joan E. The Majestic was for a time the home of live comedy, cabaret, rollicking drag shows and a really fun Sunday brunch. Alas, it didn't last... and soon the Vancouver gays became once again on the receiving end of a new venture in our community. This winter, The Majestic has relinquished its short-lived stateliness for a somewhat redesigned and generally better-looking, (Anything With A) Pulse.

Without all the dinner tables and chairs, the place actually seemed a bit smaller to us for some inexplicable reason. But it looks good and I hope it does well. Davie needs another night spot for the Vancouver gays to hangout in. I think it'll do a better job of catering to its certain niche in the market than The Odyssey (also known as The Audacity) will do if it relocates to Denman Street. To me, that plan deserves a vomit smoothie. I just don't agree that the Denman neighbourhood is a good match for a place like The Audacity. But, time will tell and we'll see what happens with that. I digress.

Pulse was where we were last night for Vancouver's Next Gay Top Model and I took some pics of how it went down. Like most events in the Davie Village, the 10pm start time was subject to Gay Standard Time, which means it started about a half-hour late. No worries though, Absolut patience sustained me through the wait time.

When things got rolling, our appetites were whetted by a solo performance by, I think, Starlen Gold. I hope I have the performer's name correct, but it was hard to hear the announcements on the club's public address system. At any rate, here's a pic of him:

I'm not feelin' the footwear and I prefer stronger choreography, but he was clearly enjoying himself as Britney's "Kill The Lights" provided the soundtrack to his move bustin'.

After we got to see the go-go boy strut his stuff, then we got to see the contestants for Vancouver's Next Gay Top Model. Last night's event, Winter Wonderland, encouraged all to celebrate winter by wearing white. Personally I think it's a great idea in theory, but in my typically self-contradictory nature I'd rather deny winter (as a Canadian nonetheless) and focus instead on remembering year-round what sand between the toes feels like (not to mention sand in your scalp and under your fingernails). So with that in mind I totally didn't wear white at all. But all the contestants did - and that's what *really* counts.

Here's some more pics of some of last night's Gay Top Model hopefuls:

It's unclear how many West Highland White Terriers died for the footwear in the next photo:




I understand Bo Derek is honoured to learn her '10' do is making a comeback:



This contestant (Brett? Brent?) had the best shoes of the night:

And here are a few more pics for you. The contestant wearing the hoodie had a great, casual attitude toward the whole thing and the other contestant in the white oxford and black belt presented himself well (and if I'm not mistaken, last night was also his 22nd birthday):

Well done to all the contestants. It definitely takes alot of guts to get up there in front of a bunch of strangers in a dimly-lit club and expose your body, personality, hopes, dreams, failures, disappointments and aspirations all at once. I could never do it so for that reason alone they get my respect.

And since it's all for charity, the very idea of Vancouver's Next Gay Top Model also gets my respect. It's not too often we get these ingredients - a solid idea, fun-lovin' contestants, selfless volunteers, a bit of naughtiness & hotness - all wrapped up in a charitable effort. That makes Vancouver's Next Gay Top Model the next best thing in Vancouver as our fair city educates itself on how to put on a good show.

The two guys on the stage in that photo - the one on the left who had already changed out of his outfit and the one in the middle - are on the stage together there because unfortunately they were cut at the end of the night. Too bad really, but kudos to them both for having the balls in the first place. The guy on the right (Brett? Brent?) was rockin' some seriously fun & fine footwear and I have a feeling we would have seen more of that if he had stayed in the competition. But in the end, we bid them both a fond farewell.

The next public event for Vancouver's Next Gay Top Model is Thursday night at Score. Once again, the ads claim that the event'll be hosted by Aaron Ursacki, but that's also what the Winter Wonderland ads had claimed. Although I didn't see hide nor hair of him. Not sure why, though - I don't think his absence was addressed to the gathered masses. At least not that I heard anyway. Hopefully the hottie is alright and not sick or anything. Lawdy knows there's lots of bugs going around again this winter!

Make sure you get out and support Vancouver's Next Gay Top Model because not only will have yourself a bit of fun but you'll also be supporting Friends for Life.

VANCOUVER'S NEXT GAY TOP MODEL
Winter Wonderland Revisits Our City

As I watch the red-carpet coverage on E! for this evening's Screen Actors Guild awards and wonder to myself if Angelina Jolie could possibly become any more beautiful (and as I also wonder why Mickey Rourke has his left hand partially down his pants as he's interviewed), I'm getting excited to head out to Pulse later on to check out Vancouver's Next Gay Top Model's WINTER WONDERLAND show.

Tonight's Winter Wonderland show is going to be the first chance I've had to try to see or do anything related to 2009's hotly-anticipated run of last year's funnest event in Vancouver's gay community, the Gay Top Model competition in support of the Friends for Life society.

I don't think I've ever actually seen Miss Cotton live, so I'm kinda looking forward to that part of the show, too. But most of all I just really wanna lay my eyes on all the dudes that have been selected as contestants for this year's VNGTM contest.

The show's going to be hosted by the 2008 winner Aaron Ursacki. He's rather yummy and he had a great story leading up to his win last year, as someone who overcame obesity to achieve not only healthy physical conditioning, but also his own fair share of hotness.

I actually bumped into Aaron last summer at the Aquarium and couldn't resist saying hi and introducing myself to him. Not something I normally do since I'm a bit shy around boys, but he was really sweet and left me with the distinct impression that he totally deserved to win.

There's a series of public events leading up to the crowning finale in early April, so that means there's lotsa fun to come. As you consider checking out these events PLEASE keep in mind that the proceeds from the cover charges, etc. for the events or shows you might go to are going straight to Vancouver's Friends for Life Society which, according to their mission statement: serves as a catalyst to enhance the wellness of individuals living with a life threatening illness by providing complementary and alternative health and support services.

Chances are we all have someone in our lives who has had their life touched by something that means one day they - or you - might need to call on an organization like Friends for Life for a bit of support or assistance. Think about it...

Meantime, my fingers are crossed that Danny doesn't bail on me tonight to come with me to Winter Wonderland, and that we get to have a great time.

See ya there, eh! And good luck to all of the Vancouver's Next Gay Top Model contestants tonight and throughout the competition ;-)

OPRAH'S INVESTS IN GETTING SMART
Bazillionaire donates lotsa cash to Atlanta kids school

Just when I think Oprah's gone and gotten on my tits again, she goes and does something amazing.

I caught Oprah's TV show today - it was entitled, "Resilient Spirits" (originally aired March 1, 2007) and told stories of people who experienced some pretty major adversity and bounced back to also achieve some pretty major success in their lives.

One of the people she profiled was NFL player Isaiah Kacyvenski of the Seattle Seahawks who grew up in poverty and abuse only to get a football scholarship to Harvard and gain a place on the team in Seattle which went to Super Bowl XL.

By the way, as a Canadian and as a non-fan of football (in any country) - until I looked it up - I was seriously wondering if XL was a reference to a Super Bowl of the "Extra Large" variety.

As for Oprah getting on my tits, I guess like any of us she just can't help but be herself - but DAMN is she ever irritating to watch sometimes. She kept Oprah-fying her pronunciation of the word "Harvard" as she interviewed Kacyvenski. And by 'Oprah-fying' I mean bastardizing and annoying the hell out of viewers like me. I guess she thinks she's being folksy or something when she does that, but in the end it simply gives me a headache like the kind you get from drinking a Slurpee too fast.

No doubt she's a kind and wise soul, but clearly there's a good reason that she is regularly parodied by sharp comedians like Debra Wilson on Mad TV. Talk about easy targets!

But today there's news in Us Magazine of the self-mitigation of all her nerdiness with some really amazing generosity:

Oprah Winfrey sent a surprise Christmas present to an inner-city Atlanta school: a $365,000 check!

An educator named Ron Clark almost didn't notice the whopping check, which was included in a letter from the talk show host. Clark opened the private academy in 2007 in one of the poorest neighborhoods of South Atlanta. Most students rely on private donations to pay the $14,000-per-year tuition.

"We teach school all day and fundraise at night," Clark told the Associated Press. "To have an unsolicited gift come like that is incredible."

Clark says the donation will pay for 26 students to attend the 80-student middle school for one year.

In her letter, Winfrey calls Clark a role model and says he's making a "profound difference...[with] your passion for teaching."

The check came from the Oprah Winfrey Foundation, which handed out $4 million to educational programs in 2008.

Meanwhile, Winfrey is gearing up for Barack Obama's January 20 Inauguration.

"Oprah is doing her show live from the Kennedy Center that week and flying her staff in for it. It's going to be a huge production," an insider tells the New York Post.

The big-time supporter also plans to co-host a party with BFF Gayle King after Obama is sworn in, the paper reports.

Wow. Kinda makes me wish for a moment I was an employee of Harpo Productions! It'd be rather swell to get to go to the Obama Inauguration, wouldn't it? What an unbelieveable moment in history that ceremony will become for not only those who are actually in attendance, but for the USA and the whole world ultimately.

$365,000 is quite a whopping sum! Over the course of a year, that's a grand a day for kids to go to school. Not too shabby there, Oprah. Not too shabby at all.

I have to wonder why a private academy was considered viable in a poor urban neighbourhood, but whatever the reason it's become a success so there you have it.

I also have to wonder why Steadman seems to never be mentioned in the press anymore. I mean, she's throwing a party with Gayle, but where's the Stead-meister in all of this?

Lastly, if you wanna see a pretty cool photo of how some people reacted today to Oprah Winfrey's gift to the school, check out this page on BlackVoices.com (which also has a little blurb on what I think is Oprah and Steadman's most recent public appearance together back in September in case you're interested in a little bit of celebrity romance at the moment).

I think this story is a great way to wrap up 2008 on Gimme Never Gets and look forward to 2009. Wherever you are, whoever you are ... have a healthy, happy New Year!

HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL MEETS 90210
Disney star in Beverly Hills for Make-a-Wish Foundation

Last night in the what's-old-is-new-again zipcode, Ashley Tisdale showed up lookin' all glam with boyfriend Jared Murillo at Wish Night Gala 2008, the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Greater Los Angeles' annual charity dinner.

image: jordan strauss/wireimage.com

I gotta admit that I hadn't heard about this dude until now, but apparently Ashley's boyfriend is in a new boy band V Factory. Go ahead and check out their MySpace page.

Also apparently he's not one to shy away from selling his name for product promotion, or from maybe trying to get all the cool kids over at Disney/High School Musical hooked on the alleged benefits of Goyin. See for yourself...

Here's a bit more on Wish Night Gala 2008 from the organization's website:

In addition to high-profile honorees, there is always great entertainment, like Big Bad Voodoo Daddy and Micky Dolenz of The Monkees, and fun auction items.

Wow, I haven't thought about Big Bad Voodoo Daddy since some time around Clinton's first term in office.

There were a couple other people at last night's party whom I like, so let's take a look at their pics taken on the red carpet.

Carmen Electra posed with Guiliana Rancic from E! I totally love Guiliana and always get a kick out of watching her own red carpet coverage on E! for shows like the Emmy Awards. Her style is just so inviting and she's a hip gal with lots to say and lotsa love for what she does. She certainly must have the most unlikely name for a TV broadcaster. Her name turns generic names like "Karen Taylor" or "Jim Hodge" right on their ears! Guiliana totally gets thumbs up from me.

credit:wireimage.com

Then there's Carmen Electra. While I do generally get a kick out of her, I just have to LOL at this 'over the shoulder' pose. It's just so... contrived. She does look good in yellow, though.

credit: wireimage.com

It obviously makes sense for Disney to stay aligned with an organization like the Make-A-Wish Foundation. I hope a sizable portion of Disney's corporate donations are directed towards bringing a little light to the life of sick kids.

It's easy to feel a bit inspired by their mission:
The Make-A-Wish Foundation of Greater Los Angeles grants the wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions to enrich the human experience with hope, strength and joy.

The Make-A-Wish Foundation is the nation's largest wish-granting organization. It has fulfilled the wishes of more than 161,000 children in the United States and its territories since 1980. Based in Phoenix, the Make-A-Wish Foundation serves every community in the United States, Guam and Puerto Rico through its 67 chapters.

Good work they're doing! Despite the current economic crisis, maybe you're able to figure out a way to help out the Make-A-Wish Foundation?

MADONNA TO BUILD GIRL'S SCHOOL IN AFRICA
Singer clearly fit enough to assume all construction work

I've been on a fairly insane Madonna kick for the past 2 or 3 weeks, ever since I was able to attend her FIRST EVER concert here in Vancouver back on October 30th.

I've been *continuously* playing a shite-load of so much Madonna music that my neighbours probably think there's a Paula Goodspeed/Paula Abdul situation happening in my apartment.

Don't get me wrong - I'm not poking fun at that tragedy, but I'm simply aware that my current Madonna obsession will soon be topping the "bit-too-much-o-meter".

One of the reasons I loves me some Madonna so much is that for as long as I can remember, she's been kickin' ass and takin' names and doing it all her own way. No question she's a trendsetter.

But that all started to change a bit - in my mind, at least - when she went off to Africa and adopted David Banda in Malawi.

Some might say she's gone off and done the same thing that someone like Angelina Jolie has already done. But that doesn't bother me on bit. The main thing to remember is that Madge is doing some real good and really trying to help her little boy's home land, through her organization Raising Malawi.

But now, with all the drama surrounding her impending divorce from Guy Ritchie and as her Sticky & Sweet Tour gets set to wind up its North American leg, Madonna has made a very smart move.

She has begun to publicize her latest and bravest endeavour in Africa which looks and sounds *alot* like something we've seen done by another one-named famous lady.

And I don't mean Charo (unless she's now the black host of a daytime talk show based in Chicago - and if that's was true, Love Boat re-runs would be even more confusing to watch than they already are).

Back to Madonna - let's pick up the story now running on US Magazine's website:

Madonna wants to follow in the footsteps of Oprah.

The singer has released a video on her Web site asking fans for donations to a girls' school in Malawi.

"There are very few girls in Africa in general who are encouraged or allowed to go to secondary school so after spending a lot of time there I realized that one of the ways I could help was to build a girls' school," she said.

She continued: "I would really be grateful if you would get involved and help me in any way that you can with donations, spreading the word, visiting my website, reading about the progress that we've made so far.... I would appreciate any help you could give us."

Wow, eh?! Let's pause for a moment to read Madonna's letter just posted on her website, and there's also a link below to watch Madonna make her request for help from you:

To All My Friends,

I am really excited to share with you a new video message about a project that you can be a big part of: The Raising Malawi Academy for Girls.

WATCH VIDEO HERE

After witnessing the potential of Malawi's girls firsthand, I made it my mission to give them an opportunity to become their personal best.

I hope you will share my urgency and make a donation today. Every donation counts toward helping impoverished girls to reach their full potential. And every dollar will make a difference.

Visit: http://www.raisingmalawi.org/rm_girlsacademy.php

Thank you for helping me to bring education and opportunity to the girls of Malawi. They are deeply grateful to you for your support, and so am I.

With Love, Madonna

Totally, totally cool. I love it! Although one has to wonder how someone reportedly worth approximately half a billion dollars finds it necessary to go on the Internet and ask her fans to help donate to her project. Sure, I get it, it's a way to get people engaged in helping others, but really Madge ... open your heart and your wallet ;-)

Here's the rest of the Us article...

Madonna has made regular visits to Malawi since adopting her youngest son David, 3.

Madonna found David at an orphanage through her Raising Malawi charity and was later granted temporary custody. The High Court in the capital of Lilongwe approved the adoption this past May after a two-year battle.

Oprah Winfrey opened a school for promising girls from deprived backgrounds in South Africa in January 2007. "The school is a symbol of leadership, it stands for what is possible for African children," Winfrey said at the opening.

The Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls, is located in the small town of Henley-on-Klip, south of Johannesburg.

So there we have it. Madge has gone and impressed me all over again. I have to say, it was amazing to finally be able to see her live in concert a few weeks ago on the Sticky & Sweet Tour. And today, I'm also really jazzed for her latest venture for the girls of Malawi.

She just never stops! And frankly I hope she never does. If you wanna know more about Raising Malawi, here is its website.

THE PRICE OF ADMISSION
"He could play the guitar just like ringing a bell"

This has got to be thee-most surprising quote ever made by a celebrity living with a disease ... here are the words of Michael J. Fox in response to performing on stage last Wednesday with The Who:

"This is almost worth getting Parkinson's for!" Michael J. Fox declared as he took the stage to play guitar with The Who in New York City Wednesday night.

image: people.com

Wow - I gotta say, I love the guy's sense of humour. Big props to him for that.

It's kind of amazing to realize that no matter who you are or what you might be facing, we can all still go a little ga-ga for our favourite bands (or movie stars or whatever). Here's more of the story from People:

The actor – who was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in 1991 – rocked out to the legendary band's "Magic Bus," trading licks and windmill guitar riffs with Pete Townshend.

The once-in-a-lifetime performance was the grand finale of Fox's annual A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To Cure Parkinson's.

Ryan Reynolds – who recently ran the New York City Marathon in honor of his father, who suffers from Parkinson's – also attended the star-studded event, along with his new wife Scarlett Johansson. Also on the guest list: Rachael Ray, Julianne Moore, Ben Stiller and New York Yankee Derek Jeter.

Mmmm.... Ryan Reynolds. Can we just stop this blog for a moment to let our mouths fall agape and enjoy the hotness that is Ryan at a marathon?

image: Splash

AND... we're back.

The event was even more celebratory than usual, thanks to Barack Obama's presidential win the night before.

"I'm positive that one of the first things that [Obama] is going to do ... is revisit the [George W. Bush's] ban on stem cell research ...," Fox told PEOPLE at the event, which he attended along with wife Tracy Pollan and daughters, Schuyler and Aquinnah. "I'm really excited."

I gotta say, I also hope to see the same thing come from President-elect Obama. We ALL would benefit from exploring the possibilities inherent with stem cell research. LIFT THE BAN, indeed!

As for Michael J. Fox, while not a rabid fan of all of his work I do absolutely acknowledge his acting talent and his perseverance in life especially since is diagnosis way back in '91. I also feel a bit of - oh, I don't know - a 'connection' with him because I was born at the same hospital as he ... the Royal Alexandra Hospital to be exact.

That pic of him on stage with The Who reminds of that fun scene from Back to the Future where his character, Marty McFly, takes to the stage at the high school dance to perform Johnny B Goode and ends up rocking out so hard on his electric guitar - way before the actual days of real rock n' roll - that he completely freaks out not only his backup band but also all the kids at the dance. Watch it again with me, won't you? The BEST part is at :52 seconds into the clip!

CONGRATULATIONS AMERICA!!!
Ya did yourselves (and your Canadian neighbours) proud

CANADA LOVES OBAMA

OBAMA + CANADA = OBAMA-DA!

image credit: cnn.com

image credit: AP

image credit: Getty

OBAMA + CANADA = OBAMA-DA!!!!!!!!!

Spotted: Madonna in Vancouver
Madonna + Canada = Madonna-da!

Yup, I spotted her alright... and so did 60,000 other fans who sold out BC Place Stadium for Madonna's FIRST EVER Vancouver concert. The Sticky and Sweet Tour finally came to town 5 months after tickets first went on sale near the end of last May.

All I can say is... HOLY MOTHER-EFFING EVERYTHING!

I’ve waited years ... decades, really ... to see a Madonna concert and WOW was it ever fantastic, amazing, fun and just so totally good and great. And hot to boot!

Seriously, I’ve been SO geeked about this concert for such a long time now ... I felt like a dog with a full bladder who's been teased with a leash and the promise of 'walkeez'. The actual coming to fruition of something so desperately anticipated was nearly overwhelming!

My excitement grew even more once Danny and I were in our seats, waiting for the show to start. I actually started to believe that my bladder really was full.

I knew it was just nerves, but what did I do anyway? I went to the men’s room and to my surprise found a line up of women waiting to get in!

Turns out, there were so many ladies in the hiz last night, and their washrooms were so busy, that they just threw out all conventions and - in behaviour I have no doubt was inspired by Madonna’s eternal gender-fuck attitude - lined up to do their thang in the men’s room.

Ha! I love it! In fact I loved it so much that I took a photo. The lovely ladies didn’t seem to mind one bit (neither did the guy doing up his fly at the left of the image).

I got back to my seat and waved at my sister, brother and Mom in their seats about five sections away from where I was seated.

Actually, there were tons of people I know also seated very close to me including former co-workers, current co-workers, a former house mate, and even Danny's gorgeous cousins happened to be only four rows in front of us. That was really quite surprising to be surrounded by so many familiar faces in our immediate area.

As for some of the other faces in the crowd, I've now heard on local news reports that some folks with floor seats paid up to $2700 for a ticket! Hmmm... we really are living in a material world, aren't we?

FINALLY, at 9:25pm the lights went down and Madonna came out! Sister was REALLY late starting her show, but... I forgive.

The show opened with Candy Shop - when I looked at the ginormous video screen beside the stage and took note of Madge’s thighs and ass, I was amazed at how ridiculously fit she is! Dare I say that I was thisclose to being turned on by her musculature ... haha.

I also loved all the candy imagery on screens behind the dancers and musicians, especially the huge spinning candy corns which is one of my all-time favourite candies.

In 'Candy Shop', there was something special about the conviction she lent to singing the line “my sugar is raw” - it was like, "MY sugar is RAW!"

Early in the show Madonna ventured out to the runway portion of her massive stage and upon arrival there she likely became aware of the presence of tobacco or marijuana because on microphone she said 'please don't smoke around the stage, thank you'.

Since it's now rare in Vancouver to come across cigarette smokers in action outside their own homes or cars, I'm guessing she was picking up some second-hand smoke from some B.C. bud - little might she know that shit is known to be so strong that by the time she may have inhaled any smoke from someone else, she was probably already higher than her own red stiletto heels.

The first set also included a couple of ol’ faves - ‘Human Nature’ which as you might know is the portion of the show including a Britney Spears video 'appearance'. In the video she wears a hoodie in an elevator and mouths the 'Human Nature' lyrics “express yourself, don’t repress yourself”.

Back to Madonna, she also played quite an interesting version of 'Vogue' which incorporated music elements of ‘4 Minutes’. Honestly, I would have preferred a more traditional performance of Vogue simply because it is such a classic with it's bouncy piano and familiar house-y drum beat. But we all know that Madge is quite literally the queen of reinvention, so that in itself makes it fascinating to be exposed to her latest take on older material.

I felt kind of the same way with ‘Into the Groove’ which was presented with a complete restructure of the original recording. But soon after that she freaking rocked out on a totally-guitared-to-the-max rendition of ‘Borderline’. The moment she began playing it, and as it played out note by note, I just thought it was brilliant and a terrific and fresh sound on a quarter-century old song.

‘She’s Not Me’ was pure megalomaniacal fun – as Madonna dedicated the tune to all the ladies in the house, she performed it surrounded by four ‘versions’ of her ‘self’ on stage with her.

Four dancers were costumed as: the bridal Boy Toy of yore from ‘Like a Virgin’, the insert-a-coin-and-watch-me-dance Madonna from the ‘Open Your Heart’ video, the cone-bra wonder of the early ‘90s and the pink-gowned Marilyn Monroe tribute from ‘Material Girl’.

While self-promoting, it was also a somewhat self-deprecating interpretation. Not to mention just plain fun to watch. Here's a pic from the start of Madonna's performance of "She's Not Me":

‘Devil Wouldn’t Recognize You’ was a beautiful performance with Madge somewhere within a roomy black cloak as she sang the song off the top surface of a piano, all of which was inside a rounded transparent screen featuring layered video imagery of water droplets and other natural elements in a slow moving kind of serenity.

Here is what the round screen looked like. And the second pic below shows the transparency of the screen with Madonna visible inside:

After this set, we saw the brilliant ‘Get Stupid’ video interlude featuring the likes of Obama, Oprah and the Dalai Lama. Very political, very timely, very important to say the least.

Next, she cracked open a bit of spontaneity and took a request from some lucky girls in the front row. Of course, the request was for ‘Like a Virgin’. With that, Madonna got 60,000 fans in Vancouver to sing the entire song at her prompting. It was really quite cool and toooooooootally fun. Here's my short video of that sing along.

'Like A Virgin' was soon followed by ‘Like A Prayer’ which certainly brought the house right down.

So did ‘Hung Up’. Here's a video of that:

I think Madonna said it best on her latest album when she said, "See my booty get down!" And that, my friends, is exactly what I was doing.

She also played (and I thank goddess for this) one of my personal faves, ‘Ray of Light’ which again had Madge displaying her bony and witchy-looking fingers across the strings of her electric-guitar. Good times, indeed!

Madonna didn't engage herself in too much chit-chat with us, but nearing the end of the show she mentioned the enormous digital clock inside the stadium, way up high near the roof, positioned directly opposite her stage. She must have finally had enough of watching the clock because between songs she gave us a 'time check' (it was 11:02pm) and mentioned 'that fucking clock has been staring back at me all night'. If anything, it got a decent chuckle out of most of the concert-goers.

I bought a tour shirt with a pic of Madonna on the chest. To me, this particular image is very reminiscent of Liz Phair on the cover of Exile in Guyville. Seriously!

Okay, here's an image of the Madonna T-shirt I bought (except this one is the baby-tee for the girls... mine is NOT a baby-tee, but the image of her face is identical)

And now here is the cover of Liz Phair's 'Exile in Guyville' album ... to me, the two are very similar!

Anyhoo, luckily Danny and I managed to get our picture taken with Madonna last night. She's the slightly smaller figure in the background:

And to round out today's Madge-errific post, here's a couple more concert pics:

LETTERMAN IS THE BETTERMAN
Late Show host makes rare appearance in the headlines

One of my favourite guys of all time is suddenly everywhere today.

David Letterman is about to appear on the cover of the Rolling Stone this Friday, and has hit the headlines in the lead up to the magazine's publication date.

In all the time I've been a fan of Letterman, today is the very first time I've seen his name everywhere. Have you noticed that too? It looks like "everybody" has picked up on the story out earlier today from the Associated Press.

CNN is running several quotes of his opinion of the impending late night departure of Jay Leno and re-shuffle of Conan O'Brien.

CTV's eTalk has also included David Letterman in their coverage today, along with the cover from the upcoming Rolling Stone which also happens to include the fabulously & brilliantly hilarious Tina Fey AND Chris Rock ... I love it! 3 of my faves all together. I think this is just a great photograph:

Luckily, it looks like the folks over at Rolling Stone also released some additional tidbits to Reuters and, as a result, we get some more comments from Dave Letterman on how he actually feels a bit bad about poking fun at U.S. Presidential candidate John McCain:

"John McCain looks like the kinda guy who brags that his new denture adhesive allows him to eat corn on the cob," Letterman once said on his CBS talk show.

LOL! Love that. There's more of his McCain-related words on the MSNBC website.

Ah, Letterman. I do fret a bit at the thought of him leaving the airwaves sometime after 2010. That's just too soon, even though I've been watching his show since his early days on NBC.

The only thing I can think of that would be a *good* result of Letterman's departure is that it seems likely that Craig Ferguson, host of the Letterman-produced "Late Late Show", would fill the post. And that would be T-riffic - sometimes I laugh more at the bizarrely-hilarious Ferguson than I do at the self-deprecating and folksy Letterman. But, no question, Dave is still the man. The man for me, tee hee hee.

So, yeah ... it's good to see David Letterman in the headlines today. I'm definitely looking forward to reading his full interview in the new issue of Rolling Stone.

What say we harken back to a classic Letterman episode, "co-starring" another of my all-time faves... Madonna (who I FINALLY will get to see live here in Vancouver on October 30!):

JUDE LAW'S ROAD TO PEACE
British actor promotes peace in Afghanistan

With so much political focus in North America on the Republican National Convention (now delayed by Hurricane Gustav ) and on the seemingly inevitable Canadian federal election, there's one guy out there who is still trying to bring some additional focus to Afghanistan.

And that guy is Jude Law. Today he met reporters in the city of Kabul to promote the upcoming annual Peace Day (September 21) in support of non-violence and a global cease-fire. Here's the details from the Associated Press:

(Getty Images)

KABUL, Afghanistan - Jude Law is visiting Afghanistan to promote peace in the war-ravaged country.

Together with director Jeremy Gilley, the Oscar-nominated Law has returned to Afghanistan to help maintain momentum for Peace Day — an annual day on Sept. 21 urging a global cease-fire and nonviolence.

The United Nations General Assembly adopted Peace Day in 2001, following a lobbying campaign by Gilley which he documented in the film “Peace One Day.”

“When I left Kabul last year, I was hugely moved not by the conflict that I have read so much about, but by the people’s courage and the people’s sense of hope,” Law told reporters in Kabul on Monday.

“It seemed that they really want to make this day, the Peace Day, work. And they did,” Law said. “People recognize the day, because they recognize that lives could be saved.”

Noted for his roles in movies such as “The Talented Mr. Ripley” and “Cold Mountain,” Law helped Gilley produce his second documentary film, called “The Day After Peace.”

The documentary, which also features former U.N. chief Kofi Annan, the Dalai Lama, Angelina Jolie, Annie Lennox and Jonny Lee Miller, charts the way Peace Day can be used as a focus for lifesaving activity, Gilley said.

Law said the movie “was the most important film I have been part of.”

Law and Gilley, who arrived in Kabul on Sunday, are to meet President Hamid Karzai, top NATO and U.N. officials, and members of the aid community.

Last year, they traveled and filmed in treacherous areas of eastern Afghanistan to help promote the day, on which they hope weapons will fall silent, allowing help to reach those most in need.

Gilley said in Afghanistan over 1.4 million children were able to be vaccinated against polio on Peace Day as a result.

“The world celebrates so many days that often separate and segregate us ... and yet there is none that ties us all together,” Law said.

He said ordinary Afghans, who marched and prayed as they marked Peace Day last year, are among the film’s stars.

“It is Peace Day’s commitment to take this film as a message from people of Afghanistan to the rest of the world,” he said.

The visit coincides with one of Afghanistan’s most violent periods since the ouster of the Taliban from power in 2001. More than 3,700 people — mostly militants — have died as a result of the war this year.

Law said that even as Kabul has become more dangerous, hope among its people has remained surprisingly high.

If “it is possible here, it is possible everywhere,” Gilley said.

And how... those seem like pretty good words to hear on this Labour Day, n'est-ce pas?

93 Canadian soldiers have died since the 2002 start of Canada's Afghan mission.

You can get in touch with the Canadian troops on the national defence department's website.