Rhona Cameron Stand Up 19th August 2010

Rhona Cameron is performing a one-off routine at Bristol's Metropolis as part of Bristol Pride Week. Tickets cost £14.50 plus booking fee.

Book Here

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Bristol Pride 21st August

Singer Sonique is headlining Bristol Pride day at Castle Park this weekend and the Pride Walk begins at St Augustine's Parade at noon.

Click here for more details and the rest of Bristol Pride Weeks events

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Queer Fiction Night Tonight 18th August Arnolfini Bristol

A book reading, Q and A and signing evening of gay writers is taking place tonight at the Arnolfini as part of Bristol Pride week.  The panel includes comedienne and author Rhona Cameron, author Stella Duffy, Time Out editor Paul Burston and Jack Wolf.

Tickets are £10.

Book Here

The Official Bristol Pride Site

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Pink Festival Cambridge 21st August 2010

The Pink Festival, held at Cherry Hinton Hall in Cambridge, is a free event that also welcomes families and groups of all sexualities.  Headlining the main stage is Amanda Wilson of Freemasons with performances from Secret Circuits, drag act The Killer Queens plus a children's area, community tent and art and workshop area.

The Official Pink Festival Site

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Cornwall Pride Truro 24th August 2010

Cornwall Pride is in it's third year and includes a parade from Lemon Quay and Picnic in The Park in Victoria Gardens.  Headlining the evening entertainment is Lisa Scott-Lee (Steps), with other acts including a Madonna impersonator (Melissa Totten) and burlesque by The Slinky Minskys.

Official Cornwall Pride Site

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New Transgender Character in Hollyoaks

Stonewall recently published a report that found lesbian and gay people were positively represented in just 0.6% of popular TV shows. Another severely neglected area are transgender individuals. Apart from Hayley in Coronation Street, I can't think of any positive representations of transgendered people on current television so the emerging storyline of 15 year old Jasmine Costello who transitions to Jason is very welcome.

The character is played by newcomer 23 year old Victoria Atkins.

View The Stonewall Report

View the Character Profile on the C4 Website

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Flashdance The Musical Opens 24th September

A long overdue adaptation of the film that made Jennifer Beals into a household name overnight begins at the Shaftesbury Theatre next month. Boasting choreography by Strictly Come Dancing's Arlene Phillips the show follows the life of 18 year old Alex from Pittsburgh; a welder by day and dancer by night and includes the original soundtrack music plus 10 additional songs.

Book Tickets Here

The Official Site

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Mia Kirshner Plays Vampire Lilith in 30 Days of Night Sequel

If, like me, you love vampire movies and enjoyed '30 Days of Night' then the sequel '30 Days of Night: Dark Days' may be worth a look.  Stella (played by Kiele Sanchez) is one of the survivors of the vampire attack in Alaska and makes it her mission to convince the World that vampires exist.  She discovers that the attack on her town in Alaska was orchestrated by the vampire queen Lilith (played by Mia Kirshner - Jenny in The L Word) she decides to avenge her husbands death.

The Official Movie Site

View The Trailer

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How Do TV Execs Decide What Programmes To Axe?

The news that Heroes has been axed, just as Claire and and Gretchen's relationship was blossoming, is just about the last straw for me. I still don't know if Jenny Schecter was murdered or not and by whom, and if John Connor was left trapped in a different time to his mother Sarah (played by the gorgeous Lena Headey of Imagine Me And You) forever. I will never know how Kizza, Saint and Sugar managed to co-habitate or where the ghost of Thelma went to live once the school in Hex burnt down.

I would love know how modern ratings are measured; as with the emergence of PVRs and online players most TV programmes do not get watched in real-time.  Do the TV execs also take note of the number of fans on social networking sites, such as Facebook and Twitter, and the protests when series are ended prematurely with no closure or tying of loose ends for the viewers?  Do they register DVD sales as part of their analysis or do they stick a pin on a list of shows and whichever it lands on gets cancelled?

Who at ITV thought it was a good idea to cancel the quality drama 'Wire In the Blood' created from the novels by the lesbian author Val McDermid, yet leave on anything containing David Dickinson or the word 'Celebrity' in the title?  Hasn't reality TV (apart from the excellent Come Dine With Me of course) had it's day?

I realise that sometimes real-life events, like actors wishing to leave, or in the unfortunate case of Spartacus Blood and Sand, get delayed due to illness (get well soon Andy Whitfield) but I really think that the execs owe their fans a bit of closure and should at least produce a one-off special episode to tie up loose ends before they destroy the sets.

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Nintendo vs. the Pirates and the High Court Decision

Last week the UK high courts outlawed all flash carts as they believed that they lead to piracy. What they forgot to take into account is that the carts can also be used for open source software, known as homebrew, and of course backing up your existing game collection. 

Nintendo’s argument was that their sales had dropped in the last year.  I think that there may be reasons, other than piracy for this occurrence. 

Firstly, we are in a recession, and if the current coalition government continues with their drastic cuts, we will no doubt be heading for another. During a recession most people would logically cut back on luxuries items such as entertainment products.

Secondly, there are, in my opinion, a glut of poorly developed games churned out by companies that just want to make a quick buck.  If Nintendo developed a system whereby gamers could play trials of a game before they buy then people would be more likely to buy the full version of a trial they have enjoyed.  

Thirdly, I feel that there are not enough Nintendo games aimed at the adult market. Most dedicated adult gamers that I know would scoff at the thought of a Nintendo console like the DSi; opting for a Sony PSP as the games are more stimulating for adults. 

Lastly, I think that the rating system is a bit vague and I propose my NAG system. N is for Numpty, A is for Average and G is for Geek.   That way the geeks won’t be insulted by the low level of intelligence required for the Numpty games and the Numpties won’t buy a game that they can’t understand how to play.  

Piracy is obviously wrong; when people pour their time, effort and money into something they believe in to find it exploited is immoral. Conversely, with artists like Lady Gaga being the most legitimately downloaded artist of 2009 and films like Avatar breaking the box office it proves that, hype aside, consumers will pay for quality entertainment products.  Surveys have also found that those that download copyright infringing material still spend just as much on entertainment products as those that don’t. 

So perhaps the answer is for a try before you buy trial system on products like games and more information about products so that consumers aren’t mislead into buying things that just end up gathering dust on a shelf.

  

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Lindsay Lohan Released from Jail After 14 Days

Actress Lindsay Lohan has been released from the Lynwood Correctional Facility to serve the rest of her 90 days in rehab.

Read the Guardian Article

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Rhona Cameron Stand Up Saturday 7th August 2010

Rhona Cameron, stand-up comedienne and author, is performing a warm-up gig at the Hen and Chicken Theatre Bar in Islington this weekend. Tickets cost £5 from the box office - 0207 7704 2001.

I have seen her a couple of times and she puts on a very entertaining show.

Click here for her other performance dates

Hen And Chicken Theatre Bar Location

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