Destiny's Edge Update:

Another update for those keeping track of the story Destiny's Edge.

Destiny's Edge chapter 3 has been completed and edited. I am currently heavily involved with the rewrite of chapter 4 of this story. Who ever said that re-writes are easy has never had to do them. I guess every author is critical of their own work, and after a time, can see things that they'd like improved. Chapter 4 has proven to be the more difficult chapter to re-write, but after struggling with the first part, I've finally managed to get down to the meat of it.

The question I had when I sat down to do this chapter was, what was the best way to let the reader know that a specific period of time had passed, that Jev's telepathic abilities were getting stronger, and Kiyel was now able to converse verbally in English. I also needed to get them away from the town where they could talk in private, before realizing that there is a problem.

It has taken me a week to complete the first seven pages of this chapter (with 20 - 23 pages planned - all pages are double spaced courier 12 font with 1" margins on an 8.5" x 11" page). Now that I've managed to get this done, and done in a way that I am very pleased with, the remainder of the chapter should take me no longer than a week to complete.

I am saving up some money as well, for I am going to re-hire the illustrator who did the cover for my book to do the back cover as well. The goal is for her to continue the back cover as if it was another part of the scene featured on the front cover.

Planning of Prophecy's Flight, the second book in the Caitaran Worlds series, is well under way, and I've now completed a rough outline of the story. I've also designed the brief for the cover design which I will submit to my illustrator when the story nears completion. Hopefully it won't take me longer than a year to complete that book, but we'll see.

The final tally for chapters in Destiny's Edge is 20, with a page count in excess of 400 pages. I cannot be certain yet as to how many pages the book will have in total, as I need to determine what the requirements are for formatting when sending to the publisher. The book itself will be in US Trade Paperback format (6" x 9").

As always, your comments, suggestions and questions are always welcome. And I hope to hear from many of you in the near future.

Peace all!

Caitaran Worlds Website: caitaranworlds.jasonfinigan.net
My Email: jasonfinigan@gmail.com

Let's Illustrate!

Hey all, just a quick update here, as I'm busy going through all the photos I took at Toronto Pride 2009 so I can report on that.

After I made my call for an illustrator, I went surfing to see if I could find a professional illustrator to do my book covers. And in the process, I found one.

Since I hadn't received any responses to my call for an illustrator, I opted instead to select an illustrator from a site called www.ifreelance.com. This site has some very talented illustrators advertising their services. To make selecting an illustrator easier, each one on their profile has a portfolio of work they've done.

One illustrator, above the rest, stood out in my mind. Her name is Jana, an illustrator located in California. After a flurry of emails back and forth she came up with a book cover that really fits my story, Destiny (Now renamed to: Destiny's Edge).

So I am pleased to show you the final version of the book cover for Destiny's Edge:

A call for Graphic Artists / Illustrators

This is my second post with regards to the story that I am writing, with the goal of having it published sometime in the future. The story is well underway and I'm already into the second chapter.

This is turning out to be a very exciting story and one which I'm very proud of.

A previous version of this story has been published online before, but it is what I would call a very rough draft of the final product.

There are a few things I am looking for however. Chief among them is a graphic artist / Illustrator.

Besides designing a book cover for the story, I'm also looking for drawings/renderings of some of the major characters in the story. Especially the two main characters; Jev and Kiyel.

If there is anyone who knows of a graphic artist / illustrator willing to work on this project for me, please have them contact me via email at: jasonfinigan@gmail.com.

This project would be perfect for a graphic arts student seeking to establish a portfolio for themselves.

Hope to hear from someone soon. Thanks in advance.

Caitaran Worlds now online!

As many who visit this blog know, I have been writing several gay themed stories. Probably the most popular of those stories is one titled "Destiny."

Synopses: They were from two different worlds, and yet their love knew no boundaries. One a colonist enslaved by a ruthless enemy, the other a survivor of a crashed ship. Together the two of them must bring their peoples together if they are to have any chance of seeing freedom ever again. But old prejudices could prove the more deadly enemy as both soon find themselves pitted against not only a conquering alien race, but also against fear and hatred from both their species.

I invite you all to visit the site, and learn much more about the characters, races, and worlds that inhabit this story.

Caitara Worlds

Welcome home Taz!

I'd like everyone to help me welcome a new member of Jim's and my family. He's approximately 7 weeks old, and very very hyper. Because of this, he's been given the name of "Taz" and believe me when I say, it suits his personality!

I managed to capture these three pictures during one of his lazy moments. And believe me, for a kitten, these are few and far between. Who said young ones spend most of their time sleeping? Not this one.

Well, he's asking me to feed him again, so I'll leave you all with the other two pictures. Hope you like.

It's Pride 2009!

It's pride month! That's right, tomorrow, June 1st, marks the first day of Pride 2009!

For me, this month is going to be filled with Pride Events all over the GTA (Greater Toronto Area), and even some events that are just plain fun to attend.

Starting with June 6th, Jim and I will be in Burlington at 11am for Halton Pride. This small event features one day of fun activities that everyone can enjoy.

On June 18th to the 21st, Jim and I will be in Burlington, once more, to enjoy Burlington's annual Sound of Music Festival. While not a Pride event, it is still one of the largest and most popular events that happen in all of southern Ontario. It features 5 outdoor stages with 4 days of continuous music performed by some of Canada's hottest talent. And it's all free! (Except for the food and drinks, and merchandise that can be had from the plethora of vendors.)

Finally, it's off to Toronto on the 27th and 28th for Canada's largest Pride event: Toronto Pride. It is an entire weeks worth of activities and events all centred around celebrating the LGBT community. I recommend everyone come on out who can and enjoy all that these events have to offer.

Toronto Pride: www.pridetoronto.com
Burlington's Sound of Music Festival: www.soundofmusic.on.ca
Halton Pride: www.haltonpride.org

(And yes, in case you are wondering... that is my house... with a brand new Pride flag installed above the front porch.)

So, what I'd like to hear is what are you planning to do to celebrate the LGBT community this month?

40th Anniversary

Today marks an important milestone in Canadian History. It was 40 years to the day that Bill C-150 was passed by the Canadian Government, a bill that among other things decriminalized homosexuality.

The Criminal Law Amendment Act was an omnibus bill that introduced major changes to the Criminal Code of Canada. This omnibus bill, which was Introduced as Bill C-150, was brought forward by Pierre Trudeau (who at the time was the Minister of Justice) during the second session of the 27th Canadian Parliament on December 21, 1967.

After some very heated debates, on May 14, 1969, omnibus Bill C-150 passed third reading in the House of Commons by a vote of 149 (119 Liberals, 18 New Democrats, 12 Progressive Conservatives) to 55 (43 Progressive Conservatives, 11 Créditistes, 1 Liberal).

The bill itself was a massive 126-page, 120-clause amendment to the Criminal Code of Canada that proposed, among other items, to decriminalize homosexuality, allow abortion and contraception, and regulate gun possession, drinking and driving offences, cruelty to animals and lotteries.

Trudeau's successor (Trudeau later became the 15th Prime Minster of Canada) as Minister of Justice, John Turner, described the bill as "the most important and all-embracing reform of the criminal and penal law ever attempted at one time in this country." Trudeau famously defended the bill by telling reporters that "there's no place for the state in the bedrooms of the nation," adding that "what's done in private between adults."

Since then there have been many victories for the LGBT community as well as several losses, which are listed below:

1969-MAY-14: C-150 was signed into law. Any consensual sexual activity by a maximum of two adults was decriminalized.

1977: Quebec became the first province in Canada to include sexual orientation in its Human Rights Act. Discrimination against heterosexuals, homosexuals and bisexuals was prohibited.

1978: The Canadian Immigration Act was altered so that it no longer prohibited homosexuals from immigrating into the country.

1979: The Canadian Human Rights Commission recommended that "sexual orientation" be added to the Canadian Human Rights Act.

1980: Pat Carney introduces a bill to Parliament to prohibit discrimination against homosexuals, bisexuals and homosexuals by adding "sexual orientation" to the Canadian Human Rights Act. It failed to pass. Svend Robinson introduced similar bills in 1983, 1985, 1986, 1989, and 1991. None succeeded.

1981: Toronto City Council called on the Ontario government to amend the Ontario Human Rights Code to include sexual orientation as a prohibited ground of discrimination. Toronto is by far the largest city in Ontario.

FEB 6, 1981: Canada's "Stonewall:" About 3,000 people marched in Toronto to protest the arrest of more than 300 men at four gay bath houses on the previous night.

1982: The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, Canada's constitution, was approved. It defined many protected classes based on race, sex, religion, etc. However, sexual orientation was not initially included.

1986: The Ontario Human Rights Code was amended to include sexual orientation as a protected class. Ontario is the most populous province in Canada. It was the second province to do so.

1987: Manitoba became the third province to add sexual orientation to its human rights code.

1988: Svend Robinson became the first Member of Parliament to reveal that he is gay. He was re-elected in 2000.

1989: The Canadian Human Rights Commission ruled that same-sex couples, and their children if any, should be considered families.

1991: Delwin Vriend was fired by King's University College in Edmonton, AB, because his sexual orientation was regarded as incompatible with the religious beliefs of the Christian Reformed Church who owned and operated the school. He taught chemistry as a lab instructor. It is not clear how his sexual orientation interacted with his teaching. He sued the government of Alberta.

1992: The military lifted its previous ban of promotions, postings and career training for homosexuals, as a result of a lawsuit initiated by Captain Joshua Birch and others.

1992: New Brunswick and British Columbia made sexual orientation a protected classification.

1993: Saskatchewan made sexual orientation a protected class.

1993: The Supreme Court of Canada ruled that it was not discrimination to deny bereavement leave to a partner in a same-sex relationship.

1995: The Province of Ontario extended family benefits to its gay and lesbian employees in same-sex relationships.

1995: The Supreme Court of Canada ruled in Egan v. Canada that the term "sexual orientation" was to be "read in" to Section 15 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. This is the section that deals with equality rights.

1995: An Ontario Court judge ruled that same-sex couples must be allowed to bring joint applications for adoption.

1996: Bill C-33 passed Parliament. The term "sexual orientation" was added to the Federal Human Rights Act as a protected class.

1997: Newfoundland added sexual orientation to its human rights legislation.

1998: Vriend's case was decided by the Supreme Court of Canada. In a unanimous decision, the court orders that the Alberta Individual Rights Protection Act (now called the Human Rights, Citizenship and Multiculturalism Act) is to be interpreted as including protection of homosexuals.

1998: Prince Edward Island's human rights legislation was changed to include sexual orientation -- the last province to do so. Seven years later, they were to become the last province to allow same-sex couples to marry.

1999: The Ontario Legislature passed Bill 5. This outlawed discrimination in the province against same-sex couples. They are now treated in the same way as heterosexual common-law couples.

1999: The House of Commons overwhelmingly passed a resolution -- 216 to 55 -- to define marriage as a union of one man and one woman.

1999: In the "M v. H" case, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that same-sex couples were to have the same rights as opposite-sex unmarried common-law couples. This includes the right to alimony. Responding to this case, the Ontario Legislature introduced Bill 5 to alter more than 50 provincial laws.

2000: The Federal government passed omnibus bill C23 which amended 68 federal statutes to extend full benefits and obligations to persons in same-sex relationships. One significant exclusion was their right to marry.

2000: The government of Alberta passed Bill 202 which states that the province will use the notwithstanding clause to refuse marriage to same-sex couples in the event a court decides in favor of SSM. The bill is meaningless, because the federal government, not the provincial and territorial governments, defines who may marry.

JAN 14, 2001: Two same-sex couples were married in a church service in Toronto. They could not obtain a marriage license, and so went through the ancient ritual of the reading of the bans. The Ontario government refused to register their marriages. However, on 2003-JUN-10, the Ontario Court of Appeal retroactively recognized the marriages, thus making them the first same-sex couples in the world -- at least in recent centuries -- to be legally married.

2002: Marc Hall won a lawsuit against Monsignor John Pereyma Catholic High School in Oshawa, ON. The school had prohibited him from bringing his boyfriend to the school dance.

2002: The Ontario Superior Court ruled unanimously that restricting marriage to one man and one woman is unconstitutional. The court gave the Ontario and Federal governments 24 months to change their legislation to allow same-sex couples to marry. The Ontario government decided to not appeal the ruling. The federal government released a public opinion poll indicating that most Canadian adults favor allowing same-sex couples to marry. Three days later, the federal government appealed the ruling to the Ontario Court of Appeals.

2002: In November, an Ekos poll found that 45% of Canadians favored SSM.

JUNE 10, 2003: The Ontario Court of Appeal unanimously ordered the Ontario government to issue marriage licenses to same-sex adult couples, and to register their marriages. Michael Stark and Michael Leshner made North American history by obtaining a marriage license and being married a few hours later.

JUNE 17, 2003: The Federal Government threw in the towel. They felt that they had to recognize the unanimous decisions of three senior provincial courts legalizing SSM. At a caucus meeting, the Liberal party decided to not appeal the decisions of the Ontario and British Columbia appeal courts to the Supreme Court of Canada. Rather, it decided to introduce legislation to Parliament which will legalize same-sex marriage across the country.

JULY 8, 2003: The British Columbia Court of Appeal unanimously ordered the British Columbia government to immediately sell marriage licenses to same-sex adult couples, and to register their marriages.

AUG 14, 2003: The United Church of Canada voted overwhelmingly to endorse SSM at their general council meeting in Wolfville, NS.

SEPT 9, 2003: A gay-positive group initiated a class-action suit against the federal government on behalf of same-sex couples who were denied Canada Pension Plan benefits when one partner died before 1998. They won the case.

SEPT 16, 2003: A motion by the conservative Alliance Party in Parliament was defeated. It would have declared that marriage in Canada was restricted to a union of one man and one woman. It would have required Parliament to invoke the notwithstanding clause. That would have over-ridden the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms to deprive same-sex couples of the right to marry.

SEPT 17, 2003: Bill C-250 was passed. It added sexual orientation to the existing list of four protected classes in Canada's hate propaganda legislation. Hate speech against persons on the basis of their sexual orientation is now a criminal offense. Exceptions are made in the law for religious hate speech. All Canadians are protected by the law: heterosexuals, homosexuals and bisexuals.

JUNE 2004: A lesbian couple filed the first same-sex divorce petition after their one-year marriage broke down.

DEC 8, 2004: The Supreme Court of Canada handed down a 19 page ruling on the Federal Government's "Proposal for an Act respecting certain aspects of legal capacity for marriage for civil purposes." -- commonly referred to as its "reference." It involved four questions concerning same-sex marriage. The court's decisions were unanimous. It determined that the Federal Government has the sole right to determine who may marry in Canada, that the proposed federal SSM legislation was constitutional, and that churches and other religious institutions can freely discriminate against same-sex couples in marriage. Unfortunately, it refused to rule on whether the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms requires SSM.

FEB 1, 2005: Bill C-38, which would make SSM available across Canada, was introduced to parliament.

MAY 4, 2005: The House of Commons voted in favor of C-38 at the second reading stage -- approval in principle -- by a vote of 163 to 138.

MAY 9, 2005: The governing body of the Anglican Church of Canada decided to delay its decision on SSM until 2007.

JUNE 28, 2005:The House passed the bill by a vote of 158 to 133.

JULY 19, 2005: The Senate passed the bill by a vote of 47 to 21 with three abstentions.

JULY 20, 2005: Bill C-38, which theoretically made same-sex marriages available across Canada was signed into law by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada. Normally, this action is taken by the Governor General. However, she was incapacitated by a medical problem. Same-sex couples anywhere in Canada could theoretically be married.

JULY 22, 2005: The Prince Edward Island government decided to not make marriage licenses available to its same-sex couples, in violation of federal law. Alone among the provinces and territories, they decided that they first had to pass enabling legislation.

AUG 19, 2005: Dr. Chris Zarow and Constance Majeau, a same-sex couple from California, successfully petitioned the government of Prince Edward Island to allow them to marry. They received a marriage license on the morning of AUG-19 and were married that afternoon. For the first time in history, any qualifying couple, whether same-sex or opposite-sex, could obtain a marriage license in any province or territory in Canada, marry, and have their status registered.

Ref: 1. Wikipedia, 2. Religious Tolerance.org

And this is why Hamilton sucks

So... Jim and I are peacefully sleeping away this morning when all of a sudden we are awakened by a knocking on our downstairs door that separates the kitchen from the front hallway. The one doing the knocking is the tenant who lives upstairs. She is quite the loud lady I say.

When we finally are awake, Jim sits up, his hair all a mess (as is normal for the both of us it seems), the tenant loudly announces that Jim's car was broken into.

Ugh!

Have people no better thing to do than to wreck other people's property? I guess not.

So after she leaves (as the last thing she needs to see is us in our sleepwear -- or lack of) Jim and I both get out of bed. Slipping on some new clothes, I grab my camera and head out the door. I might add that the temperature outside is a very warm 20 degrees already!

With camera in hand I walk down the path to the car.

Now one thing I have to mention is that the car is actually parked in an alleyway behind the house. None of the houses on the street have a driveway in front. Something which Jim and I are DEFINITELY thinking of putting in real soon.

From the right side of the car, everything looked okay, but when I walked over to the driver's side... that's when I saw the window.

As can be seen in the picture, they didn't simply smash out the window. No, rather they used something to pry the window from the frame and then pulled the window out, shattering it in the process. This is why the window appears to have been broken from the inside rather than from the outside. Should they have smashed the window, there would have been a good amount of glass on the front seat. As it was, only a few pieces were present. The rest was on the ground by the side of the car.

Who knows what these people were looking for. Maybe drugs, maybe a weapon, maybe money... Who can tell? This is Hamilton. There are some mighty crazy people that live in this city. Obviously, as Jim and I do not have any of the above mentioned items, they didn't find much.

Out of frustration, or maybe wishful thinking, they decided to break into the steering column. Wishful thinking only because failing obtaining anything of value from inside the car, they may have decided to try and steal the car itself. I must say, this person either had to have been inept when it comes to stealing cars, or they're so drunk/stoned that they couldn't even get much farther than breaking the casing around the ignition.

Lucky us.

Jim is pissed though, and rightly so. The insurance does not cover a broken window. Why not you ask? Because Insurance in Ontario is listed as "No Fault" insurance, and even should we have caught the person who broke into the car, Jim STILL would have had to pay for the repair. The deductible is $500 and it costs $400 to replace the window. Which means Jim will be driving the car now with a plastic sheet taped over the window until such time as we can scrounge up enough money to pay for the window.

What a way to begin the weekend!

Is he for real?!

Just when you think things are settled in Iowa and that same-sex couples will soon be able to get married, a member of Iowa's Republican party decides to wade poke his dirty nose into things.

Bob Vander Plaats said on Thursday that:

"Iowa’s county recorders could not be compelled to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Attorney General Tom Miller lacks the authority to compel county recorders to issue the licenses because Miller is an officer of the judiciary, not the executive branch."

Beforehand, the attorney general instructed county recorders to comply with the April 3 supreme court ruling that legalized same-sex marriage, or face removal from office. Same-sex marriages are set to begin on Monday.

But Plaats wasn't content to stop there. He also renewed his call for Governor Chet Culver to stay the issuance of marriage licences to same-sex couples through an executive order.

An executive order? He's suggesting that the Governor of Iowa has the power to suspend laws by signing an executive order? I think this person needs to go back to law school. Thankfully, the governor dismissed Plaats demand. The Governor's spokesperson responded by saying:

"The Governor has no authority to halt a decision from the supreme court."

Thought so.

So just what is Plaats trying to do? Some have suggested that he's attempting to lay the foundations for a possible run to be the next Governor. If this is his way of governing, I'm seriously doubtful that many people would consider having him for their governor. Iowa would be better off with the Three Stooges honestly.

Good luck Mr. Plaats. I think you just guaranteed your own defeat at the polls. They only ones crazy enough to vote for you are the ones who believe in discriminating against gays and lesbians.

They still don't get it!

I'm sitting here shaking my head right now. You know, yesterday I mentioned that there was a complete lack of news coming from Canada with regards to gay rights. Well, that all changed last night. Looks like the hold-out province (Alberta) is at it again.

They really don't get it do they?

What I'm talking about is a recent news article that was released yesterday by the CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation). The article reads as follows:

EDMONTON (CBC) - A booklet outlining a new benefits package handed out to Alberta government workers last year defined a spouse as someone of the opposite sex, a former provincial employee says, even though same-sex marriage has been legal in Alberta for nearly four years.

Scott Mair, who used to work for Children's Services, says that according to a booklet he received in the spring of 2008, Mair's husband is not his spouse, he is his "benefit partner."

"This is what our government has put out for its own employees," Mair said. "Clearly discriminatory. Absolutely disgusting, and they're telling me that my marriage doesn't mean anything.

"To me it was systematic bullying and hatred that we've seen consistently through the Alberta government."

An Alberta government spokeswoman said that although the definitions are different, the province respects employees who are in same-sex marriages.

"They're not called a spouse in how it is defined right now. But how we treat them and how we recognize them in a same-sex marriage is that we do provide the benefits," said Marilyn Carlyle-Helms, who speaks for Alberta Corporate Human Resources.

There have been no other complaints about the terminology, Carlyle-Helms said.

Mair said left the government job because he couldn't shake the feeling his employer was treating him differently. He now works with the Institute for Sexual Minority Studies and Services at the University of Alberta.

"We're legally married, we're like any other couple and here they were trying to fit us in this box they wanted us to be separate. They wanted us to be different," he said.

The Alberta government battled the implementation of same-sex marriage for many years.

In 2002, the province threatened to invoke the notwithstanding clause to block same-sex marriage after an Ontario court ordered the federal government to amend the Marriage Act. Alberta also passed a bill defining marriage as exclusively between a man and a woman.

Same-sex marriages were adopted in Alberta when they became legal in Canada in July 2005. The province officially gave up the fight, conceding it had run out of legal options. The notwithstanding clause could not be used since marriage fell under federal, not provincial, jurisdiction, Premier Ralph Klein said at the time.

Okay, lets read one particular quote again. Just to be sure we are clear about the Alberta government's position:

"Although the definitions are different, the province respects employees who are in same-sex marriages. They're not called a spouse in how it is defined right now. But how we treat them and how we recognize them in a same-sex marriage is that we do provide the benefits."

The province "RESPECTS" employees who are in same-sex marriages. Okay, stop right there. I have a wee bit of a problem with this sentence. Just how is it respectful to same-sex couples to define their union to one another as anything other than a spouse, similar to opposite-sex couples? I'm having a difficult time wrapping my blond brain around that.

If the government TRULY respected same-sex couples, there would be absolutely NO distinction between same-sex couples and opposite-sex couples. All would be called "spouse."

Ah, but then, this is Alberta. The last hold-out province in Canada. The last province to recognize same-sex marriage, and only because they were forced to by the courts who stated that marriage was an institution controlled by the federal government and NOT by the provinces. Thank whichever deity you believe in for that. For I bet, if it was left up to the province to determine who was permitted to get married, Alberta would still not recognize same-sex marriages.

Respect? I don't think so. More like: "We don't agree with same sex marriage, so we're going to do whatever we can to make sure those gays know it."

Petty. Real petty. I've only got two words to say to Alberta... GROW UP!