Olympic Skater Johnny Weir

Oh CANADA!

What an ending to the Winter Games last night, eh? As you could imagine, Vancouver went BERZERK when the Canadians snatched the gold medal in an overtime nail-biter against USA. And we were right there in the thick of it!

We started the day with a pot of chill and good friends who came over to watch the game. After the big overtime finale, we immediately hopped a cab downtown.

Our cowbells never worked so hard as they did last night on Granville Street, where we ran through the street hooting and hollering. I've never slapped so many hands, catcalled to more strangers and laughed so joyously as I did last night in downtown Vancouver, BC.

To top it off, it was a beautiful night in BC, too. The stars were out, so was the moon, and so were hundreds of thousands of crazy Canadian fans.

We ended the night at the PourHouse in Gastown for a late bite. It was the perfect ending to a fabulous, enormously memorable day.

I wish so much I could've somehow bottled up the energy of downtown last night and shared it here with you. I took some video, but you know how those never do any justice.

I wrote a while back that I thought we'd be glad to see the Olympics go, as it was really beginning to cramp our style--city-wise. But now I don't feel that way at all and neither does anyone else I've talked to. Maybe it's because we won yesterday, maybe it's because we had more gold medals than any other country. Or maybe, just maybe, there is some real magic and weight behind the old Olympic spirit.

MORE COWBELL!

Women's Hockey Tonight

Even if you don't watch hockey (or understand it), you should watch the women's hockey final match for the gold between the USA and Canada tonight. It is sure to pack plenty of drama and emotion no matter who you're rooting for.

For myself, I'm quite torn, having been born in America and lived my entire life there before moving to this wonderful country Canada, which I love in a very different way and for very different reasons. I think I'll root for Americanada!

For those hockey fans out there, you realize this is a major match-up, one with echoes of the past. Flash to the Winter Olympics in 2002 in Salt Lake City, when Canada beat the USA in the women's final and snatched the gold medal (and that was on America's turf!).

Will there be home court advantage tonight? Payback? Deja vu?

We'll see! Tune in tonight, live in Vancouver at 3:30pm PST.

Woooot woooo! Go Camerica!!!!

Who is Canada?

If you've never been to Canada or don't know any of us lucky enough to live here, here is a primer from NBC's Tom Brokaw...

Olympic Coverage - Or Rather Uncoverage

I just peed my pants watching this wardrobe malfunction remix.

Olympic Pride

Go Slovakia! Errr. Go Russia! Go dykey athletes!!!!

Another afternoon/evening of fun was had yesterday. Olympic-wise, we started downtown at the Pride House (Whistler's sister, where we watched the opening ceremony). Andre (who is a doll and pictured below) with Pride House asked Dipster and I to stop by, and because I was the only one north of the border, I rolled in (with Pcake on my arm) yesterday afternoon--a beautiful, sunny afternoon I might add. Andre blogged about it yesterday.

We met some really cool people there: Ginger, MaryAnn, the Professor, Lovie, and Skipper. Just kidding. (One of the great women we met was Ginger and I just wanted to pay homage to Gilligan's Island.) Ginger and her partner, Kelly (pictured here together with yours truly), had come up for the games from Seattle. Super cool women. Their friends Maria and Jenna were also kickin' it at the Pride House, watching some downhill skiing. The Qmunity Director, Jennifer, also popped in to say hello. Kelly and Ginger just so happened to have a Curve Magazine with them, so we had a good laugh together and took some fun photos. Thanks ladies! Hope you enjoyed the hockey game!

Pcake and I then ventured out into the wild Olympic abandon and made our way to UBC's Thunderbird Arena for some women's hockey. Russia VS. Slovakia. Both teams were evenly matched and it was a great game. In the end, Russia beat Slovakia 4-2. There were many things I loved about going to see women's Olympic hockey, but one of the big things was that every single person on the ice was female, even the refs, and you could feel the estrogen reverberating off the ice like the beat of a base drum. The female heartbeat was alive! Also, we enjoyed all the many many many lezzies in the crowd rooting on our Slavic and Russian sisters.

We ended the night with a bang: fireworks! Every night at David Lam Park--Live City Yaletown--they do a huge music show and then end it with amazing fireworks. We hung out with Patty's family and watched the show from a perfect vantage point: the 25th floor of a condo in Yaletown. Not a bad view! You could almost feel the heat from the explosions.

Beyond the impressive pyrotechnics, there was one really cool element to the celebration that inspired me. The photo slide show played off the water's spray. It's hard to see in photo and the video, but those sprays of water had images of Winter Olympic athletes playing on them. Click on image below to see up close. Super cool!

Olympic Fevah :: Part Sept (these are French #s btw)

Me again, giving you your daily dose from the Olympic trenches...

Back in the Couv. In the afternoon yesterday--a glorious spring-like day--Pcake and I played tourist in our own city and went down to see the flame. You may have heard about the controversy surrounding (so to speak) the flame, cuz people were mad they couldn't get close enough. They had it encircled by Olympic covered fences and you could only see top of it and from far way. VANOC made some changes earlier last week (getting people closer, altering the fence and adding a viewing point) and people can get closer, but we were the real lucky ones: our beloved family member Pam works in the building adjacent to the flame and she let us up onto their atrium so we got an amazing bird’s eye view.

You Yankees might recognize some of the buildings and the rings in this slide show from NBC’s coverage in these photos. The building with slanted eaves and grass on the roof is where NBC and all the other million media affiliates are broadcasting from.

Women’s hockey tonight! Unfortunately, not USA or Canada, but a 7pm puck drop for Slovakia and Russia. We’ll still be there with bells on!

Olympic Fever :: Part Six

Where do I even begin??? The women's downhill combined event yesterday was an absolutely amazing experience--one of the most exhilarating times in my life. it's hard to put words around the energy at these Olympic games and all the wisps of activity swirling around them. It's just so palpable.

By now, you know Olympic darling Lindsey Vonn crashed at the end of her run yesterday, so no spoilers here. Most everyone else skiied amazing and the sun was so high and bright, keeping us all warm thorughout the morning and into the afternoon. After the medals ceremony, we waited to around and got to meet and greet some of the USA Olympic team. Kaylin Richardson was SOOO nice and even jumped the fence to get a photo with us. We waited for Lindsey, too, and we finally got our moment with her. She signed Pcake's ticket and was also so gracious and sweet, despite having just spilled down the mountain and been disqualified from the event. She is SUPER sexy. MEOW!

Hope you enjoy the slideshow; there were so many photos I had to create an online album.

Olympic Fever :: Part Cing

Woa! Things are really ramping up here in Vancouver and Whistler. We had to buzz back to Vancouver earlier this week to get some bizness done and celebrate a friend's birthday, but arrived back in Whistler last night to an engulfing Olympic spirit.

After some sushi, Pcake and I cruised the Village and were swept away by the Olympic energy that has swelled here in Whistler! We just missed the medals ceremony where Lindsay Vonn received her medal, but arrived to Celebreation Plaza for the party afterwards. The "world" spirit is so fabulous and fascinating! Being surrounded by so many people from all over the world so excited to be alive is at times moving. Pcake and I both felt that last night here in Whistler. The photos don't do any justice (as usual), but we had such fun!

Before we arrived, we stopped in downtown Vancouver at Robson Square to see our good friend Bonnie Ste. Croix perform for the Olympics. If you don't know Bonnie, you SHOULD! Her voice is like delicious spoonful of warm caramel--mmmm mmmm good. She sang a set and the crowd loved her! After the show, as we were just hanging out, gold medalist Maelle Ricker walked by with her Vancouver PD security detail on her way to a TV interview. She stopped and waved at our little crowd. She ROCKED the snowboard cross two days ago!

We're just getting ready now to leave for today's women's downhill, which gave Lindsay Vonn a gold medal and most of the other women many bruises. We couldn't believe all the spills--they were so hard to watch. Rumor has it they've made some changes to the course overnight, so here's hoping no one gets hurt today. More to come later...

Go Canada! Go USA!

Olympic Fever :: Part Quatre

GO CANADA!! We've finally done it! We've won gold on our own turf! Alexandre Bilodeau took home the men's freestyle crown! We were with friends at the base of Whistler mountain when Canada won the gold and everyone went cah-razy! Putting a touching spin on the win was Alexandre's brother, who has cerebral palsy

Because the women's downhill event was canceled yesterday, we just hung out in the village and enjoyed Valentine's Day. Hope everyone's enjoying the games!

Olympic Fever :: Part Trois

How about those Opening Ceremonies?! We were blown away up here and so proud of the amazing job VANOC did. Aside from that one little phallic glitch (Patty said the fourth caldron needed viagra), it was absolutely stunning! My favorite parts included: the whales swimming in the floor, the mountains and the red skiers, the little boy who flew through the prairies, Sarah McLachlan's beautiful song and the special effects, the Anne Murray cameo and--of course--the barefoot dyke who brought down the house: kd lang singing Hallelujah.

In case you missed kd's song, enjoy a very similar rendition below...

Every big country up here has a host "House" for people to visit and for their people to hang out in. We visited the "Swiss House" a couple days ago (they're serving up bratwursts and bier) and on Friday we hung out in the "Pride House," hosted by GayWhistler.com. It was a great space and was very warm and welcoming, a place for the LGBT athletes and visitors to take a load off, have a drink, eat and just chill. The bronze pictured here is called "Slapashotolus," inspired by the famous discus bronze. Classic!

The women's downhill alpine was postponed today. Good news for America's sweetheart Lindsay Vonn, bad news for us--we had tickets. It was rescheduled for Thursday. We also scored women's hockey tickets for Saturday--a playoff game, teams TBD. Very excited for that! Those bitches play just as hard as the dudes! Canada beat Slovakia yesterday 18-0. Ouch.

More soon....

Olympic Fever :: Part Deux

Do You Hear What I Hear?

It's the world coming and turning their eyes to British Columbia. As the snow falls outside our window, the cars are winding up the sea-to-sky highway making their way to Whistler. They're also circling the airport in 747s from all over the world getting ready to land and go through customs before descending upon Vancouver.

If you'd like a sneak peak of the Olympic mayhem, watch the Today Show. They've been here this week covering many different angles and Natalie Morales has been live from outside the Longhorn (our favorite place for apres ski in Whistler).

We went up on the mountain earlier this week to ski and it was a eerie ghost town. Even though nearly 80% of the mountain is still open, people would rather be sipping toddies in the village than treading the slopes. Not us. We enjoyed a wonderfully sunny day in heaven.

Last night we hit the village again to ride the Olympic wave some more and it was really exciting. We snapped some photos with the Olympic rings and then hit the Bearfoot Bistro to experience the Belvedere Ice Room, where we sampled vodkas from all over the world. Brrrr. It was 30 degrees below zero (C) and I was in a skirt!

More to come soon...

Olympic Fever

The sports fans are arriving in Vancouver and Whistler, likes ants headed to the anthill, and we continue to enjoy ourselves up here in the Canadian Rockies waiting for the Olympics to begin.

Yesterday, we got to play in a bobsleigh and scored some tickets to Womens Alpine Skiing. It's a medal event and we can walk there--bonus!

There is a lot of buzz about the Opening Ceremony, which is being shaped and rehearsed in downtown Vancouver right now. Rumor has it some big names will perform.

I have a hunch Sarah McLachlan will be there to sing her new Olympic song: One Dream.

Here is a preview:

Here Come the Olympics!

After making its was across Canada toward Vancouver, the Olympic torch arrived in Whistler on Friday to much fanfare. While they didn't ask Patty or I to be a part of the Olympic relay (do they know who we are?!), the flames arrival is still buzzing through the Village. The photo included here is of Shania Twain, who lit the flame in her hometown (Timmins, Ontario) a month ago.

While gallivanting around Whistler Village yesterday, we ran into one of the people who was lucky enough to be part of the relay. She posed for a photo with us and said they get to run 300 meters with the flame before handing it off to the next relay member (and she got to keep the torch!).

Beyond the flame (it was lit in ancient Olympia, Greece in October), which is the biggest Olympic symbol--second only to the colorful rings--Whistler and Vancouver are all ready to host the big party next week. When we left Vancouver, nearly every single parking meter had been bagged, Olympic traffic lanes had been added and everyone was a little on-edge waiting to see if anyone's going to show up. Surprisingly, the streets were eerily quiet (because there is nowhere to park), everyone is taking public transit. It's like the perfect Utopian society without cars on the road or smog.

We are headed out today to wait in line to hopefully score some tickets, so keep your fingers crossed. More soon...

Women's World Cup Bobsled

One day of skiing was enough for me in Whistler. But as you probably know, Vancouver and Whistler are going to be the site of the 2010 Winter Olympics. If you know anything about Dipstick by now, you know she's a sucker for women athletes. I couldn't wait to head over and watch the best bobsleigh athletes in the world zip down the icy shute. Especially after meeting this cute Switzerland bobby.




The sleds go really fast: 140 km per hour. So it was a miracle that I snapped this photo of a sled as it reached the final curve before the finish line. 

Watching at the bottom was fun, but the real exciting part was when I made the long hike up to the top of the bobsled course, where the athletes were preparing to start their races.

There's just something about a female athlete, in tip-top shape, completely in her element, so fully in her body, confident and in the moment that totally turns me on. And even more so when it involves teamwork. 

It's all about power and concentration and skill and just being so completely engrossed in that moment. Watch these Canadian athletes start their race and see if you can relate.  

I 
I doubt I'll make it to the Winter Olympics, but seeing these races was the next best thing. The best $5 I ever spent.

Report from Beijing

My friend JP is in Beijing working at the Olympics. She sent me this report:

The city is much different then I expected and even better then I thought it would be. I will say all of it is better then Athens was in 04. I am able to read the Lipstick & Dipstick blog here, I had heard anything with blog would be blocked but you are readable in China! They are being more lenient on the online stuff since the international press complained.


Beijing isn’t what I expected. I expected people everywhere, crowds everywhere you walk and it isn’t that way. There are areas where things are more crowded but it’s so spread out, that it isn’t as bad as I thought it would be.

My first experience at Olympic Green was not the best. There were not any signs in English, we didn’t know what entry we were going through, what venues we would find and since there are 3-4 at each complex we really didn’t know where we were going. None of the volunteers seemed to speak English, the little they did, they just kept pointing us down the road, and we had no idea we had to walk the entire complex and cross a bridge and enter a new complex to get to the Water polo venue. Oh and it was pouring rain that day. But we did make it.

I think it’s amazing that so many countries travel to the games and support their country. My friend Roz and I went to Men’s Water Polo and saw Hungry vs Montenegro. We found ourselves sitting in the middle of a huge group of Hungarians, all with flags, painted faces, horns, signs, everything you could imagine. They all knew every player’s name, chanted, screamed, yelled, it was very entertaining.
I’ve also seen swimming, but it was just a qualifier. We sat so high, I couldn’t get any good pictures. The Cube is amazing from the outside and incredible to watch at night, with the lights. I’ve been lucky enough to be up there two nights in a row. The inside isn’t that impressive, there is a neat hall between the venue and the practice pool and you can stand up there and watch all the athletes warm up and practice. Each country has its own area with massage tables, tv’s, etc. The US is under the bridge so we can’t see them. I did get to see some swimmers out there talking to family members, none I recognized.

At night up at Olympic Green, the Cube is going with its constant change of colors and the Nest is across the way and it’s all a glow in red, with the torch and the moon it is an amazing site.

We also saw diving 3m springboard qualifier which was great. We had great seats, sat behind the judges in row two and were on tv the whole time. Had it been the actual event, you could have seen us.

We also got to catch the end of the Today show and met Meredith, Ann, Matt and Al.

Yesterday we went down to the Velodrome and it was so much fun. So far they win the award for the nicest venue and best staff. It’s a bit out of town and at the end of a subway stop so a bit of a ride to get there. The winner was this woman Rebecca Romero and she became the first British woman to win two medals in two different sports. In Athens she won a silver in rowing, she returned, switched sports and won the gold, it was awesome.

Anyway, the event was fun as every seat is great, every staff member said hello, welcome, have fun and when we left they all stood in a line and clapped and said thanks for coming. Anyway, the one thing I will say is Beijing and China is very proud to be hosting these games, they feel it is their welcome party to the world.

The people here are nice, I have not had any bad experiences or anything that I would consider to be any different then the US. They do have a few customs that are a bit different, like kids wear split pants and no diapers, so when you have to go, you just go. I joke that not only do they take the dogs out in the morning, they also take the kids. Then the squat toilet is a bit of a hassle, I’ve used them a couple times but you can usually find a western toilet in the hotels or major restaurants.

People’s fashion sense here is hysterical, the men will wear plaid shorts and striped shirts and then crocs. Crocs are big here and the women wear like nude nylons with sandals.

The food has been much better then I expected. We live in an area full of embassies, so there is a German place, a great Thai place, Italian, Chinese, Mexican, everything you could want, oh yes and a Irish pub downstairs. I have enjoyed the Chinese food, you just make sure you are going to a good place. It is usually family style, everyone orders a bunch of stuff, you use your chopsticks and eat, just pulling from the dishes, etc.

There is one great place that has some awesome tofu, it’s the Bellagio and every server has the same haircut. It’s all girls and it’s short and it’s a requirement to have the haircut to work there. It is considered one of the nicer places and the food there is good. Food is also more spicy here then I expected it to be, they like spice.

Photos by James from Miami

Tyson the Homosexual

I’m surprised this hasn’t been reported on by NBC during the Olympic coverage. It seems the American Family Association hates the word “gay” so much that whenever it appears in a news story, they change it “homosexual.”

Back when Tyson Gay won the Olympic trials at the end of June, The American Family Association’s website said “Tyson Homosexual” won the 100 meters in 9.68 seconds. According to The Advocate the news story read, “Wearing a royal blue uniform with red and white diagonal stripes across the front, along with matching shoes…Homosexual dominated the competition.”

Who are the real homosexuals in the Olympics? Here’s a list of out lesbian and bisexual athletes in the 2008 Beijing Games.

My Olympic Obsession

I admit it, I'm a total Olympic nerd. Since the opening ceremonies on Friday, I've been glued to the TV. 

I love it all. The swimming, the track, the basketball, the gymnastics, the stories of overcoming hardship, the medal ceremonies.  But mostly I love one woman: Dara Torres. 

At age 41 she is swimming faster then she ever has in her life, and faster than kids half her age. She's quite an inspiration to an aging jock like me.  Actually, I had a crush on Dara way back in 1984,  when I was on the swim team at Syracuse University and she was in her first Olympics. I hoped then (and still do) that she's a dyke. But, alas, I don't think it's so. 

My Olympic obsession didn't start with Dara. No, flashback to a 10-year-old Dipstick in 1976. Unlike most girls my age, who were tu-tuing around like Nadia Comaneci, young Dipstick wanted to be Bruce Jenner. 

The summer of '76 was filled with me throwing hand carved javelins, shotputting big round rocks and setting up chairs to hurdle over.  I even got my hair cut just like his.  

There's just something about the Olympics. Every time I go to confess my obsession to one of my friends, I get a confession back. How about you? You watching too?