If running down to the corner store to pick up a Durex 12-pack is your idea of prepping for a date that you hope will turn into a sleepover, then you are in dire need of Jill Hannan and Jacquie Brownridge’s expert advice. Click on the video above for a crash course on how to impress your dream date the first time you bring her home.

And just in time for Valentine’s Day, My Girlfriend and It’s Just Lunch have partnered to present The Bachelor Makeover Contest. One deserving bachelor will be getting the full treatment from My Girlfriend à la Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, PLUS a one year membership to It’s Just Lunch, complete with dating tips to help him find the woman of his dreams.

So here’s the official callout for all busy professional men who haven’t been actively dating in a long time but want to. Do you know a great guy who keeps getting overlooked by the women he wants to date because of his appearance and outdated style; plus he lives in a typical bachelor pad with a bathroom that screams ‘enter at your own risk’? Then nominate him (or yourself) today! (Deadline: January 18, 2008).

For some bonus dating tips, read on!

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It seems like every fringe group and cause now has its own Facebook group. And in their infinite wisdom, the media is using the site to gauge public opinion (which is about as reliable as measuring tire pressure with a gun). The latest petition that’s getting headline coverage is the Petition to Keep Skytrain Running 24 Hours, fronted by Surrey resident Scott Podwinski.

As the group title indicates, its goal is to have the trains run full-time for the benefit of “people who work night shifts and people out partying past 1 AM.” It’s racked up over 9,046 members (as of 6:08 PM today) since December 29th and Podwinski hopes to have 50,000 members to take to the TransLink board by the end of the year.

It’s not surprising so many people are signing up, and it wouldn’t surprise me one bit if he did get 50,000 member (50% of them from out of the province or even out of the country), but there are some massive flaws with his ideas, most of which have been eloquently pointed out by the Petition Against The Petition To Keep The Skytrain Open 24 Hours (13 members and growing). They include:

* It would require hiring more security
* It would require hiring more staff to run the SkyTrain (they don’t run by themselves you know)
* Crime around these areas would go up
* It only helps people living around the SkyTrain
* The noise from SkyTrains running at late hours would not excite those who live along the route
* What next? 24 hour buses? 24 hour SeaBus?
* If the Trains are running 24 hours, when will engineers do repairs?

All valid points ignored by the first petition. And like one of the posters points out: “Experienced rail cities like London and Tokyo start and stop trains around the same time as Vancouver.” I have to agree. 24-hour SkyTrain service is both expensive and unnecessary. And I’m sure the people who join this group are the same people that demand cheaper transit fares.

In the Swedish city of Sundsvall, women are now allowed to bare their breasts at the public pool thanks to a feminist group called Bara Bröst (“Bare Breasts” or “Just Breasts” – it’s a play on words).

To North Americans, this might sound extreme, but for a native Norwegian like myself, this comes as no surprise. In high school, most of my female classmates went topless on our trips to the beach. It’s just the way things work “over there”; part of the culture. And after all, it’s not illegal (at least not in Scandinavia). That’s the argument the feminist group is using: There is no law that says you can’t go topless on the beach, so why shouldn’t you be able to do the same at the public pool? And why is it that men are allowed to swim with no shirt on but women have to cover up?

The group is using this cause as a stepping stone in their battle to ‘de-sexualize’ the female body in non-sexual situations and further the equality of the sexes, because no matter how much you dress it up, women are treated differently than men when it comes to swimming attire…so they say.

The lifting of the topless-ban in pools in Sundsvall came as a response to an Ombudsman ruling in the Swedish town of Upsalla, which stated that refusing access to two young women who wanted to enter the pool topless was warranted, citing “decency,” “prevailing norms,” and the fact it could make the male swimmers “uncomfortable” (clearly the Ombudsman was female).

Read the story in Norwegian at Aftenposten or in Swedish at Dagbladet.

What do you think this is a picture of? Concrete slabs the colour of pooh? If you guessed this, then you’re half right, but instead of it being the colour of pooh, it actually IS the foul excretion! I know, that gag reflex is pretty involuntary isn’t it?

The next question is most certainly ‘why?,’ which would likely be followed by ‘it must be art,’ and not just art, but contemporary art, under which pretty much anything under the sky falls into. If it doesn’t make sense, it’s probably art.

And right you are. Part of the latest exhibit in London’s Lisson Gallery, Spanish artist Santiago Sierra‘s most recent work consists of a display of 21 rectangular sculptures, each measuring 215x75x20 cm and made out of human feces blended with a plastic-based substance to hold it in place (the crap is too old to retain any of its original odour so you can stop imagining it).

The term ‘contemporary’ is often synonymous to ‘abstract,’ but in this case, the message could not be more literal. On closer inspection, you’ll find out that the feces was collected in New Delhi and Jaipur by female workers whose caste (or social standing) makes it impossible for them to strive for a more dignified vocation. These structures were put up in an effort to raise awareness of this archaic social system, and to encourage people to donate to Sulabh International (a social service organization that promotes among other things, environmental sanitation and waste management) to build a viable plumbing system.

But if a plumbing system was created before the caste system was eradicated, then what would become of the women who’s livelihoods depended on the country’s lack of modern technology?

We just installed a new feature called Snap Shots that enhances links with visual previews of destination sites, interactive excerpts of Wikipedia articles, IMDb profiles, as well as Amazon products, and display inline videos, RSS, photos and more.

Sometimes Snap Shots bring you the information you need, without your having to leave the site, while other times it lets you ‘look ahead,’ before deciding if you want to follow a link or not.

If you don’t like the fancy new pop-ups, just click the Options icon in the upper right-hand corner of a Snap Shot and opt-out.

Last night it became official: The Golden Globe Awards has been cancelled, replaced by a simple press conference.

The award ceremony is the last of a long and growing line of victims of the Screenwriters’ Guild strike that’s been paralyzing Hollywood for several months. In the words of Hollywood Foreign Press Association president, Jorge Camara:

“We are all very disappointed that our traditional awards ceremony will not take place this year and that millions of viewers worldwide will be deprived of seeing many of their favorite stars celebrating 2007′s outstanding achievements in motion pictures and television. We take some comfort, however, in knowing that this year’s Golden Globe Award recipients will be announced on the date originally scheduled.”

The ceremony was cancelled when the members of the Screen Actors Guild pledged they would not cross Writers Guild of America picket lines, meaning there would be no red carpet and no famous butts in the seats.

The WGA strike is now threatening not only the current Spring season (which according to analysts will be filled with B-level reality shows and re-runs) but also pilot season, meaning there’s a good chance we won’t see any new shows come out until spring of 2009 at the earliest. Considering the current lineup, this is bad news for everyone. The only ones that seem to profit off this mess are late show hosts David Letterman and Conan O’Brien, whose barber bills have gone down to zero as they grow beards in support of the writers.

A brief explanation of what the strike is all about and why the writers have every right to ruin your Spring season after the jump…

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Vancouver, BC…So you think you can dance? Well, here’s your opportunity to strut your stuff! UMOJA – The Spirit of Togetherness is offering Vancouver dancers and performers a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to dance with some of South Africa’s hottest dancers. All dancers and performers looking for a unique experience with a wonderful dance production are invited to audition on Sunday, January 20th at the Vogue Theatre for a walk-on performance on Friday, January 25th in the hit South African musical now playing at the Vogue Theatre.

Audition Details

Date: Sunday, January 20th, 2008
Time: 11:00 AM (Sign-in begins at 10:30 AM)
Location: The Vogue Theatre at 918 Granville Street, Vancouver
(Please line up to the right of the box office as auditions will be on a first come first serve basis)
Attire: It is recommended that you wear fitted dance attire

Requirements: Must be able to pick up choreography, performance personality, and rhythm. Come with a 2-3 minute prepared performance piece – preferably high energy (modern, hip hop, break) and come prepared to learn and perform choreography. It is suggested that applicants listen to Kwaito music online. It is also recommended that applicants see the show before the audition. UMOJA is a South African dance musical chronicling the musical history of South Africa. The show travels from tribal drums through to modern day Kwaito and hip hop beats! For a glimpse, click here to watch a video.

The successful candidate must be available to perform on Friday, January 25th, 2008 at 8:00 PM.

Watch Breakfast Television Vancouver on Citytv for your chance to win “front of the line” access to the UMOJA dance auditions.

Additional Info: This is an unpaid gig. Winner will be featured on Breakfast Television and will also receive an UMOJA gift package.

We make sure they get enough veggies (or we try to anyway), that they leave the house properly bundled up, and that their bodies are strong enough to fight off viruses. But when was the last time you immunized junior-ette against the lifelong detrimental effects of mass media? We berate them about the length of their micro minis and order them to change before heading off to school, confident that our brand of tough love will do the job, only to find that such confrontations not only multiply as they age, but morph into defiance. What’s there to be done, right? Rebellion is natural for adolescents. You say “they’ll grow out of it, just as I did…”

But will they? Things have changed since you or I flirted with the guy in the next locker. In an age when someone’s external appearance can define one’s social group or even career, it’s paramount that we look deeper into the cause of this dangerous shift in self-perception. People will always strive for the unrealistic images depicted in magazines and TV shows, but have you noticed how much earlier girls are thinking about diets, the latest tna accessories, and sex?

While they deprive their bodies of the foods they need, they’re also starving their minds. That’s why sites like About-Face.org are necessary. Education is always the best defense against the viral effects of media. From one that refused to colour with pink crayons as a child, simply because it was expected of her, to a woman who battled with anorexia nervosa for ten years, About-Face is run by a group of women out of San Francisco who recognize the negative and distorted images that today’s youth are bombarded with and aim to equip them with the resources they need to filter out the bad influences. The site offers a plethora of referenced facts, a gallery of offenders and winners (bad and good advertisements), a forum where readers can voice their opinions and concerns, as well an avenue to show your support. Worth checking out!

Have something to say? Leave us a comment!

Every year, the world’s best blogs are honoured at Weblog Awards (aka. The Bloggies). This year is no different. The nominations have just opened and will be open until January 11th when the voting process begins. In addition to fame, recognition and the admiration of the blogging community, the winners of the four main categories each get 2,007 US cents (US$20.07).

Now, might I be bold enough to implore you to please nominate your friends at Dabbler for a 2008 Weblog Award? Categories such as Best Canadian Weblog and Best Designed Weblog seem appropriate, don’t you think? Nominations are free and only require you to submit your email address. But hurry! Like I said, the nomination process ends on January 11th.

[2008 Weblog Awards nomination page]

After 6 months of videos and postings, we figured it was time to upgrade Dabbler.ca to give you, the viewer, a better experience. Since the main focus of our site has always been video, we wanted to put all of them in one place to make them more accessible. After extensive research and testing, we found that the Brightcove video sharing service had the best solution and we set about redesigning the site around this application. And now, on the first day of 2008, all the work has come to fruition. Welcome to the new Dabbler.ca!

In addition to the new video player, the site also features some other upgrades to make your visit even more enjoyable. For one, we’ve added a custom search bar on the top of the site that lets you search all our articles and find exactly what you are looking for. We’ve also moved the ads to a new sidebar to facilitate easier navigation (we still want you to click on the ads though *wink wink* *nudge nudge*). And finally, we’ve added a bunch of code and features to make it easier for you to find Dabbler.ca articles and videos when you use search engines like Google, MSN and Yahoo!

In the coming weeks, we’ll be replacing all the old video players with new Brightcove players so you can link and embed your favourite videos on your own blog or site. This is a feature many people have requested and we figured it’s about time we listened and gave you what you wanted.

Finally, in addition to the regular videos and articles, you can look forward to new series and new content. We’ll be adding weekly columns on amongst other things, movies, music and technology from various contributors. So it really is going to be a hectic happy new year for everyone.