Throw Me Some Beads !
Hey Mister, Throw Me Some Beads. It’s been almost a thousand years since Christians first paraded through the streets of medieval Rome in celebration of the coming of Lent. And although the trappings of the event have changed in innumerable ways since then, revelers from Venice to Venezuela continue to parade every February in their footsteps during the global pre-Lent street party known as Carnival. With origins in Christian, pagan, and local traditions, Carnival is the wildest and most inclusive holiday straddling the Old and New Worlds. Consider it the crowning party achievement of Western Civilization.
The reigning King of Carnivals, the one from which the rest take their name in the popular imagination, is still Rio de Janeiro. For its sheer size, manic tempo and sexual energy, there is no match for Brazil’s bewildering Bacchanalian blowout, which culminates each year in a citywide samba line. But Brazil isn’t the only country with a distinct and cherished Carnival tradition. Indeed, more than a dozen other nations would bristle at the idea that their own Carnivals are mere pale imitations.
Among those Carnivals in Latin America and the Caribbean with strong national identities is Trinidad’s, which floods the streets of Port of Spain every year with the native sounds of calypso and steelpan, and feature unique characters from national history not found in neighboring countries. Whatever the differences between them, all authentic Carnivals share a common energy and philosophy.
In Sydney, Carnival doubles as one of the best gay mardi gras on the planet. In Goa and Kerala, India, the celebration has been given a Hindu accent. And in Italy’s Alpine resort town of Livigno, revelers celebrate Carnival on skis.
This year, North America’s most famous Carnival, New Orleans’ Mardi Gras also doubles as a major gay event know as the GAY MARDI GRAS, and it continues to inch back to its former glory after the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. The party known for King Cake, beads, and brass bands this year falls on February 24. Authorities are expecting more visitors than last year, but still not pre-Katrina numbers.
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Naked Sydneysiders of all shapes, sizes and colours have gathered on the steps of the Sydney Opera House this morning to be the subjects of an art installation.
About 5,000 people disrobed for Spencer Tunick's work called The Base, which is part of Sydney's Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Festival.
Tunick is famous for shooting images of people massed together sharing one common element - nakedness.
Those taking part include rugby league players, doctors, teachers and a woman pregnant with twins who will be induced later today.
Participants arrived in the early hours of the morning, excited to be involved in the event.
Shots have been taken of people standing with their hands in the air, embracing and lying down.
The work aims to promote equality and diversity in the community.
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Revelers decked out in sequins, feathers, wigs and leather danced through the streets of Sydney on Saturday to the cheers of more than 300,000 people at the annual Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras. More than 130 floats and 9,500 people participated in the procession, which began as a protest march in 1978 by homosexual and transsexual men and women and has flourished into one of the world's largest and most flamboyant gay pride events.
Thousands of ecstasy tablets destined for Saturday's Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras in Sydney, Australia were taken out of circulation after a major police operation. Strike Force Boult, a four-month undercover investigation, ended in police from the Surry Hills Regional Enforcement Squad swooping on a McDonalds restaurant at Kingswood to arrest a 22-year-old man. 
