Good news folks, Time magazine has come out cheering for Canadian talent in their "Best of 2000" list.

Margaret Atwood's Blind Assassin snatched this year's prestigious best work of fiction. The magazine called Peg's novel "part family saga, part social history, part suspense tale, and altogether captivating."

Canadians made an impressive showing in TV land. Bravo got a big nod for its broadcast of doc director genius Erroll Morris's First Person. Plus our very own Tom Green - you know the guy from Ottawa who tormented his parents on a vid cam and became the darling of America television - came out a winner for The Tom Green Cancer Special on MTV. "Green's testicular cancer was the most creatively rewarding affliction. Green took his gross-out comedy to a new level on an unflinching show."

Design darling Bruce Mau gets a big pat for his latest book Life Style. It's a marvelous text, a meditation on how "form is inextricable from message." If you'd like to know more about Mau, check out our review of the book.

Robert Lantos's film Sunshine, a sprawling, three generation epic about a Hungarian-Jewish family that endured imperialism, Nazism and Stalinism is lavishly praised. "Ralph Fiennes plays all three central victims in director Istvan Szabo's vast yet intimate tale of failed compromises, grim diminishments and brutal loss."

Nelly Furtado and Sarah Harmer came through for Canada on the music scene. I recently discovered the sweet voiced songstress Harmer and it seems the rest of the world has too. Time claims that Harmer "has a voice with some of the sublime charm of Didois, and erudite but colloquial lyrics that evoke the folksy smarts of the Indigo Girls." I'd go even further and say that Harmer may well be the next big thing. Her lyrics are haunting, but not depressing. They're folky but still rock. And you don't hear that cloying desperate earnestness that has been afflicting many female songwriters lately. You Were Here, Harmer's debut CD snatched Time's best debut. I can't agree more. Nelly Furtado got an honourable mention for her disc Whoa Nelly.

Canadian's came out on top in technology too. Kitchener's Research in Motion's wireless, handheld e-mail gizmo was designed to appeal to the e-mail addict on the go. "A large, readable screen has been "grafted onto the miniature keyboard giving PDA features to the seriously info-obsessed." The day after this story was published, I saw reporters on-air on CNN, reading immediate U.S. Supreme Court decisions on the Gush-Bore fight, right off their little RIM pagers.

Let's put 'em together for our intensely creative Canucks.

Homo For the Holidays: This isn't a homophobic slur -- that's what the guys actually call this show. The Vancouver Gay Men's Chorus is going to be joined by Denis Simpson for a night of holiday song, dance and camp at its finest. You probably know Simpson as a mainstay of the Vancouver musical scene, or maybe you remember him from television's The Polka Dot Door.

The entire event sounds like a great evening of fun, frolic and a celebration of community. "Rainy City Gay Men's Chorus is a fellowship of gay men, who share a love of music, a sense of fun, and a dedication to affirming gay artists through entertainment, outreach, and pride." Alex Gowans directs and the spirit of Divine will preside.

Fine Tuning: Tonight CBC is broadcasting a traditional seasonal holiday special hosted by award-winning country singer/songwriter George Fox. "Fox reminisces about his childhood days and past Christmases spent with family and friends in and around his picturesque hometown of Cochrane, Alberta." The singer will be joined by superstar boy band The Moffats, seven year old piano wunderkind Wesley Chu, the great goaltender Johnny Bower and singer/actress Rebecca Jenkins. CBC TV at 8 p.m.