On the 4th of July, we went to Pride Parade here in Toronto. It’s always a beautiful display with great music, gorgeous colors everywhere, lots of people expressing themselves through colorful outfits (or hardly if any clothing at all).

I wasn’t able to watch the entire parade or see it from any great vantage point (I’m short!) but I wonder, why isn’t there mention of Harvey Milk at this event? Perhaps there is during other celebrations of Pride Week? I just think of his impact and also the gains fought for that have also been lost. & other activists, too. I think I’d like to see some booths that share information about the history of the movement – less promotional booths of businesses (unless they’re giving away lots of pretty buttons, ha!)

The reason why I mentioned Harvey Milk is this moment for me when police were walking in the Pride Parade. They wore the pretty rainbow beads and were advocating LGBT rights. I said out loud, “isn’t it nice to be able to demonstrate for what you believe in?” because I was thinking of last weekend when the police had become a militant force in our city and inflicted serious pain on peaceful demonstrators. I realize this was their job – they were on the clock, being paid – but doesn’t that make it worse?

So in that moment of seeing police in the parade, I felt conflicted. On the one hand, it’s fantastic if they are actually gay and able to be open in their occupation and participate in Pride. People protested for that right. & yes, maybe their participating inspired goodwill among some citizens? On the other hand, I couldn’t help but wonder… since the police forces were often wearing riot gear, shields for their faces, how do we know if they weren’t part of the attacks against demonstrators last weekend? How do they reconcile it in their minds? For me, I guess, it just felt OMGTOOSOON.

I’m curious as to whether there was greater attendance this year as opposed to the last time I went in 2008?

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…continued from part 1.

Of course there was nudity again this year. Just more seemingly painful nudity. But I’ll let you be the judge. First try to find it. Then try not to cringe.

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Last year’s Luminato experience, at least for me, consisted of a giant red ball, a pricey half pint of beer, and a few moments with Disco Inferno. I didn’t quite know what to make of the festival then and, to be honest, I still don’t really have a handle on what it’s supposed to be.

On the one hand there are events such as live theatre, literature, and artsy staples such as painting and photography, but on the other hand many of the free family-friendly events would be difficult to classify as anything other than pure entertainment.

For a hardcore art experience, Nuit Blanche is a safer bet, and free outdoor entertainment can easily be found, well, just about anywhere during the summer. If you like meaty literature, it’s not tough to find, and getting your live action fix is easily doable too.

But for a festival that seems to be trying to be all things to all people, they do sometimes succeed in breaching the niche in a very satisfying way.

Last night, for example, Luminato had The Moist Towelettes throwing down on the main Yonge-Dundas stage as part of the J-Pop Divas thing.

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I was just on my way home last night when I overheard this heartwarming tune being performed at Yonge-Dundas Square (part of Luminato).

In lieu of good audio quality, here are the lyrics to the snippet I recorded:

…she’s a sex machine, yeah.
She just turned 18.
And she buys me methamphetamines.

That’s why I’m dumping you, biatch, that’s why I’m out the door.
Go on an close the dumpster cuz you’re still a skanky whore.

A skanky skanky skanky skanky whore.

You spend the night at truck stops,
and at the tattoo shops,
and it don’t make you an actress just because you’ve been on Cops.

And sure you finished college,
well whoop-di-frickin-doo,
If I blew all my teachers I’d finish college too.

That’s why I’m dumping you, bzatch,
that’s why I’m out the door,
She told me she’s your sister but you’re still a skanky whore.

She’s a little skanky too, but you’re a whole lot more,
You creepy, cranky, stinky, stanky,
skanky, skanky whore.

The only sport I watch with any regularity or enthusiasm is Formula 1. I’m not really even sure if it really qualifies as a sport – I know that the drivers have to be physically fit, but that fitness isn’t the major contributing factor to them winning races. In Formula 1 it’s truly a team effort requiring a skilled driver, skilled pit crew, and skilled engineers. If just one of those elements is missing, the race is pretty much over.

The other reason I like Formula 1 is because it seems much more fair than most competitive sports. I like to compare it do downhill slaloms, for example, where differences in athletes’ times can be in the tenths of seconds — easily accounted for by an errant gust of wind. The athlete’s training, the coaching, the equipment, etc., can all be negated by something completely beyond the athlete’s control. Luck, in other words. In Formula 1 the whole aim of engineering is to mitigate the effects of luck, but even more important, all the drivers race at the same time so that elements like wind, rain, etc., affect everyone equally.

The Toronto Criterium is very similar to Formula 1 in these respects.

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The fact that is was cloudy and kinda misty and foggy on Saturday was so apropos.

That little pot rally that happened at Yonge-Dundas Square about a week ago was basically just practice for the main event, the Global Marijuana March and Freedom Festival. The point of the march, as far as I can fathom it, is to demonstrate the futility of existing pot prohibitions. It originally started as a grass roots (haha!) movement but now, well, the word “festival” is appropriate if you ask me. Even if you’re completely against anything marijuana, you must admit that arresting everyone simply wouldn’t be practical. Maybe even possible.

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