It's Not Pretty (June 25, 2005)

I'll tell you what's not pretty: it's this. And this. And this. And from a little while back, let's not forget... this and this. (There's even more here.) Seems almost as if they were looking for an excuse. But why?

I thought it was appropriate that I should comment on the latest news and relate it to the photo (taken at Toronto Pride 2005, when I marched with the Gay Geeks). For once I'm going to express a political point in my personal blog, and here it is: I don't want to live in a country where Pride parades, women's groups and the arts lose funding, where the government members can say they "hate" the city in which I live and act on that, where information is withheld from the public on a regular basis, where the MPs are allowed to engage in sketchy/crass behaviour with relative impunity, and where, overall, I simply don't trust the government to govern in anyone's best interest but their own.

This ridiculous crew of meritocratic, homophobic, sexist, classist, racist rowdies must be tossed aside, assigned to the past along with their repugnant attitudes, which are not those of the majority of Canadians. We've got work to do.

Yonge Street Parade (June 25, 2005)

Dyke March, Toronto, summer 2005. I know it was wicked hot that whole weekend, and we were in the parade the day after as well (the main Pride parade on Sunday). I don't think I had appropriate summer clothes, and was making do with rolling up a tank top and a pair of self-made shorts.

It's always fun when you get to walk in the middle of the street, especially one like Yonge Street, probably the most well-known street in Toronto which marks (in a way) the heart of the downtown area. It doesn't even look like a street here, just a conduit for pedestrian movement.

Pierre (Spring, 2001)

Pierre was a waiter (and, informally, a sommalier) at the restaurant in Montreal where I worked for two years. I took this photo late one evening when he was completing the closing paperwork. Looking back at the photo now, I find he looks remarkably like the French philosopher Michel Foucault (heh heh).

Finn, Caroline & Quin (June 24, 2005)

Taken at the Dyke March, 2005, Toronto. This ingenious contraption was designed to keep the extreme inner-city summer heat (including glaring sun for most of the day) from bothering the little fellow too much.

The Dyke March typically happens on the Saturday before the main Pride Parade, which follows on Sunday. I think this was the year I was in both parades, with Deirdre.

Montréal Pride (August 5, 2001)

Pride Mohawk (June 23, 2007)

Pretty Bears (June 26, 2005)

Taken, naturally, at Toronto Pride (while waiting for the parade to begin). There's nothing like a bear in a dress to get the party started.

Sadly, I can't recall the make/model of the camera I used, nor any of the technical details of its capacity.

Montréal, Pride (August, 2001)

Self-explanatory. Usually parades bore me, because of the lack of visual stimulus (usually I don't get close enough to take pictures) and the crowds. This time I was there with a group, and managed to get some interesting images. Shot with Minolta XD-11, 35mm lens.