On the weekend I went to see a production of "Banana boys". Yep, that's right, a play about CBC (Canadian Born Chinese) guys like me! I've heard a lot about it from friends, work collegues as well as around the city. I have to say there has been a lot of buzz for a small theatre performace at the Factory Theatre.

This play is adapted from the novel (of the same title) by Terry Woo. I've never read the book, so i'm only going to talk about what I saw. This play is about 5 Banana Boys (i.e. Yellow on the outside, white on the inside) living Canada. It's outlines their struggles with acceptance in society, feeling a loss of identity of being in the middle of Chinese and Canadian culture -- not to mention trying to find their true love (or just plain heterosexual sex!).

Each of the characters had their own distinct personal conflict, each turning to their own vice to cope: drugs, alochol, or just violence. We actually recongnized one of the actors who is actually queer in real life. He played the "i need acceptance from my parents so i'll be a doctor, when all i want to be is a writer" character. There was a hilarious scene where his struggle was illustrated by a game show -- let's just say it involved a stretcher and an asian mom kicking his ass in a wrestling ring!!

There was also a funny military scene literally demonstrating the "war" that banana boys have to get women: [Picture a war chart, like the ones you see in submarines. This one is showing a venn diagram of Banana boys and women] "What are we banana boys left with? [points to chart] 1. Quake (you see the video game logo) 2. Born again Christians 3. Computer geeks!"

Overall it was a good show. I got lost a few times becuase of all the jump cuts from past / present / future (not in that order!). There were also some hilarious CBC references and the compulsary hilarious impressions of asian mothers!!

"WHA? You not want to be doktor? Wha 'bout mama and dad? Who pay bills? Who take care of us when we old? Don't you love us danny?" :)

Gold. Just gold.

I think i'm going to get more into live theatre, whether it be smaller amateur productions (like this one), or the bells and whistles stratford-esque shows. It was a great time and i just love how creative the actors are in using their limited props. I don't know if I talked about his before, but I saw another production called "INANA", based on Sumarian mythology during the Fringe festival. The way they used their surroundings (it was performed outside on a school yard) was phenomenal. 1/2 way during the show they had the audience move to the other side of the yard, respresenting the "walk to the underworld". Genious. Pure genious.

Anyway, now i really regret not seeing the Shakespeare in high park. SBF and I kept trying to go, but something kept coming up. As i always say, "I'll go next summer for sure!"

Take care,

RE

"eat drink and be merry"

QUESTION: Does anyone know of a comments provider (like Halogen, the one i'm using) that is totally free? I have just found out that the one i used blocks ALL comments after 3 months, unless i pay up!!! bah!

I have tiff with TIFF; that's right, the "prestigious" and "world renowned" Toronto Film Festival.

On Saturday my uncle won free tickets to the last showing at TIFF. It was a "gala" event, showcasing the final movie at the festival. It was one called "Jiminy Glick goes to Lalaland". The movie wasn't that great, but that's besides the point of this entry.

As I arrived 1 hour before the show, there was already quite a rush line as well as ticket holders line. I found my uncle and we went right in. He won the passes off the radio, and we got to sit on the lower “right parterre” level. I felt a bit special being in this special wing, since we were right near the centre of the area. The seats were all covered with pieces of paper, saying “AGF” or “Volkswagen”. It was clear from the get-go that we didn’t belong in this area, b/c everyone was all dressed up in full suits or ballroom attire. As we sat down I became more and more overwhelmed by the fact that

1. All people in the lower area were dressed up bond style
2. They were all white
3. Most had seats reserved for them so they strolled in late

We arrive way before anyone else in our area arrived. Just before the speech ceremonies the group of corporate AGF executives an their trophy wives came in. We were accosted by one of the execs, told that "we shouldn’t be sitting here" and in actual fact we realized that on our ticket there was "Volkswagen" written on it...So we sat a few rows behind the pretentious AGF execs.

THEN, as we sat very innocently in our new spot, I overheard someone in a suit say "I don’t think they belong here" and the usher came over to us again and asked us (very politely however) for our tickets. Upon inspection she saw that we were here legitimacy, and informed the prick.

Can you believe this!!? I was steaming. I was ready to shoot my mouth off if anyone made a remark at us or came up to me and question our “place” here. Fuck off! Just because I’m not wearing some fancy 3-piece suit, am under 35, or a trophy wife with me DOESN’T mean that I don’t have a right to be in this section. And by the way, we’re SITTING IN THE DARK so no one will notice the mother of pearl earrings or green gables broach you got from your rich Pringle ancestor! I knew they wanted us on the corner of the top balcony, away from infecting us from their pretentious bubble.

These classist, bourgeois pricks need to look themselves in the mirror --- and this time, not to pathetically try and maximize the amount of hair to bald surface area. Sitting there, trapped around these rods was suffocating me.. but I knew that my presence was irritating them even more, and that was enough satisfaction for me to stay. This is society at its worst.

And AS IF being an exec in the mutual fund / insurance industry is all the glamourous. It’s basically a self-glorified salesman. The difference between you and a car salesman is that you call up rich people and say “hey, buy this stock.”. And NO, taking rich people to golf, shi-shi restaurants, or box seats at sports games DOESN’T mean YOU’RE rich yourself. Sorry bud, but you’re just posing and trying SO FUCKING HARD to be like them. It’s gross. The rich people know it, but they don’t mind it since you’re paying for everything anyway! Newsflash, you’re buying their friendship, and yes, they CAN tell that you’re wearing a suit you got during the bankruptcy sale at Tip Top Tailors. And no, driving a fancy car and living in a big home in a suburban area ISN’T classy when it’s all owned by your company – you’re not just a glorified salesman, but more like a glorified hooker.

Hell, there’s nothing wrong w/getting some free shit from you company, but it DOESN’T give you the right to put your nose up at “riff raff” who don’t have rods up their asses. I have met some very rich people, and I’ve found that for most of them you’d never even know they were loaded. One guy owns about ½ of the real estate in Barrie, and you’d never know it. You’d suggest a place to eat and he’d say, “Ah no, it’s just to overpriced there."

OKOK, so without some of these sponsors like AGF / ___ Bank / ___ Car company / ___ Card, the Film Festival may not be here. I now understand the purpose of these GALAS – appease the sponsors by staging a pretentious production: Charge $30 per movie screening, hold at a classy venue, whip up some “emotional” speeches, bribe a few celebs, and of course have a long list of thank you. After that’s over, then they’ll get out of your hair and the real festival can move on (at all the other locations).

So now I know, don’t bother with the galas. Or at least stay in the top sections where there regular people hang out. I’ve learned my lesson. Galas are for pricks!

Take care,

RE

“eat drink and be merry”

On Saturday, Sept 11 I went with some friends to the 20th Annual Vegetarian Food Fest. It was my first time going down, and I was excited to see what was new and exciting in the Vegetarian/Vegan world.

As a disclaimer, I am by no means vegetarian, or anywhere close to being one. But I am cutting back on the ratio of meat to fruit/grain/vegetable intake, and I can't very well eat much dairy due to lactose intolerance.

The event is run by the Toronto Vegetarian Association. They're a non-profit vegarian group that has been running since 1945, says the website. Not too shabby eh? This year the festival had a variety of vegatrian options, as well as "stop the world from eating meat" "cruelty to animals" etc. kind of messages.

As with any food festival, there were tons of samples available. It was great to try out some stuff that SOUNDS good, but in actual fact TASTES REVOLTING. But everything's worth a shot eh? A highlight were alternative "ice cream" bars from Tofutti. They make amazing non-dairy alternatives, which actually taste as soon as the real thing! I swear i couldn't even tell the difference from regular ice cream bars. It was great! A low light were Soy Jerky -- yes, ok, the name sounds as bad as it tastes. It tasted like splitered wood with crusted pork marinade which fell from a firepit a week ago... It was a once-a-lifetime experience for me.

ANYWAY, It was great to see such a variety of people there. People from all cultures, age, gender and sexuality were all there. You could tell it was a vegetarian festival since most of the people where slim / fit! There were some who looked bit like skeletor phantoms, which made even ME feel fat! -- This wouldn't be my top hangout to find a hot squeezeable stud, that's for sure! (no worries since SBF was already with me!)

They also had some incredible fruits available. I guess you'd expect that from a vegetarian fest! I got some info from PETA, who's booth had some gruesome pictures of tortured animals and vegetarian/vegan "starter kits". Heh.

This lunch I read through one of the free "starter kits" from them, and i'd say that some of the claims are quite bold. I think it's great how they're educating the public about the conditions of animals, but promoting vegan children can be dangerous. I guess i need a bit more reassurance than "Studies [what studies?] show that you don't need meat for protein, nor do you need to combine foods to get the right nutrients in your diet [where is this from?]" to omit meat from a growing child's diet. I would like to think it can be done, but not without some careful planning and proven studies on the LT effects.

I do feel better eating less meat, but i don't think i'll ever go insofar as omitting it completely.. How can I say no to things like sushi or smoked chicken from the cottage firepit? And no, substituting soy jerk for the fingerlicking firepit chicken from the cottage is NOT a comparable substitute!

Take care,

RE

"Eat drink and be merry"

What can i say other than…I WAS IN NEW YORK CITY!!! I am still in shock, after all the hype, late night discussions of going that fell through and other false starts - I finally got to visit NYC. And all i can say is, HOLY CRAP!

I don't even know where to start. I'm now thinking I should change to a locked online journal so i can post some of the 200+ photos i took :). I want to respect privacy of my friends, so you won't see any pictures here (of this trip, or from other adventures from summer 2004 -sorry!). If i do decide to switch, I'll be sure to post an email address to request a password to get in. Anyway, here are some highlights of the trip.

My trip to NYC was totally spontaneous, because I didn't even know if i'd be going until the night before. We had a friend who works at the airport, so we scored SUPER CHEAP standby tickets. The severe drawback was that we didn't know if we could go until a day before! We had to get hotel reservations and other details in one day. I wish i had more time to organize the trip, but to be honest, i'm pretty happy with our "let's just decide when we get here" attitude. Sure, i had some general ideas of where i wanted to head, but it was more based on word-of-mouth and however we felt.

Touristy Crap
Yeah yea, I did a few touristy things. I hate them with a passion, but c'mon, you HAVE to see a few of the major sights. We went to the Empire State Building (costing US$12 each just to go up!), on the first night. The line up to go there was brutal. Just when you thought you made it to the top of the building after lining up and putting your bags through airport-type security, the elevator takes you 3/4 of the way up. You're then fed along a designated path where you MUST take a cheezy photo w/the Empire State building backdrop. Only after can you go back up the elevator. And after passing the barrage of souvenirs and everything ESB, you can see the sights.

Even after all that bullshit, i have to say it was worth it. Seeing the city at night was spectacular. I have some killer panoramic photos to prove it! :P It looked like Toronto on speed! So many buildings, so much pollution, so many lights, so many sights, so much to explore!! I was pumped to see the rest of the city, yet already sick of being crammed amidst a mass of tourists. On our way out, you're reminded of the cheezy mugshot they forced you to take when they pass you a developed photograph of your shot. Boy, was it ugly! And they were security stickered, costing US$15 to purchase! I took a shot of the photo with w/my digital camera, just to spite them. After passing the photograph security section we were finally allowed to go back down...

Needless to say, we both agreed that we paid enough dues with severe touristy buildings, and for the rest of the trip we tried to keep these things to a minimum.

SOHO
I have heard tons and tons about the SOHO area, and so we spent a late afternoon scoping out the scene. It was INCREDIBLE! It was one massive Queen street in toronto! What a sight, i can tell you that. It was super trendy, and even though there were a few places that were quite pretentious (e.g. the Armani Store with its pompous classist salespeople - don't worry, on our way out we did say a few words :P ), over all it was totally cool. And get this, ENTIRE FLOORS DEDICATED TO MEN'S CLOTHING! Yes, not just some shitty corner at the back, but full floors and sections of great men's clothing. We had a great time playing "what not to wear" on Bloomingdales :). Nothing like wearing $1000 outfits! heh.

The icing on the cake was running into the Apple Store... YES, the Apple store!! It was totally by accident -- When i saw it, the city noise around me went silent. I could hear a faint V7-I cadence chord in the background, and a subtle ominous glow surrounding the store. It's 8-ft high glass doors swooped open, i slowly walked through the gates of.. THE APPLE STORE. I can't totally describe the experience with more than "I felt home" :). Total free range use of the entire apple line of products - from iPod/iPod Minis, PowerBooks, iBooks, iSights, G4's, G5's, even digital cameras hooked in for workshops - all for free use by the public. We used a G5 with a 23” monitor to surf the net for a place to eat that night and took some hilarious pictures/videos of us in awe at the store. Wicked. Damn wicked.

I also got to enter an American Apparel, which was a first for me. I don't know if they have a store or any distribution in Toronto, but for those of you know don't know American Apparel is a socially responsible clothing apparel company. They have proven that you can be socially and environmentally responsible AND profitable in the clothing apparel industry. I've gotta say it was inspiring how they could afford a store in the expensive SOHO, with promising growth for the future! I would love to work for them one day, perhaps in marketing or sales (or somewhere I can add value to their business). It's quite inspiring and exciting to see more and more of these businesses cropping up AND sustaining themselves as a viable business to be reckoned with.

Bah, enough with my rolling social rants, and back to the trip!

Wall Street / Statue of Liberty
Wall Street was loaded with security and had an errie silence to it. I could feel the money being made and lost within the trading floors inside the NYSE building. I know of a few people who work there, and man, it's intense. It was here where we finally saw some white people walking around. I found that Manhattan is more socially polarized than Toronto, where you've got super rich white guys who own everything, or working class Blacks/Hispanics, who keep the city afloat.

We walked by an area that allowed you to see the statue of liberty from a distance. It was nice. Moving on...

Chinatown
I HAD to hit the Chinese Area and check where my dad used to hang out. It was what I expected, from jewelry stores, tons of restaurants, street merchants and Chinese women trying to sell illegal movies (hand cam jobs!) for $5. It was great! We were CRAVING dim sum, so I cornered some cute looking New Yorker ABC (american born chinese) girls and asked them where a cheap place would be to grab some good cheap dim sum. Their recommendation was great as the place we went to provided some good old Chinese Grub for $5.50 total each!

Chelsea
Ok, so we've been to NYC and haven't hit any of the queer areas yet. We decided to check out the scene, expecting a rocking party. This was NOT the case. After talking to a few of the locals, we found that although there are a lot of the queer clubs/bars, they are quite scattered from each other. It's not like church st., where everything uber queer in JAMMED into one area. We almost passed the infamous STONEWALL bar. Even when we saw it, we were questioning if it was it. heh. So much for "quintessential part of gay history"!

We did try and hit a few of the bars/gay clubs, but the cover was RIDICULOUS (some where $30 each). We weren't really there to club anyway, more like check it out and see what it was like. Was it worth $30-60 for may be 1 hour of clubbing? Nope. What can I say, i think i've lost some of that drive to do that kind of stuff other than with my SBF... hey, if i was going to stay for 6 hours it would be worth it, but not an hour.

Other sights and thoughts
We also hit places like the U.N. building, the MET Museum and Central Park. These were all places that we wished we had more time to explore. I wanted to have a picnic in Central Park, but we couldn't find a damn grocery store to get anything! There were only convenience stores in the area, and it was so hot and muggy by the time we got there we just wanted to lie down and rest in the park. Still a good time though :). There were also tons of police there for the National Republican Convention, which added to my enjoyment as we saw tons of friendly protestors! It was great! I loved reading their signs, cheering with them, and more importantly seeing so many against BUSH. Let's keep our fingers crossed on the election eh? Oh, that reminds me, i guess i stand corrected about the only white people being from Wallstreet --- let's not forget seeing all the Republican Delegates that were also visiting for the convention! :)

It was shocking how almost noone in NYC is from the area. Most of the people we asked for directions gave an answer like "Oh, gee, I SHOULD know this, but i don't".. Bah! Everyone commutes into the city, and it seems like they just work and leave. I don't blame them, given how expensive everything is in downtown Manhattan! WOW. Well, except for public transit, which was great value ($21 for 7 days unlimited! I even got to ride it to and from the airport, which was a $50-$100 cost saving right there.)

And man, NYC had some intense August heat and gross pollution. You think Toronto is bad? Ha. You could peel off the pollution from your face each day in NYC! I wanted to take showers twice a day! I know that it being August was a factor, but still, it was ridiculous. And the subways? No words can describe the intolerable roasting hot cesspool it was underground. It was so dirty and disgusting, i was getting queezy and dizzy. At least the subways were mostly new and airconditioned! It was well worth riding those than taking taxis though, since the transit system can take you basically anywhere in Mahattan!

So there's some highlights from the trip. It was JAM packed as we were only there for 4 days. It was intense, and the next time i go i'll be able to focus on a few things more deeply. I’d love to check out the other parts of NYC besides Manhattan.. Like Harlem, Brooklyn or even the Bronx. It's a great city, but i have to say, after those 4 days i was ready to go back to Toronto. T.O. is a great for my city needs, and I'm appreciating it the more and more i travel.

Take care,

RE

"eat drink and be merry"