monkeybard | My almost entirely fabulous weekend...

...started on Friday night when my best friend, Luthien-T, and her fab hubby, RocketMan, came over for an evening of homemade pizza, red wine, and conversation. It was lovely! (And it didn't hurt that the Ms beat the Padres 14-5 that evening, too.) We missed RocketMan's graduation party while we were in Ashland, so it was great to be able to see them and catch up a bit. That doesn't happen nearly enough.

Saturday didn't begin entirely well, unfortunately. I'm typing 9-fingered due to having torn off a fingernail just as I was about to leave for rehearsal that morning. I really don't recommend it. It still makes my toes curl just thinking about it. ::shudder::

Otherwise, it was a fantastic day. Henry V rehearsal was productive, which is a good thing. We got a new Bardolph/Bates/Warwick on Tuesday, and we took the day to get him worked into all his scenes.

The evening was spent with jenboo and fitanna at the Liquid Lounge. We went to see Alta May, and the two lead-in bands were good, too. I particularly enjoyed the opening band, Maker. They had some good variety, great energy, and their bass player won me over immediately by playing most of the set barefoot. They also gave away free CDs. I wonder what they'd say if they knew I was planning on writing some grungy femslash to said CD? ... Probably something along the lines of "Yeah, baby!" ;)

The middle band were good at what they did, but they didn't do much in the way of variety. They were a young band, and they need to learn some more chords. They were very full of energy, but if they don't learn to pace themselves they'll never survive. They lead singer is already rail thin. I'd tell you their name, but I never found out what it was.

Alta May were great, although we really could have used more voice in the speakers. I don't think I made out more than a single actual lyric, and I know there were lots more because I could see their lips moving. I'd like to see them again in a venue with better acoustics. You'd think the bar at the EMP would have been built with accoustics in mind. Clearly it was not. Ah well. It was still a fun show.

So my morning and afternoon were spent in the 15th century and my evening was spent enjoying cocktails and 21st century grunge. :D

Sunday was the Pride Parade, and it was fantastic! jenboo , fitanna, a work friend of jenboo's, and I walked over and met up with our friends The Kilted Fairy and her SO. The line-up for the parade was huge--the biggest ever, I'm told and I believe it. The entry that got me verklepmt was American Veterans for Equal Rights. Uniformed soldiers proudly carrying flags, they were in the first dozen entries of the parade. If only all our military, all our soldiers, could be so just and equal and proud at the same time. ::sigh::

A lot of the parade entrants were carrying "Equal Marriage Now" signs. That was cool to see. They're right; civil unions are not enough. When did our society lose sight of the the "Separate Is Not Equal" sentiment of the Civil Rights Movement so few decades ago? Until we have equal rights for everyone, we are missing a vital element of the freedom the flag-wavers so love to tout. Guess what? No one is free until we are all respected equally.

I loved the PFLAG groups that gathered from all over the state to march together. They were bound and determined to make sure everyone of us in the crowd had a sticker proclaiming that we were loved by PFLAG. :D They were great! There was also a Catholic Parents Support Group in the parade. I dug the guy marching with them with his sign that said "I love my straight parents".

Also fabulous was the R.O.T.C. - that's "Righteously Outrageous Twirling Corps". I can't find a link to them locally, but here's the Toronto link so you can get an idea.

There was just too much to recount without becoming completely incoherent, so I'll stop there for now.

Needless to say I was starving and pooped after the parade. Fortunately there was a barbecue at my sister-in-law's Sunday evening. Her hubby caught a 38-pound white king salmon, and they were generous enough to share it with family and friends. There was all sorts of yummy food, of which I ate way too much. Still, I was happy about all of it, so what the hell? I ate myself into a food coma, came home, snuggled up with the kitty, and went to sleep.

All in all, a fantastic weekend!