We're up here in Montreal, Quebec having a gay old time for Pattycake's birthday (I'm also working on a piece for CURVE about Montreal). What fun we're having, getting into all kinds of "problèmes" (Frenchie for trouble). We've tooled around Old Montreal (the sexieist and most romantic place on earth), shopped our booties off and eaten enough pomme frites to induce a massive heart attack. We're on our way out the door, but I thought I'd throw a few pics up for "shits et fou rire" (shits and giggles).
The photos: Patty in front of Notre Dame at twilight, Lipstick in confession at Notre Dame, Patty enjoying a pecan tart in Old Montreal, us having drinks at Saloon in Le Village, a Catholic church with a gay flag in the back, and the fall trees *sigh* on Mount Royal. If you've never been to Montreal, take the two minute tour HERE.
My friend Marc Acito has a blog where he tries something new everyday and writes about it. I thought about Marc Saturday night because I was trying something new ( going to the opera) and because Marc used to sing opera.
As my first time, I thought I’d share some observations. We went to see La Traviata put on by the Portland Opera. The first thing I noticed was that I was one of the youngest people there. For some reason white-hairs like the Opera. And people who love to dress up love Opera. I can understand that, where else in Portland do you have the opportunity to wear sparkly shirts, old prom dresses and designer suits. The crowd was sharp!
La Traviata started out kind of festive and a little bit raunchy. For opera standards, anyway. Lots of fun. And the singing was to die for. Seriously. People die at the opera, right? Usually the soprano. The story moved quickly, though from festive to overly angst-ridden to tragic. I don’t want to ruin it for you, but the heroine dies in the end. It’s all very Romeo & Juliet. Which I guess is ok for an opera written in 1853.
I learned a new trick at the opera. It wasn’t from the show either.
It was closing night and the opera was sold out. One person in our party couldn’t come because he was sick, so there was an empty seat in our row. A young woman, with a bike helmet and backpack came up to us at the first intermission (There were two intermissions at this show, I’m not sure if that’s opera standard or not.) and asked if the seat was taken. This cunning lass, waited until the first break, when the ushers no longer check ticket stubs and just walked in the front door. Sure, she missed the first (my favorite) act, but she got to see the rest of it for free. Ingenious.
So the next time I’m itching to see opera and I don’t have $80 burning a hole in my pocket, I’m going to try this strategy. Maybe I should suggest it to Marc, as one of his new things to try.
Patty and I went to the Symphony last night with our friends Jenny and Dee (pictured here with the adorable Erin, who works for the symphony). Lucky us: violinist superstar Hilary Hahn was the special guest. She performed during the first half with BramwellTovey conducting. I have Hilary Hahn's first album, one she recorded when she was a teenage prodigy. Last night, she played Tchaikovsky's Violin Concierto and it was magnificent!!
One of my college professors/mentors (poet Doyle Walls) introduced me to Hilary years ago, so I've been listening to her do Bach for a long time.
A big thanks to Jenny (who also works for the VSO) for "scoring" the tickets. It was a lovely night. We had dinner at Cibo afterwards, which is across the street from the Orpheum, and drinks after that at Uva (which we now officially call Vulva).
This was a really heavy week for most Americans, considering the happenings and the state of the economy, so I thought I'd share this viral video to bring a smile to your faces. It has been a total bright spot for me in the last few days. Enjoy...
I went for a run yesterday along Portland's waterfront and came upon these two gorillas, who apparently escaped from the zoo. I laughed as I ran away and looked at the cityscape--tall buildings reaching for the sky behind me--with pride. "Only in Portland," I caught myself saying. People hardly even gave them a second glance. (In these tough economic times, I give this rillas props for creative panhandling.)
And it may well be true. Portland, Oregon is the coolest, fantastically strange, quirkiest, hipster hotbed on the planet. It's small enough that you run into friends on the sidewalk and drive by each other on the streets, but it's big enough that you can get lost in the city center. It's liberal enough that you can protest just about anything you'd like and people will give you a thumbs up when they walk by, even if they don't agree that Frosted Flakes have too much sugar. It's all about being an individual here, all about standing up for what you believe in and having a voice.
If you've never visited our beautiful city, check it out. Portlander's LOVE gay people and have lot of special promotions for queer visitors.
A measured blend of guidance, wit and sincerity from the femme and the butch perspective, Lipstick & Dipstick is a punchy advice column in CURVE Magazine, the nation's best-selling lesbian magazine.
"Finally! What we've been missing from Oprah and Dr Phil!! Lip and Dip bring unflinching truth to gay gals who are in, near or want a relationship. And they drench it all with great gobs of humor. Irresistible."
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"Get ready to learn all you ever wanted to know (and more that you never wanted to know) about that girl you are SURE is 'the one' in Lipstick & Dipstick's Essential Guide to Lesbian Relationships. A real page turner and eye opener...but most of all, with a sense of humor! If we can't laugh at ourselves ladies, than who will? Thanks for the insights...better late than never!"
Diane Anderson-Minshall said:
"Move over Dan Savage and out of the way Ann Landers. There's a new guru in town (two of them!) and they're dishing out sexy, saucy, ribald and totally irreverent advice for girls who can't say no, aren't in the know, or are still on the down low. Lipstick & Dipstick's Essential Guide to Lesbian Relationships from Alyson Books tackles everything from titillating first dates to vengeful ex lovers, bisexual babes, and the top five wedding no-nos (only a couple of dykes would put strippers and Styrofoam on the same list). Want to know when to take the plunge? Dipstick's quiz will have you down on your knees or running for cover. Does your girlfriend talk to her softball coach 17 times a day? Apparently Lipstick knows just the answer. Though you may disagree with the sometimes incisive, sometimes flippant recommendations-heck, they disagree with each other-you can bet that what you're reading is a well tested, hard-to-find, how-to guide to life as a lesbian in the '00s. No lesbian should be without it."
We're up here in Montreal, Quebec having a gay old time for Pattycake's birthday (I'm also working on a piece for CURVE about Montreal). What fun we're having, getting into all kinds of "problèmes" (Frenchie for trouble). We've tooled around Old Montreal (the sexieist and most romantic place on earth), shopped our booties off and eaten enough pomme frites to induce a massive heart attack. We're on our way out the door, but I thought I'd throw a few pics up for "shits et fou rire" (shits and giggles).
The photos: Patty in front of Notre Dame at twilight, Lipstick in confession at Notre Dame, Patty enjoying a pecan tar
t in Old Montreal, us having drinks at Saloon in Le Village, a Catholic church with a gay flag in the back, and the fall trees *sigh* on Mount Royal.
