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Jun. 25th, 2005 10:08 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
frandroidI might need a fan. I feel like this machine has been crashing more than necessary, AND that's after re-installing XP recently. Now to rewrite this entry...
Last night first started by a bunch of us having dinner at the Bo De Duyen with Siue, since she is leaving Toronto for Portland, in search of a new homebase or just some place more interesting than Toronto. She's moving in the Microcosm house, which is a few kinds of awesome. The dinner was really tasty, which has redeemed the Bo De Duyen for me, which I had totally written off the vegetarian hitlist due to past bad experience.
After that F and I went to Harbourfront to catch La Francofête, Toronto's attempt at celebrating la Saint-Jean Baptiste. La SJB is, incidentally, the patron saint of all French-Canadians, not just Québécois, so that's why we're celebrating in TO as well. (La SJB has been rechristened "Fête Nationale" in Québec, which would actually be a dechristening...) I fucked up on the timing so we missed Diouf, the "Québégalese" band that I actually wanted to see, and instead we were stuck watching Paul Piché. I haven't kept up with the Québec musical scene, but Piché was pretty big in the mid-90s, so judging that this sovereigntist guy was stuck doing the SJB party in Toronto of all places, he must be a bit washed out now. At least I can say he was noticeably drunk when he got on stage, not a good sign that the guy actually wants to be there. I recognized his first few songs as hits from from the mid-90s, but after that I was pretty lost. My cousin kept embarassing me by getting on his feet and flying his franco-ontarian flag once in a while. I have nothing against that particular flag, just against flying the damn things in the first place.
The show was starting to really mellow out until Piché poked the crowd with "Here's one that will defreeze Toronto", which was met with protests, but the song actually did get the work done. From there on the crowd was pretty much into it. His last song was a bit more explicitely sovereigntist, and one of the numerous wahoos flying their stupid Québec flags got on stage. I'm getting really annoyed so I mutter to F "next year I'm gonna come with my bloody Canadian flag" and "or I'll bring an anarchist flag" (not that I own either at the moment), but then she looks over my shoulder and says "we should send Dominic on stage!" Dominic is too shy to fly his flag there, but thankfully some kind soul dropped by and asked if he could borrow the flag so he could do the deed. My cousin obliged, and as soon as the guy made it on stage there was a huge cheer. Before the separatist movement emerged, French-Canadians were one nation (you know, as in "Canada, founded by two nations"), and the PQ shattered this nation into provincial fiefdoms with its "national" project. The Rest of French-Canada has not forgiven Québec since. After the song was done, the guy returned the flag. Many people dropped by to thank my cousin for bringing it, and asked where they could get such a flag themselves, since it's not something that's not readily available.
(Edited to correct a slew of grammatical mistakes)
Last night first started by a bunch of us having dinner at the Bo De Duyen with Siue, since she is leaving Toronto for Portland, in search of a new homebase or just some place more interesting than Toronto. She's moving in the Microcosm house, which is a few kinds of awesome. The dinner was really tasty, which has redeemed the Bo De Duyen for me, which I had totally written off the vegetarian hitlist due to past bad experience.
After that F and I went to Harbourfront to catch La Francofête, Toronto's attempt at celebrating la Saint-Jean Baptiste. La SJB is, incidentally, the patron saint of all French-Canadians, not just Québécois, so that's why we're celebrating in TO as well. (La SJB has been rechristened "Fête Nationale" in Québec, which would actually be a dechristening...) I fucked up on the timing so we missed Diouf, the "Québégalese" band that I actually wanted to see, and instead we were stuck watching Paul Piché. I haven't kept up with the Québec musical scene, but Piché was pretty big in the mid-90s, so judging that this sovereigntist guy was stuck doing the SJB party in Toronto of all places, he must be a bit washed out now. At least I can say he was noticeably drunk when he got on stage, not a good sign that the guy actually wants to be there. I recognized his first few songs as hits from from the mid-90s, but after that I was pretty lost. My cousin kept embarassing me by getting on his feet and flying his franco-ontarian flag once in a while. I have nothing against that particular flag, just against flying the damn things in the first place.
The show was starting to really mellow out until Piché poked the crowd with "Here's one that will defreeze Toronto", which was met with protests, but the song actually did get the work done. From there on the crowd was pretty much into it. His last song was a bit more explicitely sovereigntist, and one of the numerous wahoos flying their stupid Québec flags got on stage. I'm getting really annoyed so I mutter to F "next year I'm gonna come with my bloody Canadian flag" and "or I'll bring an anarchist flag" (not that I own either at the moment), but then she looks over my shoulder and says "we should send Dominic on stage!" Dominic is too shy to fly his flag there, but thankfully some kind soul dropped by and asked if he could borrow the flag so he could do the deed. My cousin obliged, and as soon as the guy made it on stage there was a huge cheer. Before the separatist movement emerged, French-Canadians were one nation (you know, as in "Canada, founded by two nations"), and the PQ shattered this nation into provincial fiefdoms with its "national" project. The Rest of French-Canada has not forgiven Québec since. After the song was done, the guy returned the flag. Many people dropped by to thank my cousin for bringing it, and asked where they could get such a flag themselves, since it's not something that's not readily available.
(Edited to correct a slew of grammatical mistakes)