Canadian Lesbian and Gay Archives

I recently started volunteering at the Canadian Lesbian and Gay Archives and I LOVE it. I can't wait for Wednesdays, it gives me a huge sense of purpose and when I'm there I don't leave until they lock the door. I love it, I'd love to spend weeks in there pouring over the material. There's such a sense of brotherhood, I have the feeling when I go like I had when I first went to the gay village, a sense of connection, of belonging, I love pouring over the stories of the people who went before. I want to buy them supplies and volunteer for everything.

I'm currently working on the book collection with Cliff. This is him here, hard at work. I label the donations and put stickers on the books and stuff, which is great as I get to see all the books, and Cliff lists them all in the computer by subject and category and author and year and condition.... yikes, I'm glad I don't have that job.

This is part of the book collection. There are far more books than storage space right now so it's a bit tight.

More books and a research table. It was interesting, one of the aspects of the archives is public service, where you help members of the public who come in. Tony who I volunteer with was surprised when I said I didn't want to do that, I guess, especially in a library setting, I'm one of the more outgoing people. But there's a reason I've been in admin for 12 years, I work best by myself with a ton of different stuff to do and this job gives me that.

Some of the video collection.

This is the rare (read expensive) stuff. I find it hard not to go through this, write down everything and go home and order one for myself. I friend of mine wisely said "There already is an archives, you don't have to start another one".

Some of the books. They have some marvelous works here. None in this picture unfortunately but I find it's difficult sometimes to get gay books, like you go to a yard sale and you know they won't have anything for you, and here they have TONS. I should do another blog post later on some cool finds at the archives. X-tra seems to be running a weekly feature lately along the same lines, highlighting one thing from this collection.

Lots of magazines and archival records, like all the records from the Body Politic, Canada's first gay newspaper, and Svend Robinson's parliamentary papers.

LOTS of magazines.

Part of the poster collection and a sign we're getting to the good stuff. It's so cool to be in a gay library with a picture of a penis hanging on the wall.

Last, but not least, the porn. A lot of people snicker at this collection, even volunteers at the Archives themselves, but I love going through this. Half to three quarters of this collection was published before 1985 when there were no "gay" magazines, there was still pornography. Many of these magazines were it for gay culture, containing theatre reviews, interviews with queer authors and articles like "Gay in Berlin: On Both Sides of the Wall" and "Gay parents" from the mid 70's. An invaluable resource, even if the people do have stupid hair.
The archives is always looking for volunteers or donations and can be contacted at the link above.

Hostel Part 3

Those play all day passes I talked about earlier, allowing me to fly all around the US instead of driving for the same price doesn't exist. They're like $3000 and some cities don't fly to cities a 2 hour drive away for some reason. Sheesh.
Also before I get started I am managing a temp at work for the next couple months and I have no idea how anyone does it. Am I surrounded by idiots or unlucky or what? I'm talking to this girl and about to show her a project. Someone stops me to ask me for a pencil and as I pull one off my desk to hand her, I turn around and the temp is gone. Back to her desk 3 floors down, in the time it takes me to turn around. WHY??? So I go get her, bring her back, really time saving.
Anyway, another visit to the dentist today, AMEX has started asking for money again, I owe them $2800, and income tax denied by request to waive the penalty of $300 on my account, so I now owe them $600. I may have paid for my ticket to Berlin, but will I be sleeping under the street when I get there???
I need some hostels, let's see what's available!
Krakow - May 14 & 15 - I found the Tom and Greg Hostel for about $20 a night. There was another one for about $10 a night but this said you can walk to the main train station which is where I need to go to get to Auschwitz on the 15th and to Prague on the 16th. I'm most scared about trying to get around in Poland where I know nothing of the language. Oh and Prague I guess as I don't even know what language they speak. :(

Prague - May 16, 17 and 18 - Here I'll be staying at Sir Toby's Hostel. The reviews for this place were nuts, everyone loved it. For $26 CDN a night I get a single bed (no bunks! - bunk beds were available for $20 a night, it's worth $6 to not have someone on top of you all night.... wait a minute....). When booking I'm looking for location to the train or airport and reviews.


Also Prague Castle looks like a cool place to visit, the biggest castle in the world.

Berlin - May 19-24 - The most difficult thing even booking is the currency. In one week I will be in three countries, each with a different currency. 1400 CZX seems like a lot of money. Eeek!
Ok, Berlin. The #1 Hostel is apparently The Circus. Doesn't it sound rowdy? I tried booking online but it didn't work so I submitted an inquiry. About $25 a night. If it doesn't work I can stay here.

Shall I try for the trains now? I'll leave an itinerary for another day, this has taken me about 2 hours so far. The site I'm taking this all from is Trip Advisor, it's what I use to plan all my trips. Type Prague Hostels and it gives you 75 specialty accommodations in Prague, sorted by popularity, all with traveler reviews and prices. It was great for places like Pittsburgh where you've got 2 motels for $40 a night, which one do you pick?
Trains:
I need a train from Krakow to Prague on May 16-
The trains are very confusing. This site says you can get an overnight train and sleep in a bunkbed for $17 CDN. How can that be correct? Is it a cattle car? Ok so the train leaves at 22:25. You buy tickets in the Orbis office on rynek głowny, at the station. You cannot prepay. Yipee. Yippeeeeee...... Ok so I'm doing this, wish me luck. Here's me in Poland without a hostel or train ticket at 10:30 at night... So I just emailed the Prague hostel to change my reservation, what do you want to bet they speak English?
Train from Prague to Berlin on May 19-
Will this one be easier? 30 minutes later... nothing. This sucks. The travel agency offered me $89 to Prague and $111 to Berlin. They didn't mention a sleeper train for $17 for some reason....
It says I can book a train here 89 days in advance (the end of February) for 56 euros, $82.50 CDN. I think I'll do this.
That wasn't difficult..... (5 hours later...)

$2000 in 2 days

Yikes. While I'm going to be traveling.
I booked my flight to Krakow, $945.
May 13 - 5:30 pm on Air Canada, arrive in Frankfurt at 7 am
May 14 - 8:30 am on Lufthansa, arrive in Krakow at 10:05 am
_______
May 25 - 9:10 am on Lufthansa from Berlin to Munich, arrive 10:20 am
May 25 - 11:40 am on Air Canada, arrive Toronto 2:35 pm

I'm noticing the same problem I had when I went to England, I leave here at 5 pm, fly for 9 hours and arrive at 10 am. It's going to feel like 2 in the morning. Hopefully the plane will be full of small children again so I can get as little sleep as possible.

Last time I flew I had to change the times 3 times, I asked how much to change the date, he said $300. Won't be doing that!

Then I bought Red Sox tickets, $94 for the floor and $26 for the bleachers. They have basically 3 price levels, $94, $60 and $30. Ugh. So I got one at $90 and one at $26. It was funny, the tickets went on sale at 10 am Saturday, at midnight Saturday I still hadn't gotten through.

I also rented the car for my road trip in August, $545.48 for 15 days. You know how they have those one price tickets on airlines, like fly anywhere you want for 15 days for $500 or something? Maybe I should check into that.

Protest song, 1968

My eyes have seen the coming of the Negros and the Jews
I have seen the country trampled, the laws of men abused
But you crush the homosexual with anything you choose
and we go marching on.
Glory, glory hallelujah.
Glory, glory hallelujah.
Glory, glory hallelujah.
And we keep marching on.
We're drowned out by injustice til our whispers can't be heard.
You have shattered all our hopes and dreams and yet we've never stirred.
We're rising in a chorus and soon you'll hear every word
as we go marching on.
Glory, glory hallelujah.
Glory, glory hallelujah.
Glory, glory hallelujah.
As we go marching on.
Civil rights you take from us, we want them back again.
And we'll talk and fight and picket until we see you bend.
If you do not give them to us we will take them in the end
as we go marching on.
Glory, glory hallelujah.
Glory, glory hallelujah.
Glory, glory hallelujah.
As we go marching on.

Colouring with Jesus - now featuring pedophilia!

Colouring with Jesus has never been more fun!

Look at the guy's face, I love it.

I love how the guy giving the kid is like shaking him. "Take this, see!"

There's a lot of parents going up the river over this picture.

In this shot doesn't the internet villian look like the guy on the cover of Miss Kinsey's Report? I can't picture a 6 year old girl colouring this guy in for some reason... well not without being traumatized for life.

In this final shot, the little boy appears to be getting dressed after a quick romp with the priest. Fun!

AIDS Quilt - The Power Plant Exhibit

On display are two pieces of the Canadian AIDS quilt. (Click all images to enlarge them)


A close up of a piece of one of the squares, a journal entry from the man who passed away.

This is meant to be the last square added to the quilt.


This is a close up of one of the patches and the individual pieces that make it up. Each square is 3' by 6', the size of a coffin. In the earliest days of AIDS funeral homes and grave yards would not take bodies that had AIDS for fear of catching the disease, so in some cases these patches are all that remain.








Here is another patch. There was a video accompanying the presentation explaining how the quilt is neutral, it is not a political tool. Catholic high schools that won't let AIDS education workers come in and talk about transmission, prevention and condom use will allow the quilt to be shown. It's a reminder that these people lived, had personalities, and a picture of their souls.

A picture of another piece of the quilt.

The last time the quilt was displayed in its entirety, in 1996 in Washington DC. Today it weighs over 54 tons and has over 40,000 pieces.

It was also a very cold day for skating.

Not Afraid of the Fey

Tim Gunn is sex on legs, they call him a dandy, he is fabulous.

I remember growing up watching Are You Being Served? and seeing Mr. Humphries and being angry that they would portray gays like that, that we weren't all nelly and being very concerned with masculinity and walking properly. I remember having that drilled into me from a very young age and I'd like to be more free and call people "honey" once in a while.

I spent the weekend watching Project Runway and in season 1 Austin Scarlett:
was a sexy bitch. I bet he's fierce as hell in bed and I love the Farah Fawcett flip hair. One of the best things I've learned from studying all this gay history is that I'm so comfortable now with every aspect of being gay, bring on the fay. I wish I had a sense of style or money. I'd love to wear a full length evening coat with a hot purse. I think I'd also have to be about 100 pounds lighter, so that's off the table for today. But I do wish I had taken home ec and not spent so long ignoring anything feminine and perceiving it as a weakness.

Also today my house burnt down:

Well maybe not down but it was filled with smoke and the firemen came. I did my best Scarlett O'Hara impression in my housecoat and begged to be rescued but someone mentioned something about the fire not being that bad and something about a "flamer".
Yesterday I saw "We Will Rock You" and it couldn't have been better. I sat in the VERY front row, about 4 feet from the performers, which was a bit too close, when I go back I'd rather have the luxury box for the same $25. It was so great, it was like they were reading my mind. I'd think "They should have a tribute to Freddy Mercury" and then they did. Or the hot French-Canadian boy, I'd think "I wonder what it sounds like when he speaks French?" and then he did. The "Killer Queen" was this fierce black mama with a fat bottom who rocked the whole place, again I couldn't have been happier with the performance.
Tonight I'm supposed to be at a Kids on TV concert but I had a little anxiety going to the show last night by myself and don't want to repeat that 2 nights in a row. So often I'll get somewhere and think "What the fuck am I doing, why didn't I just stay home?" until I loosen up. I always feel that on my trips. I read Christopher Isherwood was the same way, but the difference is I loosen up and he never seemed to. And still we keep going.
Tomorrow brunch at the Golden Griddle which I used to go to all the time when I was 6 or 7 with my mom, and then the Power Plant for an exhibition on the AIDS quilt which weighs 51 tons and is currently being taken care of by 10 people. What to do with it? What to do with any of us?
Back to Project Runway, auf wiedersehen.