Weekending At LA Gay Pride

Well, technically not officially, since I am not going to pay $15 per day for a glorifed flea market.... although the Sunday night finale of Olivia Newton-John is mighty tempting. But I did score four free hotel nights in the LA and the OC, so I figured it would be a nice change of pace.

After 25 years of Pride events, I am pretty much "over" the whole celebratory scene.  Although 2008 seems to be a landmark year for gay civil rights and certainly puts a new slant on "pride". I have been to Pride Events in DC, in KCMO, in StLouis, in NYC, and all along the West Coast. Back in the mid-90s, I did the full CA Pride Circuit -- Long Beach, LA, SF, San Diego, and Laguna Beach -- with Phoenix tossed in for good measure.  During the last half of the 1990s, I was a regular volunteer to San Diego Pride, always manning the front entry gates --- the best place to see and to be seen,

I have come to LA during pride weekend several times before, but it has probably been at least 5 years since my last LA Pride Foray. Friday night was Faultline night. They have remodeled through the years, turning the outdoor patio into an all-season space, complete with video monitors and sky-high canopies.  The rock music was great. The pixilated porn on multiple video monitors was entertaining and distracting (in the best ways). The bar wasn't mobbed, and LA being an "early" town, the bearish crowd was on its way home (or to the Slammer) by 1AM-ish.

Sadly, the patio was jammed with smokers. Gag. Hack. Phooey. Hot men and horrid habits.

Saturday night was LA Eagle night. Another good crowd and decidedly less "buff" and "attitude-y" than I recalled.  The bar held a "raffle" which awarded "bear art drawings" and an IPOD nano that the bar owner handed over to a youngish bear-in-training for whom the owner had pretty obvious ulterior motives.  All in all, though, a decent crowd, the debut of a new bear porn video from the resurrected "Bear Omni Media" folks, and significanly fewer nicotine addicts.

And of course, only in LA, the Eagle now offers valet parking.

Haing A ood Day?

Notice a few missing letters every now and then.  Well, recently the "letters" G and V both lost their "cover" on my laptop. So that means while typing, I have to tap on a small button where the G and K keys used to be. And  that means that sometimes, the letters don't actually appear.

Of course, you neer realize the importance of each letter until it's one.

Er.

Of course, you never realize the importance of each letter until it's gone.