Ohhh... now I'm riled up

I'm trying to get into holiday mode - as I keep reminding y'all - but seriously, this Israeli v. Hezbollah thing is ruining it for me. ENOUGH. I'm sorry if this offends pro-Israelis and I was sympathetic to the impetus for current actions, but this has gone way, way too far. In my view of justice and reality, the force unleashed upon Lebanon has far outweighed any original rationale and is now in the territory of "absolutely revolting". What will it take for this to stop? I'm afraid that it has gone beyond that point and that is depressing and dumb.

Oh. And to the fucking nipple-dick that e-mailed me and accused me of being anti-Semitic (in reference to this post)... shut your mouth. The Israeli government is not a race or ethnic group and like anything else, is open to criticism- especially when killing people is involved. I have never referred to the Israeli government or military as "the Jews". In my initial post (which offended you somehow leading me to believe that you are somehow slow, like Rain Man) I stated that I was sympathetic to the initial reasoning for an attack against Hezbollah. But Hezbollah is not a country or city or village. Yes, that makes it more difficult an enemy, but as a legitimate government, this should not mean wholesale devastation on the Israeli's part... the ends do not justify the means here. And if they did, where do "the means" end? And why does any military force have the authority to determine that limit at the expense of non-combatants? Right now, what is the difference between the Israeli army killing 34 kids in a random Lebanese village and Hezbollah killing random people in Haifa? Radicalism on any side sickens me and I can't find it within my beautiful self to get so worked up about anything that I'd want to kill it.

Anyhoo... my non-anti-Semitic brain tells me that what Israel is currently doing is not in accordance with my principles, ethics or anything that I find acceptable. Disagree with me as much as you wish. Your argument is becoming less sustainable, but be a stubborn baby. Just don't tell me who I am or what I think. Or else I'll get the Israeli army after you... Stop crying. It was a joke at your expense. Get a brain, backbone and perm and go away. Holy shit, you really annoyed me, eh? And yes, I am aware that I am a faggot. Have been for a long time. I fall in love with men. I like to kiss them and I also like to put things up my ass. Except stupid things, like you. Therefore, you have nothing to worry about. And if you contact me again, do it through the comments on the blog... I'm not going to get carpal tunnel clicking on my Inbox because of you.

I'm tearing it up, peeps... In a bad mood and this fuckwad is in the line of fire. Sorry for the diatribe.

Passport. Check!

I'm getting an emergency passport issued and it will be ready on Tuesday, so there's that out of the way.

In a bid to save money for the upcoming trip, I am staying in tonight and I am very bored... Sleeping pill time!

Oh... and I got this meme from Niko... It sounds creepily possible...

In a Past Life...

You Were: A Gorgeous Cannibal. Where You Lived: Greece. How You Died: Killed in Battle.

Who Were You In a Past Life?

Genet is a motherfucking dolt

I can't find my passport and I leave on Wednesday. Now, I have to go through an elaborate process to get an emergency passport issued. I am such a nerd sometimes. And I know it probably fell out of my bag when I was searching for lube at some losers house. Bravo, Genet. Bravo.

I would like to roger that bloke

I'm brushing up on my English English even though I feel like an impostor saying things like "mate" or "quid". I am determined to use "fag" all the time, though. Above, is an example of an obvious, yet delightlful double-entendre ashtray I bought a while back.

That's all I've got at the moment, folks.

Wait for me

As it may have come across on this blog, I love Toronto. And now that my trip is approaching, a traditional Genet phenomenon is creeping up... This seems to contradict a previous post, but it's more innocuous than that.

I always have a few days of doubt and regret about my trips. The feelings are very fleeting and disappear once I'm at the airport (and they are probably based on one incident in 1998 that I shall share later), but I always feel that I may miss something that is happening here at home that is important. Or that I will return to a changed place, however subtle. I also worry about people and work and that stuff, but it's mostly a theoretical "what if?" that disturbs me. It's very dumb and I guess it questions my routine here, but it happens none-the-less. This being my first real trip since dad's passing and the fact that Tenis' honeymoon overlaps with mine adds an extra layer since Yoda will be alone, as does a recent blow-out the Boyf and I had. But generally, it is the idea of missing not being here that is the sub-text to all these temporary feelings.

Once, this sentiment came true. It was during the 2003 blackout across the NE US and Ontario. I was in Spain at the time enduring a sadistic heatvwave (temperature at 3am: 46C). Tenis and I were travelling together and we saw BBC reports about a massive power outage (incidentally, we Canucks were initially blamed but it was soooo not our fault). First, I had horrible images of my dad trapped in an elevator and causing it to crash due to his weight... then I thought of friends sweltering in subways. That kind of thing. Everything turned out fine.

When I got home, I realized that this was a seminal event and a Torontonian one. Folks helped each other out, citizens became traffic cops, yadda, yadda. But more impressive was the atmosphere that seems to have imbedded itself in people's memory. Kids hauled their turntables and generators into downtown intersections and held dance parties all over, entire neighbourhoods BBQ'd up thier perishable foods for all to share, bars stayed open by candlelight alone, salsa bands randomly formed... It was a party for all. A communal sense of freedom and joy. No looting or paranoia, but a party. In fact, it is such a part of local lore that it is celebrated every year at Blackout Parties all over. And I'm so, so sad I missed that.

Don't get me wrong... Spain was fantastic. But an event that unique in your hometown tugs on the heartstings differently than sweating and eating 80,000 varieties of seafood with your Type-A sister in Barcelona.

This is probably my most bourgeois post, eh? What can you do?

** Oh... and I'm not suggesting that these things didn't happen elsewhere... I just don't know about anything outside the Torornto experience.

Genet weighs in on the newest mid-East crisis

It is seriously ironic that even in an age when the world is more connected than ever and when events thousands of kilometres away are known to all that there is still such a Brechtian distancing effect from real events. We all see what is happening in Lebanon, but apart from Lebanese ex-pats, nobody seems to be able to move their ass to do anything about it.

Before I continue I should say that I could initially understand the Israeli government trying to free its soldiers and simultaneously weakening Hezzbolah. After the Beirut airport was reduced to rubble, it became clear to me that something else was going on... Namely, a desire to assert and cement Israeli military dominance in the region with essentially "shock and awe" tactics. Conveniently, Israel cannot claim to have developed this military strength independently, as without massive US support, it would be virtually defenseless. Just like Hezbollah would not exist without external aid. And I'm not comparing the two, so don't get all mental.

As a democratically elected government, I think that Israel has to maintain democratic ideals and behave as a democracy. I understand that their security is threatened and that the kidnapping of anyone is intolerable. OK. I also realize that Hezbollah poses a threat to Israeli citizens. But I also find it utterly reprehensible that a democratic nation would use such force against neighbouring countries on the basis of defending its security and returning the kidnapped solders. In any other context, this disproportionate use of violence would be resolutely condemned. Why not now? How does the Beirut (civilian) Airport endanger Haifa? It doesn't. How does a Lebanese-Canadian toddler threaten Israel? Why does this seemingly rogue-nation behaviour become justified? It almost feels like a teenager with pent-up rage going mental over not being able to borrow the family sedan on Saturday night.

Frankly, I find it revolting. Unfortunately, the only nation that can influence the situation is the US which seems to believe that it is perfectly acceptable for a foreign government to kill civilians in another country for security purposes. Oh wait! They invaded Iraq for the threat some mysterious WMDs posed... Right! Totally forgot, since after the absence of said WMDs it was a battle for the "freedom" of the Iraqi people... the WMDs got lost in the shuffle. As did the threat. And therefore the whole point of the war. And that was always known. Who knew that freedom meant the persistant spectre of being kidnapped or almost daily bombings? Y

Hezbollah is nuts. However, they were not sanctioned by the Lebanese people in their recent acts. Shelling Haifa is disgusting and dangerous. Every country has the right to defend itself and if Israel took out Hezbolah, I would find it great. However, there must be limits and the target has to be consistant and focused. There is a reason why Mr. Olmert is the head of a government and not a terrorist organization- governments are supposed to act based on justice and ideals, they are not meant to emulate the wanton devastation that terrorists favour.

And where is the rest of the world on this issue? How can Harpy not retract his statement the the Israeli response has been measured when his own citizens are fleeing in intense fear? Clearly, Lebanon has become a battleground for forces that are mostly unrelated to the country itself, namely Hezbollah, Syria, Iran, Israel and perhaps, the US. But it is the citizens of Lebanon that are petrified, dying and that lack the necessities of life. Are we so politicized that we can make human suffering an abstract concept?

On a more practical note, I find it astounding that the US and Israel use violence to combat "Islamic radicals" but show very little desire in helping address the real, underlying causes of this radicalism. The invasion of Iraq was meant to protect the US from terrorism, but by subjecting Iraqis to massive instability, hardship and uncertainty through a botched and illegal war, I am certain that many more kids in Baghdad will want to damage the West today than could be found 5 years ago. Similarily, by destroying civilian's lives, does Israel really believe that it is not fostering even more hate? I'm sure Hezbollah now enjoys more public support than it did two weeks ago... How does that help security? This is exasperatingly stupid.

I'll shut up now.

Au Revoir, Alcatraz

I need a change of environment. Everything is starting to annoy me. I seriously cannot wait until August 2nd when I'm on that fucking plane to London.

I am so impatient about this trip that I have become uncharacteristically hyper-organized. For example, I already have my tickets for the bus to Bath from Heathrow, from Bath to London and from London to Heathrow. And, since my hotel comes equipped with a kitchen, I have already sent my grocery list to have the cuisine stocked for my arrival in London (I love this service). The food in the UK is expensive and sub-par, so I'd rather cook some meals for myself.

Not to sound like Little-Victim-Genet, but it will be so relieving to lose the obligation of being obligated to various people and to be able to do things on my terms. I spend the majority of my days running from one obligation to another and these duties rarely involve me personally. I need some "me time"... and it's been a year and a half since I've had it. Eww.... I'm sounding like a bad promo for Dr. Phil. Gross.

Another bonus- my friend Glammy from Toronto is now living in London and we are going to go Paris for lunch.

I've decided that this is also going to be a sex trip, so that should relieve even more stress. There are 10 million people in London and I aim to have at least 1% of them see and touch my cock by the time I depart. Wish me luck!

... blank ...

I'm so tired that I feel like I'm in another dimension.

Ethnocentric thoughts on nostalgia, melodrama and the Greek-Canadian experience

I own the DVD of the Opening and Closing ceremonies of the Athens Olympics. For months before the event, I was excited and nervous about how we would present ourselves to billions. I had fears of Zorbas all over the stadium, although I was familiar with the choreographer (Dimitris Papaioannou) and his avant-garde work.

Greece is a country that is rather easily distilled into stereotypes: the Acropolis, the islands, Zorba and souvlaki are some examples. However, being intimate with the culture I am aware of the profound depth of Greekness, a quality which juggles the past and present, the East and West and which has a rich folk and intellectual history.

Watching the ceremonies, I am always impressed by the intelligent and elegant way these were all presented. And I appreciated that contemporary Greece and its richness was not side-lined.

A beautiful memory: I remember my father and I eating mezes in the basement together while watching the opening and both getting teary-eyed by what we were seeing. I'm in nostalgia mode and am watching the spectacle again and am still impressed. Not having been born in Greece but having a deeply innate connection to the place, I can't help but be moved- especially since so many thought we'd fuck it all up.

And watching this reminds me of my dad and what a truly unique, sometimes bizarre, but always interesting heritage I have inherited. I'm no Greek nationalist by any stretch, but I find our melding of disparate influences to be fascinating... sometimes infuriating... but ultimately inspiring. And really, my dad encompassed the best of "Greekness" in my mind while soundly rejecting its hypocrisies.

This Greekness is impossible to describe, but in a nut-shell, he was open and warm-hearted, flexibly stubborn, always fair, curious, dignified, hedonistic yet responsible, devoted, independent-minded but multi-dimensional and unconditional with his love. Contradictions come easily to us. I miss him, but watching this helps.

By the way, towards the end, there is a guy running around the track with an olive branch flag to commemorate the previous Olympic Games. You can totally see a huge boner in his shorts at one point.

Thanks for the indulgence, whoever reads this.

Hell is outside my window

OH MY GOD. It is so fucking hot. I tried to suntan and lasted 0.4 seconds. As you can see, the city even looks like it's scorching. I swear I have seen four birds just give up and fall out of the sky from heat stroke. It is 42 degrees (that's 107 farenheit for you wanky yankees) with the humidex factored in. Tomorrow will be hotter. The Boyf came over yesterday to take a dip in the pool and hang out because the poor thing has no AC. I'm still boiling with the AC on. I just called to check in on him and he is in a heat-induced coma. I miss winter right now...

Genet and Cabs 1

I don't drive. Never wanted to. I also don't like transit too much. Therefore, I take many cabs. And I have had some hilarious experiences in cabs, one of which occurred tonight.

The Boyf has an long-lost friend visiting him from his hometown, so we obviously took her out. The details are unimportant. On our way back home, we got a cab and I was getting very tired and after spending three nights with them, I wanted to get away, so I sat in the front passenger seat and let them have the back. The Boyf sat directly behind me and kept hugging me and kissing my head which clearly indicated that we are homos. When we got the the Boyf's, I decided that I'd run in to piss and then continue in the cab to my place.

When I returned to the cab, I sat in the back as I normally would. Keep in mind it is tropically hot and humid in Toronto today. So, I sit down and notice that all the windows in the cab are rolled up but there is no AC going. OK...? I tell the cabby my destination and then notice that he has the seat warmer in the back going full blast. My ass has melted at this point and I'm sweating as though I had run 14 marathons in the Sahara. So I ask: "Why the fuck is there hot air blowing up my ass?" His response was ace: "The foam in the seat gets hot in this weather and needs to breathe. Why don't you come back up here? You didn't have that problem before." I responded: "I'll take the heat and you can just drive". He was clearly pissed off.

Now, I've fooled around with cabbies before for a variety of reasons, but there was something about his devious tactics that turned me off. That and the fact that I wasn't attracted. But the best was when I said "thanks, good night" and he replied "you embarassed me... good night". Him trapping me in a locked space that was 1000 degrees in order to force me to sit beside him so that he could molest me somehow was dignified, I suppose. I couldn't stop laughing. And then I saw him driving in circles through the maze-like streets of my neighbourhood for a good ten minutes like a trapped animal and thought that was even funnier.

Jaloux

My sister called from Greece, where she is spending a 5 (!) week honeymoon. In my infinite generosity, I planned the entire trip for her and I did a fantastic job. The hotels I chose are stunning. But now I am jealous. And when she calls and describes the places she's visiting, I get more jealous. I even got jealous hearing the mopeds in the background when she called from Thessaloniki. She's in Epirus (where my mom's from) right now, which is where the photo above shows. She'll also be going to Athens and four islands. Sigh...

Suddenly, I wish I was going to the motherland this summer instead of England, but I'm sure that will dissipate when I'm knocking back the pints with my friends in jolly old.

Peaches Rocks

Former Torontonian skank-hopper and all-around omnisexual party girl Peaches has released her new album Impeach My Bush.

The first track, Fuck or Kill has the following lyrical wisdom to impart:

I'd rather fuck who I want than kill who I am told to
Let's face it we all want tush
If I'm wrong impeach my bush
Impeach my bush
Impeach Bush

Gotta love her.

On the uselessness of speaking

You know when you are 100% certain of something because you are the only person that witnessed or experienced it... And you rather innocently tell other people about it but they develop their own facts, interpretations and events for dubious reasons... And when you tell them that they are wrong, they get frustrated even though they are merely experiencing it vicariously and ignore the reality of the moment... And it becomes really condescending and irrational because you are talking to a wall made of deaf bricks... And then you give up because you don't care enough, but the fictional events conjured by your idiot audience becomes the "truth" and they find joy in relating the story even though they were never a part of it... And the event becomes theirs and they don't realize that it is entirely false... And you realize that reality is really subjective and pointless?

Maybe you don't. But I find that tiresome and annoying.

I don't really care but suddenly I do

Here's a photo of the Corso Italia post victory.

Toronto has the largest Italian population outside of Italy... we've gots 700,000 of 'em. There are 200,000 Italianos on St. Clair right now alone. The Corso Italia is insane and I love watching it from a distance even though I wasn't cheering for Italia. Now I am, though. I'm a sucker for happy people and there is much humpable material on the TV right now. Pesto is dripping out of my pores. The Boyf is being bombarded with Italian pride and is threatening to strangle people with spaghetti.

Congrats, PDD. I love you.

Fantastic

One of the incredibly few benefits of living with a widowed Mommy in the suburbs is that you get the above as a backyard.

It's 30 degrees, sunny, there's a breeze and I spent the past three hours lying on the hammock, drinking beers, chatting with friends on the phone and suntanning. Perfuck.

Meet: Roy + Silo

Roy and Silo are two gay penguins that live in NYC's Central Park. I'm serious.

Now, for all its cosmopolitanism and "freedom", New York fails to recognize gay penguin or human love. To rub salt in the wound, New York state yesterday dealt a legal blow (no pun here, folks) to same-sex couples yet again. The solution...

Roy + Silo will have a symbolic Torontonian wedding this weekend as part of the Wade Festival, which has artists and performers take over wading pools across the city. From the artists: "an evening of penguin video and performance by a flock of decoy bridesmaids... of course, there will be cake".

NASA, you sexy beast!

The folks at NASA appear to be dildo experts as well. Where do I sign up? Are they planning to probe Uranus? Cheesy, yes. I know.

It appears that I lied in my previous post. The culture will have to wait.

Feelings...

I'm having a XXX rated moment. Can't help it. You do too, but you're afraid of it (I'm so arrogantly presumptuous!). If this disturbs anyone's Christian/Atheist/Whatever morals, please read about sane subjects like bombed corpses on your beloved CNN instead. The sarcasm is coming from Zeus and is fantastic... Anyhoo...

I really feel like getting plowed right now. And I want vocals. Example:

HIM: You like that cock in your ass?
ME: Keep fucking my hole, man!

And later:

ME: This cock feel good in your ass, man?
HIM: Oh yeah! Keep slammin' it. Umph.... yeah!
ME: This ain't never gonna stop, man... You feel too good...

The reciprocity of gay sex is stunningly beautiful. And, like love, sex can only be spoken of in clichés.

The fact that I speak nothing like this in reality makes sex-talk super-duper hot. Mind you, I have zero desire to see my orgasm face. None. What does that say about me?

Thanks for indulging me. I'll get cultured (like bacteria, yo) in my next post.