I love a parade. Well, actually, I could care less about most of them, but I particularly enjoy the Gay Pride parade. This is because:

-In my daily life, one so rarely has the opportunity to cheer and clap for people walking down the street that they've never met before. Doing so fills me with the warm and satisfying feeling that I am an altruistic person.
-I like to watch the lesbians try to get all the free stuff they can.
-I like to watch people dance on top of moving platforms while trying not to fall.
-I like to yell "woo." I like to yell "woo" a lot.

Plus, I think it's just a crime to not go out and support the thing. Despite how homophobic the country seems today, it's easy to forget how much things have actually improved over the years. Joe My God posted the Daily News' reporting of the Stonewall Riots today, get ready for your stomach to churn.

It's equally important to go out drinking right after the parade (how could you not!), so after a couple boring beers at Nowhere, xes ended up being the best place to go, with a nice mix of natives and tourists whooping it up.

Just as we were about to leave at a responsible hour, Peppermint Gummybear and her karaoke extravaganza had to come along and make sure I had a really difficult Monday.

Peppermint began the show by requesting the audience provide the word of the day. In pure Pee Wee's Playhouse fashion, whenever anyone said or sang the word of the day, the crowd was to scream real loud. Of course, the crowd starts shouting suggestions like hookers at a fishnet stocking convention. The husbear continues to suggest a certain part of the male anatomy. But it was my suggestion that ultimately won Ms. Gummybear over. After explaining the meaning of the word to her and much of the crowd, it was deemed word of the evening. I felt honored and famous.

The word was "odgeda."

I didn't actually get up on stage to perform any songs (my voice was a bit hoarse after a day of wooing), but if requested I was prepared to go up and seriously work it out to Felix Da Housecat's "Silver Screen." It's important to have a back-up plan at all times.

Felix Da Housecat - Silver Screen

Spiderman update part 2: Came home last night after Pride weekend warm-up drinks at XL and dinner at Elmo with Phyllis and George Glass. Took a cab home, but the ride was cut short by massive activity on Court Street. The area surrounding the Cobble Hill Cinema was blocked off, with production, camera operators, and extras in full effect. The marquee of the cinema had been changed to read "Stuyvesant Cinema" (or something like that), with Bridge on the River Kwai listed as one of the movies. They basically just seemed to be shooting extras waiting in line to get into the theatre (the extras were annoying by the way, as we walked by the movie theatre one extra remarked to another "Oh, they're just normal people." Excuse me, Senor Non-speaking Role?) Catering service was in full effect too, but I was too tired to try to steal a bite of anything. No star sightings, but we basically stood around for only a couple minutes before giving in to exhaustion.

UPDATE: 423 Smith has some pictures of the whole shebang. The fake smoke alluded to there smelled really odd, like the New York Aquarium had just evaporated.

Update on the Spiderman front: When I got home yesterday much of Smith and Court was coned off for no parking (although a few creative individuals had apparently gotten out of their cars, threw the large orange cones onto the sidewalk, and parked anyway). There was a large camera crane on Court, but no actors, catering service, or actual cameras in sight. This isn't the first time my neighborhood's been overtaken by camera crews (one bizarre morning I ran into the "can you hear me now" guy), but I'm just really curious about the whole thing, even though you just know that this whole production will account for a whole whopping 30 seconds in the film.

Cool tidbit of the day: Spiderman 3 will be filming right up the block from me. If my building gets in the final cut, will my property value skyrocket? Do you think Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst will start going to Area Yoga?

So, I just finished reading The Da Vinci Code.

I'm usually very sceptical of these hugely popular novels (i.e. anything written by Michael Crichton, Tom Clancy, etc), because they're never any good. But, a co-worker had just finished reading it and was gushing about it. He insisted that I borrow it, so I figured I'd give it a shot.

The Da Vinci Code is an interesting novel, in that the narrative is often completely interrupted by long passages of historical information. Half way through the book, though, you realize why this is the case. The historical data is interesting, the actual story is not.

There are creative and there are lazy methods of building suspense. Dan Brown seems to be a fan of the latter approach, and makes no attempts to hide it. After the halfway point of the novel, with most of the historical information covered and hence less to distract from the narrative, you realize the story isn't all that different from any generic murder mystery of the past 30 years. The protagonists and antagonists are hollow, and the supporting characters all seem to blend into one by the end of the book.

OK, so I need something good to read next. Any suggestions?

Kevin Aviance was the victim of a gay bashing this weekend, after leaving the Phoenix.

I'm in disbelief that something like this could happen in a part of town I frequently hang out in. The Phoenix is one of my favorite bars. A great selection of beers on tap, a jukebox that always has the latest hipster selections, a Ms. Pac-Man/Galaga machine, and some of the friendliest (and cutest) bartenders in the city.

I've left there many a night in a condition probably not best suited for dealing with an altercation such as this (to the fine folks at Stella Artois, thank you). I think many of us take the city's generally permissive atmosphere for granted, forgetting that there are still a few idiots here.

I wish Kevin a speedy recovery. His performances may not always be on point, but his hosting of Danny Tenaglia's Clubzilla party seven years ago this month was flawless (right, Gina?).

Get well soon, Ms. Aviance. May the rhythm always be your bitch.