what a week.
from being over the moon about Obama.
to being outraged over Prop Hate.
to my experience last night...
I attended something called the Creative City Cabaret.
the best things about it? it was organized by a good friend, Chris, and the DJ work prior to the show was done by Chris' partner, Matt.
Vancouver is gearing up for municipal elections on 15 November. mayor, city council, the parks board and the school board.
to run, all you need is $100 and 25 signatures.
as you might imagine, this significantly lowers the bar to entry.
officially, I believe there are upwards of ten people running for mayor. most are independents, but there were some political parties I had not heard of, including the Work Less Party (go, Betty!) and the Nude Garden Party.
... pause...
so where were we? ah yes, the cabaret.
this was an opportunity for candidates to flex their political wings and appeal to voters in a non-traditional way. it was a talent show, basically. a sort of Judy Garland, Mickey Rooney, let's put on a show! kind of affair.
there was legitimate talent and humor on display. Betty, the 80-year-old firebrand who heads the Work Less Party can tap dance like you'd never believe. amazing. her passion for politics and people serves her well in her tap shoes.
the woman, pardon me for forgetting her name, who sang Patsy Cline's Crazy, sadly, a capella, was also amazing, although I might be biased. she was, as we say,
family.
the front-runners in the mayor's contest are both fairly decent guitar players. Gregor Robertson, the, it must be said, more attractive of the two, joined with with two other members of the Vision coalition to present a voters' guide, in an homage to Tom Lehr's The Elements (to the tune A Modern Major-General).
and Peter Ladner, who I had honestly thought to be despicable (for attempting to bail out Olympic developers secretly this past week) until I actually saw and heard him, performed songs he himself had written. wow.
there's also an amazing trans-woman, strikingly beautiful in personality and face, even though I think she picked up some styling tips from Sarah Palin, named Jamie Lee Hamilton. her campaign buttons are glorious: Vote for Jamie Lee: She's Different! I missed her act, though, as nature had called me away...
and then there were the stinkers.
the boos and groans from the audience made us all wish for a vaudevillian hook. it was painful to watch...
and painful to hear, as well, because two mayoral candidates had the appalling lack of tact and intellect to attempt stand-up comedy, which should now be known as the last refuge of scoundrels.
I suppose anyone who thinks they have no talent might be pardoned for thinking they could at least tell jokes.
but surely, surely, surely, you'd refrain from telling the worst kind of jokes.
oh, the misogyny. oh, the crudeness. oh, the trans- and homophobia... and the racism!
jokes that were last heard in a locker room thirty years ago were sadly resurrected.
I felt particularly badly for the voters who had brought their children and therefore had to continue to herd them out of the auditorium every time one of those reprobates took to the stage...
could you imagine such a thing in US politics?
a talent show?
at the municipal level, surely... I remember seeing Greg Nickels, now mayor of Seattle, pulling balls at Gay Bingo, stoically enduring Glamazonia's barbs and wit.
but I could never imagine any of last nights motley misanthropes running for anything in the US...
dear heavens!
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