I have to admit that I am getting completely tired of going to all these damn festivals. I can assure you that I’m no festival junkie. I prefer to spend my weekend afternoons lounging around the apartment in my underwear, sipping coffee and waiting for the hangover to dissipate. But, I’ve purchased a camera that is way over my photographic abilities. To justify the cost, I have to go out and learn how to use the damn thing. Festivals are a great place to practice. When people are in large crowds, they don’t seem to care as much if you take their picture.

When a friend of mine called yesterday morning and asked me if I was going to go to HonFest, I moaned and thought to myself, “oh God, not another one.” I reluctantly agreed to meet him. I had actually gone last year and posted photos on the old site. I hate the idea of regurgitating the same material annually.

Besides, I have ambivalent feelings about the HonFest anyway. There is something about the idea of bunch of “Urban Pioneers” (aka gentrifying scum) coming into a neighborhood, squeezing out the indigenous population, and then throwing an annual party where everybody dresses up like the indigenous people to make fun of them. Imagine if you will, if someone built a gated community on top of Wounded Knee, and then threw a party every year where everybody dressed up like Indians and made government subsidy jokes.

With that said, I ran into a lot of friends and actually had a pretty damn good time this year. I even ran into Seadragon. I tried to say hello, but I think I sort of freaked her out or she didn’t recognize me. She gave me one of those, “Hello, but I don’t know who you are so please get away from me” sort of hellos. I’m thinking I’m going to give her a hard time for that one on July 8th.

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