Hey guys, it seems that we will still be talking about the Mardi Gras forever – like a never ending post mortem syndrome - days, months and even years after the 2007 parade.
I just got the following interesting comment from one of the Surf Savers and I just wonder whether he might be the one I was talking about in my previous post – giving out his great banana!
Hi Jase,
it’s Drew here from the Surf Lifeaver float. Thought i’d drop you a line to say the vast majority of us marching were gay or lesbian lifesavers (and yes – we’re real ones too – not like in previous years). Probably about 90% of us were gay/lesbian. We loved having our straight friends marching with us as a sign of support. Check out our blog site for more pics, news and videos of us in action.
Thanks for correcting me in my shallow assumption. It is just that I’ve never seen such a huge number of gorgeous looking hunks together (not that gay guys and/or lesbians are not !) in a predominantly macho/straight or manly group that I (we) could not help but wonder if all of you were gays and lesbians afterall (not that it matters anyway, for it does not! )
And by the way…. My warmest congratualations for winning the sexiest entry in the Mardi Gras Parade !!! You rightly deserve such an accolade ! See you next year
Before I leave this Mardi Gras fever to its final resting place, I’d like to share with you a sexy-funny event while we were there.
We were assigned by the parade committee to march infront of the famed Sydney Life Savers Boys. And while we were standing and wilting naked for two hours in the waiting area, we were quite entertained by these men and boys (who I suspected were all straight guys anyway) wearing only their life saver’s suit and some bananas in between.
Yes, bananas my dearest!!! Maybe for some comic effect!!! Largeness and Hugeness…
We were all laughing agog when one of the guys, took his cherished banana out and gave it to one of the ”finay-pays” (filipino gay guy) who without batting an eyelash or two sucked it open and happily shared/fed it to all of us !!!
Well that gave us the final inspiration to walk on our stilletos amidst the raging crowd in the so called hall of fame or shame – that was Mardi Gras!
Rupert Everett with the Banana Boys (notice the bulging bananas)
The following are my favorite photos of the 2007 Mardi Gras Parade. Blistering inpirations for the next year’s!
The colors, glitters and shimmerings are really breathtakingly phenomenal! I have so decided that next time, my outfit should really be over the top madness like these ……… and not just a simple sexy outfit! Something OUTRAGEOUS!
Oh I could have worn the same outfit as this bitch was wearing. My original concept was to dress in a Filipina Maria Clara number filled with flowers and roses of yellow, red, pink and orange colors… as in overflowing! I bet my ass it was really gorgeous and N was insisting that I should really wear that costume. Plus the headress and umbrella filled with flores – as inspired by the Flores de Mayo in the Philippines. But there was a last minute change of mind since we have to present ourselves as a team – wearing the red, blue and yellow of the Filipino flag.
Hmmm… people, people!
But next time – it will really be my parade for sure !!!
My costume has this concept! But see this one is all made of grocery green bags – which is sending the message for Green Earth chuvaness! Let’s just say beauty witha Purpose!
And what happened to the Imelda’s shoes this year ??? No one has really thought about it….
This has somehow really gone beyond over the top – if there is a word for it! It is not a good idea to mix and match all the feathers and other glittery objects – looks like a big garbage bin effect !!!
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ANYWAYZ… THESE ARE REALLY MY FAVORITES:
MISS MARDI GRAS 2007 GOES TO:
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Ms Lippy-Me Now Retouch Later Lah!
See this Thai girl landed on the top photo of Reuters flashed across the internet (and who knows where else) bearing the Mardi Gras News this year! Lucky lucky girl!
Whole outfit photo – - – perfect color combination !!! I just wonder how much it cost her to finish her costume. I know that the ostrich/emu feathers are sold for $ 80 each for the long perfect ones. Can you just imagine if she used even 20 feathers? But she’s sooo astonishing – I wanna steal her whole outfit !!!
FIRST RUNNER UP
MS Priscilla Wanna Be There
And of course, the Priscilla outfit – very common and yet still very remarkable!!! I love the green and yellow headress – I wonder how many plastics were used in this.
SECOND RUNNER UP
Ms Pinka Peacock Smile
This Thai or Indonesia girl (whoever she is) grabbed all the photographers attention (and fairly enough). I am soooo bowled over and out! T
This pink peacock is really magnificent – and I guess very heavy to bear in almost four hours and one hour of walking! I would have voted this to be the number one but she destroyed her outfit by putting on some pink flowers in the feathers. She might have run out of material feathers but it made the look a little bit cheap.
But her smile is worht a thousand cracks!!! Beauty! We saw her standing breathless at the end of the parade – with her peacock feathers standing beside her – she was still smiling! I should have taken some photos – but as I said my batteries were dead!
THIRD RUNNER UP (and Ms Photogenic)
Ms Thai Buddha Internationale and her Ladies in Waiting Galore
All I could say is that the MG is the realm of the Thai girls – they are really a bunch of creative and beautiful girls and I think they are helping each other achieve their goal to rule the Mardi Gras parade (at least in the Asian category!!!).
Well the idea is really to support each other and help each other shine to the fullest! That way, the whole group shines too. Like what these Thais are doing! Fabulous!
I love love love the Thai girls … that is why the world loves them back because they are really humble lovely people!
All I could say is that - Ohhh my Goshhh (10 times) !!!!
As I said before, one thing that slipped my attention was to make sure that our entry during the parade was well documented with lots and lots of photos taken by our media man. Well, it is the first time in history that a group of gay Filipinos are joining the parade. There were Filipinos before but they represented other groups or joined by other nationalities. Ours is the pure bred ones and their cohorts (of course).
Unfortunately, the assigned person did not do his job very well. I am sure that there were heaps of photos taken by the onlookers and the media during the parade itself but how would I be able to get copies of them?
Somehow, I was able to take some photos from my mobile and the my battery-stricken camera. But I am not really happy happy !!!
I know, I know, my make up sucks big time!!! Well, what happened was that we were all cramped together strategically in a small hotel room infront of the Hyde Park (where the parade started).
And all my time was spent helping all the others get into their outfits. Some people are still deciding what to wear (can you imagine?). The boys wearing their angel suits were all sooo fuzzy and could not make up their petty minds on what jocks to wear, etc!
So I hurriedly did my makeup (without the blushes and proper eyeshadows, and lipstick) and did not have a chance to retouch nor bring something (even tissue papers) at the waiting ground!
Well, I now really confirmed that I do not look good in black hair. I should have used my brown and Kylie M wig. The photos below are definitely better:
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I am just soooo proud of my partner N’s costume. He made this of course with just so little assistance and input from me. He is so creative I could just kiss his bum! Well, he got all the attention from the cameramen and women and he was even interviewed by Television crews of Channel 7. We are still waiting when this is to be shown on TV!
I am really happy and proud of the results of our efforts!
I am just soooooooo F-A-T!
The PROUD PINOYS !!! The first ever Filipino group to join the Mardi Gras! Note the colors of the Filipino flags (red, blue, yellow and white) – as the team colors. I made all the headresses!
Jasmine – the crown princess, what else can I say !!!
These guys following our entry -are the Sydney Life Saving/Surfer’s group. They were also first timers in the Mardi Gras – and they took all the attention. Well, as you can see!!!
The Filipino flag at the back of the car!
We never really had a decent group photo! So we are thinking of just gathering once again just to take our 2007 Mardi Gras Photo for posterity’s sake!
If any readers happen to see some of our photos in the interenet or wherever, could you please let me know! Thanks.
Yesterday, were back from Sydney! We only really went up there to join the parade and dismissed all the other parties afterwards!
All I can say is that there were moments of FUN, EXCITEMENT, and CELEBRATION. And the parade is a worldclass extravaganza of costume party on the street! Everyone trying to outshine each other especially those queens! But it is always good to go with the flow and just be there with all the fun!
Unfortunately, I was not able to get all the photos that I need as we were so engrossed with our costume preparation and there were things we forgot to do – like making sure we had our batteries fully charged! OMG! And organizing and dealing with impossible drag queens (who wants to be the center of the universe) for two days will drive you insane! Hopefully, I would be able to collect photos from the other guys.
Anyway, we managed to be there – - – with all our feathers intact! Forget about the broken wings, mangled feet, and makeup gone mad after the two hours on the parade waiting area, one hour of walking-modelling- sashay/sashay – crowd pleasing on the hall of fame and shame – that was Mardi Gras!
If you see the video above, when Diversity was being mentioned, a quick flash of the FILIPINO PRIDE flag (which I laboriously made for two days) – can be seen as carried by an impromptu flag bearer – who did not want to wear the costume we brought! Anywayz…
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Love rules at Sydney Mardi Gras
Organisers believe love shone like a beacon from Sydney’s 29th annual Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras parade, one of the world’s largest gay pride events.
Mother Nature led 120 floats and almost 8,000 participants past up to 350,000 cheering spectators on central Sydney’s Oxford Street.
She sat atop a world divided by prejudice, set against the hope that love, tolerance and respect will prevail.
A colourful court of queens and princesses attended by Bears (hairy gay men) and leather-clad dudes revved by the famous Dykes on Bikes celebrated under clear, warm skies.
Elsewhere in the frenzied atmosphere, pumped with music and pride, 250 of Kylie Minogue’s Impossible Princesses danced and pranced to the Aussie pop diva’s greatest hits.
Dressed as a mirror ball, Sydney’s Ross Gray said the Kylie float was the largest in mardi gras this year with an international cast of devotees.
“As soon as we mentioned that we were doing a Kylie float this year we were just inundated with people who wanted to participate.
“More so than any other year we have put a float together,” Gray said.
The mardi gras chair, Marcus Bourget, said after the parade it was one of the biggest yet in terms of participants, while crowd numbers were estimated at upwards of 300,000 to about 350,000.
“It’s been unbelievable, organised chaos. Beyond our wildest expectations. The way its came together. You couldn’t ask for better weather. The crowds, the floats, its just been great,” he said.
Bourget said the parade was just as important as ever.
“This iconic event which provides visibility and pride of gay and lesbian people throughout the world, is a beacon of love, acceptance and tolerance,” he said.
“First and foremost it keeps gay and lesbian rights on the agenda.”
Bourget called on Prime Minister John Howard to formally recognise the event and wish revellers a happy mardi gras.
The theme of this year’s event is Objects of Love.
But somewhere in the parade, Hottie Howard and the Global Warmers were facing off against Cool Kev who was spreading his message about global cooling.
Howard and Opposition leader Kevin Rudd were among many faces
lampooned or lauded by the floats.
Marie Antoinette served cake, and a gang of Vicky Pollards, from the British comedy Little Britain, stomped up and down the streets pushing babies’ prams.
Movies, such as Dream Girls, Little Miss Sunshine, the Flintstones and Priscilla provided inspiration.
Also debuting in this year were entries from Surf Life Saving Australia and the ANZ Bank.
Adding to the international flavour, ’80s pop legend Boy George topped the bill at an exclusive after-party, while a plucky group of boys from the windswept Faroe Islands in the North Atlantic made the trip for the first time.
They were Down Under to celebrate their government’s extension in December of anti-discrimination laws to include sexual orientation.
Although Australia decriminalised homosexuality in 1984, federal law does not recognise same-sex marriage.
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MSGS