Quote of the week:

“I didn’t do anything, I wanna be acquitted.” Paroled ex-boxer Dave Hilton, following a five-year imprisonment for sexually abusing his daughters. Presumably his search for the real molestor begins now.

Transgendered lust

Just in case it never dawned on you, transgendered people are people too. Sure, it may sound crazy, but they eat, breathe, and yes, even love, just like the rest of the population. What a concept!

Still, discrimination continues to be a fact of life within the community. To help raise awareness of the issue and promote better understanding, celebrated local transgendered performer Elle Ryker has organized Lust, “a transfetish show” featuring Tranie Tronic, DJ Plastik Patrik and others, which is set to go down Thursday, June 29 at Sky (1474 Ste-Catherine E.).

“I have so many friends in the transgendered community who’ve been ostracized by their families, and when they come out to embrace their lifestyle they lose their friends too,” says Ryker.

“And really, it’s terrible, it’s insane. In 2006, we should all be a little more accepting. Transgendered people may at times have freaky brains, but we are not freaks of nature. Most of us are friendly, loving, law-abiding, tax-paying citizens who deserve tolerance, acceptance and respect.” —Chris Barry

Solitudes find Solstice

What do National Aboriginal Day and St-Jean Baptiste have in common? Both are national holidays rooted in the celebration of the summer solstice, and with that in mind, organizers of Solstice des Nations (June 22–23) hope to bring two cultures often regarded as two solitudes closer together.

Spokesperson Joséphine Bacon stresses the importance of cooperation in strengthening ties between both cultures. “Unfortunately, dialogue often only comes about amid a political conflict,” she says.

Along with singer Chloe Ste-Marie, who will perform in French and Innu, Bacon hosts the event at Place Royale in Old Montreal today at noon. At the heart of it all is a ceremony in which embers from a June 21 celebration will give life to a “fire of joy.” This same fire will be rekindled on June 23 on the Plains of Abraham for St-Jean.

“Fire is a powerful symbol both literally and figuratively,” says Bacon. “When people gather around a fire, an intimate space is created where people can open up and share stories.” For more info, visit www.solsticedesnations.com. —Michael-Oliver Harding

Serenity now

Equality Now, in conjunction with the Montreal Browncoats, a fan organization devoted to Joss “Buffy” Whedon’s short-lived but beloved 2002 television show Firefly, will be sponsoring a screening of Serenity, the “sci-fi Western” film inspired by said show, on Thursday, June 22, at 7:30 p.m. at Concordia’s de Sève Cinema (1400 de Maisonneuve W.).

“Equality Now (an international organization fighting to end violence and discrimination against women since 1992) happens to be Joss Whedon’s favourite charity, and his birthday is June 23, so 43 cities in five countries around the world will be getting together between June 21 and June 24 to hold a screening in his name to raise money for Equality Now,” says event co-coordinator T. Scarlet Jory.

Also, Star Trek:TNG’s Wil “Wesley” Wheaton will appear at le Mélange Magique (1928 Ste-Catherine W.) for a reading and book-signing of his aptly-titled Just a Geek, beginning at 1 p.m. $2–$5 gets you in.Tickets can be purchased in advance for $10 or at

the door for $15. Go to http://serenitymtl.blogspot.com for details —Chris Barry

Kids for composting

Cutting down on garbage does more than lighten the load you carry to the curb twice a week—it also reduces the greenhouse gases that emanate from landfills. With climate control and water quality in mind, Montrealers are being encouraged to go one step further than recycling.

“Composting is another way to reduce the size of your garbage bag, sometimes up to 40 per cent,” says Samuel St-Pierre, project coordinator at NDG’s Carrefour jeunesse emploi.

He’s rounded up four neighbourhood kids, aged 14–15, to form a co-op, “sensitize” the community about composting and aid in the process, by delivering materials like pulp wood to people who can’t access them, and eventually cultivating gardens with their compost products.

Along with Eco-quartier Décarie/Loyola, St-Pierre and company will launch the project with a community barbecue at 6370 Sherbrooke W. on Friday, June 30 at 11:30 a.m. Sponsored by a handful of local businesses, the barbecue will feed up to 50 people. —Lorraine Carpenter

REAR-VIEW MIRROR

13 YEARS AGO THIS WEEK
June 24–July 1, 1993

On the cover: Peter Gabriel. Rochester Democrat and Chronicle critic Jeff Spevak reports from Gabriel’s pre-concert warm-up at the Community War Memorial hockey arena, where he talks about life, death and parenthood, and Chris Yurkiw writes about Gabriel’s Montreal-based Institute for Strategic Design, which showcases designers from the developing world.

• Questions surround the McGill superhospital (“slated to open in 2002”). Cost, the number of beds and an emphasis on vague “alternatives to hospitalization” are discussed.

• Peter Scowen opines on Hollywood’s recent backtracking on movie violence, citing Star Trek, Unforgiven and Last Action Hero. “If people are starting to complain that TV and movies have become too violent, it’s because filmmakers are trying to portray that violence as real, as part of our everyday lives,” he writes.

• Reviewing W.P. Kinsella’s The Dixon Cornbelt League and Other Baseball Stories, Lynn Suderman writes that “his baseball heroes rarely deserve haloes, and his fields of dreams are more likely to be sad illusions.”

Angel >> Quebecers and fair trade Sales of fair trade items, from coffee to cotton, have risen by over 50 per cent in Canada since 2001, and even more so in this province, where the market share is double that of the country as a whole. Over 500 stores sell fair trade products in Montreal and, as of this week, Via Rail trains serve fair trade coffee exclusively. TransFair certifies fair trade products across Canada, ensuring that producers in developing countries are properly paid and that their management and business practices are transparent. But fair trade advocates worry that producers will suffer as retail heavyweights like Wal-Mart plan to jump on the bandwagon.
Insect >> National park inaction In 1992, the federal government under Brian Mulroney (Canada’s “greenest” PM, believe it or not), committed to creating 39 national parks across Canada by 2010, in line with the UN Convention on Biological Diversity. Today, 11 of the country’s 39 “natural regions” do not have a national park, and internal government documents presented to Environment Minister Rona Ambrose this week warn that, unless immediate action is taken, opportunities to realize this goal “will be lost forever” due to encroaching industrial and urban development, and a lack of funding and time. At presstime, Ambrose had yet to comment on whether or not the government will prioritize this project.