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I wasn't sure what to expect at this year's New Year's parade on Argyle. In the past, it's always been very small (in contrast to the South Chinatown parade, which is always so mobbed I don't even think about attending any more--sorry [livejournal.com profile] innerdoggie), but I saw flyers advertising floats and dragons, so I wasn't sure what to expect.

Well, it was still small. So small that our neighbour's boyfriend (who I've given the Cantonese nickname "A-Maak") was disappointed. They had five sets of lion dancers, a dragon of gwailou kung fu students, and three almost featureless floats--in other words, a typical neighbourhood parade. At first, I was a bit disappointed not to see the lions going into each shop and leaping for the lettuce leaves--in the past this was all the parade consisted of. But we discovered that, after the parade was over, they came around for a second pass and did just that. Now my only regret is that there didn't seem to be any long strings of red firecrackers hung above any of the shop doors. In the past, the sidewalks would get showered with so many bits of paper it was like walking through red snow.

Best Overheard Line: "...and then the shadow of my erection fell right across the crucifix."

Chicago True Crime Connexion: Filling in the out-of-towners on the local tongs, like On Leong Tong, which eventually lost its grandiose building over a decade ago after being busted for illegal gambling, or the founders of North Chinatown, Hip Sing Tong, which has gone to war with On Leong in the past (although not, AFAIK, in Chicago).

Cross-Cultural Moment/Bearwatch Highlight Watching beyamulked members of Agudas Achim (led by a hot greybeard daddy) wait for an opportune moment to cross the street in order to make it to the shul. (For what, I don't know, since Sabbath services should've been over by then.)

Domestic Geopolitics [livejournal.com profile] bunj drew our attention to the large number of PRC flags. Sure enough, we didn't see a single Taiwanese flag all afternoon even though all the South Chinatown celebrations (not just Double Ten) are simply lousy with them. I guess the lines have been drawn!
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