shaking words like a Boggle box

Recently, I got to enjoy the wandering, hipster wandering mass in the Mission that is LitQuake's Lit Crawl.


The masses themselves were not that enjoyable, and certainly not the parking, but the readings were cool. I joined some of the Witches and the Maidens in the celebration of the word—well, the word of James.

James was invited to read at the event at the Elbo Room, and was given the honored position of the final reader. The cavernous space was packed, surely beyond legal capacity, and literally rubbing shoulders with fellow literary enthusiasts spoke volumes to the cumulative brain power of those who choose to be San Franciscans.


I got to visit with Writer Nicole a bit, which is always nice. And an exceptional treat was that I got to rabble rouse with Maiden-Adjunct Nicole. Who brought her boyfriend (jealous!). Nicole introduced us, "Wilson, this is Brian. Brian, this is Wilson."

"Hi. Nice to meet you."
"Hi. I'm silently judging you."

Sometimes it's good to be up front about these things.

Brian, with an i (I checked), also brought his former roommate Ryan (visiting from SoCal) and they had a camaraderie bordering on adorable (Brian and Ryan) but stopped just this side of gay.

I liked them.

Luckily for us, our original perch was bar-adjacent. Shaking drinks, pouring ice, and rattling bottles, the bar staff were the only ones making noise. The crowd was focused on the readers. Trying to minimize the disruption by ordering a drink, I just handed the bartender one of my drink cards.

Yes, I have calling cards that read simply

Wilson Hardcastle
Mandarin & Soda

Every other time I have produced this card (usually when it is too loud to be heard), bartenders have been impressed that I have my cocktail preference preprinted on a calling card. This also often results in a free drink.

This bartender was perplexed, spoke loudly, and basically caused a scene. "What is this?!" He cried, holding the card in one hand and flipping the card with the other. "Why are you giving me this?"

If I thought this were a gay event in a straight bar or if there were any outward signs of my gayness, I would have thought he was displaying some form of gay panic. However, this was such a straight event and crowd, and I was lamentably dressed without flair, I had to conclude he was either illiterate or just a douche. Or maybe just severely myopic.

After I ordered orally, I pointed out that I was trying to be quiet in respect for the reader and that my order was printed on the card. He was suitably abashed and mixed our drinks with a heavy pour—something quite rare in my experience in straight bars.

Overall, the night was a great success, bolstered by the late summer warm weather outside.


James' reading was entertaining and very well received. He read the second half of a short story he has been working on—which was great for those of us who heard the first half at a previous reading.

When he polishes it, I hope he publishes it. At least online. I'd love to link to it here. It's a great local romp, and is even better when read aloud.

I love story time. Maybe I should host my own salon one night of my clever wordy friends. Maybe something December and fireside.

Who wants in?

feelin' the love

A couple of years ago, I made a mix CD for a friend's birthday—Lorenzo, aka "Zo"— The disc was called Zo-Zo a Go-Go.

The set was a hit, and everyone requested copies. That morphed into a new three-CD set: HoMo a Go-Go. (Everyone knows the gays have the best party music. And I put perhaps way too much thought and time into the selection of tone, bpm, and order of the tracks.)

These have been recopied and shared far and wide, while while I did not produce any of the music (merely compiling them under fair use), it was immensely flattering. Some folks, particularly those in more creative or insane workplaces, use them as the soundtrack for deadlines, spontaneous drunken office parties, or institutional motivation.

As I crank through this work day, it warmed to receive this random e-mail from an editor's desk at magazine down south:

"Ellen is crazy and needs some homo-a-gogo."

The doctor is in.

a good example of setting a bad example

This is just effed up.

This weekend San Francisco saw, among other things, the Nike Women's Marathon.

So there's, Arien O'Connell, who considers herself a strong, decent runner but nothing particularly special, runs the best time of her life. Personal best.

And runs the fastest time against any other runner by a good eleven minutes.

But the officials didn't, and won't, identify her as the winner.

No trophy, no prize money, no spectacularly awesome school teacher Cinderella story.

They won't recognize her as the winner, while noting that she had by far the best time, because she didn't take a twenty minute head start with the self-identifying "elite" runners. They didn't even think to look at the times of the "regular" runners.

As the story says, "It doesn't get much simpler than a footrace. All it takes is a starting line, a finish line and a clock. You fire the gun and the first person to the end of the course is the winner."

Once their own records identified the error, they should have made it right. Instead, what we're left with, instead of a women-empowering and inspiring story, is that in our race, if you try your very best, and you succeed-- we'll still make sure you're a loser if you aren't considered "elite."

Bodily Self Determination & Law

This message came though a work Listserv this morning. It's a bit lengthy for a blog post, but I thought it was interesting reading, and information sort of typical to IJS-- it has sex, politics, religion, academics, and good reasoning. Have at it.
......................................................................................................................................

With Prop 8, the right of two persons of any gender to wed is contested; and this is rallying the UCSF LGBTIQ community -- we are thinking of our friends, ourselves, the future of societies here and elsewhere.

I remember when I interviewed lesbian scholar/author Priscilla Alexander in New York City in the late 1990's; she said that she believed that LGBT movement should be inclusive of sex workers. It always struck me - and still does -- as a thought-provoking argument. Certainly a number of sex working people are lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender, and from my own experience doing street-based research in San Francisco, I am aware that the two communities are overlapping, and share issues related to the right of adults to have consensual sex. From this same research,and from doing HIV prevention work, I have learned that criminalization of adult consensual activity benefits no one. The memory of the sodomy laws that criminalized a number sex acts between consenting adults is still very recent history, as is the celebration that followed the Supreme Court decision, Lawrence v. Texas, which finally struck those laws down.

What follows is part of an Open Letter which I wrote to Friends/Quakers on this issue:

In considering decriminalization, it is instructive to engage a comparative law perspective. For example, in New Zealand, decriminalizing sex work has not resulted in an increase in the number of practitioners but in an increase in the ability of those workers to seek assistance from authorities in response to acts of violence. Great Britain passed a law determining that juvenile prostitution would no longer be punished, although clients were to continue to be prosecuted. By law, then, criminalization is not used as a pathway to services. Rather than receiving services through the mode of incarceration, youth involved in prostitution are brought directly to locations where they get free assistance with housing, job training, and education. As a social scientist who has conducted research with homeless and migrant youth in San Francisco for over a decade (1992-2002), and is currently completing a manuscript on the topic, I see the practical good that can come from such a change in legislation.

Criminalizing adults for consensual sexual activities makes little sense. Criminalization drives people further underground, increasing reliance on exploitive and sometimes dangerous modes of support. As evidenced repeatedly, jail and prison often have a deteriorative affect on an individual’s overall life trajectory. With decriminalization, it will be possible for workers to utilize the mechanisms that assure fair labor practices and occupational health and safety. In my course on legal and political anthropology, I teach university students about the history of San Francisco peep show workers who unionized and negotiated for better and safer terms of their labor, enabling them to eventually create a worker owned shop. The difference in the dignity they experienced as workers -- and later as worker-owners -- was substantial. This organization was possible because they were working in a legal part of the sex industry. The right of workers to organize is fundamental to a just society. As the lore of the Barbary Coast suggests, San Francisco has long been known for its sex work. Individuals who chose this service work need to be accorded worker rights, as they have been through progressive legal change in a number of countries that have chosen decriminalization.

At a UC Berkeley symposium, data was presented showing that the amount of money per year expended to prosecute and jail sex workers was equivalent to the amount of money it would take to enable each one of the prosecuted workers to attend four years of college. Criminalization, and offering people services through the criminal justice system, is not an efficient way to provide opportunities, under pain of increased penalty. The San Francisco Department of Public Health has committed itself to supporting a harm reduction approach that assists people while honoring them as decision making individuals. Decriminalization is the first step to creating more open routes of access to services for adult sex workers. The decriminalization initiative is separate from existing laws criminalizing the practice of kidnap, extortion, forced migration, forced labor, child labor, and abuse. Decriminalization will improve the ability of authorities to investigate and prosecute these criminal actions. For example, victims of trafficking will be more likely to come forward and contact authorities, knowing that they will not themselves be criminalized.

We speak, as Quakers, of the economic draft, and its disproportionate effect on societies’ most vulnerable people – those without economic resources and those subject to multiple discriminations. The people who suffer the most from criminalization are the most vulnerable workers – those who have the worst working conditions and the fewest resources: street workers. As Friends considering this issue we must look not only at the intent of the law but at the impact of the way that it is carried out – distributive justice. When the Exotic Dancers Alliance and the SF Dept. of Public Health originally opened the St. James Infirmary, it created a safe zone for all sex workers, especially street workers to seek judgment-free medical services. Decriminalization will help to remove the stigma and fear of legal reprisal, which inhibit sex workers from accessing legal and health services. In this sense, decriminalization is a public health issue as well as an issue of conscience. Given the commitment of Friends to social and economic justice, I would hope that Friends would consider supporting this ballot initiative in the November 4th election.

Sincerely,

Amy Donovan

random shots from my phone

After brunch yesterday, Coco, Shilpa and I stopped in Best In Show to say "hey" to Roland. Coco, sporting a new super-short and super-cute haircut, gasped when she saw this pinkish rubber chicken dog toy.

"Oh my God." She said, "There's a woman at my gym who looks just like this!"

And as long as we're on the random, someone marked up the pumpkin decoration at our table at Twin Peaks:

It reads "I ♥ Cher!"

Someone else added, "For reals."

And just for fun, yet another drinkie pose from the Shilpa.

Sometimes there is nothing better to do on a cold overcast Sunday than to sit in the window of Twin Peals with your good friends, catching up, commenting on the passers by, and staving off chores.

Final random photo from the phone, I noticed this in the window of a yarn/knitting shop and was nonplussed.

Coco and Shilpa educated me that it's a fight breast cancer thing. Still, it was a bit unexpected to see in the shop window with no context.

The nipples in the oo's are a nice touch.

more on H8

Pepperdine suffered a shirtstorm when one of their law professors became the misleading spokesdouchebag for a Yes on 8, lending the credibility and implied support of Pepperdine University to his message. It became a HUGE deal at other California Universities, and the Pepperdine PR department was caught off guard. They demanded the Yes on 8 haters remove the reference to Pepperdine, which the Yes on 8 people said they would.

What the Yes on 8 haters actually did was continue to run the ad with the Pepperdine tag for another couple of weeks, then merely added a tiny asterisk to the add claiming that the title "Pepperdine Law Professor" is "for identification purposes only."-- which is the legal minimum required. (Someone where I work pulled a similar stunt and we were at "Girl, Hold my gold!" status over here.)



Legally, Pepperdine can't say they are for or against any political measure. They're pissed that this faculty member is trying to imply their support when they are legally prohibited from stating their position against.

So the asswipe is beholden only to the Dean of the law school. Which means he'll probably get a promotion. Pepperdine's law school Dean is Kenneth Star.

On the upside: someone has made an animated response to the ridiculousness of the ad.



Love it.

let's just say

it was this sort of weekend:

worthy weekend

Hey kids,

It was a helluva day Friday but I'm pleased with the quantity and quality of the work I cranked out. Working hard was followed by playing hard, so I've got plenty of photos and comments to post. But it's just another manic Monday so these will be dropped piecemeal when I get the chance.

And hey, how the hell did it get to be the end of October already? WTF.

I've got no costume plan yet. Man. Now that's scary.

ignorant parents take their kids out of music class

to make damn sure they never learn about harmony.

Kids Pulled From Transgender Teacher's Class

And in the Bay Area no less. Shame on the parents. Heaven forbid their children learn something at school.

Barak at the Alfred E. Smith dinner

Did anybody just see that? Obama's speech was awesome—it's about time we had a president who can pull off funny without just appearing sinister.

And Obama was really funny. And able to poke back at McCain's bullshit without looking like a whiner. He basically got to call out McCain and Fox news, and the room laughed at them for the tools they all know they are.

I assume it'll be on YouTube tomorrow.

Y B h8n?

Why be hatin? Doesn't everyone love the gays?!



And how much do we LOVE Mecky Stecky?!



And Shilpa this line's for you: "And where would I sing 80's music if there were no gay bars?"

flu. shot.

I got my office flu shot yesterday, which turned out to be more of a shot of the flu. They did warn that "side effects may include flu-like symptoms for 24 to 48 hours." I had always thought that was just psychosomatic-- until I woke up with a fever and body aches last night. I hate fever-induced dreams. And this time I had nightmares all based around Prop 8.

It is a beautiful summer day in SF. Unbelievable. And I just want to lay in bed with handfulls of aspirin and an icepack.

Voyagers: time travel to 1982

I saw the TV series Voyagers! on Netflix and added it to my queue. It came out in 1982, and I had some vague, fond memories of the show, thinking it rather swashbuckling and akin to the later Quantum Leap.

I watched a little of it last night. Very little. Dear God that was awful. I couldn't figure out why I liked the show. Then I realized I was still watching the DVD because Dear God Jon-Erik Hexum was awe-full. Full of awe. Chiseled chin, blue eyes, broad shoulders, muscular hairy chest, tight wardrobe pants, and a deep baritone voice--of course this little homo was rapt in 1982.

This was my pre-teen lust.

Sigh.


Can you blame me?!

Looking at this sampling of photos from the Web, I see this may have had some formative effect on my developing concept of masculinity and sexual fantasy preference.

I didn't recognize him as the same guy from the later series Cover Up, which was my in-the-closet soft core porn of the later 80s.

Kids these days and their internets. Will they have no shy, pining imagry to look back on later in life?

Now I feel like the older gays talking about underwear ads in the Sears-Robuck catalog.

get up on your soapbox

and floor it!

It's the Red Bull Soap Box Derby!

This Saturday at Dolores Park!

Double Your Donation to Stop H8!!

According to sources, two generous donors from the east coast are offering to double every online contribution to the HRC California Marriage PAC, up to $120,000! This might be a today only deal, but I cannot verify that.

The matching fund donation page is here. And I have verified this URL and the matching deal with HRC HQ.

Gay Marriage? Think of the Children.

Save the family! Think of the Children!



Vote No on Prop 8.

Deadlift

Will's Crossfit Update: Deadlift, three reps, 465 freaking pounds.


Will - Deadlift - 465 x 3 from Will Malz on Vimeo.

I would snap my spine.

And seriously, what kind of crazy workout person has all those weights at their house? How the hell did he get them? Loaded them into the car from the Sports Authority? (Did he need a special truck?) Had them shipped? What kind of shipping cost is attached to one ton of workout equipment?

Just things I wonder.

Hi. I'm a Mac.

And I'm a douchebag.

Cute.

I only wish it were airing on TV.

change of seasons

According to Alert Reader James Hass and the Maidens, last year featured The Winter of Why Not.

This fall is The Autumn of Okay.

So put it out there.

and I don't want to hear about your pumpkin "patch"

To that certain someone whose parents called him "Pumpkinpuss" while growing up:

Dude, you totally sound like one of Strawberry Shortcake's enemies.

choice words

I meant to post this on Friday, and it came up again today over lunch. Last week the Los Angeles Times featured an excellent opinion piece being gay, and the label of "choice."



Gay is a choice?
Not that again. Palin's view ignores the fact that, as in religion, the attraction is undeniable. And heeding such calls is the essence of freedom.

excerpts:

It is past time to retire the question of whether being gay is a choice -- not because it's been settled but because it never made sense in the first place. Indeed, when it comes to other aspects of our identity and behavior, we generally don't dwell on the question of choice. To ask whether a practicing Catholic or a professional dancer has "chosen" to be a Catholic or a dancer seems bizarre, not because we entirely deny that an element of choice is involved but because we recognize that the lives we lead are the layered products of our experiences and passions, our convictions and longings, our judgments and follies.

[snip]

Yet too many Americans continue to view sexual orientation as just that [an effort of human will]. At the same time, they cast other spheres of identity -- particularly religion -- as matters of unchosen conviction and deep principle. In fact, the parallels between sexual orientation and religious faith may be more marked than their differences. Religious Americans often speak of a surge of emotion from deep within them, of hearing a calling from something outside of themselves and of following the dictates of their conscience. Likewise, gays and lesbians frequently describe same-sex attractions as an undeniable force or a deep-seated feeling that they must respect if they are to be true to themselves.

How one responds to these stirrings may be largely a matter of choice, just as one may choose whether to act on a belief or whether to practice a faith. But American institutions properly protect our right to practice the religion that speaks to our soul. Why not champion a homosexual's right to honor erotic, romantic and emotional callings in the same way, so long as doing so doesn't harm others? The concept of choice should be no more -- and no less -- applied to sexual orientation than to our religious, political or vocational identities.

It is this understanding of choice that embodies the noblest meaning of American freedom. It is a conception of freedom that invites us to choose to do what we think we ought -- to act in accordance with our deepest convictions.

if anyone needs to be spayed or neutered

It's this nut.

from the San Francisco Chronicle less than an hour ago:

San Francisco police evacuated part of a Financial District high-rise today after a man angry that he had been turned down to appear on a TV game show walked into a law office wearing a blinking device that he described as a bomb, authorities and witnesses said.

Police also cordoned off the area around California and Battery streets before arresting the man in the law office at 275 Battery St. The situation was resolved around 1:30 p.m. and police were in the process of reopening the streets around 2 p.m.

The incident began when a man walked into the Lieff Cabraser law office and indicated to the receptionist that he had a bomb, police Sgt. Neville Gittens said. Police were called at 12:40 p.m.

[snip]

Anthony McDaniel, facilities manager at the law office, said the man had been holding a note and wearing a belt with a blinking light. McDaniel said the man had indicated he was angry because he was passed over to appear on the TV game show "The Price is Right."

Out with it

Oh yeah. It's the 20th annual National Coming Out Day!

Yay for the gay!

Loving honestly is never anything to be ashamed about.

honest Mormons

It seems that some Mormons are upset with the millions of dollars and inestimable amount of hatred that their church body has thrown into Prop 8 to eliminate equal marriage rights to all California citizens.

Mormons are called to Stand for Something, and some of the better angels have created a website calling for the faithful to Sign for Something, and stand up AGAINST Prop 8. They also have prepared some interesting documents on how supporting Prop 8 is expressly against LDS teachings.

Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have been taught, “We do not believe it just to mingle religious influence with civil government …” (Doctrine and Covenants 134:9). Recent action taken by the First Presidency in support of a constitutional amendment in the State of California has rallied us to the cause of freedom.

Say NO to Prop H8.

It's the Christian thing to do.

tag, you're it

Shilpa is having a hard time creating a web survey with a janky interface requiring a mix of WYSIWYG and html.

She totally needs a <|br|>.

Angel on Fire

Angel Island is on fire.

As of 8:00 this morning, the fire was reported at 20% contained.

This is not good.

But some of the photos of the blaze last night are beautiful, in their own tragic way.


From the San Franciso Chronicle:

The brush fire atop Angel Island is 20 percent contained, officials said this morning as they prepared to bring in helicopters to battle the fast-moving flames.

The fire has consumed 250 acres on the island since it broke out at about 9 p.m. Sunday, glowing so intensely that the blaze could be seen from throughout the region.

Some 200 firefighters are "continuing to work to protect structures and trying to hold the initial contingency lines that we have in place," said Marin County Fire Battalion Chief Mike Giannini.

More firefighters are expected to arrive to help relieve those who have been working through the night, Giannini said.

The cause of the fire has not been determined.

For non Bay Area residents, Angel Island is a park in the in San Francisco Bay between San Francisco and Sausalito.


View Larger Map

those three little words

Shilpa came into my office a few minutes ago feeling appreciative. She had just listened to Huey Lewis & The News' Happy to be Stuck with You and she came over to express that as long as she had to be stuck in this office, she was at least happy to be stuck here with me.

That's what she meant to say. What she actually said was just an "I'm happy to be stuck with you."

Now while the "happy" part is flattering, the "stuck with" part is kind of not. It came out halfway sounding as if she were basically content with an otherwise crappy situation, but the source of the crappy was indeterminate. Along the lines of, "I'm stuck with you, but I'm okay with that."

"I know what you said sounded in your head like 'I love you.' but it came out "Could be worse.'"

Which is now our new shorthand for I love you:

"Could be worse."

Not that's love.

opposites/attract

"She thinks she's a gay magnet."
"Well, I'm repulsed."

White Power!

I totally want a t-shirt that reads "White Power!" with a photo of Betty White.

how about 'neath that old Georgia pine?

Ain't no road too long we can't meet in the middle.

MeetWays: a Google maps mashup that lists places of interest (based on your preferences) between two points.

Meetways.com was created to allow users to find a point of interest between two addresses. Let's say you need to meet a friend or client for lunch on the other side of town? Meetways.com ways will allow you to enter both addresses and the type of restaurant you are looking for and give you the exact halfway point and a list of restaurants in that area. Save hours trying to figure out the halfway point on a map and instead find it in one simple click!

White supremacy

Betty White has been hilarious pretty much all her life. And she's still awesome.



(not crazy like Cloris, sure, but funnier.)

this day in gay brothel history...

Just a bit of homo-related randomness this morning.

I was looking up a reference to something on Wikipedia (the reference librarian in me shivers at the notion of authority), and Today's Featured Article is: The Cleveland Street Scandal.

The Cleveland Street scandal occurred in 1889, when a homosexual male brothel in Cleveland Street, Fitzrovia, London, was uncovered by police. At the time, sexual acts between men were illegal in Britain, and the brothel's clients faced possible prosecution and certain social ostracism if discovered. It was rumoured that one of the brothel's clients was Prince Albert Victor, who was the son of the Prince of Wales and second-in-line to the British throne. Officials were involved in a cover-up to keep the names of the prince and others out of the scandal.

One of the clients, Lord Arthur Somerset, was an equerry to the Prince of Wales. He and the brothel keeper, Charles Hammond, managed to flee abroad before a prosecution could be brought. The rent boys, who also worked as messenger boys for the Post Office, were given light sentences and none of the clients was prosecuted. After Henry FitzRoy, Earl of Euston, was named in the press as a client, he successfully sued for libel. The British press never named Prince Albert Victor, and there is no evidence he ever visited the brothel, but his inclusion in the rumours has coloured biographers' perceptions of him since.

The scandal fueled the attitude that male homosexuality was an aristocratic vice that corrupted lower-class youths. A few years later, such perceptions were still prevalent when the Marquess of Queensberry accused Oscar Wilde of being an active homosexual.

Is it wrong that I find this kind of hot?

And to think, today Connecticut ruled in favor of equal marriage rights for 'mos. Right on!

I hold the lock, you hold the key

Seen on 19th nearing Mission:


Not Jesus, the Christ, mind you. But rather, "Jesus."

I can feel the air quotes from here.

break fast of champions

(does not include mushrooms)

Shilpa has been fasting—eating only fruit—for the past nine days. I asked why she was fasting and she tried to explain that it wasn't a religious thing, but for some festival. In my opinion, festivals involve eating a lot (the word derives from "feast" after all). Basically, this is more of a a "fastival." It's not for Shamalamadingdong though. Apparently that's next month. (see last year's "I ♥ Fast Women.")

Shilpa was scheduled to break fast today (happy birthday Krishna) and there has been much planning for the first non-fruit meal.

Ultimately, she decided she had to have the best burrito in the City, which is super-sized wet one at El Cancun on Mission at 19th.

You can see the glee in anticipation:

Oh lordy.

I had to use similar pics as my Facebook status updates (love the iPhone).

I took Paul Day's off hand comment as direction and took her and PeeDee for the second course at Krispy Kreme.

While I was having all sorts of childhood/Nashville flashbacks, this was Shilpa's first time to a Krispy Kreme. And she got to watch them make the donuts.

The third and final course was, of course, a super-sized mandarin and soda on the back patio of the mix.

We returned to our desks close to comatose.

Fast women. Love 'em.

morning grumble

passed on the sidewalk on my way to work yesterday morning:


Torn paper bag reads: "Are you blind? This is a driveway! Please don't park in people's driveways."

I'm glad I walk to work.

positively touching

Tuesday night, just after the debates in Nashville, Sean Ray hosted his annual cabaret benefit in the Rrazz Room (now that the Plush is closed) This is always an excellent show, and this year may have been the best yet.



The show supports Positive Being’s therapeutic bodywork and related workshops for low-income people with HIV. While past performances have been graced by the grace of Donna Sachet, local radio news host Eric Jansen (Out in the Bay) emceed the evening's performance. I never knew what Eric did during the day, but I have enjoyed his skill on the dance floor several times. This year there were some door prizes: Positive Being tank tops and three-month Gold memberships. Appropriately enough, Lance won the tank top, and I won a gym membership. I hope they are crossfit friendly.




Great show all! And shouts to Ron Jenkins, Jorge Hernandez, Ryan Rigazzi, Steve Valdez, Wade Mary Crosson, and of course, the lovely ladies with the killer pipes.

More No on 8

Vlogger James Mason weighs in on Proposition 8. I am thinking of making my own YouTube clip too. And pestering LittleBigChris to get the word out to his subscribers.



By the way, when James mentions his mom, he's talking about Belinda Carlisle.

Jack-o-lite-bright

How to make your own dark detecting circuit for your jack-o'-lantern.

Pretty nifty.

If I had a doorstep. And a neighborhood where it wouldn't get maligned.

conversations with dead people

True Buffy fans will get the reference. And probably go out and buy one.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer “Conversations with Dead People” Board

Loves the Buff.

via TechYum.

sore loser

I hate getting traffic tickets. I haven't gotten one in years, but still, that siren sound coming up behind me still makes my gut drop. I have almost forgotten what it is like to live in sprawling areas where you are tempted to speed because you have hours to drive and there is no one one the road-- except of course for speed traps.

My brother Mac could always talk his way out of any situation, like speeding while driving without a license with underpants on his head. (Honestly.) I would get tickets driving home from school doing 36 in a 35. One thing I always knew though, was not to argue with the officer.

Cat 2.0

I was looking over the Cat 2.0 graphic, which was posted over at Laughing Squid, and the thought occurred to me:

Schrodinger's cat thinks outside the box.

think before you speak

ThinkB4youspeak.com

This campaign aims to raise awareness about the prevalence and consequences of anti-LGBT bias and behavior in America’s schools. Ultimately, the goal is to reduce and prevent the use of homophobic language in an effort to create a more positive environment for LGBT teens. The campaign also aims to reach adults, including school personnel and parents; their support of this message is crucial to the success of efforts to change behavior.

And some clever ads fearing Hillary Duff and Wanda Sykes.
(As if I needed another reason to love Wanda Sykes.)

corn porn

go shuck yourself.

Happy birthday Barney!

Barney's birthday isn't until tomorrow, October 9, but it is already tomorrow in New Zealand, so for him, today is his birthday!













Happy birthday Barney!

local pig roast

Sure, it will be no Pig III, but a gang is offering roast pig and local delights in the Kezar Triangle this Sunday.

Donate to No on Prop 8 now. Please.

Vote No on Prop 8

I just sent more money. And y'all know I'm not rolling in it.

After making a donation, the site prompts you to tell your friends. I am telling my friends. Here is my note, followed by their form letter:

Beyond the well-worded form letter below, I am calling on my friends and family for donations as the millions of dollars that out of state churches have funneled into the Yes on 8 campaign have been used to flood the airwaves with hate speech and outright lies, and the polls are shifting to the side of bigotry. The No On 8 campaign sorely needs more funding.

Prop 8 will CHANGE the state constitution to specifically prohibit same gender couples from the legal rights and obligations of a civil marriage.

That's what it will do. A no on 8 vote lets the constitution stand.

What the Yes on 8 camp is advertising is that unless voters vote yes on Prop 8, churches will lose tax-exempt status, and kindergartners will be taught gay sex education. Neither, of course, is true. But it is scary enough to motivate the uninformed.

Please. $20 here or there can make a huge difference in enough numbers.

Thank you,

Wilson

----------------------
Dear Friend,

I am writing to you because of a very serious issue facing voters this November in California. Proposition 8 is an initiative on the ballot that threatens to eliminate the right to marry for same-sex couples. I'm writing to ask you to do whatever you can to help defeat it.

You know how important being treated equally is for every member of our community. That's why I'm asking for your support again. Please, vote No on Prop 8.

All same-sex couples in California now have the same rights and protections that all other committed and loving couples enjoy. That fairness is so important.

Our Constitution was designed to provide equal protections under the law for all of us in California and SHOULD NOT be used to treat people differently. That's what we think this election is all about -- fairness and equality.

We've come a long way, but the fight is far from over. We need your support now more than ever. Please, Vote NO on Proposition 8 and tell others to do the same. Together, I am positive that we can help make our state a more accepting and loving place to live.

Sincerely,

Wilson

And please, if you are a California resident, vote no on Prop 8.

And tell your friends why.

You'll be in good company.

Donate here.

Whisky Fest

Coming October 10 (this Friday): the Second Annual San Francisco Whisky Fest

From the website:

Don't miss Malt Advocate magazine's 2nd annual WhiskyFest San Francisco which will be held on October 10, 2008 at the San Francisco Marriott! The event will feature more than 200 of the world's finest, rarest, and most expensive, single malt and blended Scotch, Irish, bourbon, Tennessee, Japanese, Welsh, Canadian and other whiskies from around the world to sample in one Grand Ballroom. There will also be high-end rums, tequilas and beer. The focus is on education, and many distillery representatives will be on hand at the pouring booths to explain how the whiskies are made. Attendees will also enjoy an expansive gourmet buffet all evening and will receive a commemorative Glencairn whisky glass.

But be warned—it ain't cheap.

General admission tickets to WhiskyFest San Francisco are $110. The VIP ticket option, which provides entry to WhiskyFest at 5:30 pm, one hour earlier than general admission, is $150 and a canvas WhiskyFest tote bag is also included. The number of VIP tickets is limited and sell out quickly.

line dancing/lap dancing

I took several shots at the Castro Street Fair, and some video clips to stitch together later. I wanted some general footage of boots scootin', and held the camera low during one of the line dances. (Sundance Saloon hosts a stage behind the Castro Theater every year.)

I happened to catch Michael Foster doing his thing. He's the Sundance Saloon poster boy for October, naked save for boots, hat, and a pumpkin covering his trick or treats— clearly he is very shy.

For some boys on the dance floor there is a fine line between line dancing and lap dancing.



I love that my camera was "rolling" to catch this in the act.

word up

I love new words. I have a pretty varied vocabulary, and other than jargon I rarely get to stumble upon new words. Or rather, old words that are unfamiliar.

This came across in a professional letter recently: farrago.

I'm loving this word, but have yet to have opportunity to use it in context.

From the New Oxford American Dictionary:

farrago |fəˈrägō; -ˈrā-|
noun ( pl. -goes)
a confused mixture : a farrago of fact and myth about Abraham Lincoln. See note at JUMBLE .

DERIVATIVES
farraginous |fəˈrajənəs| |fəˈrødʒənəs| |fəˈrɑːdʒɪnəs| |-ˈreɪdʒ-| adjective

ORIGIN mid 17th cent.: from Latin, literally ‘mixed fodder,’ from far ‘corn.’

Okay, now how much am I loving farraginous?

Who's a Maverick?

I am so sick and tired of McCain and his camp calling him a "maverick." Just calling himself that and repeating it over and over and over doesn't make it so. It's like trying to give yourself a nickname. It's just so desperate and lame. And it rarely sticks.

For fuck's sake the man has voted with Bush over 90% of the time.

I just want someone in a debate or interview to say, "You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means." Does McCain even know what maverick means?

The original Mavericks—actual, literal Mavericks— say no. And they're kinda pissed about it too.

It's been bouncing around the blogs for a week now. It made the New York Times a couple of days ago.

I really hope this becomes fodder for the talking heads on CNN and MSNBC.

From the New York Times:
Who You Callin’ a Maverick?

There’s that word again: maverick. In Thursday’s vice-presidential debate, Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska, the Republican candidate, used it to describe herself and her running mate, Senator John McCain, no fewer than six times, at one point calling him “the consummate maverick.”

But to those who know the history of the word, applying it to Mr. McCain is a bit of a stretch — and to one Texas family in particular it is even a bit offensive.

“I’m just enraged that McCain calls himself a maverick,” said Terrellita Maverick, 82, a San Antonio native who proudly carries the name of a family that has been known for its progressive politics since the 1600s, when an early ancestor in Boston got into trouble with the law over his agitation for the rights of indentured servants.

scared of all this H8

The millions pouring in from outside California to push for a constitutional amendment to remove equal rights from same-gender couples is staggering. Over a hundred million dollars. And to me this is the height of Christianist hypocrisy. War, famine, and pestilence rage unabated, but they send their pious dollars to deny loving families equal treatment under the law because these particular couples and families don't confirm to their vision of God's will.

Fuckers.

Their unabashed fear and hatred (h8red) offend my faith in the universe, but I don't spend all my money trying to beat them down. I don't get it.

And all those millions are, sadly, having their desired effect.

Polls show that the numbers have shifted-- a majority of Californians now favor amending the constitution to enshrine segregation and bigotry.

Neither Christian, nor American. And yet they shout loudest of their piety and patriotism.

I'm going to be sick.

All citizens should be treated as equal citizens. Gay pay taxes. Gay bear the burdens of citizenship. The first wounded veteran of the Iraq war is gay for heaven's sakes.

All we are crying for is the equal treatment of all citizens by the state. Religion? Go your own way. You worship in your house, and I'll worship in mine. But don't impose yours upon mine.

And my marriage cannot damage yours. And don't cry "Protect the children! Protect the family?" This zealotry is what children need protection from, not by.

By all means, protect the children. But protect the gay ones too. They are the ones getting stoned.

No On Prop 8! (home)

No On 8! (Equality California)

hometown rumble

Oh Lordy. The debate tonight is in my hometown, at the college my grandmother attended.

Obama and McCain.

In Nashville.

My town is so frightening Republican. (My parents too really.)

Seriously, three of the top five donor zip codes nationally are in Nashville. It's not uncommon to see "W the President" stickers still on cars. Several former/current Senators and Governors are members of my home church.

When I was home last summer, I was so surprised by this sight I had to take photo.



An Obama sign in a yard in Belle Meade! And across the street from my parents! Gasp!



Honey, I'm telling you. I had to clutch my pearls.

And tonight, the presidential debates. I think the public alternately thinks of Nashville as a small town and a big city.

I was a bit impressed myself to see this graphic as the BBC News Headline today.



Nashville indeed.

A-HA!

Taken literally.



Made of 80s awesome.

LitQuake; featuring The Jamez

Alert Reader and Alert Writer James Hass will be participating in this weekend's LitQuake!

From James:

This Saturday, the annual literature fest in San Francisco, LitQuake is holding its time-honored and much ballyhoo'd LitCrawl in the Mission. During which people shuffle from bar to bar, drinking as they go, seeing people read, flirting with strangers, and otherwise getting their buzz on while nodding or laughing as the wordly what-not is offered up over cocktails.

And yours truly is involved in a few ways.

First! The Farallon Review, a lit journal with which I am involved, is having an event at Dalva @ 6pm. My friends Lynka, Jules, and Jim will be reading. Which will be...and I'm not exaggerating here...probably the most twisted line-up of fiction one could hear all night. I'll be right there with you for this one.

(first and a half! - a quick shuffle around the block to the Elbo Room, much giggling and stumbling encouraged)

Second! I'll be reading downstairs at the Elbo Room sometime between 7:15 and 8:15pm for Opium Magazine. Last time I read out, I read the first half of a short story that had no ending. On Saturday I'll read the ending of that short story and see how that goes. Be there to see me either soar or flop; it'll be a hoot. Opium is a fine publication with weird people attached. There will be entertainments galore.

I'd love to see you all. Pass the invite on to friends. Form a flash crowd. Start a fight, an absurd political movement, whatever works, make me proud. In any case, have a great night out.

Cheers,
James

The LitQuake site
The LitCrawl schedule

Details:

Phase I: 6-7 pm
Dalva, 3121 16th Street
SF Lit Journals Dish It Out: Watchword Press and Farallon Review
21 and over
For Watchword Press: Benjamin L. Perez, Andy Touhy, Carly Anne West
Emcee: Liz Lisle

For Farallon Review: Lynka Adams, James Bernard Frost, S.J. Sasken
Emcee: Tim Foley

Phase II: 7:15-8:15 pm
Downstairs @ The Elbo Room, 647 Valencia Street
Taking It All In: Opium And Canteen
21 and over
For Opium Magazine: James Hass, Kristin Kearns, Kelly Luce
Emcee: Todd Zuniga
For Canteen: Robin Ekiss, Sean Finney, Sam Wilson
Emcee: Sean Finney