Good Lord willing...

...and the creek don't rise.

This is what Shilpa, PeeDee and I are getting into. Leaving Thursday for Nashlantis. This is First Avenue, downtown.


And this is Second Avenue:

(Photos from Mary McGee)

Antediluvian

The flood rains may have stopped, but the damage rages.

From The Tennessean, this is downtown:


And this is the state of the Grand Ole Opry:


And for all of this water, word is that the clean water supply will run out tonight. The main treatment plant is still offline. The second treatment plant dodged the flood by a mere 12 inches.

More footage of the unbelievable flooding from YouTube:



and Holy CRAP this is the corner of Belle Meade Boulevard and Harding Road (aka West end). For those of you that don't know, this is my Nashville neighborhood.



and the view of Harding Road and Lynwood, looking towards the above intersection from White Bridge Road:



And this is a video of someone taping the coverage on the news with a video camera, but it gives you an idea of what happened to Keith's neighborhood. Last I heard his roommate was still trapped inside with no power.



This alert is making its way across the internet:

The National Media is not relaying enough information about the circumstances in Nashville! People are missing, thousands are without homes, Nashville has a shortage of water, shelters are full and downtown is still flooded. This could be the largest non hurricane related disaster is US history. Please spread the word and text REDCROSS to 90999 to donate $10 for disaster relief.

Keith Olbermann points out that with so many big stories making headlines today, many have overlooked the significant deadly flooding in Tennessee:

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Then of course, there is the Red State Update:

Flooding, Flooding; May Day, May day

The flood damage is ridiculous. My nephew is sending photos of his school underwater. By the way, the Ensworth High School campus looks more like an ivy league college, and is less than four years old. So much damage so soon.

Via Facebook/YouTube, and childhood friend Bonnie Davis, this awesome video from Michael Deppisch:

Nashlantis!

What is being called the May Day Flood in Middle Tennessee has killed at least five and washed out most of Nashville and the surrounding counties. CNN has footage of school buildings floating, and streaming fast, down Interstate 24. The destruction all over the area is devastating. No word yet from Mom and Dad about our house.

I'm getting my truly local news from Facebook—whose houses are okay, whose are damaged, and whose are gone. It's insane.

You know that when the churches and the gay bars are closed, there is some serious floodmageddon.

Friend of the Blog and photographer Carolyn Hall posted some photos around our neighborhood. Major roads are still underwater, and she reported emergency BOATS racing past her at one point.

Richland Creek, not far from my parents.

More Richland Creek.

Harding Road at Lynnwood Boulevard (again my parents' neighborhood).
Carolyn reported a car was submerged just up Lynnwood (to the right)

This is White Bridge Road at Charlotte,
where Richland Creek goes "under" Charlotte.

Also via Carolyn is this video from her friend of a branch of creek about 100 yards from my parents house. "Creek" no so much anymore.



More "user-submitted" video clips of flooding at CNN's iReport here.

Downtown should be okay. According to Nashville Historian David Ewing on the Facebook page "the Nashville I Wish I Knew", after the Great Christmas Day Flood of 1926 (rare photos are posted), Tennessee build levees and Percy Priest Dam to control the Cumberland River.

Also in the national news: Nashville friend Dabney was one of the visitors evacuated in Times Square, just feet from her hotel actually, for several hours last night while police defused a major bomb in an SUV.

Update: Just talked to Mom. Basement flooded (my comic books!) and pipes burst. Neighbors underwater. Over 42,000 people, including my brother and his family, without power (they are a bit stir crazy with a toddler and no coffee, or elevator). All Interstates and schools are closed. My nephew reports that at his high school, the water is up past the cross bar of the goal posts on the football field. That's eight feet. Cars are still strewn all over town, underwater. Mostly in my parents' part of town.

Mother said "the rain is suppose to stop once it stops." (Which I understand.) However, everything is saturated so there is no where for the water to go other than eventually down the rivers. It is supposed to be sunny all week. The field will be wet on Saturday, and with all the water and the hot sun, Nashville is going to be humid if not downright steamy.

Shilpa better pack the shellac for her hair.

Another Update: Wow. more than 25% the annual rainfall in two days. More than 12" in 24 hours. Everything is wiped out. Wet wet wet.

Via Nephew Bradley:


Another Update: From John Moss in Nashville: "If the rainfall in Nashville had been snow, it would be 12.5 feet! Two days in, the wettest May ever in Nashville, They are evacuating MetroCenter as one of the levees appears to be breaking. Over 600 water rescues today, following 100's yesterday in Nashville alone."

He also posted this pic from down the street from my parents':

"This will give you an idea of the destruction: this was a car I saw that had been washed
off the road on Harding Place in front of the Belle Meade indoor tennis center.
I saw several cars that had been washed off of Harding Road
along the railroad tracks between Hillwood & Belle Meade."

And from Mary McGee:

Vacation got to get away

It has been noted that this year's posting has been a little light on adventure. After IMAXing the apartment, I have been laying a bit low to pay all of that off. And I frankly, I have been trying to chill a little more this year and be available for other things, including work and love opportunities as well as welcome nights at home, and so have not booked the calendar quite so much with antics of the City.

I know, I'm working on a curve.

I've also been prepping to spend the month of May in Nashville with the family. I am expecting some excellent quality time, some excellent "now leave me alone time," and supper happy fun times—bracketing the vacation with the Iroquois Steeplechase the first weekend, the 50th Anniversary Swan Ball on the final weekend, and my niece's graduation the morning that I leave.

Added excitement: Alert Readers Shilpa Patel and Paul Day will be joining me for the Iroquois weekend. The weekend itinerary has been planned around parties and food. I've also bee looking forward to some warm, possibly hot, summer nights.

Starting off the May Vacation Time— Mystery Theater Date Night with Kevin last night. Photos and postings to come.

there is a baseline

Anyone else ever feel like this?



I'm guessing that guy is a Teabagger. Lord knows they need accurate information and have no idea how to get it.

no, it's Schrödinger's cat.

Just now I had to knock on a neighbor's door to pass on a message. I don't really know her, and she certainly wasn't expecting me. When she called out "Is that you?" I felt odd saying, "Well, I suppose no." I mean, sure, the answer to her question "Is that you?" was clearly "Yes, it's me." But I knew that I wasn't the "you" she was expecting... It made me pause—it was just a little more existentialism that I was expecting from that moment.

And in unsurprising news, Alabama politictians are racist

ACTUAL ad for Alabama Senator Tim James' run for governor. Wow. With the exception of about six people in Birmingham, I always thought Alabama was a bunch of ignorant, prejudiced rednecks, but it's scary as hell to see its "educated leadership" so brazenly proud of being such.



Gawker has a nice comment: "In this ad, he sneeringly announces, "This is Alabama. We speak English. If you want to live here, learn it." What a jerk. Tim's dad is former Alabama Gov. Fob James. Yes, Fob. They probably have no idea why that's funny, because people who hate foreign languages tend not to have friends with foreign accents, who come from a recently-immigrated families, or are not white."

And honestly, is the Alabama driver's test really given in twelve languages? I doubt it. It's worth looking up. And did "politicians" "make" "them"? Who are the "politicians"? (surely that would be himself as state politico then state Senator, and his dad, the former Governor.) How did they "make" the test be given in all of those languages? And who is the "us" and "them" he's trying to distinguish? (I think that's the real point of this ad- to make viewers/voters identify with an "us"versus "them" mentality.) And is micromanaging the DMV really the best platform for a run as a state Governor?

And honestly, any opposition to multi-cultural public policy testing is likely not prompted by "the businessman" in him. It's the other inner man in a suit. The white one. With the hood.

Update: I checked out the Alabama driver's license test information. It's not actually under the DMV, but rather under the purview of the Alabama Department of Public Safety. The test is not actually given in 12 languages, but rather the written test is provided in English as a default. However, the test is available in 12 other languages from the district office.

From "The State of Alabama Driver Manual: "Driver License written examinations are available in foreign languages: Arabic, Chinese, Farsi, French, German, Greek, Japanese, Korean, Russian, Spanish, Thai and Vietnamese. Information on the administration of these tests may be obtained at the Driver License District Office."

I'd say the Senator's complaint is a bit misleading. And would eliminating the non-English language copies of the written drivers test at the District Office save any real money? I'll give them the $0.20 for a CD-ROM on which they can store the PDFs. They can print as needed. And they could even charge the "damn foreigners" $0.05 per page for the copies.

But we all know this is not about money or English-pride. It's about Us versus Them. "Not Like Us" need to be kept down.

Update This ad continues to bother me. Another take could be this: "This is Alabama. We speak English. If you want to live here, learn it." Meaning: "Jesus Christ is not welcome here. If Christ is risen and comes again, don't come to Alabama."

Another Update: Now he's saying the English-only stance is for public safety, because answering a written question about minimum sight distance in a candidate's primary language doesn't gauge their understanding of the rule? The Senator's argument is that people who take non-English written tests can't read road signs in English. Ignoring that (1) the test requires understanding of all signs, which are in fact printed in English (not translated); and (2) the manual they are being tested on is only available in English in the first place.

Of course, now he's arguing "public safety." But in the ad he's being criticized for, he says it's for saving money.

It has only been a day and he's already changing his answers, and his tests are in English.

Domestic Transformer

Via JoeMyGod: The seven room, 330 square foot studio apartment. Hong Kong architecture student redesigned his family's tiny apartment into a luxury and environmentally-friendly pad.



I wonder how cost-prohibitive the installation would be?

architectural manscape artist

When manscaping goes too far. Joey Lawrence now looks like boy out of drag.

What happened to Joey Lawrence?

No, my beard is on my face. That's just Shilpa.

Matt MCinerney is an talented (and young) graphic designer. He recently did a little research and designed a graphic representation of the trustworthiness of certain forms of facial hair. It's awesome, and was duly noted by local Laughing Squid and the L.A. Times.

Nice. (<- click to view the big jpg)



By the way, you can totally trust me. My beard is my badge.

Allow me to introduce myself

My card...

Is "Wicked" melting?

It looks like Wicked's open-ended run at the Orpheum is no longer open-ended. The cast has been wonderfully supportive of the SF community and local charities. They performed with many of my cabaret friends at various fundraisers and happily carouse out and about the town. It's been nice having their talent pop up around the City for surprise and sometimes spontaneous performances.

Show run is scheduled to end September 5, 2010.

See also the Chronicle/SF Gate.

Castro Danger Zone

Word in this morning from PeeDee that our friend Scott was mugged on his way home last night. Scott and Paul left Badlands around 10:30, in the center of the Castro business/social district. Paul took the bus home from the stop in front of the bar, and Scott walked, as usual, the two and a half blocks down 18th street to his house on Sanchez. It is a bright and busy street, and yet Scott was mugged on the way home. The predators are getting brazen. Be careful guys.

Update: PeeDee reports another friends of his was mugged on Castro Street last night. He is "talking to the police and headed to the doctor," so I assume there was an attack of some sort.

I contacted the SF Appeal (whom I refer to as "the Local News Source with Actual News") and while they monitor the SFPD reports, they had not heard of more than one attack last night. They are tracking this though and see a definite rise in muggings and crime on the gay community, particularly in the Castro. There are also reports of muggings happening to guys leaving gay bars with "a new acquaintance," and this new friend may either rob the guy or be an accomplice for the attack. So for Heaven's sake be careful.

AND if you have any information about muggins in the Castro or potentially gay-targeted crime, please contact the Editor of the SF Appeal at editor@sfappeal.com. They are trying to get a handle on this new spate of gay attacks.

Update: Word from PeeDee that the SFPD caught the guy who mugged Scott. And he's crazy.

my kind of bears

know how to party.

sanctity

Liz Taylor is planning her ninth wedding. Larry King is planning his ninth divorce.

And the sanctity of marriage needs to be protected from the gays?

I'm officially calling bullshit.

Product Placement

We returned to Brain Farts trivia on Monday (with Wilson FTW in the Lightning Round on hair bands) and were happy to spend some QT with Terrance again. His husband is back working full time, but with odd hours, so Terrance has to have all the three kids up and dressed and packed and off to school before he goes to work, and get them in the afternoon. And, you know, work all day too.

They had some family time this weekend at Fisherman's Wharf, and T almost lost it at the entrance to the Wax Museum. They have changed their rotating display at the entrance. The Wax Museum tends to alter their figures out front based on recent events or fads.

On a rotating dais at the Wax Museum at Fisherman's Wharf this week (revealed one at a time):

(1) Ricky Martin, now draped in a rainbow flag
(2) Michael Jackson
(3) The Pope

O. M. F. G.

Now that is just loaded with commentary.

My take away conversation:

(1) Is openly gay, is a father, and doesn't abuse them.
(2) Is asexual, is a father, and is known for molesting children.
(3) Is reportedly homo, is called The Father, has spent a lifetime protecting a global network of child molesters, all the while blaming the gays.

Ricky is the only one without any 'splaining to do.

Out with ACT: Vigil

Before this production's Out with ACT night, the ever charming and newly hirsute Rob Forni and his partner David Sutherland invited Kevin and me to join them for dinner at Canteen.


The prix fixe menu is marvelous. From the fresh, savory rolls to the finishing touches, the meal was exquisite, and a bargain at $39. Of course, the wine list is equally superb and easily tripled the cost of the meal.

Canteen is tiny but bright, and intimate without being too terribly close. There are maybe four booths and limited counter seating. Try to get a reservation if you can. The service and knowledgeable attentiveness are also to be complimented.

This month's ACT performance is the traveling Vigil, starring Marco Barricelli and Olympia Dukakis. It's basically a one-man show as Olympia has only three lines or so. It is often described as "wickedly dark," or "darkly funny." It is funny, but there are several timing and delivery issues which still need to be worked out. It is clever and entertaining but I could not help wishing it were more so. And a talent such as Ms. Dukakis' is wasted on a not so subtle silent role. Overall I give it an "I liked it." But no raves. And neither actor graced the reception.

Of course, that never stops us from our own command performances.

new iPhone 4ME

I have been holding out for the next gen iPhone expected to debut this June or July. And I am praying it works on carriers other than AT&T as they continue their record of corporate and coverage suckage in the Bay Area. For months, specs on the anticipated new iPhones have been all rumor. Even the idea that there will be an all-new iPhone come CES has been rumor.

Until somebody found a prototype apparently left behind in a Redwood City bar (SF Bay Peninsula area, near Apple Central). Holy shit someone is in trouble.

I remember I had a date one night who had a few too many and thought he had lost his work iPhone. He works for Apple, and he went completely fetal in freaking out that he may have dropped a proprietary iPhone someplace (it turns out he had is personal iPhone and did in face leave the work iPhone at home, even though he usually carries both). If this were China, the Apple production security forces would have arranged his death by now. If all this is true, the person who accidentally left an iPhone 4 prototype in a local bar is in some serious trouble. Else this is an incredible prank or publicity stunt. I wonder if time will tell.

Until then, here's Gizmodo's exclusive breakdown of the "new" iPhone. Cool.

Update: Here's the scoop on Apple asking for it back. And the beer-loving engineer who lost it.

now I've heard it all

Shilpa ordered some amazing saris from India for a couple of upcoming weddings. They were handmade to order in a small village, probably hand-delivered on foot or bicycle to the nearest town, then driven to the nearest local delivery company, and ultimately to a city large enough to have an UPS office for shipment overseas to SF. And now, having made it that far, they may not get here in time. "My saris from India are being held up by the volcano in Iceland."

What sort of crazy-ass world do we live in that that is a completely reasonable and comprehensible sentence?

cough

Grr. It's been a banner weekend for fun stuff, but I stayed home with a cold this weekend. Shouts to my friends at the Florida/Ft. Lauderdale Gay Rodeo and the American Country Music Awards in Vegas. If I weren't sick with the nasty cold, the envy would have laid me out anyway.

news report on allowing gays to prom issue

Best coverage yet, and with a cameo by Nashville's own Demetria Kalodimos (and Buffy too!). Some awesome lines in this one.

more than a box, less than a box

I love smart packaging. And the cost, energy, and material savings from Puma and FuseProject's reinventing something as simple as the shoebox is astounding.

Via Gizmodo:

After spending 21 months studying box fabrication and shipping, Fuseproject realized that any improvement to that already lean system would merely be incremental. So instead, the "clever little bag" combines the two packaging components of any shoe sale—the bag and the box—with high-tech ingenuity.

The bag tightly wraps an interior cardboard scaffolding—giving it shape and reducing cardboard use by 65%. Moreover, without that shiny box exterior, there's no laminated cardboard (which interferes with recycling). There's no tissue paper inside. And there's no throw-away plastic bag. The bag itself is made of recycled PET, and it's non-woven—woven fibers increase density and materials use—and stitched with heat, so that it's less manufacturing intensive.

The impact: Puma estimates that the bag will slash water, energy, and fuel consumption during manufacturing alone by 60%—in one year, that comes to a savings of 8,500 tons of paper, 20 million mega joules of electricity, 264,000 gallons of fuel, and 264 gallons of water. Ditching the plastic bags will save 275 tones of plastic, and the lighter shipping weight will save another 132,000 gallons of diesel.

The new packages are expect to start appearing next year.

slash non-fiction

Amen.

I hear this all the time on TV and at work, and I cringe every time. The slash in URLs, I'm sorry, "web addresses," is a forward slash, or in other words: just plain "slash." The "backslash" came into use for computer programming, and is still only used for Windows/DOS directory or code nonsense. Saying "backslash" doesn't make one sound more technically astute, rather quite the opposite.

xkcd

all mashed UP!

Okay, typically I am not a star fcker. Growing up in Nashville you're around celebrity all the time, and frankly bothering celebs is just bad manners (I hear this is one of the things Nicole Kidman was surprised by and really likes about Nashville). Amy Grant was in my brother's class at school and used to babysit my friends (saw her at Christmas). Radney Foster was a babysitter too. Reece Witherspoon was a few years behind me in high school. Garth Brooks was always at the next table at the Pancake Pantry. Al Gore lived two doors down growing up. My Dad used to work with Shelby Singleton and the Elvis-producing bunch, and was sitting with Dolly Parton when JFK was shot. You might pick and grin and sing along at Christmas with music celebrities, but you don't bother them when they are out buying a quart of milk. (but if you are friends you do speak.)

That being said, I was a total fanboy mess when I got to hang out with DR Earworm at last month's Cockfight! party. I've been a huge fan of his spinning and his mashups for years, and I think it's amazing cool how much fame and notoriety he's gained over this year's "annual" mashup.


Each year he mixes the top 25 pop hits of the year together into one piece. This year, he crafted something entirely new and it is just made of the awesome. Now h'es getting radio play, online sales and downloads, and TV guest spots.

It was exciting to drink and talk with him for a while until his set began, and I got to pick his brain about how he approaches mashups, the process behind this years United State of Pop 2009, music editing apps, switching from PC to Mac, and all sorts of shit.

>

And thanks to friend and fabulous photographer Georg Lester for the great pic!

ill fitting labels

So many bands with amazing sounds don't make it commercially for the ironic reason that their music is different. Never mind how good it is, if it doesn't fit neatly into a category label, it's hard to sell or get on the mass market.

I hear the whine "Well, what kind of music is it?" I can only recall the response my friend Susannah Brown used to give when asked "What kind of music do you like?"

She'd respond, "I like good music."

Amen.

I found myself trying to describe 77 El Deora, which is country, but it is certainly NOT radio country, nor dance country, nor Classic Country, or rockabilly, nor alt.country nor urban country, not really. Maurice calls them "Oblique Americana," which is a good term if not terribly descriptive.

I just found myself typing them out as "classic-urban-honky-tonk-a-billy."

Also known as "good fer drinkin', dancin', cryin' and laughin'."

like rabbits

or rather, bunnies. Easter seemed more a diluvian event this year and instead of the Easter Bunny we expected to see animals lining up two by two. The Sisters hosted their annual festivities indoors at the Eureka Valley Community Center, which I hear was fun but crowded.

My friend Todd hosted a Bonnet Brunch part at his place, but with all the hub and bub I've been dealing with of late I decided not to spend the bulk of Lent working on a theme hat and just put something together that was pretty and only slightly over the top. He was also kind enough to let me bring in some strays.

I ran into fellow Davidson alum Duncan at the Nasty fundraiser at the Powerhouse the Friday night before. He had brought along a trio of southern boys he had met earlier at 440. In true southern fashion, we started talking and sharing. It turns out they all are visiting from Nashville (not all actually from Nashville, but live there now), so I naturally turned into "host mode." They had planned to spend Saturday touring wine country and I offered to send them a list of what was fun for Saturday night and Easter Sunday. He sent me a text/e-mail on Saturday and I gave them the rundown.

And ran the Southern Check. There is enough social in the South that everyone is less than six-degrees separated, and much, much less in the gay world. It took me exactly one call to get the 411 on these guys. granted, that call was to Keith, who knows (or of) every gay person throughout Middle Tennessee and parts of Kentucky. Between the two of us, we've got the network covered.

Not only had Keith heard of Wayne, Wayne is the long-time ex of Keith's current partner.

Small. World.

Wayne and Chris and a friend in tow, a six-foot slab or pretty pretty muscled man flesh named Bryan. Bryan had recently moved in with Wayne and Chris "in the city", because he just moved out of his home with his family in Mount Juliet. And by "family," I don't mean his parents. No, in true southern fashion, men are forced by family and Jesus to conform and marry and procreate and then deal with the fact that they are raging homosexuals. In the scheme of things Bryan's been gay for about five minutes (an honestly it was reported at something like six weeks to six months). He's still very new and kept making comments about "the gay world" and how things are done there/here. That struck me rather profoundly as it is so Southern, or perhaps just Small Town for there to be a gay world with rules of behavior (i.e. bitchy comments, loose wrists, loose morals, and lots of working out) and a straight world and straight rules (church on Sundays, voting Republican). Out here on the west coast, it more of just "the world" with gay people in it and straight people in it and I'll meet you at the bar after church.

When I forced his top button open on the tight polo shirt over his broad, broad chest, he asked "Oh, is this how it's done in the gay world? Is this gay now?" I answered without thinking and said, "It's not so much 'gay' as it is "no longer '1954.'"

Todd's company trends largely to the largely muscled and the fresh meat was eagerly welcomed as such. And with enough other former southerners, including Nashvillians, in the mix, no one was wanting for company.

We were wanting for bonnets though. This was billed as a bonnets' required brunch and I thought I might have to outfit my guests before arriving. As it turns out, there were only a half dozen bonnets among the 40 or so guests. Pretty bonnets to be sure, but hardly the Beach Blanket Babylon constructions I am accustomed to at Dolores Park.

I did take pleasure in inspiring the host to create something special and thematic this year, and I have to say I was impressed by the title of his chapeau:



Phallus in Wonderland.

Nice.

And oddly appropriate for the festival of Eostre.

77 Saturday

The Telecaster Summit last week at Café du Nord was awesome, and cemented in my mind that bass players are just hot stuff, Telecaster masters notwithstanding.

This Saturday there's another great show with both Dave Gleason (with the Golden Cadillacs) and 77 El Deora on the bill at the Starry Plough in Berkeley. Show starts at 9:00ish. I'd link to their website, but it appears they haven't paid their web hosting bill this month. Here's a map.

charm alarm

I was immensely flattered several times last night by cowboys telling me I was the most charming southerner they'd ever met. And for the most part, yes, I'm all about the good manners.

One accused me of having a pitcher of sweet tea always chilled just in case a visitor came calling. Another quoted one of my earlier comments back to me.

True, thanks to fraternity brother and South Carolinian Sean Scoop I am now addicted to the Seagram's Sweet Tea Vodka (tasTEE!). And last week I did through off one of my views on dating (first dates or otherwise): "Shaving your balls is just good manners."

Now they think I need to make t-shirts or new calling cards:

Wilson Hardcastle
Sweet Tea & Shaved Balls
Just Good Manners

I'm thinking not. At least not yet.

True love

Three and a half minutes at a time.

mini vacay

We've been on furloughs this year and so I maxed out my vacation time. I was told we could accrue over the maximum this year because of the furlough time we are forced to take, but it turns out that policy doesn't apply to my position and I have been losing vacation time all year. So I have had to take four days in the last couple of weeks in a "use it or lose it" situation.

Which has been surprisingly really nice. Time off being nice should not have been a surprise to me, but I have a hard time sitting still (unless I am reading or writing, and even then). These four-day weekend mini-vacations have been great. Although I did promise myself I would treat it like spring break and spend the time at the beach and lounging about reading, I have rather treated them like catch-up days, performing spring cleaning, running errands, doing laundry and the like.

Still, nice.

Especially the opportunity to sleep. I have terrible apnea and never sleep well and when I get the chance to sleep late or a lot, I love it. I used to say I loved sleep so much that I planned to spend my next vacation in a coma. Of course, my loving sleep seems to be a morning thing. I am like my mother and grandmother and am a total night owl.

Yesterday I was remarkably productive, albeit domestically, and was rewarded by a lovely three-hour walk around Golden Gate Park with my buried-in-graduate-work friend Guy and his super awesome dog/roommate Quin.

.

.

SUCH a nice day! And so much better than working.

Come to think of it, I spent my last mini-vacation day with Guy and Quinn too, which is odd because Guy is so busy with school I pretty much hadn't spent any quality time with him in about a year. He remarked yesterday that he's seen more of me in the past two weeks than all of last semester.

Last time we were just going to make a run to Bloodbath & Beyond together just so we could share some time and catch up. We each had a laundry list of items but left with nothing we went there for. Knowing we were taking Quinn for a run/walk, I made some of the best impulse purchases of my life. For less than $8 I got a small kite and a "bubble sword."

.

.

We had a BLAST at Crissy Field and on the beach, and spent most of the afternoon as the "coolest new friends ever" to three little kids- aged 9, 7 and 2. The mother was charming and engaging and we all had a wonderful time. It was the kids though, fearless, who first engaged. "Can I try your kite?" And when I pulled out the enormous bubble sword later, the little girl said something like "Bubbles?! Cool! I didn't know grown-ups did that!"

The mother was more to the point: "You have a kite, bubbles, and a dog. Y'all are the coolest guys at the beach." Got to love the gays.

XYZ, PDQ

The zip line above Justin Herman Plaza at the Embarcadero (just outside my old office window!) opened yesterday. Friend Judson waited in line for a while this morning and got a wristband for a trip this afternoon. He's been posting iPhone photos to Facebook and it looks really cool. I'm wondering if I should have spent the entire vacation day waiting for a turn, but my acrophobia may have gotten the better of me. I did love the zip line at falling Creek Camp, even though it also scared the bejezus out of me. At least this one has a harness if you fall. Concrete is so much less forgiving than a calm lake.

It's open through the 18th.

line I should use in a book someday

The final completion was a huge relief. It was like a weight had been lifted, but it was also felt immensely satisfying—it was like that feeling after an enormous weekend afternoon dump when you go through half the Sunday paper and down a waist size.

The pressure was off, and it felt good.

Little did he know that a bran muffin of a new challenge was just around the corner.

April Showers

Storms I hope to make on the weekend front:

Friday—
• Bevan for Mayor Community Discussion and awesome show hosted by Maximus Barnaby, Boylesque & Medium Reality Studios at 916 Natoma Street @ 10th. 6:30-8:30.

• Gay Rodeo Royalty Competition 7:30-9:30 at Marlena's

And why not follow up a little community involvement with a little light bondage?

• It's Bondage Night April at Chaps with Friend of the Blog Jorge Vieto of the Stop AIDS Project on "hand" to teach you safe play and tying techniques. Chaps at 1225 Folsom, with the Stop AIDS/Bondage program running from 9:30 to 11:15.

Saturday—
• Golden State Gay Rodeo Association, Bay Area Chapter Shopping Night. Get on the bus at 5:00 at Marlea's and stop at Club 1120 in Walnut Creek before a night of private shopping at the Winner's Circle in Antioch. (Antioch? I know. But the $10 bus ride comes with dinner, booze, and frisky cowboys.) The Winner's Circle is also generously giving 20% off everything, including tack. Rumor is there is also an open bar in store. Back in the City by 10:00 pm.

• Sundance Saloon fundraiser at Chaps Bar in SoMa. Leather scene meets cowboy scene with raffle tickets, prizes, and manly man drinks and manly men. Cowboy frakkin' UP. 10:00 pm to Midnight/12:30.

• Lick It! Another fundraiser (for the AEF) at the Powerhouse. 10:00 pm to 2:00 am.

• Get your wholesome dance on with Mall Madness at the Underground SF in the Lower Haight. Friend of the Blog Cute DJ from Q will be playing glamor pop and there will be performances from Friend of the Blog Sanda O. Noshi-Di'n't, as well as Oxana Olsen and Nurd Alrt. 10:00-2:00, $5.

Spring has sprung.

math + class

I think this teacher is awesome. And while I learned a lot from the intimidating and authoritarian Dr. Kautzman, I may have learned more with humor...

march meds

So, March Madness is finally over, but I doubt it will give way to April Sanity.

And Duke is on top. Again. Ugh. Insufferable.

Fellow Davidson Alum Christy (Vacca) Wright said it best in her FB update: "Dear Duke Fans, Silence is golden but duck tape is silver."

And by the way, Oh snap: "Stanford vs. Duke basketball: The difference in admissions standards"

witness to the erection

Sorry, resurrection.

Hola Jesus. Can I make you rise again?

Easter weekend is here with its bevy of springtime activities. Unfortunately, the forecast is for rain and that does not bode well for the annual fun time in Dolores Park. I accepted invitation to two indoor parties close enough in space and far enough in time away from each other that I can do both and drop in at the park should the sun choose to emerge from its cave too.

Of all the invitations and events out there, here are the ones I recommend and will be attending this weekend:

Friday Night (tonight)
• Miss Triple Crown, an AIDS Life Cycle benefit at, of course, the Triple Crown. I'll be dropping in just for a short while to make my next event.

From the Facebook event: Aids Lifecycle team, Team Patch is excited to host this drag pageant at The Triple Crown. The pageant will take place on Friday, April 2nd from 7:00pm to 10:00 pm. The Triple Crown is located at 1760 Market Street in San Francisco. 21 & over. $10 cover charge.

This all star event will be hosted by the fabulous Mercedez Munro. Special co-hosts will include Holotta Tymes, Pollo Del Mar and LaMonistat. Contestants will be judged by Sister Roma, Suppositori Spelling, Lady Tia, Ginger Snap and John Weber. There will also be special performances by Bebe Sweetbriar, Paju Munro and Miss Rahni.

Special guest perfomer - Shangela from Season 2 of RuPaul's Drag Race. Special guest - Cassandra Cass, star of Harry Denton's Star Light Room and an upcoming Reality TV show. The contestants will be vying for the crown and cash prize of $500. There will also be a Miss Congeniality who will be decided by the audience. All proceeds will go to Aids Lifecycle.

• The First California Telecaster Summit
Yee HAW I have been looking forward to this show! Show includes appearances by my faves 77 El Deora with emcee Mississippi Mike Wolf:

California Telecaster Summit at Cafe DuNord features four top guitar player-driven bands from Northern and Southern California, all disciples of the twangy tone that Leo built: Jesse Jay Harris (of Rancho Deluxe -Los Angeles)77 El Deora (Maurice Tani -San Francisco)East Bay Grease (Michael Montalto of Red Meat -Oakland) Merle Jagger (Mark Christian -Los Angeles) Read all about it.

• And closing the night down with Nasty, the filthy fundraiser for the AIDS Emergency Fund hosted by Suzan Revah at the Powerhouse.

Saturday Night
After spending all day making your bonnet for Sunday drop by the
• Buckin' Country Tea Dance at the Triple Crown (across from Martuni's). A rodeo drink/dance/fundraising event from 6:00 pm to 10:00 pm. $10 for non-rodeo members.
• Bearracuda at Deco Lounge, 9:00 pm to 3:00 am. $5 before 10:00 pm, $7 after.

Now if only this rain would stop...

Good Friday

Show me on the crucifix where the priest touched you.

Favorite Easter card yet:

you cannot resist these cupcakes

Because when it comes to these cupcakes, resistance is futile.

now who's the April fool?

Shilpa came in this morning and announced that she was moving back in with her parents, an hour away in Noweheresville, full time.

I asked if I could have her apartment.

Hey, it's a big one bedroom in a good neighborhood for only $900/month.

Busted Flush

From Alert Reader James Hass: Oliver Stone plans to take on John D. MacDonald's Travis McGee for a series of movies (via Ain't It Cool News).

My brother Mac loved the Travis McGee books, and later we would listen to many of them on tape as a family for the long drive from Nashville to Sanibel at Spring Break. I loved these books too, and particularly grew to be a big fan of Robert McGinnis, who painted the covers and many other dramatic and femme fatale frames.

But Leonardo DiCaprio as the big, handsome, physical and casually sultry super sexy Travis McGee? I don't think so. Please God no. Travis McGee is a man. Even a man's man. Think Jeffrey Donovan as Michael Weston in Burn Notice.

Chevy Chase saved the physical miscasting of Fletch by being perfectly spot-on damn Fletch funny.

Leonardo DiCaprio is far, far too much a pretty boy to play the ruggedly handsome, "woo all the girls and fight all the guys" beach bum detective. "Boyish," Travis McGee is not. We need someone with a strong phyisicality and distractingly strong masculinity in this role.

With his shirt off.

HDM Oh My!

In case you didn't clue in, expensive HDMI cables are a racket. It's a digital signal, and the $4 cable will work just as well as that $250 Monster/BestBuy is trying to sell you.

Gizmodo wrote a trilogy about the myth of Monster/HDMI cables in 2007. Now here's a handy visual one-sheet to explain it.

don't worry too much about your privacy

no one really cares about your information anyway.

fruity

I had to take two vacation days before the end of the month or lose them. I returned this morning to find that Shilpa found an enormously over-sized grapefruit, drew a face on it, and the hallway named it Wilson Dunlop.

As if the Summer of Cast Away wasn't bad enough.

SF Sanibel

I don't care that it is raining. It's my last day of vacation and the first day I've treated as such and if I'm sitting down with an enormous latte and an enormous book I'm going to be doing so in the garden.

Sundance Saloon

I think the world would be a better place if everyone danced, and had the chance to fall in love over and over for three and a half minutes at a time.

a good run of bad luck

I don't know what is UP. Either the planets are aligned against me or someone has set some serious voodoo on my mojo. I have had such horrendous luck this past week everything I've touched has turned to fiasco. I think I should lay low until the full moon passes.

Ten Commandments (Peep Style)

Ten Commandments (Peep Style)
Originally uploaded by Bsivad

From Bsivad on Flickr:

So, the Washington Post has a contest where you are supposed to illustrate a moment in history or fiction by building a shoebox diorama, using marshmallow Peeps. This is my entry.

Here, we see Moses coming down the mountain with the Ten Commandments, only to find that the Israelites have gotten bored and are worshipping an idol. There's lots of emotion in this scene, which is difficult to convey because the acting range of Peeps is pretty small.

Via Presbyterian Minister and Davidson '93 Alumna Katherine Cooke.

poster child!

Woo hoo!



Photos by Troy Dean, poster by Ingu Yun.

I can make your shamROCK!

Photos from last week's Saint Patrick's Day super happy fun time.

They are always after my lucky charms.

.

  .

.

.


Magically delicious.

Flickr set.

and they're doing it under cabbage leaves

Someone referred me to the "Never Seen Lost" blog of this season's, the final season, episode recaps. As someone who lost interest in Lost years ago, and was to be honest just faking it to begin with, these context-free recaps are HI-larious. And his sharpie-drawn illustrations are of the awesome.

He starts out with a spoiler disclaimer: "SPOILER ALERT! I am going to reference a bunch of junk that happens in the episode. So if you are waiting to see it, don’t get mad at me if you read this anyway and I ruin your surprise. I also plead innocent to inadvertently ruining any other surprises in this blog. Like the ending to 'The Usual Suspects' or how babies are made (stork)."

While the recaps are great, I keep coming back to the "where babies come from" disillusionment, because it comes with this great illustration:
The caption reads: "The Stork is making babies while dad watches the news in the other room."

I never considered it that way. "Yeah, babies come from the stork. Because he's doing your mom."

health insurance reform

I'm excited health insurance reform finally passed. I have been trying to keep up with the facts and get increasing frustrated with ignorance/Fox News-based opposition. A friend just posted that he doesn't know enough about the Health Care Reform bill to have an opinion. If more people with less knowledge were that reasonable we'd be in a better place. Unfortunately, ignorance often comes with its own loudspeaker.

So let me bottom-line the Health Care Reform bill for you: Everyone gets a lollipop.

reality reality

I recall a Jon Stewart/Daily Show moment when he mocked a juror for referring to his real life experience as it it were a reality show—so it has come to this, Americans think that "reality" is like "a reality show." OMFG. (Or rather, OMFS for the Santa-inclined.)

This just popped to mind because the Shilpa hosts a cooking class which generally results in tasty lunch leftovers for me. However this week's students were a little less than skilled, resulting in not only flesh burns but some "bad biryani." And I think that would make an excellent title for a bad TV show: Bad Biryani. Maybe it's about a street-tough, amateur, curried crime-fighter. Shilpa suggested Breaking Bad Biryani, but that sounds less fun to watch.

G.I. Dough

The effects/CGI-laden G.I. Joe movie on Blu-Ray + Enormous HD screen.

Beautiful to look at. Painful to watch.

going ga ga

On the street this weekend:

"Paul has started calling these [indicates breasts] my 'Lady Ta Ta's'"
"As in 'I'm going to shove my bad romance between her lady ta ta's and poker face?'"
"Exactly."

aaaaand it's Friday.

Oh my Santa. Sharon, from the department across the hall, is doing a spot on impression of Ethel Merman doing an impression of Lady GaGa.

Better than tequila shots.

Raa Raah Laa Da Da Daaa...

Fatty, Fatty 2x4 on 3.23

I don't know why, but next Tuesday San Francisco is trying to make you fat.

March 23rd is free pastry day at Starbucks and free cone day at Ben & Jerry's. What else?

why do you keep saying it like that?

On the TV show Family Guy, I love how they have made the way Stewie says "Cool Whip": into a thing. He over-aspirates the "H." I love all things geek, and other than occasional romps with James and Shilpa, I sort of wallow in my geekness here by myself—you know, because I have surrounded myself with this reputation of super coolness.

I loved all the Trek stuff, and love the show Big Bang Theory, so imagine my giddiness at the multiple cross overs—the cast of TNG visited Family Guy for an episode, and they ran with the aspirated H gag in Stewie's pronunciation of Wil WHeaton, and Wil Wheaton is coming back for another appearance on Big Bang Theory, again as "Evil Wil Wheaton." This promises much laughter.

I had forgotten how much I love Wheaton's writing until James lent me his copy of Wheaton's Memories of the Future last week and I have been totally LOL'ing at it.

Wheaton's blog is made of the geeky awesome and I can't believe I let it drop off my blogroll. Check it out.

My inner super geek has to report this from Wheaton's blog, a bit of awesome from the folks over at one of my favorite online stores for fun gifts: ThinkGeek. (I always thought of ThinkGeek as my own little private stash—but of course it would be popular with the likes of WW and the characters on BBT (Raj was wearing their front-page item last week, the personal sound effect/speaker t-shirt.)

Here some staffers at ThinkGeek, covering the Who's "Baba O'Rilley" using only items you can buy on ThinkGeek as instruments. Look for the functioning Air Guitar t-shirt, which I had seen online but never wanted, until now.



According to the YouTube notes, they only used the Bliptronic 5000, Guitar Shirt, Drumkit Shirt, Stylophone, and Otamatone Electronic Instrument to make this song.

And any geek has got to love the band's name: L. Hadron and the Colliders.

bad month for book learnin'

I waited a while before commenting to allow myself to calm down a bit, but I still seethe whenever I consider the insidious actions of the Texas School Board. If they can't keep the state from forcing book learnin' on its children, they are going to make sure these books don't include actual history or any ideas counter to their own ignorance and conservative dogma. I have no patience for anyone's argument when their go-to comparison is the Nazis/Hitler; however, those of use who have read non-redacted history books are seeing some frightening similarities to policies of The Party in Germany circa 1938. If these "school" board members have proven anything, it is that the Christian Right is neither.

And that they use the word "education" ironically.

The handsome and talented Gate columnist Mark Morford rants pretty nicely on this.

Hot on the heels of the news that Texas will be providing only Books of Lies (I'm including lies of omission) to its students, comes word that Charlotte-Mecklenburg County (North Carolina) will be closing half of its branch libraries.

Because what rural NC really needs to help itself rise up is fewer books and less opportunity for community education and support.

el curryito

Shilpa is all in a lather that India is getting a Taco Bell. Now I do rely on Shilpa as my arbiter of both "good" Indian food and "food items that taste like they are made from molten lava," but we both have a weakness for Taco Bell as our comfort fast food of choice.

Shilpa masala'd herself over the India/Taco Bell news.

I do agree with her that putting a McDonald's in India, where they do not eat beef, was a ludicrous idea. I was mocking her spicy enthusiasm while she read aloud from the proposed menu, until she got to the words "potato paneer burrito" and I jumped right on that bandwagon. Or rickshaw. Or whatever it is that will take me to there.

Wilson: "Why can't we get an Indian Taco Bell here?"
Shilpa: "We have one. It's called Kasa."

See also.


Update: Shilpa is now gloating that Britain does not yet have a Taco Bell.

I don't know what to do with that so I'm giving it to you.

smoke and hot air

not to pop your balloon or anything, but this is pretty cool.

Grayson

for President. LOVE him.

looking good

I had a photo shoot Saturday morning with Troy to be the next poster boy for Sundance Saloon. It was a real treat and I have never felt so good about how I looked as in front of Troy's lens. If you need some headshots, some family shots, photos for your profile, or any professional photography needs please check out Troy Dean Photography. For City folk, his studio space is conveniently located on Noe Street between Duboce Park and Market Street.

By the way, I've seen a lot of his work and I don't think his website does his talents justice. Also, he's not nearly as stern looking as his self portrait. Troy's eyes and smile can disarm you faster than a taser.

Den of Thieves

Kevin and I have enjoyed being (Out with) ACT subscribers for several years now. It used to be for the theatrical and homo fun time, but with both of our schedules theses days we have appreciated the season tickets more for forcing quality time together onto our calendars.

Kevin is a subscriber to another house with his/our friend Kelly. Kelly couldn't make it last week so I was his plus-one to the SF Playhouse's preview of Den of Thieves.

I am going to have to become a subscriber to the SF Playhouse too. I hate to say this, but it sort of blows ACT out of the water. I've been reporting over and over that ACT shows tend to be hit or miss—if is a traveling show or something being worked for off/Broadway, it's amazing. If the fare is up to the house artistic director, it's painful, bordering on God awful. Terrible. Wretched. Punishment. What have I, what have I, what have I done to deserve this.

The SF Playhouse is a MUCH smaller house and is basically community theater. Kevin has taken acting lessons here before and I saw recital or two in the lower theater. This theater space is tiny, not black box tiny but small for a full theatrical production. The effect is not cramped or unprofessional, rather intensely intimate with the actors and the action. And the acting quality I witnessed at the Den of Thieves preview was superb. It was still in previews and there were a few slow fits and comedic timing issues that could use some improvement, but overall the acting was stellar, the story engaging, and the sets and blocking impressive for such a small stage. Also of note is that the roles are expertly cast, with each actor fulfilling both the character and the physicality of their roles.

The Den of Thieves plays at the SF Playhouse though April 17 and is highly recommended for a dramatic yet cost-effective night out on the town. The SF Playhouse is on Mason street just above Union Square, between Sutter and Post. Nighttime parking is cheap at the Sutter/Stockton garage a block away, and it's an easy walk uphill from the Powell Street Station. The Playhouse sells sodas, snacks, beer and wine, which can be taken to your seat to be consumed, quietly of course, during the performance.

also last weekend

via Laughing Squid, a nice little video of the SF Urban Iditarod, which was back this year after SFPD determined it was a victim of its own success. Pah!

Urban Iditarod 2010 from Maubrowncow on Vimeo.

art history

the 70 Million video by Hold Your Horses.
Bee-Yoo-Tee -Ful.

70 Million by Hold Your Horses ! from L'Ogre on Vimeo.

and a brisk mourning in Nashville

I just learned that two wonderful Nashville luminaries have died. Master of commerce Big Jimmy Bradford (J. C. Bradford, Jr.) and the vivacious and inspirational Nancy Saturn, founder of the American Artisan and the American Artisan Festival. I grew up with the children of both of them and knew them well. It is so harsh to hear that Nancy finally succumbed to her battle with cancer, and I feel so much for her daughter Samantha who lost her father also far too soon. Love to you all.

From The Nashville Post: James C. Bradford Jr., whose family name symbolized Nashville's bygone era as the "Wall Street of the South," died of cancer this afternoon at his home. He was 76.

From The Tennessean: Nancy Saturn, a longtime key figure in Nashville's art community who founded American Artisan arts and crafts gallery and the annual American Artisan Festival in Centennial Park, died Tuesday from metastatic breast cancer. She was 67. Mrs. Saturn operated American Artisan for 38 years before closing the gallery on Harding Pike last year to focus on taking care of her ill husband and her own cancer. During that time she transformed what began as a small folk art shop into one of the top arts and crafts galleries in the country.

See also this post on Gilda's Gang.