The American Conservatory Theater: You don't want an exit

Much less need one.

ACT's recent run of The Virtual Stage and the Electric Company Theater's production of No Exit was a brilliant re-imagining and carefully constructed performance that managed to turn existential into exciting.  While I am inclined to write a full and thoughtful review, the show has closed and the SF press has covered the technical and creative aspects of the show to some extent already.  And of course, they were all raves.  I learned that the Electric Company was also behind last year's tour de force which was the re-envisioning of Noel Coward's Brief Encounter.  Still, years later, I think about how great that show was.

Now I have never met her but I have a patron's love/hate relationship with ACT's Creative Director Carey Perloff.  I live in fear that the next show in my run of season tickets will be another completely inaccessible bore of a period piece with endless monologues and soporific scenes.  I adore the core company, and while Rene and Tony are so absurdly talented that they can assume any role as if it were written for them, others in the core seem to be cast in repetitive roles that I fear has less to do with the actor and more with the parts.    (Then again, Big Daddy always seems to be playing Big Daddy regardless of the show he finds himself in, including the spot he did on Law & Order I recently caught in a very old rerun.)

On the other hand, Carey Perfoff is responsible for bringing some of the best shows I have ever seen to the ACT stage.  During the receptions following the performances, audience members talk.  The general opinion is that ACT shows are hit or miss.  The misses are painful, cringe-inducing, and make some people outright angry at how not entertaining these things can be.  But the hits?  Out of the park.  I suppose that's fitting.  And luckily for all of us, the ACT stage of the past two years have seen a lot of great works.

No Exit was absolutely engaging and at times edge-of-your-seat, which is even more remarkable when you consider that it's a WWII-era existential French play about hell and almost all of the acting takes play off-stage. The expanded yet still existential role of the valet is genius, and played to perfection by Jonathan Young.  The intense feelings of being trapped, being watched, and unable to escape the constant companionship of people you don't like is played to its peak by use of cameras and video projections from inside the tiny room that is their eternal cell in the prison of Hotel Hell.

If you are unfamiliar, the point of the story, as oft quoted by my brother and shared by anyone who has ever been trapped in a crowded elevator, at the DMV, in the jury pool, or at the in-laws for Thanksgiving:  enfer, c'est les autres.  Hell is other people.

Heaven was this performance.

You may think that the three main characters were in cramped quarters with each other for their eternal torture and suffering, but the actual intense minuteness of the space was only revealed after the performance when audience members were invited on stage to look into their off-stage acting space of lighting and cameras.  There was barely room to move and I had a hard time imagining what I had just seen on screen being physically performed in such a tiny space.  Lucia Frangione, who plays Estelle, told us after the show that the actors are so close during their performance that they can feel each other's breath upon their faces.

Andy Thompson (Cradeau) and Laara Sadiq (Inez) give brilliant and forceful performances—all three actors are quite impressive and the necessities of the show require them to work exceptionally well together, both in line and blocking as well as emotion.  However I believe that Lucia has the biggest burden as her character seems to change the most during the play, and she also has some serious close-ups on those screens—down to the fine lines of her lipstick and the remarkable absence of lines from her skin.  Lucia has to be a peroxide blond for the all of the runs of this show as the camera is so tight that a wig is simply out of the question.  I'm amazed her follicles are still holding tight.

.

As we do with ACT, we take our performances on the Out with ACT nights, hosted by the superlative Randy Taradash, and we enjoy meeting and greeting the cast and learning more about their shows, performances, careers and the actors' impressions of the City.  And we get to hob and nob with our other theater gays with complimentary booze which is not only a treat but a performance in itself—so much it's almost like a double feature.  So a big thank you too to Absolut for being this season's beverage sponsor.

Special thanks to Lucia Frangione for being exceptionally charming after a clearly exhausting show.  And for always being ready for her close up.


Carey Perfloff has brought to ACT such astounding works as The Overcoat, November and Brief Encounter, and coordinated such remarkable collaborations such as Marcus and The Tosca Project. Next at bat, and sure to be a hit: Armistead Maupin's Tales of the City-A New Musical.

Kevin and I already have tickets to two performances—the opening night gala, and of course Out with ACT night. Out with Tales? Can't wait!

And "the merch," a rarity for ACT, is already in.


Hats off to ACT.

cling film

Apologies for the political post, but I use this blog to vent from time to time.  And there's this thorn lodged in my brain and I need to get it out.

Seriously? Some Republicans and commentators are crediting BUSH for the Osama assassination? Let's see, he ignored the clear memo and plan from the Clinton administration regarding the pending attack, fired the smartest person in the world in anti-terror and the defense of America (Dick Clarke) then ignored the Osama threat to such an extent that a CIA agent demanded a one-on-one to say this was coming to the President's face and he was kicked out with a "now you've covered your ass," then invaded a country that had nothing to do with the attack at all, and then split (read "weakened") the military into two foreign wars that have lasted longer than any in American history and destroyed America's economy in the process. And when W could not get Osama "dead or alive," he ultimately said Osama wasn't much of a threat in the first place. Bush did not "support" our troops, just spread them far and wide and abused the fine print so many could never go home. Now we are recruiting drug dealers, borderline mental patients, and felons along with the future best-of-the-best. Except if that arabic linguist or highly decorated fighter pilot might have a boyfriend then by all means they are not worthy of service.

There is some deep cognitive dissonance at work to give the Bush administration credit for what was an amazing coordination of intelligence and military excellence, and leadership from the White House. This makes me uneasy and fearful of the mental health of presumably intelligent people. Has the propaganda machine successfully made the Republican base's individual self-worth tied inextricably to their belief in whatever they were told but never questioned? Fox "News" is really good at this.

However, almost all other reports reference the difficult leadership decisions made by President Obama, and his personal role in making this a priority and a reality.  Although I personally agree that the lion's share of the credit appropriately goes to the astounding and amazing work of intelligence agencies and the military, their ability to work together, and specifically to some Navy Seals who are so frakking awesome that they a Michael Bay film look like Merchant-Ivory.

I know the Huffington Post leans so far left it looks like one leg is shorter than the other, but they appear diligent regarding their fact-checking and source references (which as a librarian I appreciate) for their original material.

Possibly in response to the GOP's reluctance to give credit where it is actually due, the HuffPo has posted this, which does sum things up rather nicely (meaning "accurate and precise"), if not nicely for those that are unwilling to accept it.

Obama Succeeded Where Bush Failed: Osama Bin Laden Rhetoric And Reality

And regarding that "Mission Accomplished" sign eight years ago? Here's a handy timeline—from 2008 no less— with supporting links, to the many and various things the Bush White House said they really meant when they said Mission: Accomplished. Here's a hint: If someone gives you three different answers to the same question "What did you mean by that?" in as many weeks, they are all made up. And by that I mean lies. To argue otherwise is to clutch desperately, and I have to ask, why do some people need to clutch to W? Even now?

Bush I & II meddled in the Middle East politics and power to the point that terrorism was the locals' only option to fight US intrusive policies (anyone remember those chummy photos of Rumsfeld with Saddam after the US put him in power?), then W ignored the clear and present dangers, fired those that disagreed with him, failed to catch/kill Osama, got us mired into two wars (one of which now was admittedly under false pretenses and worthy of treason if not impeachment), and completely destroyed the American economy in the process. Why cling?

Oh, maybe it has to do with the gay-approving, non-pandering black guy who is smarter than they are. Or maybe it's just a simple case of "I loved Bush therefore he cannot have done wrong."

Yes, and he only hits you because he loves you.

make room

Just kidding. There's always room.

out for blood

Every time this comes up for review by the FDA, fear and prejudice trump demonstrably reliable science, and any gay person is prohibited from donating blood, no matter how healthy or monogamous or drug-free if he has had sex with another man since 1977. Last year's review came down to science versus politics, and politics won. (Adding insult to others' injury, the policy ignores risky behaviors of heterosexuals, so go ahead and share that needle before your Craig's List hookup.)

Canada, it appears, has the same problem, and the Canadian equivalent of the NIH has offered half a million in grant money to study the issue.  The problem?  No takers.

From The Chronicle of Higher Education: Languishing Grant Draws Claims of Academic Bias and Governmental Cowardice

The catch? According to the article: "They suggest this might be a case where government officials are afraid to make a politically sensitive decision and have set up researchers to take the blame."

Just something of note making it's way across the academic lists today. Thought I'd share.

Auntie Em!

By the Tim Man those were some apocalyptic storms which just ravaged Alabama, Mississippi and Tennessee this week.  I've spoken to friend's whose college neighborhoods were wiped away, and others whose family members lost everything.  The emerging YouTube footage from amateur storm chasers and people caught out in the storms are astounding.  And photographs of the devastation show that even hiding in a bathtub as you're told to, people would have been easily crushed or torn away. Aerial photos show wide swaths of utter destruction and acres of parked tractor trailers tossed about like matchsticks.





If you fled to the basement, who would know to dig you out?  I keep thinking about that as my parent's get themselves to the basement with the the weather service emergency radios sound the alarms in the house.  These days with the Parkinsons, it is much more difficult to get dad downstairs, much less quickly.

I have to celebrate my mother though. A couple of years ago I caught news of the tornadoes whipping through Nashville and called to check on them. Mom answered from a cordless phone in the basement, which we use for storage of many things including surplus food and cases of wine. As such they had chairs, flashlights, cups, food and water and an emergency radio already in the basement. Mom's report from the storm cellar, "Well, I grabbed your father and a corkscrew and headed to the basement."

LOVE the Franna. Now that is keeping your calm in a crisis. The two things she would need to weather the storm: her husband and a glass of wine. Can you imagine being tapped in a wine cellar without a corkscrew? Now that would be a tragedy.

From Fox News Chicago (of all places):

The tornado outbreak of April 26-28, 2011 is historic in many ways.

There were 258 tornadoes reported during the three day outbreak , surpassing the nation’s worst tornado outbreak of 148 tornadoes on Palm Sunday weekend in 1974. This also surpasses the 66 tornadoes in the May 3-6, 1999 Oklahoma City outbreak.

The worst destruction took place in Alabama with 75 tornadoes and Mississippi with 78 and the outbreak covered 17 states. There were numerous discrete Super-Cell Storms throughout the three days.

These storms were also Long-Track storms that traveled hundreds of miles in some cases. Many of these storms did produce strong and violent tornadoes ranging from EF-2 to EF-5 on the Enhanced Fujita Scale which correlates wind speed and damage.

Another historical aspect surrounds the single tornado that moved through Tuscaloosa and Birmingham. This was the same storm and same tornado. At times it was reportedly more than a mile wide.

Initial estimates have rated this as a rare EF-5 tornado with wind speeds well over 200 mph and it will possibly go down in history as the most powerful tornado ever recorded. That would surpass the Oklahoma City (Moore) tornado of 1999.

The Tuscaloosa/Birmingham Tornado may have also set a new length of track record with an estimated path on the ground of between 180 and 225 miles.

Read the whole article. Scary.

Eagle Tavern conspiracy of one?

This just in from Anna Conda/Glendon Hyde on the Save the Eagle Facebook page.  (I make no claims to its veracity, but Anna Conda/Glendon Hyde has been extremely diligent and active in the issue and by all accounts has been entirely reliable.)

What If the problem with loosing the Eagle was an inside job?

So this is just a made up story or is it?

You own two bars in SOMA and you are a heavy drinker and poor business person. One bar called the Hole in the Wall is your baby and it just cost you a great deal of money to relocate it in the SOMA neighborhood. You want this bar to continue and can't afford the second bar called the Eagle. You decide to sell the Eagle but during that time there is rampant problems created by this owner like inventory problems, rent not being paid for months and you decide it would be better to sell to a straight owner to cut down on competition for your bar the Hole in the Wall. In fact you have willingly made a deal to sell to the owners of the Skylark bar.

Well what would happen then if some drag queen and a young faerie hold a "Save the Eagle" rally and garner national attention around the closing of this institution and due to public pressure ruin the sale before it goes through?

Well one you would stand in front of these people and say there is no hope of saving the Eagle. You would say in the media there is no five year lease. You probably would not mention that there have been problems in your paying rent and thats why the owner of the land wants you out. You probably would not say that you received an eviction notice or two along the way and ignored them so that when the notice to appear in court around said eviction it comes as a shock to the people who are trying to save the Eagle. You would probably yell at your manager that this is his fault. Finally you would hold the liquor license hostage from potential buyers like say the owner of the Dallas Eagle; who has a great reputation as a community and AIDS activist. You might also go into the Eagle and start removing art work and memorabilia and stop liquor deliveries. Yep if your names were John and Joe and you currently just want out at any cost you would do this.... and to your own community.

While talking to a lawyer for the property owner all this might come out and become knowledge for the community. This lawyer would tell you things like, "Of corse we want a 30 year business to stay in the property that is just good business sense." Or "If it were not for all the problems with the current lease holder the entire process would have been easier," Or even "Keep it the Eagle but we can't get you the liquor license because John and Joe own that and they don't want to sell it."

It sounds like fiction but actually it's just about as true as can be. Hoodwinked by members of our own community.

Thanks a lot John and Joe. That was real nice to find out yesterday as you dismantled a place so many called home. Hope the Hole in the Wall serves you well but I will say that I will never step foot into one of your establishments again. I am very saddened to find all this out and would never ever give you another cent of queer monies after what you have put us through this last month. Utterly disturbing!

And if this is true, then my apologies to concluding that the land owner was the jerk in this story—however it would be nice to actually hear something on the record from the landlord to clear this up.

And last night, the Bay Area Reporter filed this piece as they continue their coverage of this story and their efforts to untangle exactly what's going on (spoiler: We still don't know.).

the Eagle hasn't landed, it fell

Word is out on the Save the Eagle Facebook page from Anna Conda:  A moving van is in front of the Eagle Tavern.  They are parking up all of the "art" and other items and will stay open until the stock runs out.


Update:  Wow.  This is some dark drama.  By reports, the closing of the Eagle was setup by the owner who lied about things like not paying rent, eviction notices, and blocking the sale to anyone who would keep it open—so the bar would be forced to close and he could sell the liquor license to a straight bar so that the LGBT/leather Eagle, which he was killing, would not compete with his new LGBT leather bar, into which he sank a fortune, in the same neighborhood.

If this is true it is just all sorts of bad.  And if substantiated, I don't see the LGBT/leather/SoMa community supporting the Hole in the Wall any more either.  I'll repost Anna Conda's online note here shortly.

This whole debacle makes me want to open my own alternative space in SoMa--leather half the week and country/western the other half.  And live urban country bands as often as possible.

Happy Easter

May your Easter weekend be Pretty in Pink!

I'm not Beach Blanket Babyloning a bonnet this year, but I do look forward to Easter Brunch at the House of Ho followed by the sunshine and madness that is the Sisters' Sunday in Dolores Park.

Porno Pete has of coursed released another hate-filled press release. I LOVE how the Sisters rise above and are more clever and more Christian than he could ever be.

The response from Sister Boom Boom (Via Sister Zsa Zsa Gabortion), emphasis mine:

Assalaamu Aleikum!

First of all the Sisters would like to thank Peter La Barbaria for all the
free publicity he is providing for our Hunky Jesus Contest. Even in the
most reactionary communities and families there are brilliant young queer
children aching for something truly revolutionary, a chance to be utterly
glamorous, and to royally piss off their uptight, puritanical parents. The
Sisters often declare their love for Peter and especially appreciate Mr. La
Babar's effectiveness in getting news and images of the Sisters to those
children. Of course we don't hate anybody, but his saying we do is a great
way to grab the interest of angry resentful children, and we have much
experience in helping GLBT youngsters work through their anger to find a
more joyous spiritual path.

However, as much as Mr. La Barbarella is promoting our appeal to rebellious
youth, it is not really our intention or purpose to offend Christians. Many
of our friends and fans are Christians as are some of the Sisters. It's not
even our intention or purpose to offend uptight, humorless prigs, though we
often do so by suggesting that the Deity has a sense of humor. After all,
God created a garden of paradise for us, declared His/Her love for us, and
created such laughably bizarre creatures as the platypus, the naked mole
rat, and Sarah Palin. But our mission is not to offend. Rather we are
dedicated to the expiation of stigmatic guilt and the promulgation of
universal joy. Still, we do understand that any sort of liberating theology
is offensive to those who want to keep others under their thumbs. Offending
prudes and tyrants is not our purpose, but we consider it a bit of a bonus.

As nearly all of us grew up in Christian-dominated America, many of us come
from Christian backgrounds, and we include a number of believing Christians,
some still active in their respective churches, we are all familiar with the
ideas and images of Christian culture. These are for us the best vehicles
for promoting our ideal of a God who loves and laughs. We also have some
Jewish sisters and since nearly all Americans have some familiarity with
Jewish culture - if only through sit-coms - we sometimes include some Jewish
humor. And why not? It couldn't hurt!

Mr. La Boobaria is correct that we seem to neglect our Muslim brothers and
sisters, many of whom are clearly in need of a good laugh. We must confess
that we don't have the same sort of inside knowledge of Islamic culture as
we do of Christian and Jewish cultures. From "The Axis of Evil Comedy Tour"
to "Little Mosque on the Prairie" we've seen that plenty of Muslims can take
a joke and deliver one, too. We trust that, especially in the current
political ferment, our Islamic friends will find their voice, their humor,
and their own ways of standing up to pompous prigs and puritans, to assert
that the one true God who is all mercy and compassion also loves a good
laugh.

Maa salaama.

yiiiip yip yip yip

These two cats remind me of the two aliens on Sesame Street trying to make sense of earth objects.

Hey, are you Thor?

Well, it hurths.

brotherly, love

Alert Reader and Fraternity Brother Scoop just sent me a note that he and some friends were looking over photos from his wedding weekend, and he shared "the story."  This was in the mid-90s.  He and Meg got married in Greenville, South Carolina, and the fraternity brothers had a relatively quiet bachelor drunk fest with the groom in the hotel the night before the wedding.  Down the hall, another much more rowdy bachelor party was taking place.  I first met them by following the music down the hall and was invited in.  Later, these guys came by our room asking if they could get some beer as they had run out, and we were happy to pool our cases of canned beer with their KFC and other food you think is amazingly awesome when you're hammered.

We were in our mid-20s at this point, and still perhaps the whitest guys you'd ever meet.  And these guys were perhaps the blackest.  We got along really well actually.  As drunk men around naked women tend to.

One of the groomsmen of the other wedding party owned a strip club, and had brought over some of his girls to dance, strip and do... other things... for his boys.  We were invited to enjoy ourselves as well.

Scoop calls this "the black cootchie story." Which I may have coined at the time come to think of it. Scoop clarifies: "I actually wasn't in the room with you. Katy went with you. My second-hand account is based on the story you related upon your return. Also, it is the "black coochie story" because the guys came into our room and announced "who wants to see some black coochie?"

Now, I had finally come out at this point but was still generally the only gay guy among my friends and at any given party.  I thought coming out would have put an end to awkward lap dances, but not so much.  And being in rural South Carolina in a room full of big macho black dudes I didn't know was not going to be my next debut.  Polite declinations of lap dances and other offers only looked like shyness, which of course encouraged the enthusiasm of those offering me said services.

Ultimately I said thank you and took a seat in one of the cushioned arm chairs as a buxom black woman in knee-high white go-go boots and nothing else rhythmically sashayed her unveiled Petula mere inches from my face.  First of all, I thought it was rude of me not to be visibly aroused when she would check my state with her eyes and her hands, but there was really nothing I could do about that.  Second, I had zero confidence in my ability to feign interest with the rest of my body—especially my face, as my reaction to her kootchie close-up must have been something like Indiana Jones trying not to look into the Arc of the Covenant lest his soul be consumed by demons.

Sure, I love me a motorboat as much as the next guy, but I knew I was not reacting as a typical red-blooded American male would in this situation.

In my desperation, I had to take the stripper into my confidence and come out quietly in her ear as she offered me her amples. I had completely forgotten this part of the story until Scoop reminded me this morning.  Scoop has the dialog down:

You:  Um...I'm gay.
Her:   No you're not.
You:  Actually, yes, I am.
Her:   Prove it.
You:  Okay (with a flourish of the hand) I love those boots.
Her:  Oh my god! You are gay!

She was really sweet truthfully, and told me she understood and had a gay cousin and said she'd keep my cover.  Although she made a scene and finished the dance as if I were The Man, I think the other guys may have caught on when I spent most of my time later looking her in the eyes and talking to her as if she were a person.

Love love love to Scoop and his bride Meg.  Thanks for the Mammaries.

speaking of digital and detritus

Wow.  That is a lot of VHS for sale.  There were two more carts and three walls of these.

I popped over to The Music Store in West Portal on Saturday for National Music Store Day.  I love The Music Store.  It's an intimate and superbly stocked space with a little of everything, and lots and lots of vinyl.  If you are into vinyl, be sure to visit the balcony upstairs.  Their collection of local country CDs and 80s 45s made me tingle.  Go and get your groove on.


The Music Store
66 West Portal Avenue

what happens when Batman moves to SF

My neighbors have put in the best garage doors ever.



Read the saga of how the SF planning commission said that if they put in a garage, they must preserve the original facade of the building, and how they did it. (Beausoleil Architects)

digital detritus

Despite the present company recently, I don't really think of anyone in SF smoking anymore.  But noticing this on my walk home the other day made me think:  Is this a sign of the digital era?  Instead of discarded cigarette butts in sidewalk crevices, I'm stepping over digital coax tips.

Maybe that's just an SF thing.

and more in Eagle Tavern/Are You Kidding Me?! news

Headline from the Bay Area Reporter: Eviction lawsuit filed against Eagle Tavern.

Oh shit. I think the threat level is going to rise way past "Hell No."

And based on the evidence currently available, landlord John Nikitopoulos is the villain of this piece.

I think there is a history lesson to be heeded here. Do not mess with The Gays. Especially ones that don't flinch at having their most delicate of delicates repeatedly pierced by steel objects. Mr. Nikitopoulos would do well to avoid being on the business end of an enraged biker/leather queen collective hissy fit.

I'm just sayin'.

And Mr. Nikitopoulos continues to dodge calls from politicians, reporters, legal parties, and even his own tenants. Nice.

I perform this way

Weird Al made a parody of Lady Gaga's Born this Way to be released benefitting the HRC. He got news from a Gaga rep that even after encouraging the bit, Gaga has said no. So he released it on YouTube and hopes you'll make a donation anyway.

Later, word came from Camp Gaga saying she never refused the release (but an underling clearly did)--House of Gaga better get its monsters in order as someone fcked up big time shutting down the release, benefit, and creating an oddly-anti-gay PR mess for the big friend of the gays.

Honestly, I kinda love the parody. Even more than the original.



Via Towleroad, who has context.

And an update from Towleroad:


Weird Al writes:

Apparently the fact that she didn’t approve it was news to Lady Gaga herself!

Gaga’s manager has now admitted that he never forwarded my parody to Gaga – she had no idea at all. Even though we assumed that Gaga herself was the one making the decision (because, well, that’s what we were TOLD), he apparently made the decision completely on his own.

He’s sorry.

And Gaga loves the song.

I’m thrilled on many levels to hear this, because 1) I truly respect and admire Gaga as an artist and it pained me to think of her as having less than a great sense of humor, and 2) it means I GET TO PUT OUT MY ALBUM!

and in The Fate of the Eagle Tavern news...

Seth Hemmelgarn files a post on the eBAR (Bay Area Reporter) that the owner of the Eagle bar in Dallas is eager to buy and run the original Eagle Tavern in SF. The sale to Skylark got the kybosh when the community went collectively apeshit over the idea.

And, it seems, the only wrench in the becoming a done deal is the elusive, unresponsive, and at this point irresponsible property owner John Nikitopoulos.

Why is there not more news or background on this one guy who is alienating and frustrating a significant SF community, and evoking the ire and disdain of so many citizens, neighbors, politicians and reporters? Who is this guy, what's his game, and is he really such an egregious jerk? Maybe he's just an absentee landlord. Sure, one that's completely uncaring about the property or tenants (as so many absentee landlords are in this town), but maybe he's just an old guy who wants to retire and sell his property for as much as he can, which is well within his rights. However, in his silence, we only have his actions to judge him by—which at this point seem to point to the conclusion that yes, he is in fact an complete asshole.

in the dell

It's Wednesday again, and last week I noticed that the Wednesday Cole Valley farmer's market has returned to the Waller Street pavement park at Stanyan.  Tasty fresh fruit and veggies abound.  If you're up the hill, Wednesdays are also the day for the UCSF farmer's market located on the mezzanine next to the  the top of the main elevator bay between 400 and 500 Parnassus.

Get fresh vegs for dinner Wednesday evening at Waller and Stanyan, then come back Thursday evening for the food trucks at Off the Grid.

On the calendar

I'm still down with this whole summer cold/ear ache thing that is both annoying and painful and have been laying low for about a week.  Alert Reader and New Zealand Super Fun Friend has dropped into town so I need to make time to see him, but basically have had to cancel pretty much all of the other social items.  In response to certain requests, here's what's on radar and on my calendar for this week (which I may or may not attend).  But if you are spry this spring, by all means rush out into these fun times.

Wednesday 04/20
• Lynda Carter at the Rrazz Room, and happy birthday DJ Christopher B.
• Out with ACT: No Exit.
Other stuff happing wednesday:  Tina Fey, Obama, Symphony, Ballet, and ridiculous amount of "420" events.

Thursday 04/21
• Sundance Saloon (6:30-10:30 PM with lessons 7:00-8:00 PM)
• The Monster Show presents: Goodbye Primadonna Reed at the Edge (10:00)
• The seventh anniversary of the retro-awesomeness that is the Tubesteak Connection at Aunt Charlie’s Lounge in the 'Loin, 10 PM to 2 AM.

Friday 04/22
• Earth Day (Go Planet!)
• UCSF LGBT happy hour at Trigger (5:30)
• The Trailer Trash Gurlz Review benefitting Sunburst at Marlena's (advertised 7:00, but you know it'll be more like 8:00)
• SyFy Friday chez Reindeer Jim, with Geekiest-T-Shirt Contest.

Saturday 04/23
• Sixth Anniversary of the Temple of Poi Fire Dancing Expo!  As part of National Dance Week, see some amazing fire dancers from the Temple of Poi (oganized by Glitter Girl and featuring Alert Reader and Friend of the Blog Reindeer Jim) at Union Square starting at 5:30 and running to 9:00 starting at 7:30 and running to 10:00 PM.
• Shelby Ash presents the Honky Tonk Showdown: Western Swing Edition! at the Café Du Nord starting at 7:00 PM, featuring Lady A & The Heel Draggers (western-swing), Misisipi Mike & The Midnight Gamblers (country), The Bootcuts (classic country), West Nile Ramblers (western-swing) and DJ Blaze Orange.  Also: dance contests, pie-eating contest, and best-dressed contest as well as trivia rounds.
• The Hayes Valley Follies, the super fun annual ExsDRAGaganza at Marlena's.  No Cover.  10 PM.

I really wanted to go to both of these Saturday shows but it's also the only time I can make Guys & Dolls on it's last weekend, featuring Friend of the Blog David Richardson.

and in community theater news

Every year Kevin and I get excited about going to high school musicals, but for get to check local websites until after the high school theater season has passed.  (It's a bit creepy to be asked to be put on local high school mailing lists, so we don't.)  This year we're getting closer by planning to take in the City College Community Theater production of Guys & Dolls, which opened last week and runs through this weekend.

Shows April 15, 16, 22, 23 at 8:00 PM and Sundays April 17 and 24 at 2:00 PM.

Me and mine are headed out Saturday night.  $15 General Admission, $10 Students and Seniors.
Diego Rivera Theater, City College of San Francisco, 50 Phelan Avenue at Judson.

and in awesome barbecue news

Sneaky's BBQ, who did an amazing job catering my country/western dance 40th, has set up shop in the new Rebel bar and has expanded their menu and capacity.

From Ben and Pat, the Sneaky Boys:

Hello, everyone! It's been a while. We hope you're all doing well. We've been settling in at our new location, working like crazy to get everything in order, and making sure that everything maintains the quality you've come to know from Sneaky's. So far, the press has been great, and the response on the ground has been awesome. We couldn't be happier with the transition, and we have many of you to thank for your continued support.


We've ramped up our staff and schedule to allow us to offer delivery 7 days a week, from 6:00 p.m. to close. Our delivery range is limited compared to what we used to offer, so if you're curious as to whether or not we can get to you, give us a call at 415.431.4200.


We're also back in full swing with our catering. Thank you to everyone who has come to us in the last month and a half to cater their parties, office lunches, and other events. We're happy to be able to offer all of our items, classic and new, on a large scale. If you're interested in getting a quote from us for your next event, please feel free to contact us.


Speaking of new items, we now have brisket! We're finally in the beef business. We get our briskets from Creekstone Farms and give these wonderful cuts of meat all the care and attention they deserve. The result is tender, juicy, amazing slices that go great on a plate or in a sandwich. If you haven't had a chance to try it yet, come on in and let us know you're an "old school customer" and we'll give you a sample. We've also got some new sauces on the menu, including our South Carolina Mustard sauce and a smoked jalapeno relish. They both go great with the brisket.


Lastly, we're happy to announce Movie Monday, the new theme night at Rebel. Continuing our partnership with the bar, we'll take advantage of their projector and screen to show classic, banging movies every Monday night at 8:00 p.m. Our full menu will be available, so you can settle in for great food, drinks, and free entertainment. This week's movie is "The Empire Strikes Back," which everyone knows is the best in the "Star Wars" series. We're hoping to make a dish that relates to that each night's movie, although we have yet to think of something clever for tonight. We'll see what happens.

And in insanely great 60s French beat groove dancing news...

From Alert Reader Malz, this vintage reel of awesome.

Says Will: "Enjoy the background dancer."

Later adding, "It's the switchblade that really makes it."

Wait for it.



Chex les yéyés indeed.

And in gay marriage news

This bit of necessary from ProseBeforeHos:

And some interesting news regarding video of the Pro 8 trial, and cool new netroot activist tool debuting in NY:

summer coughin'

Not having a blast.  Posts to resume when my respiratory system does.

Skylark no longer involved in Eagle sale/closing

I had a much too long overdue catch-up dinner with The Jamez last night and didn't make into gear and over to Skylark until around 9:30. Glendon Hyde/Anna Conda had "invited" all for 8:00. By that time there were still maybe a dozen, maybe ten, guys in leather and/or Eagle gear still at the bar. All of them very leather and very charming. Some of them hadn't been there that long either and had no new information. Vince had been there longer and could only offer updated unofficial word that Skylark and its people were no longer involved in the sale of the Eagle. Links to more, and hopefully credibly sourced, information will follow here when I come across them.


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Update: The SF Weekly seems to be covering this news pretty closely online.  See yesterday morning's detailed report on the situation (short version of what appears to be happening: the absentee property owner Nikitopoulos is a acting like a huge prick, and not in the good way), and see the Weekly's blog posts on what this all really means.

And the Always Awesome Matt Baume has this report filed today (Thursday, April 14) with the Bay Area Reporter. Again, it looks like the property owner is the problem, refusing to let anyone buy the place who would keep the Eagle running. Judging by a caption to the BAR article, it looks like I was much too late to the Skylark last night: "Supervisor Scott Wiener and former Supervisor Bevan Dufty spoke to about 50 activists as they held a sit-in Monday night at the Skylark bar, whose owner is slated to buy the Eagle Tavern."

Another update: More from the BAR on the Eagle's liquor license transfer sale.

never say goodbye

Someone has noticed that people in the movies never say "goodbye" when using the phone.  What's up with that?

April 13! Guerilla leather night to support the Eagle!

Wednesday night, Anna Conda is proposing a leather takeover of the Skylark bar (16th & Valencia) as they have taken over the Eagle's liquor license and word is that ownership won't let the Eagle continue operations and won't allow transfer of the lease to others who would keep the Eagle going. It appears that if a straight Mission d'bags is willing to cary out a hostile takeover a SoMa gay space, the leather queens are happy to descend on the Mission instead.

From Anna Conda:



As always, be sure to tip your bartender.

Please see this earlier post for context and updates.

if only they would have my size...

I missed out on the once-a-decade SF Opera costume sale, but Berkeley Rep is having a costume and prop sale coming up.  I do hope I can find something ridiculous to own.

the war on fun continues

And the SFPD's unrelenting and often jackbooted campaign against nightlife continues unabated.  At least their new Orwellian measures are getting a hearing.  I do hope the people prevail on this one. Via the SFBG:

A draconian proposal by the San Francisco Police Department to require all visitors to nightclubs in the city to scan their identity cards into a database and go through metal detectors while being filmed by security cameras will be held tomorrow night (Tues/12) by the Entertainment Commission, but an expanding coalition of opponents are rallying against it.

Update: More form the SFist.

Update: The hearing was canceled/postponed. No new date has yet been set.

Pup'y love

With our friends Eric (Dew) and Matt (Sudsy) playing for the SF Pups' D team, we've started going to their Sunday games to cheer them on. So far, the Pups are the only ones with a cheering section or fans in the stands. And we bring it. I can only see this escalating to the point of actual cheers, calling games with a megaphone and even mascot costumes.

That being said, we are openly fair weather fans. Meaning when the weather is fair, we'll come out and be your fans. We don't care if you're losing. We sort of expect that. Which makes it somehow even more fun. We are defiantly jubilant. And honestly, gay softball can be hilarious. We are faithful to our D-level team. The B stars are all good players and all serious and competitive and shit. Our stars can hit the ball and sashay at a sprint and do a dance at first base if the inspiration strikes. Where else when a player named Beast takes the plate will you hear from the dugout, "Tales as old as time..."?   And the Pups are serious about their costumes uniforms.   And I will say they look good in those tight black pants. All those baseball term double-entendres are worth it.

And I mean it when I say we are fair weather fans, because with fair days like these, how can we resist?


Even if the game was at nine freaking o'clock on a Sunday morning. At least there was parking. And I don't know how many trips to the park it will take (Fan Captain Glen has checked in enough to earn the questionable "Babysitter Badge," which we now call his "NAMBLA Certification") before I stop finding this ironic:


Cause they're the Pups! And No Dogs Allowed! Hahahahahaha. Eh. At least I have the thermos. This morning it was just coffee. When I'm off the wagon we may go back to coffee and Bailey's. Other fans were disappointed that I was coffee-totalling this time.

As they all say: If you cannot be an athlete, be an athletic supporter. And we rock.


Go Pups!

If you feel like a fun Sunday in the park, check the online schedule for the Pups D team and feel free to join us (games only last an hour!).  I'm just waiting for a bunch of hairy and burly gay men to start an actual Bad News Bears team in the gay league.  As one t-shirt at the Lone Star rad: All bears are bad news.

gay venue death watch

WTF?  Notable closing announcements this week:  Fuzio, Bagdad Cafe, A Different Light Books, A. G. Ferrrari, and Letcia's—all in the Castro—and now the Eagle?

The Eagle?

That is both a local internationally culturally iconic bar.  Gossip is spreading like wildfire regarding the cause for closing (They only make money on Sundays!  No they don't!  The staff is buying it!  The landlord is not accepting offers to keep the bar so he can make more selling it to a condo developer!)  Regardless of all speculation, the closing of The Eagle is actually a very big deal for the city and its nightlife, neighborhood and gay communities.

At least the SFist is covering the story and doing so well.  It should stop amazing me that the local papers don't cover local news any more.

It will be interesting to see what comes out of the "community meeting" tonight.

Update:  The always on it Brock Keeling of the SFist has this about what went down at the meeting.

Update 04/13: Alert Reader Joaquin notes "The owner of the Skylark was approached to buy it, it is so not a hostile take over aimed at ousting the community. He was born and raised in SF and he and his wife are two of the most Gay friendly business people who have also been a great supporter of the LGBT community."

Additional word, all of it of mouth so take your salt, is that it is the landlord that is the impediment here, and that he's refusing a lease transfer or even a sale to those who would keep the bar open. What is at play here? The guy really wants to become a developer and sell condos here? I dunno. Ear shall remain firmly attached to the ground. And eyes to the blogs.

so the number "crazy" was a little too on-point?

Most everyone I've talked to thought Good Morning America's "Britney Comes to the Castro" publicity stunt was at best uninteresting and at most insulting.  Heklina put it best when pressed for a comment and said something along the lines of "The gays have never been big Britney fans.  Liz Taylor just died.  Can we mourn a real gay icon now?"

Hekles has a point:  Liz was a tireless advocate for both equality and AIDS/HIV causes.  Britney is manufactured sugar whom gays consumed with so many cosmos, but by no interpretation is Britney a "gay icon."  When the Concert in the Castro was announced, the universal reaction among the local gays was "Oh, she's trying to market herself as cool again—making it look like she has a big gay fan base."  The term most used in this discussion was variable forms of the word "pander."  Ultimately threats of inclimate weather and logistical nightmares pushed the GMA concert to an indoor auditorium.

From there it seems GMA producers used local drag talent as toilet paper-used to take care of their needs then to be discarded, if possible sight unseen.  First the selected divas of SF had to fill more than an hour with clean banter (harder than it sounds) and only one or two mics to an uninterested audience.  Then as soon as Britney was supposed to appear, the Good Morning America folks made damn sure the drag queens could never been seen by the cameras, nor could they approach Miss Spears.  Every account of their booking and treatment sounds incredibly offensive, except for Pollo's printed piece, which in her usual grace had some very kind words on the event. But the SFist is right in that the GMA people and the Chronicle need some serious schooling in their local celebs.

The videos and comments on the four-song concert are pretty awesome, if only for their cruelty. For a singer/dancer, Britney neither sang nor danced. The overwhelmingly popular and incredibly on-point comment around town (and the interwebs) was the Ru Paul call: "Britney is going to lip sync for her life!" And Honey did Britney have to sashay away.

At any rate, I was scheduled to entertain some gay friends of friends visiting SF from South Carolina that Sunday morning and we thought we'd show them some local color in the form of Brunk.  And judging by the friend we had in common, I though this would be up their dark alley.  Thank God the show moved to Civic Center else the neighborhood would have been a wreck.  As it was, we had a lovely and intoxicating morning/afternoon.




We did note some plainclothes police people about and sure enough, by the afternoon a caravan of black SUV's were escorted by a horde of police cars and motorcycles so Britney could "visit the Castro as promised."  From all accounts at the show, her fans were of the tween girl variety.  Fags aren't all that into Britney, and SF'ers aren't all that into celebrity, but when the motorcade spectacle came through, crowds formed.  I honestly think if she wanted to actually hang, she could have come in under the radar.  Enormous SUVs, motorcade and black helicopters were a bit much and made it a "big deal." I think Lady Gaga is much more popular and could have had a couple of pints at the bar without much fuss or a dozen bodyguards.  I felt it was only a big deal only because they made it a big deal.  The big free rainbow "SF hearts Britney" posters were a little offensive to me, as she laid claim to a devotion from "the gays" which she neither has nor has earned.  But apparently a PR agency and a trip to Kinkos can make it seem so.

For the amount of fanfare we would have expected a greater Britney Moment. As it happened, she stepped out in front of Under One Roof for less than a minute for a photo op, then the whole motorcade pulled a U-ey to drive the 50 feet up to Q-Bar for another one minute photo op of "Britney parties in the Castro with her gay fans" and then split, leaving one or two black vans behind to circle suspiciously.

Don't get me wrong, as sort of offended by the whole pandering/using the gays bit I was, spectacle is always fun-either in celebration or mockery, and we were the eye of the mockery storm. We, as is now our way, waited for the corner table at Harvey's so we could watch the usual Sunday parade and lean out to greet friends as they passed by. This put us in prime clusterfuck viewing position.

While the tween girls wanted to be Britney (that should horrify their mothers), the gay fans had an entirely different vision of Britney Be.  There was a Britney look-alike drag contest, which was pretty awesome, at Under One Roof.  Then there were those whose interpretation ran more like this:

SFers will take any opportunity for a theme or a costume.

Sudsy dashed out to get a glimpse of Miss Spears, and returned with this priceless reaction.




This clip pretty much sums it all up:

geriatric pads

I'm getting an iPad for my parents in May.  Ostensibly, so I can share photos and videos with them easily, and video chat with my Dad as he can't get around much anymore, much less use a computer.  I'm hoping they actually use it a lot.  "New" and "change" aren't big buzzwords with them these days. 

100% cotton

but made of awesome.

Want.



I asked the guy and he said a friend of his made it just for him using CafePress. Love it. I couldn't find this design, so I may have to make my own.

keep on truckin'

As the weather improves, my coworkers and neighbors and I have been enjoying the Upper Haight Off the Grid Thursdays more and more.  Off the Grid brings a caravan of food trucks to a single destination, in our case they circle the wagons around a public seating area on the newly pedestrian-only block of Waller at Stanyan. The cuisine ranges widely—from comfort foods and gourmet burritos to Curry Up Now— the cupcake truck always seems to have the longest lines. I haven't yet found the wait : cupcake :: cost : benefit worth, but I'll let you know.


. .

because it is junk mail arriving on a pallet

The City of San Francisco—spurred on by its residents—has been trying in vain to deter the phone companies from dumping forests worth of useless phonebooks on our collective doorsteps.  I don't know a single person other than my mother who uses a phone book any more, and that's only the white pages, which continues to make some sort of sense.  But the Yellow Pages?  Sure, it's a conceivably private enterprise selling space in their books to business and delivering them to a populace who need a subject-based directory of business and services.  Here's the thing: since that newfangled interwebs connected all them tubes, no one looks things up things like this in a book anymore.  And I say this as a librarian.

We as a city strike for zero waste, less paper, more eco-friendly life and lifestyle, and then once or twice a year this shit shows up as if to say "Ha!  You thought you were reducing your carbon footprint?  Just to make up for all the reductions you've made, we went ahead and leveled all the rain forests, and ass-raped the Lorax while we were at it, just for fun.  Here.  It's on you now."

Listen to us.

Do.  Not. Want.

The SF Appeal continues their good coverage of the City vs Phone Book/Opt-In versus Opt-Out ongoings (and even some suggestions),  but I've opted out of everything I could find and still a truck showed up last week with a freaking forklift and handtrucks to move a pallet of these things to my building's doorsteps.

The most recent argument in favor of the delivery is that without these books, local merchants will be harmed.  Okay, we all know that's a crock and is just the bastard cousin of the "protect the children" argument for other bad ideas.  As wary as I might be in the back of my mind of Google consuming the multi-verse, I not only use Google—and it's myriad mobile apps which are always within arm's reach, fast, and light unlike a phone book— to find phone numbers for businesses I know, Google Maps (desktop and mobile) provides location-based business results using a simple keyword search.

Unlike the Yellow Pages, it costs nothing to get on Google's radar, and the results are better.

Within an hour, all of those books were dumped in our recycling bin.  Monday morning arrived with phone books bulging the blue bins all the way down the block.  What an unnecessary waste.  They'd be better delivered to soak up oil in the Gulf, or radiation in Japan.  Maybe someone can make homes out of these like bricks.  Whatever.  But Yellow Pages, please just go the fuck away.  You are now having the opposite of your intended effect.  We might start actively avoiding any of these business because they are annoying us with these ridiculous bales of toxic waste.  You might as well advertise on a paper bag, fill it with poo, and light it before dropping it on our doorstep.  We'd receive it the same way.

model behavior

I passed a whole section of retro model kits in a hobby/craft store last week—many advertising "authentic original period box art," which I found interesting as they were referencing my childhood and the 70s covert art on all of the Star Trek and related materials.

I did consider getting the extensive (and glow in the dark!) Munsters set, but I thought that could wait until next Halloween.

Are people still into models?  I was sorely tempted to try the SPider-Man model.  I think if approached in the right way model building could be a sort of creative Zen exercise akin to working a jigsaw puzzle.

That, and I love some classic Spidey.

seriously?

The ludicrously-over-priced but only-one-left-running cabaret space The Rrazz Room is hosting two "big events" this week:

The Thunder from Down Under, and Tiffany... as in the mall-singing "I think We're Alone Now" 80s Tiffany.

I love the fact that all the raging homos I know are giddy with excitement over Tiffany but completely blasé, ignorant, or slightly disturbed by the male strippers. Although I suppose when it comes to ripped, oiled and muscled bodies shaking it to arouse, gays here can pretty much (1) look in the mirror, (2) pick any number of bars on a given weekend or (3) just go back to the gym and enjoy the show--none of which require a $100 two drink minimum.

white grandfather's overbite

When Harry Met Sally 2

When Harry Met Sally 2 with Billy Crystal & Helen Mirren from Billy Crystal

Green Lantern footage

Four minutes of very cool shown at last weekend's WonderCon.

yes, it is all about me.

My in-box has been buzzing from Alert Alcoholics Readers regarding the new super-secret speakeasy bar within the secret speakeasy Bourbon and Branch.  This new bar is described by UrbanDaddy as follows:

Behold The Wilson, a reservation-only, password-protected bar hidden inside an already-elusive bar, opening next week at Bourbon & Branch and taking reservations now.

Think of this as your regular B&B experience with a hefty dose of fine-dining hospitality. Once you make your online reservation (up to two people, for up to two hours), you’ll get a confirmation and password that you’ll use at the main door, whereupon you’ll be escorted into the long, narrow room to your seats.

The Wilson (named after a missing woman whose bloodstained purse was found in the walls during construction) still has the same 1920s Prohibition vibe as B&B. So you’ll feel right at home amidst the damask and exposed brick walls.

At your seat, you’ll find a personalized, date-stamped menu printed with your name—no two visits are alike. It’s arranged like a three-course prix fixe of cocktails, with an aperitif, a main and a digestif or punch. Of course, you can mix and match your drinks—or stick with the tobacco/bourbon/coffee Pinkerton.

Forget the story of the blood-stained purse (as if you could)—as my readers have ascertained, this bar is all about *me*.

And yes, I am looking forward to my three courses of yum therein.

The Wilson opened March 23 and is now taking reservations for Tuesdays through Saturdays at 415-931-7292

See also: Imbibe Magazine

adopt a highwayman

Coworker, remarking on my shirt, "Oh, I love you in orange."
"That looks very UT."
"Giants if anything.  I'm a Vandy fan."
"Actually, it could be very 'correctional'."
"Don't get the matching pants then."
"They'll send you to pick up trash along the highway."
"I do that anyway, but the trash I'm talking about have names."

SIN is IN

I TOTALLY forgot to mention that James Judd has brought back his 7 Sins show for a limited time. There are only two weekends left of his revised show which promises to be even better than before. And I freaking LOVED it before.

7 Sins, at the Exit Theater. Tickets though Brown Paper Tickets. Heartily recommended.

Here's a link to a post with some old clips which I love and believe will still appear in some form in the new show. I also adored his last show, "Whoop, Click!"

Boys with Balls

Another evening of the gay guys blowing benefit event Boys with Balls was held this past Saturday night, and with its ever-growing popularity was held this time at the 60-lane Classic Bowling Center in Daly City. Alert Reader and Friend of the Blog Jim Rudoff got a group together for a VIP lane and Dear God in Heaven I had no idea it was going to be such fun.

.

. >

Nor did I know it was also going to be a night of a thousand hot muscle bears on parade. Tonight's event benefited the SF AIDS Emergency Fund and Pets Are Wonderful Support (PAWS), with the last minute collections (around $400) generously diverted by the beneficiaries to Japan relief.

There was, of course, a bar, lots of super-fun personalities, a drag performance (naturally) and half way through the night the bright lights went down, the disco lighting came up, and almost all the shirts came off. Who knew? I also learned that boot cut loose jeans look good with boots, but bad with bowling shoes.

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Professional photog Rich Stadtmiller has his extensive album up on his site, and most of my pics are up on Flickr. When I have time, I hope to stitch together a fun video of the night. Which happily ended in a caravan to Krispy Kreme and In-N-Out. Love my gays. Shouts to new friends Ross and Craig.

Rodeo Drag-A-Thon 2011

Although I could not/would not compete this year, the Rodeo's annual Drag-A-Thon is always a blast.  This year was no exception, and I was astounded to see Travis and Popper up in heels for their first time—neither of whom could I recognize on stage.


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I know the above photo is pretty bad, but I was having a heard time capturing the action with the iPhone, and the other decent photo is in a less than lady-like position. Popper was HILARIOUS and put on one hell of a performance for having no rehearsal and buying his shoes the same day.




Popper is one tall lean hunk of cowboy, and I am still having a hard time reconciling my mental image of him and his drag persona together in my head. The following Sunday I was at Sundance Saloon and leaning against the stage, situated between the legs of a handsome and very flirty man sitting on the stage. I was talking to Ed Morgan, friend and President of the SF Bay Area Chapter of the Golden State Gay Rodeo Association, telling him how great I thought his husband's performance was and it was too bad he couldn't make it to Sundance that night.

It turns out he was the man between whose legs I was sitting. If I thought I couldn't recognize Popper in drag, he is equally anonymous beardless.