If Hitchcock used Twitter

Text "H" for Homicide!

in which the modern world reveals the old: a Boston marriage in the heart of Old Atlanta

This is a beautiful story: one of contemplation and discovery. Jason Cochran was walking through the historic cemetery of Atlanta, oblivious to the family names and personal histories, and one word on a simple stone caught his attention: Poet.

While sitting and considering, he was able to use his iPhone to research Orelia Key Bell and deduce her life-long love, her muse, her companion in life and in death, and by-any-other-label-still her wife, Ida Ash.

The past and present, the obscure and the curious, collide in this story, bound by same-sex love.

Give it a read: Boston Marriage in Old Atlanta: An iPhone rings a silent Bell

home set decor

My family's home (my grandmother's first cousin, raised as siblings) was the house used for the film Stoker, starring Mia Wasikowska, Matthew Goode, and Nicole Kidman and released earlier in March of this year. A couple of days after Dad died, Anne (who grew up in the house) called and asked if we'd like to escape the house for a bit and tour the set and see what they had done to the place. It was an impressive alteration.

Just today I came across the blog "Pushing Pixels," and an interview with Leslie Morales, the set decorator who transformed Dear and Papa's house into the haunting character in the film Stoker. For those of you friends with me or the Caldwells, or just want to know more about the house—which since its restoration to its previous condition has been used again and again for the TV show Nashville, you may find the photos and commentary interesting. I know I certainly did.

With “Stoker”, after we found the house we completely emptied it, we more or less changed everything – it’s quite a transformation. We’ve repainted the walls, changed the floors, changed the windows, all the lighting, window treatments & of course designed & selected new furniture; and the fundamental geography of the house remained the same. It was very important to the director to have the geography specific to the story. I’m not sure if people are aware of the differences between the floors, but it was very important as we moved around the house, speaking about different characters.

Columbus Day of Shame

Each year the din to abolish Columbus Day as a national holiday grows louder. Columbus did not discover America, but in fact raped, and pillaged, and horrifically tortured the original Americans. I'm all for a day off, but not to honor such atrocities. The Oatmeal has a marvelous infographic/rant on this, and offers instead the idea of celebrating Bartolomé de las Casas. Give it a read!

J'ai cru.

Every time I pass a J. Crew strore all I can think of is that the store stands for "I believed."

night shine

A waxing moon on a clear night above the Castro. A bright sight to see, in so many ways.

potential buzz killed

I've got a workshop in half an hour and was feeling pretty out of it, so I started a pot of coffee before getting in the shower. And didn't put the pot under it. FML.

NCOD

I'm proud that my workplace celebrates National Coming Out Day. Being visible helps in so many ways, and particularly for those who haven't been able to take that step yet for themselves.

talk to the glass

Overheard parting farewell: "Stay away from the crazies!"
Me, under my breath: "And by that we mean mirrors."

is that like the lavender mafia

"It's like they're a bunch of flaming gay racists."
"Would that be the Mary Kay Kay Kay?"

meet me in the stacks...

...with a stake.

Before there was Giles: The Open Education DataBase has started posting lists of Libraries and Librarians in Horror Movies.

Spell-binding.

a Steele of lesser mettle

NBC executives, apparently still failing to find good new ideas, are working on bringing back Remmington Steele. Which could be really cool, except that (1) the original ran its course directly into the ground in its final, truncated season, and (2) they are envisioning the reboot as a sequel, and a half-hour situation comedy.

Shanti sashay

Thanks to the delightful and dedicated Emily, I enjoyed an evening at the benefit auction for The Shanti Project, which "provides emotional and practical support to San Francisco's most vulnerable individuals living with life-threatening illness." I've had friends as employees and volunteers at the Shanti project and they do just amazing, miraculous work. Lovely company, great cause.

LGBT History Month: Baron von Steuben

Please click over to this amazing piece in the Philadelphia Gay News about the gay man we have to thank for wining the American revolution. There are references to LaFayette all over the south (streets, towns, counties). I think we need to give Baron von Steuben the gay/patriot salute he so richly deserves.

Excerpt:

Before von Steuben arrived at Valley Forge, the Revolutionary Army was a loosely organized, rag-tag band of men with little military training or discipline. The military fumbled through the beginning of the war for independence lacking training and organization. Gen. George Washington and the Continental Congress knew that, without help from additional seasoned military experts, the colonies would clearly lose. Since Washington himself was the best the colonies had, they looked to Europe for someone who could train the troops. To that end, Washington wrote the colonies’ representatives in Paris, among them Benjamin Franklin, to see what he could come up with. Franklin, a renowned inventor, was treated as a celebrity in the French court. This would be pivotal in achieving his two major objectives in France: winning financial support for the American Revolution and finding military leaders who could bring a semblance of order to the Revolutionary Army.

Franklin learned of a “brilliant Prussian” military genius, Lt. Gen. Baron Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben, who had a string of successes across Germanic Europe. But there was one problem. He’d been asked to depart many of those states and countries because of his “affections for members of his own sex,” according to biographer Paul Lockhart’s “The Drillmaster of Valley Forge.”

Baby it's cold outside

I can't believe it's snowing in San Francisco!

Oh wait. My bad. I'm just surrounded by flakes.

Castro Street Fair 2013

I returned to country dancing with a bit too much gusto: all-day, boots, 90°, and brutal sunshine. And forgot to take water breaks, just cocktail breaks. Ow.

But another splendid day. I regret missing out on HSB, but I just can't miss out on the Castro Street Fair.


Except this year there were additional "dance" stages. I was so offended by the one set up at Diamond on 18th because it was so offensively booming loud with no melodies just bass and it prohibited conversation even three-blocks away. Honestly, if I had property anywhere on that block I would be concerned over structural damage. There is no way that noise level was remotely within legal limits. I could see glass panes shaking in the houses.

And yes, it was ever so popular too, not that anyone could survive within 20 feet:


My friends in Nashville were texting me from the Titan's game, and I messaged back my Titan's solidarity, with a decidedly Castro twist.


Love too to Miss Purdy Poppins and the clearly kissable Musbach.

shhh. and psst.

Little secret from a gay librarian: you can totally judge a book by its cover.

Especially if it's bound in leather.

she can shake it

Inspired by a sight at the Castro Street Fair, I got to wondering.  I am surprised that there isn't a drag queen named Paula Kneesian.

treasure chest

How have I lived here over 16 years and never been to Liverpool Lil's? (Beware: video auto-play on the website.)  It's such a (slightly) hidden treasure of classic, American fine dining that feels like it never left the 1970s. The Cesar salad was perfect, even with fresh white anchovies, and the clam chowder special was all sorts of goodness. And hat tips to our server Gigi who sort of made our impromptu date night.

It's basically as if the Regal Beagle had fine dining. And the kitchen is open to 1:00 am. I need to remember that. Very neighborhood feel too. While there were handsome young(isn) couples canoodling in the darker corders of the bar, PeeDee and I brought down the average age in the dining room a good 20 years. I look forward to returning soon.

Flagging in the Park closes out 2013

Another gorgeous day for a gorgeous experience.

And a truly heartfelt thank-you to DJ Wayne G for truly special soundtrack. I do hope he posts a "classics/anthems" podcast set soon. It was just one lively remix after another, and songs we knew and loved. Check out his remixes on iTunes.

truthiness

The guy calls his penis "The Truth." Because the Truth hurts.

I also imagine he likes to say things like "You can't handle The Truth."

And yet I did not believe the Truth would set me free. But I did consider it.

Truth or consequences.

National Diversity Day, and Silent Disco

So this happened at work today. Be sure to click the gear and choose 720 or 1080p. The YouTube default is blurrier than Cybill Shepherd's close-ups on the first season of Moonlighting.

Fun!

I do love working at a place were the National Diversity Day Celebration is actually diverse.

Roctober

The SF social season is only gaining steam,  Full speed ahead!

Events on the radar:

Friday, October 4 (Today!)

• Lady Bunny at Rebel
• Super Bluegrass Weekend HSB After-Party at the Plough and Stars
• TGIFriGAY in the Marina at the Bus Stop Bar

Saturday, October 5

• Hardly Strictly Bluegrass, Hellman Hollow, Golden Gate Park
• Flagging in the Park, AIDS Memorial Grove, Golden Gate Park (see also and pics)
• Hard French, El Rio (see also)
• EndHIV Drag Ball
• Dirty Thirty at the Eagle

Sunday, October 6

• Castro Street Fair!
• Hardly Strictly Bluegrass, Hellman Hollow, Golden Gate Park (today's lineup is AMAZING!)

Monday, October 7

• Honey Mahogany at the Midnight Sun
• Musical Mondays at the Edge

cheesy

I can't stop laughing at this.

Nacho problem.

pour me a cup

Whichever.  Fill 'er up.

Free Gold Watch

For decades there was a slightly dodge "antique" store around the corner from my place on Waller at Stanyan. After sopme turnover, an old sign remained and then was taken on as the new front's proper name: Free Gold Watch! Free Gold Watch! screen prints custom t-shirts in the back, and the front of the hall is filled with 80s/90s era pinball machines and is a ridiculous amount of fun!

I've stopped in from time to time on my evening walks, and PeeDee and I decided to take a long walk through the Haight last night—greedily devouring the last of the warm, sunlit evenings—and stopped and spent all our singles at the arcade. One of the treats is a rare, limited edition Wizard of Oz pinball game that is remarkably intricate and fun to play. At a dollar a game, we could burn through some serious money easily.




(Forgive the vertical orientation, I though it was the natural view. I didn't realize Flickr would letterbox it.)

My favorite though, was the Star Trek: The Next Generation game, with soundtrack samples and effects for all of the action.


Every time I got change I felt like that 7th grader who's parents would give him five dollars (which was huge!) to spend at The Game Room in Green Hills with the rest of the boys in his class after the Fortnightly dance lessons. Free Gold Watch is primarily a pinball arcade, but there are also a restored consoles of Centipede, Ms. Pac Man and Frogger and others in there, and that will take you back.

harvest time

The daylight hours are getting shorter and shorter and we're still on Daylight Savings Time. I can feel winter getting closer, and I took some time to appreciate the goodness that is the Upper Haight/Cole Valley Farmers Market. I love stopping by after work on Wednesday during the summer and filling up with so many fresh vegetables that I have trouble going through them by the time the next Wednesday rolls around (which reminds me I still have some green beans in the fridge which need cooking). I'm having a little anticipatory farewell anxiety for the "fall" of the farmers' market.




Also, I can't tell if it's allergies or Folsom weekend exhaustion but my sinuses and eyes are all crazy this week, and I was so happy to burl up last night and make a pot of soup. I can make soup like Minnie can fry up chicken. And it can cure what ails you.


I was thinking carrot-dill soup, but all the vendors were out of fresh dill. There harvest squash galore and I thought I would try cooking a rather pumpkin-looking one with the red pepper and carrot soup, and throw it in with some chicken broth and a head a garlic, an onion, some german butter potatoes, fresh ginger and white beans. (the potatoes and the beans act as a creamy thickener, and adds some good protein and fiber). Cooked, pureed, and salt, pepper, and dried dill to taste. Lunch, dinner, lunch, repeat.


Holy harvest I can make a soup! I am loving this. And am going to try all sorts of new harvest squash.

with a runner on third

I came across this new(isn) breast cancer awareness/fundraising campaign targeted to younger men. I actually love the idea.

Don't let breast cancer steal second base.

suddenly, routine

I was just speaking to a friend, my dentist actually, and I took note that as San Franciscans of experience, there comes a time when we fail to notice the exceptional or the extreme for the outliers they are. Living our lives among the outlying data points, from our perspective these are not outliers: these are neighbors.

The fact that we can walk through Folsom Street Fair without so much as a "meh" speaks to this.  For leathers' sakes, I volunteer each year because I love that it gives me something to do at the fair.

It is at times like these when a voice in my head figuratively taps me on the shoulder and says, "Hey, pay attention to this. This is pretty special." and I get the song Wig in a Box stuck in my head.

As Hedwig sings: "I look back on where I'm from... and the strangest things seem, suddenly, routine."

Folsom 2013

Curt was back in the City for the weekend and I planned to take him to the Folsom Street Fair. Virgins are always fun. As host I decided not to volunteer at the Rodeo beer booth this year, but I got a slightly panicked message from Popper the day before that the Rodeo beer booth was severely understaffed. So I said I would show up at opening and work through 1:00 when Curt could find me and then we'd walk around after that. Out of context, the Folsom Street Fair is a bit daunting to the initiated. Which is it's own titillation.

How often does one get to say nonchalantly, "Meet me across from the naked twister stage."?


For the past several years, the Gay Rodeo has consistently been the top seller of beer at the fair. We show up, we work hard, and we get it done. We're adamant about checking IDs, every one, every time—and frankly I love using the phrase "You have to take it out and I have to touch it." as often as I can at Folsom—but we are six to 8 across and have a team pouring behind us. And at a fetish street fair, everybody loves a cowboy. We flirt for work and work for tips.


Hard work is rarely this much fun.

As the consistent top sellers (every year we run out of beer and they bring more kegs over from other booths), they put us smack-dab in the middle this year in the intersection of 10th and Folsom, and we were consistently slammed all day. Which is also great because that way the fair came to us. Lots of hotness too. And the new service perk: "Tipping comes with touching." Working the Rodeo booth is always such a nice way to spend the day at the fair with good friends and (mostly) in the shade. Lord that sun got brutal when it passed into the western sky.

I don't take many pics at Folsom anymore unless I am capturing friends or a particular frame catches my eye. Like this one. These people and their friends could not have been a sweeter bunch to talk to. And I thought this sight really just sums up everything about the Folsom Street Fair.


And maybe this one. Mostly because it somehow has the air of everyday about it.


Please note the happy preppy girl smiling in her hounds-tooth skirt and dress shirt.

Whenever people get all skittish and judgmental about San Francisco "freak" events like Folsom Street Fair, I enjoy pointing out that Folsom is the largest one-day outdoor public fair in the world. If it's not your thing, we can celebrate that too. If you are looking down your nose at this, get over it.   When it comes to kink and a thoughtful, open attitude towards sex, anything consensual is good-to-go play for grown-ups. If it makes you uncomfortable, that's artificial conditioning.

When Curtis did arrive we were able to do a lap and run into fun friends. So much friendly frisky fun people.





And of course my favorite cowboys and cowgirls.


It did get searing hot later in the day, especially facing the direct sunlight in a black hat and black shirt serving beer. The hat kept the sun off most of my face and out of my eyes, and Popper dutifully reminded us to reapply sunscreen as we could tell out forearms were burning. At some point I noticed my cheeks and lips were burning. The hat gave me some shade, but just to the ridge of my nose. I stepped back to put on some lip balm from my pocket, not thinking that of course it would by then be completely melted, and it smeared and spurted as I attempted to apply. I wiped my lips with a towel and went back to power serving. I stepped back to refresh myself and Rosemary and her boyfriend Chad thought it was funny and were impressed that i was so brazen and balls-out (as it were) for Folsom. I didn't know what they were talking about.

Chad was taking photos with his phone and showed me one. I doubled-over laughing. And later I thought how happy I am to be the kind of person who when shown how embarrassing they might look, has am immediate laughter response rather than shame or anger. Thanks to the awesome parents who taught me to be able to laugh at myself.

And c'mon, this was pretty hilarious. Folsom can be really... well... "slutty" sounds pejorative and this day is shame-free. But if the rag fits...


Pretty Folsom-appropriate I'd say for someone who doesn't own any fetish gear.

Later that night, someone was heard to ask me, "Your beard is so soft, what do you use on it? And why does it smell like coconut?"

Modern Family Easter egg

Sometimes I just can't get enough of Helena Lamb. She's supper happy fun time, and also the Assistant Director on ABC's Modern Family. It's fun knowing someone on the show, meeting cast and crew, and watching the show for the little background gems—such as friends as extras, or photos of friends in the background—and little easter eggs like this one in this season's opener.


Now that's a shout out.

Update:  Awww.  Helena put that in as a shout out to her awesome brother John in Chile who watches the show via iTunes subscription.

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