Inaugural address

From all things awesome: Some clever people have changed all of the Bush street signs, from Presidio to Battery, to Obama signs.


obama & fillmore, san francisco
Originally uploaded by *takeitez*

Via Laughing Squid. Explore the flickr tag.

Are we humans?

Or are we cylons?

testify to fit

Will's Crossfit testimonial. Man I have to get back to that.

more evidence against the Mormon Church and their push for Prop H8

This is appalling.

From a new Californians Against Hate report.

Steven Greenstreet, Producer at the prestigious American News Project (ANP) http://americannewsproject.com/ a Washington, D.C. based news organization, just released a 7 minute video with brand new information on what some are calling proof that the Salt Lake City, Utah based Mormon Church spent large sums of money to communicate with California voters in order to pass Prop 8 last fall. The Church had released only a 4 minute edited down version of its hour long simulcast on its web site last October that was broadcast to every Mormon Church building in 5 Western States. ANP obtained written and audio copies of the entire broadcast, including the missing 56 minutes.

I will today forward this information to the California Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC) in Sacramento. The FPPC is in the midst of an active investigation of the Mormon Church’s alleged lack of reporting of its direct expenditures on behalf of Prop 8.

Watch the four-minute video from the American News Project explaining what's going on:



Via Towleroad:

funny feeling

As you might imagine, I haven't been feeling funny, or even glib, lately. Ongoing chaos will not be discussed in the blog. Amusing and merely musing posts to resume shortly.

life imitates fart

Oh dear God. I am now experiencing Nine to Five. And I'm Violet Newstead. Posts may resume when appalled rage subsides.

I've taken slaps in the face before and handled it like a professional. But this is the first time work squatted above my face and took a dump.

San Franciscan underworlds tonight

Metaphorical--
Tonight at the Castro Theater (7:00 p.m.): Touch of Evil.

Via the SF Metblog: Justly celebrated for the ways it combines the ridiculous — Welles’ grotesquely rotund figure, Charlton Heston in dark makeup as a Mexican detective, and Dennis Weaver’s bugging-out night shift motel manager — with the sublime — Welles’ direction, including the famous three and a half minute long opening tracking shot running under the titles — the film inspired a generation of filmmakers by making great cinema on a tiny budget and a two-bit script.

The opening tracking shot itself is a cultural reference point — remember Robert Altman’s homage in “The Player” even as the characters themselves refer to it? (”He set up the whole picture with that one tracking shot… My father was key grip on that shoot.”) But the whole film is stuffed full of delights: Heston in brownface exclaiming about an explosion on the border, “This could be very bad for us… for Mexico!” Janet Leigh as his wife, menaced by a drug-dealing biker gang. Marlene Dietrich as the faded proprietess of a bordertown speakeasy. Weaver frantically protesting, “I’m the night man!!” And Welles himself, grumbling, shuffling, sneering, waddling his way through the film. This is a great chance to see it on the big screen.

Literal--
Tonight on the History Channel (9:00 p.m.): Cities of the Underworld

Via Laughing Squid: The episode with John is about San Francisco and in his segment they explore San Francisco’s Word War II bunkers and talk about the San Francisco Suicide Club. John, along with assistants John Hell, Katy Bell, CJ Desoda and Simone Davalos, “kidnapped” The History Channel crew taking them on a San Francisco adventure.

Via the History Channel: While most people think of San Francisco as a haven for peace-loving hippies, this city by the Bay is actually one of the biggest military defense installations in America. We’ll take you beneath its picturesque hills and uncover the biggest ammunitions depot on the West Coast before plunging into a deadly arsenal that once stored nuclear missiles with more than six times the destructive power of the atom bomb dropped on Hiroshima. From the secret Civil War fortification buried beneath Alcatraz to the human trafficking tunnels winding below Chinatown, San Francisco’s underground is evidence of its sordid past.

This episode of Cities of the Underworld also airs tomorrow, January 13, at 1:00 p.m.

Hail to Hal

Hal Cato, who befriended and mentored me during my fitful coming out in Belle Meade, has always been one of my all-time favorite people. And to call him a do-gooder is the sort of understatement akin to describing Martin Luther King as a "community organizer." I once wrote of Hal Cato as "a leader of men, and a soldier of angels."

I am not alone in my estimation. The Nashville Scene this week announced that Hal is the first Readers' Choice Nashvillian of the Year.


Well deserved my friend.

Hot music in the cold month

February update from DJ Christopher B— He'll be spinning at Swank at Mecca on Valentine's Day (for those of you into that sort of lovey and/or dovey thing), and at Recovery at the Lookout (always fun!) on Presidents' Day (Feb 16), and he'll be at the AoF gala as well on Feb 22.

Christopher also invites you to become a fan on Facebook.

Taking the Mac out of Macworld

and putting Apple into the Consumer Electronics Show.

This week, the Cult of Mac broke the story and continues to cover the real reason why Apple will no longer be participating in Macworld: They are talking their "we're no longer just a computer company" show to the big Vegas techgasm that is the CES.

While I love the idea of Apple and Apple developers/support industries making a bigger splash at CES, I will sorely miss being able to take a streetcar to the Applegasm Expo.

restless

And by that I mean no rest for the wicked.

So much for taking it easy this January. Too much fun. I look forward to a slow Sunday if I can manage it— with a fireplace and a wifi connection so I can write up this week.

MacWorld was great.

Quality Time with Kevin and Shilpa was tasty in so many ways.

And the new boys in from SLC have been fun to have around.

A great night of 1984 at the Cat...

..was followed by a little Underwear Night at the Powerhouse across the street. We entered just in time, and the EmCee gave Slade the hot water bottle to spray down the contestants in the wet underwear contest.

Welcome to SF!

They're calling me to come out again. I don't think my system can handle happy hour but I could use some bad-carby comfort food.

I'm off.

I'll just leave you with this photo until Shilpa makes me take it down ;)

I call it:

"Photo. Opportunity."

be vewy vewy quiet

we're hunting rabbits.

And by "rabbits," I mean...

From Alert Reader Barney in NZ:


Arty bits at The Gladstone Hotel's Alternative Design Event (Toronto, Canada).

See MoCo Loco: Come Up to My Room.

We've got the beat

Tonight. Cat Club. 1984 (eighties music orgasm). Feel free to join us. We will be most of the usual crowd and taking out the fun Slade and Kirk in for Macworld from Portland Salt Lake City.

Before 9:30 there's no cover, and dollar well drinks in the back.

Cheap and drunk? Yeah we are.

what it's come to

My new motto (after "Go big or go home."):

I am have crazy.

I'm thinking of making t-shirts.

Salute to Will.

viewing flickr photos that aren't of puppies

Flickr has gotten all super nanny and flagged many user's accounts as "unsafe" because they feature not so much "adult" content but rather gay content. Photos I thought were salacious were deemed okay. Photos I thought were benign—friends partying about in bars—were considered offensive. My Flickr Censor though the Folsom photos of porn stars were fine, but that me in drag was offensive. I tried not to take that personally.

There is a lot of discussion online about this, including on Flickr's discussion board. It appears that there is either one prude over there wielding abusive power, or their censorship gang each e-mail users using the same fictional name.

In any case, more and more people like me are having to set their accounts, photos and photosets to "restricted." That means that the default setting for our photos is "moderate" or "restricted" so these photos won't show up in random Flickr fields and casual Flickr surfers cannot see this content.

That also means that even experienced Flickr users can't get access to these photos, even if they are searching for them, if they don't muck around deep into their personal settings.

I have gotten several e-mails from friends and strangers asking how to see all the shots in various photosets.

Here's how:

Log into Flickr, click on "You" and select "Your Account" from the drop-down menu.



On the "Your Account" page, select the "Privacy & Permissions" tab.



At the very, very bottom—you've got to scroll down to find it—under "Content filters", click "edit" to change your search settings and turn SafeSearch to "off."



You should now be able to view such offensive material as gay guys smiling in bars or dancing to 80s music.

Kotter

It's been a busy welcome back. I feel like doing a little holiday recap, but this week I am amidst the January flurry of work and of course Macworld.

The annual Macworld means all sorts of goodies, as well as the return of Bryan, who is the ringmaster of this year's circus. That in and of itself is enough to celebrate. Which we have been doing.

PeeDee, RMJ and I were also invited to the Macworld attendee party last night, which as far as I know for the first time featured a DJ and not a live band. DJ AM was awesome, and sooo much better than retro bands booked for past events. And being set in the large Gift Center venue made it more of an "event" than just being hosted at a bar. Well done Bryan.

We met some cool people, whom we took with us to Truck's speakeasy night with us afterward—welcome to SF Slade and Kirk!

There was also the lagging about Zack, a very young PYT in town for Macworld and lost in the Big City whom we took along with us as well. By late night newswire, it was reported that Zack may not have been sufficiently experienced for such a grown-up adventure.

you better shop around

Hoping to hit some furniture stores to replace my worm out comfy chair on Saturday, I left prepared with a tape measure.

I don't know why RoMo had his clipped on.

But the pair of us so armed did not escape notice or comment.



Cruising the Castro with a tape measure takes on a whole other set of implications.

I'm just sayin'.

(You may note above that RoMo subtly indicates what he is shopping for.)

some vacations are better than others

Wow. So much FAIL with this one.


see more pwn and owned pictures

Sigh

And so the holidays are done.

As much fun and warmth were to be had, I'm am so grateful that the new year doldrums have begun. I need the break. I feel like I have been sprinting for the past six months, and the last two months or so at half-capacity.

I'm healthy again and most of my stress-inducing deadlines have passed. Now there is just the general work-related insanity to contend with. Which is no small matter, but possible and that helps.

I've been at it for more than two hours and I have only made minor chips into my inbox and to-do lists. Posting breaks will be light this week.

At least in the mound of toil being generated by e-mails, there is the lightness that is the daily distribution of Unshelved. Delivered during the last weeks of my nastiness, this was so me.



Anyone still sick? Rest up! It's a new year!

The Annual New Year's Day Black-Eyed Pea Chili Party

Is on again.



Come for the chili, stay for the love potion.