Son of a Witch!

Happy Halloween!

my job is so scary

Many people dressed up at the office today.

DropTrou was my favorite by far.



I was clearly, Green with Envy.

Shaken, but not stirred

I talked to Kevin last night just before the earthquake. He called right after the shaking and left a message for me at home. He wanted to confess that as his house started shaking, he ran to his bar to steady it and make sure nothing fell off the shelves. It is a somewhat rickety antique wire and glass stand, so his concerns were valid, except when you consider that he was surrounded by glass, in the open, next to an enormous mirror hanging on the wall, and he was in the least seismically secure part of his house.

He called to confess that during a major earthquake, his first instinct was to save the liquor.

He called back and left another message saying that he called to confess to me, because I would have done the same thing.

Porcupumpkin!

From my cool niece and nephew:

Bradley made the porcupumpkin.
Or is it a pumpkinpine?

The "cuter" ones of course are from the girls Steff and Ellen.

I just got these in my inbox and gave them a call. Ellen has left for a party as one of Charlie's Angels. Bradley, 15 now, is staying home in ghoulish makeup and handing out candy.

I have demanded pics.

Go CATS!

The Davidson Wildcats are in the news again.

This time it is an enormous spread in USA Today.

Excerpt:

McKillop demands team play and that his players become one unit, then revels in their differences.

"Players are not just basketball players here," says McKillop, who has six foreign players on the team. "They are discussing and they are analyzing the war in Iraq, the economic situation of the country, the 'Jena Six' or what is going on in Africa. They are just as much in touch with that reality as they are of the reality of the campus social environment, where they are constantly under a microscope because they are in a small-town college environment.

"I understand who we can recruit to fit that dynamic," McKillop says. "Usually if they fit that dynamic they are generally going to be guys who are team-oriented."

Read it all: At Davidson, hoops and books coexist

Photo credit: Chris Keane

I'm exhausted

I've spent all day toiling over this hot cauldron...

And your little dog too

ArtRageous is an annual multi-gallery art opening and late party benefiting Nashville CARES. It has been immensely popular, and by 1996 had become the world's largest reserved-ticket fundraiser. Just before I moved to SF, I was the Digital Media Director for ArtRageous 9: Moving Pictures (I also did their Web page, back wen the Web was very new).

This year is the 20th anniversary and some of my friends are chairing the event. Other CARES friends are heavily involved as well, and with round-trip airfare a paltry $200, I'm going home for the weekend for the event. I haven't been back since ArtRageous 13: Bewitched.

While a CARES benefit, ArtRageous has always been an event for the broader community (i.e. not just the gays), and with its enormous success has become the public social event of the year. Lots of flash, and lots of fun.

This year, the 20th, has a Wizard of Oz theme, because if you flip 20, you get OZ.

The Art Director this year has done an amazing job of stylizing the Wizard of Oz theme (my personal favorite is the art deco Tin Man), including save-the-date invitations with a tarot card look that rotates Oz and 20 (I can't find the animated version at the moment).


With such a gay party, and a gay theme, I thought that I and my cohort should step up. Originally I was planning on going with some of the organizers but they are way too busy. Keith and I made a plan to join some of his friends on a limo instead of a Van Go (host committee coaches). When Mac and Emily heard I was coming, they decided to go too. They usually go to ArtRageous, and have chaired the host committee in the past, but with a nine-month old at home, were thinking of taking a pass. Joe & Cynthia invited Mac & Emily, and me, to join them on their Van Go, which they have named "The Whizz." (I had to explain the play on words to my mother. Surely you need no such help.)

I have been thinking about what to wear. One needs a little flair for this sort of thing. Or as RMJ puts it, a wardrobe that is "contextually flaming." I have ruby red slippers boots (well, they are made from stingray), so there's that. I thought about making a pair of blue gingham pants and having a Dorothy sort of look to go with the boots, but pale gingham pants and a white shirt did not sound terribly slimming. I have designed a thematic take on the scarecrow, involving jeans, a dark green shirt, and gold fringe; and have spent too much money on it already without hot glue gunning "sewing" it together yet.

During the e-mail exchange regarding logistics, transportation, and appropriate attire, someone made a joke about flying monkeys.

I thought, "THAT'S IT!"

Flying monkeys: a costume that would be cheap, easy--just accessories really--would be festive, attract attention, and unite the group to each other and to the event.

My enthusiasm was not shared with the goup.

Straight people.

Some are claiming they aren't "joiners" or "theme people." Um, you're going to a huge gay party with a Wizard of Oz theme. I know it would be social shame to miss this party, but if you are going, you need to step up to the event.

Cynthia suggested I put together a proposal as people weren't really getting the idea. It took me a while just to to find the time to make the illustrations, not to mention the time just to draw it up and make the pitch page.

But here it is, my modest proposal.

Of course now that I have spent $150 on the scarecrow design, I'm kind of over it and don't care so much anymore if I am alone in my context or not. But a murder of flying monkeys would be hilarious for this event.

[I so wanted to embed the Simpson's clip of Mister Burns releasing his flying monkeys, which plummet to their death, and then turning to Smithers and saying, "Continue the research." But Fox had the clip removed from YouTube. Doh.)

Man, that was really far away

to have been felt so strongly in the City.


View Larger Map

aftershock

The ground was still shaking. Those were aftershocks. At least three of them. All 1.3 or above as it looks.

5.6

Looks like a 5.6. Detals here.

Holy CRAP!

That was a huge freaking quake. It feels like the building is still shaking. That lasted longer and was more forceful than any earthquake I've felt before. It went very quickly from "huh." to "cool." to "Oh shit!" and gripping the doorframe.

I'm sure it was only a minute or less, but it felt much, much longer.

I'll see if the USGS has any data yet. Seriously, this just happened. Of course I called Shilps and she's shaken but only a little stirred. She's checking with her parents now.

Halloween 2007

Well, most everything anywhere near the Castro has now been strong armed persuaded to close down tomorrow. My usual co-conspirators are otherwise engaged or out of town so I'm not sure what I'll be doing.

As usual, Halloween for us stared on the Saturday before. It's been a blast, and exhausting. I'll post a big BOO recap after tomorrow. But here are some wonderful shots from Saturday night (just the community in the Castro)

Suzan and me

I call this one "Castro, Theater."

and the costume contest Sunday night at Sundance Salon. Sunday night I recycled an old, old Burning Man costume I still can't believe I could fit into.

I went as "Southern California."

Too soon?

passé aggressive?

From the NYT: Gay Enclaves Face Prospect of Being Passé

SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 24 — This Halloween, the Glindas, gladiators and harem boys of the Castro — along with untold numbers who plan to dress up as Senator Larry E. Craig, this year’s camp celebrity — will be celebrating behind closed doors. The city’s most popular Halloween party, in America’s largest gay neighborhood, is canceled.

The once-exuberant street party, a symbol of sexual liberation since 1979 has in recent years become a Nightmare on Castro Street, drawing as many as 200,000 people, many of them costumeless outsiders, and there has been talk of moving it outside the district because of increasing violence. Last year, nine people were wounded when a gunman opened fire at the celebration.

For many in the Castro District, the cancellation is a blow that strikes at the heart of neighborhood identity, and it has brought soul-searching that goes beyond concerns about crime.

These are wrenching times for San Francisco’s historic gay village, with population shifts, booming development, and a waning sense of belonging that is also being felt in gay enclaves across the nation, from Key West, Fla., to West Hollywood, as they struggle to maintain cultural relevance in the face of gentrification.

There has been a notable shift of gravity from the Castro, with young gay men and lesbians fanning out into less-expensive neighborhoods like Mission Dolores and the Outer Sunset, and farther away to Marin and Alameda Counties, “mirroring national trends where you are seeing same-sex couples becoming less urban, even as the population become slightly more urban,” said Gary J. Gates, a demographer and senior research fellow at the University of California, Los Angeles.

The article continues, but I'm not in agreement with the author on this one. There will always be gayborhoods. I do agree that it will approach cost-prohibitive to live there though...

best boo invitation

ever.


Click to embiggen.

I would have gone with

"dead ringer."

(instead of "the name does ring a bell.")

I went to Montgomery Bell Academy, and our high school paper was in fact called, The Bell Ringer. I wrote in suggesting a Halloween cover.

Mac-O-Lantern

Love it!

Bernal Heights Hill Soap Box Derby 2007

Bernal Heights Hill Soap Box Derby 2007
Originally uploaded by Laughing Squid

Kelly called Sunday morning asking if I was still going to the soap box derby. We were both far too hung over to get vertical and make it out into the admittedly beautiful day.

Laughing Squid, of course, has a great flickr set. Now I am sort of regretting laying in bed with movies and coffee...

mashup

One of my favorite mashups (annoyingly perky, but so much fun) is DJ Lobsterdust's "Unk vs. Avril Lavigne ft. Toni Basil - Walkin’ Out Yo Girlfriend."

This video is made to Walk It Out on its own, but it completely cracks me up.

Annie Get Your Gun

Wait, it's over here on my side.

How effed up is this?



(via OMG)

New Gay Stererotype

So true.

Only in SF

I've said it before and I'll say it again: I love this town.

I am completely unprepared for Halloween (you may have noticed I've been busy). And I'm sure there are Boo events this Saturday, but there are many other attractions this weekend.

Not the least of which is the Annual Illegal Soapbox Derby in Bernal Heights.



Sweet.

And Shilpa and I loved the public pillow fight on Valentine's Day, so we might have to make our way to the Cardboard Tube Fighting League Tournament this Sunday, also in Justin Herman Plaza.

The Cardboard Tube Fighting League Web site.

Footage from Seattle's League:

How did we miss this?!

Shilpa just got back from a meeting and was telling someone about the trip to the corn maze.

"Who was there?"
"It was me, Wilson, Paul Day, Fred, and Barney..."
"And I hope Betty and Wilma."
"What?"

How did we not think to get a picture of "Fred and Barney"? There are already enough folks calling me Wilma, but that would have been awesome.

We need to get David Britt out more so we can have Betty too.

next time

This corn maze out in Dixon is 40 acres.

I think we'll need more time. And sunlight.

Pop Corn

The I'm Just Sayin' Shuttle Service took an excruciatingly long commute to the South East Bay last night for an exceptionally entertaining night in a cornfield maze.

Participants were Alert Reader Paul Day, his BF Fred, Shilpa, Barney, and me. Barney was quite keen to go as—as I was unable to report earlier—he will be leaving us and returning to his native New Zealand in a few weeks’ time. And this is such an American thing to do, and he does love his “American Adventures.”

While there was lots of fun scaring each other and strangers, it was not a "haunted farm" with spooky sets or ghosts. (Shoeless Joe Jackson was no where to be seen.) The "scares" were mostly "startles." But fun-EE. (And mostly by the PeeDee.)

PeeDee works on the east side of the Bay so he took BART down to Fremont, where he wound up waiting in a strip mall in an hour because the IJS Shuttle hit so much traffic. A couple of margaritas later, and he was good to go.

We arrived at the Ardenwood Farms just as the sun was setting. It had been a hot day in the City, and a hot drive down 101, and according to my car’s thermometer, it was still 85 degrees as the sun set. It was a beautiful autumn night and perfect for a dark night in a corn maze.

Only one thing was missing, which, prepared as we are, was readily remedied. With the leftover cups from our night out at Fisherman’s Wharf, we handily prepared our whore’s coffees from the trunk cooler, which is now just referred to as the “car bar.”

The maze was pretty overrun with large groups of kids, but the maze sprawled over five acres and had ample room to get lost and isolated.

It started out a little spooky, with lots of jumping out at each other as we wound through the dark, but then it just got slap happy and silly, and ever so much fun. I heartily recommend going, and especially at night. And especially with a whore’s coffee.

Amidst the maze were a series of helpful hint signposts featuring ten trivia categories, ranging in difficulty from “genius” to “special” (not the real category names). The questions were multiple choice and a correct answer would give you the correct direction (left or right). However, it should be obvious which was the right answer even without reading the you’re a moron Tiny Tots category as the correct direction would always be the one only listed once. If the questions are all three-choice multiple choice (a), (b), or (c); and only one answer is right, and only one binary direction is right, then the two answers with the same direction must be wrong.

But I was being far too logical (i.e. actually using logic).

Logic was not on the menu as the final trivia category was always a biblical question. That was so disturbing we decided we always had to answer the bible question, or make up our own (“How much did Mary Magdalene charge for a quickie behind the stables?” “How often did Mary do laundry? (c) Never, Jesus never got dirty.). Shilpa always preferred the Tiny Tots questions (“What vegetable does popcorn come from?”).

We loved the maze:


And had no trouble cracking ourselves up. Alert Reader Paul Day led the Corn Row Runway Walk Competition, but I still think Fred was the winner.

At one point we came across two guys who work for the maze. One guy was wearing a mask and scaring kids. The other one had entered with us and I recognized him from the ticket booth. We loved these guys for several reasons: (1) one guy was kinda hot, (2) they were both rather lit, and (3) they were also drinking whore’s coffees in the maze!

Deep in the maze was a bridge over a crossing passage. The top of the bridge gave a wide view of the rest of the maze, and its sprawl over many acres was quite impressive (but sadly impossible to photograph in that light).

Inside the maze itself, it was very cool (in temperature). On top of the bridge, the air was back up in the 80s. I should also note that while we had a flashlight, it was unnecessary as the clear sky and the nearly-full moon were more than ample. And the waxing gibbous was perfect for the night’s atmosphere. (And reminded me a lot of my old Full Moon Walks.)

During our hour-long foray, we did encounter some of the same people more than once. Our favorite though was about 45 minutes in, passing a family and hearing a kid say, "Look! It's the latte people."

We exited the maze about a quarter past 9:00, and were too late to make it to the adjoining pumpkin patch, which had just closed (the maze is open to 10:00). Barney, of course, made a bee-line to the parking lot for a smoky treat. (It should be obvious that smoking is not allowed deep in a dry cornfield.)

I took this pic to add to the others.

There was another Fremont Halloween attraction advertised online and we thought we might make it there before the pirate-themed carnival closed. However, this attraction was on Shilpa’s street.

Shilpa has some serious boundary issues with her parents, and felt oppressive guilt for being in the neighborhood and not spending time at home. We, sensitive 'mo's that we are, gave her nothing but harassment for this, and made her guide us to a drive-by so we could see the Home of Shilpa. We passed her elementary school on the way, where I presume she was also an Alert Reader.

She panicked as she approached her parents’ house. She was racked with guilt for not going inside, but I couldn’t reason why. And one point she said she thought it was bad manners. But I think it would have been worse manners to show up after 9:00, while they are in bed, unannounced, drunk, and with a carload of mo’s that will never marry her (her mother does not approve of drinking or homos). She was afraid of being “caught,” but we forced her to let us take a picture in front.

We stopped short of rolling (toilet-papering) her house.

We stopped for dinner at Shilpa’s favorite Indian place (with “Indian Chinese food” if you would believe) and we recklessly abandoned Phase One of South Beach, which we had begun a mere 18 hours earlier.

I may have had nan and some rice, but WOW was it worth it. OMG. That dinner alone was worth the nightmare commute to Fremont. Shilpa, of course, got all sorts of looks as the one Indian girl with a gaggle of crackers, in an Indian restaurant in an Indian neighborhood. But wow, again with the food. I’m kinda having a moment just writing about it. Masala Grill.

Unfortunately as the driver, I had to minimize the evening’s drinking and stay awake for the long ride home. The passengers, however, were ready for their food coma.

But with an iPod full of Halloween-themed and 80s tracks, it was a fairly lively trip back.

Although I think at this point they were just tickling PeeDee. I don’t know. I was driving.

Flickr photoset

What to do for the Boo

The Bay Area Reporter has a cover story on what's going on in the City this Halloween, now that the Castro is "closed."

The kibosh on Halloween in the Castro by city officials has presented a potentially lucrative bonanza for gay nightclubs and bars in other parts of the city. Several are using the Castro closure and the potential for chaos in the city's gay neighborhood to their advantage.

"Escape the Castro" marketing ploys have popped up in ads for the Endup's "Pop! Halloween" party and the Powerhouse's Halloween bash, both South of Market, and the Cinch is promoting a "Nightmare On Polk Street 2: Escape from the Castro" shindig...

Gay High Holy Day

As if Halloween weren't gay enough.

The Paul Lynde Halloween Special, now on DVD.

From the review:

How gay can it get? Well, the closing credits reveal Bruce Vilanch among the writers. So. Pretty gay indeed. When Kiss is among the straightest things on the show, you know you're not in Kansas anymore.

Children of the Corn

.
So much fun.

(and of course)

You call it corn,

we call it maze.

(And note to Jeff's dad: I know the corn thing is spelled "maize," this is another pun. You may notice I do this a lot.)

The I'm Just Sayin' Shuttle Service will be heading to Freakmont after work today to take Alert Readers PeeDee, PAD, Shilpa, and PeeDee's BeeEff to the corn maze/pumpkin patch.

Shots to follow, after I get to the last week's worth of photo and video editing/tagging of course....

(Hardcastle's principle of blogging: The more I have to blog about, the less time I have to post it.)

If this is the Indian summer,

then I'm in the tandoori oven.

Man, it's another hot day here on the hill. It's late October and it is a total beach day. I'm roasting in my office, but the weather makes for a really nice view from my window. No fog or haze in sight.

The view from the hall isn't so bad either.



(and a little detail of the GGB in the center there)

the Foxy Librarian

has got your goat.

(ARSP and I passed the goats on the hill the other night, in the middle of the City mind you, and were totally caught off guard. WTF with the goats?)

boot tired

It has been four days of non-stop dancing, drinking, and trouble-making. This year's Hoedown/Stompede was a lot of fun, and I am wo' out.

Recaps, photos, and video bits to follow. Hopefully I'll get to that tonight.

For those of you tuning in from outside SF, it has been a crazy beautiful Autumn day here-- total beach weather. Not a cloud, haze, or fog in sight. I've had a clear view of the big blue Pacific all day. Most of the weekend has been like this. S'wonderful. I wish things were as well in Southern California.

And perfect for a Sunday afternoon--between the Stompede cycle of bodily abuse and recovery (where can I get a foot and leg massage?)-- at the Eagle. Photos of friends getting raffled off to follow as well...

Me, Alert Reader Paul Day, Scott Hunt, Frederic Klein

Photo credit: Rich Stadtmiller.

poster child

The hotness that is Shilpa is now featured on one of the promotional posters for the fitness center.

Improv Everywhere: A&F

I sort of hate Abercrombe & Fitch, even as much as I like to look at their ridiculous yet ridiculously hot models.

And I so totally love Improv Everywhere, almost enough to move to New York just for them.

If you liked their foray into Best Buy, You'll love their foray into Abercombe & Fitch.





A friend of mine from high school used to be their spokesperson (years ago he was in the spotlight over A&F's catalog, asian-racist vintage t-shirts and thongs for little girls). He is enormously successful in the New York PR biz and sleeps with models and all of that (OMG, he's Samantha). I wonder if he is still involved with A&F as a client, and if we'll hear anything about this.

bubble gum

Is not that great an idea when you have a beard.

Trust me on this.

I'm just sayin'.

CSF Recap

It's been busy over here at IJS and I'm way behind in event recaps. So just to document, I'll report a little back from this year's Castro Street Fair.

This was the first fair all year where I was not volunteering for one group or another. The weather was perfect and I really wanted to enjoy this one. The Castro Street Fair is like a City-wide Gay-wide block party where one sees close friends you see every week, and close friends you wish you saw more often, but these days only see at "family" functions.

And there are some good booths as well. I found some lovely horn-carved bracelets from Columbia to give as birthday gifts to Deb and Emily.

The highlight each year though is large outdoor country/western stage behind the Castro theater. As usual, Sundance Saloon provided a boot/clothes check. I was very grateful for the boot check this year as it was way too hot for boots and jeans for most of the morning, and I didn't want to lug the backpack around all day.

The lovely and talented Beau ("never wear the same hair twice") hosted an exquisitely catered pre-party perched above Castro and Market, with equally exquisite views.

Usually the Castro Street Fair is entirely wholesome. Fetish gear and nakedness are not
part of the program. Although there were a couple of muscle queens walking around shirtless int he late sumer sun, and they looked good enough doing it I had a hard time being bothered by it. All nakedness did, however, stop at the waist.

Literally veering off from the wholesomeness this year was the new "Sugar Alley" which featured the fun and freaky side of the community-- with booths by Peaches Christ, Boylesque and the like. My favorites were the whack a crazy Scientologist/ mock "Free Stress Test" booth, and the Freak Show Petting Zoo. HI-larious.


After social-butterflying my way through a couple of laps, I spent the rest of the afternoon, as expected, on the dance floor. So many of my friends know this is my thing, and had been hovering about waiting for me to appear. I had a ball, and the Sundance stage was wildly popular,



even for the lessons for such crap dances as "Ghost Train."

But I love my cowboy/two-stepping brethren, and got to enjoy some quality time with some quality people.




And some handsome strangers, and the fun girls from Mount Pilot.

The Rodeo beer booth was situated at the main Noe/Market entrance, and was staffed most of the day by the handsome Eric Hanson, the vivacious Skot Land, and the indefatigable Winne Bego. With such good company, I half-wished I had volunteered, or could have been in to places at once. As usual, we closed the place down (note the empty streets).



I loves my Winnie Bago.

standby

Blogger has been crap for a while now. New posts when it lets me....

Happy Birthday!

It's a calendar full of birthdays for people I love this month. So happy happy to you all: BMay, PeeDee, DebbieSueLinda, Jeff Baker, Sister Stephanie, Sister Emily, Angel, and some I'm sure I've forgotten.

Basically, I just wanted an excuse to post this photo from last week at one of the birthday parties:

Wheee!

White trash...

...never looked so hot.

Just when I think I've had enough Anderson...


Anderson Cooper joins (GNN) Grouch News Network. I love the other anchors: Dan Rather-Not and Walter Cranky.

Anderson Cooper visits Sesame Street.
And on Towleroad.