yeah he does

I think it's hot when a man can advertise how slutty he is but also be rather specific about it.

Happy Pride!

Only after did I realize I caught none of the parade today. By the tie I made it downtown, I only had an hour before my volunteer shift with Sundance Saloon and I wanted to try to catch my dear friends who decided to get married today! It was on the QT because it was a spontaneous decision and they hadn't had a chance to tell their families yet. Not that this was terribly sudden...they've been together for over 20 years. I missed them in the line inside City Hall, but I was so glad to go inside and see all of the happy couples waiting. I particularly loved the tall, full-figued lesbian in a giant white wedding dress with her relatively tiny bride, and the truck-driver-looking, bull-of-a-man who wore a satin sash reading "Father of the Bride."

Seriously, I've been crying all week over stuff like this. So. Much. Joy.

The lines were long and the faces were excited. And even the City workers who had to work so much this week looked happy to do it and seemed party of the celebration.

Some folks were dressed up, some casual, and it was amazing to think as I saw some leave—certificate in hand—what a great big deal could be contained in such a small manilla envelope.

Outside the lower entrance (restricted to those seeking to get married), someone thoughtfully left their colorful "Just Married" sign, and many couples would pose with it as they left, and then put it back down for the next couple.












The Sundance Saloon stage was its usual joyous experience, made even better by the appearance and performance of my friends the LA Wranglers.














And a few performance clips (10-30 seconds each):






I was exhausted by the time I got home, but after a shower and a nap, Thomas encouraged me to step out again and while most of the Castro was too crowded and loud, we found a back table in Twin Peaks to wind down our celebrations. Again, thank you to the SFPD for not harassing passers by, but appropriately stopping the drunks throwing up or breaking stuff, and stopping the fist fights, and generally being visible to the gang-looking groups of young people who clearly had never been to the Castro before.




Oh yeah, LOVED my pride shirt! I had been saving it just for today.


Muppet Pride!

Pink Saturday 2013

Wow. Pink Saturday has gotten messier and messier. And if it's any indication, Pride Sunday will be a tragic mess. Pink Saturday is no longer a community event, no longer about pride, and no longer a coming together in solidarity as it is a massive gathering of non-community young people binge-drinking and behaving very, very badly.

The daytime, however, can still be much fun.








After the initial visiting about, Drew and I camped out on the edge at the Edge, and then tried to make our ways back home. I was grateful for the police presence, as kids were already breaking things, fighting, vomiting in the street, and generally trashing the neighborhood. I was ready to get out of there. Like the Halloweens of years passed, I missed the days when the party wasn't crashed nor the good feelings trashed. I was grateful to have had Wednesday's Day of Decision.

Here's the best way I can think to sum it up: Pink Saturday (and even Pride to some extent) has become like Saint Patrick's Day in Boston or New York: It is a public gathering of thousands of people who are not related to nor live near the community hosting it; the event has little regard for the reason it's happening; and it's become an excuse for early twenty-sometings to binge-drink all day and act with no regard for their surroundings or other people, while also attracting crime and violence. Trade in the green t-shirts and shamrocks for fairy wings and rainbow stockings and you've got Pink Saturday. Although I would guess there are more Irish people at a Saint Patrick's Day party than there were gay people in the Castro on Pink Saturday.

Considering the rampant bad costuming by the B&T kids I stared calling it Burning Man Lite.

Yes, I know I sound like a crotchety old man but really, these amateurs and uninitiated need to get off my lawn.

Another friend said this: "Pink Saturday is now just gaggles of annoying early-20-something straight girls in glitter and costumes who can't hold their liquor and have one gay friend they treat as an accessory." After some conversation we wondered how long before the predatory straight guys recognize this event as an easy rape hunting ground. Nothing to be proud of.

Equality is trending

I have to raise a glass and celebrate Four Square. When I checked into a place the Friday night of SF Pride weekend, this is the screen that popped up:

That's pretty awesome.

Day of Decision

The rallies/celebrations in the Castro the evening of the court rulings were pretty amazing. I am sort of done with speeches, and still have a pretty narrow margin for "too many people," but Wednesday night was a celebration of community, inclusion, success, love, friendship, and family.






Months ago I had gotten tickets to a Young ACT play to bring some friends together, and instead we canceled theater night and enjoyed some early evening sunshine and hugs on Castro Street (after settling down from the Muni rage) and then celebrated with a lovely dinner beyond the periphery of the masses at Mama's Ji's. Turns out the dim sum is really just for the day and it's larger entrées at night. Seasoned with chilies containing molten lava, Dear GOD that stuff's hot. Kevin turned an alarming shade of red as rivulets of sweat ran down his face. After dinner, we celebrated in the streets with the other celebratory San Franciscans.






The Day of Decision celebrations were what Pink Saturday used to be: community-based, a celebration, good behavior, and happy smiles on old friends embracing each other. As if a wedding were a block party and everyone was the bride. I miss that about Pink Saturday.

And the open containers.

Special note: Many thanks to the SFPD, whose officers were exceptionally polite and efficient, kept everyone safe, and did not insert or forcibly alter reasonable celebration. As long as it was wrapped in paper and the imbibers were well-behaved, open containers were ignored. (I think the middle-aged nature of the crowd may have had something to do with the relatively responsible behavior of the mass. Typically, a crowd celebrating marriage quality and federal legal recognitions isn't made up of tweakers and young trouble-makers.)

The police force, which was large, felt like part of the celebration while keeping it under control. Very father of the bride. They too are San Franciscans, and this was a victory for all of us.

Happy Pride indeed!

pride and prejudice

How far we've come, and how far we still need to go!  This post from a childhood friend completely cracked me up!

I loved this story so much I went around and told it to my coworkers.

None of them guessed that the doctor might be his mother.

I work in a medical center.

All of my coworkers are women.

There is much work to be done here too!

And in other awesome news

Anthony Foxx.  Man of Awesome.

Prop. 8 Unconstitutional: The News Highlight Reel

From The Awesomes over at AFER:

show your love

Google/YouTube has changed the world.  They know it.  And they share it.

And I will cry every time.

can't get enough

The City is just electric this weekend.  The excitement in the air is crackling!

Another view of Civic Center, including the SF Opera House:

sunny days,

chasing the clouds away.

How to fold a shirt like a bad ass

OMG. Thank you, Internet.

"How to fold a shirt like a bad ass:"

City of Love

I love SF!

I am SF.  SF is We.  Love!

we are family

The community celebration in the Castro was a beautiful love-fest.  I need to upload my pics.

However I don't think any of mine are as pretty as Brain Maier's:

there outta be a law or something

Gay Bachelor

When the inevitable The Gay Bachelor reality show comes to television.

"Will you take this Rose?"

shine

"When I checked Facebook this morning."

via Roy McKenzie

worst person in the world

"Justice Scalia" is an oxymoron.

Seriously.

closer to free!

I've always thought of this as a Pride song. Today more than ever.

http://youtu.be/WGho9tOIcbQ

Everybody wants to live like they want to live!
Everybody wants to love like that want to love!
Everybody wants to be closer to free!

Pride Day

The gays should get today off.

As we can get married now, I thought I should call in "Single, but looking."

Fuck Yeah

While the court ruled as narrowly as it possibly could, and the dissensions are a bit nasty, Prop 8 is dead (solely on standing, with no comment to its merits or lack thereof) and good goddamn riddance to the ironically named Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). America is closer to its cause of freedom today.

Let it ring loud, so that all may hear.

Day of Decision

Six and a half hours until the decision comes down.

We've waited so long, for so much. And it's a shame in this country that "so much" is just to "be even." And that so-called patriots and defenders of religions freedom dedicated a decade and almost a billion dollars to force human suffering on their fellow citizens in the name of piety and prejudice.

All month, the conservative court has been flexing their shameful pressure on history to arc towards injustice and the erosion of the civil liberties our leaders tell us our soldiers have died for.

I expect the court to rule in favor of as little liberty as possible: staking no stand on Proposition 8 other than to say that the proponents had no standing to defend it in the first place, leaving the lower courts ruling of unconstitutional as the final word in this narrow case.

And Sections of DOMA will fall, because they have to.

But even justice delayed but not entirely denied will be a victory.

And California, the twelfth largest economy in the world, will let freedom ring. And the Union must listen to the bells.

And I hope, someday, chime in as well.

bad news all around

I need to stop taking breaks for news updates. The "conservative" court slashes liberties and freedoms, and empowers abusers. I feel nothing but shame for "friends" who vote Republican.

Workplace sexual harassment: We have a go for groping!
Hazing and raping young, weak boys is how Texas parents expect Texas sons to prove that they're men! Rape victims, and those required by law to report it, must be punished!
SCOTUS guts the Civil Rights Act, Texas GOP moves immediately to block minority voting.
Even the Tea Bagging loons think the court went too far in ruling that we don't have the right to remain silent.
Texas Republican Representative thinks that rape kits are used to perform abortions, uses that "fact" to push to ban abortions in Texas. And she's a woman.

And in local news, just this morning alone these are the headlines on top of each other:

Kids Witness To Home Invasion, Triple Shooting
Man Shot To Death In Bernal Heights
Man Attacked After Refusing To Share Beer
SFPD Nabs Three After Armed Robbery At Recycling Center
Woman Arrested For UN Plaza Scissor Stabbing
Man Fights For Life After Mission Mugging

Just no good news today.

I need to go see Joss Whedon's "Much Ado About Nothing" again. That was pure joy.

much MUCH ado!

Thomas and I went to see Joss Whedon's production of Much Ado About Nothing tonight.


Holy forsooth shitballs. That was amazing! Love it loved it loved it!


Y'all have got to go.

And if you're into extra features, there are loads of interviews and extra bits on YouTube. Just search on "Much Ado Joss Whedon."

enough already

The Onion, as usual, is the voice of truth.

Impatient Nation Demands Supreme Court Just Get To The Gay Stuff

Oh dear

slightly mesmerizing, and watch for the twist.

and kick

Pretty brilliant girls pull off a fun illusion in this school talent show.

Facebook can be a bit of a dick

The "we're reading your posts for targeting advertising" is really having the opposite effect on me as a consumer. This crassness just pissed me off.

wet and mild

Thanks to Fun Joe for pulling together some boys and bears for an afternoon up where it's actually hot, and a nice "day at the pool" at WaterWorld in Concord. On the way up, I realized that I don't think I have ever been to a water park before. There was the "the wave pool" (Wave Country) in Nashville out towards Opryland in the 70s, but I'm not sure that counts.

Other than the fact that the Wave Pool had serious waves and swells! The wave pool at Waterworld is pretty much like a pond with ripples. But it was a great day of warmth, sunshine, good company, and eye candy. And wow, with my shirt off I am paler than snowstorm. And the experience was sufficient to send me back to the gym for the next day and send me off carbs for nearly a week.

But it was also enough fun to prompt the rest of us to get season passes too. And I hear there is a Bear Day at Waterworld.




Bring it on.

market conditions are deteriorating

By the way, the Market Street Safeway is getting nastier and nastier. While shopping last night I had to scoot past a super creepy filthy guy—carrying an enormous circular saw blade—chatting up a hoodlum-looking guy in the dairy case. While shopping, an "urgent" call to security came over the loudspeaker, twice. While leaving, and woman was being dragged away by security while she wailed loudly and disturbingly, and looked like she was going to be arrested for some egregious shoplifting. Then her pants fell all the way to the floor. No undies.

And the previously sighted hoodlum-looking guy? And undercover cop.

I did not think that snapping a mobile photo was the right thing to do at this point.

But still.

Ew.

until there is too much

Overheard between to 20-something gays in the Castro last night:

Spoken pointedly and heatedly: "There's no such things as enough!"

Poor baby is going to spend most of his life disappointed then.

change for a 20

The Davidson College Class of 1993 twenty year reunion was truly something special.

Words to come.

Photos are up.