Simon says "smile!"

Actually Simon says "squish squish!"

Simon James is a world-traveling photographer from Australia specializing in events and portraits.  I had the pleasure to meet him in Nashville in May when my good friend Carolyn Palmer brought him to the Racers and Chasers cocktail party I hosted to introduce Shilpa and Paul Day around the Nashvegas social set.    While I was home I managed to wrangle the family together for a portrait sitting, and he took some great family photos. I HIGHLY recommend him.


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Simon is also BIG FUN and became one of our favorite people to play with while in town, and we were happy to hear he would be spending the last weeks or so of August in the Bay Area.

Simon came to the Nashville via the DeFrances, when they hired him to shoot Tori's wedding.  Tori's older sister Samantha and I were in the same class growing up.  Simon was in the Bay Area to shoot the other sister's wedding (Tiffany) in Tahoe.  His photos are, of course, gorgeous, but I really just like the candid one of the groom before the wedding.

Ahem.

At any rate, post nuptial and all of that Simon stayed for a week and we go to take him out for some fun time in the City, starting with a quick two-step lesson to prepare him for my birthday party, followed by margaritas and burritos at Puerto Allergre in the Mission, and then general messy mess after that.


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There was also tasty Indian dinner at Shilpa's too with new peeps to the set Rob and Peter.


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Simon will be back in a couple of weeks with his mother and daughters, and we're looking forward to meeting the family. I don't know if he's taking any booking, but you may be able to take advantage of him while he's here. US bookings are handled by Carolyn Thombs in Nashville (cpthombs@comcast.net).

lush life

Speaking of the Mid-Market Revitalization Project, the Shilpa and I had the opportunity to visit the new and expanded Lush Lounge on Polk Street last Saturday after a work conference. So very, very nice.


I say "speaking of" as it was a lovely sunny day, the bar was nearly empty and we sat in the window seats talking with the owner David for most of the afternoon, and he told us that the Chamber of Commerce selected him as the Small Business Owner of the Month and the City has asked him to open another location in Mid-Market as part of the renewal effort. This new Lush has a lot of the charm of the original with much more space, light and air; and I'd welcome another one downtown. He did the build out himself and it is quite, quite lushful. And Cosmo the Bar terrier is almost impossible to resist when he brings the tennis ball and those pleading puppy eyes. I am such a pushover for cuties with fur.

cool shit going down tonight

Two don't-miss events tonight in SF:

Matt Colagiuri Art Opening and Reception
Brilliant local photographer Matt Colagiuri launches a new show featuring his amazing "sculptural photography" opening tonight at Triptych tonight from 6:00 to 9:00 p.m. Triptych is located at 1155 Folsom Street between 7th & 8th. This will be his last local show for a while while the collection tours other US points then Europe. Besides being a great artist, he's an all around great guy.

Mississippi Rider at the Hotel Utah
Ridiculously awesome bass player Mike Anderson will be playing with the also awesome Mississippi Mike and Cree Rider with the band Mississippi Rider at the Hotel Utah at 500 Fourth Street at Bryant. They're scheduled to go on first at 9:00 p.m. sharp, so pop over after the show at Triptych.

Update: Okay, so Matt's show wasn't the big one I was thinking about, and his major works have already left for NYC on their way to the gallery in London. I am excited to see his enormous Vegas piece which is still underway. Triptych may be my new "date" place though. I just heard from Jude that his culinary experience there was terrible, but Nicky at the bar is incredibly enchanting.

AND I have been remiss in finding Mississippi Mike online because in all these years I never noticed that he spells it with single consonants: it's MISISIPI Mike. And last night's show with MISISIPI Rider was a great set.

Favorite line of the night: "That smell's good!" "That's songs bakin' in the kitchen!"

high waisted fast talkers

This wearable camera that records everything all the time made me think of Alert Reader Paul Day.  It's called the Looxcie.







Now look, see!

mid-Market, low prices

Mayor Newsom is pushing for a gleaming new mall at the sketchy/skanky stretch of Market between 5th and 6th as part of the City's Mid-Market Revitalization Project. Just one block from the high-end mall Westfield and other points east, this mall would "be a haven in a hostile city" to discount stores.  Or as the marketing materials put it, "value-based retailers" such as TJ Maxx, JC Penny's and Ross.

Can anything (re)vitalize this area? It is pretty seriously scummy. Can a discount mall be nice, or will it be poorly-organized and poorly-maintained like the pretty nasty discount retailers already in the area?  The SF Appeal poll has 71% of people responding that they think it will just be a "dump" too.  Read the Appeal for the story.

However, I expect if there were to be a Target in that space people would be singing a different tune (anti-gay/anti-democracy corporate actions notwithstanding).  And a Target above a Muni station would be handy.

What do y'all think?

now THIS is muni

London's getting amazing new buses based on the iconic Routemaster, but designed to be the most environmentally-friendly, people-friendly and energy-efficient public transport in the world. 

what's in a name

Isn't it a bit arrogant, or maybe just presumptuous, to name a child "Christian?"  You don't see other people naming their kids "Jewish," "Islamic" or "Hindu."  WTF?

taking note

another day without hot water.  My building is pretty unreliable and I've been advised to keep a log of these things.  So I'm writing it down here: no hot water and day two with an arctic wash before work. 

branding FAILs

I applaud retailers who cater to their local customers, but a Walgreen's in Nashville completely missed it with this one.

This particular Walgreen's is just a block or two from the two primary private schools in the region: Ensworth and MBA. Ensworth originally fashioned itself after Princeton with a similar shield, orange and black school colors, and the Tigers as their mascot. (Go Tigers!)

Ensworth is relatively new (established 1958), but MBA was founded in 1867. Not only did my father and two older brothers go to MBA, but we ALL had the same English teacher. As did most, if not al,l of Nashville's prominent local leaders and businessmen (and Governors and Senators for that matter). MBA, formally Montgomery Bell Academy, is a local institution. But rarely and only formally does anyone call it "Montgomery Bell Academy". Occasionally, it may be referred to as "Montgomery Bell," but basically it's MBA." In Nashville, MBA is a school, not a degree. It's something transplants have to adjust to.

No one has ever, ever, referred to the school as "Montgomery."

There is a Walgreen's located near Ensworth and MBA, whose campuses themselves are only about two hundred yards from each other. I applaud that they sought to market to their local students with pep rally gear such as seats, cups, and megaphones. But you would think that if they were to make the effort to order specialized products, they would bother to get the name right.




"Go Tigers" is perfect for Ensworth.  MBA does not have an animal mascot. They are The Big Red. In all sporting events, MBA supporters cheer for "Big Red," or cheer/chant "Roll Red Roll!" I imagine it would be ridiculously easy to figure this out before ordering merchandise. Megaphones and flags reading "Montgomery!" makes it sound like they're cheering for Mr. Burns on The Simpsons.

On a similar note, I noticed this generic knockoff while shopping at Lucky the other day. Seriously? The closest similar name you could find for a Reese's cereal was this?





"Cocoa Peanut Butter Spheres"? Where is this marketing department? I'm applying for a job—clearly I'm better than anyone they have.

Who is ever going to cry, "Hey Mom! Can I have Spheres for breakfast?!"

I would have gone for something like "The One-Two CRUNCH!" With a subtitle of "Cocoa and peanut butter puffs!" (Provided that "puffs" is a suitably generic noun and not a proprietary name in the food biz.)

oh what a tangled hair we weave

Disney's digital animation (but not Pixar) has a new take on the Rapunsel tale. Looks cute.


Click to watch the trailer.

Holy Cows!

Alert Reader and Bovine Prognosticator Carrington Fox has been selected as a local celebrity in the Kroger Celebrity Cow Milking Competition on September 17 at the Tennessee State Fair.

Oh God I can't make this stuff up. I so wish I were there!

I cannot believe how much this has made my day.

what's with the bad juju?

Yesterday I lost all Comcast services: internet, phone and tv. And with AT&T as a mobile carrier, that meant no phone service at all at home. Which was hard when I kept trying to be tech support with my mother who was having her own problems. They can't get anyone out to fix the line for a couple of days, unless I stay at home all day.

And this morning: no hot water.

It's going to be one of those days isn't it.

get a Lifetime

We used to joke that Lifetime was "television for women and gay men." Only if its more profitable and marginalizing. Their new movie aired last night: "The 19th Wife." Sure, they run gay schlock if its campy and super queer like "On the Road with Austin and Santino," but shows with gay people whom the audience might actually identify with? Cut that shit out right quick. Gays are funny and non-threatening and less than humans-- they're cute, funny, fashionable pets! Get your own gay BFF and be the popular girl! But said gay friend must be super faggy. No football-playing gays please.

"The 19th Wife" was written by a gay man and is the story of "Jordan, who has been excommunicated from the Mormon Church, and his efforts to help his mother, a member of a polygamous sect who has been accused of killing her husband." The secondary storyline (second to rescuing the mother from a sect) is the life, love and relationship of Jordan with his boyfriend Tom. Not that you would be able to tell from the movie, which changed the main character to straight and eliminated completely the story of his life, who he is, what he does, and why he might have the relationship he does with his mother and the Mormon church.

AfterElton has the story.

WTF Lifetime?

hold it together

Sometimes I think it is helpful to have a healthy detachment from whatever situation, environment, or unsettling world you find yourself immersed in. If you have a strong sense of self and a sense of character, you can think of yourself as a tourist in the land of Crazy.

Just don't go native.

Hey Remixer!

Cover me. I'm going in.

A history of what it means to "remix" - Everything is Remix:

Everything is a Remix from kirby1 on Vimeo.

born to hand jive

They call themselves Up & Over It: "Irish Dance for the Post Pop Generation."

word of the day gets all catty

Alert Reader Kevin K. writes:

"Hey! What are the origins of: catywhompus/katywhopous? A patient just said it and would love to tell them where it's from."

Cattywampus originated in the mid 1800s as a slang for diagonal or askew, similar to the expression "catty-cornered." Its generally accepted spelling is "cattywampus" but it is also seen as "catawampus." Its meaning of diagonal or askew physically later expanded to askew situationally as well. So a picture frame could be cattywampus if it wasn't hung straight or a situation could go "cattywampus" on its way to being a complete "clusterfuck."

when a sequin dies

Some sad news for my brother Mac and good friend Elizabeth James: the Liberace museum is closing.

Mac and his non-gold playing friends once spent the day there as an alternative activity (alternative to everyone else playing golf). He was the subject of a bet regarding posing certain questions to the docent while appearing completely sincere, including the question "Do you think he was a gentle lover?" (Thoughtful and almost tearful response: "You know, I believe he was.")

For Christmas one year, EJ game me a large magnet from the museum, and Mac gave me a beach towel, both bearing this image.   I treasure them. 

Guy Smiley

I've been running through my portion of the leadership retreat we're hosting tomorrow.  I made my educational section a version of Jeopardy, using the super amazing Jeopardy Labs website (built by Washington State University, Vancouver student Matt Johnson).

Mom overnighted my blue-sequined dinner jacket for the occasion.  I think I really missed my calling as a game show host.

I want one of those skinny mics like he had on Match Game.  And even though I'm using Jeopardy for my educational game show template, and Pyramid was my favorite, it is the Match Game theme song that has been stuck in my head all week.  

for someone who likes to take a red pen

to graffiti, I think this is hilarious.

"Anarchy Rules!"
"No. By definition, it doesn't."

Via The Daily What and World of Wonder.

stake. it's what's for dinner.

Word was leaked that SF Chronicle food critic Michael Bauer was coming out with a local restaurant review with an unprecedented zero stars for food.  Morton's should stick to frozen fish sticks and stop trying to be a decent steak house.  I have baseline disgust for chain restaurants and pretentious and ridiculously overpriced steak-themed restaurants, so I cannot say I'm surprised.  Although now I do want a really good steak.  I wonder when I make make a trip to Houston's next (yes, I suppose Houston's is a chain, if one other remaining from the mere original three spread across the country counts as a "chain").

The no-star review of Morton's on Union Square is very much worth the read.  Potential visitors take note. 

scarlet letters

Why is it that the only princes that write me claim to be from Nigeria needing my help to hide some cash?

I received this unsolicited message from an unknown person via Facebook.  He has no photos (save the one), wall posts, info, nor friends in common.  How did he find me?  There's much wrong with this message:

Aaaand blocked.

press pass

From Alert Reader Hala, as seen outside her dean's office.

Still smoldering

To my super-fun-yet-aging friends, welcome back from Burning Man!  Is it done yet?  I mean, jumped the ironic Fonzie and the Skark desert installation?  Like so many things before it, I hear that it has been a victim of its own success.  The Xers build something special and the Yers sort of trashed the place.   This year, what was the art-to-pharmaceutical ratio?  I wasn't there, but I heard it was not so much Burning Man any more as it was a sort of costumed-tourist-come-lately, week-long rave. (At least they were largely costumed, unlike Halloween in the Castro which suffered a similar fate.)

So what's the report?  Waiting for well-written tales and fabulous Flickr slideshows over here.

Although frankly,  I prefer and freakling love the Balsa Man Festival.  But I'm also a fan of being able to go home to a flush toilet or a shower or a cold beer when I'm done enjoying the art in the sand. 

even if you're kneeling

I come from a very faithful family. In my adulthood, I have pretty much abandoned all religion in favor of reason. I deeply respect the importance of ritual and community, but I've had enough of the hypocrisy and unintentionally ironic evil preached and practiced by organized religion. Those who most fervently identify as "Christian" are the least. I love my family. I respect their faith. But Presbyterians are pretty good about not being dicks about it. They are very American in that "freedom of religion" thing.

This came across my radar this morning, and I would love to see it posted it at every annoying teabagger/republican rally.

Freedom of religion includes freedom from religion.  Religious Americans should celebrate that.


Thanks to JMG/Eine Frage von Stil

This is what love looks like

I am blessed with a loving family. And a "crazy in the good way" one. And Mom always finds the best cards. This year, I found this bit of love in the mail that moved me to tears. And it's just spot on.


That is just so me/us in so many ways. And what's even more funny is that I have a hat very similar to that flamingo one that's a turkey, which my mother gave me. And I of course wear it proudly during the holidays.

But the kicker is the inscription:


I may be one odd duck, but I love and am loved by my family that's completely quackers.

A happy birthday indeed.

Hi Ho Hilma

Wilma and Hilma always have fun together. As I was stopping in the Castro for a quick lunch, I passed Harvey's as the couple at the prime corner window table was packing up. I took this as a sign and pounced on the best seat in the neighborhood, in front of the open windows on a sunny, sunny day. No sooner had I staked my claim did I hear a cry of "There's Wilma!" from the bar. Hilma briefly joined me for a refreshing beverage. How much do I love her: She was having her hair done down the street and all they could offer her was water or tea on this rare warm one, so during her setting period she bolted down the street, smock and all, for a cold beer on a hot day.


She was warned not to stay more than 25 minutes or her hair would over process. Even from the stylist's chair this woman is always stylin' and smilin'.

Cheers to Hilma!

shadow of my self

Living myself at a 545, I noticed this particular signage downtown waiting for a light to change on my way to the dentist.



I was particularly taken by the use of light and shadow as well as depth with this particular number sign. The contrast of light and dark mark the numbers more than the font.

Shilpers in the grass

Very reminiscent of the déjeuner sur l'herbe (luncheon on the grass), this year Shilpa celebrated Raksha Bandhan (AKA Brothers and Shilpers) with her brothers Kevin, PeeDee and me in an unusually warm and appropriately Indian summer evening in Golden Gate Park.


It was only after reviewing the photos that I was reminded of the famous Manet...

It was a lovely evening of wine, cheese, Indian treats, and celebration of fraternal love. And we took turns accepting the laurels in the shadow of the Garfield statue.

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And we sealed the deal with the binding of the rakhi, which we will wear until the next moon.


From wikipedia: "The festival is marked by the tying of a rakhi, or holy thread, by the sister on the wrist of her brother. The brother in return offers a gift to his sister and vows to look after her as she presents sweets to her brother. The brother and sister traditionally feed one another sweets."

Mmmm. Sweets...

And there's plenty of "looking after" too. Love to Sister Shilpa!

Dance!

Happy making.

A montage of dancing scenes from over 40 movies, appropriately enough set to "Footloose."

I am beautiful, in every single way

And by that, I mean that I think it's my "beauty" that keeps me single.

I was searching for a lost document when I found this survey Nfocus sent to me last spring. The editors asked some of the socials a range of questions for their "Health & Beauty" issue. These were my responses:

Name: Wilson Hardcastle
Age: 39.5

What hair product or process changed your life? Male Pattern Baldness

What is your skin care regimen? I have a special portrait in the attic.

What do you do regularly to beautify yourself and where do you go to do this? I beautify myself by making sure the rest of you are pretty hammered. To do this I go to the Swan Ball. Or church, and suggest to others that they take communion five or six times, just to be on the safe side.

What discontinued product should be brought back to the market? Lawn darts. Nothing makes me prettier than your having lost an eye.

Share any amazing spa experiences or procedures that you loved. Nothing really. If you have a particularly climactic experience at at spa is that considered a spasm? I've not had any spa experiences, but a good pedicure and food massage can make everything seem right with the world.

What beauty procedure, aside from hair color, matters most to you? Good dental work. Aside from smiling to be beguiling, it's difficult to lie through your tooth.

What’s your go-to lipstick or lipgloss? Vanilla Soft Lips. Or whatever I can pick up "second hand" if you know what I mean.

What mascara leaves your lashes long and lush? As a racing fan, I'm more partial to NASCARa.

Have you ever had a product or beauty procedure that shocked you, in a good way? When I was more naive, some beauty products shocked me. These days I am much more grounded.

What beauty practice did you learn from your mom that you still practice? Being a good person. That's a beauty that shines through and never fades.

Share your greatest beauty catastrophe. I still have a piece of pencil lead stuck in my face from childhood. I now just consider it a "beauty mark."

People would not be able to recognize you without your what? Cocktail.

What specific makeup can you not live without? Kryolan professional paints.

If you could have any sort of cosmetic procedure, what would it be? Full-body lipo, with a side of hair plugs.

If science could invent a procedure to fix something beauty-related, what would that be? Helping those people who are so hideous on the inside.

What do you do to stay in shape? It's pretty effortless. This round shape pretty much takes care of itself.

Have you found any new exercise regimes or cool workout programs that have significantly changed your physique? If so, what? "Cheeseburger" is not so much a regimen as a lifestyle.

"National Organization for Marriage" can't stop lying

You would have thought with the freaking smackdown they got for their lies during the campaign, they wouldn't produce this horseshit again. But of course, they did. How can this stuff get on their air legally?

Stop8 has a great breakdown:



Earlier this month Rob Tisinai posted, with his usual awesomeness, a little hsitory of NOM.

40!

Wow. Turning 40 was a wild ride, and in the recovery I am feeling every year. But it was ridiculous fun and thanks to everyone for their well wishes and to everyone who came out for Mad Men or the Big Country Dance last week.

That's some serious love. And I'll post pics and such as soon as I can get them from the friends who took photos. It's all a blur to me.

But I want to do it again.

Mad Man at 40

I turn 40 this Saturday, and am having a ridiculously big blowout at Cafe Cocomo with country dancing, my favorite band (77 El Deora) and other treats.

While I was home in Nashville, my sister-in-law Emily, with assistance from her mother, my mother, and Carrington, threw me an amazing Mad Men-themed party at their house. "Wilson Hardcastle: the last great thing conceived in the 60s." Food and attire was 60s-themed, and mom even went through six costume changes at home, of wesome outfits she has kept since the 60s, only to be unable to bring herself to show up in costume. Mac and I however wore a smoking jacket and dinner jacket respectively. While everyone thought the weather had cooled considerably and were comfortable, it had cooled to a balmy 95 and was still too hot and humid for me to wear the jacket long or mingle at the bar on the screened porch.

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Emily was amazing. She even took time off work to spruce up the house and make all of the arrangements—including a period menu, a pineapple/fruit/sausage candle party thing, and even put out antique ashtrays and candied cigarettes all around the house.

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Mac and Jay has a short roast, and the cake features a photo of me dressed as a clown at one year old, with the caption "some things never change."

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It was such a special, special night and I send my love and thanks to everyone who participated. And I feel doubly-loved that I can have two 40th birthday parties on opposite coasts and have a hundred or so loved ones at each.

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Flickr set (most photos from Carolyn and Keith).

And I thought I devoured comics as a kid

It feels like I'm saying that the dog ate my homework, but termites ate my comic books.

One of the projects I have been meaning to tackle each trip home is checking and re-cataloging all my comic books. I have about 15-20 long boxes in the basement, but the dehumidifier down there hasn't been working right for years and the May Day floods really upped the moisture level down there. I thought the basement was a much better environment that the scalding attic but I may have made a mistake there.

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As I started to go through the boxes, I was aghast to discover that termites ate through four boxes of carefully cataloged comic. Probably 95% of my collection was bagged (and mostly boarded), but the termites or whatever managed to turn a box of graphic novels into one giant ant farm, with tunnels and turns throughout the cube. At first I thought it was bookworms or the like, until I found there they were able to bite and pincer their way through the bags in some cases devouring entire issues inside their bags.

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My collection is extensive and thoughtful enough that I was hoping to use it to fund a down payment on a house. Now I'm not so sure. I salvaged a lot from the eaten boxes and will have to re-bag all of those, and document the new gaps in the collection. Luckily many of the other boxes were spared. I didn't get to the back seven boxes and will have to do some assessment on the next trip. But damn I could not believe how boxes of carefully collected comics could be so easily transformed into an ant/termite colony.