Category: gay

Pride 08 Cometh



Pride 08 Cometh

Originally uploaded by ibod8x5


It is that time again. The time of year when San Francisco opens its bosom to the world at large and says “welcome”. The supposed mecca prepares for the onslaught of daddies, queens, dykes, fags, queers, and freaks. And that’s just the locals. LOL

I snapped this shot on the side of the bus stop in the ‘hood. This particular poster is not just in Castro, it’s all over the City. [1]Pride is the #2 money making event of the year for SF.

The City is already abuzz with excitement and anticipation of Gay Pride 08. I may not be fresh out of the closet or even questioning my sexuality but I still celebrate. Many see Pride as a spectacle because of the more flagrant folks. Not me. Sure, some do it for shock value, some do it for attention, and some. . . some actually do it because they are living openly and honestly for the first time ever. No matter where I’ve lived over the years, I’ve always run into someone during Pride celebrating their very first. The mixture of feelings can be overwhelming. Relief is often felt by many. Relief they are not alone. For others, it can be surprise, shock, confusion, and conflict. This little tidbit is for the latter group. You don’t have to fit. You don’t have to mold yourself into a stereotype or squeeze yourself into a sub-culture. You don’t have to have anything in common with all the revelers. But…you need to remember you do have one thing in common, oppression. It is still a crime in some states to be gay. It is also illegal in many more states for gays [2]when I say gay, I include everyone up/down the Kinsey scale. Where ever you fit, you too. to marry. Something as fundamental to society as marriage is still denied us in most places. Don’t even get me started on World events.

So, I’ll continue to celebrate with the freaks and fairies. I’ll continue until my rights are indistinguishable from those of my straight counterparts. When I can walk down the street in middle America hand in hand w/the man of choice w/o fear of reprisal, then and only then, will I give up the celebration. We all know that ain’t happening anytime soon so until then….the beat goes on bitches!

References

References
↑1 Pride is the #2 money making event of the year for SF.
↑2 when I say gay, I include everyone up/down the Kinsey scale. Where ever you fit, you too.

Represent!

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is getting lots of reaction to the recent gay marriage ruling. Take a moment to let his office know you support equal rights for gays/lesbians.

Please take 10 seconds right now to do it!

To vote in support of the California Supreme Court’s recent decision on gay marriage:

1. Call 1-916-445-2841
2. Press 1, 5, 1, 1

Random Pic



Da Omna Santis

Originally uploaded by ibod8x5


I’m fast becoming addicted to flickr. I swore off of it for quite some time however, the site is just so damn convenient it is too hard to say no. I regretted actually paying for a premium account but, being a control freak, the yearly $25.00 won’t kill me.

I decided I would randomly post pics from flickr just for shits and grins. I took this one a while back at the old Sutro baths here. I have no idea what the latin inscription means or even if it is real.

Dinner Out

The roomie’s boyfriend (Ty Lebouf) is in town for a video shoot.  What was supposed to be just a nice dinner with the 3 of us turned into a group of 5.  Two of the other porny boys joined us.  I was a little apprehensive at first [1]I don’t much care for the attitude that often accompanies them. but it turned out just fine.  Actually, they were a hoot!  I laughed good and hard throughout the whole dinner. lol  Of course, they are never what you expect.  Josh West was a lot quieter in person. I fully expected him to have a bigger than life ego to go with his bigger than life cock.  To discover him to be very sweet and respectful was a bit disarming.  I was actually a little taken with him.  lol  I doubt he much noticed me beyond the laughter but no matter.  I liked him.  I’m still swooning over his big muscle profile. 

The other guy I’ve seen around but never really heard his name used until tonight.  Ross Hurston (I had to Google the spelling).  He was a charmer for sure.  Having never seen any of his movies, I have no comparison however, I liked his sharp wit and sense of humor.  He is staying in SF for awhile so I’m sure to run into him again.  Trouble that one is, thru and thru.  His humor and mine would be a holy terror together.  I fully expect to test that at some point. 

They both seemed taken w/my bluntness.  I admit it, I get a kick when people are surprised by my lack of self-censorship.  I don’t feel compelled to sugar coat the truth over most things and it shows. heehee 

Needless to say, dinner was a well enjoyed event. 

References

References
↑1 I don’t much care for the attitude that often accompanies them.

Celebration Time

i was all set to blog about some philosophical stuff I’ve been pondering.  However, today was the topper.  With the California Supreme Courts decision to overturn the gay marriage ban, Cali becomes the 2nd state in the Union to allow gays/lesbians to get married.  The decision was 4-3 in favor and w/6 of the judges being Republican it sends a powerful message.  The ruling goes into affect 30 days from today.  And while I have no one I’m planning to tie the knot with anytime soon, to say that I am ecstatic is putting it mildly. 

Actually, I got the news on my phone while I was in class.  I promptly broke down and started crying.  At first, everyone thought I was hurt.  Once I was able to speak and explain why I was so emotional, the entire class of managers I was instructing stood up and clapped.  It was a very powerful and emotional moment. 

Sadly, all of the marriages that were invalidated 2 years ago will not be re-instated.  Those people will have to go thru it again.  Then there is the fear the hate mongers from Colorado Springs will succeed in getting a Constitutional amendment passed.  However, I don’t really see it happening.  With even the Republican Governor stating he won’t support a Constitutional amendment, I doubt they’ll even get enough signatures to get it on the ballot.  And if they do, the overall feel here is that it is a done deal and it is time to move on.

Gay marriage as always been a touchy subject for me.  I firmly believe once we get it passed on a Federal level, it will be the last major hurdle in our fight for equal rights.  Don’t get me wrong, I’m not so foolish as to think all the hate-mongers will give up.  Not even close.  However, like women’s right to vote and the abolishment of slavery it will be a turning point in our fight for equality under the law. 

To be honest, I didn’t expect to see it in my lifetime.  Gays/lesbians have come so far in just 10 short years.  And while we still have a ways to go, I am beginning to feel like I belong to this country once again.  Call it naive or wishful thinking, I don’t care.  I always try to see the good in humanity and just when I began to doubt, something like this comes along and renews my faith. 

Here are some of the related articles

Digg

Kron4

SFgate

CNN The correct version.  They got it wrong the first time. 

Associated Press

Needless to say, the Castro was a holy mess this evening.  They had to close down Castro St. for several hours until the revelers calmed down a bit.  Oh yes, people here are very excited! 

Perception

This guy on bigmuscle has been chatting me up for a while now.  I sorta blew him off because I knew I really wasn’t what he was looking for. That said, he was persistent so last week I finally relented.  I could tell as soon as he showed up he was a bit disappointed. [1]Not enough to leave mind you but still. heehee  Anyway, he grabs his ankles, we do the deed, and 2 hours later we are lounging on my sofa laughing and cutting up. 

He is getting ready to leave and he says it.  "You weren’t what I was expecting but I had a great time."  I already knew it and said as much.  He was more than a little embarrassed I already knew.  I said, "I told you already I didn’t really think I was your type."  He goes, "what do you mean?"  Never being one to mince words, I told him.  "You read my profile and imaged I was some hyper-masculine blue collar meathead you could swoon over." 

You could have heard a pin drop.  I could see the truth of it written all over his face.  I just kept laughing.  "Dude, I tried to tell you but you wouldn’t listen.  You had this image of me built up in your mind and nothing I said was going to change that."  I spent the next 10 minutes reassuring him it was ok. [2]I gave him "I’m an opportunist" speech.  He totally bought it.  After he relaxed again and stopped trying to convince me he really had a good time, we started talking about perception vs reality. [3]Oh sure, I could have used another example but where is the fun in that? 

He seemed genuinely interested so I gave him the full blunt treatment.  I talked about the differences in our profiles before I finally said, "you are basically so bossy on your profile you sound like a bitchy bottom."  To which he burst out laughing.  He said, "OMG! my friends tell me the same thing".  I said, "maybe you should listen" with a big smile.  We laughed some more before he went on his way. 

On a whim, I checked his profile again today.  To his credit, he has totally changed it.  He added some normal pics of what he really looks like and took out some of the "bitch". 

The moral of the story?  Never ask a Southerner for his honest opinion.  He will tell you. 

References

References
↑1 Not enough to leave mind you but still. heehee
↑2 I gave him "I’m an opportunist" speech.  He totally bought it.
↑3 Oh sure, I could have used another example but where is the fun in that?

Close Up

A movie about the life and death of Harvey Milk is being filmed in the Castro.  I keep forgetting and of course driving home I often drive right into the blockade.  I don’t mind so much as it is easy to go around however, it does get a bit annoying when you are trying to get from point A to point B and you can’t.

The other day, I inadvertently walked thru the set while they were filming.  I wonder if I’ll end up camera?  I should get some sort of compensation! lol  Speaking of, I got several emails from friends in the area about the casting for extras.  I’m shocked how much they don’t pay.  Fifty bucks for the whole day.  And if you’ve ever been an extra for a film, you know the mean the WHOLE day.  There was a time when I would have jumped at the chance to make $50 however, that day has come and gone thankfully. 

It is interesting to see how they prep and stage stuff.  All the awnings and old business signs gives one a sense of nostalgia.  Definitely before my time in the city but I like it.  I’m almost wishing they would leave the retro look.  The Castro is slowly losing it’s neighborhood feel.  Every year, it seems to be just another random ‘burb with no distinction to set it apart. 

I’m only half complaining.  Nothing ever stays the same.  Change is inevitable.  You either learn to change with the times or you find yourself left behind.  That said, I can still reminisce about the "good ole days".

Super Platter

If you are a football fan, you might wanna skip this rant. 

It’s no secret I’m not a football fan.  However, if I hear another fag rant about the superbowl today, I think I might start screaming.  I enjoy sports as much as they next guy but we have some fucked up priorities in this country.  Have we forgotten the rampant homophobia in professional football?  Call me weird but I don’t think I’ll follow any sport where most of the players would just as soon spit on me as to look at me.  I’ll skip the laundry list of other issues related to the players.  I find it hilarious that we can’t be bothered to get out and vote but we can gather in massive numbers to support a sport that consistently tells us they hate us. 

No, I won’t be watching the superbowl today.  I’ll stick to my freak-accepting scifi shows.

Who’s Space?

I’ve been deleting some of my online profiles as of late.  Tribe.net was the first to get the ax about 6 months ago.  After their overhaul last year, it just died.  With the new government regulations on xxx pictures on the net, they went overboard with restrictions.  The advertising was also very intrusive.  You couldn’t get away from it.  Chop chop.

My friendster account got the ax last month as well.  What used to be a big player in the market was completely overshadowed by myspace.  Having never met a single person on friendster, it was time to go.    Chop

Speaking of myspace, I’ve decided to give it up as well.  I’ve met 1, count’em 1 person on myspace in real life.  Everyone else I already know.  How many social sites do I need to communicate with the same 50 people?  I hadn’t logged into myspace in so long I’d forgotten my password and had to reset it. 

The purpose of a social networking site is to encourage interaction between people.  Hence the title "social".  From my perspectives, most of these sites are geared for capturing advertising revenue with a hind thought thrown in for users.  I’ve been giving Facebook a whirl for a few months now but I’m not really optimistic.  Same story, different site.  I’ll give it some time though. 

Ironically, I’ve met tons of folks thru blogging over the last 4 years.  Now with twitter and Pownce on the horizon, I’ve met several more.  Say what you will about the plethora of drivel that you can find on said sites, they quickly capture your attention given the chance.