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November 25, 2008

Nailed by a Nimrod, no really!
Driving in Pasadena after dark has never been a scary thing for me, people there as just as bad drivers as people everywhere else. So I was a little surprised when, while waiting at a crosswalk for a pedestrian to finish jay-walking, I was nailed hard in the tail by another driver who didn't see me stop. Apparently he was texting his wife that he was about to pick her up, and wasn't looking where he was going.(Smart- texting in rush hour- love it!)

The "Thank God" moment for me was when I realized I was in my Ford pickup truck, and not in the Toyota Highlander, whose bumper would not have withstood the 18+ mph slam. The truck however, was built 'Ford Tough' and the hit only damaged the bumper.

The damage is around 1k- and the guy who hit me, his name was Nimrod. Gene NIMROD. I am NOT making this up.

As my friend Micah McCane would say "Shut Up ! I Know!"<link>

Feedback to this article HERE

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November 18, 2008

Doodie duty

I was summond this week to Jury duty, and if I get called, I may have to serve on a jury for up to 2 weeks. I'm at the courthouse now, and three panels have been called so far, none with my name on them, thank God.

I'm not really worried about the inconvenience, God knows I'd be happy with something to do and somewhere to go for a while to keep me busy. Its not the time, or the facilities, it the people. AMERICA is here, and though it's a very nice idea in theory, this melting pot is a cesspool of bad habits, inconsiderations, strange smells, poor fashion choices, cultural differences and germs big enough to see.

It's the height of flu season, and I'm in a room with hundreds of people, many with CHILDREN at home. I'm washing my hands every 7 minutes and trying desperately not to touch anything. I've escaped the big F for a few years now, and it doesn't seem like I can fend it off for much longer. Even the train ride to downtown saw me with my hands on my lap, avoiding the lightest bump into anyone, or scowling at the old guy who's hacking up a lung in the seat in front of me, thinking "If you're about to die, STAY HOME NEXT TIME".

I won't even get started on the colognes wafting through the air, it smells like christmas at grandma's in here. Drakkar noir, Polo and a lot of stanks I don't even recognize- NAYASTY!

Feedback to this article HERE

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November 17, 2008

Where are your priorities, chanel 7?

After we got home from marching, I turned on the TV to find the news, and to see what kind of coverage we got. Surely the site of 12,000 people parading through the streets of Los Angeles, as well as 50 other cities across the nation would gather some pretty good press.

Not today.

Today, Southern California is on fire, and all chanells are tuned to the sad images of unfortunate homeowners, hands over their mouths as they watch their homes reduced to buring embers.
Freakin' crybabies.

There's important protesting going on all over the country today.

The last time I marched in a Gay rally was 1989 in Washington D.C., that was almost 20 years ago! These fires happen annually! Nothing new, give me a break!

Can we switch to national news for just a second?

No, we can't. Not really, not when massive helicopters and 747's are dipping into the reservoir to scoop up hundreds of gallons of water to dump on a house. That's not only news, that's visually arresting!

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November 17, 2008

We came, we marched, we left- who knew?

The gay union called everyone and informed us that the agenda is in desperate need, and our attendance is required at the March on City Hall rally, downtowm L.A. They promised celebrities, so we went.

Pre-made posters were handed out and the smart ones stood in th shade and listened to the speaches, including mayor Antonio Villagrosa and Daryl, the cute gay Black guy from Noah's Ark.

(Darryl's speach was better)

It was 95 degrees by 11 a.m. and we started to wilt before we started the "Wedding March" to protest the ban on same-sex marriage. I was surprised no one made a smart-assed comment about that description, I mean, aren't all marriages trapped in a same-sex clause? Isn't that the point of marriage, to end the practice of multiple sex partners?

Regardless, we did it the smart way. We drove to the location designated as the END of the march, parked our car, and took the MTA to the start of the event, so we only walked one way.
We're here, we're queer, we're remarkably efficient with time, money and energy!

In the paper the next day, I was touched to read that there were rallies like ours in major cities all over the U.S., and they were carrying "No on Prop 8" signs, even though it wasn't on any ballot outside of California. More people marched in Dallas, Seattle and boston that in all cities in California combined. I felt like my distant cousins, brothers and sisters were rallying for me, I was moved.

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November 13, 2008

The Prop that wouldn't die

Micha Mcain of Shut up I know broke the news this week that Marjorie, a server (and perhaps partial owner?) at El Coyote restaurant in West Hollywood adjacent caved in to the Mormon church pressures and donated money to the Proposition 8 campaign, the one that affectively removed Gay Californians right to marry.

After a press conference yesterday, Marjorie explained her reasons for doing so, but offered no reversal of her decision, effectively standing behind her Mormon leaders values in denying Gay people rights. People attending the press conference were appalled, in that after a lot of hoopla, Marjorie had an opportunity to make nice with the community that pays her tips, and supports her family financially ( An unconfirmed majority of the restaurant clientele are card-carrying members of the Gay commmunity, patronizing the restaurant daily) .
When she took questions, one crowd member asked her if she would also support the "No on Prop 8" capaign, she stated flatly "No", and the crowd erupted.

Today at 7 p.m. there will be a demonstration callig for a boycott of El Coyoyte in from fo the restaurant on Melrose ave. in Los Angeles. Unfortunately I can't be thee, but I would just LOVE to go and photograph what I'm certain will be a VERY emotionally charged event.

I'll report tomorrow on the happenings as I learn them.

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November 11, 2008

Rider Down
On Saturday my buddy Alan went for a ride without me and had a bad fall. He was coming down hill fast on Chantry Flats road in Pasadena (North Santa Anita Blvd) when he had a front-tire blowout. He went down and landed on is right side, hard.
Diagnosis: Five broken ribs(One fractured) a punctured and collapsed lung. I found him Sunday morning on Morphine, oxygen and with enough rasberries on his body to make a desert menu. He's been in Huntington Memorial Hospital since Saturday and I've been stopping by with treats, magazines, my cribbage board and movies on the mac. His lung has stopped leaking air and the draining has slowed, so he may go home tomorrow (Wed). We're keeping our fingers crossed.

Today a pet-therapy pooch named Liberty came by to say hello- She was so cute and gentle, Alan just loved her, they got along like old frieds. If you'd like to download a version of this image, just click it and take the high-res version. : )

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November 9, 2008

The Wedding March.

My Fellow Gays are pretty pissed about Proposition 8 passing, the new law that amends the California constitution to define marriage as a bond between one man and one woman, effectively banning Gay's from marrying. Marriage has been a right of passage for Americans for hundreds of years, and a legal right for the past 9 months, and is now being rescinded.

Many are hopeful that the courts will rule in their favor and state that the new amendment is inheritantly unconstitutional because it denies rights to a specific group of people recognized by the State of California as a minority, subject to protection un the states equal rights for all statute.
The rally's are simply our way of letting those that voted for this hateful law to know we are here, and wiull be far from silent on this issue. Marches have taken place in West Holywood, Silverlake, San Deigo, Orange County and Long Beach this wek, with more planned.

Another strategic legal tack being taken by some lawers is to redefine the amendment as a major revision. In this case, the revision would need a 2/3rds vote to pass. Since the voting is over, and a 2/3 was not achieved, it would redefine the results as a defeat, rather than a pass, effectively reinstating the right for all those that have already maried, and those that wish to.

Personally, I feel it's looking pretty good, and I'm actually glad this happened. The gay community has needed some good old fashioned wake up calls to remind them that all is not well, and that we need to remind out fellow Americans' that we will not be treated as second class citizens, ever. This Proposition to Ban has been a real shot i the arm for all of our inner activists, and everyone I know has marched so far, and the buzz is palpable. More on this later.

Feedback to this article HERE

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