san francisco again

most of these are pics taken while on the cable car and were shot from my crotch region (as in: i didn't focus or train the lens).

2007 San Francisco Gay Pride Parade

it all started so innocently...a pair of naughty little 70's calf warmers...
then the Dykes On Bikes revved up the crowd...
(could have been as many as a thousand bikes and mopeds)
(outrageous who they'll let watch this thing)
(never mind...)
generik and i had a raging argument over whether she meant the president or some secret lesbian conspiracy...

hooray for titties!!!
some of them were mighty cute...
some of them were mighty brutes...
some of them actually shaved their pits...

then the actual parade began...

ah yes, the GAY AGENDA!!! besides converting all of our children and making Dancing Queen the new national anthem...
somehow, the leis this year resembled thai stick...
later on she got rid of the seat...
the Son of God was chillin' and spreading His love...
unlike Jerry Dyer, S.F. cops got to walk with their "work-out buddies"...

the Balloon Brigade made sure that condoms were not available for any unauthorized hijinks...

a robert beltran look-a-like got his Hydra on...
da mayor of da city, mr. gavin newsom (fresh off an affair with an ex-aide's wife) let the masses know he was OUT and DOWN with the funky groove goin' on...what a hottie...

the police commissioner was HEP, too...
the Board of Equalization gave props...
and a state senator got jiggly with it...
yeah, "work-out buddies"...riiiiiiiight...
a man on three legged stilts (katie still has the vapors...)...

the 'No was represented!!!!!!
so was Barbie!!!!

but god they hope he isn't...

says it all right there...happy and proud...

kabuki...
atlantis?...
struttin'...
...yum... female or not...

all in all, a whopper of a good time. could have had pot brownies from a stranger had i been wise enough to stay another day and call in sick tomorrow. could have bought multiple cans of beer on sale by vendors on the side walk. the cops and the mayor had decided a few years ago to look the other way for these events. their concern was safety and fun.

but shit. the mayor, police chief, police commissioner and state senator all wanted in on the parade? that is so fucking cool. unlike any of our elected officials...

what a fucking cool parade, vibe, turnout (totally packed for miles) and almost to tears joyous time (cops walking with their partners almost got me, it was so open and accepting).

wish you were there.

and thanks to katie's and my wonderfully gracious host Generik for his inclusion of we two gay parade virgins.

more pics in the next post about the rest of our s.f. visit, including the baseball game and the cable car ride during which i photographed lots of architecture. whoo, whoppin' good time.

in idaho a newspaper performed investigative work (a phrase mostly unheeded by the larger national syndicates) to uncover pedophilic activities within the local Boy Scout troops at the behast of a Scout who had been molested. for their hard work it was rewarded with attacks by parts of the community and the local religious powers (including the outing of a gay reporter who was covering the story and pushing to expose the pedophiles). despite the fact that what it uncovered was insidious and pointed to a larger problem within the heirarchy of the Scouts and the Morman church.
wow. a fine example of the free press in action, working locally and standing firm in the face of fear and hatred. if you read it, especially note that the Boy Scouts of America hired lawyers to suppress and hide the civil action suit from the public.

Club Fred

had to get cigs today. normally i buy a carton at drugfair or costco and be done with it for ten days, but today being sunday and me being at home and lazy (despite the kitchen floor on my hands and knees scrubbing) i decided to walk three blocks and buy just two packs. it was nice to walk and see the neighborhood a bit. the "for rent" signs". the "street closed for repairs" signs. the families who speak no english, at least to me. which is okay. i refuse to speak their language to them. whatever it may be. so, we're even.
at the store i found myself behind a woman generously endowed in the hip (and lower) and breast (and lower) regions wearing terrycloth short shorts and whatever it might be called that cover the bittie titties (not that she had those). the store owner was very happy to see me while she spent 5 minutes digging in her purse to find a penny so he wouldn't have to give her 99 cents change.
he, also, had a very nice incense rack.
on the way home i decided to stop in at club fred. club fred was once the olympic tavern, the greatest dive to ever exist in the tower district. when fred took it over in the late 1980's (?) he managed to maintain the essence of that dirtiness.
when fred sold it in the early 2000's the new owner didn't. the new owner wanted it to become a hip-hop bar. his boyfriend wanted it to be trip-hop...i think hip to trip is some kind of stephen hawkings equation for "how gay can you possibly get"?
but that owner is goen and fred is back. as are some of the employees from before. and today felt so much more relaxed. i got a rant or two from a body piercer. i got the "whazup" from the new manager. i got to say hi to the only cop in town who would be seen alive inside one of the tower bars on his off hours.. it felt good.
and bruce was there again. bruce is the only individual drinking institution the tower should ever know. when he likes a place, then you know it's good. when the bad owner took over club fred, bruvce left. when the bad owner was gone, bruce returned. nuff said.
club fred feels good again.