Proud of My People

I’m still glowing with pride at how well the international Marriage Equality Protest went on Saturday, especially my 25,000 San Diego peeps who made ours one of the biggest. Now, I can take no actual credit for any of it. I didn't even make the sign I carried. All I did was show up. But that was all I needed to do, better minds than mine did the rest.

And the way they did it is being called a paradigm shift in gay activism. Without going through any of the national gay organizations, the protest was put together through websites and online word of mouth. For a complete explanation of what happened and what it means read Rex Wockner’s excellent post by clicking here.

Since Saturday I’ve been thinking of all the gay people who lived and worked in neighborhoods full of Yes on 8 signs and people who supported it. I heard some of their stories and they were feeling truly beat up by the experience. I pray that Saturday they felt a big weight lift off of their shoulders when folks across the country, in towns big and small, even across the border in Canada, in all kinds of weather, all got out to show their support at the same time.

My new hero is kccat in Cleveland who roped her husband into making signs and going to the protest with her. Click here to read her story and see pictures of them bundled up in full-on winter parkas with hoods and umbrellas to protect them from the freezing rain. Not gay. Not Californian. Bad weather. Out there anyway!

Public Service Announcement: Recognizing a Stroke

This email was forwarded at work and I thought it worth sharing:

RECOGNIZING A STROKE:

Remember The 1st Three Letters.... S.T.R.

S * Ask the individual to SMILE.
T * Ask the person to TALK and SPEAK A SIMPLE SENTENCE (Coherently) (i.e. It is sunny out today)
R * Ask him or her to RAISE BOTH ARMS.

New Sign of a Stroke: Stick out Your Tongue. Ask the person to stick out their tongue. If the tongue is crooked, if it goes to one side or the other , that is also an indication of a stroke.

If he or she has trouble with ANY ONE of these tasks, call 911 immediately and describe the symptoms to the dispatcher.

March for Marriage Equality

Just before 10am on this bright, clear, warm Saturday morning I met Brian, Christian, and Scott (left to right in the top picutre) at 6th and University in Hillcrest where we joined all the people moving towards 6th & Upas and the start of the March for Marriage Equality. The crowd gathered in Balboa Park while we waited for the start. There I also saw Allan and Terry (2nd pic). Kermit the Frog also came to show his support. Carol shows her pride and her dimple. The bottom photo shows some of the crowd and their signs.

Protest across the country all happened at the same time; so while we were gathering from Seattle to San Diego at 10am on the West Coast, in New York City they were marching at 1pm Eastern Time.

Since the election I have been amazed and heartened by the human and geographic diversity of the outrage against Prop 8. Straight allies have been very loud in their support and were very much a part of the march today. And also across the country and around the world people have been strongly affected by what happened in California. It helps to heal the hurt to know that we’re not alone in this; folks everywhere are appalled by the hate and the lies. They know we’re all connected, we’re all one, and we all deserve the right to control our lives.

The top picture is looking back up 6th Avenue. Balboa Park is on the right. Chris, Christian, and Carol enjoy marching and protection from the strong sun. The bottom picture is looking down 6th as the march enters downtown.

The crowd was estimated to be 20,000 - 25,000, which is huge in a town that rarely turns out to protest in large numbers. I only saw 3-4 people carrying Yes on 8 signs; I thought “is that all you got!” One of the marchers started to get into a heated exchange with a counter-protester and 2 of the volunteers tackled him and encouraged him to march on. The protest remained peaceful throughout. The volunteers were excellent and the police did a great job keeping everyone safe.

While walking along I thought of the part in the New Testament where Jesus is asked to tell the crowd to be quiet and He responds: “if every voice were stilled the rocks and stones themselves would start to sing.”

When we arrived at the County Building we found some shade to rest in. Chris (red t-shirt) massaged Christian’s feet. Journalist Rex Wocker ( a link to his excellent blog is over on the right) surveys the crowd from the top of a truck. The woman speaking is the attorney who successfully argued the case for marriage equality in front of the California Supreme Court.

Thoughts on 8

This week I received an email from my dear friend Steve in Virginia asking: “How awful is it to feel the weight of voters on gay marriage?”

I responded: “My feelings about the passing of Prop 8 in California are still developing and fluctuate daily, sometimes hourly; much like the 4 stages of dying. I don’t think I’m to acceptance yet. Going to bed election night the exits polls were so promising. How could this happen? I know Virginia has been much worse, but this was the first one I experienced first hand and I don’t like it at all. It’s as if the teacher finally gave our homework an A+, but out in the schoolyard the bullies grabbed it out of our hand, tore it up and knocked us to the ground. And after election night they’ve kept kicking us while we’re down and crying to the teacher when we expressed normal anger. The hate flying around since the election has been horrible. Bastards!”

To that I would add: Deepak Chopra wrote; “...all people are doing the best they can from their own level of conciousness.” I understand that. I get that. I agree with that. But come on people; some of you aren't even trying!

This issue illuminates the double-edged sword that is America’s legacy of religious freedom. Our favorite thing to do with our hard won freedom is to oppress others even worse. The Pilgrims did not flee religious persecution in England in order to establish a free and open society in the new world; they came here to set up their own brand of persecution.

A good thing that has happened since election night is the uproar of outrage at how people could have voted for 8. Among all the voices 2 stood out for me: Jake in Chicago wrote in his blog of his very personal experience with marriage inequality. And Keith Olbermann's direct address to those who voted yes on 8 conveys his human experience best.

Book Review: Eragon

Eragon by Christopher Paolini

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
I enjoyed this book very much. I haven't seen the movie yet so I've been looking forward to reading this for a while. The story is mostly well thought out and well told. The characters are three dimensional and engaging as is the fictional world the author creates for them; although he kind of has them wondering all over the place a bit. As my friend Dan pointed out, it’ similar to Harry Potter and other science fantasy books, even Star Wars and The Wizard of Oz, where the main character is an orphan being raised by an uncle and discovers a special talent and power that changes their life.

In this case 16 year old Eragon lives with his uncle and cousin and is out hunting in the forest when an unusual stone appears nearby through magic. This sets off a series of events leading to a quest. Along the way Eragon learns more about the wider world and meets a Dragon, a Dragon Rider, an Elf, a Witch, battles a Shade and meets a wide range of other creatures and characters.

To my mind two things about the writing could have been a little better. First, some things happen a little abruptly. It may be that I’m used to JRR Tolkien or Mercedes Lackey where events and emotions are anticipated and analyzed after; in the case of Ms. Lackey, it’s done too much. The other thing that could have been better is that it’s a little over written. The author seemed to go a little out of his way to use unusual words. He didn’t use extra long words or obscure words, but it seemed apparent that his thesarus was nearby. Perhaps the teenage science fiction geeks this book is aimed at like that, but lately I prefer it when things are kept simple and the story is allowed to shine through. This book is the first in a trilogy; authors naturally refine their writing as they go along so I’m looking forward to the next two books.


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Freeway

What the two previous peaceful, pastoral photos didn't show is that between the Driver Building and the First Presbyterian Church is 10 lanes of noisy, smelly freeway; Interstate 5. Freeways are horrible dangerous things that should be covered over where ever possible. Funds from gas tax should be diverted from building additional lanes and put into mass transit. Maybe if we weren't spending $10 million a day fighting a war we shouldn't be in we could afford to do some cool stuff like that; along with educate and feed and care for our children.

Gee. Was that a rant? Who's writing this blog? I'm starting to sound like my roommate.

First Presbyterian Church

This picture was taken from the parking garage attached to our office building looking northwest back at the spot where I was standing yesterday when I took the picture of our building. Besides this beautiful church they have schools and other buildings taking up a whole city block.


- Yesterday during lunch I walked up 5th to Laurel to visit my bank. Bankers Hill is a nice residential neighborhood but it's kind of a no-man's-land between downtown and Hillcrest for restaurants and shops. I asked the teller where to go for lunch and she recommended the deli inside the liquor store across the street. It was a very nice, popular deli and I got a really nice salad and Sobe to drink.

While I was waiting in line to pay a commercial came over the radio in support of Proposition 8, to ban gay marriage in California. I don't have a TV and the Smooth Jazz radio station I listen to doesn't play political commercials so this was the first one I'd heard. I couldn't catch all the details but I could hear complaints about things that will be mandatory if it doesn't pass and how awful it's been in Massechusetts since gay marriage became legal there and how the children will be exposed to horrible things and I got so upset because it's all LIES! Nothing new will be mandatory; nothing horrible has happened in Massechusetts since gay marriage became legal there; and the only thing horrible the children will be exposed to is listening to conservatives spout hate. I don't understand why they so enjoy creating what they are calling a “culture war” that divides us further when they should be looking for ways for us to come together. Even though gay people aren't participating in their “culture war”, yesterday I certainly felt like a victim of it.

New Digs: The Driver Building

The company I work for moved 2 weeks ago. It was a month long, painful, exhausting process and the dust is just beginning to settle. They'd been in the previous space over 10 years but could no longer justify paying for a lot of square feet that wasn't producing new revenue. We're still in downtown but not in the middle of all the action like we were. Before there was a YMCA, a Pure Fitnes, and a Navy workout facility all within spitting distance. I'm going to miss seeing all the guys jogging by during lunch.

The new neighborhood is still a little bit in transition; no Starbucks in the buidling, or even within sight, but there is a really nice coffee shop/cafe down the street and an incredible Persian restaurant in the next block. No 7-Eleven across the street but there is a liquor store 2 blocks up and the owner is real nice.

Even though we have less square feet, we still take up the entire 6th floor. And the building is half way up Bankers Hill giving us great views in all directions. From my desk I can see San Diego Bay and the airport.

A Thousand Splendid Suns

A Thousand Splendid Suns / هزار خورشید تابان by Khaled Hosseini

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
For some reason I thought it would be a good idea to read this book cover to cover all in one night and go to work with almost no sleep. Part of what caused that was remembering how harrowing Hosseini's first book, “The Kite Runner”, was and needing to know that these wonderful characters make it through and survive. In many ways this book reminded me of Alice Walker’s “The Color Purple”: women discover they have no rights, no power, and all of their options are horrible, so they choose their best chance for survival. Eventually they outlast and escape their tormentors, heal themselves, and return to heal their families and their culture. Again his storytelling shines a clear light on his characters and events and illuminates parts of the human experience that have been allowed to cower in the corner too long.


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The Path to Love

The Path to Love: Spiritual Strategies for Healing by Deepak Chopra

  

My review

  rating: 5 of 5 stars
This is my favorite Deepak Chopra book so far.  Even though the main focus is to help couples heal, sustain, or take their love to the next level, the book is every bit as helpful to a single person because each of us must foster a relationship with, and learn to love, our own true Self in order to see Love in another person. Deepak Chopra takes us through many spiritual traditions and quotes a wide variety of poets and writers to give a deep, profound knowledge of the concept of love and how to live in this world but not of it, to see love in all people and all things, and to know that reality is love, all else is illusion.  Near the end he includes many love affirmations that he wrote while writing this book which are very illuminating to contemplate; and he encourages us to write our own as a way to strenthen our connection with our spirit and God.

  

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The truth is ...

... embarrassing. This is so me. Click to enlarge.

The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success: A Practical Guide to the Fulfillment of Your Dreams by Deepak Chopra

My review

In the introduction Deepak Chopra points out that the title could really be The Seven Spiritual Laws of Life. I got the impression that while the title is true, it was slanted to grab the eye of those of us wanting to find out how we missed out on material abundance. Throughout the book, though, Deepak Chopra stresses that embacing one’s spiritual side and understanding how the mystical universe works will bring abundance in all areas, material wealth being a by product. Throughout the book he explains everything in very down-to-earth language and at the end of every chapter there's a summary that's also a list of things to contemplate and practice to help know your spiritual side better.

My favorite part is where he relates how he told his children, from the age of 4 on, not to worry about grades or college or even making a living, but to find out what their unique talents were and how they could best serve humanity. And with that as their focus they ended up getting the best grades and into the best colleges and being financially self-sufficient at the same time.


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The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars
What amazing storytelling! The author doesn't spending anytime analyzing situations; he just lets events speak for themselves. The whole effect is as if looking through stained glass at a beautifully told story. The book is so devastating; at several points I gasped out loud at things I didn't see coming. The ending is poignant and hopeful. Throughout the book I appreciated the personal point of view brought to events in the middle east. At about 2/3rds through I just stayed up all night and read through the next day. I've got A Thousand Splendid Suns but I'm reading other books in between until I'm ready for another rollercoaster. A beautiful book.


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Momma Mia!

It was 2 or 3 weeks ago on a Friday; I’d just gotten home from work and stretched out on the couch for a nap only to get a phone call from Skip wanting to know if I’d like to go see Momma Mia! He was being super nice because, as I found out later, he knew nothing about the film, only that it was currently the only movie on my A list. No longer in need of a nap I quickly fired up the laptop and found a place and time that we liked. Since I’m currently using a bus/trolley pass to get to work I decided to do something different and hurried out the door to catch the bus a block a way for a short ride down the hill to the trolley stop and a fast, fun ride to Mission Valley.

The movie, Momma Mia!, is like a Shakespeare play. And I mean that in a good way. If you’ve only been bored by Shakespeare, then you haven’t seen it done well. I’ve been lucky enough to see it performed by masterful actors who made the language seem everyday natural and were able to convey the meaning until we were rolling in the aisles at the comedy, crying at the tragedy, and wondering at the poignancy and the beauty of it all. And besides, Shakespeare’s plays are more like musicals than plays; the language is so gorgeous and the moments so crazy, or crazy beautiful, they’re more like musical numbers than spoken word in anyone else’s hands.

And Momma Mia! has all the bawdy, slapstick, ridiculous comedy and poignant illustration of the human condition found in Shakespeare’s best. The writers took songs by ABBA and tweaked the lyrics just enough so the characters can tell their story organically through the songs. For their part the actors treat the material as if it were Shakespeare, which it deserves, just instead of iambic pentameter or a Danish accent, they sing.

If you’re a Serious Music Queen with a Well Trained Ear you might catch a few jarring notes; the singing is really good, not flawless, but who cares when they’re having this much fun. Meryl Streep is just fabulous, totally committed to the role, hysterical (“I haven’t slept with hundreds of men”) with a nice, lilting voice she uses well, especially in The Winner Takes It All where she gets the screen to herself backlit by the sun setting over the Mediteranean. Pierce Brosnan, it turns out, has a nice rock voice, kind of like Kris Kristofferson. And it’s terrific to finally see Christine Baranski in a role that allows her to show everything she has; eating up the screen and the song and the moves in Does Your Mother Know on the beach with a chorus of male dancers.

All those georgeous guys dancing on the beach with their shirts off and the Mediteranean sun glistening off their muscles; I just got depressed.

While watching the movie it occurred to me that it’s the quintessential Baby Boomer musical; middle aged people who, after 20 years of just trying to make it through the day, look back at their youth and mistakes and take a chance to reclaim their passion, their sexuality, their dreams, and their loves. It gives us hope once again that anything is possible.

The plot is taken from the 1968 film Buono Sera, Mrs. Campbell starring Gina Lollobrigida as an Italian lady who entertained 3 American GIs in quick succession during WWII. Now, 20 years later they; Phil Silvers, Peter Lawford, and Telly Savalas are coming back for a reunion, bringing their wives: Janet Margolin, Lee Grant, and Shelley Winters. In this case the men each know about the daughter but not about each other and the daughter is clueless. Mrs. Campbell tries to keep everyone from knowing the whole story. And, by the way, she has quite the handsome Italian boyfriend in the movie, but I couldn't find out who the actor was. It’s a very fun comedy worth searching for on Netflix or TCM.

I had dinner with my dear friends Dan and Peter last weekend. We saw the stage production of Momma Mia! together a couple of years ago when it was here in San Diego. We’ve each seen the movie, but we’d all like to see it again. Hopefully, a group of us are going to get together next weekend. I can’t wait.

The Dark Knight

About a month ago (I’m behind on my blogging) my roommate, Keith, and I went to see the new Batman movie, The Dark Knight. While researching tickets online I found out that some of the movie was shot in IMAX, which lead me to look for tickets at an IMAX theater. There’s only one in San Diego and only the very early and the very late showings had tickets available: this was the 2nd weekend the movie was out. Then I checked for tickets at the Irvine Spectrum, a very nice out-door mall up in Orange County. It’s a much larger theater and I was able to get tickets for the next day.

So on a Sunday afternoon we piled into my car for the trip up to Orange County. It was overcast, but otherwise pleasant, so naturally I wanted to drive with the top down. Being a nice guy, Keith consented, but I felt bad when we got there because after and hour and a half in the car with the top down, he was quite sunburnt. I was spared because I wore a visor I keep stowed under my seat. I’d offered Keith a hat I keep handy for passengers, but he doesn’t like to wear them.

When we got there the mall was crowded, but not jammed packed. And I felt liked we’d arrived there for a special event because everyone was dressed really well. No one was in formal clothes, but if they wore a t-shirt or a sleeveless shirt it was clean, pressed, and looked new. The women all had cute tops or skirts and the cutest open-toed sandals and pedicures imaginable. I wouldn’t comment on it, except that in a large, crowded mall it was the case for every last person, except maybe the two interlopers from San Diego. I know Orange County has gained a reputation for pretentiousness and maybe they are, but in an age where no one dresses up to get on an airplane anymore, it was nice to be in a place where everyone was dressed well and looking their best.

The movie was really good, not great, and somewhat uneven. There were several scenes where they’re jumping off buildings that were shot in IMAX. They were fun scenes where the floor seemed to fall out from under you and suddenly you’re flying hundreds of feet above the ground. But not so fun for Keith who gets vertigo easily and had to turn away. The plot seems to bump along from one crisis to another without very good explanations as to what’s happening. While Christian Bale is handsome and every scene of the movie is gorgeous, the only thing really interesting to watch is The Joker. Heath Ledger is mesmorizing. To my mind he can act better strung up by his heels than anyone else standing up. Maggie Gyllenhaal added a nice spark and Michael Caine was terrific, but it was Heath Ledger who pored so much life into his character that he clearly stole the show.

Worth the price of the show: Heath Ledger as The Joker in bad nurse drag. Hilarious.

In Search of Balance and My Lost Waistline

Monday I emailed the administrator of my class that I needed time to take care of some personal business, but that I hoped to rejoin the class when they start the 3rd module in November. She was nice and sympathetic but couldn't promise anything. They have a long waiting list.

The truth is I couldn't force myself to do it any more. The late hours 3 nights a week followed by getting up early for work everyday left me jet-lagged; all I accomplished on the weekends was to catch up on sleep. And I'd developed a phobia to the projects we had to present to the class. I told myself many times to just concentrate on doing my best and to enjoy learning all this cool stuff, but to show my poor work to a large group of artists and graphic designers proved too daunting. When I couldn't make any progress on a project this weekend, I decided to face the truth and give up my seat to someone who could devote more to it.

Thinking of the terrific friends I'd made and miss, I could cry.

Step 1 to find a new equilibrium is to concentrate on the basics; eat well, sleep well, and exercise. About two years ago I had a nice start on wash-board abs; now I'm wearing pants 2 inches larger and some days those are snug. Monday I rode my bicycle again around Fiesta Island and along the San Diego River to where it joins the Pacific Ocean. Tonight I threw my Rollerblades in the car and drove to the same area.

For me, rollerblading is a meditation and best done alone. Friends have suggested it as a fun activity to do together, but I've never encouraged it. I don't want to cause someone to feel bad if my long legs get me going pretty fast, nor do I like to stop and rest: I'm built for endurance. And I don't want to embarrass myself by falling flat on my face when crossing rough pavement, due to my high center of gravity.

Tonight I explored the wide, paved path along the east side of Mission Bay. It's a beautiful, slightly winding path with the shore and beaches on one side and playgrounds and picnic areas on the other. Lots of other folks were out enjoying the evening as well.

As I went along I loved watching how they interacted with each other. One older gentleman put his arm protectively around his wife as I passed. A teenage boy watched the activity on the sidewalk as two younger girls got a drink from the fountain behind him. He seemed all relaxed and at ease but those 2 girls were totally protected: what a good older brother.

And I love the racial diversity that makes it necessary to print ballots in 129 different languages in San Diego. I saw Latin, Asian, Indian, African-American, white, and combinations I couldn't identify; all beautiful.

The only person I had a problem with was a middle-aged white guy, also on Rollerblades; obviously out trying to re-claim his lost youth from some mid-life crises. Give it up dude, I thought. But then I thought again and realized I'm probably the same age, if not older.

Skate on, my brother!

Where is an Island not an Island ?

. . . in San Diego.

When I first moved to San Diego in 2001 I quickly learned that Coronado Island, on which sits the lovely town of Coronado and is home to the Hotel Del Coronado, is not really an island but is connected to the mainland by a thin, lovely ribbon of sand called the Silver Strand. Likewise Harbor Island and Shelter Island are man made peninsulas almost surrounded by water with just enough land for a multi-lane road to connect them to the mainland. Despite knowing this, whenever someone mentioned Fiesta Island in Mission Bay I always pictured an actual island requiring a boat to access. Silly me.

Driving home from work today, with the top down and enjoying the nice afternoon, I felt energetic enough for something active and fun, but what to do? I finally decided to get out on my bicycle, which I haven't done for quite a long time. I used to do lots of cycling and I have all the stuff; helmet, gloves, padded shorts, shoes, and a really nice Trek road bike that I haven't been on much since last summer.

The challenge about where I live is that any bicycle ride from home must either go east—which is a horrible ride through lots of traffic and not scenic neighborhoods—or down: I'm surrounded by steep descents. Going out is fun, but the return trip is a challenge. They'd be hard enough starting fresh but are just mean after a long ride when you’re tired; although the scenery is nice (kind of like a couple of ex-boyfriends; gorgeous, but requiring lots of effort).

I decided to follow the main bike route through Mission Hills down into Mission Valley and resign myself to walking part way back. At the bottom of Presidio Hill I turned left towards Point Loma, to follow some roads I'd explored earlier this year in the car going towards Mission Bay Park, to connect up to some bike paths I found last summer. I turned right on Pacific Coast Highway, which had a nice designated bike path on it. Approaching the bridge over the San Diego River I noticed signs pointing to a bike path going towards Ocean Beach: note to self for further exploration another day. At the entrance to the park I wanted to go left to get to a bike path I knew, but instead of turning across a whole lot of traffic I followed a couple of other cyclist straight across, intending to double back.

Once out of traffic, however, I saw signs and a short, narrow road with water on each side going towards—Fiesta Island. Who knew! My nose led me to a 1-lane, one-way road going around an approximately 2-square mile “island” dedicated to summer fun: on the right sandy parking/boat-access/beach sloped directly to the water; on the left, between breaks in a high, man made dune, a wide, flat area that looked like a big beach volleyball court. Along one side a large RV park was full of folks starting their weekend; out in the water die-hards were playing on their wave runners in the fading light. So this is Fiesta Island. I'm so coming back here.

Coming off the Island, turning right, still feeling good, still some energy in the legs, still following my nose, I turned right again onto a bike path that paralleled a newly landscaped, paved walk along the bay: note to self, come back with the Rollerblades. I followed this path almost to Sea World, then crossed over to a path I'm familiar with and headed back towards home.

The only way to get from Old Town to Mission Hills is up. And even though the hill probably wouldn't raise the pulse of Lance Armstrong, I got off the bike and walked. But it's a lovely walk by nice homes with a terrific view halfway up across the 5 to Point Loma, Mission Bay, and on to the ocean. When I got home I had to pee like a race horse.

What a great ride! I had such a nice time. I went 12 miles. Along the way I saw some great scenery, found more places to explore, saw a Hunk, got a wave and a big smile from a Pretty Girl, saw Spiderman, and made it back home feeling like I could have gone a couple more miles.

I'm kicking myself for not taking my small camera with me. I'm sorry I have no pictures to share. Anyone know of a good, small video camera that can be strapped to a helmet?

Swift 3-D

In the Interactive

Media Class I'm taking we've started to learn a 3-D imaging program and we created this easy animation of objects flying around each other. It's a long way from Pixar, but it's very fun to do.