Former Member

When I used to go to the Parade (back in the ‘90s), the BART train used to be filled with LGBTQs staring with distrust at Jehovah’s Witnesses heading to the Cow Palace for their annual meetings. The JWs looked frightened by all the colorful clothes and personalities! Back when there used to be empty seats on the trains before the parade began! ;–)

I’ll be seeing Man in an Orange Shirt tomorrow evening on the big screen, but you can see it on the small screen on PBS. KQED is showing it on Sunday evening. You can pretend you’re at the film festival with me too! ;–)

A documentary called Growing Up Coy played at Frameline40 (2016). It was about a family with a child who is Trans. They fought their elementary school to force them to allow their child to use the appropriate restroom facilities. Dad is ex-military and they live in Colorado!

Kind of like with Cyrano de Bergerac, the targeted person seems to be falling for the targeter, not the intended! ;–) If this were a play, it would be easy to turn it into a farce. Just exaggerate a few things here and there. And maybe tone down the accident a bit. ;–) Do they have farcical musicals? ;–) 🎶 Express yourself (You've got to make him) Express himself Hey, hey, hey, hey So if you want it right now, make him show you how Express what he's got, oh baby ready or not Express yourself (You've got to make him) So you can respect yourself Hey, hey So if you want it right now, then make him show you how Express what he's got, oh baby ready or not 🎶

I see quite a few movies produced by BBC and the UK’s Channel 4 that explore the history of the LGBTQ community. There were more than a few the were produced to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the legalization of Gay sex in the UK that I saw last year a Frameline. The information is out there if anyone wants to view it. I’m sorry, but many who are similar in age to you who are unaware of significant events in LGBTQ history. But I wouldn’t take that too personally if I were you. Jimmy Kimmel Live regularly runs games that pit youngsters against elderly people. It’s amazing how little some people know – and amazing how much others know! JKL’s games are about pop culture with questions about TV shows, movies, and music. When reading some stories, it becomes clear that the author is unfamiliar with LGBTQ history (irrespective of the author’s age). I remember reading a story about a Gay diver who made it to the ’68 Mexico City Olympic Games. (This was the one where John Carlos and Tommie Smith, two African-American runners, were banned from the Games and were stripped of their medals for giving the Black Power Salute. The third man on the winner’s platform, an Australian, wore a pin in support – he also was punished for his participation and was not featured at the Sydney Games like most other prominent Aussie athletes.) The protagonist meets the runners who gave the Black Power Salute, but even though the protagonist was supposedly Gay, he never met Dr Tom Waddell! When I asked the author about the discrepancy, he admitted he hadn’t been aware of Tom Waddell until I mentioned him in my email! Certainly in a huge event like the Olympics, it’s very possible for two athletes from different events to never meet, but that wasn’t the reason in this case. A little research into the Mexico City Olympics could have uncovered Tom Waddell and his significance to LGBTQ history. Tom and a few others organized what they called the Gay Olympics, similar to many other groups. But the USOC (United States Olympic Committee) took exception to the use and sued Tom Waddell. Normally something like this is settled out of court with a token fine and an agreement to change the event’s name. The USOC decided to really punish Tom by pursuing the claim in court even while Tom was dying of AIDS. The USOC won the US Supreme Court decision five years after the first Gay Games occurred. Tom died later that year. [sarcasm] All because they ‘own’ the rights to the word ‘Olympic’ (through Congressional mandate) and needed to protect the image of their Games from the disgusting and perverted Gays. [/sarcasm] In all fairness, maybe young people just don’t know California history… ;–)

Wow, that is so awesome! Congratulations!

BART has always been overwhelmed after the Pride Parade! ;–) CalTrain? I don’t want to visit my (biological) brothers in San José! ;–) I don’t really have a lot of choices for getting home in the East Bay. It’s Muni to BART to AC Transit (bus) or Muni to AC Transit (a very long bus ride). There are no other real options. ;–)

I’m trying to remember, but I don’t think he had the ponytail back then. But his foot was very smooth. I had to ask him what his foot was doing! ;–) It’s partly a timing thing. I would have been more likely to have dated him when we first met, but I was dating someone else. Someone who broke up with me in order to date him! (They only went on a couple dates before it ended.) It’s a bit twisted and almost incestuous. I don’t really have any regrets about not dating him. I don’t think we would have made a good long-term couple! And I don’t think we would have reconciled if we had dated and broken up. ;–) I’ll be spending lots of time with him starting on Friday. We’ll both be seeing lots of movies at Frameline42! But he knows how I feel about his ponytail. ;–)

Isn’t he a little young (and fictional) for you? ;–)

Yeah, Artie is straight. That’s why Charlotte is only his BFF. If he’s this indecisive, he really shouldn’t be playing Dizzy against Ky the way he is. He says he’s not, but actions speak louder than words. ;–)

For a while, back in the ‘90s or so, SF and LA would trade off on which city got the last Sunday in June (with the other getting the Sunday before). But at some point, there was an agreement with SF winning the coveted Sunday. They are about 350 miles (560 KM) or a 6 hour drive apart – people do attend both! Many groups plan events around Pride. The SF Gay Men’s Choir has a concert before the weekend. Frameline ends its film festival on Parade Sunday. I avoid the crowds and heat of the parade until I see my last Frameline Program late that afternoon and try to get on a BART train at the Muni/BART Civic Center transfer station! I’m already exhausted and sleep-deprived. There’s always a line to get to the BART turnstiles and a huge crowd on the platform. Since it’s a Sunday, there’s no direct service to my station, so I have to transfer in Oakland. Taking a bus from Oakland is even worse. Everything is crowded until the downtown Berkeley station when the students get off the trains (as is usual in the evenings). When I finally get home, I turn on the TV to watch the tape-delay of the SF Pride Parade on broadcast commercial TV! I had been planning to take Muni the wrong way and loop back to a different BART station, but this year, they’re working on a tunnel and they have a bus bridge. I may still do it, but it will delay me even longer. I’ll have to ask people what the detour is like…

Jakub Józef Orliński performing Vivaldi

My how serious you’ve gotten, there’s no expression on your face! Funny, I always thought of you as more of a white hat kind of guy! Um. You got a little tan there, ’Sir.’ Make sure you keep that hand over your goodies. Wouldn’t want GA to censor you…

This is how it starts. Eventually people start calling you ‘Sir.’ It’s really serious when they start saluting you or kissing your feet! ;–) Sigh. I knew him back before… ;–)

Which makes even more sense in a disco-era Esprit! ;–)

Which category do you fit in? ;–)

In a way, I’d have liked to have had Connor driving a Lotus Esprit like James Bond’s 1977 submarine car! I’m a fan of the Roger Moore era 007 movies. And I’m a huge fan of the designer, Giorgetto Giugiaro who also designed the original VW Scirocco, Golf/Rabbit, Delorean, and a bunch of others. ;–) The one used in the underwater scenes in the movie is now owned by Elon Musk!

Yeah, that certainly isn’t a typical family car! But it’s not a surprise that Leon loves riding in it. Definitely a single guy’s car! ;–) My younger brother bought a second generation 1986 Mazda RX-7 when it was new (the ones that look like a Porsche 924 or 944). He said he wanted to own a sports car, but didn’t want to be an old man driving a sports car, trying to recapture his youth. He sold it after he got married, but before they had my younger nephew. I remember seeing an old (hetero) couple in a first generation Audi TT coupe. The uncomfortable-looking frumpy wife in the passenger seat looked like she aged a couple decades just sitting in the car! They looked like they were driving a nine-tenths-sized miniature car! Grandma doesn’t belong in a sports car – unless she’s riding in her grandchild’s car! (Or if she’s a fun Grandma and it’s her car!) So, in conclusion, sports cars are for single people.

‘This chapter.’ Is that a nickname like Dwane ‘The Rock’? or Mike ‘The Situation’? I’m embarrassed that I’ve even aware of the second one because I never watched whatever show he was on and don’t know how I ever heard it enough to stick! ;–)

Happy Anniversary! ;–)

In the notorious groping-foot-in-the-hot-tub incident, my best friend (at the time and now) proposed dating (his foot groping me). I thought about it, but decided that I’d rather have a best friend than potentially lose him if we ever broke up. Ironically, we later had a disagreement when we were sharing an apartment and didn’t speak for a couple years. He is a lot of what I would look for in a boyfriend, especially his ability to encourage me to get out of my comfort zone while simultaneously not triggering my passive-aggressive tendencies when confronted with advice. But he also has a tendency to purge his close friendships periodically. And his silly ponytail is a deal breaker! ;–)

I think real friends, are a gift from God, being a friend means to me that you mourn with those that mourn and rejoice with them that are rejoicing. They can correct you and you won't feel pissed off, because you know that they love and care about you. it also means that you want your friends to succeed, to be glad when they do something and it goes well. To support them and to sustain them in difficult times. My friends live in The Netherlands, The UK, and the USA. The great thing about real friends is that although you do not see each other for many years, the years simply fall away when you speak with them on the telephone, or better yet meet in person. You just pick up where you left off. My life would be very empty without the friends that I love.

That’s why I’m going to be sitting inside a nice comfortable movie theater for a week and a half! But it does get hot some years. The Castro Theatre is supposed to be air conditioned, but it sometimes gets incredibly hot because you have hundreds of people sitting inside for hours at a time.

It was in reference to Jesse who, in my protracted and silly tangent was ‘attracted’ to @Page Scrawler, but didn’t show the physical signs of arousal. It was not intended to be taken seriously. I might be celibate due to my personal mental health issues, but I’m not experiencing impotence. I’m sorry you saw it as an analogy. That was unintended.

I guess I’m still at the starter end of the scale then! ;–)