Month: July 2024

Posted on

"Picture It…San Francisco, October 1986…"

Don't know what prompted me to post this on Instagram last night, but I figured why not do it here as well?

This was the first place in SF my ex and I shared after moving from Tucson.  It was a building that was being renovated by a friend of the architect I was working for at the time.

Bernie and I had already gone our separate ways by this time, but we decided to try living as roommates to see how it went. We were still friends after all, and the parting had been amicable.

There are lots of memories associated with this flat, but one that stands out above all the others was the night the owner (who lived on the third floor) decided to clean oil stains off the new garage floor with gasoline.  Seeing how this was a recipe for disaster, we called the fire department and upon arrival the fire captain screamed at him for the stupidity. "We have a half dozen homes go up every year because of this kind of stupidity!"

Needless to say our relationship with the landlord went downhill from then. The following June, when we put a pride flag on the front of the house he demanded it be taken down because we had "modified the exterior" by attaching the flagpole to the exterior of the building. We complied, and then hung the flag in the front window.

When it came time to renew the lease, he raised the rent an exorbitant amount (3-unit buildings did not fall under the maximum 4% annual increase clause in San Francisco), and after discussing everything that had happened since the gasoline night (including his continually yapping rat-dog that he would put out on the back fire escape) we decided it was time to move on.

Posted on

Never mind that the Olympics display was not The Last Supper…actual drag queens have parodied the fucking holy relic several times and not ONCE did it turn into a pearl-clutching, panty-twisting international incident!

Posted on

I Remember This Place

I never got laid from going there, but I enjoyed the people-watching. One evening in particular (March '91) stands out. Still reeling from Dennis's passing I needed to get out and be with people. I didn't particularly care for any of the Castro bars, but I'd visited the Lion Pub with friends some weeks earlier and enjoyed myself. It was pouring rain and I almost didn't go, but I grabbed an umbrella, walked down to the Castro, hopped on the Divisadero bus and headed north. I distinctly remember grooving to the debut CD of a little group called Enigma during the ride to and from the bar, and it was there I fell in love with Clown Loaches (they had a big aquarium in the bar), a type of freshwater tropical fish that became an integral part of my own fish-keeping until I gave up the hobby entirely four years ago.

Of that particular night, I wrote in my journal:

I just got back from The Lions Pub. It was dismal. There was one guy there, a hot, smokin' dark-haired number who I couldn't figure out. We flirted off and on. Was he interested or not? He finally left, and, considering the two of us were the best looking men in the place, I decided to follow suit. The place had a definite lack of facial hair.

He drove off, probably never to be seen again.

Actually, I can't just write it off like that. I would have liked to have met him. I suppose it's reason enough to return next weekend.

I bought an absolutely wonderful recording yesterday. It's by a new group called Enigma, and the CD is entitled MCMXC a.D. I don't really have adequate words to describe it. It's totally unlike anything else I've ever heard, yet it bears resemblence to several old and dear recordings, and takes me back to earlier times. It conjurs up all sorts of emotions, and, if only indirectly, prompted my journey back out into the land of gay bars.

The bar closed in 2016 with the death of its owner, and was converted into a six-million-dollar residence.

Posted on

I Know No One Cares…

…but I've settled on my favorite combination for deskside CD playback.

Sony MDR-7506 headphones with Brainwavz pads and Sony D-15 Discman

I never really intended to jump back into the portable CD lifestyle after abandoning it with the advent of iPods and later iPhones, but yet here I am. I'm currently listening to the complete Koyaanisqatsi score at angelic volume and truth be told, I'm loving it.

Posted on

I Swear…

American Christianity/Conservatism wouldn't know what to do if they weren't in a continual state of outrage over one thing or another. The Paris Olympics is the latest…