This Boy Elroy

Visitation

My parents visited this past weekend. It was fun albeit exhausting. Now that I've lived away from them for so long I have a new perspective on them. They are beyond a shadow of a doubt real-life Costanzas.

It was really strange how much they blended into the city. They really added to the pool of crazies, especially when they were screaming at one another about the value of impressionistic art in Washington Square park. I just stood back and watched.

After seeing a gathering of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence my mom wants to join. She thinks they're great.

While driving down 18th street this conversation ensued.

Dad: Watch out, don't hit the transvestite.

Me: Thats a drag queen.

Dad: Oh, what's the difference?

After I explained my dad was grateful for his new found knowledge.

There were more hilarious moments, too complicated to explain. I'll just say the Japanese Tea Gardens were infused with a bit of Brooklyn for an hour and went from zen to chaos. My friends from high school who read this blog can appreciate that explanation.

Wall-E

Brett penned a great post about his reaction to the movie "Wall-E," and I have to say that I was also really affected by this movie emotionally. I don't know if it's the movie plus the affect of a pride celebration hangover, but today I have been really depressed, not to mention drained of energy.

Out there Full of shine and full of sparkle Close your eyes and see it glisten, Barnaby Listen, Barnaby... Put on your Sunday clothes, There's lots of world out there...

Wall-E struck a chord with me mostly because of the irony that a lonesome machine longed for contact with another while existing on a trash infested, abandoned Earth. All the while, humans were floating in space getting fat, and were completely ignorant of their surroundings or one another. I thought the leitmotifs of "Sunday Clothes" and "It Only Takes a Moment" from Hello Dolly! were brilliant choices. Both songs are cheesy, trite, and hackneyed (I know because I performed them my sophomore year in high school), but the simple themes in both are often ones that make us smile and feel connected to one another, whether it be loved ones or strangers. In our world of technology and consumerism these simple pleasures are the most fragile, and when we begin to lose them, we begin to lose ourselves and our care for who and what is around us.

The levels that one can peel off from Wall-E range from ecological to sociological, and I'm glad that the shock of the magnificent desolation in Wall-E has caused Brett to pause and think about his consumption and and his interconnectedness to humanity. I hope that other adults react in this way, and more importantly I hope a generation of children are compelled to feel the same. Wall-E was the little engine that could, and he saved us and our planet in a movie but we all need to be a little like Wall-E if we're going to survive.

So, think about what you consume, and where it goes when you're done with it, and think about the people you love and strangers around you. Because if we don't, we're alone, in a world of junk.

And we'll recall when time runs out That it only took a moment To be loved a whole life long!

Pride '08

Another pride has come and gone and once again Brad and I celebrated with our friends in the City. The weekend was full of great fun and great time with friends, I'm exhausted but it's a good exhaustion.

We started out the weekend at one of the oldest gay bars in the City, Cinch. Dan suggested the place since it was out of the Castro and we could go someplace off the beaten track. It was a great suggestion, and the entertainment was deliciously edgy. We even saw a unicorn!

Here we are with our cocktail waitress whom we called many names ranging from Margot Kidder, Tootsie, Sally Jessie Raphael, Linda Lavin, etc. She was a bit loopy but fabulous!

This one was selling corndogs and "Charro" Churros in the bar.



The unicorn.

Saturday we had our party which went very well. Pink Saturday party is much more fun watching from a window up high. Everyone stayed for a long time so that's always a good thing. It was nice to have old friends over to our new place. Kalvin and JR came over and brought a friend who is also a sometime contributor to GayGamer.net, PixelPoet. The next morning I got a flood of SMSes thanking me and Brad for a great party.

Sunday Brad and I woke up early at headed to the parade.

I got a great photo of Cindi Lauper.

Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence.



Love this sign.



Menz.



A great shot of Leslie Jordan.

After the parade, we headed over to Civic Center for the festival. There was a really cool with by this guy who makes figurines of Sci-Fi geeky characters our of junk. Here is Moby with Wall-E, aptly sculpted out of junk. The guy running the booth said they're not supposed to sell these but he had them anyway. Incidentally we saw Wall-E afterwards, LOVED IT!

That's about it. It was a fun, whirlwind weekend. I'm glad that this week will be a short 4-day one. Brad and I are planning a day trip next weekend to the Monterrey Bay Aquarium and Santa Cruz. I cannot wait!

Go Dad!

So I'm setting up my early birthday present (read my twitter to find out what it is, or read here in a few days and you'll definitely hear mention of it) and I open my computer to check my email quickly. There's a message from my mom who's in Denmark with my dad on holiday. Here is what it reads:

Hi Kids!! We are still in Copenhagen and having a good time. Today we visited several museums and had dinner at the Tivoli garden. After dinner was we were waiting to take the bus back to our hotel daddy felt someone unzipping his pouch (my dad has worn a fanny pack since the '90s). He grabbed the person's hand as asked what are you ding? The person replied I'm not doing anything!!! With that daddy punched the perpetrator knocking him to the ground. He grabbed his knapsack and began beating him with it all the while calling for the police and saying, "I'm crazy!! I'm from Brooklyn,NY and I'll kill you." The perpetrator got up and ran away across the street toward the Tivoli then back toward the train station. He had an accomplice who was skulking around behind the the signs at the bus stop. Fortunately a kind Danish man came to our assistance taking the crooks picture as he ran away. Others said they saw him and also called the police. The nice man, Jorgen accompanied us to the police station and acted as a translator. We filed a police report and later treated Jorgen to a beer. Fortunately, daddy got the money from the perpetrator's hand. Daddy is fine just a little excited about apprehending a pickpocket. All of this is makes traveling an adventure!!

Hope to return on Tuesday if the flights cooperate
if not then Wednesday (they fly standby for free).

Love,
Jack the Giant Killer, AKA Daddy and Mommy

Well, I'm glad my parents are okay! I was first shocked when I read this, then a bit worried, then highly amused that my dad was beating a man with a fanny pack while saying, ""I'm crazy!! I'm from Brooklyn,NY and I'll kill you."

I'm not surprised about my dad, he's definitely a formidable adversary when provoked and money has always been his hot button. As a kid my dad would drag me with him from grocery store to grocery store all over Staten Island so he could find the best deals on food items. Often times there were discrepancies and fist fights between my dad and store managers over chicken cutlets were played out. I just remember being horribly embarrassed. You don't mess with the man's money!

In any case, go dad!