OD on NPR

"Young man found in alley in an apparent state of acute shock. Emergency response personnel found the man shivering, spasming, and mumbling incoherent strings of words and phrases. The only decipherable words, say personnel, were 'Dow Jones Industrial', 'Palin vetting', and 'Iraqi surge'."

. . . You might soon find this report in your local news. I realized today I may well be overdosing on my consumption of news. I realized this today as I was walking to the subway from class and I glanced at the front page of a newspaper. I think it was the Washington Post. I could be wrong. The headline was about misconduct by department of interiors employees, accepting gifts and sexual favors. "Ugh," I thought,"that is such old news. I can't believe it's still on the front page."

Then I realized I had just heard that news story yesterday or that very morning and that it was actually pretty new. I had just heard so much news between the time I had heard that story and the time I saw the headline, that I had already tired of the news I had already heard. Before I had hit that news stand, I had glimpsed CNN Headline News talking about the Obama lipstick story and thought,"Can we please put this story to rest!" but my classmates had not heard about this news story at all. All of this happened while I was listening to a podcast of a discussion panel on NPR. Hmm. Perhaps I am exposing myself to a glut of news. I hear it so much, even the new stuff is getting old.

Perhaps I need a hiatus. At present, I have 11 different news agencies on my internet bookmarks and regularly read whatever pops up on Yahoo's main page. I also subscribe to two magazines (GQ and Conde Nast Portfolio) and browse through the Newsweek and Entertainment Weekly that arrive at our home. I also regularly listen to NPR on average and hour and half a day. No wonder I feel I don't have enough time! Bah!

When I wake up, my first move is to open my lap top (before I have even gotten out of bed), check my email, and then check the New York Times to make sure the world hasn't come to an end while I slept.

The thing is, if I took a hiatus, I know I would come back and immediately check the papers and NPR to catch up on what I missed while I was gone. Maybe I should just budget. No more than half an hour of news reading in one day. Hmm. We'll have to see. I think school will soon solve the question of discretionary time anyway.

*The above photo is me in a sports bar this past Monday with some friends. I haven't been in a sports bar in awhile, but it was fun to play pool. Apparently, this is what I do when I am not having an aneurysm over the Right's (and much of middle America's) blind support of hypocritical politicians.

I am pooped!

As promised this photo has nothing to with my post. I just found these legs so wonderfully expressive and full of personality, I just had to take a picture. I think it's the combination of the lively pant pattern and the position of the feet. I have no idea what this woman's face looks like.

So I am so exhausted!!! But i have been chatting with Tai, and I am multitasking and blogging as we chat. Ah, Tai. She is my balm of Gilead. It's crazy how we've totally reconnected. Now we just need to get in the same area code! But that's another story.

Why am I so beat you ask?

Well, i just had my first day of school.It was actually rather anticlimactic and brief, nonetheless I think i kicked some trash! And I am revved to kick some major trash right into a primo spot in a killer ad agency!

I am so excited for our first assignment. All I have to do is read from this book, create a storyboard and design 25 logos.

So I went to class after switching sections, because the other section was screwing up my schedule. When I got into the building I was dripping in sweat because we are in a heat wave and I was hiking all over the city to get to class in a thick, long-sleeved oxford shirt.I was just grateful I didn't have taco sauce all over my face after having my face buried in del taco wrappers during my hike.

Did I mention that on my back was a back pack I have been trucking with me since last Sunday? Yup I have been a vagabond since last Sunday. So here I am with every electronic I own in my messenger bag(laptop, camera, Ipod, cellphone) and every toiletry I own (which y'all know that collection is extensive) and a few changes of clothes with shoes in my backpack. My back was killing me by the end of the day.

Why am I going into all this detail?? My thoughts are barely cogent.

Listen here is the breakdown:

Sunday to Wed morning was in Merced, CA. Took train in on Wed. Afternoon at gym. Evening and night at Brandon's. Thurs. morning go from Brandon's to this Academy breakfast where I try desperately to justify my graduate school debt by filling up on "free" french toast and pastry. Breakfast to work at lame job. Lame job to class.

Class is a let down because it is cut short. Go to library. Try drinking some green tea for caffeine. I still end up passing out for half an hour in library. Take creative route home. My back is so freakin arched from weight of backpack I want to rip out my own spinal column and trade it in for a new one.

Have two bites of ice cream for dinner and head out to the symphony with Brandon, where I have an absolutely wonderful time. The concert hall was beautiful. Stunning views of the city. The music was dramatic and interesting.

Said good bye to my man on the subway. And now here I am wondering why on earth I am typing when I should be showering and snuggling into bed.

Latah folks!

Oh! Wait! I talked to my folks today! That also made today really good! They're both doing fine. My dad sounds like his health is really improving. My mom is watching out for him. It was just good to hear from both of them.

Preliminary Palin Post

Oh you can bet your bonnet I am going to have more to say about Mc Cain's VP pick in just a bit, but I have a busy weekend ahead of me. However, I have to make a note of this little gaffe before I forget to bring it up.

I just heard her acceptance speech. First of all, kudos to Mc Cain for such a gutsy pick. I have to acknowledge this will make the race even more interesting. I have so many opinions on this Palin pick. But as I was listening to Palin's speech, I couldn't help but nit-pick about one little thing: the woman cannot say nuclear!!! Is this evidence of her lack of education? Or is this some weird GOP nod to their idiot leader, Bush? Some show of fealty? Let's all mispronounce nuclear! Maybe it will catch on, and George W. won't look like such a dunce!

I have noticed others in the Republican party pronounce it "nuke-ew-lar." Makes me nervous that people making decisions on policy about "nuke-lee-ar" weapons can't even follow simple reading rules for English. Shouldn't a party pushing for English-only regulations in the U.S. have representatives that have at least a college-level command of the language?

Also, before I forget, I cannot BELIEVE all of the Republicans that cheered when Palin brought up Hillary Clinton as a predecessor and a person due praise and admiration for her campaign. Wasn't this the party that was RIPPING Clinton apart?? Weren't Fox News commentators declaring they would rather slit their own wrists than have Clinton leading the country?

Maybe they drugged up the audience beforehand so they would cheer at anything presented.

Dad Update

Just got back from the hospital. Dad had six by-passes. Which, yeah, is a lot. But the doctor is confident that he is strong and will be just fine. In six weeks he should be pretty recovered. I coudl give more gory details, but that is the important stuff. Now I am just relieved and exhausted.

Call for Prayers

Well, it looks like despite my best efforts, I cannot keep a steady stream of up-beat posts.

I am asking anyone who is reading this to please pray for my father.

Last night, he had a mild heart attack and stroke. My mother called me this morning. At first they thought a simple angioplasty like the one he had ten years ago would do the trick, but after the angiogram they decided that open-heart surgery would be necessary.

I am obviously very concerned. This is a lot more serious, with greater risks and a much tougher road to recovery.

I am going to see how I can make my way over to St. George to see him.

I just ask that you please pray for him and for our family.

Thanks to all of you,

John

Enchiladas and Hammerstein

I am running out of blogging steam. We'll try to keep this one brief.

Nathalie came to visit this weekend!! It was so good to see her! It's funny, we have both gone on these crazy personal, emotional journeys, and yet, it seems like in so many we're still just the same old people as always.

Nathalie was going to spend the night and Alice (our dear friend all the way from France) was supposed to, as well. So I took it into my crazy head to make a Mexican dinner from scratch. I thought it would be simple and economical. A better option than going out to eat. I never claimed all of my ideas were works of brilliance.

I was kind of stressed about making the enchilada sauce. I had never before attempted it, and I could not get my mother's recipe in time. So I rolled the dice a bit. It actually was my favorite part of the meal. I think everyone was more impressed by the homemade horchata, perhaps because it is rare to find homemade horchata. It was all pretty darned good. It was all pretty darned messy, too.

Nathalie's friend, Karl, visited for a while, too. He showed surprising acumen for power cheese grating, and everyone in general was a huge help in preparing the meal; Brandon in particular, whose knifing skills I think would make my father proud.

After a lovely post-meal musing on dance, religion, and music in the darkened living room while listening to Sigur Ros and Alexi Murdoch, we ventured into the damp of the city to get some ice cream and watch the fog shrouded city. Nathalie just about died from the cold of SF.

Nothing of earth-shattering consequence was discussed that evening, but I think that is great. We have phones for conversation. Live interpersonal contact is for ... enjoying the intangible qualities of a person's presence. It was a wonderful night for me, being there with one my dearest friends and with this wonderful man I am seeing who makes me smile and laugh.

Saturday passed without much of consequence. I was pretty exhausted in general from lack of sleep and an early morning. We did hang out with Brandon's sister and her bf and friends for a bit. She is such a delightful person with infectious enthusiasm. I hope to get to know her better.

Sunday was the day I was really looking forward to. We were supposed to go listen to live opera in the park! We packed up a blanket, some fried chicken and other goodies and headed for Stern Grove.

Of course, it being Sunday, the babies of San Francisco who have been cloistered away all week by their nannies were out in full force. Brandon had to endure my constant ooh-ing and aah-ing. How he managed to endure it patiently I'll never know. But, you know, when you live in a world of nothing but adults, it is such a wonderful treat to meet these little beings of curiosity and mysterious drives.

It was also a pleasant surprise to take the subway to park. Something of a cognitive dissonance that actually seemed to really work in the confines of the city of San Francisco.

The grove was beautiful. A piece of California woods in the middle of the city. The air was pungent with eucalyptus. Particles of dew seemed to gently kiss my cheeks. I couldn't help but smile, both in revelry of the moment and in anticipation for the music to come.

The grove was packed! The NPR crowd was out in full force! Yeah! Mah peeps!

Everyone was picnicking on wine and baguettes and fruit.

We were soon joined by Brandon's friend, Mike. He was a pleasant person, although apparently to some he has a reputation for brashness. His friend, however, was another story. He was loud and talkative, making no effort to stifle his laughter. During the performances. I wanted to cringe.

Eventually one of our blanket neighbors (a pair of very classy lesbians?) asked Mike's friend to quiet down. He scoffed and seemed to flippantly refuse to quiet down even as he put on his shoes to depart.

I wish I could say I was sorry to see him go. He seemed like a nice guy, but rudeness and inconsideration are major sins in my book (much like sloth and apathy are to my parents (and to me, come to think of it)).

After he left, the experience was much more pleasant. When Mike did have to leave, I was sorry to see him go. He had some funny jokes up his sleeve, and apparently a tantalizing story about Brandon. Renato joined us, however, and I was glad for that. Renato is one of Brandon's best friends and he is this great combination of easy-going hippy and sharp-as-a-tack funny guy/intellectual. He's also really sincere and kind (both great virtues in my book).

The first performance itself was really good. It was a rendition of Summertime from Porgy and Bess. It turns out the whole concert was to be a selection of songs from American composers. It ended up being an afternoon of Gershwin and Rogers and Hammerstein. Which was fine, but I would have preferred an afternoon of Verdi and Puccini. I am not that into musicals. I know. Shocker. A gay guy not into musicals, but there you have it.

Like I was saying, the first performer was really good. Her rendition of Summertime was unusually haunting and ghostly. The main performer of the afternoon was a woman Mike and Brandon dubbed the 'crispy' lady. Picture a tanned out, buffed out Rue Mac Clanahan. Her voice was pleasant, but lacked some strength. Overall, though, it was a fun experience. The park was beautiful, the music was good and generally lively, and the people were some of my favorite people of San Francisco.

We ended the evening watching Across the Universe, which was pretty amazing in HD. I wonder if I would liked it was much if it weren't in HD. My favorite was Bono's performance.

Well, this ended up being a much longer entry than I had anticipated. I am off to work off some of those gummi colas and cookies and cream ice cream I ate over the weekend. Mmm. Ice cream sounds good.

Subway Scintillations

Here's is the lovely subway station which is the first destination for me on pretty much any venture into the city.

Included are a few photos of an eviscerated escalator.

Man, my blog is so educational!

The Unfolding of Video Possibilities

In my attempt to record the fun sights of life around me, I accidentally shot this brief clip. While it is nothing of substance in and of itself, it has made me consider the possibilities inherent in my own little digital camera.

Having long been an admirer of YouTube clips and Luis Merino's masterful homemade videos, perhaps I, too, could venture into the world of amateur film making. Let me assure you these forays will more likely be in the vein of cheesy home movies than the film making of say, Ang Lee or even Ingmar Bergman. Well. Maybe sometimes in the vein of Ingmar Bergman.

Let's Change Directions

I just finished a whole avocado. Slices of which were generously salted and wrapped in warm, skillet-grilled corn tortilla, they way the good Lord intended tortillas to be warmed. Said avocado was accompanied by homemade refried beans topped with mild, crumbly ranchero cheese and vegetarian enchiladas smothered in an earthy, deep red sauce.

Needless to say, I am very content right now.

Last post was a major bummer. Things have gotten better. My mom and I have talked since then. Now I just need to talk to my dad some more. But things will get better.

Anyway, on to other veins of thought and "conversation". I realized that while I live in an incredibly photogenic city, I have made little effort to share with you, my gentle readers, some of the incredible sights of the city. In that vein, I will now be sharing fun little photos of the city in which I live and just the stuff I see in life that catches my eye. There may be times when I will post a photo in a blog post, and it will have nothing to do with the content of the post. That is just to offer you the reader a fun little story/observation, and also 'Hey, here's a fun little photo, too.' Kind of like a party favor you might get if you went to party hosted by a neurotic Martha Stewart devotee.

Not that I am such a devotee nor that I would foist upon others gratuitous favors in order to further spike up the level of crazy pomp and circumstance at my own event. Sigh. I digress.

So here's a pic of me. What does it have to do with this post? Um, I look chill in this photo. I feel more chill.

You're just going to have to take these pics for what they're worth.

By the way, for those of you who don't know. This is what my hair would look like without the aid of modern styling conveniences.