June 2008 Archives

  There is a new member in my family! Meet Oscar:

He is a year and five months old Cocker Spaniel who will be keeping my hands full as a second full time job.

I'm also going on vacation for a little less than a week.

So, my blogging is going to be spotty for the next week - and I doubt I'll have any new videos up.  Looks like the Heidi video is going to be put off for a little while longer.  Sorry, Heidi!

A former gay Vietnam Veteran, Leonard Matlovich, who was discharged from the military for being gay, will be honored (in memoriam) with a plaque to be placed on his former home in the Castro, Towleroad reports.

A lot of us are familiar with this image, which pretty much sums up the military's Don't Ask Don't Tell Policy:

Here is a clip of Ethel Merman Experience kicking some ass on a cover of Nirvana's Smells Like Teen Spirit.  Pretty awesome.



You can watch the video on YouTube, here.

Lastly, I will be posting the long awaited interview of Heidi on Monday! I may even share some moments where she turns the camera on me.

I am looking to officiate (perform) a same-sex civil wedding ceremony at San Francisco City Hall, and there is a production company affiliated with a major cable network that is interested in documenting the story.  They would interview you and film the ceremony - a chance for you to share your moment with the world -- while you make history!

If you, or anyone you know is interested, please contact me at ryan@theblogword.com.

Thanks,

Ryan

I've been trying to track down the nuns for quite some time now.  I keep randomly running into them.  I'm really hoping to get an "official" interview with some of them in the near future.  The Sisters devote themselves to outreach, community service and ministry through joy, beauty, humor and wit (and, doubtfully, chastity).

For now, this gives you a funny look into the personalities behind the organization:

A friend just told me to check out the Box Turtle Bulletin.  I've become an instant fan.  I learned through the blog that Mayor Newsom plans to start marrying same-sex couples at 5:01 pm on June 16th.  I'd love for other people to join me there in videoing and capturing the moment.  Please email me if interested.

Check out the article on Box Turtle Bulletin here.

I ventured out to Chinatown in San Francisco yesterday, thinking it was the day of the Dragon Boat Festival.  I was a day too soon, but still found plenty to capture on video.  I was particularly struck by how American culture has infiltrated Chinatown in so many ways but also by the ways in which the community is still very much its own place.  Check it out:



It is also on YouTube, here.

Keep an eye out in the next few days for another full length video of my interview with Heidi, a pretty amazing woman from San Francisco with great stories to share.

What to expect this weekend:  I'll hopefully be interviewing Heidi this weekend.  If that happens, you'll see the video up by the end of the weekend.

I ran 12 miles this morning.  (Here is a link to the course, time, distance, etc., on Garmin Connect.)  It was supposed to be with a running club, but I couldn't find them.  So, I ran by myself and here are some random thoughts/sightings I had across the way.  If random thoughts bore you, no need to read on.

Today's video, on National Cow Day, was silly but leads into a more serious issue.  If cows were capable of conscious thought, they wouldn't want people to eat them.  That's not exactly the point though.  Meat consumption and grain production have become major international issues and the push for biofuels only complicates matters further.  I thought it would be nice to pull together some information and views on the issue, after I was inspired by an interesting discussion today on World Have Your Say on BBC World Services Radio.

As I listened to today's program, "Is Vegetarianism the answer to the global food crisis" I heard some interesting views on how meat consumption is (may be) causing severe environmental damage and contributing to world hunger.  I yielded to a car pulling into McDonalds.  The irony wasn't lost on me.

Update: I heard this morning on NPR that it is "National Cow Day."  I cut this video and planned the post a few days ago and had no idea.  A pretty hysterical coincidence.  Moo Moo Moo.

This one takes place on my birthday on April 30, 2008 - Dark Horse Point State Park in Utah, right after I got up at an ungodly hour to watch the sunrise.  It's very short, as apparently it doesn't take cows long to realize that they want nothing to do with the likes of me. I'm not sure I like I how I sound in this one.




On YouTube, here.

Hotair has a great link up (you can also head directly to the article, here) to a Christopher Hitchens article in which he insinuates that Hillary Clinton is acting like, you got it, "an unkillable swamp creature or lagoon dweller."   This, because she just won't let reality sink in that her race for the presidency is over.

Toto, we aren't in Kansas anymore.  This is a good thing, as you're about to see.  Today's random video features my brother driving my VW R32 in... you guessed it, Kansas.  The video begins in the middle of a discussion about just how that curious Dog Whisperer gets those cute little puppies to do his bidding and becomes even more amusing as it goes on.  So, here's why it isn't a good idea to drive 100 miles per hour (or more) on a Kansas highway, complete with a candid moment with the person you might unfortunately meet if you engage in that bad idea.  Hint: the bad idea has nothing to do with poor gas mileage.



If you can't get the player to work, check out the video on YouTube.

Thanks for watching.  I plan to post a random short video on every day that I don't have a "full length" video project to post.

She hula hooped in Patricia's Green in Hayes Valley on Sunday, and now she hula hoops for you.

 

The hardest thing about maintaining a video blog is the time that it takes to go out and video stories, edit the video and post it online.  I'm only able to post about one video a week, given my free time, but I hope to pick that up as I get better at doing it.  Here are some of my upcoming projects:

This weekend - I'll be out looking for crazy happenings in San Francisco and the people I run into will dictate who and what I video.

Soon - I'll be interviewing a girl named Heidi who is soon moving out of San Francisco.  She'll be sharing a story or two about what the city has meant to her.  We met on craigslist after I offered free cardboard moving boxes to anyone willing to submit to a video interview.  This is a first, and she seems awesome.

July 26th - Pride Track and Field Meet.  This is the nation's only annual LGBT track and field meet.  I'll be there interviewing athletes about what participating in a gay and lesbian track meet means to them.

As always, if you are interested in sharing your story or suggesting an event, topic or issue that I could cover, please let me know.

This is exciting.  Gay and lesbian couples can start marrying as planned on June 17th.  I hope to get out to city hall and capture the action.

From the San Francisco Chronicle:

The California Supreme Court denied a request today to put its ruling allowing same-sex marriages on hold until after the November election, clearing the way for gay and lesbian weddings to begin June 17.

Opponents of the court's May 15 ruling had asked the justices to stay the decision until Californians vote Nov. 4 on a constitutional amendment that would overturn the court's decision.

The court denied the stay request unanimously, and voted 4-3 to reject requests for a new hearing in the case. By the same 4-3 margin, the justices declared last month that a 31-year-old state law defining marriage as being between a man and a woman violated the state Constitution.

Last Friday I posted a discussion on whether same-sex marriage becomes a big issue in the 2008 Election cycle.  You can check it out, here.

Today, more news and analysis on this issue.  The California Secretary of State certified the initiative to bar gay marriage in California through a Constitutional amendment, meaning that California voters will decide the issue in November.  According to the LA Times:

The proposal would amend the state Constitution to define marriage as a union "between a man and a woman" and undo last month's historic California Supreme Court ruling, which found that discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation was unconstitutional.

(Click on this entry to keep reading...)

It is important that everyone gets out and votes today.  The importance of voting, of our right to vote, forms the backbone of democracy.  Anyone who has experienced voter disenfranchisement really understands the importance of this right.  We've been hearing it a lot lately - from Michigan and Florida.  Two delegations seated at half strength.  Two states filled will people who either voted only to have their vote reduced or not counted, and also filled with people who decided not to vote because they were told their votes wouldn't count.

Today, I find myself disenfranchised, at least to an extent.  I in no way mean to compare myself to the plight of African Americans and other minorities in the 2000/2004 Florida elections (check out the Bush campaign thinking about doing it in 2004) or the countless people who find themselves barred from voting due to state ID laws (check them out trying to do it in Dallas) not dissimilar to the poll taxes used to exclude minorities and the poor in the past.

Yet, I want to demonstrate a point.

I registered to vote.  I'm entitled to vote.  I exercised that right to vote this morning.  I was almost turned away because well meaning but inexperienced poll monitors did not know how to handle my late registration.

You see, I registered later than most people, but I registered on time:

Thus, I was entitled to vote today.  Nevertheless, I wasn't in the white pages of the ballot book, I wasn't on the green pages of the ballot book, I wasn't in the supplemental ballot book and I wasn't in the address book.

I wasn't in a book.

I'm an educated, knowledgeable (attorney, after all) non-minority citizen and even I struggled today to cast my vote. 

Hell, I was a poll monitor for a non-profit voter advocacy group for an election.

It is questionable whether I even cast a vote that will be counted.  I cannot imagine what it would be like for someone who is not a native English speaker, or is a minority, or is poor, or has a mental disability.  What happens to them when they find themselves in a similar situation?  In California.  In San Francisco no less.  I'm not talking Florida.

The situation left me walking away having cast a provisional ballot.  A ballot that will not be counted today.  A ballot that may never be counted.

A ballot that specifically states: "[y]our ballot will be counted and opened if the Department of Elections establishes your eligibility to vote and can verify that the signature on the provisional envelope compares to your signature on your record of registration."

And: "Provisional Ballots will not be included in any semiofficial or official canvass...."

In other words, I'm not part of the initial process, unless I seek a court order.  My vote may or may not count.  After the fact. 

I have news... I'm registered to vote and I proved it at the polling place today.  What else does it take?

USA Today points out that I'm not the only one caught in this Provisional Ballot conundrum:

The use of provisional ballots in the 2006 election by voters whose eligibility was questioned at the polls varied greatly among states, and more than half of them were cast in California and Ohio, a new government report shows.

Also:

In Arizona, Washington, Alaska and California, more than 5% of 2006 voters were given provisional ballots.

This post goes out to all the people that feel like I do right now; or worse.  There's a real problem in this country.  Whether it is failing electronic voting machines, bigots like Katherine Harris, or a failed system that turns away people in a lower socioeconomic class (many of whom are hardworking minorities and blue collar folks), it has an ugly name: voter disenfranchisement, and it needs to be stopped.  It is all shades of the same thing.

This is important stuff.  Register to vote, register early and get out there and vote.  Don't end up like me, the scores of others like me and, most importantly, those less fortunate than me.

It was a pretty special day to go from hula hoops in Hayes Valley to a charity fundraiser in Golden Gate Park, all because I met the crew from the Imperial Council of San Francisco!  Of course, any gay guy would wander on over toward a crowd of men in Navy uniforms.  So I guess it makes sense.

The AIDS Emergency Fund County Fair-

The fund provides emergency financial assistance to people suffering from HIV and AIDS - people who really need it.  They help those who would otherwise have nowhere to turn to, and for that I applaud them.

The event itself was a lot of fun.  Highlights included a mechanical bull, a carnival game involving "armbands" and (well, you'll see), wonderful performances, line dancing, food and other fun events.

There was a great performance by the East Bay Anointed Voices, an international outreach organization that seeks to comfort the disillusioned, depressed and disappointed from all groups and all walks of life - through gospel music.  I thought it was really special to see them performing at the event.

Also, the fun and talented Imperial Council, a 43 year old San Francisco non-profit performance group was there performing, and I had a great chance to interview some of the members and find out what they're all about.

All in all - the video came out well and I hope you all enjoy it!  Check out the craziness:

That's right.  I drove past Patricia's Green in Hayes Valley earlier today and came a cross a fun group of folks, about 15 in all, having their own hula hoop party.  I sped home and came back with my video camera.  Somehow, the hula hoopers led me to meet members of San Francisco's Imperial Court, who led me to the Aids Emergency Fund's Annual County Fair (full video coverage to come soon).

The County fair led me to...

the mechanical bull.

This is our story.