b l o g a z a r . c o m

Seattle Gay Examiner

2008-07-23T08:29:00.001-07:00

I got a side job working for examiner.com

Check out my first piece: http://www.examiner.com/x-506-Seattle-Gay-Examiner

Montage. No Thanks.

2008-07-23T00:01:00.001-07:00

If I was going to invest half a million bucks, it would not be at Montage. I will preface this blog by saying that I AM judging this book by its cover.

Construction has been going on for months right around the corner from my apartment. on this new but very drab building. Gentrification is all over and although I am in the middle when it comes to this issue the building is a good example of bad gentrification. I appreciate architecture of all kinds but this is so cheapy. I love the idea of a modern building nestled in this smalls pace amongst neighbors that have been up for decades but this one has far less character then all of its neighbors.

The tiles exterior walls of the first floor just looks like a bathroom ftile loor crawled up the walls. Also, the rest of the walls look like a roof with those shingles. I was on their website cause I thought the inside might change my opinion but it did not. Its poorly laid out and kind of sad how hard they are trying.

Yikes! I sound like such a downer. I just want the building that are tearing down our old building to kick ass. If I have to feel bad about my old building whenever I walk by then it better be good!

Also, I take offense that they did not include Kaladi Bros Coffee in their list of shops in the neighborhood. Its RIGHT around the corner and they feature shops much farther away. LAME. Research the neighborhood fools! Try the places around the corner goofs! Ok, no more ranting.

I might sneek into an open house one of these days and see if the 'ameneites" change my mind. I'll keep you posted.

Madison Beach Monday

2008-07-21T23:12:00.000-07:00

the pics say it all. this place is awesome. i was alone. it was perfect. well, close enough.

Good times, Good outfit. Good people. Good Movie. Good Sunday.

2008-07-21T10:59:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was perfect. I spent a few hours trying to even out my farmers tan at Cal Anderson. Didnt make too much progress. Then a gaggle of gays and I went down to Cinerama and watched The Dark Knight. It was fun, but violent. Heath Ledgers performance really was kick ass. He totally deserves all the praise he is getting.

After the movie we had some grub downtown and came up to the Cuff and danced the night away. Good times. Good outfits. Good people. Good Movie.

ps, it totally sucks that in a few months this building will be torn down and the grassy knoll at Cal Anderson will be visable from Broadway. Lame. It feels intimate now... soon it will be on display from the road. LAME.

Sunday

2008-07-20T08:32:00.000-07:00

to do: coffee, people watching, laying out, dark night at cinerama and the rest is unplanned.

Saturday Morning Heading to Bauhaus

2008-07-19T20:58:00.000-07:00

Fiori Graffiti. I think its new. Enjoy it while it lasts.

Pick Me Up

2008-07-18T22:23:00.000-07:00

I was having a blah kind of day until my fav baristas Michelle and Zy brought this lovely lady into my life. I cant stop looking her and seriously lol-my ass off.

Metallics are in. Right?

2008-07-18T22:16:00.001-07:00

My lovely new phone arrived today.
We are still getting to know each other but I am confident we will get along just fine.

Angles

2008-07-18T22:09:00.001-07:00

Angles, originally uploaded by ~wesa~.

This photo is from a fellow blogger and was taken before my time in Seattle and it sure is awesome. If I hadnt moved here already, this picture would make me want to.

(UNDER CONSTRUCTION)

2008-07-18T16:58:00.000-07:00

I love how small the space needle looks here. I took this heading down Boren towards Downtown. It looks like when one of those buildings is up we wont be able to see the needle from here. Sucks. I love walking through random parts of the city and seeing the needle off in the distance, when you turn a corner or cross and a street and suddenly its there.

Flip Flop in the City?

2008-07-16T23:26:00.000-07:00

Enough already about politicians flip flopping. I have some person issues!...

I dont typically wear flip flops to the office but my sore feet need some room to breathe so I decided to go back to the look I sported during my days at Arizona State University and rock the flops to work. It has been warm in Seattle for a couple of weeks now and my walk to work is so short that I didnt think twice about it.

I did, however, forget that I had a meeting downtown that I needed to go to directly from work. Still, I figured "ah, what the hell".... I hate the way flip flops make me walk and one of my biggest fears is a flip flop breaking when I am far from home. There is no real easy way out of that situation. But I went for it... I can walk barefoot to the nearest store and replace it. I am cool like that. I think.

In any case, I did it. I went downtown and ended up in a conference room with an amazing view of the city with several appropriately dressed people...only to look down at my feet, both of which were slightly swollen from my bike ride this weekend and dry and dirty.

On my way home I was thinking about how initially I didnt want to wear flip flops because they remind me too much of the distressed jeans and abercrombie tee look of my younger years... and I dont play that game anymore. Now, my problem is that when I lived in Arizona I wasnt doing a lot of walking around town, here I am in a more urban setting and its become more an issue about hygene.

Is there flip flop ettiquete? should I carry hand sanitizer and mositurizer with me at all times?! Should I just deal with the stares and judgement about my dirty feet? hmmm.

I cant committ to never wearing them... they are convenient for a walk to the park to lay out or a stroll down broadway or to the pikes place market on the weekend. My life is so hard.

photo is me at the tullys on Broadway and Pike.

Dolce Chair from Target.com

2008-07-16T08:17:00.000-07:00

Yep, I got it.
Its being shipped next week.
I think it will go well with my sofa, got good reviews, and its on sale!

House of Cards

2008-07-14T22:51:00.000-07:00

I am friends with Radiohead on myspace. Yeah, we're tight like that. Today they posted a bulletin about the premiere of their video for House of Cards... my second favorite song on the new album, after Videotape.

So the big deal with the video is that it depicts the guys in the band and a neighborhood and trees but no cameras were used to make it. Its all fancy computer stuff and math!

code.google.com premiered it today. I suggest you check it out. Its old school Radiohead, AMAZING... mostly I dig the song. The words are perfect. The video looks a bit like the visualizer on itunes.

Mikey Mania

2008-07-14T21:42:00.000-07:00

On a good day, I am lucky if my blog gets 50-70 hits. Last month I posted a blog titled Gay for Mikey on Design Star and since then traffic has been up. Mikey, for those of you who dont know, is the token hot guy on a Home and Garden Television reality show where contestants vie for their own show on HGTV.

My post had the word Gay in the title but was in no way about whether Mikey was a Gay or not. I dont really care. I can think someone is hot regardless of their sexual preference. But since people have been googling their questions about his orientation, my blog has been popping up and traffic has been through the roof! Like 300-400 hits a day! For a small little blog like this, thats a big deal.

It turns out that Mikey is a Gay cop from Florida... there is a bit of an argument in my comments from people about whether he is a role model in the Gay Community or not. It also turns out that Mikey allegedly participated in a porn film a few years back titled Rope Rituals. The picture above is from a link someone left as a comment.

Personally... I think the fact he did porn makes him hotter. I dont think it is necessary to make every Gay man on TV a role model and I am glad he was kicked off the show last night. I was rooting for him but came to realize he is kind of dumb-sounding and the last thing I need to see is another beefy guy with no personality on HGTV. I'd rather catch him on X-tube any day!

***Please note that this blog is not here for celebrity gossip and I am in no way intending to continue to "gossip" about people. This happened accidentally :) ***

comments people left on my previous post(I like the last one):

Anonymous said...

He's hot. He's also out and gay, with a really interesting story.

http://www.browardpalmbeach.com/2007-10-18/news/badge-ered/

Anonymous said...

Mikey V (Verdugo) is gay and out, and quite well known in the South Florida community. He really came out against gay harassment based on his own experience with the Hollywood Police Department. He's in a relationship -- his Domestic Partnership license is on public file in Broward County. He's a really great gay. Don't know why the other two nelly queens on Design Star get all the press as the "gay team." Mikey is a great role model for our community -- he's sexy, macho, gorgeous, been on a SWAT Team, gone under cover against Columbian drug dealers, and still has an artistic side for design. As he himself said on his own audition tape, "I can arrest you then redecorate your house." He is so hot in every way.

Anonymous said...

In all due respect, I'm not sure sure that he's such a great role model for our community. Turns out he's done a little porn in the past. Just saw a video called "Rope Rituals" on X-Tube w/ him in it. It appears to have been made a few years ago, when he had less tattoos and was a bit thinner; he had only 1 tattoo on each arm then. When you compare his current tattoos from clips of Design Star, you can clearly see the original ones from the porno clip. He's just had more added around them, but they're clearly there.

Anonymous said...

http://img502.imageshack.us/img502/8091/roperitualslrgby8.jpg

YUP that's him!

Anonymous said...

This guy is hardly a role model for the gay community. He lied about his past gay porn career to the police department. The police department bent over backwards to allow him to use their department's car and uniform to promote himself in some selfish way to land a spot on the show. I doubt any police department would allow their officers to use their cars and uniform to start their own design business. Now the police department gets embarrassed when one of their officers is seen bound, gagged, and screwed in a gay porno that is everywhere. This makes it difficult for other gay officers to come out and work in law enforcment. His actions are the stereotype of gays... porno stars, sex freaks, and interior design. He is NO role model but has set the open gay police officer back in the closet.

Aethlos said...

omg... the sex police HOWL and HOWL... what a sad song. GET OVER IT PURITANS. Who cares if he did porn, and who cares if cops let him use a CAR to get on a TV SHOW. If YOU had cop friends that helped you out you'd sing a different song... and better they be trying to get on tv than issuing speeding tickets. GET OFF HIS BACK JEALOUS BEEEYOTCHES. MIKEY IS DELICIOUS AND DIRTY AND SEXY AND TALENTED AND BALSY AND RIDICULOUS AND SUBLIME. Mikey is America. WHOOHOOOOO! GO MIKEY!

PhotoBlog: Seattle to Portland

2008-07-14T16:53:00.000-07:00

I must be honest; I joined the Gay City Health Project STP Team reluctantly and with a sneaking suspicion that I would drop out at the last minute. I did not.

I have never done anything like this before. and have always felt that this type of recreational activity was not for me. It is expensive, grueling and not something that I grew up exposed to. I really see this as crossing a cultural barrier that I never really noticed was there.

Last Wednesday, before the ride, I went to REI to pick up my STP numbers and jacket along with hundreds of other riders. It was there that I first noticed how few people of color I saw as I looked around. I dont mean to make this a race thing... I just want to acknowledge that, as a man of color I felt like an outsider going into this. Where I come from we kick a soccer ball around a field... it doesnt require expensive equipment at all :)

In any case... I am not a poor kid in middle-of-no-where-Arizona anymore, so I dove right in.

The night before day 1 of the ride I gathered all of my supplies, food
and butt creams(not pictured).

The team met up at 5am at my coworker Tony's home for some last-minute carb loading.

We sent our bags ahead to the camp site.
This part was hard, as I set my bag down with the others I felt naked and realized I was about to trek to another State with nothing but my bicycle. Oy.

24 Miles into the ride. Our first free food stop at REI Headquarters. They had a great set up. REI along with several other local cycling shops had free bike repair, volunteers walked around with trays of oranges, bagels and plenty of other snacks to keep us all going :)

My chain kept clicking for the first 24 miles and luckily the gentlemen at the repair tents replaced it for me. It took about half an hour though. blah. This is where I lost the team as they moved ahead of me.

I lost another 20 minutes in line for the bathroom! Not my day so far.

Despite being at the REI stop for so long, I was glad to feel the energy of the riders and the support of all of the volunteers and staff. It totally got me pumped for the rest of the day.

Just when I started thinking I couldnt do it, a guy on a unicycle passed me.
I had a laugh, then realized... "oh shit, he is faster than me"

I dont think you are supposed to whip out your camera and shoot pictures but I just had to. Luckily I didnt cause any accidents.

At mile 43 after crossing THE HILL, a mile long hill that I never want to see again! At this point I thought "what the hell am i doing!?"-- My face felt like it was going to explode.

Its crazy how organized this event is. Police and volunteers throughout the entire route redirected traffic as drivers either cheered us on or cursed us for being in their way. One guy yelled at me for having my camera out. oops.

Roy, Washington

More of Roy

Yelm/Rainier/Tenino Trail
The only part of the ride where we werent riding on roads or highways.

Mini Stop at the end of the trail. At this point I realized I had stopped too much and tried to haul ass for the rest of the day. No more pictures of day 1. I got stung by a bee and had to stop at the first-aid tent... my energy for pictures was shot to hell.

127 miles into the ride I arrived in Vader, Wa. I was so excited to be reunited with my teammates. We ate, had a beer and some pain killers and I was in bed by 8pm.
I have never had a farmers tan like this! I cant believe I forgot to sunblock my arms. Oy!

We camped out in someones front yard and I got to take a shower in their beautiful walk-in, two-shower-head tub.

Day 2: Lewis and Clark Bridge
I heard mention of this bridge crossing but I certainly was not expecting this.
I dont think this picture does justice to the grandness and intimidation at the sigh of this bridge. It felt like when you are at an amusement park, in line for a ride you are really scared of and having second thoughts about.

The bridge has no real shoulder and traffic sped by us the entire time. This was the scariest and hardest moment on the entire ride. Once I got to the top I mustered the energy and courage to pull out my camera and take this picture. I wasnt looking... I just hoped that something decent would come out. Then I began the speedy descent down the other end of the bridge and a sharp turn onto the 5. We were warned that the descent down the bridge was fast and there was "no voluntary stopping"-- meaning; you can only stop if you are struck by a car or you have lost control of your bike and ended up dead on the side of the road. It hard to be optimistic at this point.

At the first rest stop, post bridge trauma we met up with another teammate.

I was feeling good about day 2 at this point.
I had completed the dreaded bridge.
We were at mile 160 of 202.

WATER!

Last Mini Stop on US 30, 186 miles into the ride.
No more pictures of the day as of this point... I was busy trying not to die! :P

We rode on that dreaded us30 for miles and miles with 90 degree weather bouncing off the asphalt and searing, yes searing our bodies.

16 miles to go. I was exhausted and finally getting that adrenaline rush everyone else had been talking about. My cynicism about this whole thing escaped me and I became a bit moved by the whole experience. As we rode into Portland I got a little teary about what we were accomplishing. The crowds cheered us on as we came into the city and wound around town to the finish line. There was one more bridge entering downtown Portland but that ascent on it was cake compared to what we had already put out bodies through.

As we rolled into the finish line I felt a sense of accomplishment that I dont have skill to even begin to put into words.

I handed my bike off to one of my teammates who had come in before me. I never want to see it again.

Overall I am glad I did it. I feel like it was a sort of initiation into the Northwest. I have been to Portland before but only by plane and having never left Seattle in a car or a train... I had never seen the State. It is lovely, I am proud to live here and even more proud that my first journey between these two beautiful cities was by bike.

The pain of the ride is still too fresh to decide whether I will do it again next year. Once my ass, knees, hands and sunburns stop hurting, I will cross that bridge (pun intended).

To Portland or Bust!

2008-07-11T23:16:00.001-07:00

P7150701, originally uploaded by Cascade Bicycle Club.

Me and 10,000 of my closest friends are riding to Portland this weekend! Wish us luck!

See ya Monday!

Another from Seattle Street Flick Pool

2008-07-08T01:09:00.001-07:00

devtankPNDA|scan|00506, originally uploaded by irq506.

Part of the caption:

This is first avenue Seattle. The woman had been on the street walking around on her own, I kept seeing her. She had something in her hand. She was frantic, and in a palpable state. She looked as though she was frustrated or had lost something.

From Seattle Street Flickr Pool

2008-07-08T01:03:00.001-07:00

, originally uploaded by Mark_H.

I love this shot. Love it. Seattle. Ya.

PhotoBlog: Sunday Ride

2008-07-06T21:44:00.001-07:00

I stopped to drink some water on my way up to Kenmore on Burke-Gilman today and took this picture out on Lake Washington.

I didnt ride back today because a friend met me out in a place called Lake Forest Park and we drove to KFC! There is ZERO fast food near my house so I was craving anything fast and commercial. Then we drove back into the city and I took some pics as I remembered how much I love this goshdarn town.

A good ride, some starbucks, fried chicken and then coming home to this. It doesnt seem so big when youre inside all those buildings.

"through the storm and the light"

2008-07-05T18:11:00.001-07:00

I have been youtube-ing a lot lately. I dont do MTV so I dont get to see many music videos (although I hear they dont really do that anymore) and lately I spend a lot of time searching for videos to my favorite songs.

No I in Threesome, the video, was released last year sometime but I just searched for it today. I have been obsessed with Interpol's Our Love To Admire since the day I bought it last year and EVERY song on it is electric to listen to.

No I in Threesome has been played on my itunes or ipod at least once a day for the last 7 months or so. I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE it. Have not become sick of it, dont think I ever will.

The look of the video matches the mood the song has put me in everytime I listen to it. Its dark, sad, creative, desperate a little and almost painful to watch if it werent so beautiful. Listen to me, I sounds like a psycho! I dont care though, I love it.

The house falling apart around them, the old man, the mirrors, the dead deer, the burning tree, the bird trying to escape and the lead singer whos voice gives me chills and makes me want to listen to absolutely no one else, ever again.

The song itself gets me thinking about the desperate things we do, that I have done perhaps, to keep things going where nothing remains.

Lovely Lindas

2008-07-05T10:27:00.000-07:00

My Yelp Review: "Yes, Please! I have been living around the corner from Linda's for a year now and had not managed to walk in. I love me some carby comfort food and a beer so I kind of always wanted to... but it just didnt happen for whatever reason. Finally the other day a girlfriend and I decided to go there for a drink and some fish and chips after work (my office is also right around the corner).

The second I walked in I was kicking myself for never having entered before. The atmosphere was everything I love about living on Capitol Hill; hip people, guys whos sexual preference I cant guess and who dont care about mine. It walks a fine line on being pretentious and I was looking for that left and right but in the couple of hours I was there, I didnt see it.

It was a beautiful Seattle summer evening so we opted for the patio. So, the patio... I am from Arizona and most if not all bars were patio bars, especially in the college town I lived in. I had not been to a bonafide patio bar since I came here and was pleased to find a private, outdoors and relatively spacious spot. There were no tables but we asked some people if we could share theirs and there was nothing awkward about that.

I read a few reviews talking about how it used to be much better and the service is bad but alas, I have been here a year and I expect bad service anywhere from time to time. I dont have high expectations on customer service for most places on the hill. The staff is mostly kids that also live here and I give them the benefit of the doubt when they are slow to refill my water. But, to be clear, their staff behind the bar intimidated me at first but I was surprised how comfortable I felt towards the end. The bartender gave me, what seemed to be a very sincere "thank you" after I closed my tab...eye contact and everything.

Historically I guess its where Kurt Cobain spent his final hours and as much as I want to be breezy and brush that off... I like Nirvana and felt sort of honored to be at a bar around the corner from home with such a stamp on rock history.

Eh, all of that aside it is a good mix of all the kinds of people that live on the hill and I loved it. I dont, however, love the bars and clubs that the bridge and tunnel people come to (war room, neighbors, r place) but this definitely feels like Capitol Hill residents' own. I hope to go back and enjoy the patio a lot more this summer and the inside once the short dark days of winter come back."

photo by Joe Mabel through wikimedia

PhotoBlog: 4th From Volunteer Park

2008-07-05T00:24:00.000-07:00

Watching the fireworks from Volunteer Park was nice because it was just a small crowd of local Capitol Hill peeps. No crowds, nice breeze and you can see fireworks over lake union, from the u district and all over west seattle. It was cute because although it was just a few of us in a dark park far from the big shows, we cheered and clapped and were all just as excited.

I dont often get home sick, but seeing families together made me wish I was back home in Arizona with my parents, sisters and my nephews :) Maybe i'll get them up here for next years 4th.

I think my favorite part was walking home and hearing all the fireworks around the city...and the breeze was perfect tonight. Gosh I love this town!

i want a dog now

2008-07-04T14:58:00.000-07:00

I was walking on the east side of cal anderson this week and noticed this...

I dont think it was there before but I love it. I want a dog now just to take him to this place. Damn my building and all its rules! I couldnt find a website but did find some good feedback on yelp.

Dogfather Grooming
1605 12th Ave
(between Olive St & Pine St)
Seattle, WA 98122 (206) 838-6027

happy 4th

2008-07-04T11:53:00.000-07:00

Obama Ice Cream Truck on Pike (not today, its not as sunny)

Alegria Tapatia on The Attack of the Mexican Tomates

2008-07-03T16:22:00.000-07:00

One of my best friends, Joy writes an awesome blog from her life as a mexican/american expat in Guadalajara. This post on killer mexican tomatoes is totally Joy at her finest. She inspires me to write and what I love most about my little Joy is that she is never afraid to go on an adventure. I can speak to that because her and I had some good times in the old country :) Dancing in Mexico City and tracking down a great great aunt of mine in a village in Jalisco are among my favorite Joy moments.

She is my Christian Amanpour.

Read this.