Tuesday, July 31, 2007

IMG00310.JPG


IMG00310.JPG, originally uploaded by Reeses World.

--Reese

First bus ride ever


First bus ride ever, originally uploaded by Reeses World.

Not for mariah, but the others
--Reese

How'd they get the car inside the diner?

--Reese

Diner with the kids


Diner with the kids, originally uploaded by Reeses World.

--Reese

Dessert


Dessert, originally uploaded by Reeses World.

--Reese

Monday, July 30, 2007

Japantown with Jesse


Japantown with Jesse, originally uploaded by Reeses World.

--Reese

new column:

"Three Weddings"

October 1999:
Upon moving to San Francisco in the summer of 1999 and finding my place here in the City that I love, I fell into the midst of the beginnings of the fight against Proposition 22 on the upcoming March 2000 ballot. California was going through the motions, like many a state around the country, of recognizing that Gay people were for real and so these states' tyrannical, puritanical, and fanatical majority populations were going to move hell, high water, and constitutional liberty to stop us Gays from living our lives.

Then, in the middle of my move to California, and this inaugural battle over marriage equality, my sister was preparing to get married to her fiance that fall. In Las Vegas. At the Excalibur Hotel and Casino. In full costume as a 'Maid Marion.' While her fiance was in full costume as a knight of some sort. And they were married by a man dressed as a wizard with some sort of purple colored cone on his head with lightning bolts along the cone and throughout his long purple gown.

As I watched my family enjoy this marital spectacle, for the quick 20 minutes that the hotel gave us before the next couple were ushered into the 'chapel,' the fight over Prop. 22 and the nation’s DOMA (Defense of Marriage Act) were well within my thoughts. And I could not help but ponder the logic of denying this family member the right to marry his own choice of a partner-in-life.


February 2007:
I flew home to witness my brother's wedding in our family church this past February. It was technically not the formal wedding, but an impromptu version for the Kansas City folks in the family. You see, my brother was marrying a Guatemalan woman after the two of them had met while living in Los Angeles. She and he had officially married in late 2006 in Los Angeles to begin the 'paperwork' in order for her to become a U.S. citizen through the marriage. And apparently there is a ton of paperwork to do in order to make her citizenship permanent. It takes quite a while, but it happens all the time with heterosexual relationships and it's legal.

My brother and my now sister-in-law are very much in love and have now had three weddings to showcase this fact. One: in late 2006 to begin the paperwork; two: in Kansas City for all my relatives to witness and hold a reception for his side of the family; and then three: in Guatemala in May for her side of the family and to have it officially done in full regalia.

I was there for the second one in Kansas City and I could see the power and strength of love through marital ceremony. I have never seen my brother so happy. And his wife is so excited as well. And I was overjoyed for them both.


April 2007:
I flew again in April, this time across the country, back to my old life in Washington, DC, where I lived before I moved to San Francisco in 1999. One of my best friends was getting married, again, for his family’s participation, to his husband. Of course, it wasn't an officially, legally sanctioned event. They had done that in Canada once before, even though it’s not binding here in the U.S. And of course, being that the ceremony was in that great state of lovers, Virginia, there would be no legal paperwork attached to this event.

But the love was no less real here. In fact, it almost felt stronger in some ways. The fact that these two men had found each other in this hardened world of heterosexual-oppression, and that their families were there to witness and participate in their ceremony, showed that the love was stronger than the supposed rules of society.

My friend's mother stood up and spoke before them as they held hands and warmly smiled. She said how proud and happy she was for her son to have found his mate, and to have brought such a wonderful new son into her life. His grandmother spoke of how she remembered bathing him as an infant and now she is witnessing him marry.

The wonderfully ironic thing for me at this wedding ceremony was that, other than the two grooms, I was the only LGBT person at the event. Everyone witnessing and participating were straight members of their families and friends, in the southern state of Virginia. And everyone loved and respected and joined in the grooms' happiness and love.


These three weddings in which I had the honor and pleasure of being a participant illustrate quite clearly that our fight for marriage equality is fundamental to our everyday lives, and that we are moving closer and closer to the day when our ceremonies will have official marriage certificates attached to them too. Because those same majorities of straight people are starting to realize that the love between two people, regardless of gender, is just as strong and meaningful. And this is because we LGBT people have shown them that we’re every bit as human as they are, by simply being open with our lives and living our lives in full.

Sunday, July 29, 2007

Claymation action


Claymation action, originally uploaded by Reeses World.

--Reese

Making claymation movies


Making claymation movies, originally uploaded by Reeses World.

--Reese

Jesse and trinity


Jesse and trinity, originally uploaded by Reeses World.

--Reese

ok, the monarchy is for real now. if its policy decisions, the disregard for opposing viewpoints, the cut-throat partisanship at all expense, and the political decisions interference with science didn't compel us all to note that the bush administration has utter contempt for the american people, there is now this:

"...signs went up last week prohibiting workers and visitors - including tour groups - from wearing jeans, sneakers, shorts, miniskirts, T-shirts, tank tops and... flip-flops."

so they are now telling tourists who are visiting the white house from all over the country that they can't wear jeans, shorts, t-shirts, etc. in the presidential home while on vacation in the nation's capitol? who exactly do they think they are? it's one thing to expect people to dress 'appropriately' when at work or in a place of business, but what tourist doesn't wear shorts or jeans in 100 degree weather in the summer of dc? and who brings formal wear on vacation? this is just ridiculous and show further contempt by this administration to its own people.

lest you think i've lost my blogranting voice, which has been quiet for a while, there will definitely be more ranting later about the complete ineptitude and unfathomably disgusting political motivations of this administration that should have never been

Saturday, July 28, 2007

Rockin rocket


Rockin rocket, originally uploaded by Reeses World.

--Reese

Playground


Playground, originally uploaded by Reeses World.

--Reese

Lots of kids


Lots of kids, originally uploaded by Reeses World.

--Reese

Red door


Red door, originally uploaded by Reeses World.

--Reese

The little kid and MamaWendy


The little kid and MamaWendy, originally uploaded by Reeses World.

--Reese

Friday, July 27, 2007

in going to the simpsons today as one of the very first in line and to see the movie on opening day, i realized something:

i was surrounded by:
nerds
dorks
losers
geeks
and children

and the children laughed and laughed at the silliest parts
and the nerds/dorks/losers/geeks laughed too

it wasn't the greatest movie ever shown, but that doesn't tell the story of the simpsons or why i will be seeing it probably another 5-10 times in the next few weeks. the simpsons to me is like braincandy. i can take it in on so many different levels. as a child, as a geek, as a nerd, as an intellectual, as a liberal, or however i want to take it in. and yeah, i'm pretty much just like all those who were there today too. except that watching it at home, away from the world, somehow makes me feel not so much like a part of the crowd. suddenly, in a crowd of losers and geeks, i realized how fitting it all was and how much i wanted to pretend i wasn't in a theater anymore

whatever, i'm a simpsons fan, however i may be, and however the movie may be the best or worst ever. it doesn't matter. it's a popcorn movie that i can enjoy each and every time for its own individual viewing each and every time.

and i will


Thank you, originally uploaded by Reeses World.

I took my last pill a few weeks ago in the hiv/aids study I was in. I finished my part in the two year research study
--Reese

Finally


Finally, originally uploaded by Reeses World.

--Reese

1015 Am


1015 Am, originally uploaded by Reeses World.

Yeah, I'm too old to do a midnight opening, but the first one in the

morning of opening day... I'm there

--Reese

Wednesday, July 25, 2007

depression is incredibly hard to understand. i'm not sure exactly what triggers it in me or what makes it go away for a while. it just enters and exits randomly.

the last two weeks have been hard, but somehow i've managed. and then all of the sudden yesterday i was much better. and i'm not sure what happened to change my outlook exactly.

one day i'm barely able to function and i'm wanting to hide in my house. and the next day i'm gleefully walking down the street listening to fun music on my ipod.

and this is normal life somehow. on days when it hits me hard i feel so dead inside. the depression eats away at my soul. i feel like constantly 'going home,' even when i am at home, and hiding away under the covers.

the last two weeks i was hit with it hard. but somehow this time i managed to leave my house every day and somehow get to work and do some things each day. i wasn't at my best, but i was out there. and as hard as it was, i'm rather proud that this latest episode i managed with more strength than in the past.

depression is a day to day, hour to hour, minute to minute entity. i can never tell how or when it will strike or how or when my mood may drastically change. i'm trying, every minute, trying my best to move forward. and it's really, really hard. and it's also so hard to explain because it's so hard to understand. but this is sort of what my depression is like. and the more i try to understand it's ongoing disease-type qualities, the better i am able to fight them off

Monday, July 23, 2007

Burgermeister


Burgermeister, originally uploaded by Reeses World.

--Reese

Burgermeister


Burgermeister, originally uploaded by Reeses World.

--Reese

Sunday, July 22, 2007

For the birds


For the birds, originally uploaded by Reeses World.

--Reese

IMG00280.JPG


IMG00280.JPG, originally uploaded by Reeses World.

--Reese

Stairway to heaven


Stairway to heaven, originally uploaded by Reeses World.

--Reese

Litter box with stairs


Litter box with stairs, originally uploaded by Reeses World.

No, really

--Reese

Ihop on route to Ikea


Ihop on route to Ikea, originally uploaded by Reeses World.

--Reese

Saturday, July 21, 2007

hat

Friday, July 20, 2007

me and the kitty were awakened a little early this morning. she actually knew it first cuz i could hear her running around nervously. but it was all just for a few seconds anyway. and then we went back to sleep. life in california...

Tuesday, July 17, 2007

More breakdancers!


More breakdancers!, originally uploaded by Reeses World.

--Reese

More breakdancers!


More breakdancers!, originally uploaded by Reeses World.

--Reese

Hawaiian BBQ


Hawaiian BBQ, originally uploaded by Reeses World.

Great lunch!

--Reese

Portola library branch


Portola library branch, originally uploaded by Reeses World.

This one is going to be rebuilt on the site where the groundbreaking was

held

--Reese

Johnsons BBQ


Johnsons BBQ, originally uploaded by Reeses World.

--Reese

Johnsons BBQ


Johnsons BBQ, originally uploaded by Reeses World.

--Reese

Groundbreaking groups


Groundbreaking groups, originally uploaded by Reeses World.

--Reese

Groundbreaking ceremony for library

In the portola neighborhood

--Reese

Portola neighborhood


Portola neighborhood, originally uploaded by Reeses World.

--Reese

Monday, July 16, 2007

$120.50 170.50 and change

i finally finished counting all my pennies, nickels, and dimes from over the last many years. although i ran out of penny rolls and so that's not a final total. and i didn't have enough dimes and nickels to finish an extra roll of them. and i'm including about 10 dollar coins. and of course this does NOT include all the multitude of quarters i've had over the years because i use those for laundry.

but $120.50 170.50 + out of pennies, nickels, and dimes is not too shabby. although it's quite heavy and will kill me and my backpack tomorrow on the way to the bank. but at least i'm cleaning up the house a bit. and gettin' paid to do it!

update: ok, apparently i can't count because when i got the teller at the bank to count it the number increased by 50 bucks. cool! but where are my math skills? anyway, the ironic thing was that i was turning all these boatloads of rolled pennies, etc. over to the teller while i just happened to be wearing a full suit and tie. i'm sure it looked quite funny.

North beach pizza


North beach pizza, originally uploaded by Reeses World.

Live and in person

--Reese

Sunday, July 15, 2007

a few new thoughts and amazing photographs from Ariana, that great Woman of the World, during her adventures in Ecuadar with the Peace Corps:

I finally saw my first venomous snake in the wild last night! I went on a hike in La Perla with my friend Trisha and the guide Placido. Trisha is my good luck charm. We saw 2 different types of venomous snakes. I only got a photo of the first one. It was an eyelash palm pit-viper, the most common pit-viper in the western lowlands. The second one was a Bothops petola. It was over a meter long! Trisha and I also got stung by a wasp, twice! So, in the past 6 months, I´ve been stung on my arm, leg, head, and shoulder 5 times. Everything is covered, I don´t need any more bee or wasp stings! Hope you enjoy the photos! This was all very exciting for me. I am going to write more about our night on my blog: http://rhiannabanana.blogspot.com/

Monday, July 09, 2007

new newsletter is out

i'm never late with the newsletter. it always is ready by the 1st of each month. but this month i had problems. pride took a lot of my time away and i just didn't have the time prior to the 1st to devote to it as i usually do. then i did a first draft (similar to my struggles with my column below) and hated it. finally, on saturday, i got it to be what i wanted and now it's done. i'm not a perfectionist; i'll let things go and not worry about them. but when it's just lame and not up to my own par then i've gotta fix it.

Sunday, July 08, 2007


saw clue-the play today at a tiny little theater in the mission. based directly off the movie, but with a few extra innuendos and ad-libs, plus the cast was having fun. cute.

New shoes


New shoes, originally uploaded by Reeses World.

--Reese

Petes bbq on mission/20th


Petes bbq on mission/20th, originally uploaded by Reeses World.

So good

--Reese

Sinbad and Gulliver were Gay.


Kerwin Matthews, the star of those legendary swashbuckling adventure movies from the 50's died here in San Francisco this week where he lived with his same sex partner of 46 years and their two cats. (photos below are from the cool website: theseventhvoyage.com)

Saturday, July 07, 2007

Projections


Projections, originally uploaded by Reeses World.

--Reese

it's the little things. i have not been happy with my recent column. it seemed incomplete and simply not polished. since i wrote it it's been nagging at me. so i finally took another stab at it today and only made really minor changes, but i'm so much more happy with it now. the little differences made a huge difference to me. here's the updated, final piece:

"The Wind"

When I was a young child, I used to sit my head right next to the open car window as we drove along and would feel the wind blow strong and hard across my face and through my hair. It was one of a favorite pastime of mine. It always seemed to have a clean feeling: of strength, of simplicity, of calm. My mind would feel at ease, as the troubles of the day seemed to vanish in a rapid succession of simple blasts of cool air.

When not in a moving vehicle, I would often love just a good old-fashioned windy day. As I became an adult, I enjoyed visiting, and love now living in, the Bay Area. The winds are robust and clean and constant here. To sit outside and feel the brisk ocean wind blow through my hair and swish past my arms is a casual pleasure of mine in the midst of a normal workday. One can imagine how much joy I get simply walking along Van Ness Avenue at any time of day or night—the gusts blasting so hard that they nearly knock one down.

I was reminded of this simple pleasure on a recent spring afternoon while driving around Sonoma County in my CityCarShare, as I left the window down and the clean natural spring air flushed through and blasted my gelled hair out of its perfectly coifed alignment. What was it about the wind that made me feel so calm? Why did it ease my mind so?

Personally, I think that the flow of wind, similar the seduction of a good waterfall, is a natural occurrence that showcases the everyday evolution of life. This life force through its natural elements continues on and on regularly. We can feel it and see it and recognize it, and even if we ignore it, it is there for us. And just as in the Japanese gardening philosophy of Zen landscapes and sand gardens, the simple forms of nature can calm us and bring us to peace while allowing for further contemplation on the larger schemes of life.

And while winds can change and move in differing directions, the point is that they still move. And we are part of the overall culture and vibrancy of life. As a favorite philosophy of mine states, "We cannot direct the wind; but we can adjust our sails," it is the importance of the movement itself, not in the basic desire to travel from Point A to Point B, that is our fundamental choice of life.

In politics, winds often change and carry with them realities that cannot be avoided. But if we appreciate the natural occurrence of the winds, adjust ourselves to the tenor of them, while continuing towards the goals we hold dear, we will have calmed our own souls as well. This is not to say that our choice is to follow the wind or let the wind pull us into directions where we wish not to go. This is to think more naturally and recognize that the wind is a factor in our cause. And we can utilize the natural forces of the wind to our advantage, not only to achieve our goals, but also to arrive with a greater sense of peace.

I still love to feel the simple push of a good strong cool wind on my face. It reminds me of my own presence in nature. When I put my face in the midst of a great gust of wind, it is not with a sense of intrusion or imposition, but instead with a proud recognition of its and my place in the larger scheme of life. We all share this space and time together wherever it may take us next. The wind's rush breathes life into us all.

Friday, July 06, 2007

my mom threw a party for the 4th and made her own centerpieces out of food. check 'em out: